On The Roof

During the last year of living in Cambodia I have done a number of things that take me out of my comfort zone, and most of the time they are done in interesting places that are also "out of the comfort zone". This week was no exception!

Each year, thousands of young Cambodian men and women leave their homes and families in rural provincial areas, to move to Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh. Seeking after education, careers and income, these young people leave their family homes in the hope of forging a better life for themselves, and the family members who depend upon them.

Young Cambodians leave their homes to live with distant relatives or family acquaintances in Phnom Penh. Mostly forced to fend for themselves, these young people pay their hosts for housing and meals in a variety of manners.  Unfortunately they only have a modest education, few marketable skills and are unequipped for an urban environment.

Every week “on the roof” our church has a team of talented English teachers who welcome hundreds of these young people to come and learn the English language for free. Classes start at 6:30am and run hourly until 6:30pm. These amazing teachers reach out and not only teach the students English, but provide them with life skills for surviving in their new city and begin the process of sharing the Gospel and discipleship. As the students begin to speak English they can then enroll in university, technical training schools or find jobs that provide a higher wage.

This week I had the privilege of being a guest teacher in one of our English classes. I went up “on the roof” and taught English using the Bible and the scripture 1 John 4:19 “We love because God first loved us.” I keep saying “on the roof” because our classes are actually “on the roof”. We use every inch of our facility, every day! The only place for English classes is “on the roof” under a tin cover. The same area "on the roof" serves as the children's church for hundreds of kids ages 5-12 on Sunday morning. 

This particular day there were about 40 young people. Almost all of them were from villages in provincial areas. My contribution this day was minute compared to the tireless efforts of our faithful teachers, but it was exciting to teach some English and share the Word of God. We spent time discussing what love truly means and talked about several examples. One young man talked about the selfless love of a mother for her child. When I asked him why a mother and father love a child, he answered “because the mother and father create the child.” Everyone agreed this was one of the purest examples of love.

My favourite moment was when one young lady asked the question “Why did Jesus love us first?” I was able to remind her of the young man's example and share with her that Jesus is the Creator of all life and that as a mother and father love their child, so Father God loves His children. We were then able to discuss God as Creator and as Father. In a culture where only 2% of the population is Christian these basic truths are new to most people. Thank God for the opportunity to use such a simple tool as teaching English to introduce people to Father God!