...a rainy Tuesday...

We found out yesterday that the government mandated the shutdown of most businesses today to commemorate the death of the king (2012).  But its a work day in the lab for me - processing timesheets, approving invoices, planning a managers meeting, finishing a quarterly report, and replying to 12 flagged emails in my inbox. Can she do it all in this wonderful day of silence, or will it carry over to tomorrow when I'll have 10 staff needing me?

I also want to take a minute to make sure I communicate.

This link is really interesting if you're inclined to think about faith. Notice, I'm in here :) 

http://discipleallnations.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/the-top-20-countries-where-christianity-is-growing-the-fastest/

To supplement this, I had a top tier conversation with a man on a bus the other day. He was the most evangelical and excited Muslim I've ever met. He had videos on his ipad to show me, he had studied debates of all kinds, asked me what I wanted to know about Islam, and asked my why I believed the way I do. 

We both talked about how praying helps us get wisdom or strength when we're lacking it, and how selfish and misled mankind is. At one point he shook his head in dismay at people who have no faith - "no surety or purpose in life" he actually said - that helps them when they can't do things on their own. He really seemed broken by it.

I found us more alike than different during a few moments (well, aside from the Mohamed and the Jesus thing and mandatory fasting for a month). Obviously, our history is the same until Ishmael and Isaac. 

As I asked him more and more questions he confessed that he doesn't do all 5 daily calls to prayer because he likes to sleep in, drinks alcohol and eats pork, and thinks that there are too many rules and no assurance of heaven when he dies.  He said he picks and chooses which parts he wants to believe and which parts are less important.

I sat there seeing a Muslim man, but my heart and my ears heard the same rebellions my friends have with following Jesus.

So I brought it up - how a religion frustrates you because its rules, and how we should forget about it to a degree and just focus on knowing the focal point personally and doing what he did and said to do... how THEN its desirable and freeing and applicable. And this is where I lost him and we were more different than alike :)  

 

A divine appointment for both of us none the less. What a great bus ride.

Here’s reason #19 why Khmer reaching Khmer – or nationals reaching nationals in any country – is the way to go for missions. 

There’s a local Body just outside of Phnom Penh (you can know it as Prake P.) that, every Sunday, fasts through lunch. They don’t stand around for 20 minutes deciding where to eat, they don’t try to beat the other churches to the good restaurants. They take up a collection of the money they would’ve spent on lunch, and decide on a neighbor near the church or other family they know of to give it to. Sometimes they even just walk the streets near them and find someone with need. They sit with them, explain where the money came from, get to know them, ask to pray with them. LOVE them. 

Can I say this is fantastic. FANTASTIC. True followers of what Jesus taught. What Jesus himself would do. Loving people. Helping people. Valuing people! Seizing opportunities to function as a team, as a body. Impacting lives. Sharing faith in a tangible way. 

In churches in the city with more westerners, we’ve brought the idea of eating out after church with us. Everyone goes out. How sad - that tradition in the US is becoming tradition here. (Yes, its fellowship, yes, its not bad in theory, but just trac with me for a minute when I call it “sad”). 

Khmer without that outside influence felt led to do this instead simply based on what they Read, and decided to follow it.

I’m humbled.

I'm still loving this. And humbled.  

I will say, though, that a few months ago I endured a few weeks where my ambition stuttered. My flesh wanted air conditioning, a husband, and more help in this monumental task. I was selfish and asked (again) for God to show me some kind of blueprint for my next months and years. Not to my surprise I heard the answer, 'Do what I've called you to do today, and I'll take care of the future. You're not ready to know it yet.'

So I've immersed myself in making the most of the day. Stepped up my game. 

-  writing more specific and intentional language lessons for staff and neighbors I teach each week

-  created small, medium, and large professional and personal wish lists for the lab and waded right in

-  memorized 6 verses, which is feat for me, and woken up early (also a feat for me!) to enjoy quiet mornings with my creator before the day runs away from me

- took on 3 new ideas/projects regarding agriculture, sanitation, and carbon crediting

- became more intentional in certain situations

- and held staff mid-year evaluations

And with great results. Professionally, spiritually, socially. He's blessed and followed through on what He told me to do. Not too shabby of a team :) 

What do we have to lose? What will I say a few years from now? My time in Cambodia was "fun"? "Taught me a lot"? 

I want to say I was a person who offered to pray with people, and changed lives. That its not cliche to say Cambodia is a better place because of my obedience, but that we see changed hearts, homes with toilets, savings accounts started, neighbor kids that didn't drop out of school like the other 50%, and bigger dreams than continued poverty. 

At the risk of being cliche, try to pick out 1 or 2 people or situations you can help change around you. A potential divorce avoided. A teenager encouraged and trusted. A voice of hard love to a friend that doesn't know how to save/spend money. We all have a massive plate our Father wants us to handle on his behalf. Be that voice, or those hands.