Reflections from Cambodia: Wings of the Dawn

James Lin, Free Images

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn," writes the psalmist in Psalm 139:9-10, "if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast" (NIV).

On December 22, 2017, my husband Chuck and I took the wings of the dawn via Delta flight 26 to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Our mission: Encourage the missionaries serving in that part of the world.

But as often happens, they were as much an encouragement to us as we were to them. Maybe more so.

The upcoming reflections I share in the aftermath of our month-long trip come straight from my journal kept during that time. However, to help you experience Cambodia more fully, after this post, I will write in present tense as though I am writing the event at the moment it occurred.

A personal pursuit for me was God's challenge to embrace His adventure in whatever form that took and to look for His beauty at every turn. Our first flight made this easy. Upon lifting the window shade, I was greeted by a gorgeous sunset. Shades of orange against a grey-blue sky streaked with darker grey blue hovered over a billowy sea of clouds. Abba's gift. His greeting on the morning, and His encouragement to me that He would indeed be with me. He would guide us and hold us fast, even when the flights got difficult, unexpected layovers occurred, and we moved into a vast sea of foreign faces that emitted languages at first scary, then intriguing, then enchanting, then crazily comical.

God was there, guiding all the way to Atlanta, to Seoul, and finally to Phnom Penh (36 hours later), connecting us to individuals to whom we could share His story . . .

Like the Philippino lady stuck in the Seoul airport with us on Christmas Eve. What a joy to tell her about the real meaning of Christmas: Jesus!

Like the French Canadian student who asked why our kids would want to live in a strange part of the world. What an opportunity to tell her they go because they love Jesus and want others to know Him, too.

Like the Korean clerk who pulled Chuck over to be part of a TV commercial for a newly designed robot arm that dispensed coffee. Chuck ended his testimonial for the hazelnut latte with a gospel witness as the clerk smiled broadly and bowed his head multiple times. Who knows if he understood, but the Word was given, nonetheless.

God's encouragement and beauty abounded, not merely in what we witnessed around us, but through His Holy Spirit working through us. This would become even more apparent as we stepped into Cambodia.