About My Trip - Cambodia
I would like to share some details of our trip…
In 2004 God began to stir in my heart the need to help develop a passion for overseas missions amongst my high school students. Instead of just hearing about overseas missions I wanted them to experience it. I wanted them to see it, feel it, smell it and live it. I wanted them to actually be involved and see that they could make a difference. Thus, I was ecstatic when I found out that AY Mission was set up with the exact purpose of connecting Alliance youth with Alliance work around the world. After a lot of prayer and a few phone conversations with AY Mission director Matt Peace, we decided on Cambodia. It was the perfect fit for what we were looking for in an overseas mission trip. The ministry in Cambodia would allow my students the opportunity to serve the Cambodian youth through teaching English and they would be able to share the Gospel through the friendships that they built.
Our first trip to Cambodia in 2004 was awesome. It was a blessing to work along side Bill & Ilana Lobbezoo in their efforts to reach the youth (80+ at the English Camp) of Phnom Penh. I was especially blessed by how each of my students stepped out of their comfort zones to share Christ at every opportunity. The relationships we built while teaching English and going on afternoon field trips definitely paved the way for our new Cambodian friends to listen carefully when we began to share what Christ meant to us. That year we saw one Cambodian student make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and we set our hearts to pray for the other seeds that had been planted.
One of the many seeds that had been planted was in the heart of a young lady name Liep. Many of us developed a great relationship with her. She had a great personality and a contagious vibrancy for life in spite of the poverty that she lived in. We wanted so badly for her to know the Lord and to experience to an even greater degree the joy that the Lord brings to life. Yet even with all of our prayers and conversations with her, our hearts were broken when we were touring the Royal Palace and she knelt down and bowed her head to worship a giant golden Buddha. I think that moment was a wake up call to my students as their hearts broke over Liep worshiping this lifeless image. They began to realize that even though their friends back home didn't bow to a golden statue, their pursuit of meaningless possessions and rejection of God were the same and they began to see the need to be bold about sharing Christ at all times and in all places. We left Cambodia in 2004 fired up about sharing Christ and deeply committed to pray for Liep and the many seeds that had been planted in the hearts of our new found friends. And if all that wasn't enough, God taught us even more about His faithfulness when we are faithful to do our part.
I received an email from Liep during the summer of 2005 as we were beginning preparations to fundraise and return in 2006. The opening line of the email read… “Hello Brother, I am so joyful to tell you that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior!” Praise the Lord! God had used our faithfulness to share and the faithfulness of others who came after us, to bring Liep to Himself. And as it turns out, the Lord allowed us to enjoy the sweet taste of His fruit when we found out that Liep was going to be baptized during our return to Cambodia in the summer of 2006. What a great time of rejoicing and worship of our awesome God!
Of the 17 students that we have taken to Cambodia over the last 3 years, 7 are now pursuing Missions or Ministry as God's call on their lives. Each of our students has also returned with a deeper awareness and appreciation for missions. They are passionate about sharing the Gospel, and personally supporting missionaries through prayer and finances. Each of us, whether Pastor or students, can honestly say that we will never be the same!
—Robert Zimmermann
