Long Overdue Update

Hi everyone, sorry for the long delay... I wanted to tell you about the youth retreat as soon as we came back but it's been pretty busy here.

The retreat was awesome (those who know me know that I don't italicize lightly!) and it was big blessing to be a part of it. We ended up taking over 26 youth from Saang district (a very poor area about 20 minutes away from the capital) to Sihanoukville, a beach town in southwestern Cambodia. The youth were so excited to come! I think that for those of us who have grown up with a wide range of experiences and education, we can't truly comprehend the excitement of seeing something like the ocean for the first time.

We arrived at Sihanoukville after a long and tiring bus ride. There are certainly some features along the way that do not exist in America! For instance, at the "rest stop" (essentially a few toilets and some food vendors selling deep fried bananas, sticky rice snacks, and hard boiled eggs), we drove over a mountain that has a whole section of "spirit houses" along the road.

Spirit houses are small shrines to dead ancestors and spirits (even though Cambodians are generally Buddhist, they have absorbed a strong animistic and ancestor worship influence). People traveling over the mountain believe that if they offer sacrifices at the spirit houses, they will have a safe passage over a slightly dangerous road. Needless to say, our group did not stop and make offerings!

Anyway, during our first day at Sihanoukville, we took the youth to the beach, went to dinner, and then had our first worship and teaching session with Jocelyn from NY. She shared about hearing the voice of God. Even though the youth that we brought are all Christians, many are new believers and very young in their understanding. It was awesome to see their expectancy and eagerness to hear from God.

The second day was jam-packed with activities from morning until night! After breakfast we had two teaching sessions, one from our intern Daniel and one from me. Daniel shared his testimony and I shared about God communicating with us about himself and our relationship with him. Daniel helped me with some visual aids and examples, and I really enjoyed doing the teaching.

We all took a lunch break, then returned for teaching sessions from new staff member Jo and from our director Eric. Both were very good. Afterwards, some people rested/napped, and others headed to the beach. I opted for the beach and really enjoyed hanging out with the youth. Some of them made sand castles and others played volleyball or went swimming.

That night after dinner, Jocelyn spoke about intimacy with God, and then our other director Ginny shared about making a choice to draw near to God. We ended the night with a time of prayer for the youth. It was awesome to see their response to the Holy Spirit and open hearts to what God was doing in them!

There was a time of testimonies before heading home the next morning. I was so encouraged to hear each person speak about what they had learned, and how God had spoken to them during their trip. It was such a cool time. :)

Anyway, we arrived back in Phnom Penh last weekend, and have been keeping busy ever since! Hope you like the pictures!

God bless,

Emily

P.S. Please keep my finances in prayer this month! Trusting in God...