Christmas in Cambodia
Sorry, I haven’t written in a while. I was too busy enjoying what felt like a wonderful vacation in Overflow Guesthouse in Cambodia. For comfort, that was definitely the best month so far on the race! We had a pool and hot showers and wifi that is better than what I have at home! Our ministry was also really fun. We painted walls in air conditioned rooms, also outside, but mostly indoors. We also got to help make crafts to decorate the building. We taught English a few times to the staff. We went out in the village and tried some friendship evangelism. Also, a few nights a week we did bar ministry. That part is still not my favorite type of ministry, but this was a lot less intense than Nepal in my opinion.
At the start of the month I really didn’t like doing bar ministry, but something happened that helped me to see the difference it makes. One Sunday we went to church and the pastor opened up the microphone for testimonies and reluctantly a young woman came forward at the insistence of her friends. She explained through the translator that she used to work the bars every night, but someone helped to get her out. They brought her to church and now she has given her life to Jesus! It is sometimes hard for me to see the worth in some of the work we do because we are only there for a short time and we rarely get to see the results of our efforts. Bar ministry feels especially useless to me when they look like they enjoy their jobs and they know they get paid good money. I know that most do not like their work, but looking at their faces it is hard to tell that.
But we went out about 2-3 times a week to the same bar and made friends with the women. It was so incredible to see a change on their faces. When we walked into the bar the girls lit up. They abandoned their clients and came over to greet us briefly before they had to get back to work. They played pool with us and sat and talked about their children. These women are so sweet once you get to know them.
At the end of the month we planned a Christmas party and invited them all and their kids. We made pop-up Christmas cards with all the party details inside and handed them out. We made Christmas cookies to decorate with them. We told them bring their swim suits. We played a part of the Jesus film in their language. I even got out my guitar and played some carols. It was so wonderful!
But only one showed up.
She came late and only stayed for a while, but she came! She brought her niece with and they seemed to enjoy their time. We could have easily been disappointed because only one came out of the twenty or more invitations we handed out, but instead we chose to rejoice! We grabbed the staff at the hostel and had a blast.
I don’t know if it made an impact in her life or not, but we got to share the reason we celebrate Christmas. And even though it was only one, it was worth it! Even if she didn’t decide to follow Jesus yet, at least a seed has been planted.
