Hi from Siem Reap, Cambodia! After five days of wandering in sleepy airports, a thirteen hour plane ride, a San Francisco layover, a Taiwan airport visit, seeing the Lord open & close doors, and a few days of being tourists in Phnom Penh, we made it to our new home! On Tuesday my team started our ministry and met our hosts, Ralph & Jane, who run Victory church. This week, and for the next two months, we get to partner with them in ministering to the people of Siem Reap and a local village. This looks different each day – this week we met and prayed for some women following Jesus in the villages as well as in the city, cleaned the church, prayer walked the streets, and taught a class of teenagers who Jesus is.
While we’ve been in Cambodia we’ve begun to learn and observe Khmer (pronounced ka-my) & Buddhist culture. Within the culture there are evident threads of striving for peace, and fear serving as a primary motivation. Earlier this week my team had the opportunity to observe the Khmer people giving their offerings to their gods at a small temple. While watching these people come and strive for their god’s affection, the Lord revealed to me how telling this was of the way they lived, and how differently they would live if only they knew how dearly the one true God already loves them.
As soon as you enter or exit you are expected to give cash to come and give your offerings, usually being more cash, flowers, or food. The Lord reminded me of how much righteous anger Jesus had when he saw his house had been turned into a marketplace, a place where certain people had more access to his house than others (John 2v13-25). Our God does not require anything of us, but instead tells us to approach his throne with confidence – knowing that we are his beloved children (Hebrews 4v6, Ephesians 1v4).
As we sat down and watched more and more people come I noticed one woman in particular. She was kneeling and bowing three times repeatedly just as the rest; her face was filled with fear and her hands stumbling to find cash to place at the altar. In this picture I began to comprehend how differently their lives are characterized from ours. They seek a god who commands them to bow, we serve the God who washes our feet. They seek their god out of fear, we seek our God because he first sought us. They try to buy their god’s grace, we have the God that paid the price for us.
In this first week, the Lord has kindly made known to us how valuable the gospel really is, how transformative it is to those who truly accept it. Over the next two months I’m excited to see the Lord reveal the truth of his kingdom in the lives of the people here!
Thank you for sharing about your wild adventures to get to your new home, your observations, and sharing the contrast of what a glorious difference we have in our personal relationships with our Lord Jesus Christ! Thank you for listening to the Holy Spirit and His leading in what He wants you and your team to do there among these people that God loves dearly and made in His image.
Oh sweetie, love seeing and hearing more and more about your amazing experiences and what Our God is doing and revealing!! Miss and love you like crazy but you are just where God wants you!! ???? ?? ??