Ten Minutes…
I ask to take TEN MINUTES of your time to tell you
about a period of TEN MINUTES that changed my life…
Just the other night, Ingrid invited our team to
distribute food to the street families down by the river here in Phenom Penh.
We went to work preparing the bags, placing in a sandwich, a water bottle, a
small dessert and few other little treats. After a short time of prayer we
hopped aboard our Tuk Tuk and zipped off towards the river. Upon arrival it
became clear that there were a lot more families than I could have ever
imagined living on the cruel streets of the capital city.
clothes, rotting teeth, and matted hair. They were families living a life I
don’t wish for any family, yet alone anyone. We began to distribute the food to
people in need when before we could even do anything to stop it, we were
surrounded by a large amount of very hungry people. They swooped in like
vultures grabbing the food from our big bag and ripping the bags from the hands
of their companions beside them. It was survival of the fittest and to come out
empty handed was the last thing they desired. It was the fastest food
distribution I have ever seen and equally the most chaotic. It was a discouraging
enterprise and was not peaceful in any sense of the term. The craziness died
down as the bags disappeared in a matter of minutes and the window of
opportunity finally opened for us to have some dialogue and interaction with
them. It was enjoyable to spend time with them and talk with what few words we
were able to communicate when our translator was not around. But, all these
events were all an intro to what was about to take place. The moment God
captured my attention in a new way…
We walked back to the Tuk Tuk preparing to leave when
four little kids about 4 or 5 years old captured my attention. They were super
shy, but equally as curious. I was drawn to them right away and did the only
thing I knew how to do and that was play with them. These four street children
instantly captured my heart and I was left there asking God for an answer, a
command for action. All He said was “Love them” and that’s exactly what I
did… I spent the next ten minutes playing with them, hugging them, carrying
them around, and simply loving them. I wanted to show them true love, God’s
love. And for reasons unknown, I feel that it may have been the first time in
their lives that someone showed them unconditional love, the kind that comes
from Christ alone. Our Tuk Tuk ride home felt like it went on for hours as I
replayed the time I spent with those kids over and over again in my head, my
heart still aching for them.
Their smiles will always be in my memory and I will
never forget that day for as long as I live. My heart goes out to the street
children of Phenom Penh, all 15000 of them. All 15000 of these children that roam these city streets during the day
and sleep on them a night. I will never forget the TEN MINUTES that revealed to
me yet another facet of the heart of God and that without exaggeration…
Changed my
life…
