We were on our way back from spending the Khmer New Year out in a village when our Tuk Tuk driver and local pastor pulled off to the side of the road. He came around the back and started to speak to our host as we got out and stretched out legs. The smaller tuk tuk caught up to us and the youth in our tuk tuk jumped into the other one. We were then told that the pastor’s father wasn’t doing well and we were going to pray for him. So we all piled back into the vehicle and took off for his father’s house.
We were greeted by solemn faces as the entire family gathered around the bed that the father laid in. The man in the bed looked frail and couldn’t speak. From our understanding, he and his whole family was Buddhist except the pastor we were with. So we prayed for him to be healed and to believe in Jesus before we left.
The next morning, we awoke to find out he had passed away early in the morning. We were going to go to the funeral. Our team had so many questions. We were discouraged and just didn’t understand. During the day, the pastor shared that his father went to heaven. We so hoped what he said was true.
What we realized is the importance and urgency of what we are doing here. God can and will heal people, but why wait until they are on their death bed to share with them about Jesus? I don’t have all the answers about why it all played out the way it did. However, I know God is still good. It’s so important for us to be willing to share the gospel. You never know when it’s seriously a life or death matter.
