Hi y’all it is about time I check in with you all and share a bit about what I have been up to! The past few weeks have been full of lots of hard work and being the hands and feet of Jesus behind the scenes. It has been a great season of reflecting on God’s power and authority over people’s lives and trusting that He is using me to do His work even if it isn’t directly preaching the gospel to those I come into contact with. We have seen loads of fruit during this season and it has been exciting to see how the Lord is working through the ministry partners we are engaged with. So here is a brief over view of what has gone on the last few weeks and what the Lord has been revealing to me on a personal level, I hope you all enjoy!
Almost immediately upon arriving in Cambodia we were told that our team was going to be used as a set up and tear down crew for a Christian camp that was going ot be held through a local school. That was about all the info that we were given and as the weeks unfolded we quickly found out not only would we be lending a hand but that God had ordained us being here in this country specifically for this event. During our 3rd week in Cambodia the country celebrated a national holiday for a week so our routine daily ministry of going to the villages was put on hold and we were called into a week of preparing for this camp that was coming up. We were tasked with cutting out literally hundreds of decorations, name tags, Bible verses and all sorts of props and signs for the upcoming camp. I am talking 9-5 for a full work week in decoration and name tag production mode. We spent almost that whole week in an office in an empty school preparing and organizing for the camp while the entire country was on holiday, dare I say it gave off a Covid era ghost town vibe. It was really awesome to see the joy and fervency our team worked with to glorify the God behind the scenes in what could have easily been viewed as a mundane and unimportant task.
Upon our arrival to camp we were under the impression that we would have a busy first day of setting up our decorations and the camp in general but we soon learned that God had so much more in store for us in this week at camp. After just the first night we learned that we would be all hands on deck all day everyday preparing award give away prizes, managing materials for studies each day, prepping teaching spaces and small group break outs, running games and activities, being shower monitors and so much more with an average work day of about 0700 – 2230. We got to engage with the students in a hands on way during passing time and express God’s love for them through our actions and language barrier limited engagements but most fulfilling of all we got to provide a stress free environment for them and the local leaders/camp counselors to create create a space where everyone could encounter the Lord. Almost every where that we have been we have been in the spotlight and held on a pedestal that at most times did not feel deserved but for this week we got to practice our servant leadership and honestly it was such a blast! There were so many cool testimonies that I got to experience from my point of view and although the camp was almost entirely in the Cambodian native language we got to witness the Holy Spirit move and hear a lot of second hand testimonies of how it impacted 90+ kids over the course of our time there. I want to highlight a few of my favorite observations from the week:
- The spiritual maturity of the camp counselors was incredible. Most of these young men and women grew up a product of the ministry that was hosting the camp and their desire for the kids to encounter Jesus was so inspiring. One specific example was a counselor who casually mentioned that he didn’t sleep much over night because of one of his campers facing doubts and spiritual warfare attacking his faith. His response was simple, fervent prayer and intercession for his campers faith through out the night until he was back to feeling firm in his identity in Christ. It was a very cool thing to see the product of a long established ministry creating leaders who were then in turn mentoring and raising up the next group of leaders.
- Many students were moved to a place of deeper devotion to Christ and some even chose to give their lives to Christ during the camp. One of my favorite stories of this was a counselor telling me one of his campers had given his life to the Lord and how excited he was to meet with this young man on a regular basis to continue to disciple him and lead him deeper into his faith. This young counselor was 23 with a wife and 2 kids and was so eager to carve out time from his busy schedule to continue to pour into this young new believer, a great example of how we should support those who are just coming to Christ. It was cool to see how the Lord was using this time to find lost sheep as well as grow the skills and deepen the already existing relationships that He had with young leaders.
- During worship a famous Christian rapper in Cambodia made an appearance and during one of his songs I took notice of the oldest counselor there probably 60+ years old who was in the back watching all the kids go crazy and dancing and singing to the Lord. This man has undoubtedly lived through some tough times with the killing fields and reign of the Khmer Rouge that ended in the 1990’s. I can only imagine what was going through his mind as he watched the next generation of believers be able to freely worship God amongst like minded individuals. He endured more than I could ever imagine for exactly that moment and the smile on his face told me he didn’t regret a single moment of it. I hope one day as I am growing older in age I can stand back and enjoy the site of young men and women coming to Christ knowing I have served Him well and fulfilled my calling in this life as I am sure that man was feeling during that moment.
- The kids here are just so full of joy. There was a major language barrier during camp but I heard “I love you teacher Tanner” and got more hugs than I can count from the young men that were present. They truly have the joy of the Holy Spirit living in them despite circumstances that are much more difficult than I encountered growing up. The amount of courage it takes to give your life to Christ in a culture where it will almost certainly get you shunned is certainly very great and these young men were eager to spread love and share their relationship with Jesus with others.
I am sure there are so many individual testimonies that I am leaving out from our time at camp. Because of the language barrier I honestly probably won’t ever know the majority of the ways that the Lord used those few days to impact the kids that were present at the camp. And you know what? The Spirit has given me so much peace about that, knowing that what happened over those few days will certainly impact generations to come and was the fruit of a ministry that started in Cambodia over 15 years ago. Most of our ministry in life will be planting and watering seeds and that is beautiful and necessary work. It was a lot of fun to get to participate in that aspect of spreading the gospel and very fulfilling to see the leaders of the ministry get to experience fruit they had been laboring after for over a decade. God is faithful and when we plant ourselves somewhere and commit our lives to His will and work He will be faithful to produce a harvest.
Ministry in the villages has been much the same as our time at camp. We have been serving alongside our ministry partners and helping to teach english and the Bible to the kids of local villages outside of Siem Reap. I think the most impactful thing that we have been able to share with the communities in the villages has been Christ like love though our actions and spending time with the kids and families when we do house visits. We have gotten to hear several testimonies of the how the Lord has performed miraculous healings and made connections amongst the believers in the villages. We have been able to pray with and for the families in the villages and share some of our own testimonies to edify the body and encourage one another in our faith walks. I am certain the Lord will use these encounters to touch the hearts of many of the people we get to engage with. I can’t wait to get to heaven and hear from some of the people that we have met along the way and to be able to share with them as well about how their joy happiness and love have affected my life as well. Cambodia is full of some of the most loving, kind and generous people I have met in my travels and I have no doubts that the Lord is using this time to advance His kingdom amongst these people.
All glory to God for sustaining us during this trip and being the light and love that is needed for this world. He has been a rock and a refuge, as well as a loving and caring Father. We are only a few weeks out from our return home, I can’t wait to see you all and share more of these stories with you in person. God Bless and talk to you all soon!
