I wish I didn’t procrastinate getting these blogs to you. Right now I can think of 3 million different blogs that I want to write…including a Merry Christmas blog that will come in a few days…yay for Christmas in Cambodia! :]
So yeah, God has just been doing so much in my life here in Cambodia. Actually, let me rephrase that… God has been doing SO incredibly much in my life over these last 4 months that I have been away from the comforts of home and my “normal” life! I am becoming bolder in walking in the power of the Holy Spirit that God has given me. Actually it’s the same power that He has freely given to every one of us! So much that I was led to preach a sermon at church this past Sunday. Ha! Yes, it really happened. And I definitely can’t wait to tell you about how God showed up in that, but I will save that for another post. ;]
Our main ministry this month has been working with an amazing ministry called Agape Shalom teaching English to university students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
We have pretty much been given free reign over these students. Most of the days we just spend in small conversational groups with them, talking about what we ate for lunch that day to what our plans are for the weekend or even the question of “why do you believe in Jesus?”.
It has been incredible having the opportunity to openly talk about the Bible and what Jesus means to me. Especially because most of our students at the center are Buddhists. But they are SO open to the name of Jesus Christ and who He is and SO eager to get to know Him better.
Most of these students–just like so many people in America–have no idea why they believe what they say they believe. Most of them are Buddhists only because their parents are and that is just the tradition of their family (does that sound at all familiar to Christianity in the USA?). A lot of them want to honor their parents and feel that their parents would be mad at them if they became a Christian. Encouragement with that though is that so many of the students have already accepted Jesus Christ even if it meant they had to go against their parents wishes. It’s also exciting to see how these students are leading their own families to Christ as well. What courage! I can just say that it has really been incredible being able to join with these university students in telling them about the story of Jesus and what He has done for us and how much He loves us.
Most of these students are right on the verge of surrending their lives to Jesus!!! Let me share about a few amazing young women that I have met with you right now…
Meet Sauny. (She is the girl on the far left of the above picture.) She just started coming to the English classes this past week. She was actually in my group the very first day that she was new to the class. I remember our first conversations about Jesus and hearing why she believed in Buddha instead.
Today, Jenny and I were answering a question about the Trinity, and Sauny was just sitting in her chair watching us with such a joy in her eyes. I asked her what she was thinking and she just joyfully said, “It makes me so happy to hear you talk about Jesus.” She then proceeded to say that Amy had shared with her yesterday about Christmas and the birth of Jesus and she desired to know more. Without further ado, Jenny and I excitingly shared the Gospel with Sauny about why Jesus came to die on the cross for her. It was so awesome! She wasn’t ready to accept Jesus into her heart quite yet, but she is coming to church this Sunday morning and is really excited about it. I know that Sauny will very soon be ecstatically welcomed into the LORD’s family as one of our sister’s in Jesus Christ!
Meet Thauny. She is an incredibly bright young woman. She isn’t afraid to stand up in class and answer questions, even when put on the spot. She is definitely one of many of my favorite students. She is also a buddhist, but I know that isn’t her deepest heart’s desire.
I have been able to build a great relationship with her over the past few weeks. We have such a fun friendship that she actually smiles and almost enjoys it when I start “yelling” at her about how she needs to know Jesus. And she knows how much she needs to know Jesus. She knows Jesus very well actually, she’s just not quite ready to accept Him into her heart yet. But I know it’s coming …very soon! OH YEAH…Have I told you that she asked me to sing “This is my Desire” with her a few days ago?? Yes, I sang a song that talks about giving all of ourselves to Jesus!…WITH a buddhist?!! Yes, I sang about Jesus with a Buddhist!!?! Insane…but awesome!!!! And this is my life every day during this month. Yes, be jealous! ;]
Ah, I just have so many more stories of students that I can share with you! God has been incredible and I can’t wait to see how many more spiritual birthdays we are going to be celebrating along with Jesus’ birthday this Christmas!!!
PRAY FOR THESE STUDENTS. They’re going to know JESUS!!!
Also pray for the many students who already know the LORD as their Savior. They have made that step out in faith alone even when the rest of their families are still worshiping buddha. But they know they want Jesus and they are running hard after Him. Many of them are even witnessing to their parents/families about Christ when they go home.
Yay for the Jesus movement in Cambodia and the hearts of those who aren’t afraid to dive headfirst into an amazing love relationship with the LORD!
