I can usually handle horrendous smells. My gag reflex is pretty stable, and it takes something quite putrid to cause me to lose control of myself. However, the Phnom Penh city dump actually pushed me over the edge. As soon as I stepped out of the truck, I nearly "lost my cookies" all over the place. And that's when I looked up and saw these two girls digging through the very source of the stinch that was abusing my senses.
I gained control of myself, and felt compelled to meet these two girls who were burrowing through the mountain of waste. I asked them their names ("Bpa-own ch'mooah aye?"- "What is your name?" in Khmer, when speaking to someone younger than yourself), and asked them what they were doing. They were, in short, supplementing their parents' income. These girls were so poor, their Goodwill was the city dump.
As I continued talking with these girls, I realized that I was still holding on to the doughnut I had just purchased and had not yet taken a bite from. I gladly offered it to them, and they jumped at the opportunity to eat some "American" food.
No doubt these girls were craving for something to eat. But they were craving for more than food; they were craving for love, significance, purpose, peace, security, and most importantly, truth.
I wonder if we are as ready to provide people with the truth of Jesus Christ as I was to offer those girls that doughnut. The funny thing is, they had to split that doughnut, because I only had one. Doughnuts run out. The temporal things of this life that we are glad to offer people will fade away. But the love of Christ is limitless in abundance, and there are billions waiting to receive it. We certainly do have much to offer.
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