Children’s Homes

It felt like a scene out of an adventure movie but no, it was just an average day in Cambodia.

Two thousand stairs later and we had reached the top of the mountain. Now it was just a short scramble through the jungle, dodging vines and mud patches, until we reached the hidden waterfall. I gazed on it in amazement and smiled, watching people swim in the pool created by the roaring curtain of water. It felt like a scene out of an adventure movie but no, it was just an average day in Cambodia.

This was my second trip to Cambodia and I was excited to be back. My first trip had lasted eight months so I was pretty familiar with the country and had been able to spend time at every New Hope for Orphans Children’s Home. Now I was back just for ten weeks during the summer to reunite with the kids and maybe eat some more spiders. As I stood mesmerized by this waterfall the house mother of Preah Vihear Children’s Home asked if I wanted to go in the water. I said that maybe I would just get my feet wet. But secretly deep down I knew I wanted to dive all in. It was one of those once in a lifetime moments and I knew I would regret it if I didn’t make the most of it.

And so even though I was wearing jeans I jumped in. I swam over to the waterfall and stood under it, letting the waters crash over me. I laughed and splashed and the joy I experienced was nothing short of a glimpse of paradise. I felt God bringing restoration to my soul and calling me even deeper into the adventure He has for me. My experience at the waterfall revealed to me an aspect of our relationship with God. I think when God places a calling on our lives we often feel a bit hesitant. When we say yes I think we sometimes agree to “just get our feet wet.” Our fears and insecurities pop up to remind us that if we go all in with God we might “get our jeans soaked” which represents being uncomfortable or doing something that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

But God’s waterfall of blessings waits for us. He calls us to dive fully in and to allow our lives to be completely flooded by the Holy Spirit. If we will surrender our lives and enter the waters, God will most certainly lead us to places outside our comfort zone. However, it is in following His will and His voice that we come to experience indescribable joy and deep wells of peace. God wants to lead us to stand below His waterfall so that we feel the power and grace of the almighty God pouring down on us and filling us with love, joy, kindness, generosity, hospitality, and hope.

Each of the three children’s homes I stayed at on this trip—Kampong Cham Children’s Home, Preah Vihear Children’s Home, and Kampong Thom Children’s Home—had a culture of love, joy, kindness, generosity, hospitality, and hope. It is something you can feel the moment you arrive. People’s lives are changed when they spend time at the children’s homes because they come away having experienced the presence of God actively working in Cambodia and in the lives of Cambodian children.

The New Hope for Orphans children’s homes have placed Jesus as their foundation and are intentional about pursuing Christ. The house parents are faithful in teaching the children about God and living out their faith. Almost every day no matter what we were doing, whether playing games or studying English, there was always at least one kid singing away about the love of God. One time while we were out doing ministry in a village a few of the girls from the children’s home took the initiative to share with another girl their age about Jesus. It was incredible to witness the courage and gentleness with which they shared about the love of God and how it had transformed their lives. All the amazing moments I witnessed with these kids were the overflow of a Christ-like culture created by the Holy Spirit.

The most powerful experience I had this summer was attending Kids Camp and getting to witness 450+ children from all the NHO homes together worshipping Christ. It is these kids who are going to transform the nation of Cambodia. They know that God is alive and moving in their country and they are ready to see the floodwaters of God’s blessing and power released. They are ready to dive all in.

As my ten weeks in Cambodia this summer ended I thought a lot about what it means to carry with and in me all that I had witnessed and learned. I realized that the culture the Holy Spirit creates in our lives is one that is meant to be carried and meant to be shared. If we place our relationship with God as the highest priority in our lives I know that all of us can bring and establish a culture of love, joy, kindness, generosity, hospitality, and hope wherever we go.

I hope that as light bearers we will set the standard so that our families, homes, schools, workplaces, and communities become opportunities and spaces for others to encounter the living and active presence of God. I hope that we will seek to stand under the waterfalls of God’s grace and blessing and allow ourselves to be filled with Him. I hope that we will constantly desire to go deeper into whatever God is calling us into, even if it means getting our jeans wet.