Culpeper student participates in Cambodia mission

By: By Amy Wagner
Culpeper Star-Exponent
Published: April 01, 2012

In her senior year at University of Missouri, and hailing from Culpeper, Laura Kebede has made an impact as far away as Cambodia.

Monday evening, she shared her recent mission experience with a group of 30 community members gathered at Culpeper United Methodist Church. Humbling and eye-awakening were words she used to describe the three weeks over winter break, using the help of a slide presentation displaying photos to help portray the poverty stricken villages and lives of children living there.

Kebede met Courtney Cain, who had gone to Cambodia in 2010, through a Bible study freshman year. Armed with the remarkable experience Cain had and with the understanding that she had decided to return, Kebede and five others, also from the university, jumped at the chance to tag along.

On Monday, Kebede and two of the others, Caleb Smith and Cain, were present and candidly shared their experience.

Staying at an orphanage there, run by Kit and Ream Carson, Smith described life in Cambodia as “survival based living.”

He painted a picture of middle class as having a small parcel of land large enough for growing rice and for a house. The house he likened to a tree house; a lean-to that may or may not have all its walls.

“It’s not at all like the middle class here,” he related.

The Carsons also operate a school out of a church building there, which opened as a result of a generous last-minute donation, just prior to the missionaries’ arrival.

Operating only half days, the missionaries shared of the great need for a full-time operation. This, they said, is the next step; to get land and a bigger campus for an actual school complex.

They stressed the importance of this school and of starting more private schools because of the corruption present in public schools.

“You can only get A’s by paying the teachers,” said Kebede, “And those teachers grew up paying their teachers. The teachers in the school system were never taught. They bought their education and now these children are doing the same.”

Operating under a Buddhist government, the missionaries pointed out that there is no persecution for other beliefs.

“There is openness for Christ there,” said Cain.

“Buddhism is the biggest barrier to the Gospel there,” she said. “Christianity is a choice here,” she explained, “And there, you are born into Buddhism. It is more of a heritage than a faith though it’s different than the Buddhism here. It’s very dark there.”

With hearts for missions, these three expressed a desire to return to Cambodia in the future. “God took a couple of us and really blew it up and used us,” said Smith.

Through a video the missionaries challenged the viewers saying, “If God says do it – do it, because you can’t go wrong. It won’t be bad.” Kebede told the gathered crowd that this trip was huge for her and she realized, “Nothing is impossible with God.”

A large part of their trip was the musical theatre outreach, sharing scripture, music and the message of the Gospel from beginning to end; something Smith had a large hand in. Glowing, he reminisced how 3,000 people showed up the first night and the second night 300 people placed their faith in Christ.

“I realize I need to spend the first of my daily free time with God – whatever He wants me to do,” said Smith.

Kebede nodded in agreement adding, “This trip amped up my awareness of how God moves.”

Amy Wagner covers church news for the Star Exponent. Have a story idea? E-mail her at recopps2002@comcast.net.