It was a Wednesday afternoon and two of my teammates and I were out in search of a birthday cake. It was Patten’s, our other teammate’s, birthday the next day. We were wandering the streets of Siem Reap looking for anywhere that might have a cake. As we were walking, we saw a sign for a bakery up ahead. Hopeful to find a cake, we walked in and walked up to the counter. We were greeted by a very friendly woman who asked how she could help us. When we posed our dilemma, she was sad to inform us there was no cake in the place. They lady, who was Cambodian and about my age, was very sweet and told us we could buy a smoothie to cheer up. We smiled, but running out of time to buy the cake and money, we kindly denied and walked out.
Almost immediately after I left that cafe, I had a weird feeling from the Holy Spirit. God told me I was supposed to go back to that cafe a another day and minister to that woman. It was such a strong feeling that I couldn’t shake it. I told my teammates who were with me about how I was feeling and my friend, Casie, told me that she felt the same way. We made a pact that we were going to go back.
The next day I was sitting in the dining room doing my devotion when I started to think about that lady in the cafe again. I felt God calling me to write a letter to her. As I started to write “Dear… ” I asked God,
“What is her name?”
Almost immediately the names Jen and Jennifer started coming to mind. I thought,
“That’s weird, no Cambodian would have an American name. I must just be thinking of random names.” I brushed it off, and kept writing the letter.
The next day, I had an afternoon free and wanted to go to the cafe again. Casie was feeling sick that day so I went by myself. When I reached the half way point between our ministry and the cafe, I realized that I forgot my letter. Out of laziness I decided to just keep going forward without getting it.
I walked in and the same lady was there. I was excited! However, they were busy with customers at the time. When I went up to the counter she recognized me from the other day and was happy I came back. She asked if we ever found the cake and I happily said yes. I ordered a coffee and then she sat me down and began to help other customers. I was confused, I knew God wanted me to talk with her but how could I if she was so busy?
Well, God heard my question and responded because almost immediately the bus load of tourists in the cafe began to board their bus and leave. Soon it was just me, the lady, and her coworkers.
I had no idea how to start a conversation with them all. I asked God for help, and He answered my prayers again because the lady came up to me and asked if I was doing ok. I said yes and then we began chit chatting. She told me she was from Cambodia, had been living here all her life, and was 22 years old (just like me!) The other ladies who were working came over to us, curious about what we were talking about.
Then I asked them the question I had been waiting to ask
“What is your name?”
She responded with a very long, hard to pronounce, Cambodian name.
“See God,” I thought, It’s not Jen or Jennifer.”
The other ladies told me their names too. I tried to pronounce their names myself and they started laughing at my poor attempt. The main lady, seeing my struggle, wrote down her name for me. I still couldn’t pronounce it. Then she pointed at her name and said:
“That’s my real name, but my friends call me Jeni.”
I freaked out inside. My heart did a flip. God was right! I could imagine God looking at me and chuckling saying “See, I told you so!” I knew then and there that God’s calling was right, I was supposed to tell Jeni about Jesus.
Sadly, another bus load of tourists came in and our conversation ended. But I knew I was going to come back.
I went back to the cafe a couple more times the following 2 weeks. Casie went with me each time. Every time I went with the intention of telling her about Jesus, but we would usually end up talking about our lives, our families, and our interests. Our conversations were great and I loved getting to know her, but I knew what I was supposed to do. I kept waiting for the “right time” to talk about God but I was really waiting for her to bring it up first, which never happened. I never knew I would be uncomfortable with evangelizing because I love talking to strangers, but I couldn’t bring myself to mid-conversation say “Hey do you know about Jesus?” Plus our conversations would stop short every time a bus load of tourists came in. So, Casie proposed an excellent idea:
“Let’s take her out to dinner.”
On a Monday night, we rolled up to the cafe and Jeni and her coworker drove us to down to Pub Street. We explored the streets and found a nice quiet Mexican restaurant. We sat down and began to chit chat again. Then I felt the feeling, the pounding in your heart when the Holy Spirit is telling you to do something. This was the moment He wanted me to talk to Jeni about God. So I opened my mouth and asked:
“Do you believe in God?”
Kind of an awkward question, but it was out there now. Jeni then responded with a “no”. So I continued:
“I believe in God, and He has specifically put you on my heart to tell you about His love for you.”
I told her about how God told me her name and how much He loves her. Casie and I both shared bits of our testimony and how God has changed our lives. We told her that He loves her so much and can change her life too if she accepts that love.
Jenni seemed very intrigued. She was smiling and saying “wow” to all of our stories. She told us a bit about the struggles in her life and how she wanted that peace, love and hope that we were talking about. She told us she was interested in this God. Then she asked:
“What do I do now?”
I was overjoyed. Jeni wanted to know more about Christ. She wanted to take the next step by learning more about Him. She wasn’t sure about accepting Him at that moment, but she wanted to know more. We asked if we could pray for her and she said yes. We asked God to show her His love and that she would accept it and be changed. After the prayer Jeni was so happy. She was so thankful that we prayed for her.
Casie and I were ecstatic when we got home. We were so happy that Jenni was open to knowing more about God. Her life is so close to being changed forever.
Later that week, God placed it on my heart to buy a Bible for Jeni. So Casie and I went to a Cambodian Bible store where we found a Khmer Bible. We got the Bible and then wrote a short summary about the Bible and how to read it. We gave it to Jeni along with some encouraging notes. She was overjoyed.
Now, the hardest thing about this situation is that I am leaving Cambodia today. I would love to sit and help Jenni go through and understand the Bible but I can’t. I want to disciple her but I have to leave. Sure there is Facebook, but I want to be there for her in person. God keeps telling me that I need to trust in Him with this situation. All I can do is pray that Jenni will have time in her busy schedule to read the Bible and find a community of Cambodian believers that can disciple her. I have to pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in her heart even when I am gone. God is an awesome God and I know that He has amazing plans for Jeni, after all He told me her name. I know He will keep pursuing her heart and I can’t wait for the day that she accepts Him as her Savior. Jenni holds a special place in my heart, and I know she is even more loved by our God.
