So far the month has been going kind of slow. It makes sense because right now we are in the midst of making initial contact with people and waiting to hear back on responses, but it also is a little frustrating because we also want to see God work through us in tangible ways. Things are beginning to pick up though.
Yesterday, some of my team and I went to the church of a contact that we met a couple days before. The pastor had mentioned some ministry work that his church did in the surrounding villages and I was interested in meeting some of the people that helped with that and to get more information on it. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we were hopeful that God would show up and place the right people in front of us.
When we arrived at the church we noticed the whole driveway was completely flooded about knee-high. (It rains like nowhere else here). Our tuk-tuk driver pulled over and just laughed at us, as he had no intention of driving his vehicle through the pond. So we took off our shoes and waded through the water to get to church. Just a typical Sunday morning on the Race.
The church service was great! I love experiencing church in different countries and cultures because it reminds me of just how BIG God’s church is. And the beautiful thing is even though I’ve never met these people and don’t speak their language, we are stilled joined together in the same family because of the blood of Christ. I just love the family of God!!! There’s nothing else like it!
The service was pretty typical consisting of some charismatic worship, prayer, a brief introduction of who we were and what we were doing in Siem Reap, and a sermon. After the service, we mingled around looking to talk to people. A man named Sophal came up to me and introduced himself. He had been a part of the church for about a year and helped out with different ministries that the church did. One of them was a village ministry that went every Wednesday to do house visits and pray for people and encourage the church in the area. (I’m excited to go in a couple days and will probably blog about it later!)
He also mentioned that every Sunday afternoon they did street evangelism right outside the church. They just go and talk to people about Jesus and get to know them. It sounded awesome, but my team had already made plans to go to another church that afternoon. We politely declined, but said maybe next week. God would have other plans in mind though.
After meeting up with the rest of the team, we set out to go find the other church. It was supposed to meet at a hotel, but when we arrived, the hotel said that no one met there. Fail. Since we now had 4 hours to kill before our next appointment, I told the group about the street evangelism opportunity. And so a couple of us returned to the church to go out with them that afternoon. So glad we did!
Before we set out for the streets, we did some intercessory prayer and some worship just to invite the Lord into this time and to acknowledge our dependence on Him as we went out. It was encouraging to me as it prepared my heart for the afternoon of ministry. Sometimes I can get so caught up in relying on my own strengths and abilities in ministry that I forget it is ultimately God that causes the change in peoples’ hearts. I’m just the vessel He often uses to bring that about.
As soon as we set off, the weather changed from sunshine to a heavy downpour. (Like I said…it rains like nowhere else). We ran for the shelter of a beauty salon across the street to wait for the rain to stop. Sophal had said that they already talked to the owner of the salon the previous week, but after waiting for a while for the rain to stop, we decided we could strike up conversation again.
The owner, who was a believer, was in the midst of performing a pedicure on a young-adult female. After introducing ourselves, we asked the customer if she had ever heard about Jesus. She said that she never did. Talk about an amazing opportunity! And so we sat down next to her and proceeded to talk with her for the next hour and a half.
She couldn’t speak English, so my teammates and I mostly sat there and prayed while the others talked to her about Jesus. Sophal would translate from time to time so we weren’t completely clueless as to what was going on. The woman came from a Buddhist background, like basically everyone else in Southeast Asia. She was so excited to hear about this amazing news of forgiveness and love that is the message of the gospel. And so after a while, she decided to accept Jesus into her life!!
It was amazing to see just how God organized this meeting. He cancelled our plans for going to that other church. He brought rain unexpectedly so we wouldn’t travel pass the shop without stopping. He had her be the only customer, which facilitated good conversation. We told her that this moment was completely created by the Lord.
She still had a lot of questions, mostly about prayer and idols, and we were able to answer some of them, but we also encouraged her to attend the church and get involved in a woman’s group that could help answer questions. I’m hopeful to see her again next week and to continue our conversation. I just love moments like that!
Simple evangelism is one of my favorite types of ministries. I just love having conversations with people and talking about spiritual things. We’re not trying to convert anyone. We’re just simply getting to know people, hear their thoughts, and share the love of Christ that has so transformed our lives. Everything else is up to the Spirit. Only He can transform the heart. And He did just that in that woman’s heart. Now I have another sister in Christ!!
And to finish off an already amazing story, we found out that the woman lived right behind the salon: the same house that Sophal and another guy had prayed over the week before that Jesus would reveal Himself to them. Talk about an answer to prayer!! I just love the God that we serve!! Please continue to pray for Sreykouch (the woman) as she begins her new life with Christ. She still has many questions, especially about idols, which is something you see everywhere here in Cambodia. Pray that God will increase her faith and give her wisdom. Thanks for your support and God bless you!
