Last week there was flooding in Cambodia and we had to use 4
wheel drive trucks to reach many of the schools and communities we were working
with. But it just kept raining.
When it floods in Cambodia, people aren’t the only ones
displaced from their homes. Tricia learned last year that snakes are also
displaced. Her medical outreach team came across two cobras in a chicken coup
that were looking for higher ground!
This week the flooding was so bad the roads to the
communities where I was travelling were completely submerged in water for
miles. When we got ready to travel to one community the local staff I work with
told me we would have to travel by boat for at least 8 miles to reach it.
When he said “boat” he was being generous. The boat he was
referring to was more like a wooden plank with a lawn mower engine attached and
an egg beater for a propeller.
We headed out in our “boat” and before we got very far the
young lady sitting behind me started screaming in Khmer. I didn’t understand
the word she was using but looked down to see a “snake” writhing around in the
boat just 8 inches beneath the bamboo seating we were sitting on. We all lifted
our feet up on the edge of the boat and started looking for a shallow place to
step out of the boat. The next problem was that when we got to a shallow area
we looked over the side of the boat to see a snake we knew was poisonous
swimming towards us looking for something to climb up on.
 |
| Snake crawling under shoes in the bottom of the boat. |
We were stuck in the boat and turned out into a rice field
away from the snake. I couldn’t get out of the boat, but was stuck in the boat
with a snake. Where was I going to go? As I spoke to the boat driver he didn’t
seem to be concerned and told me to relax and said “no problem”.
I can’t say I was able to relax, but as we glided across the
top of the water through what used to be an irrigation canal in a rice field, I
began to think about a meeting I had been in two weeks earlier with two young
ladies from Iran. These two young ladies stood up in front of some of the
leaders of the largest missions agencies in the world and told the story of
being imprisoned for their faith. They told of the horror they went through in
the prison and their decision to face death instead of denying Christ. At the
end of their talk they implored the leaders to continue sending missionaries
and biblical resources into the hardest to reach and most dangerous places in
the world.
As I thought of these two young ladies I began to realize my
current situation paled in comparison. I started asking myself how many times I
had played it safe instead of pressing on and sharing the love of Christ in
questionable situations.
Life as a Christian is often similar to the situation I was
facing on the boat. There was a snake in my boat and snakes swimming around
outside my boat. There seemed to be danger all around so the easy solution
would be to turn back and quit to avoid danger. But what did we do, we just
kept going.
This is the heart Jesus has put in passionate believers.
Keep Going! No matter what the circumstances we know His heart beats and yearns
for those who do not know Him. All
we have to do is Go!
The bible clearly tells us we will face obstacles and
suffer.
Philippians 1:29-30 “For it has been granted to you that for
the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his
sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still
have.”
But it also tells us He has given us authority and anointing
when we face such challenges, even snakes.
Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall
hurt you.”
We kept going that day and were able to spend time and share
with teachers and students in the village. I wondered that day how many people
around the world are waiting for someone to push through challenges and danger,
so they can hear and know the Love Jesus gives in abundance.
When we arrived at our location I asked the boat driver why
he didn’t get rid of the snake. He told me he was keeping the snake for Lunch!
That was an added plus to me on this trip to know that snake got cooked and
eaten.
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