By the time I got to Cambodia, I was tired. Being five months into the Race, I felt homesick and ready to move on from Asia. Basically I went into the month with a bad attitude. I had no desire to be in that place and to really do anything. It was a short month for us, and I was glad it would all be over soon.
Our ministry partners were great and they gave us opportunity serve in different ways and have some down time as well. University of the Nations had well established ministries at a local A.I.D.S. hospital, a government orphanage, and an after school program. All of these were wonderful and running smoothly. We were able to participate wherever we wanted but because things were done so well, it felt like we were just visitors most of the time and not really doing that much. It was a little discouraging.
I did not really feel led to the hospital and only went one time. My place was at the orphanage. The very first day we went, I met a very special person. As we walked into the room where the children were waiting for us, I saw a boy about 9 years old sitting off by himself. Immediately I was drawn to him. As I walked over, I noticed that he had a disability. I sat with him all afternoon, trying to make him smile. He did not talk and when he walked it was with a limp. He was dirty, drooled, and played with garbage. I loved him. That first day, he hardly looked at me and I was only able to get one smile from him. The other children told me that he could not speak and that he was crazy (their word for disabled).
As the week went by, I found out more information about this boy named Sinah. He was 8-10 years old, never spoke, hit a lot, and bit himself. His “house mom” was old and could not care for him. He was not bathed for the most part and was beat at night by a boy in his room because he made noises. Sinah’s birth mother brought him to this orphanage five years earlier because she could not care for him. A woman from France about a year ago decided to adopt him and sent money to give him nice clothes and things. Sadly, when she arrived in Cambodia and saw Sinah and his disability, she decided she did not want him and stopped all support. This was the saddest part to me.
My heart went out to this boy; he needed to know someone cared about him. As the days went by, Sinah began to smile more, laugh even, and play with me. We went on walks and I talked to him and we had a great time. By the end he would see me and come as quickly as he could to give me a hug. I was so touched the first time he hugged me. We built a great friendship over just a week or two. He trusted me and looked for me each day.
I began to see why I had come to Cambodia. I did not want to be there and was even asking God why he had placed me in Asia for five months when I had never had a desire to go there. I felt like God said “I sent you here for the One.” It wasn’t about me or where I wanted to go, but it was about a little boy in Cambodia who needed someone to make him smile. You see, God cares about that one person. He sends people across the world to make that one person smile even for just one day. God loves that much. We should too.
The last day we had there, I went back to say goodbye to Sinah. I went into the orphanage and looked everywhere for him but could not find him. I remembered the last time I had seen him, he had hugged me a hundred times. It was kind of strange and at the time I just thought it was cute. After not finding him, I asked someone if they knew where he was. I was told that because it was so hard to care for him, Sinah was sent to live in another home in town. I never got to say goodbye to Sinah. I think that he knew he was not going to see me again though, and that is why he blessed me with all those hugs the day before. Remember him and all the other children who need to be loved. Remember them all by taking time to bring a smile to someone’s face each day.
