Livin' The Dream

Miss Amy! Miss Amy!

2012-01-02T21:14:00.000+07:00

It's true, I've been here all of 4.5 months, and I have yet to write about what I am actually doing. I know, go ahead and shake your finger at me, I can take it. There's too much to write in one blog though
so I'll break it up into multiples.

Please allow me to introduce the place where I spend the bulk of my time (drum roll please)….Hope International School! This is a new school, now in it's second year, and is quite small. There are about 30 students (preschool to grade seven), whom most of all have parents that are mis*ionaries in the area. If the school didn't exist, a lot of the families wouldn't be here, thus depriving service to a lot of Cambodians. So it's an honor for me to serve Cambodia in this way and an honor to teach these incredible kids. They are from Australia, Canada, America, Cambodia, the UK, and Korea. Talk about a good time!

I'm at Hope every week day until noon. I'm the school librarian, computer teacher, and PE coach. Who'da thunk it?? I also tutor a 16 year old for an hour each morning. He's technically home-schooled but comes to Hope to have a bit of structure. We have fun with it, he's a big goof.

When I'm at hope and I'm not teaching computers or PE, and I'm not tutoring, you can be sure that you'll find me in the library. This is a huge project! When I first came there were piles and piles of books on the floor, there were some books on shelves but in an unorganized fashion.

Now the library is organized and the books are on shelves in their proper category! My next goal is to label them all and alphabetize them, and then scan them into a library program so the kids can actually search for and check out books. I have two library sessions with classes each week, and that is definitely the rewarding part. When the kids get excited about reading I get all gooey inside knowing that I had something to do with it. Sometimes I laugh at myself when I realize how big of a nerd I've become…but I am totally okay with that.

Working at Hope is not at all what I excepted to be doing in Cambodia, and not something I expected to love so much either! It's a perfect fit. I should also mention that the staff at hope is awesome, not just the kids. We're small and family like and get a kick out of working together and poking fun at each other's nationalities.

Thank you God for sending me to Hope.

iDoubt. God.

2011-10-12T07:19:00.000+07:00

A few times in the past year or so I have prayed a prayer asking God that my life would be one of “the impossible”, a life that will leave me fallen on my face unless God comes through. Not a life where I make all of my own security nets and back up plans, never giving him a chance to come through for me. He says he can do more than I could ever imagine... so I thought, why not let him?

Well, easy to pray, but hard to live out.

A couple of weeks ago Cambodia celebrated a holiday and the school I work at was closed for the week. Most everyone I knew was out of town, including my housemate. At the same time Siem Reap had the worst flooding it’s seen since year 2000. I was home alone, unable to do much of anything or go much of anywhere, face first with my doubts, fears, and insecurities. I found myself right smack in the middle of that prayer.

Will God come through for me and provide all of the money I need to live here--when I can’t see it or even work for it myself? Does God actually have a plan for me here? Can he truly restore Cambodia? How will I be able do this, or how am I going to get that? So many details in my life had to come together or I’d be screwed...and I couldn’t make them happen on my own. I had so many thoughts that were just sopping wet with fear, doubt, and apparently fear of rejection as well (so God told me). If God didn’t come through for me, I would fall right on my face.

Also, since I had come to Cambodia I hadn’t been able to feel God. I knew he was there, but I couldn’t feel him. I was fed up, so I just let loose all of my questions on him. Then I started to really seek him and fight for our relationship. I already knew that my relationship with him wasn’t just about “feeling” his presence, but about knowing him and who he is. Now he was challenging me to live it out more than ever and to love him with my mind, not just my emotions. I realized that he had purposely drawn me into the “desert” so that I would seek him and find him in a place where I could face my fears without distractions and solely “feeling good”.

In this desert place, I brought all of my junk to the table and was as raw with God as possible. And he responded. It was like he put me on an operating table and began surgery, and I just let him. Sure I could get up and leave if I wanted...but I had prayed for this. And it hurt. Surgery hurts. Healing hurts. I didn’t think about that part when I asked to live this “impossible life”, but the surgery had to be done in order for me to live it. God took me to this place with him where he peeled away the fear, doubt, and rejection. What was the outcome? Freedom. Freedom from everything that was infecting me and keeping me from trusting him.

