I was sitting upstairs in my “office.” Office meaning a desk piled high with antique books that I had put out of reach of my crawling baby. In my cocoon, I typed away like a madwoman trying to get as much done as I could while Addie napped (literal story of my life). On this particular day, I wasn’t feeling especially inspired (let’s be honest, this is what writing is 75% of the time for me), but I was plugging away, endeavoring to confirm a portion of Rindy’s story with external sources. I was trying to dig up more information on the Khoa-I-Dang refugee camp where Rindy migrated as a refugee after the genocide. I was reading on…*ehem*…Wikipedia (not a particularly valid source, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do when she can’t find information) trying to understand how the refugee camps in Thailand operated. When I came across a piece of information that made me read it once, then twice, before it really sank in.

“Health services [in Khao-I Dang Refugee camp) were provided by a ICRC, Doctors without Boarders…and YWAM.”

As a backstory, before even meeting Rindy, I attended the YWAM base in Kona, HI. For context purposes, let me make clear that there are hundreds of YWAM bases throughout the world, thus thousands of leaders and staff. It is a discipleship training program designed to ignite individuals in their call to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. The particular discipleship training school that I attended while there, was called All Nations all Generations, led by Joe Portale and his wife Judi. Pretty cool, right? The organization that I went to Cambodia with had a presence in the exact same camp that Rindy lived in, nearly 40 years prior!

But wait, it gets even more interesting! As I started digging into the presence that YWAM had in that particular camp, I began to remember hearing Joe Portale speak about his experiences with the Khmer people (which he goes into more depth about in his book called Taking On Giants). Joe has led dozens of outreaches all over the world, but I remember pointedly this particular recounting. He gave an emotional remembrance of the war torn children in…get this…a Thai refugee camp.

I was stunned! I sat back in my uncomfortable chair and tried to comprehend what my mind was spinning. To be honest, I only reflected for a moment before typing out a hurried message to my former leader Joe who I peppered with questions. The question “What camp in Thailand did you serve in?” Haunted my thoughts for the rest of the day and I checked my messages at least a hundred times anticipating his reply.

Could my DTS leader (when there are/have been thousands throughout YWAM history) have been the same one who worked in Rindy’s camp? The farther I went, the crazier I began to sound to myself, my husband, my mom and my sister (all the people who I called upon getting this haunch).

Joe replied the next morning, I devoured his message in an instant and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The message read: “Yes, I brought the first YWAM team to the Khoa-I-Dang camp” and went on to say that he led the operation in that camp for the next year. Whoa. I read it again, checked his dates against Rindy’s to confirm it.

Rindy and Joe were in the same refugee camp at the same time in that obscure, world between worlds place nearly 40 years before I had met either of them.

Now this is where it comes full circle, I promise. The reason that Khoa-I-Dang refugee camp is significant is because (spoiler alert) that is the place where Rindy became a Christian. Now there is no way of knowing if Joe and Rindy ever met, as there were thousands upon thousands of people herded through that camp, but the realization that they were both there, at the same time, was enough for me. Joe led a relief operation in that camp in the name of Jesus. If it wasn’t Joe who introduced Rindy to Jesus, it was someone else like him whose heart burned for those starving and hurting after the atrocious acts of death that swept Cambodia.

Learning this connection was that much anticipated “sign” of conformation, of approval that propelled me forward. While writing this book, I have struggled with overwhelming waves of lack of confidence. At times they keep me under water for weeks as I struggle to put two words together or to edit that “much work needed” chapter. I’ve constantly fought feelings of “not being good enough,” “not the one for this job,” and “not capable of doing this story justice.” In this moment, the One who I believe orchestrated this whole thing, gave me a wink. It’s as if He was saying to me: “you’re the one I picked for this job- you’re the one I choose to tell this story.”

The funny thing is, I really wanted to go to Africa on my outreach while in YWAM. I had dreamed of going to Africa since I was a little girl. When the locations for potential outreach locations were announced, I was overjoyed to hear that Ghana, Africa was one of them. My dream was finally realized. I thought I would get to go to Africa at last.

Apparently, God had other plans and moved on the hearts of my leaders, including Joe, by giving them the nudge that I needed to go to Cambodia and NOT Africa. When I got the news that I would not be going to the place I had my heart set on, I was honestly disappointed. That disappointment has since been replaced by wonder. God used a seemingly one-time mission trip to launch me into the opportunity of a lifetime- telling Rindy’s story. An opportunity that I would not have been suited for if I had gone to Africa instead of Cambodia. The death of one dream gave birth to another, a dream that hadn’t even been realized yet.