We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. All 809 of them.
It’s a Saturday, so we get a day off to “adventure” around our ministry area.
Our precious hosts, SokEng and Khema, offered to take us hiking on one of the most sacred mountains in Cambodia.
On the very top, you’ll find several Buddhist temples, along with hundreds of monkeys.
My team was very excited.
Standing at the base of the hill, we stared up and the hundreds of stone carved steps that would bring us to our destination. 809 steps.
We started climbing.
Now, I’m not afraid of any animals. I even appreciate snakes and spiders.
So, when this cute little monkey started running toward us, I was shocked to hear screaming.
Coming from me.
It turns out that I’m scared of monkeys! Terrified. And they seemed to know it. And they were very enthused.
All the sudden I’m hiding behind SokEng. He calms me down and tells me to “act natural.”
Ok, act natural.
We’re walking through beautiful golden crested temples with hand-painted ceilings.
Khema has visited the mountain many times before. We drift away from the group, drawn into a conversation. “What’s your favorite part?” I ask her. “Well, I have a special spot.”
She leads me through the forest to a huge stone cliff, with a breathtaking view of the province.
We sit cross-legged as she shares with me about her life with the Lord. I’m captured by her testimony when her eyes dart behind me. “What?” I ask, feeling a panic. “Act natural.” Out of my peripheral, I see a massive monkey, walking curiously toward us. Act natural. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
I open my eyes just as he begins to hiss.
I jumped up so fast that I almost lost my balance. Khema grabs a stick and shoos him away.
My heart is pounding, and now it seems we’ve drawn someone’s attention.
In a bright orange robe, a monk approaches us. He tells Khema, in Khmer, that we shouldn’t be this close to the edge. That’s when I met his eyes. I felt the Holy Spirit tell me, take notice.
I greet him with the only words I know in Khmer. “Jumreap sooa.” He looks at me curiously.
He tells Khema he has many questions for me. This surprises me because I have so many questions for him! He’s the monk, after all.
I ask Khema if she’ll translate for me. “Ask me anything.”
He wants to know if we are making an annual visit to the temple. What brought me here. Why I am so afraid of the monkeys.
He looks like he’s in his thirties, so I ask him how long he’s been a monk. “Many years.”
“Have you found peace here?” I ask. He takes a moment to respond. “No.”
He tells me that he is still searching. “Do you ever talk to God?” I ask him, praying in the spirit for words.
“I have never tried to talk to God, personally. I seek to understand from books.”
“Maybe you should try just talking to Him,” I say.
In the distance, a bell chimes. He must leave us now. Our time is up.
Before the hike, SokEng told us that monks are not allowed to touch women. They can’t even accept an object from a woman’s hands.
But I felt I needed to leave him something. I pulled off my bracelet and set it on the ground in front of him. He picked it up and replied, “Orgoon.”
It’s another Khmer word I understand. “Thank you.”
I wasn’t able to express much. I didn’t have the ability to really listen, either.
But the Holy Spirit has the power to do both, to a greater extent than I ever could.
I know God orchestrated that moment on the mountain. I believe He started a good work in my friend.
I’ll forever be proclaiming Philippians 1:6 over his life. I hope you’ll join me.
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
