so let me explain to you, capturing within sentences and descriptions, to the best of my ability what i learnt during my time in cambodia.
i spent eight days and seven nights in phnom penh with a team of six others: graham, angela, charlainne, sha, euling and mitch. we were sent from southcity church as a missions team in january. we went because our church has partnered with an incredible organisation called transform cambodia and therefore sponsors two centres in phnom penh with one hundred children in each centre. transform cambodia ultimately takes kids off the street to provide them with education, food, teach them about the gospel of jesus christ and give each child a hope in a bright future.
in the late 1970s, the khmer rouge blazed through cambodia with a regime so twisted that it ended in a genocide that wiped out a third of the country’s population. pol pot, the leader of the khmer rouge, handed out terrible and evil punishments to all who even slightly sat on the edge of his paranoia. from these ashes, cambodia is trying to recover and catch up with the rest of the world - a world that turned a blind eye to the cruelty of the khmer rouge and left cambodia to suffer in silence.
despite her treacherous past, cambodia is a country in which i felt safe, peaceful and so happy to be in. the culture of cambodia is love and the feeling of community is tremendous. the country is still pure at heart due to its lack of first world development and as a result, i felt so much more connected in with what God was doing in this part of the world and spotlessly joyous within its borders. the staff and children made my trip greatly worth going. with open arms they greeted us and with sad eyes they farewelled us. i had no idea upon stepping into cambodia that my life would be changed forever by these beautiful people. with so little, they live full lives. the children are so playfully free yet mature in their ways. the most amazing thing is that they have captured the true meaning of loving God and living for Him, even though sometimes it’s the only thing they really know how to do. i learnt so much from the children, let alone the staff. the staff are all locals with hectic timetables and dreams and goals of their own but the cause of transform cambodia and serving God with excellence remains the centre of their lives.
every child that goes through a transform centre receives education to see them through to employment, healthy food daily and enough love fit to burst the hearts of all who visit.
at the end of my second day in cambodia, i knew that it would be so incredibly hard for me to leave so soon. i felt so at home in that foreign land. i still feel as though i could live there for a year just working for transform cambodia.
i know that that wasn’t my last trip there. i left my heart in cambodia and i’m going to have to go back to fetch it sooner or later.
though i feel that even if i do, it will never truly leave. 

i’m really so sorry for not posting! so much stuff has been happening!
1. happy new year - yep… happy new year. it’s been that long.
2. twenty twelve is going to be an amazing year! God is already doing amazing things in prep of MORE amazing things to come.
3. summercamp twenty twelve was a blast and three quarters!
4. cambodia trip. words cannot describe how incredible that trip was.
5. forty two days of cardio started yesterday. also joining a proper gym.
6. many various other bits and bobs of events and moments along the way…
in saying all these things, i will write to explain more about what my life has been looking like since january the first of this year. also planning to accompany explanations with images and sounds. hope all is well, dear followers!
and in other news, i could do with a raspberry fanta right about now.