Goodbye Sista….

Sista…

Sista is a word I have heard a lot being in Cambodia and in the last three weeks the word sister has been redefined for me. When asked if I have any siblings, I usually say, “Yes, I have three older sisters”, but now I may have to alter my answer just a little bit.
God has shown me that not only do I have three amazing blood sisters but now I found myself having a lot more sisters than I thought.  One in particular's name is Seak liv.

Seak liv is the girl who has completely changed my outlook on what a sister is. Seak liv is fourteen years old and she lives at the orphanage that I have been working with. She is a young woman who is kind, loving, smart, and mature beyond her years . When she isn’t at school she spends time with the younger children at the orphanage including a three year old little girl with Fetal Alcohol syndrome named Deborah. She huge dreams of becoming a translator and to help people.

And for the last few weeks I have been lucky enough to get to know her and today I had to say goodbye,which was a lot harder than I could have ever imagined. Today I tried as hard as I could to spend as much time as I could with her. During Church today my heart was happy as she sat next to me with her hand in mine and her head on my shoulder as she sang praises to God in Khmer. Throughout the day she kept asking me to promise to come back and all I could say was that I hoped that God would bring me back.

Before I left she handed me a letter and told me I wasn't allowed to read it until I left. It was probably the best letter I have ever received. It touched me in so many ways and I became overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness when I read it.

Seak liv is so special to me and she is why I am thankful I came to Cambodia. She isn’t just another girl I met in Cambodia, she is my sister. Sometimes hearing Sista, Sista, Sista ten million times a day got annoying but for some reason coming from her I loved hearing it. There is one thing in common with us that bonds us together and that is Christ. God blessed me with this one special young woman to connect with and for that I am so thankful.

I am blown away by how cool it is that God takes two completely different people from totally different worlds and binds them together as sisters. God allows for people across the world from each other to be bonded as sisters through His blood. I feel privileged that God allows us to have tons of sisters in Christ.

It is amazing that from this trip I have not only gained Seak liv as a sister but thirteen other amazing sisters in Christ who I have been honored enough to call my teammates the past three months.

Sister (n) a female who has one or both parents in common with another; a fellow female follower of Christ.