Immanuel; God is with us

'The Word that gives life

was from the beginning,

and this is the one

our message is about.

Our ears have heard,

our own eyes have seen,

and our hands touched

this Word.

The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us. We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so that you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing to tell you these things, because this makes us truly happy.' 1 John 1:1-4

These past weeks I have seen and touched and felt so much…

Last week I drove my motorbike down the long dusty road to visit one of my patients in the village. At one point along the way I hit a big rock and had my first experience of tipping it over into a ditch! While my arms and legs were a bit bruised and beat up, I was fine. I continued to travel with my teammates to a village in the middle of nowhere in order to sit in my patient’s house and give him refills of the medications that keep him comfortable as he loses his eyesight from the cancer that has spread to his brain. I got to hear my teammate pray for him, and share more about Jesus to his neighbors. I got to see the light in the eyes of the young girl who reads the word of God aloud for the first time, and asks in excitement about how she can learn and understand more. I got to see her smile when we told her about the church in her village.

Later that day, we made our way to a different patient's house. As the afternoon sun poured light through the slits in the wood panels of the house, I got to sit on the floor and watch the Jesus film in the Cambodian language with three other Cambodian women. My patient gasped with delight as she watched the disciples attempting to pull up their fishing nets which were bursting with fish.

Last Sunday I ran my first half marathon in Asia. That morning was a different kind of joy- refreshing cool morning air, running through trees and temples—with hordes of Cambodian children holding out their little hands for high-fives all along the route. As I ran, I was tired- I hadn’t trained enough- but running makes me feel alive and so thankful. Thankful for my health and thankful that running is possible (almost!) everywhere. I was also thankful to share the experience with many friends from near and far.

Yesterday I got to pray while my teammates and I assisted another teammate with some dental care. We don’t usually perform dental work, but this was a special case. We turned one of the exam rooms into a dental suite; with a special chair and all. It involved some extra steps like using a lighter in order to melt the plastic on our suction tubing to make it fit with the suction device… (hello medicine in the developing world!) and the doctor standing on a stepstool in order to be at the right angle. After 6 teeth were removed, I got to see the smile of a man who was so excited that his painful teeth were gone. He giggled with delight as we finished- he was so overjoyed that we could help him. Yes, it was all relatively simple-- but brought much joy to all of us.

I am thankful for this season of life here in Cambodia. And I am thankful for this season of the year—where I can remember the Word of Life who came down to earth to live amongst us. Who came to give us new life.

The gift of God’s Son coming to earth has meant a new life for me, and for many people here, too. My ears have heard, my eyes have seen, my hands have touched. And I am thankful for this gift; for God is still with us today.

‘...and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ Matthew 1:23

“God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

John 3:17