I wanted to start off with telling a story of my plane ride here to Atlanta, where my journey has begun.  As I walked on the plane, there was a little girl sitting in my seat, she obviously wanted the window. I was okay with that 🙂 Her eyes lit up when I assume that she realized the stranger sitting next to her was a small girl instead of a large hairy man.  Her name was Kayla, she had dark hair and dark eyes and was all of 8 years old.  She asked me why I had tennis shoes strapped to my bag, I told her I was going on an adventure. She wanted to come but I told her no ONLY because...

In preparation for this trip I, in all honesty, didn’t give much thought to training camp.  I was quite focused on the “main event” of spending seven weeks in a country halfway across the world and the excitement of traveling to get there.  But I am so thankful that we did not immediately load up on June 1st and head to Cambodia–I am so thankful for these past four days of seeking the Lord, cleansing my heart, surrendering my will, and most of all learning to listen to His Spirit.   In John 10 Jesus talks about how God is our shepherd and He knows every single one...

1. Matt Damon in “We Bought A Zoo” said to his son when he wanted to talk to a girl that, “sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage.” You have to just go for it sometimes.  2. “Green Creme” is the Fanta of choice. Flavor: well see about that in a couple of days.  3. Average age of a Cambodian is 21. The generation above them does not exist. It was completely wiped out by the Khmer Rouge.  4. You have to make the choice between what is RIGHT and what is EASY.  5. Being obedient is more important than being eloquent.  6. Jimmy, camp director,...

This is my first official blog I’ve ever done. But I figure my trip to Cambodia is a pretty good time to start.  My team – which is made up of 7 amazing girls who are totally in love with the Lord – and I have yet to actually leave for Cambodia, as we’ve been at an intense training camp in Toccoa, Georgia, the past three days. Upon arrival at training camp, I have to admit I was a little nervous, okay a lot nervous about not knowing a single person here, leaving behind my family, friends, and the comforts of things like a bed that I take for granted, and just not...

Petrichor is the smell of rain on dry earth. While at camp, I’ve realized that I’ve experienced a different kind of petrichor in my life recently. Life has been weird and hard and while not always dry, it’s been…a hard season. And getting prepared for Cambodia has been like the coming of the rain, the preparation. My time at training has been that first rain, and after the rain has cleared you can smell the difference in the air, leaving everything clean, damp, malleable, and freshened. Thats what this week has been for me. Today, after the rainfall last night both literally...

Training camp is coming to a close.  It’s mid-afternoon on the day before we fly out! Woohooooooo!   While at training camp, we’ve received cultural briefings about the “do’s and don’t do’s” of Cambodia, had some wonderful worship sessions and speakers who have reminded me of my passion for justice and the power of God, spent time growing closer as a team, discussed expectations, and many other things.  We’ve also been roughing it: sleeping in a cabin with one little light that runs on a generator, porta-potties, taking cold showers...