Hong Kong here we come...

Hey friends and family!

It's Saturday here, which means we leave for Hong Kong tomorrow! Crazy huh? Well this week has been...crazy beautiful--that's the only way to describe it.

Wednesday's performance was amazing. God answered so many prayers. The ballet piece was absolutely beautiful, and I have to admit, a dream of mine fulfilled. Who ever thought I'd be teaching ballet to a bunch of ex-prostitutes? God is so cool. And then Jenna's music group performed "O Lord you're beautiful" and I swear there was not a dry eye on our team. Ruth was so blessed by the whole thing too, which was such a blessing for us. And Libbie's hip hop group had so much fun--only showing how even hip hop can be used to glorify God.

On Friday we had our last church service. Jenna sang a song she had written before coming to Cambodia, and it was absolutely beautiful. My favorite line is, "the dark will not stand a chance against love." That could not be more true, and I think now we know it more than ever. At the end we had all the girls sign these pink t-shirts we bought, and we began saying our goodbyes. It was an hour-long frenzy of pictures and laughing and and hugging. We all felt so loved. One of the girls we have all grown especially fond of is Cham-nan. She really had a hard time. While others were signing my shirt, she just sat next to me and held my hand. I looked over a few minutes later and tears were just streaming down her face. Oh my gosh it makes me cry just thinking about it! I will always love that girl. I stole her away for a moment and took her outside. In my broken Khmer (if you can even call it that) I told her Jesus loves her and that I would miss her so much. I gave her my thumb ring...somehow not enough to express what I felt, but it was leaping out of my heart and i can only hope she felt it too.

Last night we went out as a team to celebrate our last "night" in Cambodia. Over fish n' chips, pizza, caesar salad, and frappacinos, (random but oh so delicious) we reflected on our time here. So much to process! Sometimes all you can do is laugh and enjoy being with each other, because it's either laugh or cry. But we really enjoyed spoiling ourselves, eating at our beloved "FCC" on the riverfront. After that we figured we'd continue on the spoiling theme....and got professional massages :) It was a blast. Awkward at times, lol, but so refreshing. It was only $8 for an hour. Amazing huh?

As we prepare to leave, there are so many mixed emotions. I think last week we really grieved leaving this place, but I feel that now God has given us a peace and excitement for what lies ahead at "home." We are excited to share what we've learned, and to use our newfound knowledge to continue in ministry. But we still have so many questions as well. Ones that I know will not disappear once our feet reach American soil :) How do we live more simply so that others can simply live? How do we raise awareness, and better yet, empathy and action for the cause of stopping human trafficking? How do we live out God's justice in the world? How do we love the unlovely? So many questions. I think I speak for all of us when I say Cambodia has taught us that we live in tension...constantly. Broken yet whole, Preparing and waiting for the bridegroom, in the world yet not of it, justified yet not fully sanctified, seeing glimpses of the Kingdom yet longing for all of it. Either way, I see a bright and beautiful future for all the girls on my team. I am so proud of them. Their hearts are full of so much love and wisdom, and I have full confidence that they will live out this "tension" back in the states with God's grace.

Well, I love all of you so much and truly can't wait to be in community with you again. Know that you have all been as much a part of this journey as we have. I can't even tell you how much your emails, encouragement, news articles, prayers, and love have meant to us. You have been so close to us while we've been here that I wouldn't be surprised if you literally felt our presence leave Cambodia! (I wouldn't wish jet lag on you, though!) Also know that our journey doesn't end when we get home. There will be many more stories and pictures to share (which many of you will patiently sit through, thank you!) and much more processing and "living out" to do. So thank you, in advance, for coming alongside us, for praying for us when we get discouraged by American apathy or materialism, for asking us questions, for sending money back to Daughters (wink wink), and for truly being our extended family. We love you all so much!

Wish us luck in Hong Kong, and we'll see you all soon!

In His Grip, Cassie