While in Campong Speu my team and I were able to spend time in the home of a man named Ra and partook in his ministry. Ra is no ordinary man, rather, he is a man that has made himself available to the Lord. What do I mean by him being “available” to the Lord? Let me explain…
When Ra was younger he was born into a Buddhist home. Everyone in his family was a farmer and they had very little money. Ra worked hard in order to pay for school and he moved to Phnom Penh as a young man in order to further pursue his education.
While he was in the city of Phnom Penh working as a waiter and going to school he came in contact with a group of Christians. Ra began attending their Bible study and he was quickly educated about Jesus. Not long after Ra began coming to Bible study he decided to devote his whole life to Christ
Soon after Ra accepted Christ he quit school to follow after God’s plan for his life. He went off to Bible school because he felt God calling him there. As Ra developed into a mature man of God he decided to work with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) as a full time missionary.
Soon enough Ra felt the call from God to return to his home village. Ra would have no money, no supporters, and no job if he chose to follow after what he felt the Spirit of God leading him to do. Yet he was willing and available to go wherever God wanted him to go.
So Ra trusted God with his future and returned to his village. It has now been over three years since his return and his ministry that God produced reaches not only his entire village but the surrounding villages as well. Over 200 children learn English from him and are offered a better future every day.
Additionally, because the education system in Cambodia is so corrupt, the children don’t receive good schooling, and so Ra is providing a better education for these students than they are receiving in school. These children will have more chances for jobs and education as they grow older because they will be well above their peers in their ability and knowledge.
Ra’s vision is to one day open a youth center for all the children in the surrounding villages to come to so that they can learn English and hear about God.
Ra is a very gentle man but if you ask anyone to tell you about him they will tell you that he love’s Jesus and tells everyone about it. Many people come to faith because they see how he is meeting their physical needs and then leading them to the one who can meet their spiritual needs as well.
Ra is a man that is available to God. He wants to see God move and he is willing to do anything to follow him to that end. I can only pray that I could be available similarly to this man.
The more I grow in my faith I realize that what God wants from you and me is not what we do but rather what we are willing to do for him. Are we willing to go for him? Are we willing to step out in faith for him? Do we take him seriously when he says give up all you have and follow me?
God is not interested in what you can and cannot do. He is interested in whether or not you are totally and completely available to him and his plan for your life, and so my only question for you is,
Are You?
