A Canadian Encounter

There are so many stories I could share with you, and it's hard to choose one, but I had a particularly interesting afternoon yesterday that I'd like to tell you a bit about. For the past few days we have been spending our mornings in an orphanage playing with children, teaching bible lessons, and doing art. We are there up until about noon and then have an open afternoon so we have been spending time in the tourist area of Phnom Penh. Many young people come to Cambodia as backpackers and being that they have no real set schedule and many travel alone you can find them sitting at cafes and restaurants along the riverside. So our team breaks up into groups of two or three and go and have lunch with the specific purpose of talking to foreigners about Jesus. At first I must admit I was a bit nervous never having been a backpacker myself, but after the first lunch I realized this was a perfect oppurtunity to talk to young people who already love travelling (hello future missionaries) and so many of them are searching openly for spirituality.
Yesterday afternoon my friend Natasha and I decided to pair up and have lunch. We prayed as we walked along the river and sensed God leading us to a specific eatery. We sat down and ordered soda and waited for what God had planned for the afternoon. Not five minutes later a young guy walks up to the menu board and I noticed that he had a Quebec flag on his backpack. Seeing an opening I asked him wether he was from Quebec (which was an obvious yes) and he asked if I also was from Quebec. I said no, but explained my connection to the province. He asked me if I knew where he could get poutine around here (yes, they have it) and I told him that I had seen it but couldn't remember where. I then asked him to join us forlunch. He did.
He sat down and we introduced ourselves, his name is Pascal and he lives in Montreal but has been travelling South East Asia for 3 months, with 9 left to go. He is travelling alone and had just arrived in Phnom Penh. We ended up talking with him for 3 hours and it was incredible all that we were able to converse about. After hearing about his experience visiting India's temples and also his admiration for Buddhism I asked him if he considered himself a buddhist. He said no and explained some of his beliefs about taking care of your body and nature and helping others. He asked about our spiritual beliefs and we were able to share with him openly about Christianity and what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus. He was extremely open and interested in what we were saying and kept asking us questions about Jesus. I was able to share with him some specific things that Jesus had done during his life (healing people, loving the poor, preaching a gospel of peace) and it was clear that Pascal liked what he was hearing. He let us know that he thought Jesus was cool and that he was very interested in learning more about him and wanted to read the Bible to know more. Natasha was able to share her personal testimony and how God had freed her from drug and alcohol abuse. It was really incredible.The whole time I was just thinking of how amazing it was that halfway across the world here we were sitting and chatting with a Canadian, a Quebecois (who are notoriously closed to the gospel) about Jesus for so long and having him be so open and interested in it. Just by being able to take the time, build a connection, and being willing to discuss things. It was such a blessing.
Another thing that God has been doing in my heart as I've been growing in this area of evangelism is that I have fallen more in love with Jesus. The more I talk about him especially to those who don't know him, and who are lost, the more I realize the hope and the joy it is to know Christ.
Please continue to pray for our team as we continue to minister to Cambodians and to foreigners.