Everybody's Got a Water Buffalo

If you grew up in the Christian sub-culture, then you're probably familiar with the VeggieTales song “Everybody’s Got a Water Buffalo” . I found myself humming this tune yesterday on our way out to see patients in one of the farther out clinics because everyone did have a water buffalo!!

Water Buffalo at the church

Water Buffalo blocking the way

After a bit of a slow and discouraging start, my first week here ended on a much more positive note. A doctor from the States and a nurse from South Africa were visiting the ministry that I am working with for only two days, so the director of the patient care ministry took us out to several of the churches out in the provinces to assess people that had been referred by the pastor or church members as needing medical assistance. Most of the patients were thankfully not too sick, but we did see some that will need to be brought to Phnom Penh for further follow-up.

A lot of our time was spent educating the patients on basic nutrition and hydration to increase overall health. I learned much from the doctor that was with us, as he had been on multiple medical missions all over the world and had worked in Cambodia twice before. He has a very balanced view of the help but also limitations of medical missions in third world countries. He also seamlessly integrates the care of the patients physical needs with their spiritual needs which is something I don’t have much practice in having only worked in the hospital setting where boundaries are more strict.

Dr. Ryan, Candace and I at a pastor's house. As you can see, our two days included lots of adventure!

A little boy with prune belly syndrome that can hopefully get international aid

Dr. Ryan praying with a patient who had suffered a stroke 2 years ago. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do medically for him at this point...that's where the spiritual becomes so important

Flooded entrance to one of the churches

One of my frustrations leading up to and since I’ve been here has been lack of a pre planned out schedule. However, God knew from before any of the 3 of us planned to come here that he would bring us together to serve the Cambodian people and this ministry for the past two days. It was one of those things that you couldn’t have orchestrated if you tried. We got along great as a team, and I know that I learned a lot not just from the doctor and other nurse but also the director and Cambodians that joined us. It was a joy working with them, and while I still don’t have a super specific schedule for the days ahead, I know God has great things planned for me!!

Adjusting to Being Still

Even if you've been to a country 3 times before, adjusting to the new place is never easy. Some of my adjusting has to do with being here on my own when I'm used to being with a team. Some adjustments have been easier to adapt to than others. Some I will probably not completely adjust to the whole time I’m here. Here are the things that I’ve been adjusting to this past week:

• Waking up routinely in the middle of the night because your body hasn't adjusted to the new time zone
• Cold showers
• Cultural differences on plans and communication/Not knowing what you will be doing from day to day
• Being reliant on others for transportation/Only being able to walk to a few places and not being able to walk alone after dark (Feeling cooped up)
• Working and living with people you have only just met
• Limited access to the internet/Feeling disconnected from people at home

About mid week, all of these things added up to feeling pretty overwhelmed. However, I was encouraged by Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” I realized that I was being impatient with these adjustments and wanted to be used to being here immediately. I needed to just rest in where I was and know that things would sort out over time. It was ok to not have anywhere to go or things to do. Being still is a discipline that I could definitely learn how to do better, and God is giving me that opportunity.

All the Small Things

I am so thankful that God cares even about the small details of our lives.

I left Saturday morning on my 30-hour journey to Cambodia. Over the past few days, I had become anxious about that part of my trip in general. It was a long time to be on my own, and I currently had a middle seat on the 14.5-hour flight from Atlanta to Seoul. I get quite antsy and a sore lower back from sitting for so long and wanted to be able to get up and walk around without disturbing a seatmate. I had been praying for good company and/or and aisle seat if it was in God’s will for my travels.

God answered big time! When I checked in Saturday morning in Philly, I had been assigned an aisle seat instead of a middle seat for the long flight without even having to request it! Such a huge blessing!

I also had another surprise in store for me in Atlanta. I had a 3-hour layover in Atlanta, which I wasn’t looking forward to. Mainly just because of the anticipation of getting on the really long flight. My one goal for that time was to get a Chick-fil-a chicken biscuit before 10:30a (when they stop serving breakfast). I landed at 10a and headed straight to a directory to find out which terminal the Chick-fil-a was at. I knew there was one there…I just couldn’t remember where. I scoured the directory and couldn’t find a listing for Chick-fil-a. WHAT?!?! No Chick-fil-a!! In the airport of the city where Chick-fil-a was founded!! This was an outrage. I continue to scour the directory to make sure I wasn’t mistaken. Finally, I gave up and turned to the person standing next to me to say something about this travesty. The person standing next to me turned out to by my mom!! My mom, dad and sister had surprised me by staying a day later in Atlanta on their trip to visit my grandparents!! However, instead of saying, “Wow, I can’t believe you’re here!”, I said, “Is there not a Chick-fil-a here anymore!?!?” My dad assured me that there was and off we went to get the chicken biscuit. Even though my initial response to them wasn’t one of surprise and thanks, I was so thankful that they had taken time to see me off in Atlanta. It was very special to have them be able to pray over me in person right before I took off for Seoul.

The rest of my trip was long and thankfully uneventful. I had very nice seatmates to Seoul that I was able to chat with a bit. I didn’t sleep very much on that 14.5 hours, but on the next 5 hour flight to Phnom Penh, I had a whole 3 seats to myself so I stretched out and slept for 2 hours straight!!

Because I was landing in Cambodia at night, there wasn’t too much to see, but even so, I sat at the window all during the approach thanking the Lord for bringing me back and praying that he will use me in his ways during this 4 weeks.

God provided for me in so many small but important ways in this initial phase and I know that he will continue to do so!!

Here we go...

Ok, so here we go...

This is my first post of my brand new blog. I really have no idea what I am doing and don't really have time to make it pretty at this point. Maybe while I'm in Cambodia or get back from Cambodia, or maybe it will look like this for the rest of my life...

Anyway, I thought for my first post I would share with you how this blog came to be. (sounds like interesting reading, huh?) Once I knew that I was definitely going to Cambodia, I thought, "Maybe I should start a blog for while I am there." Ok, so, I felt like I needed a theme for my blog, but I was only going to be in Cambodia for 4 weeks. Was the trip the theme for my blog, or should it be broader? Definitely needed to be broader than just a 4 week trip. So would my theme be travel? I love to travel, but my trip is definitely a lot more than just traveling.

After going around in these circles for a while, I decided I didn't necessarily need one theme for my blog and it would probably just end up being whatever my life ended up being, so now for a title. I wanted a title that could encompass whatever God has in store for me for as long as I maintain this blog. I went to my favorite passage from scripture regarding God's sovereign plan for our lives: Psalm 139 From verse 16, I gleaned the title for my blog.

So, what to expect when you read this blog? My experiences and insights from living out "the days were formed for me" by my sovereign God, through the grace of his son, Jesus.