Cambodia Day One - Hope

With every step I feared I would actually step on a fragment of bone or piece of clothing from the thousands of victims that were killed under my feet. It was hard not to look at the ground while I listened to the survivor stories of the Khmer Rouge Genocide that happened from 1975 to 1979. Our group was visiting the Killing Fields memorial, but this was only one of 300 killing fields that the Khmer Regime had. What a somber place, from the sounds of roosters crowing and a few tour guides talking it was mostly silent. Most visitors listened to the stories over a headset and a little audio player as we followed the map and choose different stories to listen to.  They were all heart breaking, but some ripped my heart into pieces. Seeing the bones and skulls pilled high in the memorial seemed all so surreal, but sadly so true.

One story that stood out to me the most was a man that talked about having hope that he would get out alive was the only thing that helped him survive torture and malnourishment. It reminded me of my hope in Jesus Christ and how that is what sustains me. I cannot put my hope in friends or family because they will probably let me down. I cannot put hope in the government and even leaders of churches because they are human and will make mistakes. I cannot put hope in money, houses, jobs or any material things because they can disappear. My hope needs to be and will always need to remain in Jesus. He is my Hope. He is my future. He is my joy and He is my Peace. Since He is all those things to me I need to make sure I share that Hope to the world. It could mean having coffee with a friend that is discouraged or depressed about the weight of life around them. It could be building relationship with a neighbor, but for me and the other six of us on this missions trip, it is about serving a church in a small village in Cambodia. We might not see the fruit of our labor till we reach heaven, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. My prayer this week is that I will be present when God opens the door for me to share my hope. I don’t have to pound scripture that they don’t understand into their heads. All I need is to love them and serve them where their needs need to be met. Then just maybe it will actually be my life that will be changed forever because I was obedient to God’s call.