Visiting Vietnam helped me realize the heavy spirit in Cambodia. We were warned during orientation that there were some intense spirits in Phnom Penh—apathy, lust, etc.—but it’s harder to recognize them when you are in the middle of it all. There is a strong sense of hopelessness—like they have given up on trying to restore their lives after the Khmer Rouge. Entering Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) almost gave me the feeling of weights being lifted from my shoulders. Both nations have suffered great tragedy in the last century with the repercussions of war still lingering. 
It seems that these countries have chosen to handle restoration differently, though—one nearly giving up and the other recognizing what happened and making every effort to prevent it from happening again. Phnom Penh is cluttered with trash all over. People will toss their litter onto the streets as if it is one large garbage dump. They employ street sweepers, but they cannot keep up with the amount of trash being discarded in the open. I visited an island village nearby and there were hundreds of people just sitting around doing nothing. The unemployment rate is staggering in Cambodia. It doesn’t seem like they are making any effort to change it, though. In Ho Chi Minh City the streets are clean and there is an essence of moving foreword. The people are busy and prospering. Their tourism is soaring. We took a history tour that brought perspective to what the Vietnamese went through during the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese [now] are not lingering in the past, though. They are pressing on to make things better than before. Our tour-guide even said, “We let bygones be bygones.” The government is also listening to the needs of the people and making amends where necessary.
This got me thinking about sin and forgiveness in our lives. When we ask for forgiveness we have two choices. We can either look at the prior sin and dwell on it so much that we risk repeating it, or we can look beyond the sin, recognizing our mistake and looking for something good* to replace it. Our team has been talking about that a lot lately. The idea that we are Saints, so we should act like it; not “sinners saved by grace” as many churches refer. Calling ourselves sinners, even saved by grace, still labels ourselves sinners. When did Christ ever refer to Christians as sinners? He didn’t—He has called us Saints. By the blood He shed, we are saved and are now Saints. If you call yourself a sinner, chances are you will act like it. Instead, call yourself a Saint and start holding up that title!
* profitable
The first two photos are in Cambodia; the third is in Ho Chi Minh City.
