If God is calling - be obedient and answer the call!

 Cambodia January 2012- Medical Mission Trip

I was in Cambodia for a total of 9 days.  Our home base was Takeo.  We spent 5 days in 5 different villages, 2 days were spent in Phnom Penh, the capital city and we had 2 days of travel.

What an amazing trip!  I returned on Sunday January 15th at 9:30pm.  I have been home now for 2 weeks and am still processing everything that the Lord showed me, taught me and is still revealing to me daily.

There is so much that God showed me while just preparing me for this trip, not to mention while I was in Cambodia, and now that I am home again.  I am not yet quite ready to post completely about it.  However, I will share one thing I learned while in Cambodia.

God used this trip to bring me closer to Him.  I was forced to learn to rely completely on His strength to get me through each day.  I could not do it on my own power.  He filled me up each day with just enough of His strength to get through that day and whatever challenges were presented to me.  At the end of the day, I was completely rung out and spent - most often reduced to tears of exhaustion.  I learned immediately that when I woke up the next morning I needed to deeply immerse myself in Him before I could be of any use to anyone else.

God didn't send the disciples out alone- "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go."  Luke 10:1

The Lord didn't send me on this trip alone.  He sent me with a buddy!  Karen was able to walk with me through this process of relying on Jesus' strength each day.  She brought amazing worship music on her ipod - sent by her worship leader husband.  She and I were both already reading the same devotion every morning before we left for Cambodia - Jesus Calling by Sara Young- and so we woke up each morning and did our devotion together.  We were roommates.  We both went on this trip because we were being obedient to God.  He told us to go, so we went.  I am so thankful that He called Karen and I to go together, and that we were both obedient.  Karen was such a blessing to me in Cambodia and, from what I can tell, to many others as well.  All because she was obedient to go when called, even though she didn't understand why at the time.

I learned so much on this trip.   The lesson for this post is:  If God is calling you to do something, even if you don't understand it and don't want to do it - be obedient.  Perhaps especially, if you don't understand, and don't want to do it - be obedient.  Walk in faith, one step at a time.  It isn't always easy - there most likely will be many challenges along the way.  I know I experienced my share of trials in the months leading up to the trip, our whole group did.  However, I was not alone, He sent us out together.  We leaned on each other, prayed for each other, cried to each other, all the while, walking in faith and being obedient

For me, it can be difficult to really appreciate and see the work that God is doing in my life.  I downplay it in my mind.  Sometimes, the Lord reveals to me His glory, power and love by showing me His work in others. Because He sent Karen on this journey with me, I was able to see it.  We walked in obedience to God's calling for us together, and I was able to see Jesus' glory, power and love through that experience.

And with that I will say goodbye for now. 

To walk in faith every day, one step at a time, desiring a deeper relationship with my Jesus.

Kim

Countdown to Cambodia: 16 days

I know I have not been posting consistently the past couple of months.  We have just been living life to the fullest here-very busy as always.  Working, learning, laughing, playing, praying, seeking what the Lord has for us.

One thing I haven't posted very much about here is a little trip to Cambodia that is coming up.  I am going with a medical  mission team, sent by my church, to Phnom Penh, Cambodia for 9 days.  This will by my first mission trip and I am so excited to be used by the Lord in this way!

The past 6 months have been full.  Our life has been incredibly busy.  Our teenage daughter is now a freshman in high school and has been active in the school musical, went to her first homecoming dance, is busy making friends, and working to keep her grades up.  I am continuing to homeschool the Littles (5 1/2 and 7 in two weeks).  Rob has been working hard at his job, and has been an incredible source of strength and support for me as I homeschool and prepare for this trip.

Preparing for the trip has involved many things.  I needed a new passport and crazy immunizations.  We have had many meetings with the mission group to bond and exchange information about the trip.  I sent out sponsor letters and watched as the Lord moved in people's lives.  I have never done anything like this before and the process so far has been humbling and has grown my faith more than I ever expected.  I am already in awe of Him, changed forever, and I haven't even gotten to Cambodia yet!

As the days count down in these final two weeks there is a sense of quickening.  Emails are flying among the group with lists of supplies needed and received, information about the trip itself, airplane seats and itinerary to share with family, and prayer requests for those suffering from sudden illness,  injury or stress.

Amidst all of the Cambodia flurry,  Christmas is coming in a few short days.  It has arrived much quicker than I anticipated this year!  I am finding myself struggling to focus on my Savior, His birth and making sure that my girls don't get lost in the "presents" mania that our society encourages, but rather get lost in His Presence and what the birth of Jesus Christ means for us.  Salvation, forgiveness for our sins, mercy, love,  hope.

I heard myself talking with friends the other day about our Christmas plans.  We were discussing that our church was having a Christmas day service at 11am and I found myself saying, "I don't know if we will make it to church that morning.  It's just too much and will make our Christmas morning too crazy with opening all the presents and breakfast."  Later that day it really hit  me.  What was I thinking?  How did my priorities get so out of whack?  Christmas is about Jesus.  Period.  The rest is all fluff and hype that the world has convinced us is more important.  I forgot that for a second.  Lord forgive me!

After sitting down and talking it over with my husband and family, we are doing things a little differently this year.  It's nothing big, just rearranging the days that we are celebrating.  It was an idea that one of the other moms that I was talking to that morning suggested and it stuck with me.  We will do the family dinner and opening presents on Christmas Eve, then get up Christmas day and have a nice breakfast and go to church.  Afterward we will go to grandma's house and hang out together.  It will be so nice.

Next comes my middle child's 7th birthday.  January 3rd-three days before I leave for Cambodia!  She and I planned a small celebration with 2 of her friends to go rock climbing on Dec. 30th.  I am relieved to have that all planned out and set.  I would be in such big trouble if I somehow forgot her birthday!

I am writing all of this because I believe that the Lord wants me to share my journey with others.  Part of that journey involves prayer and right now I need some prayer support!  My heart wants to focus on preparing for this mission trip and to spend my time in prayer, fast, and pack.  However, my life is so full with other very important activities that must happen before I leave. My girls are also nervous about me being gone and ask a lot of questions every day about it.  I have things planned for them for while I am away to help pass the time for them, but I know there will be days that they will be sad and miss me.  Please pray that God's peace will be upon them.  That they will remain healthy and that Rob, my mom and step dad will also remain healthy as they are all going to be caring for my girls while I am away.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to be used by God in such a tangible way.  I don't know exactly what is coming while I am in  Cambodia or when I return home.  I am walking by faith for probably the first time in my life.  It's scary, thrilling, humbling and amazing all at the same time.  My hope, beyond God moving in the hearts of the Cambodian's we will be working with, is that my children will remember their mom going to Cambodia by faith and in obedience to the will of God, and that it will awaken in their hearts a desire to walk by faith, in obedience to Him also.  It's taken me a long time to get to this place in my walk with the Lord and I pray that it won't take them as long!

Blessings and have a very Merry Christmas!

Love,
Kim