Afajita

On the morning of August 23 we finally arrived at the Pochentong Airport in Phnom Penh. It was a long flight. I was tired, hungry, and a little airsick. I didn’t have enough energy to really gage how I felt at the time. All I thought was, “Wow, so this is home now?” We quickly maneuvered into line for immigration. It was in that line that we had our first encounter with a Cambodian. A security guard stood a few feet from us. He just stood there bored not doing much of anything really. Then he saw Silas. Immediately his dull face lit up. Silas smiled at him and the rest is history. This grumpy man suddenly seemed more like an excited uncle, smiling and playing with Silas until we were done in line.

Since then, it’s just been more of the same. Wherever we go with Silas, scary people suddenly become warm and friendly. Whenever we go into a restaurant, the waiters hold and play with him while we eat. In the markets, all the women start laughing and goo gooing over him. Moto drivers stop to smile. Sometimes we’ll be walking down the street and a complete stranger will yell out, “Sua siday Sila! (Hi Silas!)” No one knows Danny and my names. We’re just known around the neighborhood as, “Ba and Ma Sila”.

What’s surprising is that I kind of expected the women to love children but not the men. Yet, everywhere we go, we see fathers holding, playing with, and loving their children. Even young men smile and speak tenderly to the little ones. It is amazing experiencing how much Cambodians love kids; how baby friendly this country is.

Yesterday, during a time of prayer, I reflected on the experience with the airport security guard. It was a wonderfully unexpected “Welcome to Cambodia!” But more so, it reminded me of Jesus in Matthew 19:13-14:

Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

As I continued to reflect on this passage and our first week here in Cambodia, I pondered, “The way Cambodians love children really reflects Jesus’ love for them.” Then it hit me, “Why do I spend so much time and energy being afraid of Cambodians? Why do I look for issues and sins that need to be corrected?” I was caught. My arrogance and patronizing attitude soon morphed into deep conviction. I felt God say, “Cambodians are made in my image just as much as you are. Instead of looking for faults in the Cambodian people, look for how they reflect me. What can you learn from them? How can they teach you? Look for these images of God in the people of Cambodia.”