A couple times a week we would go on prayer walks. The majority of these times, these two little boys, about 10 years old, would come with us. Although quite the trouble makers, they are my favorite boys. They got to follow in Utri’s footsteps and see how he loves others. It was quite an incredible sight to witness. It makes me think about the possiblities of their futures. Would these two little boys follow in the same footsteps as Utri and his friends?
One of the times we went, we came upon this old man named Three in his village. I remember passing by him crouched down by his house. My team turned the corner to figure out where to go next. All of a sudden, this old man comes up to us with his fingers in the shape of a cross. It was hard to understand until he grabbed two larger pieces of grass to put in the shape of a cross. This man was asking if we were Christains by doing this motion. It was pretty precious. I mean this 83 year old man, who was as skinny as a rail, was like a little boy who just came back from a grand adventure. Priceless.
Three invited us all into his home. We began to talk and Utri translated. Kids from around the village gathered to hear this man’s stories. He talked about how his grandson is a Christian and the wife’s entire family. I got confused as he said he was a Christian, but at the same time still practiced Budhist rituals. If I think about it, no one else in the entire village knows Jesus. There are no churches; only Budhist temples surround the village. It makes for one lonely place.
When we went back the second time, he was overwhelmed with joy because we actually came back. One’s word is very important to a Cambodian; espeically the older ones. He made his coffee tea for us to drink. Luckily, I was sitting by Kels so she could drink the majority of it. Coffee and me do not mix! He kept apologizing for not having anything to offer us; then, out of no where he gave us two cans of juice (It tasted like corn on the cob, but juice style). You see, these were the last of his stash that his grandson had given him. He gave them to us. Us. Now, if this is not true love then I do not know what is.
This man reminded me of the woman in the Bible who gave all she had as a tithe. The Word of God is active and living. I see it firsthand all the time, but especially in this man. Seeing his selfless love inspires me to live more like this. Sometimes it is hard for me to give up my last piece of gum or my last cookie. Why is this? At times, why is it so hard for me to prefer others; to put them before myself? Why do I let myself get in the way of true, selfless love. This is something that Papa keeps trying to teach me. Holding the things of this world with an open palm. If someone needs something, I want to be that person who gives with a loving heart; espeically, when it is all that I have. I am not there yet, but I think I’m heading in the right direction.
