Hello, friends!
When Megan and I signed up to lead the trip to Cambodia,
we knew that we would be doing something that we’d never done before. There
were going to be all sorts of new experiences and different contexts. What I
wasn’t expecting was to end up living The Real World.
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| One of MANY Team selfies |
The Real World was maybe the first ever real reality
show. Airing on MTV since 1992, this bad boy pretty much started the reality TV
genre (for better or worse). The basic premise of the show is that a bunch of
strangers are thrown into a house together to live and work in the same space.
Since I grew up without cable, I’ve never actually seen the Real World but
Megan assures me that we were living it.
Living together with folk is hard work! There are matters
of simple logistics like there being more people than bathrooms. You have
personality differences in terms of who is an extrovert and who needs alone
time (which was not easy to get). There were routine differences as well
between your early risers and your night owls. We had some cross cultural
navigating to do as well, not just with the Khmer people but also on our team
as we had 2 Asian Americans and one multi-racial Hispanic student. We also had
to throw in the new experiences of being in a new country together and Jesus
messing with all of us in different ways.
But you know what? It was actually pretty great. The
whole team was great. There was some drama and a few conflicts but that was to
be expected. What we saw much more was a group of people being united by a
common goal and seeking Jesus together. This was a group that, for the most
part, pursued love instead of revenge and put the group above their own stuff.
I know that lasting friendships were built during that month, which was a joy
to see.
Maybe the Real World isn’t quite the perfect analogy. In
some ways, it resembled a family too. Megan and I were definitely the mommy and
daddy, which had its perks and flat sides. On the one hand, we had our own
room, which was a huge blessing, especially since we were the first ones awake
(Meg) and the last ones asleep after locking up (Me). We both really enjoyed
making decisions with Steph and leading the team in where we thought God was
calling us. However, it was a little rough too feeling like we were one level
separated from the students. I guess it’s just something that comes with the
job.
One thing that I wasn’t expecting was how much I would be
learning from the community about how I lead. Much of this was through gaffes
on my part but it was interesting for me to be in a context where I was leading
predominantly white folk and predominantly women, two areas where I do not have
a lot of experience and apparently not a lot of acumen either. =0). It was an
eye opening experience for sure.
So, to Alanah, Ellen, Grace, Julia, Megan, Colter,
Nathan, Megan, and Steph, thanks for being a great team this year. I know that
we had the right people with us on the trip and I’m excited for the next time
we’ll get to see one another.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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