One of the coolest parts about being on the Race is meeting so many different people from around the world. I’ve met so many amazing people throughout these last 10 months and have been encouraged greatly by them. Just seeing their hearts for the Lord and for bringing His Kingdom to the area they live in has been inspiring and challenging. One person that stood out during our time in Cambodia was Deb.
We met Deb through New Living Hope Center, which is the church that my team partnered with numerous times. I’ve written about some of our experiences with them in previous blogs including our visit to the village. It was an amazing community to be a part of and the passion they had for sharing the gospel was remarkable. I could have written about any of the people there, but as I said before, Deb just stood out.
We just felt her presence whenever we hung out with their group. Maybe it was partly because she was the only woman. Maybe it was partly because she was the only one who didn’t speak English. Maybe it was partly because she was the only one of Vietnamese descent. But I think it was mostly because the Spirit of the Lord was so strongly exhibited in her.
We first met Deb after the first church service we went to at NLHC. She came up to us with her friend who translated for her and invited us to come with their group to the village on Wednesday. It was a short interaction, but she appeared friendly and I was excited to get to know her in the coming weeks. Little did I know, but this calm lady was actually a fierce warrior for the Lord.
Whenever we would go evangelize or do house visits in the village, she was always the one taking the lead. She’d just go up to groups of people and strike up conversation with them and tell them about Jesus. It didn’t matter if it was a lone woman or a group of 6 men, she walked in the same boldness and power of the Spirit. The other people in the group would always tell us she had the gift of evangelism and it was extremely clear to see.
It seemed like most of the people she would walk up to would, in the end, pray to receive Christ. And it wasn’t like she was this super intimidating person or that she forced Christ on people. She just simply talked with people and shared the good news of the gospel. The rest was up to the Spirit to work in their hearts. And yes, I don’t know peoples’ hearts so whether their prayers were genuine or not I don’t know, but just them being willing to pray showed that the Spirit was at work.
She also lived out her ministry in a way unlike few people I’ve ever met. Ministry wasn’t something she just did; it was how she lived her life. She was always looking for opportunities to share Christ and show His love to people. For example, when we were driving back from a full day of ministry at the village our tuk tuk got a flat tire. As we waited for someone to change the tire, she went to a little shop right across the street and began telling the people about Jesus. Another example was when she invited a friend to our end-of-the-month party so that we could all gather around and pray for her. She never missed an opportunity to show Christ to people.
Now why do I tell you about her? Well, partly because the Unsung Heroes Campaign is about telling peoples’ stories to a world who otherwise would never hear about them. But also, it’s to encourage all of us in our walks with the Lord. Deb isn’t some super-human, far above everyone else. She doesn’t live her life so that others can marvel at her story. She’s just an ordinary, middle-aged woman with a huge heart for the Lord and a willingness to be used by Him. And that’s something that all of us can be.
I also ask for you to remember her in your prayers. She is the only Christian in her family and she longs for her family to share the same faith as her. She is often persecuted by them and excluded from them because of her faith. Pray for strength to persevere in her trials and to continually be a witness to her family. Also pray for God to continually provide for her and her kids as they are still in school. Thank you for your continuous support and encouragement.
