cambodia. intro.

    It is about time I sat down to write about my two weeks in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was an amazing opportunity to travel to another part of Asia and see God at work. You know, He REALLY is at work in this world, even amongst the turmoil and the immorality and the hopelessness, He is doing a mighty thing in the hearts of all peoples in all nations. Don't forget that He promises to call ALL nations to be apart of that great worship around His throne. (Revelation 7:9-10) He has promised it will happen. If we believe Him and take Him at His word, let's commit to be apart of that redemption!!

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, 

from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne 

and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and 

were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

     I have decided that too much happened while I was gone and that I will post a few updates, instead of one long post. So here's to an introduction to my two weeks away.

    The organization that I partner with here in the Philippines has been praying for years that the Lord would open up doors for connections with other missionaries on the field, especially in the area of maternal healthcare. As years have gone by, little has been done--that is until now. 

     Missionaries living in Cambodia, doing ministry on the Tonle Sap Lake, have seen the need for maternal healthcare providers for years and have been praying for God to send them help. That's where we come in. Our organization sent three of us in to Cambodia on an initial trip to survey the land (much like Moses send out the spies into Canaan). Our goal was to come under the already-established ministry of the missionaries there to spend time with the people and learn about their culture, traditions, and community views on pregnancy, birth, newborns, birth attendants, etc. Our team of three made a pact at the beginning to go in with open minds and hearts that could be led by the Holy Spirit and to be very much opposite to the spies sent into Canaan--that is to refuse to carry a spirit of fear and see unbeatable giants in the foreign lands. 

     I will tell you that we saw that Spirit of fear and we saw huge giants. But we also saw a growing spirit of freedom and walls of fear being torn down as a small group of believers have begun to grown in faith and love, following their Creator God. Look for an upcoming blog on the spiritual growth in the community we were in!

       The two other studying midwives and I traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia on a Tuesday, arriving late at night, and spent the subsequent few days there in the city. We went around with one of the missionaries there, gathering supplies from local pharmacies to be prepared for anything from prenatals to births out on the lake. We learned more about the existing ministry out in the floating village and went through an orientation on the present ministry, their work, and their strategies to set the captives free from their animistic bondage. We also took a few hours of one of those first days to see Angkor Wat, an collection of massive temples built in the 12th century that bring in thousands upon thousands of tourists each year to Siem Reap. It was a perfect way to have our eyes open to the country's history and gave us a look into the spiritual lostness we would be facing. Below are are pictures of the city, the temple, and of our team. Click here for more info on Angkor Wat. 

In the tuk-tuk with our iced coffee on the way to the temple

Sarah and Echo across from me.

 

Until next time,

Midwife Brittany