My friends and I got to sit down and hear her story. She was only 20 years old when the Khmer Rouge began. She told of how she was forced to work, that they did not have day and night but only day, meaning no rest or break from work. They were fed one meal of porridge a day. She explained that in the camp they would try and sneak fruit to eat from the trees because they were so hungry. She said that if anyone was caught eating the fruit they would be killed.
She told us about being taken by the Vietnamese army and forced to work on a rice farm, getting up every morning at 1:00 a.m.
When we asked how long she had personally been affected by the Khmer Rouge, she told us "Three years, eight months, and twenty days".
She explained how difficult it is to think back about those times and that it still is a struggle today.
Listening to her story, I was once again reminded of how perspective is everything. I have had hardships in my life, yes, but in no way have I or probably will I ever experience something close to what those who lived through the Khmer Rouge had to experience.
Pram Pa's story is one thing I don't want to forget, it is something that will change the way I live my life and how I handle my struggles. I don't know how many times I have said it but I will keep saying it until we believe it, We are privileged beyond belief! We need to change our perspectives from inward towards ourselves to look outwards towards others.
When we are able to put our focus on others, there is a shift, and the things we take for granted start to be what we are most grateful for. The little things become some of life's greatest joys.
When we are educated about the happenings of this world it is so easy to disconnect ourselves from the problem but when you put a face to the name and hear someone's story it becomes personal and you can't just forget about it anymore.
The Khmer Rouge may be something of the past but it is still something that affects lives today. Although we may not be able to change what happened, we can change the way we live our lives, listen to stories, and be aware of the life we are living and what legacy we leave behind.
Pram Pa does not know Jesus yet but my prayer is that she will encounter the love and restorative, life giving hope that is found in Christ Jesus. I pray that she will find her Father in Heaven who so longs for a relationship with her and whose heart is breaking for what she has experienced in her past.
One thing has become certain to me, none of the pain, hardships, or tragedies in this world was ever on Gods heart. So yes, God is still good and I find comfort in knowing He is broken for those who have suffered, a brokenness so deep that I will never understand. For His love for each one of us runs deeper than we can say and the plan He had for our lives never involved the sins of this world.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials."
1 Peter 1:3-6
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