God's Christmas present to me...

Before heading off to Cambodia, I had no clue what to expect. I did pray that God would prepare my heart to be open to accept the conditions there and to guide me as I prepared for my Christmas message for the folks in Phnom Penh. Like I shared with my team; I took it of more as a field trip. What I had in mind was; "Okay we're heading to Cambodia for Christmas; I'm speaking on Christmas morning and all will be find and dandy". 

I guess God had other plans in mind. I knew there was a reason why God wanted me to go to Cambodia over Christmas ever since Kit and Soke Yuen invited me along to be part of the team; that was back in August. However; since then I could never put my finger on the reason why. All along I thought it was something I could contribute to the team or some skill that I had that could benefit the people who were in Phnom Penh. But it was totally selfish of me to think that. I never thought of the possibility that it was the Cambodian people who had a lesson to teach me. A lesson I will soon learn the hard way. 

The first two days were rough. I was totally taken out of my comfort zone. All my luxuries all my comforts were thrown out the window. My amenities were stripped down to a bare minimum; enough to survive but with minimal comfort to what I'm used to.

At this point all I could do was to rely on God to get me through. It was not the easiest thing in the world but I could hear God's still subtle voice telling me to trust Him and there was a greater reason why He wanted me on the trip. Slowly but surely I began to ease up and get into the groove of things in Phnom Penh.

Through the inductions conducted by Brenda; I soon began to realize that Cambodia is a nation in the dark desperately seeking the light of God. The atrocities committed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge tore a nation apart. It separated  families, friends and most dreadfully separated the Cambodia people from God. Christianity in the 1960's were beginning to show signs of revival in Cambodia. But during the reign of Pol Pot and his cadres; it forced hundreds if not thousands of foreigners to flee Cambodia to neighboring countries for the fear of their lives. These included missionaries as well; effectively reducing the support Christians in Cambodia had from their spiritual mentors. 

The stories told from the walls of the Tuol Seng Genocide Museum describes a nation thrown into the darkest pits of hell. Over a period of 4 years 2 to3 million Cambodian's were executed mercilessly at the whim of suspicions. The madness got out of control that cadres began turning against themselves. It is said that those executed were less than the total number with a majority of them perishing due to illnesses and starvation while in detention. Through out that period it is believed that 20-30% of Cambodia's population were wiped out. 

The mugshots of the victims put on display at the museum tell a chilling tail of how a nation fell away from God. Only these pictures remain of the victims to give a hint of recognition to the individuals who fell victim to this evil regime. There is no way to identify bones belonging to any individual as they have been scattered and buried in mass graves all around the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

 The picture above tells a grim story of how prisoners were barb wired in to prevent them from committing suicide by jumping off higher floors. The mental torture of the victims far exceeded the pain of the physical torture endured.

After my introduction to Cambodian history; I began to realize that the reason for being here was that God could teach me a few lessons in life that I've conveniently forgotten. I got the opportunity to listen to the testimonies from the student's staying at the Bethany Home in Phnom Penh. To see their faith and the joy they receive from Christ overwhelming their own personal struggles with the world and family puts me to shame.

The Takeo Market

Cambodian Baguette's

The Church in Takeo.

The team enjoying their Grilled Stuffed Frogs

Through out the stay there it began to dawn on me the reason why God wanted me there. My relationship with Him has grown rather monotonous. Being caught up with work, house issues and wedding planning I've began spending less time with God. I've gotten caught up with the world and this was God's way of pulling me back to Him. 

This has got to be the sweetest brother and sister I've seen. He takes very good care of his sister making sure she's never more than an arm's length away and they are both incredibly polite.

Witnessing how much joy these little kids have in the Lord reminded me of Matthew 18:3; 'Truly I tell you unless you change and become like little children; you will never enter the kingdom of God'.

The simple faith that I've been lacking all this while was made known to me by God through out this trip.

Sombart's cute daughter.

Students from the Bethany Home

There's an interesting tale about this guy. I can't really remember his name but then I mentored him and prayed for him during the English lessons. On the final night of our trip he came up to me shook my hand and thanked me for praying for him.

As I returned home; a sense of greater appreciation enveloped my senses. I felt ashamed of myself. Ashamed that even though I constantly uttered with my lips that I was grateful to God for His blessings; deep down inside I didn't mean it. I was too caught up with issues of the world trying to do everything by my own strength but I failed to give credit to the Almighty One who has been silently behind the scenes making everything happen for me.  

This Christmas; I discovered that God wants me closer to Him and to be thankful of the blessings He has provided. More often than note I tend to overlook the little blessings I receive daily that I chalk it down as something I accomplished on my own.But I've come to learn that I can do nothing on my own; nothing on my own strength accept to trust God and let Him have His way in my life.