Posted by: Tim Perkins

Wow, what a day! From the highest of highs to caves of despair, we saw it all. The morning started out with the teams dividing up and traveling to nine local churches, with people from all of our teams providing the messages for the day. We divided our team into three groups – one went with Pastor John to the Moriah Presbyterian Church Fellowship Church, one with Pastor Mundo, and one team went with me to New Life Community Church, which is the church connected with the orphanage that you all were a part of establishing through your giving and sending us here.

The Pastor of New Life, Bun Tin, asked our team to do a set of praise and worship in addition to preaching a message, so I asked Sam and Amanda to come along and help me out. Sam did a fantastic job of leading worship – you could tell that he was in his element. Language was no barrier to God’s presence. The church seemed to really connect with us.

Now, I’m not really sure how the message went because it was my first time to ever deliver a message in any church, much less with an interpreter (who was fantastic by the way! Thank you Lim!). I’m used to speaking to judges in black robes, trying their best to wear intimidating scowls (most of them are not becoming). Not today. When I looked out and saw the 50 or so locals who endeavored to venture out to come see “the Americans,” my heart was moved. The people here are so HUNGRY! They are receptive. Perhaps most of all, they are precious.

Several westerners were in attendance from other ministries. We met a young man named Garth from Washington State who has lived here for 2 years now. He too was appreciative of us being there to bring the message of hope to the people of Cambodia.

After church, the teams gathered to eat at our home away from home, the BT Cat. Seriously friends, we have worn this place out!! They have probably made more off of our group the last four days than they usually do in a six month period. Man, the owner runs around elated that we keep coming back. I’ve never had so much fried rice and cheese pizza. Sometimes you gotta stick with what you know – you’d have to had been with us our first night at the Teo (”Tiger”) restaurant to understand our sudden affinity for cheese pizza!

After lunch, a group of us went to see the “Killing Caves.” My mind is still trying to process the contrast between some of the most beautiful scenery on earth, and the melancholy feeling that haunted me as we roamed the ground. The caves are high above Battambang on a mountain of sorts that we traversed in about 45 minutes. It was so steep and long that many were unable to keep up with the guide. Occasionally we were refreshed with some breathtaking views of Cambodia.

The mountainside is peppered with Buddhist temples in bright-colored paint, and monks asking for donations. The caves themselves, however, were anything but bright: dark, dank caverns that were used in some of the greatest atrocities that man has ever visited upon his brethren. The guide explained how some people were simply thrown down into these caverns hundreds of feet deep and left to starve. Others were beheaded, then thrown down. Typically, the elderly had spikes driven into their heads. There were piles and piles of bones where people from all over come to remember and honor the dead. You could feel the oppression. As beautiful as the surroundings were, none of us could linger long under the intense feeling of dread.

In stark contrast to the caves, the views from the top of the mountain were stunning. We took pictures of the nearby mountains of Thailand where many Khmer Rouge are still living. The beauty of the tall palm trees amidst the miles and miles of rice paddies was amazing, especially from the top. We had to descend down over 1200 incredibly steep steps back to the bottom, but we were thankful to get back down in half the time it took us to go up.

On the ride home, my van was rear-ended by a huge truck hauling at least a ton of gravel. It smashed up the van pretty bad, but thankfully we were fine other than a shower of glass from the back window. God REALLY protected us, for it could have been much, much worse.

For the last night of the Festival of Hope all I can say is: PASTOR MUNDO BROUGHT IT!!! He preached an incredible message of hope and salvation. When the salvation call was made, I have NEVER seen so many hands raised in my life! It was breathtaking. It was impossible to estimate how many people had a fresh start but it was probably close to a thousand JUST ON THE INSIDE. There were countless others outside watching on the video screens who also responded. God moved in an incredibly powerful way and it was amazing just to be a witness to it.

Worship was also amazing. God extended us so much grace. We did not get a single rehearsal the entire time in Battambang, and only got one 20-minute soundcheck. Trust me it didn’t matter! We sounded like we had been playing together for years (thank you Jesus!). I have never been a part of an event of this magnitude. Doug Fowler of Celebration Church did an amazing job leading. Sam and Chad had their own little groupies who were enamored with their incredible playing. Most of all, God moved. The people jumped, shouted, clapped, danced and worshiped God as if they were in His throne room. From my vantage point behind the keyboard (which was elevated some), I could see nothing but a sea of hands raised in adoration of the Most High. At times, it was all I could do to keep playing. I was overwhelmed at the response. HUNGRY is the only word I can think of to describe their approach towards God.

I can’t express how honored I and the rest of the team feel about having been a part of this event. To serve in His Kingdom is the greatest thrill imaginable. To see Him use us to move others toward the Heart of God is so humbling. That God could use me at all still boggles my mind, but moments like tonight make saying “yes” worth it a thousand times over.