Picture this: 10 women and 10 men, all twenty-something year olds from the poorest villages across Cambodia arrive in Phnom Penh with the hope of a better future through furthering their education at university. They are future pediatricians, lawyers, software engineers, midwives, and teachers all with the common goal of financial security.
Most don’t have any money when they arrive, making safe housing hard to come by, but through word of mouth, they hear of a dormitory run by a husband and wife team from tribal India who will house them for free(except $10 for electricity) and even provide English classes for them.
It sounds too good to be true, right?
It’s not.
My team has the privilege of sharing a dorm and teaching English to these said college students this month. To teach is to give me too much credit because they already know so much; it’s more strengthening their English through social interaction and workbook exercises in my opinion, but I digress.
There are six different classes a day, with six different groups of young adults, all who came in the first day with a sheepish smile on their faces and said , “hello teacher.” They were enthusiastic to learn once the initial shy facade evaporated and their continued eagerness to strengthen their skills makes me so excited for ministry each day.
Most of the students were not Christians when they arrived at the dorm, but because our gracious hosts have set up a bible study twice a week, many have come to know Jesus. And they don’t just know Jesus; these kids are on fire for The Lord, singing and praising Jesus for their newfound freedom. How Great is Our God has never sounded as beautiful as it does when sung by college students in the Khmer language.
Their smiles have become contagious, their greetings energetic, their conversations sincere, and their enthusiasm inspiring. Their being encourages me to be the best version of myself that I can be; the light in the world that Christ calls me to be.
I didn’t know what to expect when we were told we were going to work with University students, and it’s already so much more than I expected, and something I didn’t even know my heart desired until I got to be a part of it.
I’m wondering what other desires we carry in our hearts that we will discover only after we surrender more of ourselves to Abba?
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