The Papaya Tree

If you haven’t seen the posts on Facebook, our team arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia 5 days ago! We had a wonderful couple of flights and have an incredible host that is so hospitable and willing to help. He told us several times not to hesitate if we have any questions. Such a relief to have someone so hospitable while we are in a foreign country! Many funny stories will be shared later, and of course there is an adventure (usually something quite shocking/crazy) around every corner! More to come on that.

God has put something on my heart, though. I want to share with you something he is teaching me.

One of the hosts that is showing us the ropes around the city was taking us to the center we are teaching at. He was showing us the various alley ways that we should take to get there, and of course, we didn’t exactly get the route down...at least not enough for us to get there again by ourselves. However, the first time he showed us the route, he pointed out a papaya tree. Papaya is his favorite fruit, and he grows it on his farm outside the city in his Province. He was telling us that once the fruit gets ripe, the taste is so, so sweet.

The next day came and there we were, a bunch of Americans walking through crazy streets (and by crazy, I actually mean terrifying), filled with motor bikes basically doing whatever they needed to do to get where they needed to go as fast as they could. This means driving on sidewalks, squeezing between cars (like barely fitting), abruptly stopping when a tuk tuk was in their way, let your imagination wander, and you probably aren’t far off. LIKE CRAZY, PEOPLE.

Anyway.

As we were making our way to the center we were teaching at, we had a general idea of where we were going, but we weren’t confident. We began walking down this alley way, and lo and behold, there it was! The papaya tree. We knew where we were now. We knew we would make it to the center.

Fast forward several hours. Same situation of not really knowing where we were, but having a general idea...and there it was! The papaya tree!

At this point, you probably think I’m a crazy person for talking about this little baby papaya tree, but here’s my point:

The papaya tree is stable. It is there. It has not moved. It guides us in the right direction. When it’s ripe, its fruit is sweet. Sound familiar?

Our God is stable, he does not change. Our God is omnipresent, he is ALWAYS there. Our God doesn’t move, the Rock won’t move and his love is strong. Our God guides us in the right direction, and when we are in the center of his will, trusting completely in Him, his love is sweet. His presence is sweet. He restores our souls. When we trust in Him, he is the vine and we are the branches. We can only bear fruit when we are in him. We can’t do this on our own.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Our God is SO good! He always shows up in time of need, and so even though each one of the team members is struggling in some way, we are praying and trusting in God’s goodness.  We are all so excited to be here, and so thankful for the grace God has shown us in people we’ve met, our accommodations, and safe travel. However, struggling is also a piece to this trip.

A friend encouraged me in saying that God does not define “good” as we do. Whatever happens, or however we feel, we know that it’s HIS hand at work, and it is GOOD, and we will find Him in it.

Thank you for praying for our team. Continue to pray for the health of each person, the unity of our team and building relationships, as well as increasing and improving our communication skills.

Can’t wait for some of the other team members to share some interesting adventures we’ve experienced in the last few days! Lots of love to you all.

Hannah