Cambodia Update!
Updated: Mar 2
Friday, January 23, 2026
Hey friends! Thank you again for supporting me in my call to the nations! I decided to write in a journal entry style this time--I thought it would a fun way for you to get a glimpse into my brain! I would love some feedback on whether or not you guys like this kind of newsletter, so let me know! I will warn you, there are many moments I go from talking about the small and silly things, to talking about the wonderful and beautiful ways the Lord is working, so just bear with me! Let's jump in, it's a long but good one :)
Monday, January 5
Yesterday, I went to church like any other Sunday, and found myself throwing up the majority of the service. Fun, right? I spent most of today in bed sick and didn't get to do any ministry. But hey, I had some excitement this evening when we got kicked out of our room! Okay, that's not completely true, but we were given about an hour to pack everything up and move out. The YWAM Siem Reap base no longer had space for us because there were so many people there. So. Many. People. This base is the place where all the teams that were closer to the border have come to, and since we were supposed to have already left for Pailin, we had to leave. We are headed to a hotel and have been told that we will more than likely be here until Thursday morning. Praying that we go to Pailin!
Tuesday, January 6
Thinking about how thankful I am as I am sitting in the lobby of this hotel. I have noticed that it's common in the Buddhist religion to have these little statues of Buddha in people's homes. They burn incense and have lots of offerings all around the statue. I have also seen a pattern of them putting a cup of coffee and some kind of breakfast food in the morning. All of this appears to be some kind of sacrifice to Buddha, and it's a crazy thought that these people are only doing this out of fear of what would happen if they didn't. I don't have to sacrifice things out of fear, but instead I serve a God who sacrificed everything for me on the cross. I am so unworthy of that kind of love, yet He offers it to me so freely. We are called to fear the Lord, but with awe and reverence, not with shame and anxiety. I pray that these people will see that our God is a loving God, and not an one who does evil or condemns us. All we have to do is believe and say yes to Him, and for that I could not be more grateful.
Thursday, January 8
We finally made it to Pailin! I have been here for less than 3 hours and my leader just ran into my room and said "Hey girl…could you check ___ hair for lice…?” I didn't think much of it, as this is not the first time this has happened since I have been here. I have become the certified "check everyone's hair for lice” girl since I have experience from working at the daycare. Not my favorite title but I can definitely make it work, lol. Oh hey, surprise! First case of lice! Now I am slicking my hair back into a hat, wearing a headlamp and some kitchen gloves, going through my friend's hair section by section with a comb and tweezers, picking each individual bug out. It's a look for sure. I can't say that it's a great experience, but a joyful attitude and some good people will make it a whole lot better. I am truly seeing His beauty in all things.
Friday, January 9
Had some really good quiet time this morning. As I was writing in my journal, I noticed that I had basically filled up an entire page simply thanking Jesus. The list seems to be pretty infinite. We had a sweet morning of intercession and did campus work for a few hours. Also there was a point where we were hitting each other on the head with a water bottle…yeah that's a long story.
Oh bet you'll never guess what else I'm doing! Lice patrol! I have probably spent a total of 3 hours picking bugs out of my friends hair over the last 18 hours. And this is the Lord's work, lemme tell you. On the plus side, I absolutely LOVE Pailin. I am seeing God in everything--in the flowers, in the sky, and in the people around me. I am so excited to get to spend the majority of outreach here. I think it's going to be so fruitful!
Saturday, January 10
The Lord is so faithful! I am sharing my testimony at church tomorrow, but as I sat to write, the Lord had other plans. I felt that He was prompting me to shift what I was going to talk about, but I didn't know what he was wanting me to do. So I asked Him, and He showed me.
Being completely transparent, the last couple of months haven't been the easiest. I truly am doing amazing and have never been happier, but I had to walk through something really difficult and confusing, and have struggled to see the Lord in it at times. The worship song that was playing caught my attention, specifically the lyric, "He can use anything, just sit back and watch Him.” It was as if in that moment that knowledge went from my head to truly believing it in my heart. It means more to me than most of you know that I am in Cambodia right now. He does turn things around! He is a good God!
But why do hard things have to happen? Where was He when it felt like everything was falling apart?
