Hosea 2:14-15 has always been a favorite of mine... mostly because I believe it speaks to a soul that feels lost. But this sort of lost is often mixed in with great struggle, longing, and confusion--confusion over whose fault the "lostness" is. The soul herself is probably not convinced she is blameless in all of this, and maybe she's not... but, however blurred the line between victim and perpetrator is, she very deeply knows that something has led her astray...
"But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Achor [or "trouble"] into a door of hope. There she will sing [or "respond" or "give herself to me"] as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt."
Innocent or justifiably reproachable, the "prostitutes" of old and those of our modern Cambodian destination have all experienced the plundering of their vineyards--with nothing left to feel but "Achor" (trouble). I do not pretend to know what kind of darkness has accompanied them through the Valley, but I don't need to pretend to know that God's tender voice speaks even there--revealing, leading, restoring, and returning stolen things. It is beckoning and forgiving, and His renewed entrustment to her stirs a response of hope--one that can be described as "giving herself" back to Him, or even... a singing... a singing as that of "a young girl...fresh out of
In light of this, I thought it might be appropriate to title our blog "Returning Vineyards" because we are serving a God whose heart beats for that redeeming mission. Like the "she" found in Hosea's second chapter, those we encounter in Phnom Penh will have had many seized vineyards leaving behind only chasms of devastation and marred life. Though we cannot return the vineyards ourselves, we can stand in the gap in whatever way the Sovereign Lord has so anointed. We will bear witness to how His hands assuredly move--in us, through us--and how His feet bring to the robbed this mysterious, wonderfully good news about returning vineyards.
Throughout all of this, we remain so thankful for the prayers and encouragement of our supporters and family. Please continue to lift this trip up to the Lord with us.
With Great Faith,
the
