We board our plane to Phnom
Penh in twenty minutes. And just like that the greatest adventure of my life
begins. I still am not even completely
positive as to how the process of becoming a student missionary began. It likely
started as a mere possibility of an idea,
a few pieces of redundant paperwork here, a couple of meetings there, and
before I knew it, I had submerged so far in to the “idea” that my passport was
in hand and my plane tickets to Phnom Penh had been booked. There was unquestionably
no turning back now. With each step of
the process I did not realize the magnitude of what all the meetings and
paperwork would eventually add up to. Now, at the end of the beginning, (the
hours and hours of planning and waiting) I realize.
I clearly remember the first time I
too confidently waltzed into the SM office and sat down with Jeanne, our SM
coordinator. “Jeanne,” I said, “I will take any call that does not, ABSOLUTELY
DOES NOT require me to teach.” I actually did believe myself for quite awhile…and
then God punched me in the face. Interesting how things work out.
In actuality I was not even slightly
interested in leaving the perimeters of my lovely and mostly comfortable home
country; I initially applied to a taskforce position as a dean, managed to land
myself pretty far into process, to only find out that I was one year too young.
Although fairly frustrating, I HAD to believe that God had different plans in
store. Cambodia, teaching high-school math and English in Cambodia, is so far
off from my initial plan that it MUST BE a God thing.
Throughout the year one of my most
amazing friends, Alexandria Drury, had also been furiously searching for the
“right” call. Her application experience was somewhat similar to mine; her
heart had originally been set in a completely different direction. I remember
calling Alex shortly before hearing a yes or no on the taskforce position, “If
God closes this door, I’m going to take it as a sign that we are supposed to
look elsewhere, together.” She completely agreed, and after that call I instantaneously
felt like God was leading me in a different direction, and quite honestly I was
scared to absolute death about the
new feeling He was placing deep inside of me, so deep it frightened me to
search for it.
After my original let down from the
taskforce position, I called Alex again, and a whole new set of emotions flew
in, poured in, almost overwhelmingly in only the good sense of the word. We
were going TOGETHER and it felt oh so exciting, but oh so incredibly
intimidating. Now we just had to figure out where.
The only problem was that Alex and
my original wants were polar opposites. I had somewhat selfishly wanted an “easy
out” with many comforts of home, and Alex wanted a thatch hut in the middle of
the desolate jungle, or so it felt. We talked about the islands, Pohnpei, Saipan,
we even pondered Thailand…and after a few weeks, seemingly out of nowhere,
Cambodia was proposed. We both, oddly enough in our indecisiveness, agreed
within literal minutes that this was where we were being called to. We shot an
email to the director in Cambodia right then and within two days we were told
that we were wanted.
This entire pre-SM experience has already been a test of patience and perseverance and I can already tell that we have been changed for the better.
I can say with entire confidence, God wanted us here.
Right now I cannot tell you why, but wholeheartedly I believe that He brought
us here. I not only want to believe that, I NEED to.
-Amber
