See You When You See Me

There is a Cambodian phrase that the students say to me all the time 'see you when you see me'---they often say it when I am leaving Svay Pak at the end of the day. Well today was my last day in Svay Pak ---at least for this year. As one of Chantha's students said to me 'your 2 months were like 2 minutes here'---she was right. I don't know where the time went, it flew way too fast for me but then again time flies when you are having fun!Tomorrow morning I leave to head back to Canada filled with many rich memories and blessings from the Lord. Yet as I leave Cambodia this time round, my heart it is filled with mixed emotions. I am sad to leave the wonderful friends in Svay Pak who have become my Cambodian family. Today I said to them that of all the trips I have made to Cambodia over these past 10 years, this one was the best because of them. I saw Jesus in CHantha's students. In the way in which they served one another and all who passed through the doors of The Sanctuary. I saw Jesus in the kids who daily showered me with His love by their hugs and by their smiles. I saw Jesus in the faces of old and the young who came to the medical clinic. I saw Jesus in the least of these and it was a joyous sight!

Svay Pak is a place that grows on you. It's hard to imagine a dusty town that used to be a modern day Sodom and Gomorroah can get under your skin but it does because there the Light of Christ is no longer a pocket in the darkness but it is becoming brighter each day. Here we have the opportunity each day to be involved in such a radical ministry, one that involves a constant battle, a battle for lost souls, a battle against injustice, a battle against the demonic forces that seek to oppress both children and adults. This is not a battle for the faint hearted but God has continuously showed us that the battle is His. We are simply called to persevere knowing that we are not laboring in vain when we labor for the Lord because ultimately we stand on the side of victory. When I think of Svay Pak, I see the growing army He is building there---Pastor Chantha, Bunthan, Ratanak, Don & Bridget Brewster, the growing number of students (28) that are being discipled, the 150 plus children at the Kids Klub, the 400 plus congregation. This is the Lord's Army made up of ordinary people who are willing to trust an extraordinary God to do the impossible in their community. He is, He can and He will!

Can anything good come out of Svay Pak? That same question was asked some 2000 years ago when people said 'can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Yes and we are seeing the first fruits of the 'good' thing that God has started and what the Lord starts He promises to complete. And so as I leave Svay Pak this year, I am excited and filled with much hope for the ongoing fruit that will spring forth despite the darkness. God is at work and His plans will not be thwarted as you and I pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done in a place where He has clearly taken up residence!

Thank you all for all your prayers, your support and your words of encouragement. Because you have stood in the gap, seeds of love, seeds of hope and seeds of joy have been planted for eternity in this little village called Svay Pak!