I ended up spending close to 4 hours sitting on the floor in my bedroom just praying, worshipping, and listening. Those questions were still ringing in my ears, so I asked Him. I said "Lord, show me where You were in those moments,” and He did. I began to have a vision, it was a film of my life. It started back when I was really little, one of the first memories I have of something hard happening. The memory played like normal, but I wasn't alone. Jesus was holding my hand walking with me. Then another memory, and again, I wasn't alone. Jesus was there with His arms wrapped around me, and He was actually crying with me. He reminded me that His heart breaks when His children are hurting. I saw maybe 15 different memories like these, and each time He was there. Sometimes He was holding my hands, other times He was giving me a hug, and sometimes He was simply sitting with me, but He was always there. Then I heard His voice say this:
“I have never left or forsaken you, and I never will.”
Thank You, Jesus. It can be really hard to believe that He is good when there is so much chaos, confusion, and brokenness around us. The reality of it is, we live in a broken world. but the other reality is, we serve a perfect God. A God that never leaves or forsakes us. That alone makes Him so worthy of our praise. This was the testimony that I will share at church tomorrow. I will do anything to tell the whole world that we get to love a good God who speaks to us in the most intentional ways. He is everything to me.
Thursday, January 15 - Saturday, January 17
Midway weekend--we are headed to Battambang! A midway is the halfway point of outreach where we have leaders fly in from COS to come talk with us. We have no ministry and we debrief with them as they help us process and prepare for the rest of our outreach. It was a really sweet weekend! We spent Friday by the pool and did individual debriefing, and on Saturday we did a team debrief. It was a really good time to get away, and it is always incredible to look back on the way the Lord has been working during my time in Cambodia. He truly is orchestrating everything together so beautifully. What a God we serve!
Sunday, January 18
Today started like any normal day. We did our last midway activity and got to hold baby crocodiles! It was actually so fun--I'm a big animal girl, so I really enjoyed myself. Then we headed back to Pailin, and that evening we decided to walk to the night market.
*I have her permission to share this*
We were almost back to base. The clock reads 7:57pm, and it all happened so fast. I wish I didn’t remember the moment in as much detail as I do. A motorcycle being driven by a drunk driver came out of nowhere at a very high speed and ran into my leader, who was walking beside me. I will never forget the 20 seconds that followed. I dropped everything and I wrapped my arms around her. She grabbed me and clung to me, her eyes widened and frightened. Seeing her like that broke me in a way I didn't even know I could break. But I was also so incredibly inspired by the way she immediately began to pray and repeat the name of Jesus. We brought her to sitting, and it was very clear that her foot was broken. By the grace of God, her head was not hit and her injuries were not life threatening. The three others that were there began to pray while a local called the ambulance and I called the staff on base. Within three minutes, the entire YWAM base was there, along with a bunch of strangers. Ten minutes later she was loaded into the ambulance. I have never prayed the way that I did tonight. Demanding healing in the name of Jesus. Begging Him to allow her to be okay. And she was. She is. I am writing this as she sits in the same room as me. It still just doesn't make sense.
“Why did it even happen God?”
“Child, you don’t know now what I am doing, but soon you will.”
Okay, He’s got this. It doesn't have to make sense, it's okay that I will never be able to fully comprehend the Creator of the entire universe.
“Show me where you are, Lord.”
Oh yeah, He's right here. He goes before us, beside us, behind us, and within us. Just like He revealed His presence to me last week, He did again in this moment. He speaks to us always, we just need to be still and listen for His voice.
Sometimes, in order for the Lord to move, something has to break. And no, I'm not referring to just a physical break. Maybe a spiritual break. Or an emotional break. Maybe the Lord allows, not causes, but allows these things to happen so we can grow in our dependence on Him. So that we can see for ourselves the way that He can turn all things for good. His love is like none other, and He is in this with all of us.
Friday, January 23, 2025
Just going to wrap this up with the obvious: The Lord is faithful beyond comprehension. He is here with us, working in our hearts and the hearts of these people. He is moving in this nation, and I know He will continue to move, even after outreach. If you've read this far, thank you for joining in on the joy, chaos, and everything in between. I seriously couldn't do it without your love and support! I will add some prayer requests below, but other than that, I'll see you all in the next one.
Oh and by the way...the lice is back.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for continued peace between Thailand and Cambodia!
Pray for my team and I as we finish the second half of outreach. May we continue to lean in and rely on the Lord for strength when things get hard!
Pray for my leader and her injuries. That her foot and the rest of her body would heal quickly and that she would be pain free.
Pray for rest! A lot of the team has seen a pattern of us getting plently of sleep at night, but not feeling rested at all the next day.
SUPPORT & GIVING
I am currently fully funded for my trip! Thank you all for partnering with me!!!
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