So before I left for the race I had several people ask me a couple of questions. The first question was how is the language barrier going to work? The second question is a month really long enough? Will in Cambodia we got to teach English at a church. The last class I taught there turned into a bible study. I was sitting there before class reading my bible (James 1:19-26) and God asked me to share it with the class. Which talks about reading the bible and knowing what it says but not putting it into action in your daily life. I was like ok God I will share ( I was thinking how are they going to understand this ?), then I realized that I could look it up on my bible app in Khmer and have one of the students read it. Funny thing my bible app doesn’t have Khmer. As class started I was freaking out a little because I was not sure how they were going to understand, but I prayed asking God to help me out. I was standing there in front of the class telling them I am going to share a scripture with them and I notice one of the students in the back of the class had a bible With them. I asked him if he could find the same passage and read it, and he said yes. I felt such a relief. So I read the passage in english and then the student read in Khmer. Then the students asked me to read it again in english and then summarize it, so I did. They seemed to understand. Then I asked if they had any questions. I was just about to move on to an english lesson and then a student asked ” is it ok to go to temples with a friend who is a monk as a christian”? So I was able to talk them about how on my trip I have been to temples and what I have done there. I also got to talk to them about how God does not want false idols in our lives. Then a student asked ” how long ago did Jesus live?”. I thought they asked how did christians live centurys ago. So I started to talk about Adam and eve. One of the students got up and translated the best she could for me. Towards the end of class one of the dirctors of the homes for highschool age children came in and was able to help finish translating and fix some translations for me. I learned that no matter if everything was translated perfectly or not it didn’t matter. Those students were empowered and encouraged to help change there country. They were given a chance to talk in front of their friends. The student who read from the bible for me was adding some things that were on his heart. The girl that translated dreams of being a pastor. It also gave me the anwsers to those two questions. No matter what the language barrier is God is bigger and will speak in only ways he can. He will provide a way for us to share or hear What he wants. No I dont think that everything was translated perfectfuly that night but God told them what he wanted them to know. The other anwser is yes. As short term missionaries I think one of the best things we can do is come along side who is already in the field as support, but also encourage and empower the local people because they are the ones who know the language and the culture. Yes we are only there for a short time but it is not always about changing the whole nation, sometimes it is just starting sparks in those who can help set the nation on fire. We all have different callings and play different parts. Some seem more important than others but they all play an important part for bringing the kingdom to earth.
