Welcome to Chhuk, Cambodia. Our home for the majority of the month of November. November is traditionally a month of Thanksgiving, and this is the only thing that was traditional about this November. No turkey, no football, no family, no pie, but a happy Thanksgiving nonetheless. Happy belated Thanksgiving to all of you.
A Season of Thanksgiving
Personally, this month has been crazy, from uncertainties and change back in the United States. To spending a major holiday so far from home. Nonetheless, this season has been incredibly sick (good). We have had the opportunity to do so much and see so much of God’s beautiful creation this month. Which leads me to the first thing I am thankful for this season. The Cambodian country and it’s people. We have been welcomed in like family by so many here and I cannot express how thankful I am for each and every person here who have made us feel at home. There are so many people (and especially kids) here who are just filled to the brim with the joy of the Lord, and they have been pouring into us even more than we have to them. Also, the country of Cambodia is absolutely breathtaking. We had the opportunity to go to the gulf of Thailand for Thanksgiving and wow it was incredible. We have also started a team Selah tradition of watching the sunset together while listening to country music (don’t ask me why, because I’m not sure). Seeing the sunset every day has been such a reminder of the joy it is to live in God’s amazing creation. I am also so incredibly thankful for all of my friends and family who have been so supportive of me. From praying for me, to sending encouragement, to the insane financial support that so many graciously gave, I have been so blessed. Thank you all for being a part of my life, and supporting me in the ways that you have. Nothing I have done would be possible without God’s grace and your support. I am also thankful that I have been able to teach English in a village this month. I have been able to build relationships with the kids, pray over them, and show the joy of the Lord to those here in rural Cambodia.
Whoa, the Lords Moving
Holy guacamole, this season of my life has been so sweet to see the Lord moving. First some backstory, the Lord put Psalm 99 (specifically verse 4) on my heart about a month ago. I struggled and battled it and tried to make it make sense for me and my life, but ultimately decided the lord would show me in his timing. Sure enough, it slipped from my mind as I began to dive into other parts of scripture. Now, as thanksgiving rolled around, I was reminded again of Psalm 100, a Psalm of Thanksgiving. What comes right before it? Psalm 99. The Lord then proceeded to show me so much of Psalm 99 was speaking over the last season of my life, and so much perspective about how things don’t make sense on my timeline, but only the Lords. I had been reading Exodus and 2 Samuel, both of which were referenced. Not to mention my biggest revelation of the passage. We aren’t the judge, it’s not up to us to establish right and wrong or try to decide these things for ourselves. It is the Lord who is the ultimate judge on this earth and the next. He has a plan for us, and our loved ones. All of this mostly just to say, be patient and allow the Lord to work, because it’s all for you’re good, and you’ll see in due time.
Now, I’ll dive into the power of Psalms 100, because it is the primary subject of this blog after all. A Psalm of Thanksgiving! Which is exactly what this season has been! The psalm is short, so I have put the whole thing below (in ESV of course), broken up by how it applies to me, and the cool things the Lord has been doing through it:
1 “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!”
I am, by nature, a fairly noisy person. Most know me to be very joyful as well. The Lord showed me this month another place that I could do this! I started to learn the guitar! And while I am far from reaching the level that people such as my brother Wyatt is at, I am learning. The cool part about this is that it is another way that I can glorify the Lord, and as such the first song I learned was “I will rise” by Chris Tomlin, which just happens to be from the first concert I went to many many years ago (thanks mom and dad).
2 “Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!”
Worship of the father has always been my favorite part of camps, church, and much of my life thus far. This has not failed to extend into even this season of life. This hasn’t looked like a full stage of instruments, or a hymn book, but worshiping with a speaker, one guitar, or just singing worship by myself while doing push-ups on a dirty school floor. These are different than I’m used to, but just as beautiful. The lord is showing me so many avenues to worship him, and I’m so thankful for it. Not to mention now that it is December, it is acceptable to listen to Christmas music, which is packed full of worshiping the Lord.
3 “Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
There have definitely been times recently that I have needed this reminder. To know that I am loved by the father. Not only am I loved by the father, but so is my family, those there in Cambodia, and all those who do not yet know Christ. HOW COOL IS THAT. The Lord loves us all, we are his, and we get to trot around on his pasture. I have also grown in knowledge of sheep, as a kid on my team, Reid, has sheep at home. So I have benefited from learning weird sheep facts, both those that help with biblical understanding, and those that don’t. Such as this weeks sheep fact from Reid, that if you stick your hands under their wool your hands will become insanely soft because they’re covered in melanin oil. I have also felt more like a sheep this month as I grew out my beard for no shave November (stay tuned for pictures on Instagram / Facebook of me with a beard).
4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!”
In this season I have learned a lot about prayer. I’ve learned about the true beauty of adoration and how important it is to just sit in awe of the father, and thank him for all that he has done. He has been so good to us with his eternal love and kindness, and to sit and truly take that all in and admire him is so sweet.
5 “For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.”
This is my favorite verse out of the 5. The Lord loves me, and he will forever. No matter what sin previously defined me, he loves me and is good to me. This is the same for the generation before and after me. He is good to everyone I know and love. He is good to all of these kids I’m meeting and teaching in Cambodia. He is good in the fun times. He is good in the hard times. He is good always.
Bonus Content
- First and foremost, I would love to be praying for all of you so please feel free to send me them to any of my social media platforms, my phone number, or my email ([email protected]). In addition I would love your prayers. Please be praying for my families health and safety as we are all spread out, as well as my uncles health. Prayers for my team and I here in Cambodia are also always appreciated. Prayer is so powerful, and the Lord can do so much!
- Second, this is my formal apology for whiffing on my goal to blog once a week. I have tried to keep all of you back in the United States as updated as possible, but have fallen short on this front. I commit to being more diligent on this front for the remainder of my race.
- Third, the World Race have changed their minds again! My blog moving forward will be at derekeckhart.theworldrace.org (the original one). Thank the Lord because Missional Life is awful! Thank you all for continuing to read these blogs throughout the change. I am also looking at putting out a monthly newsletter for a more general update (stay tuned).
- Last but not least, I apologize if this blog appears scatterbrained, it is. I guess that’s what I get for missing a month worth of blogging. And as always mom, love you and sorry for the grammar mistakes.
