“The Christians are the only ones that will ever help.’- Warden of Kampong Cham’s prison
The door swings open and we walk down a path lined with chain linked fence separating two barracks. As we walk through, the sounds get louder and louder as attention moves onto the white girls. The hisses and whistles and kissy sounds spread like wildfire and the only words I can pick out of the crowds that line the fences to look at us are “hello” followed by other things in Khmer.
I begin to wonder what Jesus would have done…if He were a woman. Do I keep my head on the ground and deny these men much sought after attention or smile and say hello? I went with the latter, even though the returned smiles and looks often made me uncomfortable.
I sit in the pavilion and wait for the 60 or so men to file in. As I speak to them, I call them brother. When I look at these gang members, drug dealers, and killers I wonder why I pass no judgment and yet I could turn to thoughts of friends and loved ones at any time with much heavier condemnation. Perhaps these men are teaching me.
Tabula rasa. A blank slate. With 95% of Cambodia’s population being Buddhist, leading a Bible study here holds some additional caveats. As much as Christians can destroy Christianity with their hypocrisy in the States, we take for granted the base level of knowledge people have of Jesus. Here, I could say the name, “Jesus” and someone would think I’m talking about the person sitting on the other side of the room. Our task seemed to be filling in base knowledge while being conscious of the Buddhist traditions that are heavily woven into cultural expectations. A clean slate and so much to say…
We shared our personal stories. As we talk, more men line the fence to listen in. We talked about how to read the Bible. And Zacchaeus and the woman at the well, and how God can completely change your life. We handed out Bibles for them to read themselves. We talked about prayer, and as I shared a personal story of prayer changing my life I watched as a single tear silenced a group of criminals, catching all of their attention.
I wish you could have been there to feel the atmosphere. God was clearly moving. Changing hearts. The men talked of the new hope they had found in Him. They talked about how their families abandoned them, but they feel comforted by having God.
And the warden is taking notice too, although agnostic, he has sat through some of our messages, observing intently. On multiple occasions he has asked for medical supplies that the government is not providing. With desperation in his eyes, he tells us that, “the Christians seem to be the only ones that will help.” 95% of their population is Buddhist…and yet they are turning to us. What a powerful testimony God is making here.
