Its funny how sometimes we wander through life, really wondering if the things we do and encounter happen according to any preplanned design or if we just happen to stumble from one thing to the next- never really knowing if our seemingly insignificant lives matter to the rest of the world. I know that I often feel like I’m just meandering through…. play with orphans in Africa, plant a church in Peru, make jewelry with former prostitutes in Thailand, teach English to Cambodians… this is life.
As strange as it may seem, I don’t often see the results or realize the impact of our ministry immediately. In fact, I don’t believe that I fully even realize that the ministry we began at the beginning of the year isn’t complete yet. Seeds that were planted at the beginning of the year are still growing and being harvested.
My team is currently working with New Life Fellowship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This church has several ministries to meet the needs of the Khmer people. My team has divided by interest to meet the needs of the different ministries. I jumped into English classes and was quickly given a text book and class to co-teach with Chris Telfer.
We have enjoyed passing the lesson back and forth, having fun with our students and being challenged with questions like ‘What’s the difference between timber and column?’ and ‘What does tortilla mean?’ We laugh;)
Thursday morning I was asked to fill in at an earlier class, and I wasn’t exactly sure what I would be teaching, but I figured I could talk about different greetings around the world or some culture differences between the States and Cambodia. When I arrived, the head of the department explained that 9:30 to 10:30 is Bible teaching time and asked what I was teaching on… I froze.
**Time OUT- Let me explain something that may be surprising, I haven’t done any preaching or teaching on the World Race. In the past 8 ½ months of ministry, I’ve never given a testimony, preached a sermon, taught a class… I’ve successfully hidden behind more dominant and, in my opinion, more gifted teammates. For me, teaching English is not a big deal, teaching Bible is an enormous mountain that I generally opt out of climbing.
Honestly, I’ve always been much more comfortable with taking a supporting role when it comes to preaching/ teaching/ speaking to large groups. It’s interesting to see how the Lord has taken me through a process of brokenness, refinement, and dependency before he brought me full circle to share the truth of His word with this class of Cambodians. He has ripped fear from me and in its place I’ve found LIFE. Time IN**
I was searching my brain for a Bible story I could share with the class and despite my desperate attempts to grasp something- I came up with nothing…not even Noah or Moses or Jonah…nothing. I was about in panic mode when the teacher told me I would start in five minutes. I quickly took off for our apartment in search of my Bible, which I had conveniently left on the coffee table. As I was running out the door, I shouted to Jenny that I needed a story to teach on and my mind was completely worthless. I really needed the Holy Spirit. As I slammed the door, I heard her yell ‘Abraham and Isaac.’
Long story short, I ran back to class to find approximately 75 Cambodian young adults waiting for me. Sweaty and out of breath, I tried to calm myself down and form some sort of logical thought process before I launched into the story of Abraham’s obedience in withholding nothing from His Lord, not even the thing most dear to him- his son Isaac.
I know that this story is not mere coincidence of times and places. And I know that the Lord is always doing something greater than my eyes are fully able to see and my mind is fully able to wrap around. It’s these things that I praise him for. And it’s a greater faith that I long for. I still want MORE! I still want it ALL!
