By: Caleb Turner
My whole life, I have wanted to go on a mission trip, so naturally, I assumed that it would never happen. I was wrong, and it turned out that God had a plan for me to go to Cambodia in July of 2017. This trip taught me so much about love and trusting my heavenly father, and I can honestly say it was the most fulfilling week of my life.
What is your favorite memory?
Since I have been home, I have been asked multiple times the question, “What is your favorite memory?”. This however, is an incredibly difficult question to answer, due to the fact that that this entire journey was one big, beautiful moment in my life. Nevertheless, my obvious conclusion to this question is, people. These beautiful Cambodian people had so much less than I do, yet they beamed with the Joy of the Lord. The orphans showed me real love that did not discriminate, and did not care about who I had been in the past. Their hearts burned for Jesus, and they didn’t care who heard them singing His praise. I will never forget these awesome children of God.
What was the hardest part?
On a different note, I remember hearing various concerns or worries, but for me I could not find a single fault in this trip. Every second in Cambodia seemed as if I was living in heaven without worry, anger, fear, or anything else that normally plagues my life. It may sound cliche, sappy, or whatever, but the truth is that the only difficult part of this experience was leaving. From the moment I awoke on our final day overseas a sadness took hold of me. I knew that later on I would be saying goodbye to the people and place I had come to love. Many tears were shed, and it took me over a week to feel somewhat content with my life in Georgia. Fortunately, I had an amazing team of God loving people that became my family, and they encouraged me and motivated me to stay in touch with themselves, and our friends in Cambodia.
What’s next for you with Cambodia?
This desire to maintain contact with friends led me to create a Facebook in order to communicate with them. Not only that, but I have prayed daily since our return, for all the people I came to know. I pray that God will encourage, bless, and protect these beloved Christ followers in Cambodia. Yet, this is not the only request I have made to my King. Every week, I implore Him to allow me to revisit my family across the globe, and I know He hears me. Only time will tell if God has planned another life-changing adventure for me, in Cambodia.
