Yesterday we traveled to Akron, Pennsylvania for meetings at the MCC US office and spent the night at the Welcoming Place. We invited MCC Cambodia alumni in the area to meet us in the evening for a ‘make our own Khmer meal’. Many alumni are actually in Cambodia right now for a MCC International Programs Leadership meeting (scheduled long after we planned our home leave due to COVID-19 disruptions at other locations) and others are unavailable during this busy time of the year. But we still had a good group join us and it was a great time of fellowship.

Ming Ramy packaged salted fish, prahok, kroeung paste, and other seasonings for us to bring in order to make the meal authentic. Sadly, after bringing these treasures all the way across the world, I forgot the kroeung paste in my Mom’s freezer. We were able to make due with the other seasonings and mashing some lemongrass from a local shop. But I did feel a bit sad to have forgotten the kroeung.

Our girls had a wonderful time with the Schellenbuhrman children. Charlotte has always gotten along well with Toby but we have only known Clara as a baby and it was fun to get to know her as a big girl. Charlotte reading to her was super cute.

The alumni are all wonderful and amazing people. We always enjoy their company and count many of them as dear friends. But there is another reason that we wanted to made a point to meet up with them.

The 12th chapter of Hebrews with…

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”

Hebrews 12:1

For us, the MCC alumni are core witnesses to our ministry in Cambodia. We are harvesting what they planted, carrying on work that they nurtured, and – ourselves – planting seeds that others will harvest. Every time I train new volunteers I read Hebrews 12:1 and tell them that ‘the race is not a sprint or even a marathon. It is a relay.’ We are accountable to those who came before us, our witnesses to a life of faith, just as we will have a duty to support those who will come after us.

Many volunteers come in full of enthusiasm, ready to sprint, but then struggle when they face the inevitable struggles and stumbling blocks. Some try to pace themselves, to carry the ministry on their own shoulders as best they can but, of course, the ministry struggles when they leave. But we’re not alone and it’s not our ministry, we have been sent to harvest where we didn’t plant; others had already done the work. In the same way, we plant what we will not harvest. It can be frustrating, discouraging, to not directly see the fruits of our labor but we have faith that God will weave the threads together. So time with our alumni is precious and offers a rare opportunity to see the bigger picture beyond our own experience.