19, a Nose Ring, and a Puppy

Hey everyone!

Welcome back to the blog. Writing these posts has been a highlight for me because, as cheesy as it sounds, every day is an adventure here. It’s a job and a half just trying to pick what I want to share about. These past two weeks especially have left me with more than enough content.

We’ll start off with Ali B. Ali B is a three week old puppy and the newest addition to the team. My teammate Raya heard crying at the house next door and went over to find the puppy covered in fleas and ticks. The neighbor it to her and then told her to leave. We named it Alabaster after our team name (Ali B for short).

Our team was split when deciding whether or not to keep Ali. Some thought that she could be a distraction from ministry and as much as we all love her, we are here to serve the people. It was uncomfy for sure because there wasn’t a clear “right answer”. God used this to demonstrate the power of prayer and the peace that comes with it. Prayer immediately breaks down any tensions and there is so much peace in trusting him! Our host family has decided to keep her at the station and she will continue to live there when we move on to Thailand.

The radio station turned five! A group from Korea came to celebrate the anniversary which meant sleeping in the church for a few days. This group had the most happy and excited people I’ve ever met. Wow. It was so cool to be a part of yet another party at the radio station. We, of course, performed footloose yet again. We received an encore from an enthusiastic crowd to which we responded with the church clap.

The next day we travelled to Siem Reap for the weekend. I turned 19, visited Angkor Wat, and pierced my nose. We stayed in an Airbnb/hostel situation. We had real beds and a legit shower which was the nicest birthday gift.

This week during a house visit we impulsively decided to hike a mountain. Once we learned we could do it and get back in time for lunch we were in. It provided such a sweet opportunity to get to know the people we were visiting while letting them show us around their city and experience the goodness of Gods creation!

Teaching has continued to be a blessing. I’ve added some bingo and word searches into the mix. My students are so caring and wanting to learn. Some of them brought birthday gifts for me. And they got the cutest cake. Everyday I get to see them come a little bit more out of their shells and I’m getting to know their personalities more. It’s such an honor to be their teacher.

Continue to keep me and my team in your prayers! Pray that we can be a light to our students and to the people of this community!

-Sophie