Where All Roads Meet

Today was our last day in Phnom Penh, but we had time for one more Distribution this morning before we left.  It was a small community on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, and although it was not very far away, it still took us a while to navigate around the deep potholes, motorcyclists, children, and animals that share the roads.

  I am noticing that once you leave the main roads in Cambodia, time seems to have stood still.  The roads resemble our forest service roads;  packed down dirt with no signs, and potholes that could swallow your car.  Lining the sides of the roads are their homes.  Their houses are built on stilts to protect them from flooding during the rainy season and are made of various materials, including sheet metal, palm leaf matting (looks like thatched leaves or straw), and wood, but I've also seen homes that consist of platforms built on stilts with a roof made of tarp.  Some unfortunate souls have even pitched tarp tents along the sides of the roads.  The countryside is beautiful and lush with rice fields and lotus flowers, and the roads intertwine through the landscape like the roots of a tree.

When we arrived at our destination we could see the people sitting calmly in their seats as they waited for us. Their composure and dignity, even amidst their hardship enthralls me, they are a regal people and as I look at their faces and the stories written so plainly in their eyes, I am undone.  I hope that you will fall in love with them as I have.

During the Rice Distribution the People are given a pamphlet explaining who Jesus is and that he can be their savior.  They also receive a sermon from Pastor Setan, the President of Transform Asia in Cambodia.  During the introductions Pastor Setan pointed to a striking young woman with a pink shawl draped over her head.  He explained that she was a Muslim, but what he was pointing out was how intently she was reading the pamphlet.  I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she devoured the words in that pamphlet, and then later during the sermon how she digested every word.

You will notice in the pictures attached to this blog entry that there are women with the Muslim covering and that there are women with shaved heads.  The women with the shaved heads are Buddhists, which is the national religion.  Inside that tent, receiving the hope of Jesus Christ, were Muslims, Buddhists, and Christans, all together. They were each on a different religious path coming into that tent, but for that one hour they all received the message of the one true God.  That is the unifying power of God and his word!  

Thank you to those of you who have supported this rice distribution with your prayers and donations.  

Please continue to pray for this woman and the rest of the Cambodian people that we will come in contact with over the next week and a half.

If you would like to see more pictures of the distribution please go to our web site at plr.org or visit us on Facebook.