Sunday, September 23, 2012

Life in Cambodia

Dad told Brent how hard it was for him to leave Kyle at UCD.....this is Brent's reply:
     Hey dad I'm sorry to hear it was a rough week, letting go of Kyle must have been hard but he is a smart kid and will do fine, and the Lord will take care of him.  I think each time Heavenly Father lets one of his children go and come down to Earth He must feel some anxiety of sorts, this life is definitely not how we expect it to be nor can it be exactly what we want it to be.  I don't want to be the preacher who says "be grateful for what you have" because I know those expressions are much easier said than done, also I know when they are directed towards me they normally just piss me off like "forget yourself and go to work" or "two years is so short" even if it's true it doesn't help, but I would like to tell you about some things I saw this week, (and that is just this week alone).
      I saw a little five year old girl being beaten by her father, I see malnourished orphan children begging in the rain with little clothes and no shoes, I saw a wife swearing at her husband because he began to cry because of the pain from his sickness (he is partially paralyzed and in a lot of pain everyday), I saw a 9 year old smoking and not a single person gave a @#*# (I made him throw it away and promise to stop smoking, the next day he was smoking again).  I was shaking with anger at the lack of responsibility rampant in the more poverty stricken areas, I saw two kids playing in sewage water when I told them to go home and clean up they said we dont have a home it burned down. When I asked where are your parents they said they were in the house and died.  One thing is for sure this life is not perfect, not fair, and frequently not enjoyable, I don't understand why we are allotted what we are in life, why life can be so unfair, but I do know that we must have a hope in Christ, because if we don't have a hope in Christ, what do you have?  Nothing.  Money will eventually cease to bring happiness, the ones we love will ultimately die along with ourselves, and there is no purpose to our life, but if we have a hope in Christ we gain everything, our loved ones will live again, our failures will lose their significance, and what was not fair in this life will be made just by a Perfect God.  Often I find myself believing because the alternative unbelief is so unappealing, anyways most important is I am grateful for parents who love me, who have fulfilled their responsibilities as parents to their utmost ability, Dad, you are a successful father, a successful husband, and you are my example and my hero, I Love you dad,
Brent

2 comments:

David Kenison said...

What a tender, poignant message. He's seeing the REAL world, isn't he - with all its heartbreak and tragedy. But recognizing the importance of eternal things. A great example of how a mission makes a boy into a man!

Melinda said...

So true, sometimes I am sad for all that he has seen, but I am so proud of him and hope that he has made a small difference in the world.