Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
~Isaiah 40: 28-31
Eight weeks ago the Lord set before me one of the hardest tasks I’ve had to date. Of course one of the most rewarding as well, but we don’t tend to see the rewarding part often until it is over. For the last 2 and a half years, I have been serving and leading at WOL here working in a children’s home called COH. I am the house/staff manager of the home. My title is simple, but my job has many responsibilities. We are not an orphanage. We do not have a revolving door for kids and the children placed with us are not for adoption so it is truly a home. We very much treat it like home, like family. The head of the house is my best friend, Katherine. The kids have adopted her as their mom so that has become her new name “Mom”. Our daily goal is to create a structured and “normal” environment for these kids that have experienced more heartache than they should in their childhood. This is not an easy task! My other main responsibility is to train and manage our staff. We are legally only allowed a few “foreign” staff and the rest must be Khmer, which is great. I am glad to say for the first time in COH we are fully staffed. It is quite difficult to find Khmer staff that meet all the requirements we and the government have, not to mention one would have to live with 28 kids!
That being said, 7 weeks ago Katherine and her son went back to America for a couple of big family functions and to visit her home church. When she left, I took over the home and attempted to fill her shoes. I have done this many times before and every time I do, the Lord stretches me far beyond my abilities, this time was no different. Don’t you love that every time you feel like you’ve conquered an seemingly impossible mission, the Lord brings you a bigger, more insane mission? Of course He is holding you every step of the way, but when you start thinking in the flesh those mountains sure are high. Since we have a house full of new staff that are still in training and a 3 year old that needs 24 hour care, I actually had to move into COH for 7 weeks. The times I stayed before, I stayed the night a few days then went home for a few days but this time was full time.
Honestly I was really afraid! Katherine was trusting me with her home, with her kids! I seriously doubted my capabilities, and rightfully so! But in my fear I am always challenged to add God into the mix. The only way the kids and I survived was because God ordained it ha-ha! I shared a room with a 3 year old that cried most nights, woke up and cared for the girls that got some crazy stomach flu, broke up a fight at 5am!!!!!! between 2 boys who couldn’t share the bug farm they were building in their closet. I definitely put an end to that one. You don’t wake Bre up at 5am over bugs, that results in all the bugs dying. I stayed up late with the older kids who were studying for their end of the year exams, and spent 3 hours at a hospital trying to figure out why one boy kept throwing up and having terrible stomach pain, only to find out he didn’t eliminate for 7 days! We all survived. I couldn’t be more grateful for every experience I had there. Though extremely difficult at times, I wouldn’t change anything.
I bonded so deeply with the kids and the staff, which is really the whole point of our lives here, the people. I would give up my whole life for those kids again in a second. The Lord called Curtis and I to Cambodia to love His people and to show them who He is. Discipleship, meaningful relationships and investing in people is the only way to have an long term influence here. Keep pointing people to Jesus. Thank you for constantly praying for us and Cambodia.
Prayer Requests:
Curtis' pastor conference continuing in the Svey Reang province.
School funds for care of the the children.
For all of the believers in our village for a deeper commitment to Christ.
For Cambodia, that the government would see their people’s needs and pray for their salvation.
If you have any questions or comments concerning our life and ministries here please email us or write us on Facebook! We would love to share our hearts with you :)
God Bless You,
Breann