Adventures in Missions staff Connie Rock leads Adult missions trips to Thailand and Cambodia. She shares how God uses prayer walking to impact those around her teams:
Then there was the man in Cambodia who backed himself right off the bench while acting all casual (and literally fell onto the pavement).
The man who was ridden with guilt and covered his face when we drove by … as other men glared at us.
The man who walked a woman back to a hotel.
and next, the man who left the park… because we prayed?
Yes.
There is a popular Wat (temple) in Phomn Phen known for the trafficking of women and children. If you didn’t know differently, besides a place of worship, you would think it was just a place for people to hang out. But no, dark likes dark. Parents are selling their children. Men are selling women. Women are selling themselves. Westerners are buying.
During a prayer walk, my group walked to where we had spotted one Westerner specifically who grabbed our attention. We walked by him praying. It’s not our job to say anything, not our job to judge. Then we stopped, only to be passed by him. A few minutes later we continued to walk around the park and saw him again. We prayed, not knowing what else to do and not knowing 100% why he was there. We had our assumptions, but we could be wrong. So we proceeded with caution. As we walked by him again, we stopped and asked: Me: Do you come here often?
Him: (In a thick accent) It’s a peaceful place to rest and get shade.
Me: Is that why all the people are here with their children? I thought this was a temple for worship.
Him: Yes, its a temple and a peaceful area but if you go down the streets you will see a lot of sad, poverty. You should go there. Prostitution, people living on streets… sad.
Me: Really? I heard that said of this area and that there is prostitution here and that sometimes children are here. Is that true?
Him: Here!? No! No! Not here! This is a peaceful place. Over there (he points away from the park) it happens.
Me: Oh. Are you from here? You seem to know a lot about the area? We are just visiting.
Him: Im not from here but have lived here for the past 10 years.
Me: Well, again, thanks for the information. We love the country and the people. Tomorrow we visit Siem Reap! Have a good afternoon!
And we left. Our hearts sank but we knew there was power in prayer.
We lapped the entire place and still had half an hour before we were to meet up with the rest of the team. This time we climbed some of the steps. It wasn’t long until we spot him from behind. The steps descended right next to him, I’m sure to his dismay. We found another bench, pulled out our water bottles, and chatted. Sometimes to one another, sometimes it was a prayer. The clock was ticking and we had only a few minutes before we needed to leave. I was looking to my right towards the street when he walked by us and paused, saying…
“I’m leaving now. I’m going to lunch.”
We watched him walk away. When he was no longer in our sight, we left our post and joined the rest of the team. It may seem small to some, but IF, IF he were there for any other reason other than a peaceful place to rest, his plans were spoiled. At least for that morning.
My heart breaks for these men. I think of him and others often and pray: Lord redeem… restore.
Join us in Cambodia in October as our short term team shares God’s love with those in Phnom Penh. To sign up or find out more, visit our website.
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