After many pictures, the team was asked to go inside to the main classroom building and sit down. Jon took time to speak for the team and express to the kids how much our team appreciated our time with them. He took the opportunity to remind them that they are loved by so many even when they can't see us every day. Then one of the older boys told us that he had written a song for us. Pisey had taken the time to write a song in English to "thank us for our love." He said, "My heart is full of joy." Ratha, the dad of the orphanage, helped him put it to music. It was absolutely beautiful! He is very talented. He is so thankful for our love and time that we have spent in Cambodia and yet all of the adults want to thank the kids for loving us too. I absolutely love how God has brought people together from complete opposite sides of the world to share the love that He has placed inside each of us. His plan to connect our lives is far greater than anything I could have ever asked or imagined just as He promises in Ephesians 3:20.
A few more older girls, and some of the other kids, took a turn expressing their gratitude to all of us for coming to Cambodia and loving them. They said they had been looking forward to the week with us and were grateful for our time teaching them as well as going to the circus, Bamboo Train, and the BBQ. It meant the world to our team to hear that we had given them so many joyous moments over the past week as well as taken time to share God's truth about living a life of confidence through Christ. Thank you to all of our supporters at home for making this possible! All of the children sang an additional song about their love for us, and it was beautiful. I always say that I am sure Heaven is going to sound like the voices of 40 Cambodian children giving thanks to God. They sang their hearts out, and I don't think any of the team members had dry eyes.
When the time came to say goodbye, all of the kids lined up along the sides of our path from the building to the bus. I led the way to the bus and gave a hug to each and every one of the kids while my team members followed doing the same. It was a quick moment with each of them to personally say, "I love you and God bless you!" Oh they are so dear to me! After doing this for 5 years, it still isn't easy. I would always take one more day or one more hug. I left with a heart full of joy myself. We were able to fill their hearts with love and truth. We were able to share the love of Christ with people in the community. We were able to renew our own spirits and experience God's love in new ways. There are no regrets for me. For that, I am truly grateful!
After we left the orphanage and said, "See you chop chop," we headed to Bantey Meanchey to pick up another GlobalX team that is in Cambodia right now. Both teams shared a bus ride to Siem Reap for some time together as a team before heading back to Atlanta. This is such a valuable time to be able to start reflecting on all that we have seen and done on this trip. God has shown each of us something new about who He is and how much He loves us. What a gift!
We had a quick bite to eat and headed to Tonle Sap. This is a floating village that leads to a large lake. It is literally a full village on a lake equipped with a school, a church, a floating market, etc... Homes are on the water. We must have gotten on our boat around the time that school let out, so we saw small boats full of children. A little bit of a different kind of school "bus!" This is my fourth time visiting this village, and I am always fascinated by how life works all on water. There is extreme poverty and yet this is home to so many. Each time I visit, I am reminded just how incredibly blessed our kids are in Battambang. They have the food they need and do not need to work each day missing the opportunity to go to school. They have shelter over their heads. They have clean water to drink and people who love them. Most importantly, they have a chance to hear about the love of Jesus daily. Their hearts are full of love and joy. The truth is, knowing their hearts are full makes mine full too!
We have one more day to see some sites around Siem Reap and then head home. This has been a trip filled with blessings over our team's health, energy, and unity. Please pray for safe travels as we head back to the United States. It has been a full week for sure! The end result... many hearts full of joy. I consider that a success! May all the praise go back to God!
"My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God." - Colossians 2:2
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