You’re walking. Pitch black sky. Stray dogs and chickens everywhere you look. Kids with no shoes on playing in puddles. Car horns honking in the background. Someone whizzes by on a motorbike full of fruit. It’s a dirt road full of potholes and you’re stepping over mountains of trash just trying not to get your feet wet with mud and sewage.
But then you stop. You look up at oasis that is a newly-turfed soccer field in the middle of all that you have just pictured.
That’s what I walked up to.
As we walked up to this weird juxtaposed, artificially lit field, we see that it is full of kids our age. Not just any kids, it was the congregation of the church we are working with for the month. The church, Kinship Cambodia, was started by our host family, and the church members consist of 95% teenagers from age 18-25 and they run worship, preach, serve, and teach English within their church and community.
This moment walking up to the soccer field was the first time we met this community.
And we were welcomed with open arms. The youth wasted no time in shoving us onto the field straight into the game of soccer that they were playing and made sure we got passed the ball (even when they knew we would miss). And then it started raining, but it didn’t seem so bother anyone, so we kept on playing. We shared laughs at how terrible “the Americans” were and celebrated how much better the Cambodians were. We high-fived each other’s goals and ran around in celebration dances in true Futbol fashion.
But then it starting POURING. And I mean bottom-dropped-out-of-a-swimming-pool pouring.
Now you would expect by this point people would be running for cover, trying to stay dry, worrying if their shoes and electronics would get wet – but no.
These kids splashed each other and kicked the water up, literally opened their arms and smiled to the sky, stuck their tongues out to catch a raindrop, and laughed even louder when they realized that they could slide on the wet turf to make their goal look even cooler.
In the middle of Cambodia, in the middle of the slums, in the middle of a monsoon, there was a soccer field where 7 Americans and 20 Cambodians were playing soccer and there was joy.
Because when you allow it to happen, Jesus doesn’t just let it rain, he makes it pour.
As I was sitting on the sideline taking a break from the game, a girl my age named Paula came up to me. Without any introduction, she looks at me and says,
“Do you know Jesus?” I smile and say back, “Yes I do!”
She then throws her hands up in the air and scream “Yeah!!!” and gives me one of the biggest hugs I’ve ever received.
Then I ask her,
“Do you know Jesus?” She smiles and says back, “Yes I do!”
I throw my hands up in the air and scream “Yeah!!!” and give her a big hug.
This allows me to ask about her faith, her relationship with God, what she wants to learn, and her relationship with her family. I learn that her whole family is non-believers. It hurt my heart to see this girl who so boldly loved the Lord to be hurting so much that her family didn’t, so I asked her if I could pray for her. With teary-eyes, she smiled at me and said she would love nothing more.
So, in the middle of Cambodia, in the middle of the slums, in the middle of a monsoon, on the sideline of a soccer field, we prayed.
Because when you allow it to happen, Jesus doesn’t just let it rain, he makes it pour.
This year is going to be full of oasis’ that Jesus is just waiting to make it rain down on. Every month is going to start with just a sprinkle and I get to help leave it flooded with Jesus’ love.
“Open up, heavens, and rain.
Clouds, pour out buckets of my goodness!”
Isaiah 45:8-10
Stay subscribed to my blog to keep receiving updates (whenever I can find wifi) on what I am up to every month. Thanks to all of my followers and supporters for getting me this far already. It’s only week two and Cambodia is already rocking my world.
Recklessly,
Haley
