A lot of us long for the miracle moments – when prostitutes leave their circumstances to find different jobs, when those of other religions find the one true God, when orphans are adopted by caring families, etc. We yearn for these moments, but don’t allow ourselves to be grateful for the process. It’s easy for us doing ministry to feel as though the small tasks don’t matter – things like raking leaves, washing dishes, painting walls, or even chatting about life with strangers. These things feel pointless and mundane when we don’t see the end result of people radically changing their life to follow the Lord right away.
I think the unknown of our ministries are sometimes the best part. That little girl we smiled at in the village – could that smile have made a lasting impression? That old woman we prayed with in her torn up home – could that prayer have sparked an interest in the Lord? That man we helped to paint his walls – could that small task have spoken bigger volumes? Maybe. Probably. Sometimes the small, tiny, minuscule seeds that we plant are the ones that last longer with people, the ones that make people stop in their track and wonder why someone treated them with kindness. Sometimes the small acts of kindness are the biggest ones. I believe in the process, in the small steps it takes to get to the victory. No ministry to me is mindless or pointless. I believe that the big moments happen every day in small ways, in our everyday lives.
In the book Cold Tangerines, Shauna Niequist writes, “I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another.”
Every day has the potential for something great. But sometimes, we DO get a glimpse into the fruit that comes from that small seed. Sometimes the Lord allows us to be a part of something magical, that comes only from him – deliverance. Today, I was a part of a miracle moment, & I was able to see firsthand how a small seed turns into fruit.
Six days ago, my team and I arrived in Kapong Chang, Cambodia with absolutely no idea what to expect. Our host family picked us up and drove us to their house in a tuktuk. We settled in to our new home when we got there – snuggling on wooden platforms to sleep, surrounded by cows, chickens, and ducks, bombarded by every child in the village at all hours of the day, using a squatty potty to use the bathroom, showering with buckets of water straight from the well, etc. We learned very quickly how to live in a simple village – such a beautiful lifestyle, one that I admire greatly and hope to have some day. We quickly saw what servants our host family were, and could feel ourselves immediately getting attached to the village children who would visit often in our “yard.”
Our ministry is teaching English in a local school nearby. We arrived at the school the next day to meet all of the students. The school is quite small, with two areas to teach. We separated into two classes – one for young children and one for the older students and adults. I was placed with the older students and adults to teach for the rest of the month.
Some may look at teaching English, and think, “What is the point? I thought you were there to tell people about Jesus? How is that actual ministry?” And it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing those thoughts. When you go so long without seeing radical, life changing moments, you start to think that small tasks like teaching won’t make a difference. Regardless, my team put their whole hearts into serving and teaching at this school. They made learning fun, and the students really listened with curiosity and eagerness. We taught them how to have conversations, how to greet one another with hugs (which was hilarious by the way in an Asian culture), and how to interact with people for the first time in American culture.
One student’s name is Sopenh. He is a senior in high school right now, and incredibly bright. His hope is to become a teacher one day, although he cannot afford to go to a university. He speaks the most English out of the class, and can communicate with us for the most part. He is so intelligent and pulls out random large words in English, which always impress us. Besides his intelligence, he is also ridiculously polite and very kind. He tends to lead the class and help us translate when needed for the other students. During one day of class, we decided to set up conversation stations, where each student would be paired with a teacher for 3 minutes of conversation before switching. The students learned basic questions to incorporate in conversations, and this was their chance to practice. They practiced questions like,
Hello.
How are you? I am fine. Thank you.
What is your name?
What do you like to do for fun?
Goodbye.
See you later.
Basic, right? Small conversation. But then, I was paired with Sopenh for our 3 minutes of conversation, and I knew I could dive a little deeper. So, I flat out asked him, “Are you a Christian?” “No,” he responded, “I am a Buddhist, but I love meeting Christians.” He stuck his hand out to shake mine with a giant smile, and expressed his gratitude for meeting someone such as me. I was surprised by his welcoming spirit towards my faith, but was also interested in his life more. After a few more simple questions, that was the extent of our conversation. Our ministry was to simply teach English, but we were unaware of the seeds we were planting in the meantime.
Today marked the sixth day of teaching at the school, and because it was the last day of the week, we decided to combine the classes and teach a bible story. We planned songs, a drama, and more songs to perform for the students. We knew they would love the entertainment, but secretly hoped the Lord would use this day as an opportunity to openly share what we believe in. We arrived at the school in the morning, greeting all of the children, and noticed that our translator (who speaks only a little English anyway) was missing. For some reason, she did not come to the school. We all looked at our student Sopenh. He was the only other one there who could help us translate the message, the gospel story, to the rest of the students. We planned to perform a drama that demonstrated the power of the cross – that Jesus died on the cross to take our burdens, sickness, brokenness, and sin upon himself, so that we can walk in freedom. But before performing, we wanted to make sure that Sopenh knew how that message tied in with the drama before making him translate blindly on the spot.
So, we sat down with Sopenh. I explained the skit. I told him that the main actor in the drama represents Jesus. “Jesus?”, he asked, “I don’t understand.” I replied, “Oh. Jesus, or God, the same thing.” He seemed to understand the idea and the moral of the story even if he didn’t believe it, and he agreed to help translate the message.
I walked away from meeting with him, and started tearing up for some reason. I sat with a teammate, and said, “I don’t even know why I’m tearing up, but I just feel like there is a reason why our translator didn’t show up today.”
Our team did an amazing job that day pumping the kids up to sing songs about the Lord. We performed our drama, and Sopenh did an awesome job translating the message. He didn’t wait for us to speak before translating either. He remembered our conversation before starting the program, and gave the message all by himself. Sometimes you need to say things out loud in order to believe them, you know? After HE gave the message, he began asking questions. He asked one of my teammates why we decided to travel in the first place. She was able to tell him that we travel because we love Jesus so much that we want others to know him as well. He was amazed by that, and asked question after question. Our pastor ended up speaking too, and gave his own message (Still not actually sure what he shared, as it was in their language, but I’m pretty sure he also shared the gospel). BUT, what I do know is at the end of the program, we were able to talk with Sopenh.
I asked him what he thought of the program. He responded, “Oh, yes, I loved it very much. I decided to accept Jesus. I listened to what you said, and know it’s right. I want Him in my heart.” WAIT, WHAT! We discussed this with him, and then started rejoicing and celebrating, and telling him what a huge decision this was. He spent time talking with the pastor and with one of the other students who is a Christian, and was able to ask them questions as well. He told one of my teammates that he couldn’t believe we would travel just to tell people about Jesus, and he wanted that too.
The small moments turn into the big ones. Sopenh might not even realize to the fullest extent what he has decided, but the cool thing is that we will be here for two more weeks and will walk by his side to answer any questions and support him. Already, some of my teammates have sent bible verses with him to study when he is at home. This is just the beginning of something that could be really powerful. Sopenh is such a leader in the classroom and walks with influence. If he decides to follow Jesus fully, I can only imagine how many others will follow in his path.
Please, please, please be praying over this sweet young man. Believe with us that Jesus is working in his heart. And also, be encouraged, because there are big moments happening all around you, maybe in the smallest of ways.
