Life With LivvyJoy: 🛕Cambodia pt. 2 🛕

"Time goes by too fast but memories last forever." What a beautiful phrase. During my last few weeks in DTS, I am going to cling to this. I have 3 more days in Cambodia & 16 more days of being in this season. The moments I have had are amazing & I'm not done yet. Okay, so what I've done these last 2 weeks have been so full.

Firstly, we worked in a school called New Hope. We had the opportunity to teach English to 3 grades & paint several murals. I taught around 12 kids from the age of 9-12. I loved every minute of it! They were all sweet & lovable in their unique ways. It was a blessing to spend 2 hours every day with them for a week. In class, I got to see progress in their pronunciation & understanding of English. Most importantly, however, I got to appreciate their personalities & love them for who they are. I could have spent a month teaching them. Also, as a group, we painted a mural about creation, an alphabet of animals, and a colorful classroom.

the school

my classroom

hard at work

finished project

Adam & Eve

kindergarten class

so colorful

all the kids

the team

During the second week, we were working with Peter, a missionary from Germany. One of the main issues in Cambodia is there’s not enough work for the people. Or, if there is work, it’s in really poor conditions with poor pay. God has called Peter to create businesses to employ Cambodians, and then raise up leaders in these businesses. In the area we're building in is a developing village. The government recently declared that 7,000-10,000 families living around Angkor Wat temple had to leave. Many of them had businesses, investments, and generational homes. All gone in one law. They all have to move to this area that is set apart for them. It's far from the city with no trees & few job opportunities. Peter bought some land to build a center for a new business he is starting that will help the people in this area. During this week, we helped lay bricks for this center. It was such an interesting experience learning how to use mortar semi-correctly. We worked outside in around 100° weather one day and learned to be joyful no matter the situation. Thankfully, it also rained twice which was lovely. Peter invited us to his house on the last night to swim in his pool & have a German barbecue. It was delicious! It made all the work worth it.

cutting steel

already dead

lunchtime

tap tap

strong girls

watching the master

got to move them first

is it straight?!

break!

dirt or sunburn?

a restful evening

Today was our last ministry day & we did yard work for the place we were staying at. Tomorrow we will buy snacks for travel & go to the market one last time. On Sunday, we will get to Angkor Wat temple, have a traditional Khmer dinner, & say goodbye to our friends here. Monday we will close our time of outreach & we start the 50ish-hour travel bright & early Tuesday morning. I'll blog more about my plans after DTS & my feelings about ending this season in a later post. For now, pray for safe travels & that God will clearly reveal His plan & will for my life.

Last bit of pictures