He told me that fear, doubt, and rejection never had a right to be there in the first place.

Whoa.

So I’m learning how to be content in any and every situation, because I have my God with me. Even if I can’t always feel him, I know him. He is enough, and I’m truly starting to believe it instead of just saying it. I know God at a deeper level than ever before...and I’m beginning to feel intimacy with him at a deeper level than ever before, because I trust him more than ever.

I KNOW that he’s never leaving me or giving up on me. I KNOW that God takes care of his name and that I don’t have to back him up in case he doesn’t come through. I KNOW that he will always come through, even though it often looks different than I think it should. I KNOW that he has all the riches in heaven and earth and that I don’t ever have to worry about living in want. I KNOW that he desires to give me good things and treat me like a princess, but that he is the one who sustains me, not the gifts that he gives. I KNOW that he, who is in me, is greater than he who is in the world. I KNOW that he loves me enough to not let me settle for second best, and he loves me enough to discipline me. I KNOW that he loves justice and that he sees and hates all of the wrongdoing in the world. I KNOW that he has strategies to the injustices of the world and I KNOW that he wins this thing.

God gave us the keys to his Kingdom. I want to fling open the doors, seek God, and find out how to bring those strategies to earth. I want to actually do the things that he says I can do. I don’t want to get to heaven thinking that I’m some hotshot and have him say, “I was giving you so much, why did you take so little?” I also don’t want him to say, “Yeah you did a lot, but I didn’t know you. Nor you me.”

You should know that since that surgery I’ve seen God show himself faithful to me in one way after the other. Including my finances, taking care of the poor and broken-hearted, and showing me what happens when I seek him and his Kingdom. I’m more confident in who I am in him and who God is than ever before in my life. I challenge you to trust him and let him show you just how good and faithful he is.

Know that we have an audience of ONE...

Rainy Season In Siem Reap

2011-09-14T08:08:00.008+07:00

Hey folks! So it’s rainy season here. Just thought I’d share a bit about what that’s like. I didn’t take as many pictures as I should have and the pictures that I do have just don’t do it justice as to what it’s actually like. I’ll try to paint the picture myself.

The engineering of the roads and the drainage systems (or lack thereof) just weren’t thought through so well so as a result you get flooded streets! There is a river that goes straight through town so the heart of Siem Reap is where the worst flooding is. My house is a little ways off so it’s not so bad out here, but in town, I’m talking like water past your knees! Can you imagine if you went into your town and all of the streets had turned into a river? It’s crazy! Some places it’s just like mid calf, some places higher than your knees. Last night I went to town with my housemate because we needed to go to the grocery store, otherwise we would have avoided that area completely. We had to take a tuktuk to town because there was no way I was driving my moto through water that high. Once we got there we walked through the street a bit. It was insane...but really very fun. So many funny things happened. The water’s pretty dirty so you can’t see anything. You have to walk slowly or you’ll definitely fall down because you don’t know when you’re going to step into a hole or off the curb. If a car drives by you get hit by the waves...and get even more wet.

It was a perfect time to do some people watching. There were so many crazy things going on around us that at one point we just stopped and watched to take it all in. There were people walking very cautiously everywhere, motos that were trying to be started after they’d been being filled with water, people tripping and shouting (including myself), sandbag walls being built, kids in cute little rain coats--it was a good time. I saw one girl on a dry place trying to roll up her skinny jeans, which I thought to be pointless, and then later saw her in the middle of the street with water almost up to her waist. I chuckled inside knowing that below that dirty water was her rolled up, now very wet, jeans.

Thankfully when it floods like this it doesn’t take too terribly long for the water to subside. I just pray it does soon because I’m pretty much trapped at home except for the few places around my house that I can walk to. Also, for all of the people that have water inside their homes and businesses!

Next time it rains and you pass a drain on the road, be thankful for it. Or better yet, come to Cambodia and go swimming!

These pictures are mostly from a couple weeks ago when it flooded and it wasn’t as bad then as it is now..but here you go!

The road on the left, the river on the right..they look the same.
This is last time it flooded, so not as deep as it is now.

