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To be completely honest, this week has been a rough week for me. It started last week with a parasite which caused me to be nauseous constantly and took every bit of energy I had out of me.This past work week was a long one as I struggled to make it...

To be completely honest, this week has been a rough week for me. It started last week with a parasite which caused me to be nauseous constantly and took every bit of energy I had out of me.This past work week was a long one as I struggled to make it through each day without any energy or being able to eat any food. I still continued to be hopeful, or at least I tried my best. Everyday when I walked into class, my attitude changed when I saw my student’s faces. I was reminded how much I love my job and my students.

But by the end of this week, I felt beaten down. The parasite was gone, but I still felt like the Devil was working hard on me. I kept getting down and thinking ‘Am I supposed to be here?’, ‘Life doesn’t feel right here.’, ‘I miss America and my family.’, ‘Why did we leave our awesome, easy life in Spain?’

By Saturday, I was completely over my sickness, but I still felt a bit off. I continued to push through and live life here like normal. I knew in the back of my mind, that I had no reason for the way I was feeling, but the thoughts kept creeping back into my mind. That night, Cody and I went out to dinner and we had a few small things happen on the moto. Nothing big, nothing bad, but I just thought, this is it. I can’t deal with another minute in this traffic, with dirt blowing in my face and eyes, horns filling my ears, pot holes breaking my back, and diesels speeding past me.

That’s it. Cambodia isn’t for me. I can’t do this.

These are the thoughts I woke up with this morning as my alarm went off for church and my head was pounding. I just can’t.

I knew that missing church wasn’t going to be helpful, so I got up, took some medicine, and read my Bible before heading to church. I opened my Bible so discouraged and not even sure why. ‘I love Cambodia and its people. I love my job. What is wrong with me?’

When I opened my Bible, the first things I saw was Psalm 91. I read it and cried. I thought about this entire week and the challenges I had been facing, and here God was telling me, I am your refuge.

What was I doing being so down and upset about life? God is my refuge. I just felt this huge relief. I realized the Devil is going to attack. He doesn’t want me here. He doesn’t want me to feel encouraged, joyful, healthy. He is the parasite inside of us, making us tired and sick. But it doesn’t matter what he wants because when he is attacking, God is my refuge and strength. He takes me under his wings and it’s there that I can find comfort.

After I read this, I headed to church and God continued speaking to me. We started singing worship and all I could see were Khmer people jumping, dancing, and shouting to Jesus*. I felt so encouraged. I, one of the only white people in this church, had nothing on these Khmer people. They knew how to praise Jesus. They knew he was their refuge. As they sang in Khmer and I tried to sing along in English, I kept seeing birds in my mind. I kept imagining, their wings gently flapping in the air. I saw my Savior protecting me, and I was reminded of my purpose. The Devil will attack. God will win.



*Worship in a Khmer church is like youth group in the 90s. Everyone is jumping and dancing and the singing songs I grew up singing. It’s amazing.

Psalm 91 God is our refuge parasite rogers in cambo cambodia year one

Little Moments

This week there have been so many instances where I have had to stop and just smile at the little moments I get to experience here. We have been able to see and do so much in the past few years that I was a bit worried about how I would handle moving to Cambodia and settling down here.

I cannot believe how much I can see God in every moment of my life. Every time I think of my job or my neighbors or the many people we have met here, I smile. I can’t help but smile. God has given me so many wonderful things here already.

Right now I am sitting in my un-air conditioned living room grading papers in front of a fan. Every time it swings in my direction my papers blow and make a sound that reminds me of how many more I have to grade, and yet in this moment I am so happy. I never thought I would be able to survive without air conditioning. When we first moved in, at the top of our list was ‘get an air conditioner’. We didn’t get it immediately for financial reasons, but I see God even in that small decision. Not getting an air conditioner led us to instead get screens. Daily, I find myself loving the screens more and more because it lets us be a part of our neighborhood more. Our neighborhood kids run back and forth every night as Cody and I sit at our table planning, and their little screams and laughter fill me with so much joy. Every moment it gets a bit quieter than normal, I know as soon as I turn around their little faces will be pressed against our screen waiting for a ‘hello’. It’s in these little moments that I am so humbled by what God has done in our lives.

