Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - Somewhere Else in Cambodia
While the girls at the safe house were at school, we traveled to tour the famous temples at Angkor Wat. The prestige of these temples is incredible! I can't imagine how much time and effort it took to build them without the assistance of modern machinery. [Be sure to check out the pictures below!]
We went to the safe house around dinner time and ate with the girls. After dinner, I had the privilege of leading a devotional and craft. The devotional discussed how we are all uniquely created, yet Christ is the common bond that holds us all together as brothers and sisters. In order to demonstrate this in a craft, we had the girls each paint a small piece of coconut. Then, we threaded fishing line through a small hole in the coconut pieces then tied them to a small hoop to create a wind chime. The uniquely decorated pieces of coconut represented each of us as a unique being, and the string holding the wind chime together represented the common bond we have in God.
Unfortunately, one girl just wasn't feeling the craft.
I tried to put coconut, paint, and a brush in front of her, but she refused. I was at a loss. I did not want to force her to paint a piece, but I also did not want her to feel regret for not having a piece of her own to be proud of when she saw the wind chime hanging in the house days, weeks, or months down the road.
With gestures, I decided to ask if I could decorate a piece for her. She obliged. Thank goodness one of the girls at the other safe house that speaks English fairly well taught me colors in Khmer because I was able to ask this girl which was her favorite.
"Phoa Teuk Krewt." [Pwah Tuh-KROWT].
Orange. Excellent.
I sat next to her as I painted her name in orange on a piece of coconut. Then I used some other colors to add a bit of flair. I showed her the finished product, and she smiled.
Then something great happened. I asked her if she wanted to decorate one, and SHE SAID YES!
This girl simply required both verbal and physical encouragement. In addition to me explaining the instructions to her, she also needed to see it done in order to understand the project. She needed to witness someone else decorate one to realize it was something she wanted to do.
In the same way, being an effective witness for Christ requires both a verbal and physical component. You can tell people who God is and what He has done for us, but often people are more skeptical than that. Our culture has lost credibility when it comes to words. We are stuck in the habit of talking up our good qualities. We post boastful 'check out how good I look today' pictures and 'my life is cooler than yours' statuses on Facebook. On first dates, we put our best foot forward while locking up the crazy inside of us for a few hours at a time. We volunteer for random crap in college in order to bulk up our resumes...
...then we wonder why people are skeptical when we tell them how good God is.
Well, it's because words just do not have much weight anymore. However, words accompanied by actions can provide an added level of credibility. Rather than simply telling someone who God is, show them who He is! Be like Jesus. Set the example of what it looks like to live life for Him. And, just like the little girl with the wind chime craft, maybe they will change their mind. Pray that they will.
[The following pictures are from the visits to the temples at Angkor Wat. Enjoy!]
"Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave."
Exodus 18:19-20
While the girls at the safe house were at school, we traveled to tour the famous temples at Angkor Wat. The prestige of these temples is incredible! I can't imagine how much time and effort it took to build them without the assistance of modern machinery. [Be sure to check out the pictures below!]
We went to the safe house around dinner time and ate with the girls. After dinner, I had the privilege of leading a devotional and craft. The devotional discussed how we are all uniquely created, yet Christ is the common bond that holds us all together as brothers and sisters. In order to demonstrate this in a craft, we had the girls each paint a small piece of coconut. Then, we threaded fishing line through a small hole in the coconut pieces then tied them to a small hoop to create a wind chime. The uniquely decorated pieces of coconut represented each of us as a unique being, and the string holding the wind chime together represented the common bond we have in God.
Unfortunately, one girl just wasn't feeling the craft.
I tried to put coconut, paint, and a brush in front of her, but she refused. I was at a loss. I did not want to force her to paint a piece, but I also did not want her to feel regret for not having a piece of her own to be proud of when she saw the wind chime hanging in the house days, weeks, or months down the road.
With gestures, I decided to ask if I could decorate a piece for her. She obliged. Thank goodness one of the girls at the other safe house that speaks English fairly well taught me colors in Khmer because I was able to ask this girl which was her favorite.
"Phoa Teuk Krewt." [Pwah Tuh-KROWT].
Orange. Excellent.
I sat next to her as I painted her name in orange on a piece of coconut. Then I used some other colors to add a bit of flair. I showed her the finished product, and she smiled.
Then something great happened. I asked her if she wanted to decorate one, and SHE SAID YES!
This girl simply required both verbal and physical encouragement. In addition to me explaining the instructions to her, she also needed to see it done in order to understand the project. She needed to witness someone else decorate one to realize it was something she wanted to do.
In the same way, being an effective witness for Christ requires both a verbal and physical component. You can tell people who God is and what He has done for us, but often people are more skeptical than that. Our culture has lost credibility when it comes to words. We are stuck in the habit of talking up our good qualities. We post boastful 'check out how good I look today' pictures and 'my life is cooler than yours' statuses on Facebook. On first dates, we put our best foot forward while locking up the crazy inside of us for a few hours at a time. We volunteer for random crap in college in order to bulk up our resumes...
...then we wonder why people are skeptical when we tell them how good God is.
Well, it's because words just do not have much weight anymore. However, words accompanied by actions can provide an added level of credibility. Rather than simply telling someone who God is, show them who He is! Be like Jesus. Set the example of what it looks like to live life for Him. And, just like the little girl with the wind chime craft, maybe they will change their mind. Pray that they will.
[The following pictures are from the visits to the temples at Angkor Wat. Enjoy!]
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