I was chatting with one of my dearest Khmer friends today. Tears began to surface as I realized I have less than 24 hours in this amazing country.
K- "You have done good work here, Mercy. You have done good things for this country."
Me- "I don't know about that, it seems like all I did was make amazing friends that I now have to say goodbye to."
K- "Exactly. The greatest commandment in the Bible is to love God and your neighbor, that is what you have done here. You have loved us."
I could hardly contain myself in response. Because the truth is they have loved me. My community here has loved me so fully and deeply that there was no longer any room for self hatred. They healed me by loving me completely, in my brokenness and my passion. If they can love me, maybe I can love me too.
I came here expecting to do good work. To fight trafficking, to bring healing, to make a difference. I felt called to change the world, and I still do. I still want to do good work.
But now I see that the only way to change the world is to love her fully. Income generation programs are great, education is important, rescue is critical. But none of it will leave lasting change without love.
So what will I do when I get back to America? I will show those around me how to love like the Cambodians do. I will show them that our greatest work is not how we make money or who we help, it is how we love. My work is love.
K- "You have done good work here, Mercy. You have done good things for this country."
Me- "I don't know about that, it seems like all I did was make amazing friends that I now have to say goodbye to."
K- "Exactly. The greatest commandment in the Bible is to love God and your neighbor, that is what you have done here. You have loved us."
I could hardly contain myself in response. Because the truth is they have loved me. My community here has loved me so fully and deeply that there was no longer any room for self hatred. They healed me by loving me completely, in my brokenness and my passion. If they can love me, maybe I can love me too.
I came here expecting to do good work. To fight trafficking, to bring healing, to make a difference. I felt called to change the world, and I still do. I still want to do good work.
But now I see that the only way to change the world is to love her fully. Income generation programs are great, education is important, rescue is critical. But none of it will leave lasting change without love.
So what will I do when I get back to America? I will show those around me how to love like the Cambodians do. I will show them that our greatest work is not how we make money or who we help, it is how we love. My work is love.
