Hello family and friends,
Our squad finally made it to Cambodia after many days of travel. We flew into the capital, Phnom Penh, and stayed there for a couple days getting adjusted to everything. We are 11 hours ahead of the east coast so it took some time to get rid of our jet lag.
Wow, what an amazing country! I have really enjoyed just walking around and taking everything in, the sights, sounds, and smells are so different. It still feels so unreal that I am in another country half way around the world. The people are so kind and their food is delicious. This morning, we had noodles for breakfast which was a great start to the day for me. The language barrier is frustrating at times wishing I could engage people better however, it’s amazing how we can communicate without words. Many people have already tried to talk to me in Khmer, the Cambodian language, because I look Cambodian to them and I say sorry. Haha.
On Tuesday, a group of us were able to visit a former genocide prison, now a museum, and the killing fields in which many Cambodians were killed roughly 50 years ago in a civil war. It was a very somber experience and a brutal reminder of how sin corrupts the heart of man. If you would like to read more about it, I highly recommend you read my friend Josh Ockrin’s blog titled, “Cambodia’s Harsh Reality” because he did a really good job explaining the history and experience.
On Thursday, our squad took a bus to another city about five hours away called Siem Reap and this is the main area where we will be doing ministry. My team and I will will be doing a lot of evangelism and loving on the people in this city with a ministry called New Day New Life. To be honest, we are learning more in detail about what exactly our ministry will look like later today so I won’t be able to share more in depth until my next blog. I ask that you would be praying for my whole squad and team that our hearts would be ready and prepared and to trust in the Lord as we begin our ministries.
Last thing, the World Race is switching donation and blog platforms so there will be a new blog website that we all will be using soon. I’m not exactly sure how it works yet but here is a link to it:
https://missional.life/nathaniel-harding
That was an unbelievably horrible time in their history. I remember when that was finally brought out on the nighttime news. Glad you were shown this. Have to get you the book “The Killing Fields”. I just watched a YouTube video of Siem Reap -street view video of what the city is like today. As my eyes followed I was praying for you and your teammates—- thinking these are the streets, businesses that you guys will be encountering the lost and the broken. May the Lord point you to them and give you the words that their hearts need to hear.
Nate! The adventure for Jesus kicks into high gear. Like Becky, I remember when the American press finally started to give the genocide their full coverage when I was young. It is so encouraging to think that you and your squad are one small part in God’s redemptive plan to win hearts to him. A part of the world that seemed so forsaken 40 years ago….but Yahweh wasn’t finished with the people of Cambodia. Love you! May the Holy Spirit light your heart up each day as you witness!
It is so cool to me that not only are you are in a new country with an unfamiliar language and culture, but you are there with a group of people you only met a couple of months ago! God is so good that he brought you to America when you were a child and has now called you to return to Asia and be a force for him. Jane and I are praying for you!
Thankful you guys are settling in to life in Cambodia! I’ll be praying for you all as God uses you as His hands and feet among these precious people!