I’ve often times found myself picturing a whole different world while reading different stories in the Bible. I think being back in the states can make it so easy to forget that all these things actually happened on our planet only a few thousand years ago. Since being here in Cambodia, I have been overwhelmed by the parts of the Bible I have been able to see come to life.
One big thing I’ve been seeing coming to life here is spiritual warfare. Cambodia has a heavy spiritual darkness to it, no doubt. There are empty temples all over that seem like their own little ghost towns. Outside of the orphanage we are staying at, not too many people in the community know Jesus. To say the enemy is trying to attack our team hard would be an understatement. There have been several nights where teammates of mine have woken up from horrifying dreams or seeing/feeling the presence of spirits. The first time it happened was probably the first time in my life I’ve felt truly fearful because this isn’t something I experience everyday back home. But from that, I’ve learned that it’s not about focusing on the enemy attacking us, but about the authority we ALREADY have from Jesus Christ. Jesus has already won!! Demons shriek at His name, and He gives us the power and authority to overcome these darknesses. Being fearless doesn’t mean there’s an absence of fear, but being able to look at that fear and say “my God is bigger than this”. So while experiencing this warfare isn’t necessarily pleasant, it has been such a great opportunity to grow my faith in knowing that I have that authority through Christ in me.
Something that I have absolutely loved seeing come to life is the miracles we hear about in the Bible. We so often hear about lepers being cleansed, the blind being able to see, and the sick being healed. However, it’s not a normal thing we get to see on a daily basis. At training camp, we had a service on praying for healing and how to go about that. I think it’s safe to say that a lot of us were hesitant and skeptical because it’s just not something we’re used to seeing or doing. One day last week, our friend Sopon was sick from eating something poisonous. Sopon is seventeen years old, and he is one of the boys who stays at the orphanage. He brings us clean water and hangs out with us everyday in such a joyful spirit. When we saw how sick he was feeling, a few teammates and I wanted to go pray for him. We went to the orphanage after lunch, but he was already asleep. We still wanted to pray healing over him, so we stood outside where he sleeps, and all four of us took turns praying. As SOON as we said “amen”, Sopon came crawling out the door to us. He didn’t know why we were there or that we prayed for him. He sat down next to us and said that he was suddenly feeling much better. I honestly couldn’t believe it, but it gave me such a boost of faith to know that the things we read about in the Bible are constant. They happened back then, happen today, and will continue to happen tomorrow. It was such a good reminder that God is good all the time.