Everyday at school, I learn more about my students and grow more and more attached to them. It’s in every little hug and every moment that I can give encouragement that I find so much joy. Sometimes I feel like God has filled me with so much love and I can’t hug my students enough to get it all out. I love the moments He gives me everyday to build relationships and to show love. It’s, again, in these little moments that I am so humbled by what God has done in our lives.

Numerous times throughout this past week, things have happened that related to my past, and I have stopped and thought ‘Wow. God knew this all along.’ It’s crazy to think that God knew the first time Cody and I visited this country that it wouldn’t be our last. Even more so, it’s crazy to think that so many of our experiences in life, even the small things, seem like they were leading us to this beautiful country. When Cody and I started dating in high school, I never imagined doing anything like what we have done in our lives, and now looking back, it seems like God was leading us here the whole time.

Asian Hope is on a mission to provide free education to 500 vulnerable children in Cambodia. Through Catch Up schools, Cambodian students are given life essentials, a high quality education, and the love of Jesus Christ, all in a safe environment....

Asian Hope is on a mission to provide free education to 500 vulnerable children in Cambodia. Through Catch Up schools, Cambodian students are given life essentials, a high quality education, and the love of Jesus Christ, all in a safe environment. For $42 a month, you can provide a student with nutritious food,  school supplies, dental and health care, clean drinking water, and Christ-centered education.

Cody and I have been able to visit these schools in see them in action. This program is doing great things in Cambodia. Please consider being a part of it by supporting one child.

Visit www.1child1year.org for more information.

1child1year asian hope
Today during independent work time I turned on Rend Collective’s Campfire Songs Album for the students to listen to. I wasn’t sure if they knew the songs, but it was quiet, so I took the opportunity to play music with beautiful lyrics for them to...

Today during independent work time I turned on Rend Collective’s Campfire Songs Album for the students to listen to. I wasn’t sure if they knew the songs, but it was quiet, so I took the opportunity to play music with beautiful lyrics for them to listen to while they worked. About 30 seconds into the first song, one student quietly started singing, and then another, and another. Before I knew it, majority of my class was singing along and making a beautiful worship song even more beautiful. I stopped what I was doing and just sat and listened. It was beautiful. My eyes started to water so I turned toward the window to pull it together and saw this view. Wow. God is everywhere, and He is doing some amazing things in Cambodia and all over this world. 

rend collective cambodia rogers in cambo

Cody’s First Weeks of School:

The first couple weeks at AHIS were a bit crazy for me and the school.

Our school is moving campuses next year, but until then we had to buy a portable classroom for our 7th graders. You can see them moving it in the DAY BEFORE SCHOOL started in the pictures above!!!

My 6th grade class is absolutely amazing. The kids are great and really eager to learn. Our school is putting a larger emphasis on reading this year, so now we have several silent reading times per week. The kids really enjoy this time to discover new books and read some amazing stories.

School lunches, no matter where in the world you are, are usually questionable to kids. So, students will decide to pack their own lunch with a “better” option. Fried baby bird was the better option one of my students brought this week…

During the second week of school I was in charge of leading the school assembly. My class put on a short skit about the Bible. The story was about a “store” called Cover To Cover. People who had questions or problems would call, and the store would give them Bible verses to help. The kids love acting, singing, and dancing, so naturally we had to do all three in our assembly!

-Cody

asian hope ahis sixth grade cody seventh grade

This week during orientation we visited one of the VDP (Village Development Program) Catch-Up schools in Prek Pneu, just outside of Phnom Penh.

Asian Hope has several catch up schools which were created to help low income, low performing students in Cambodia. The public school system in Cambodia is very corrupt and students must pay bribes in order to succeed. The school week consists of half days Monday-Saturday. Students who attend the VDP catch up schools are behind in school and come to these schools in order to catch up to their grade level standards. They are also taught a bible class everyday.

The school in Prek Pneu helps the local fishing community which is shown in the pictures above. This community has a ton of kids, and many are far behind in school. Our VDP is helping get these kids back on track academically and provides them a safe place to learn.

***The picture above of the clothing pinned to the wall:
The vast majority of people in this village are buddhist/animist, so they are constantly worried about evil spirits. Many homes have clothes hanging up on the outside wall to scare away demons and evil spirits at night.

VDP Village Development Program Cambodia Catch Up Schools Asian Hope