People just decided to jump off the bridge and play in the water. The water usually isn't near this deep and there is normally a large embankment but now the water flooded over it.
So why not make a good thing out of a bad situation and jump in!

Do you see the guy in the tree?
They were even jumping from way up there!

Jump in the river party!

My housemate, Fiona! Going for a stroll when the water wasn't so high.

Two weeks and counting!

2011-08-02T20:38:00.002+07:00

Hey everyone! I’m thrilled to tell you that I leave for Cambodia in just under a month! I’m finding myself in one of those situations where I know that whatever it is I’m getting myself into is much bigger than me. I know that if I don’t do this I will be copping out on God and myself, as well as giving up on a chance of a lifetime to be used by him, to advance the Kingdom, and to live out what I was created for.

I was recently talking to a friend about how my decision in following God to Cambodia is no different than God leading someone to move to another state, job, school, or church. We are all created with different gifts and passions and have different opportunities to advance the Kingdom with our own unique genetic make-up. The common denominator is that we all were created to be loved by God. I am simply living out of that love and Cambodia just happens to be where God is leading me, and it all started with a dream and a desire. When we follow God wherever he leads, we are all taking part in something bigger than ourselves.

I am inviting you to share with me in what God is leading me to do, as many of you have invited me into your own lives. I am still not sure of the details of what I will be doing but I know that I am going to be working with good people that are apart of something great. I feel I’ll be placed wherever the “panic button” is going off. Some of the things that People for Care and Learning does and some things that I am sure I will have my hands in, in some capacity, are as follows:

-A children’s home

-A sustainable living farm

-Community centers where students can learn English and gain computer skills

-Outreach to many villages meeting needs such as church planting, building schools, digging wells, and supplying water filters, food, and clothing

-A coffee shop that helps fund the children’s home and also employs locals

-There is also an international school that I believe was mostly started to help provide education for missionary kids around the area instead of having to send them to boarding schools in neighboring countries

-On top of what PCL is already doing I have a huge heart for getting kids off the streets as well as a way out of being trafficked in the sex-trade industry

I am committing to spending one year in Cambodia to start and will see where it goes from there. I am estimating that it will cost about $550 dollars a month for me to live with a little room to spare enabling me to bless others. A few people have already committed to help fund me along the way but I am still short of my monthly goal. I am especially looking for monthly supporters, even $5 a week or $10 a month goes a long way in Cambodia! But of course any donation given will be received with much appreciation and humility. I am also in great need of a prayer covering!

I’m thankful for all of you in my life and can’t wait to share with you what great things God is doing and how free love is transforming lives and breaking chains!

Much love,

Amy Davidson

-Support Amy Financially Through PCL Online:

www.PeopleForCare.org/pages/WaysToHelp/contribute.cfm

Visit PCL’s website to make a monthly/one time donation.

Add my name in the slot asking for details.

-Or Send Checks By Mail:

People for Care & Learning

4235 TL Rogers St NE – Cleveland TN 37312

Make sure to write my name in the memo line.

I will wait for you.

2011-06-08T07:17:00.002+07:00

I came across this video on a friend's Facebook wall.

This beautiful woman so eloquently puts my thoughts

into words in a way I couldn't do on my own.

This video is the performance of her quite clever and amusing poem.

No more words are needed--just watch.

Next stop, Cambodia! New information.

2011-03-16T23:31:00.001+07:00

Hello again! I wrote back in January of my plans to move to Cambodia but at the time I didn’t have very much information to share with you. I know a little bit more now and I would like to fill you in!

As of now I am committing to one year and will be leaving mid August (right after my Birthday). I will be working with a woman that I met when I was in Cambodia and the organization she works with is called People For Care and Learning. They are based out of Cleveland, Tennessee so last month I drove up to meet with the director. I was blown away! He shared with me what PCL is all about in Cambodia and the heart behind what they do. After meeting with him I knew that I was in the right place!

It is still being worked out exactly what I will be doing once I arrive, which of course is to be expected seeing as it’s still five months out. What I do know for now is that I will be helping to teach English and will also be working in one of the villages helping to start a church there. PCL also has a Children’s Home, a Bible/Leadership school, a Learning Center, and a coffee shop. They have ministry in different villages as well as digging wells and distributing water filters in the villages, they host a youth group, and have even started a farm for sustainable living, as well as a few other projects.

