He Can Set Us Free
It has been an INCREDIBLE few months at Asian Hope International School. These past few months we have had so much joy seeing all the kids at Asian Hope doing performances, playing sports on the campus, and building community. Asian Hope even put on its first ever play. It was a beautiful Christmas musical written and performed by high school students. We genuinely couldn't believe students wrote the play. It was deep, meaningful, and shared the Gospel in such a raw and honest way. It was REALLY impressive for Cambodian high school students coming from Buddhist homes. All their parents came to watch, and the idea of their parents hearing their sons and daughters speaking such vulnerable truths on a stage filled my eyes with tears. The ending monologue was one of the most beautiful descriptions of advent and Christmas I have heard. Here is a small piece of that monologue:
"May we all see the value in our simple lives and may we find purpose in the daily things we do. May our prayer be: "Lord, I don't have much to offer. I've been knocked down before, beaten up by life and broken, but you can set me free."
HE CAN SET US FREE! The idea that a student wrote this, another student spoke this, and their Buddhist parents were beaming at the end of the performance is incredible! PRAISE GOD!
Our family continues to face a bit of difficulty here, but we know God is moving and that's our focus each day. It has been so nice on the difficult days because it seems those are the exact days God does something that makes us go, "Wow. He definitely wants us here." Sometimes that thing is an email or message from one of you! We are so reassured by your encouragement and support. It genuinely keeps us going.
One of the most exciting reassurances for us is that our neighbor, who we have shared the Gospel with for 6 years now, just enrolled her daughter in the same school as our daughter Lucia! Sochetta now will hear the gospel EVERY DAY. We have prayed and prayed for this, and it is such a huge deal that it has finally happened. Lucia was so excited to have her friend at school. During Lulu's recent Christmas performance, Sochetta's class was telling the story of Jesus' birth and they sang "Joy to the World". I probably looked a bit ridiculous as I bawled seeing Sochetta sing this song, but wow, it was such a powerful moment and reminder to us!