Walking out of my room is always entertaining in Kampot. After two days of living in my new home, I am still amazed at this new world around me. In Battambang I lived right in the city and always had free access to coffee shops, bikes, and tuk tuck drivers. There was no shortage of connection and my team grew accustomed to our new lives. In Kampot, we live an hour from the city. Outside our room is the kitchen area, a favorite place for dog and chicken alike. Our (least) favorite rooster is Jeff, he always has to crow in the kitchen at five-thirty each morning. There is a lady who sells coffee across the street, but we drink our coffee in bags with ice that comes from places not worth mentioning. Our main transportation is our ministry host Vuthy. He drives us around in the back of his truck and is willing to take us most anywhere we ask.
We met Vuthy on our first night in Kampot, and I connected with him right from the start. He brough his whole family to meet us the first night- his mother, his wife, his 5 month year old son (my team can’t get enough of him), his brother, his brother’s wife and kids, the whole gang. Ever since the start, Vuthy has hosted and provided for us in every circumstance he can. He puts his ministry first in everything and loves the Lord more than everything.
My ministry for the next two months includes house visits in the morning, construction in the afternoon, and teaching in the evening. I see the Lord at work in all of them, but construction holds a special place in my heart- mostly because all we’ve done so far is destruction.
On our first day the sky was cloudy and heavy. It is the rainy season in Cambodia right now, so every day is filled with random showers and downpours. My team looked upon our victim- a rectangular pavilion of straw, bamboo, and logs. It was basically a straw roof held together by bamboo on top of thick logs dug a foot into the ground. The structure was a little intimidating for five young women of God, two hammers, a hoe (cue title), and Vuthy, but he wanted it down so we got to work. After a half hour of banging, tearing, and lifting logs out of the ground, the structure was almost destroyed. By now the rain had started to fall, but our team was so close that we wanted to keep working. Suddenly, lightning broke across the sky and the rain poured. Corbyn (my team leader) immediately called us under shelter. We stood under a nearby metal roof, watching the rain rage in.
Here is when God spoke to me. In the midst of this random rain storm, my ministry host Vuthy began to splash water on my teammates. He would catch water in his hand until he held a small pool, sneak up on his victims and catch them right in the face. Soon we all were splashing each other, so much that we all became soaking wet. Vuthy then took it a step further and began to grab some mud. We had met this guy two days ago, and he’s already throwing mud at us!! I ran out with my teammate Jaci, and together we fearlessly got covered in mud. It became a game of everyone verses Vuthy, and it was poorly out matched. He got us every time.
It was the most light hearted fun I have had in a long time.
See, I don’t think God calls Christians to be clean. I don’t think we’re suppose to always be in fresh smelling homes of shiny floors and spotless counters. When God created man in Genesis 2:7, He got down in the dirt, shaped Adam in his hands, and breathed life right into Adam’s nose. Jesus parallels this action when the Pharisees bring him the woman caught in adultery in John 8. While they stand above this condemned woman in their fancy attire and judgement, Jesus gets down in the dirt. He tells the officials off, saying that he who has no sin should cast the first stone. When all of the Jewish officials had walked away, Jesus then stands up and gives the woman mercy, charging her to sin no more. Jesus doesn’t stand for the Jewish officials; he kneels for the sinful woman.
Now, we don’t all have to move to Cambodia and share a kitchen with chickens. Somebody has to preach to the clean people, and maybe thats what the Lord wants you to do. I can’t answer that question, but what I can say is that if God (the one who breathes stars and spoke the world into existence) is willing to get down in the dirt for His people, then we as Christians should always be willing to get down in the dirt too. Who knows, it might even be fun.
~CLS
