Wow. There are days, and then there are “WOW!!!!” days. Yesterday was one of those “WOW!!!” days. It was our first day of ministry, and everyone on my squad was buzzing with excitement and a little bit of nervousness. We had no idea what we would be doing, and our squad leaders called us onto the roof to tell us what our ministry for the day would be. They told us it was an ATL day, and no, that doesn’t stand for the Atlanta airport. An ATL day, or “Ask the Lord” day is when your team gets together and asks the Lord what He wants us to do for ministry. So we moved into our groups of 6 to 7 in our team and prayed together. My team leader, Kate, simply heard the name, Chum.
To give you some context, Chum is a tuk tuk driver whom Kate and Joell had met the day before when we first travelled out to town. He was very kind, and asked them if they wanted to learn any Kmher, the local language spoken in Cambodia. They had a pleasant conversation with him, and he gave Kate his phone number and offered his driving services.
So, when Kate heard the name, Chum, she had an idea for what God wanted us to do. She called Chum and had him drive her and three others on our team to an ice cream shop called the Blue Pumpkin. Evie and I followed on another tuk tuk. When we arrived at the Blue Pumpkin, Kate invited him to have ice cream with us. I will never forget his look of confusion, and then excitement when Kate offered to pay for his ice cream as well. He got his favorite flavor, strawberry, and then we sat down and talked with him for around two and a half hours.
During high school, Chum found a church and started going there to learn English. He learned about Yesu Christi, as he called Jesus, but he still was holding on to his beliefs in Buddhism as well. He saw that Christians were good people, and that Buddhists were good people, and he declared that he wasn’t either of them. He explained that he was right in the middle. He was using his mind, as he said, to decide which religion worked best for him, and then he would devote his whole life to that God.
As you can imagine, my team and I were amazed at this opportunity that God had given us, and so we asked him if he had any questions about Christianity. He said he had one big one, “Why do you believe in Jesus?” My team stared at each other, waiting for someone else to answer the question. Then I felt God prompting me to go. So before I had time to think about it I said, “I got this, guys.” Then I explained part of my testimony. I talked about how I followed and loved Jesus because He set me free from my sins, and how He loved me with the greatest love of all. I explained how Jesus died as a sacrifice for my sins, and that is why I love Him and follow Him.
Chum looked deep in thought afterwards, and we talked a little more about other things and Christianity. Then, ready for this?? He asked us if we could pray with him!!!!! WHAT?! So Mikaela explained that you pray to God just like you talk to a dear friend, and we all held hands. Kate and someone else from our team prayed, and then Chum started to pray!!! AHHH!! It was a beautiful and sincere prayer, and he had tears in his eyes afterwards.
My team and I are doing ministry here for the whole month, so we asked if we could meet with him once a week to talk about the Bible and Christianity with him. He told us he would think about it, and he has Kate’s phone number so he can reach us.
Me and my team with Chum!
Whether Chum accepts the Lord while my team is here, or sometime later with someone else, I know that we planted a new seed in his heart. I can’t wait to see what will happen, and I would love it if you could pray for Chum and for his salvation! Also, please pray for our team to have wisdom and guidance as we continue on this journey of ministry.
I learned so much from this experience, and God showed me that ministry doesn’t have to be scary or very detailed. It can be as simple as taking someone out to ice cream, getting to know about them, and asking if they know Jesus. This is the first time I have ever evangelized, and I can’t wait to do it again and again. Hallelujah!!!
May the King of Kings bless you!
~Ashlyn
P.S. I am fully funded!!!!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! Oh my Gosh!!!!! You are all so very amazing!!! Thank you does not even cut it!!!! Thank you for your support financially, through prayer, and encouraging words. You are so amazing and have blessed me so much!!!!!!!!
