Where Is Everybody??

It is really good to be home! But where was everybody this morning for Sunday School? Well, not everybody was missing. Betty, Cathy, Barbara, Ronnie W. Janabeth, Chuck and I were there. And we got through 30 verses of Mathew 13! It was a red letter day!

Chuck and I had an awesome trip. The wedding was beautiful and we got to see some awesome sights. One thing that really stood out was seeing some of the ancient temples in Cambodia. Angkor Wat is one that is huge and was built in one of the very early centuries when they did everything by hand. It was built of huge stones and had incredible carvings. The stones that used were floated down the river and then brought in by elephants - at that time the area was all jungle. The carvings of stories and kings and religious symbols were so intricate - and again, all done by hand. It took 30 years and I can't remember how many people to build this. All that work and it was used to worship something the people carved out of stone! It was originally built as a Buddhist temple. At some point when somebody else took over, it was used as a Hindu temple. Then somebody else took over and it went back to being a Buddhist temple. But get it - all that work and trouble and it was to worship something that is not real! There was incense burning in front of several of the Buddha statues we saw in the temple. Cambodia is primarily a Buddhist country so I shouldn't have been surprised. But it really blows my mind. And it made me think about my willingness to serve an incredible living God. Do I complain about having to spend time doing His will? Much to think about.

The poverty in Cambodia was eye opening for me. I have never seen third world poverty. It made me realize I never have reason to complain. The people there are very friendly and all were very nice. That made it seem even harder to reconcile that most of them are idol worshipers. We really need to continue to pray for missionaries and the work they do.

We also experienced something of the other end of the spectrum when were in Bali - where the wedding was held. But that is for another time.

Enough for now. SO glad to be home! Looking forward to seeing the rest of our Sunday School class next Sunday. I even had to make the coffee because Ronnie B. was not there! That's serious!