A few months ago Mark Masingale found himself at the end of his rope, sitting in a small backpackers cafe in Phnom Penh, wondering where his Journey would take him next… if anywhere at all. He had been self employed most of his life doing what he needed to do to stay ahead of the game but lost it all after an accident. All he was wanting to do was to eat his sandwich in peace, but a sudden downpour and a leaky roof forced him to move to another table, and then another, and another, and another, until there was only one table left in the cafe that was dry. A young German girl was sitting there however and so he asked if he could join her until the rain stopped.

A few months ago I was desperate for someone who knew a little about a lot of things because after eight years of wear and tear our buildings and equipment where in need of repair. We get many volunteers but not many men and most of the men who do come are not handymen. Most of our volunteers are like Ramona, a young German girl, with teaching or nursing backgrounds.

Some might call their meeting Coincidence while others would call it Providence but whatever it was really doesn’t matter, because I have gotten more things done in the past few months then I could ever had hoped for and Mark… well he really doesn’t have much time to think about it:

Moving a house.

Digging out tree stumps.

Feeding the fish.

Removing a landmark.

Repairing the car.

Repairing a diesal engine

Joining the children for a day in the mountains.

Cutting off a toe and experiencing seven sutures without anesthesia.

Relaxing with the children at the end of the day.

Mark is not a religious person but considers himself a follower of Jesus. Where this will all lead him is anybodies guess but by putting his Faith in action, he is leaning that today is all that really matters.

Journeys have no destination,
There is no end or graduation,
Each new step the realization,
We all are part of One Creation.

You can send Mark a note of encouragement to: marktmasingale@gmail.com