At the beginning of every school year, the school staff and I go into surrounding areas and hand out brochures to advertise the school. Recently, I took a trip back to the Pnong Project to help with school registration and preparations for the new school year. We passed out the brochures during my short trip.
The market is always buzzing with activity in the morning, so we decided to pass out brochures there. As we walked through the market, the teachers helped pass out brochures on both sides of the market aisle. All of a sudden I heard a loud shriek and was enveloped in a bear hug that lifted me off the ground. It was Srey Neung, bursting with excitement, saying over and over how much she had missed me and how excited she was that I was back. I have never seen this kind of display of emotion from an Asian person in all my years in Cambodia. The people around us stared as she bubbled on, holding my hand. She told me that her husband was still out of work and that she’d had to pull her son out of school last year because he was sick for over a month with meningitis. I encouraged her to come and register him for this school year.
On Sabbath Srey Neung and I met again at the village church, and she begged me to come to her house. I went with our student missionary Camilyn and visited her and her husband. She invited me to come and eat with them the following Sabbath. I was touched by her generosity and amazed at how excited she was to see me. We had been friends before our family returned to the States for Daniel’s treatments, but I didn’t realize how deeply connected she felt. That evening she came with us into town for Sabbath evening vespers.
A few days later, Srey Neung came and registered her son for school. She told me that all of her family was sick and in the hospital. She sadly apologized that she wouldn’t be able to have me eat with them since they were not even home. I reassured her that it wasn’t a problem. I asked her if I could pray with her for them. She gladly accepted, and we prayed together for her family members.
On Sabbath as I went out to the service, I was sad to see her door closed and locked. I prayed for her family again. She didn’t come to worship with us, but we prayed for her family and others in the village who were sick with dengue fever, which seemed to be sweeping through the village.
The following day, I had to leave to return back to the States.
Since then, I have heard that Srey Neung has been coming to the church service regularly. She didn’t used to come often, and I wondered if she really had much interest. But now I see that God is still working in her heart. Please pray for her that her desire to learn about God will become as enthusiastic as her greeting to me in the market.
