This is Panha.
He is 10 years old in the 2nd grade.
I sponsor him to go to school through an organization called PPC
He lives in a village on the outskirts of the city.
When I visited him for the first time a little over a month ago, I had the opportunity to hang out with his friends at the school, meet his teacher (who is a Christian in the public school system which is virtually unheard of) and met the family he lives with.
This is Panha’s family.
Panha is an orphan and was taken in by them. They have given their entire lives to do full time ministry. They have a small church called Family Fellowship of Christ that is directly associate with the orphanage they run. (I visited last weekend and was very blessed). The orphanage is not an orphanage with many rooms and plenty of space. In fact, this orphanage consists of one room shared by 11 people (the children and the family shown above). Some days they do not have enough money for food but as they walk in obedience to God’s calling,
He continues to provide all their needs.
Faith like a child.
Sometimes I forget what that is.
I find myself often questioning and wrestling with God
instead of trusting Him.
I make life and even my walk with Christ
more complicated than it needs to be.
There is so much we can learn from the simple faith of a child.
The way a child’s eyes light up when they get excited.
The way they laugh when something small is amusing.
Their outlook on life consisting of a natural ability to
give and receive love, hope and trust.
Sometimes I meet children whose hope has been stolen by selfish adults and circumstances they had no control over. Childlike faith is having the ability to say that no matter what the circumstance, even if it may look impossible, I will
TRUST GOD and
BELIEVE in HIS GOODNESS NO MATTER WHAT.
Hmmmm…this is definitely an on time reminder for me!!!
Last week, I received a letter from Panha. He wrote me a song in Khmer (it was translated for me into English). This song is full of God’s promises to us when we learn to operate in childlike faith.
There is a river that flows from the Lord.
This river makes the lame man walk and
Gives sight to the blind
It releases people from prison
This river flows from the Lord
May the water come into my Spirit
Water, please come fill my body
Please come and fill me with joy
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
Mark 10:14b
That’s awesome, Amarja. What a difference you’ve made in Panha’s life.
See you soon!
Beautiful.
I’m so glad you shared your Cambodian family with us the first night! You are a blessing!
Wow Amarja, this really touched my heart. So proud of you girl. Love you so much and continue to pray for the Lord to guide you into places like these.