“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” [Psalms 36:5]
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Our Unsung Heroes month started off in Siem Reap with listening prayer as I described in my last blog. As we did research and listened to God, we felt led to head toward Phnom Penh via the eastern route around Tonle Sap Lake. Kampong Thom was our first stop.
“Ok, we’ve arrived at our destination. How many contacts do we have here?” “Two or three…but no one has responded to emails or phone calls and there is no address.” “So really, we have no contacts.” “Now what?”
While this may not have been our exact conversation, it is how most of us were feeling on the first day in the city. Things had not gone as we thought they would. It is unsettling to be in a place with no one local to talk to and no real plan of action.
But God is faithful.
During our time in the city, God connected us with multiple amazing people from a restaurant owner from New Zealand to Christians from Cambodia to American Peace Corps volunteers. Not everyone was a potential partner for AIM or even kingdom-focused, but it was still awesome to see the network of people come together. Here are a few of my highlights from Kampong Thom.
- Jared: This young man works with World Vision. World Vision is actively doing community development work in Kampong Thom. His role was doing communications within World Vision, but I got to hear a little more about his passions during one of our talks. Jared has a Bible school background and hopes one day to be a pastor or open a girls’ dormitory in one of the bigger cities where girls from rural villages could come and stay while they receive higher education. I loved having the chance to meet this man of God and hear his heart.
- Clever Child International School (CCIS): This school serves over 300 children in the area, ages 3-15. Some of the children would not have much hope for schooling without this opportunity. The children are taught in English and the Bible is incorporated into their teaching as well. Our team had the opportunity to serve at the school for a day and had a blast.
- Develop Our Village Economy (DOVE) & Cambodian University Scholarship Project (CUSP): These two organizations are partnered together in Kampong Thom to see students from villages get an opportunity to receive higher education. DOVE also provides resources to see students come to know Christ.
- Rich & Tetra: Rich is from New Zealand and his wife, Tetra is from Cambodia. They run a restaurant in the city called Run Amok – Khmer Kiwi Kitchen. While they did not appear to have any particular Christian affiliation, meeting them was a God thing. We met them at the time when it felt like our leads were slim in the area but it turned out Rich was connected with several people and churches in the area. Run Amok Restaurant turned out to be a great meeting point for other Americans in the area too. Rich and Tetra were a very friendly and hospitable couple. They even opened their restaurant when it was typically closed – because they knew we were coming! I am thankful they crossed our path.
After 5 nights in Kampong Thom, we headed down to Kampong Cham which seemed more promising than Kampong Thom had originally been.
“Ok, we’ve arrived at our destination. How many contacts do we have here?” “Two or three…but no one has responded to emails or phone calls and there is no address.” “So really, we have no contacts.” “Now what?”
That’s right. We found ourselves in the same position as before. No official contacts. Unsure of the plan moving forward.
But again, God is faithful.
During our time in Kampong Cham, God continued to provide connections and open doors into the Christian community. By networking and making ourselves available, we were able to get a glimpse of the kingdom work being done in the city. Here are a few of my highlights from Kampong Cham.
- Destiny Rescue: This organization rescues women out of sex trafficking and provides them opportunities to make a living and have a safer, healthier life. One of the ways they do this is by opening coffee shops where the women can work. While AIM is already connected with Destiny, we found one of their coffee shops around the corner from our hotel, and it became a great meeting and connecting point. God used Destiny to open doors for us.
- Gary & Mary: This American couple works with United Cambodian Charity & Christian Children’s Health & Hope Mission. Their organization helps to bring clean water, education and medical assistance to remote villages throughout Cambodia. Not only do Gary and Mary have a heart for the villages, but they also enjoy networking within the Christian community and provided us additional ministry contacts which was so encouraging.
- Gideon: This man is a Christian tuk tuk driver. As someone who does public transportation as a living, he is well connected all over the city. A few of us had the opportunity of traveling with Gideon as he introduced us to several missionaries and Christian organizations. It was fun to see him interacting with his brothers in Christ.
- Brian & Jody: This American couple came to Cambodia with the organization Cross World. However, they have chosen to be in Kampong Cham and partner with the locals wherever their skills are needed. They work closely with a men’s dormitory where young men are able to hear the gospel and hopefully one day bring it back to their villages. Brian helps to teach English as well while Jody works with a local preschool to train teachers and teach English. The rest of their time is spent doing a variety of ministry to reach out and support their Khmer friends. The hospitality of this couple was amazing!
God’s faithfulness was also evident in the Cambodia-wide networking we were able to do in Kampong Cham. Through the contacts we made in the city, we were able to set up meetings before we even arrived in Phnom Penh, our next destination. It was encouraging for our whole team.
So I have learned, it is okay to not have a plan and not know exactly what to do next. It is in those moments we have to trust God. It is in those moments that he surprises us. It is in those moments where his faithfulness can be clearly seen. I am thankful for the ways God has already been faithful this month and I am excited to see what happens in the days we have left serving as the UH team in Cambodia!
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“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” [Deuteronomy 7:9]
