Yes, the title of this blog is clickbait! This month we are doing Ask The Lord (ATL), which means that we entered into Cambodia with no ministry host, no place to stay, no idea where to get food, and not a clue what we were doing for ministry. The purpose of all the unknowns? Ask the Lord, and He will provide.
At debrief, our leadership told us we would be doing ATL and told us to ask God which city in Cambodia we were supposed to go to. We prayed as a team and our leadership prayed and discerned that the International Harvesters would be going to Battambang (pronounced “bottom-bong”)! We bought bus tickets for the next morning, booked a hostel, and packed our gear. The next day, after some AirCon mishaps on the bus and a slew of tuk tuk drivers fighting over the honor of carting us to our hostel, we made it!
We spent some of the first evening looking into ministries we could partner with in Battambang. We knew we wanted to work with street kids or do slum ministry and bring lift to current missionaries or organizations already “doing the thing” in Battambang. I pulled out a business card I had been keeping in my wallet since September from a woman I met at a swing dance in Harrisonburg who told me she lived in Cambodia; lo and behold, her card said she worked with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in Battambang! We emailed her and messaged a few other YWAM people, looking for leads for ministry.
On our first full day in Battambang we went to breakfast at a little place called Sunrise and picked apart Acts 2:42-47, the passage known for describing the community of the early Church, and discussed how we were going to apply it to our lives as a team. It was an empowering experience. That evening we ate at restaurant started by YWAM and set out from there to go to the YWAM base to join in their community worship.
Along the way, we ran into a group of people from Thailand in Battambang doing ministry with YWAM, which was really neat. Farther along, I noted to Ally that if we wanted to find a place to do slum ministry, all we had to do was turn right off the main road down any number of alleyways. Then, following the wisdom and guidance of Google Maps, we turned right off the main road just a few minutes later. About 20 feet into this new street, the right side of the street opened up to reveal a big, open dirt field between two buildings.
We looked at each other with mouths agape… this was it! The place God had chosen for us to do ministry! As we continued to walk down the street through the neighborhood, we encountered countless big-grinned children eager to yell “hello!!” and wave enthusiastically at us. There was so much peace in our hearts… this was the place. Around the corner, at YWAM, we caught the last half of the worship and met a man named Dom, who became our Crossfit coach (oh yeah, we do Crossfit now; it’s casual… and painful).
Two days later, Hannah and I walked back to the street we had found – Street 536 – and prayed over it. As we walked toward the field, we were greeted again with smiles and waves from every home with someone in it, both adults and children. In Luke 10, when Jesus sends out His disciples to share the news of the Kingdom of Heaven and do miracles, He tells them to find a “man of peace” in every town, who would welcome them in. And man, we found a neighborhood of peace! When Hannah and I arrived at the field, I felt peace all over it again. That place was certainly anointed and chosen for us. She and I prayed for the field and the neighborhood, played worship music and danced, and got to interact with a couple of sweet little kids who built up the courage to come play with us (we enticed them with bubbles).
Important note: Because of the long-lasting effects of the Khmer Rouge genocide in the 1970’s and the current proliferation of human trafficking in Cambodia, childhood is often stolen from the children here. They seldom experience the joy and freedom of childhood, and far too many children are sold by their families into sex slavery far too young. Cambodia is primarily a Buddhist country, so these children have a very small chance of ever experiencing the love and light of Jesus in their youth. As a team, we are passionate about giving children the opportunity to play and be children feel loved, and showing their parents and communities how precious and valuable their children are.
The love of Christ compels us to go into the dark places and shine the light of Christ.
Now, every afternoon free of torrential downpours, we go to Street 536. When we arrive, the field looks like this:
We bring bubbles, jump ropes, coloring books, a soccer ball, and a bouncy ball. It didn’t take long on the first day for kids to start showing up in droves… we had at least 35 kids show up on our first day! And now, we don’t even have to wait for them; when we arrive, they’ve been waiting for us!
They disappear and then come back with friends. We have “regulars,” who come every day to perfect their jump rope skills or play soccer with Ally & Monica. Parents and other adults from the neighborhood come and watch in confusion and wonder at the sheer LIFE that has come to that barren field.
Ally snapped this picture one day:
Aaaahhhh! I love this! I love seeing how the barren field comes to life; just add the love of Jesus!
Another big part of doing ATL ministry is being open to interruption. Ally and Marah got interrupted one day by a little boy who is now our sweetest friend. He lives one street over from Street 536, and we pass him every day on our way. This is him and his little sister:
We believe he has Down’s, and his mom tells us he is 16 years old. When he sees us walking past his driveway, he waves at us, stops what he is doing, and comes straight for us, greeting the closest one with a big hug around the waist, a toothy grin, and upwardly-extended arms, asking to be picked up and held. He would let us hold him like that forever, and he loves to look around at everyone with a big grin and give high fives and fist bumps in abundance. We love loving him and his family, and we love showing to his family and their neighbors how precious he and his little sister are. The love of Christ compels us.
So we don’t have assigned ministry in Cambodia, but that doesn’t stop us from finding ways to bring the light of Christ into dark places and join Jesus in reclaiming God’s Kingdom on Earth. This is what finding ministry looks like at home, too, so we’re just in practice mode – and you can do it too! We keep our eyes open to where God is already at work, be interruptible, and let the love of Christ compel us to love everybody always.
To God be all the glory and honor,
Jess T
