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Challenge.02
Google Cambodia. Do some research on its history, politics, current events, religious and spiritual background.Write a note of encouragement and/or commit to praying daily for the GrX Cambodia team that will be serving at orphanage sites from June 20-30. Please submit these notes to your small group leaders or church staff by June 15th to pass on to the team.

Response.02 - Jessica W.

I was scrolling through some recent portraits taken in Cambodia and came across this shot of a young woman arched over her bed. At first, there was nothing striking about it. She sat languidly with one frail arm propped on a pillow and both feet planted on the floor. Her bony frame tipped to one side, overstressed by the heavy, bleakish look on her face. The title explained, "Woman recovering after being struck by a car in Phnom Penh."

Then, in the corner of the photograph, I noticed this threatening, cheese-grater-like device being eaten alive by rust. On average, something like that wouldn't bother me, except it was protruding from the flesh of her left calf and was most likely from the Middle Ages. The rest of her leg was stained with a vicious burn that started just below the knee and ended at her ankle. From far away it resembled a purple leg warmer, except she would never take it off. There were loosely wrapped bandages decorating her injury, one in the form of a cross.

I scrolled through some other pictures and continued reading through a myriad of websites concerning this compact country's history, economic status, governmental, political, and transnational issues. Before this challenge, I knew little about Cambodia besides the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, which killed between one to three million individuals through execution, starvation, and forced labor. One of their mottos was: "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss."

Even today, Cambodia is caught within a cycle of sex trafficking and forced labor; not to mention its drug corruption within the government, military, and police. Right now, 50% of the population is under 21 years old and lacking in education. Loss of habitat and decline in biodiversity are becoming major issues due to illegal logging and strip mining. What's more, there is a surplus of mortality due to AIDS.

But these were all newspaper facts to me. How do I get to a place where my heart breaks for the people of Cambodia?

I refocused my attention back to the woman in the photograph. It was taken last year. I decided to commit to pray for her despite the fact that I knew nothing about her except that she lived in Cambodia (if she was even alive still) and that her leg was shackled to a corroded cheese-grater. I decided to pray precisely because my natural inclination is to think, "I have no personal connection to her pain. I will never look her in the eye, cook her dinner, or laugh about The Office with her. Why should I waste time on this nameless woman when other people in my life are clearly hurting?" I anticipated a week dribbled with emotionally drab prayers.

During church this past Sunday, Min reminded us that true mercy can only flow out of a life that has received grace. I recalled how our King trudged through earth in sandals, carried a bloodied cross that both friends and enemies would nail him to, whispered forgiveness as He breathed his last, then rose from the grave so that I could call Him "Abba" without fear. My heart softened as I lay in His forgiving arms.

The week rolled on. I noticed that the more time I spent soaking in his love in the midst of my failures, insecurities and shame, the more the woman in the picture changed. She became less of an arbitrary burden and turned into someone more like me, created with a longing to cry out "Abba, I love you". She was created to worship Him and be liberated from whatever sin and oppression that haunted her waking moments. By experiencing His love for me first, somehow I was able to share that love through praying for this woman.

It's been a few days and surprisingly enough, praying for this woman has led me to pray for government she lives under, the children that scuttle around her neighborhood, the economic crisis her country is in, the Cambodia team that will being flying in just one month shy of the parliamentary elections. There are moments when I feel like a creepy stalker for book-marking this stranger's picture in my "Favorites" sections, but I am grateful for her presence in my life.

I pray for and encourage this year's Cambodia team to accept their limitations and brokenness as they arrive in a foreign land; to serve at the orphanage knowing full well that in complete weakness they are God's beloved; to give, not from a guilty conscience or moral obligation, but from a tender heart weighted with love because it has received love first. I pray that the team would return home to begin a new journey of deeper compassion - not only for the children of Cambodia, but for the rest of this crazy world, for their community, for their church, and for themselves.

Read Response.01

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