There's a dirt road that will take you into the heart of the farm lands of Western Cambodia. The farther you travel down the road, the more poverty you see. It gets worse as you go. Kids run around with no clothes, feral, starving dogs run rampant, trash everywhere, malnourishment… Simple people, working for simple things. One lady sells bananas for about 2 cents a piece!
Along with my team, I make this drive everyday. I travel about an hour down this road to get to the church. We've gotten used to our clothes constantly being covered in this red dust. There's nothing much out here. Just communities of people and kids who are in need of some hope, encouragement, education and faith.
The other day, my teamate and good friend, Dan, spoke to a group of 15 or so villagers from the surrounding communities. The people initially came to learn some agricultural techniques from the Pastor. They learned how to grow mushrooms on their farms and sell them to the local markets. Well, that's what I think it was about (the whole seminar was in Khmer – the Cambodian language).
Anyway, during an intermission, Dan got up and spoke to the people about Jesus and the importance of sharing his name to others. When he finished, he, along with our translator, walked to the back of the room and sat back down with us. No applause, no reaction, we only heard crickets.
Dan felt strange after speaking with them. Turning to me, he says, "I felt like the looks on their faces were different than usual."
Our translator interupts us, "that's because only 2 or 3 of the those people are Christian."
WHAT!? Personally, I've been waiting and praying for the opportunity to speak to people who've never heard about Jesus. And I'm sure Dan was the same way. And the fact that Dan "unknowingly" spoke to unbelievers about Jesus makes us laugh. Proof that God has a sense of humor.
Because, what if Dan had known those people weren't Christian? Would Dan's message have been different? Of course, everyone would have probably changed and tailored their message for that audience.
But, in a way, I think God saved us from ourselves. If we had known that congregation was going to hear about Jesus for the first time, we probably would have over thought it, said too much and/or scared them away. So, I think it was good that God sent Dan up there oblivious to the situation. It allowed him to be himself and genuinely talk about the Jesus we love, without feeling any pressure.
Just another way God looks out for us and what we're doing.