As I mentioned in my last blog, what is heavy on my heart and what I desire to do in Cambodia is get kids off of the streets and into homes/orphanages as well as getting kids out of sex-trafficking. I am still praying about this and what it would look like. I feel like it’s a long-term goal though and I have no clue how to approach it. However, I am confident that God being as loving and compassionate as he is will let me know what his strategy is in all of this for his kids that he loves so much. All I know is I cannot sit by and do nothing.

It’s amazing how things have just been falling into place. It really shows me that God is all over this and that this is his desire that he is allowing me to partner in with him. At the same time though, I have been experiencing a lot of spiritual opposition. It’s been pretty hard at times but I know that it’s worth it, and I’m not even there yet! I really need people to be my cover in prayer and stand beside me, people to hold my arms up when I don’t have the strength. I am going alone, but I cannot do this alone! Will you partner with me? Will you just pray and ask God to bring me to your mind when I need prayer and commit to pray for me? When I was in Ukraine at the end of my rope on the World Race God showed me how powerful and effective the prayers of the Body of Christ are, so I know that I need you and I believe in your prayers.

Of course I also need help financially. It will cost me about $550 a month to live in Cambodia. That covers rent, food, transportation, and everyday expenses. I am also in need of a computer before I leave so if you are able to partner with me in anyway for that, it would be most helpful as well! There are a few different ways that you can support me financially which I have added below.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. As always, I would love to hear from any of you and chat over coffee or just shoot back some e-mails if you happen to be miles away.

Much love to you all,

Amy Davidson
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WAYS TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORT AMY:

Half Marathon Sponsor: http://www.active.com/donate/pclrunforhope/amydavidson

I am running in a half marathon on April 30^th as a fundraiser to help raise support to send me to Cambodia. If you would like to sponsor me as I run you can visit the website above. *Enter total amount, not per mile. You will only be charged once, not once per mile.

Support through PCL online: http://www.peopleforcare.org/pages/WaysToHelp/contribute.cfm

You can visit PCL’s website to make a monthly or one time donation via PayPal, just make sure to add my name in the slot that asks for comments or details.

Send checks by mail: People for Care & Learning – 4235 TL Rogers St NE – Cleveland TN 37312

You can mail a check to the address above with my name in the memo line.

**I would love to have monthly supporters as I will need a certain amount per month to live, even $10 a month would help! Of course though any way and any amount that you are able to donate is very much appreciated!!

Change of plans! "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

2011-01-17T05:50:00.002+07:00

“I’m in love, I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it!” – I feel like Buddy in the movie, Elf. I’m giddy and I feel like my heart might just beat itself right on out of my chest. I lay in bed at night trying to fall asleep while thinking about it. I wake up smiling because I remember. I can’t stop thanking my Lord!

As you know I had plans to attend school at the G42 Leadership Academy in Spain this April. My main reasons for wanting to go to this school in particular were because of the high focus they have on helping their students find their vision and then helping them with the follow through of actually doing it. Also a lot of what attracted me to this school was just to learn, to be equipped for future missions and ministry work. Well, as a total surprise to me, God’s been doing a lot of this on his own. I now feel that my reasons for going to G42 are nullified.

A few weeks ago I spent some time with God, just dreaming, without limits. Honestly this was a total God thing because I didn’t even know I was doing this until I realized what I had dreamed up. I think I was a little scared of doing this on my own because then I would have to actually do whatever it was that I dreamed--risky business! I let God lead me in my thinking and I thought about what I would really want to do, what really makes my heart beat, what I really care for. After all, he’s the one that says he gives us the desires of our heart. We might as well know what they are then, right? Just thinking about it being a possibility someday was an adventure that already made me feel more alive.

