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A Little Child Shall Lead Them

2010 Cambodia Mission Trip

This mission trip has been an eye opener for me. I am grateful to God for working it out for my children and me to come and serve in small but meaningful ways. In general, short- term mission trips serve as encouragement for the locals, and reveal the love that the Savior has for them. God has put us together for this mission, and I have enjoyed a "taste of heaven" with the brethren.

I saw that God has indeed given us more love for souls, as I witnessed tears and compassion when various team members shared their testimonies at the conclusion of the trip. As for myself, I am beginning to see how special each child and adult is in the eyes of God. Having previously lived in Vietnam and Thailand, because of the ubiquitous poverty, I had learned to become almost numb to these things. Yes, it did bother my conscience every day, but I would ask myself, “What can I as a foreigner do without the support of a foundation?” There were various ex-pat charities, but they seemed to make an insignificant difference within the overall scope of poverty.
   
I am especially impressed to see how the ASAP church planters, pastors, literacy teachers, medical missionaries and ministry leaders interact to share the love of God with others. They are filled with the Holy Spirit, and have love for the souls that God has brought to them. The testimonies of answered prayers that the children shared have been a powerful witness to me, revealing that our God is alive and hears the prayers of each of His children. A little girl shared how her mother had gone into prison because of the inability to pay her debts. This girl told her Christian teachers at the Feed & Read School, who prayed for God to help bail the mother out. When the prayer was answered and her mother was released from prison, she started attending church regularly. This story, as told from a small child who was not at all ashamed to share this testimony in front of her classmates, proved a touching and effective testimony for me.  Oh how our Father loves us, and how He wants to make us happy, and to free us from the bondage of sin! He really wants us to be joyful Christians, and to free us from anything that separates us from Him.

Another little girl, Cheum Srey Nang told her story about how after she told her family about the love of Jesus, she started to pray for peace in her family.  After a period of six months, the father himself came to the Feed & Read School to learn more about Christianity. Then after a year later, he brought his wife to learn about Jesus. God continued to bless their family, and now both parents are Literature Evangelists. Praise God!

Then, there's little Chun Srey Roth who was sick and continued praying for about six months. After she got well, her mother agreed for her to come back to the school, of which she is so grateful and continues to thank her God!

An opportunity opened up for us to visit the parents of two students, which was a highlight for me to see how they lived. Their living quarters are basic, but I can see that there are Christian influences inside their houses. One lady kept her quarters very clean, which impressed me to which I complimented her. She gave a beautiful answer, which was that she did it so that her daughter would stay healthy and clean. This is part of our health message, and I can see how it is a part of her lifestyle—praise God!

This trip has also furthered my belief that “less is more”. I have always resolved to live with that motto, but I see that I can go even further with this concept. The joy of serving the Lord is all we really need, to fill our lives with so much good that we won't need much more in life. Jesus was always ready in an instant to serve the Father because He had not earthly burdens to weigh Him down, what a lesson that is for all of us.

Lastly, another reason why this trip is significant for me is because in my heart of hearts, I have always longed to go back to South East Asia to serve God in some capacity; this last mission has only increased my desire to do just that. As of now, I do not know what the Lord has in store for me, but with much prayer and deliberation, I believe that the Lord will open the way for me to serve Him. I want to thank the dedicated staff at ASAP for having put together this trip for lay people like us. Indeed, God is good!