howdy!! 🤠

wahoo! we have finally arrived in Cambodia!

i am so thankful after all of our preparation and waiting we’ve made it safely! After about two weeks of being here i have already learned so much.

It was about a three day travel day to get here, with three connecting flights. We stopped in Thailand for about a day and got to explore a bit before heading on another flight to come here! It was cool to just experience the culture of the people there and walk through the city.

I think i’ve ridden a plane about two times in my entire life, so i’d say i’m a pro traveler. I also watched The Notebook for the first time on my way Thailand and my heart was not prepared for that. Pro tip If you’ve never seen the notebook only watch it if you’re sitting i front of a bucket to catch your tears. Like a big home depot bucket. you might need two.

So after a long couple of travel days, we finally arrived at the new day new life adventure base in Siem Reap! We got to meet our three hosts who have helped us learn so much more about Cambodia and more details about our ministry! They have been so kind and generous and i’m so thankful God has blessed us with them!

My teams ministry for this month is working with kids from some of the different communities to teach. We go to a different village every day by van, and It’s about an hour and a half drive from our base. We get to meet with a different group of kids in that local area and teach english and stories from the Bible!

This week my team has focused mainly on observing our hosts teaching sessions and learning how they can effectively communicate the lessons to the students. This next upcoming week we will be jumping in a little bit more and leading some of the teachings. Earlier today we practiced a skit about the story of Adam and Eve for the upcoming week!

( if your wondering i’m Adam )

Coming here I knew there was going to be a language barrier and i knew that was going to be a struggle. After coming here that has definitely felt frustrating at times to build connections with the kids. there are times where i want to start so many conversations with them but don’t know where to start. I’ve learned along the way the importance of how simple things like handshakes or a smile can go a long way to make them feel loved in a way that words can’t do. I know God will still fulfill what he wants to do in our time here, and he’ll show us more of the how along the way!

These kids are so gentle and eager to learn and despite the difficulty of communication at times i have nevertheless felt so loved by them and feel so blessed to share Jesus’ love with them! I’ve included some photos at the bottom of what our ministry had looked like and the crazy wonderful people i get to do it with!

And so that’s a bit about my first couple of weeks being here! Thank you guys so much for reading and for all the encouragement and prayers !

love you all! 🤠

• Maddie!! :))