I decided that I would want to open orphanages for kids that are on the streets with no home, family, or identity. I would want to free kids that are being trafficked in the horrific, torturous, and undignified sex-trade. I thought about these things and then just dismissed them for the time because I had plans of going to G42. Also, the idea of following through was a bit terrifying to me. Then I got caught off guard by sobbing in my car for nearly 45 minutes for kids like this all over the world and praying for them, begging God that if he wouldn’t send me then to send somebody(s) to take care of them. God challenged me with, “Why not you? You can do it.” Just what I needed to hear! I also found myself thinking about Cambodia nearly all of the time. Yep, that’s right folks. Cambodia. When I was on the World Race I spent two months there. It truly is a special place and I feel that I am catching God’s heartbeat for the nation. My love for Cambodia and for kids like this and my deep longing to see the Kingdom of God spread all over the earth was pounding on my heart so intensely that I couldn’t resist it any longer or I would have split right open. So what did I do? I gave in. You got me, God!

I took the next step and I contacted an amazing woman that I met when I was in Cambodia who works for an organization called PCL (People for Care and Learning). I will be moving to work with her for a year, after that it is indefinite. I wanted to contact you about my change of plans as quickly as possible, but seeing as this has all happened so abruptly all of the details are not yet worked out. Once I have more information and do get more of the details worked out I will let you know.

It’s amazing how things have just fallen into place. I feel like I’m living in my dream world, but then again I guess I am! I am aware that this might get pretty tough at times, but I believe it’s worth it. For that reason I hope that you will partner with me. I most definitely need a strong cover of prayer on this one!! I am so excited and am looking forward to sharing more with you about this soon! If you have any questions please know that I would love to talk with you about this!

Much love to all of you,

Amy Davidson

Today is now, not tomorrow or yesterday.

2010-12-29T23:54:00.002+07:00

For years and years now I have had aspirations of doing missions. My heart beats for so many causes and there is so much that I want to do in spreading the Kingdom of God. This is not the blog for talking about that though, I’ll write more on that in a later blog. This blog is about something that God has been challenging me with now.

It dawned on me today that my dreams are going to be a bit harder than I thought. Actually, I don’t think I’ve really put a whole lot of thought into how hard they are going to be and how hard it is going to be on me. I’ve said it before though and I’ll say it again--I am okay with hard! Hard is worth it. But I think God has been trying to prepare me for what is to come and is helping me to really take everything in, taking nothing for granted, appreciating every-single-little-thing. Leaving my family and home for an indefinite amount of time is not something that I can expect to not take a toll on me emotionally. Of course I have God and his grace to do such things, but it would be incorrect of me to say that I will not miss my family, friends, and home. I am trying to practice being a little bit more realistic. I value my positivity greatly, but I feel that there is a sense of reality that I should grasp as well and my positivity sometimes makes that difficult.

God has been challenging me to be thankful for everything, for every single second, for every single day, for every single relationship. Things that in the past I have never thought to be thankful for, I am now overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for, big and small. I realize that too often I wish myself away, no matter where I am, always dreaming of something bigger and better. How sorry I am for thinking such things. Don’t get me wrong though, I am definitely an advocate for dreaming! One of my favorite quotes is “When your memories are greater than your dreams, you are already beginning to die.” (Kris Vallatton) There is a difference though of dreaming and desiring to walk in who God made you to be not settling for second best, and wishing yourself away from present circumstances not being thankful for what you are given in the now.

For the past few weeks I have woken up declaring over the day that it does in fact have purpose and have been thanking God for it. I believe that in saying this every day, it was the start to my being aware of how powerful each day really is. How foolish of me to wish myself away from where I presently am. How would I ever learn? How would I ever grow? How would I ever have new experiences? In thinking this how could I expect that I wouldn’t miss what was right in front of my nose? I wonder how many times I have missed what was in front of me because I have dreamed myself away from the present.

I am thankful for today. Today may be hard, it may hold things that I never want to return to, it may be painful and uncomfortable…but it will be to my advantage. Tomorrow will come with something different than today, but today is today and it will never be again. No longer will I waste another day dreaming that I was doing something else or dreaming that I was somewhere else instead of where I am now. I will either make it different in that day, or I will learn from the way that it is. “Change what you can, accept what you can’t”. I’ve never really known how I felt about that quote. I’m still not sure I know. I like the “change what you can” part, but the “accept what you can’t” part? I don’t know about that. See, this is the realist part of me that I am trying to work on--because I know it’s right. You can’t change everything.

