I have been struggling with what to write for the past two weeks. It is a combination of things that have hindered me from writing, but the one thing I know that has prevented me from writing until now is the present darkness that I have felt over Cambodia.
Cambodia is a sad place; they have just begun to reconstruct a society after the rule of the Khmer Rouge. It was a destructive socialist political party that, with the leadership of Pol Pot, recklessly slaughtered one quarter of the country’s population without blinking an eye. It was genocide of intellect; killing only the educated who may have been capable of rebuilding the nation.
And it only happened within the past thirty years. Streets switch between being paved and unpaved, people build homes and fences out of any scraps of material they can find, and schoolteachers bribe their students to earn extra money on the side. It is a sad place, but I forgot to look for God.
It wasn’t until I saw the pastor of the church here where I found a glimmer of hope. My friend from the orphanage pointed him out, and the second I saw him I began to look around.
I was in the middle of a church of over three hundred people all praising the Lord in Khmer. Hands were raised, eyes were turned heavenward, and mouths were declaring the omnipotence of God. People were going around and praying over one another, sharing the love and encouragement and joy that come from Christ alone.
Then the Lord showed me something:
I had let the darkness steal my joy, the joy I derive from Christ alone.
I had spent two weeks trying to pray to God to give me strength, courage, wisdom, etc. that I had forgotten to pray for the joy in Him alone. Yes, there is sadness in Cambodia from the past, but people here are persevering. They are not giving up on their lives, and God has definitely not forgotten them.
Through ministry here at the orphanage I began to notice the children’s innocent laughter and joyful playing. We, as a team, have an opportunity to bring joy to a new generation of Cambodians that don’t have to suffer from political pain or emotional misery. And this is how I will finish his month; remembering the joy and hope that the Lord has for this country.
Pray for our hearts. Pray that we would not find joy in our surroundings, but in the one who created joy: Jesus.
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” – Hebrews 11: 13-16
