What up again from good ol’ Cambodia!!
Update-The past 3 days our team spent 3 days in Kapong Chnang, in a village about 1.5 hours away from Phnom Penh. This past Monday through Wednesday was a big Buddhist holiday here in Cambodia. All the kids are off school and adults off work for these 3 days, so we went to the village with our hosts and a group from the church to put on an English/sports camp for all the kids in the village! While in the village, God showed me some cool things about himself through different situations!
One night, we were worshipping around a campfire singing to The Lord, and simultaneously we could hear the monks chanting and the celebrations in the neighborhood for the Buddhist holiday. Taking this all in, I realized that even here in this tiny Cambodian village, God is present. Even in the midst of a huge Buddhist holiday, in a country where being a Christian is rare (and generally frowned upon), God brought believers from the Philippines, Vietnam, the US, and Cambodia (all with the church group) to this village to bring light and the truth of Jesus Christ! How sweet is our Lord that he brings such different people to such a place for His good?!
The more time I spend in Cambodia, I realize how big our God really is. He is bigger than the American church boxes we put Him in. He’s bigger than a huge national Buddhist holiday. He does extravagant things through us to bring love to the corners of the earth, to his children.
One morning after our soccer game, I was playing with a little boy from the village (-one of the cutest, smiliest little dudes I’ve met). I was chasing him around and around and as he was giggling and loving this little game, I heard God remind me of something. It was like God stopped me right there and said –
“Look. This is what I do for you, and for all my children… I chase after all my children no matter how many times they run away. I pursue my kids relentlessly. I want their hearts and I will not stop pursuing them. “
Im so thankful for this moment I had with the Lord… Seeing so much need here in Cambodia, and in other places all over the world, sometimes I get so overwhelmed. I think- God, how can we reach so many people, so many places? How can we show your love everywhere? & In this moment, running around with a 4 year old, God revealed this to me:
Yes, it is important that we send missionaries and people everywhere to spread the word of God. But when we leave, God won’t stop! God pursues us all because he loves us so deeply. His love doesn’t run out. It will continue to chase us wherever we go. As missionaries, we are just a part of His plan to reach his kids.
One of my favorite verses says- “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, nor things in the present or the future, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in ALL creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8: 38-39
No matter how many times we run away, God still loves us enough to pursue us again and again. Nothing will stop His love from reaching his kids…here in Cambodia, and all over the earth. He is here!