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13) I’ve been thinking about this verse a lot lately. I definitely identify with it. I also feel like this is what God is doing in me, and I am learning. No matter what my situation is, no matter what my day may hold, I want to be content. I’m not fully there yet, I have a lot to learn, but I’m trying.

If you’re reading this I want to challenge you, please, value what you have in front of you, value where you are in life, and value who is at your side. Things will never again be exactly as they are now…to your advantage.

A New Chapter In My Book. Ba da bing!

2010-12-03T11:24:00.005+07:00

As I’m sure you know by now I am home from the World Race, going on about three months now. It sure is good to be home! I’ll be honest though, it has been and is still a hard transition. At times I miss it so terribly that it hurts. Going on the World Race was in one word, phenomenal, and undoubtedly changed me forever. I want to share a little bit with you of how the trip affected me and what’s now going on in my heart. I could talk for days about this so I will try to be concise.

I consider the opportunity that I was given to travel the world this past year a huge honor that has left me with an even greater responsibility. There are things that are going on in this world that are just not okay that I cannot and will not leave be. I have decided to respond to the call for help that I heard all over the earth in those eleven months. “As citizens of Heaven, we inhabit the earth for the purpose of influencing it with the culture and values of Heaven and bringing it under the government of the King of Heaven…so that in the end the earth would look just like Heaven.” –Myles Munroe of Kingdom Principles.

There are sex slaves in Thailand that are scared and trapped and need a way out. There are orphans in Guatemala that have been kicked out of orphanages and onto the streets because no one wants to care for them anymore. There are youth in Nicaragua that realize they were meant for more than poverty and want someone to lead them. There is a generation in Cambodia that is recovering from a mass genocide that ended only 30 years ago aiming to kill all who were educated, now needing help to restore the nation. There are children in Africa who are starving and their parents or caretakers are not even aware of their malnourished state because it has become so normal. There are people in my own hometown that need to be fed and cared for. The list goes on and on. When you look at the grand scheme of things it is overwhelming. Rather than getting overwhelmed and giving up, I am willing to spend my whole life fighting to free just one person from the sex trade, or to give just one orphan a home-whatever the need may be, I am in. To me, those people are valuable and worth fighting for.

I have a vision to see my generation change the world and bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth. I have made the decision to lay down my life for this, to answer that call. I want to mobilize my generation into making a difference. Realistically, I can hardly make a dent into the situations on my own. Realistically, I need help. There are people that are waking up to this call for help and the numbers of those answering are rapidly growing larger and larger. As new groups of young people become aware of the need for help in the world they will need to be led. I want to be one of those people that leads them. God spoke to me when I came home from the race saying that I was to lead armies. I don’t know what I’m doing! I need help.

In April I will be attending a school called the G42 (Generation 42) Leadership Academy in Mijas, Spain. I view this school as further equipping me in my vision to mobilize my generation in advancing the Kingdom and changing this place. G42 is a six-month school that costs $1,000 per month. That $6,000 covers housing, community meals, utilities, coursework, textbooks, teaching from internationally-renown leaders and disciplers, as well as some practicum ministry costs. I am also in need of a laptop (which is required for classes). I am trying to pull together some of the money on my own but I absolutely cannot pay for the entirety of tuition and a computer without help. I have no doubt that God will provide and do whatever it takes for me to get to this school and gain the training for what he is calling me to do. What I am asking for is your partnership in that. Will you pray and ask God if you are to help support me financially in this next chapter of my life? I truly and humbly believe it is an investment in the Kingdom.

In order to donate online you will need to go to www.g42leadershipacademy.org. Click on the “Donate” tab at the top right and then click on “Intern Support”. Once you are farther along in the process there will be a place for you to enter my name. If you have any questions about this school or my decision in going please please please feel free to talk to me about it or e-mail me at amydavidson7@gmail.com. If you would like to read more about my travels on the World Race check out those blogs at www.amydavidson.theworldrace.org.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read this. To all of you who have stood beside me in the past and continue to stand beside me now and in the days to come, there are no words.

Much love!