A couple weeks ago two of the guys on the team got haircuts from a local Cambodian named Davith. We didn’t find out until after that he was both mute and deaf.
From then on I began regularly praying for him and was wanting to bless him with a nice little tip when going back to get my hair cut (it only costs $2.50). So about two weeks later we all went back.
Davith was his regular friendly self. He immediately gave us a big smile and set out chairs for us to sit on. I showed him the cut I wanted and he went to work.
Once he finished, myself and Joe gave him $70 and tried to explain through our host that we were giving it to him because we believed God was putting it on our hearts to do so. Him and his wife gave us big smiles and received it gladly.
I also wanted to see him healed so we asked if we could pray and he agreed. I prayed for his ears and nothing happened. I left him that day frustrated with God.
Jesus says in the Great Commission to heal the sick. When I read it, it sounds pretty simple. I prayed for a teammate the week before with an upset stomach and she was healed instantly. So why not here?
I was asking God these questions and I felt like He was asking me to simply share His love and Good News with this man.
I visited him a few more times and he again put out the chairs for us. It was difficult to try and talk to a man that couldn’t hear or speak but we tried our best. The main thing that I felt I got across through simple motions was “God loves you” and “I love you.”
As I pondered our time with him that day I began to realize that that moment could have been much more powerful than him getting healed. I don’t know if he would have ever heard of the idea of a loving God since Cambodia is a Buddhist country.
I’d like to know whether or not Davith truly got the message but these are the moments I choose to believe.
I believe that God asked me to love him for a reason. I believe that God’s Love is bigger than his disability and works despite that. I believe that God’s Love was planted in his heart when God breathed His life into him. I believe that seed is beginning to sprout in his life and will bring fruit in his life. I believe that Davith is God’s dearly loved son.
Thanks Davith, for showing me what true joy looks like. You lit up every time we passed by and especially when we stopped to talk. You have a beautiful wife and son who you are a kind loving Father and Husband to. You refuse to let your disability be who you are. Thanks for showing me that I’m not mine either.
