Student Activity- Movie Day

Today we were part of an event at the student center where we watched and briefly discussed a movie (The Lady) with students. It went pretty well. Some students were really interested in the story of Aung San Suu Kyi and some were just interested in having a good time. It is really fun to see students curious about the world around them and to challenge them to think differently and learn more, and yet that is not actually my main aim.

My aim is to buy face time with students. When people help us come to Cambodia that is kind of what they are doing: they are buying us face time with people here, whether it be the seller on the side of the road, the student asking questions after class, our landlord as she sweeps outside, or the little girl from a broken family that comes to the center. It buys us face time to show we care and face time to share what we’re really about. Sure, when I first talk to students it’s small talk. “What did you do today? Do you like this or that thing?” and so on, but in the back of my mind this is what I’m really thinking: how do I show you I care, how can I get to know you, how can I communicate to you that you are valuable to me and ultimately valuable to the Father?

And somehow the Father just leads conversations to things more meaningful. I’m not even really sure how it happened, but somehow a dramatic movie and Burmese food gave me the opportunity to share with a student why we are here. I had the opportunity to tell him who sent us. It gave me the opportunity to tell other students about opportunities at the student center, and gave me opportunities to have conversations that may seem small today, but who knows what they will mean tomorrow. And it often comes down to how well we have shown them that we care about them. I’ve heard it said that people don’t always remember what you say, but they remember how you treated them. Please ask that our teammates and Ryan and I would have continuous opportunities to show we care and that our hearts would burn with deep compassion for our students and all those who live with us in our city.

-M