Asian Adventures

I have been wondering for some time about whether or not I would go to Asia this year. Then an American friend, Linda, wrote to ask if I would consider accompanying her on a trip to Myanmar. A mutual friend from Myanmar, David Joy, had been asking us to come for some time, to share stories and encourage Christians in his city, Yangon. Linda really  wanted to go.

I spent some time investigating options and praying about the idea. It seemed entirely possible that I could link a trip to Myanmar with a trip to Cambodia - if I was going to Cambodia, that is. And if I could go for at least three weeks. The more I considered the idea, the more excited I felt about it. When I asked Craig, Julie and Kate what they thought about the idea of me disappearing off to Asia for almost a month, when we had just moved and were still in the throes of unpacking, I was rather surprised to find them entirely supportive and certain that it was the right thing.

A flurry of emails and Facebook discussions ensued, and I am now delighted to be able to say that I am going to Yangon, Myanmar, for a week. From there I fly to Siem Reap to see my friend Narith and his wife Mealea - and finally, on my 4th trip to Cambodia, to see the famous World Heritage site of Angkor Wat. And then I spend almost two weeks with the XP Missions team in Phnom Penh. I will travel with them to Poipet, to see how the projects there are progressing, and hopefully to see some of the street-children I met and shared about on previous occasions. Finally, I will travel back to Pattaya, Thailand, to see friends from our first trip to Asia, Operation Extreme Love 2012.

I am still asking God questions about the 'why' of these Asia trips, but I am very happy just to come along - as long as He knows why, this is enough, isn't it?

I do have some thoughts though:
* My heart has been engaged with Cambodia and it won't let go, and there are so many specific people who matter to me there; it is good to keep and develop the connections.
* I have long cared about children who are sexually abused and want to play a part, however small, in stopping it.
* I have grown to love and respect the full-time missionaries, and bringing them some support, encouragement and blessing means a lot to me.
* I am researching and writing - there is a book coming I think; I'm not sure when, but it is in process.
* I am better equipped to be a voice when I know from experience what I am talking about, and I have more authority and credibility when people know that I have been 'there'.
* The foundation of all the above remains the idea Patrica King communicated with the title of her book 'The Light Belongs in the Darkness'. My perspective changed the day I saw that book (didn't even need to read it!!!) and it has really affected how I live my life as a Christian.