About a week ago Both (a Cambodian student of ours that looks like an anime character and pronounces his name “boat” because th is hard for them to say) and I went to the same church service. This service was a little different but fairly similar to many church services I’ve been to in my life. The difference was that it was predominantly Cambodian people who were definitely not speaking English. The pastor is a 35 yr old American man who has spent much of his life here and speaks Khmer effortlessly.
This “English-friendly” church had a translator that you could listen to through your portable headsets. For some reason I decided to not use mine for the service. I felt detached and was happy to give it Natalie who was sharing one with Hollis. I was drawn to just shut my mouth and try to hear this man’s heart. From his gestures and expressions I caught pieces here and there of what He was saying and trying to convey to a mostly attentive congregation. As I scanned through the people, my eyes rested on Both who was at his first church service. He was there because He had been invited and he enjoys being with us. In fact, the night before he and about 10 other students stayed over until about 10:30 pm for a party at our house. I will have to tell you more later about why that just doesn’t normally happen. However, my thoughts lingered on the irony that God was trying to show me in that moment.
Both understood clearly every word that came out of the pastor’s mouth because they speak the same language. Yet, most of it he didn’t truly understand. The concepts were foriegn and the practices of the church were different than anything he had ever been used to. I’m sure that he is still processing some of what he saw and heard even now…possibly even as I type. On the flip side I speak as much Khmer as I speak Serbian which is not very much! However, even though I didn’t understand a word he said I felt as though I understood everything he was trying to convey,,,ironic?
This led me to the question of where I stood with God…
Do we speak the same language but I just don’t understand it yet?
OR
Do I not know His exact words yet but still understand what He is trying to convey to me fairly often?
How about you? Do you listen and understand what you hear? Do you perceive what you see?
