Even just a few days in, Cambodia has become an evident country that’s struggling in spiritual darkness with the effects of wars, genocides, and the almost void of the gospel of Christ. The main belief is Buddhism, mainly Theravda, which makes up about 96% of the population, and if you want to be generous then Christianity gets almost 2%. On Monday my team left Phnom Penh and headed to the third largest city in Cambodia called Kampong Cham; also known as the “sleeping city” because it’s very quiet here with their history in the back of their minds. It’s a mixture of city and country side, where you will see Cambodians working out in the rice fields, on the rivers, or in their business on the streets or buildings. It’s quite a change from the Philippines and we got introduced to the culture and spiritual climate quickly. Within just a few days we’ve learned about the culture; it’s history, religions, and lifestyle. Then as our team went off to Kampong Cham, we would meet our ministry contact Cecille who truly wanted us to be introduced to this culture and what we would face. Amidst these beautiful people that God loves and has created, is a sadness of hoping in things that cannot love back.
Today my team went to the “boy mountain” and visited a Buddhist Temple area that was built in the 11th Century (way before America was even thought of!). As we climbed the mountain of stairs, the smell of the incense was so strong and evident. To the right you would see people sitting down with monks making musical prayers with food that they would soon lay down in front of a Buddha statue (whether gold or stone) and burn incense after bowing down. Centuries of history, stones that were delicately carved, and artwork that would put Michaelangelo to shame all existed here. But in the midst of the awe is a story of generations of lives that have not know the one true God and have never known the Hope.
As I walked through this huge temple I kept asking God, “Where are you in this?” As one of my teammates put it, “Why am I so lucky to hear the gospel when many people hear were not as lucky?” The reality of God’s goodness can easily be lost in the midst of this, but then God reminded me by this question, “In all these centuries, where was the church?” Paul, in Acts 20:24, describes his whole life goal as sharing the Gospel as a Task; that nothing is more important than this. Have I let other things in my life become so much more important to me, my comfort and “ideals” of what my life should be like, that it’s clouded my real purpose and Task for my life? Here I am in Cambodia, watching people bow down to gods that cannot speak, idols with no desire to have a relationship with us, and have no life. Their focus is doing nothing but good deeds so they can prepare for the next life, and others give food to their ancestors long gone hoping the spiritual part of the food will be eaten. In front of many houses are spirit houses where people will put food hoping that the spirits that roam around will be happy and not bother them. You become entrenched in this so quickly that it’s hard to become numb to the spiritual darkness. The darkness was so strong for my team, and it gave us a wrecked revelation of the bigger needs we’ve ever realized.
And this isn’t all Cambodia is under, but also the history of war and genocide. In the temple area was a grave where the skulls of many children were shot and murdered under the reign of Khmer Rouge; forcing families into the countryside but keeping children behind either for slaves or to be killed. Seeing one skull with a bullet hole in its head was heartbreaking. I asked again, “God where were you in this?”, and He responded “Where were my people?”
I’ve not come to the gravity of this yet, the seriousness of how big The Task really is. As our team prepares for Cambodia, we are being reminded of how strong this spiritual warfare truly is and just how much we need to depend on the Lord in our deepest times of darkness. We will be doing ministry for orphanages, prison, teaching English, and reaching a VIetnamese community and possible a Muslim community here. It seems almost impossible to see what God will do in a culture so lost as this one, but He is already here at work. God’s just been looking for people to live radical lives that care about Cambodia.
