I went to the Killing Fields today.
I wish there was a more poetic way to say that. I wish that I didn't feel like such a tourist, exploiting a very broken past. I wish there was a better way to understand a culture without having to see it first.
People have questioned me, wondering how I can go to such dark places. Really, it's the grace of God, and a gift I believe that comes from Him. When I am walking through somewhere like a slum, red light district, or like today, a genocide memorial, I shut down emotionally. I go numb, and I feel nothing. Maybe it's a survival mechanism, but it keeps me focused on the present. It also keeps me from falling apart.
Then, I file away whatever I have just witnessed for later processing. This is my first attempt at processing.
Cambodia is a dark place. You can't go more than a few blocks without seeing a Buddhist temple. Nearly every house has a small monument in the front for burning incense and prayer. It's known for poverty and trafficking. It's known for a corrupt government. Not even outside of the city limits is a field where 9,000 men, women, and children were killed for now apparent reason except for the fact that someone else said they were unfit to live.
3 million total. Names never recovered. Stories never told. Families never reunited. Brutal. Senseless.
Where were we? Why did we do nothing?
Where was the Church?
Cambodia is a place with a gaping wound. Those responsible still have yet to be prosecuted and brought to justice. The leader of it all was able to die at the ripe old age of 82. There is no closure.
But it is also a place of light. The light of Jesus is breaking through. Even if I can't see it yet, I believe it... because I know that He has not given up on Cambodia.
One day, this place known for killing fields and genocide will become a place of peace and joy. Forgiveness, healing, restoration. The King of heaven is writing His name on their hearts. He is sending His Spirit.
And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
I believe this with all my heart.
As I stared at shelves lined with unidentified skulls, I heard Him saying, "In me there is no darkness at all".
Praying for his light.
I wish there was a more poetic way to say that. I wish that I didn't feel like such a tourist, exploiting a very broken past. I wish there was a better way to understand a culture without having to see it first.
People have questioned me, wondering how I can go to such dark places. Really, it's the grace of God, and a gift I believe that comes from Him. When I am walking through somewhere like a slum, red light district, or like today, a genocide memorial, I shut down emotionally. I go numb, and I feel nothing. Maybe it's a survival mechanism, but it keeps me focused on the present. It also keeps me from falling apart.
Then, I file away whatever I have just witnessed for later processing. This is my first attempt at processing.
Cambodia is a dark place. You can't go more than a few blocks without seeing a Buddhist temple. Nearly every house has a small monument in the front for burning incense and prayer. It's known for poverty and trafficking. It's known for a corrupt government. Not even outside of the city limits is a field where 9,000 men, women, and children were killed for now apparent reason except for the fact that someone else said they were unfit to live.
3 million total. Names never recovered. Stories never told. Families never reunited. Brutal. Senseless.
Where were we? Why did we do nothing?
Where was the Church?
Cambodia is a place with a gaping wound. Those responsible still have yet to be prosecuted and brought to justice. The leader of it all was able to die at the ripe old age of 82. There is no closure.
But it is also a place of light. The light of Jesus is breaking through. Even if I can't see it yet, I believe it... because I know that He has not given up on Cambodia.
One day, this place known for killing fields and genocide will become a place of peace and joy. Forgiveness, healing, restoration. The King of heaven is writing His name on their hearts. He is sending His Spirit.
And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
I believe this with all my heart.
As I stared at shelves lined with unidentified skulls, I heard Him saying, "In me there is no darkness at all".
Praying for his light.
No comments:
Post a Comment