Forever friends around the globe

I’m not leaving this place or these people. I’m going to stay in Cambodia and let the rest of my squad leave for the next country without me. I mean, I’m practically fluent in the local Khmer language anyhow…Just ask my teammate Heather 🙂

I’ve truly enjoyed each month on the race so far and it’s been hard to leave Cotê D’Ivoire and Ghana. But this month, month 3, will definitely be the hardest. I just fell in love with this country and her people from the start. I could see myself living here. I’ve honestly been mourning the day we leave since the first week we arrived and trying to pretend it would never come. Denial at its best.

I’ve forged friendships with church members/ students that run deep in the span of 2 weeks. How does that even happen?! Is this real life? Only Jesus could unite people with a solid bond like this so quickly. That’s the beautiful thing. We may live across the globe in complete opposite time zones, speak different languages, and have different backgrounds, but we are one body in Christ. They call you brother or sister as a rule in this culture (which makes it extremely hard to distinguish family ties 😉 and rightly so, for we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

I was overwhelmed and amazed at this concept upon arriving to Cambodia during the evening church service on our second day here. It hit me while I was worshipping next to my now-friend Sengny and we were singing to the Lord in two different languages to a song we both loved. Then we were paired up to pray together and we each shared our hearts and prayer requests and then prayed over each other. I literally had just sat down “randomly” next to her and we hadn’t even formally met and here she is sharing her hopes and dreams and struggles with me. My heart was flooded with gratitude to God that He could orchestrate this moment. Me singing alongside and then praying over a beautiful Cambodian girl (who just translated the service for me in my ear, without being asked I might add) who would become my dearest friend in just a few short days. I’ll say it again. Only my Lord, Jesus Christ, could create a bond so rapidly. Common belief in Jesus creates a safe place for people to be raw/ vulnerable and build trust like nothing else does. It’s the firmest foundation for a solid friendship.

While I was sitting in the church during worship with our team singing in English and the locals singing in Khmer, it reminded me that this is a picture of what heaven will be like: every tribe, tongue and nation crowded around Christ, worshipping Him in all His glory alongside the angels, united by our love for Him. What a gift it is to be able to get just a taste of our perfect forever worshipping our Creator, King, and Friend here on earth in a little church in Cambodia. Really, we experience this in every country we visit and it’s so beautifully unique each time with different languages, music, and worship styles. I just love that intimacy with Christ is what binds us to these people we only get a few short weeks to pour into. Relationships are formed quicker and go deeper with this common faith in Christ. It also makes it that much harder to leave these brothers and sisters you’ve grown to love as they invite you in, treat you like family, and you do life together.

It’s hard parting ways, because as much as you want to say you’ll return one day to visit, realistically you may never see these dear friends again. So, you jump in full steam ahead from the getgo and make the most of the time you have. Because, really, it’s all a gift. And the silver lining is that you take your teammates along and you get reunited with your beloved squad when you leave the country/ ministry of the month. And after that, you get the privilege of pouring into the next ministry hosts/ people in the country that awaits you next.

So, yeah, I’m sad to leave these amazing students and people in Cambodia that I’ve grown to love. But I know this is the nature of the race and the Lord has more people in store in each country that I can impact hopefully as much as they’ll impact me. And of course, I take my precious Savior with me everywhere I go. My constant companion and greatest Advocate. The reason I exist and that I’m even on the World Race at all. And that makes all the difference.