This summer I had the opportunity to return to Cambodia on STSM. After going to Cambodia last year I really wanted to go on STSM again and spend my last summer before post-grad life on missions. Being able to return to Cambodia was a huge blessing and I was able to see the same people and ministries that I saw last year and saw how faithful God is. 

This year we spent two weeks at TIM school, an English school in Siem Reap, compared to one from last year. The first week was very similar to last year where we did the VBS that we had prepared every day and played with the kids during break times. However, during the second week we did more of their “normal” day-to-day activities as we already did all of the crafts and skits we had prepared. During this week I was able to get a taste of what missionary Stanley does almost every day of the year and also saw how God is using this school to spread His love to the people around it. 

During the second week, I actually spent most of the days teaching the computer class which I was not expecting to do as TIM school had no computers last year. Before this, we had mostly used teaching English as a way to teach the kids about God but it was a really interesting experience trying to use computers to teach kids about God. Throughout the week we taught kids how to make presentations about different Bible stories and also taught them how to search things up on the internet. Before this week I had never thought of using computers to teach people about God but after teaching for a week I was able to see how God can use anything to do His work and how I can use what I am good at to try to teach people about God more.

I was also able to come to a better understanding of missionary Stanley’s vision for TIM school and missions in general as well. Missionary Stanley told our team that knowing the Bible is important for missions but it’s also useful for missionaries to have careers too and important for them to learn skills that they can bring which can be used to spread God’s word. I was able to see this directly through TIM school and missionary Stanley. Cambodia had a need for more schools and also had a desire to learn English so missionary Stanley catered to that need and created a school which can be used to teach English while also teaching about God. I was also able to see how the school is used as a vessel to teach those who normally wouldn’t hear God’s word as many parents said that they don’t like the fact that TIM school is a Christian school but they still send their kids because their kids’ English improves a lot while they attend.

In the end, God showed me His love for Cambodia and also showed me the many different tools that are being used for His work. I learned the importance of missions and learned to use the blessings that God gave me to bless others and use the skills and talents God gave me to bring others to God.