Hey all! This is a very quick update, as I'm about to leave for the airport. It's been a little over two months since I posted my first update, and I've been meaning to do another one, but I'm either pretty busy, or pretty good at procrastinating... or both.

First off, thanks to you all, I've raised all the funds needed for the trip! I thank the Lord for your generosity and prayers. I am very excited for this trip and what God will do in the lives of those we serve, and in the lives of the team members too.

Last but not least, I want to talk briefly about why I'm going on this trip. Sure, it will be neat to experience a different culture and meet new people. Yes, I am looking forward to helping people medically speaking. Not that it's my doing- I can't take credit for any talents or abilities in my life aside for God allowing me to have them. Most importantly though, I want to be just of God to work in lives in a spiritual sense. What do I mean by this?

In the Bible, God tells about the beginning of the world, and how everything initially was perfect, including humans. However, mankind disobeyed and sinned against God (Genesis 1-3). Not only did the first humans sin, but everyone since has also (Romans 3:5~ "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.") What is sin? Sin is anything we do that goes against God's nature. Specifics of this is listed out in Scripture. Mankind no longer being perfect and instead being sinners as some implications for us. In Romans 6:23, it says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The word "death" here does not simply mean a physical death (although everyone will die eventually), but also a spiritual death- separation from God for eternity, in hell. 

The good news is this: God doesn't want this to happen (2 Peter 3:9), and He provided a way for our sin "wages"- our debt- to be paid for us. Christ came to earth to be born a man and live a sinless life, to then die on the cross to pay for our sins (Romans 5:8- "But God shows His love for us in the while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." John 3:16-17- "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.").

Because Christ did this for us, our sin debt is paid for, and all we have to do is accept His free work on the cross. Ephesians 2:8-9 says "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Acts 6:31~ "... Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."

We are sinners and deserve eternal separation from God, but He forgave us and provided a payment for our sins- because He loves us so much. I accepted Christ as my Savior 19 years ago when I was 5 years old, and haven't regretted it since- indeed, this has been the most important decision in my life, and has changed my life forever. This life-changing message is the one our team and the Cambodian Christians there are going to share with the people we see. This message is what I refer to as "gospel" in my blogs, which means "good news." It is good news, because it is news that saves us from our sins and eternal punishment.

I wish I had more time to write about this, but it's now 4:02am on Friday morning, and I have a 6am flight to catch! If you ever had more questions or wanted to talk to me more about this, don't hesitant to contact me.

Please be in prayer for me, as I have 24 hours of flights to get to Cambodia, and thus anticipate being pretty tired, also considering the 12 hour time difference there. I will be sure to write about my experiences there when I get back in two weeks. Gotta sign off for now!

Striving to live for the One who died for me,

Aaron