We walked into the camp at mealtime and saw our youth group scattered across the blue tarp serving as our eating area. There was a pleasant feeling of camaraderie as everyone ate. Conversations developed between different groups, and we enjoyed being part of it. As we talked, one young man told us how much he had enjoyed science when Jonathan had taught it for one term. “It was the only science class I had ever really enjoyed, and the rest of the students felt the same way.” Wow!

During the time that Jonathan taught that science class, I felt so bad for him and the students. He had to translate each lesson into English to figure out what topic he needed to teach, prepare a lesson, and then have someone translate it back into Khmer for the students to understand. Because Jonathan was also acting as principal at the time, there were several occasions when things arose that he had to address. That made him late to class or even miss teaching some classes entirely. But this student didn’t remember the mistakes and shortcomings. He remembered how science came alive with the experiments they did in class. It was such a blessing to hear how something that felt like a struggle or even a failure at the time was actually a benefit to others.

If you are struggling with something God asks you to do or even feel like you are doing a terrible job, remember that God can take your humble efforts to make an impact in the lives of others. You may not know it for years to come.

This young man grew out of our school but has remained connected to the church members and other youth. A few weeks ago, he was baptized. He is the first student from a Buddhist background to take this step to fully follow Jesus. Praise God for each individual who influenced and impacted this young man in many small ways on his journey of faith.

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