by Leanne Purvis
“Tell them to come back right now!” demanded the angry European woman.
“Why” I asked, a little puzzled by this sudden outburst. “You can ask her yourself” I replied as gently as I could, trying to work out why this multilingual lady wanted me to do the talking after she had a good grasp on the Khmer language and had been involved in the discussions.
My husband and I had been watching the Cambodian car adds for this car for months, waiting and saving. We’d test driven it a week ago, in the rich part of town where the European’s lived, but had chosen our friend’s local mechanic rather than the fancy dealership where we know they got the car serviced. This tin shed on back streets clearly wasn’t what they expected when they offered to take it to a mechanic of our choosing. This was the final check of mechanics and documentation before finalising the sale.
‘All our important documents are in the car’, retorted the European lady, ‘Why didn’t you go with him?’.
‘Sorry, but it’s not my car’, I replied softly but firmly, though I was surprised none of the three Europeans had gone with him.
‘It’s OK, he’ll be back soon’, the young English-speaking girl said calmly despite the raised voices and other rude comments. ‘He lives here and has been running this business for about 20 years’ she replied to the European’s interrogation. Inwardly we were shocked at the European’s bad behaviour and rudeness. Ironically they were badmouthing this mechanic who had offered to fix the pipe that was still leaking despite the plumbing tape applied by an apparently ‘superior’ mechanic. We were shocked at how removed some people live from the local culture, and how they treat the local people. And they also believed in the cross!
Anyways, my husband and I both felt this car was not for us after-all. At the price of the car and the fact it was still available months later when we had some funds, we had thought of it as a gift. But now we felt God was saying ‘Wait’, and “trust me” a bit longer. Buying a car in a different culture is very different, and not having enough language made us dependent on others. Our friend’s friend kindly offered to help, but many cars were sold before he was available to see them with us. Then unexpectedly after church a man we hadn’t met offered to look at the cars we were considering then and there, got us a further discount, helped us with the transfer process, and the next day we had our ‘new’ car. It is a nicer car than we expected to have, and came in perfect timing, 1 week before we drove with other team mates into the province for conference.
God’s timing is perfect. We can always trust Him, even when things don’t make sense, or turn out the way we expect.
Leanne and her husband Alan recently moved to Cambodia. Their goal is to encourage the local churches and pastors, assisting with discipleship and church planting. Along with other WEC members, they aim to work particularly in areas that have not had an opportunity to hear the freeing good news of Jesus’ sacrifice, restoring relationships to have life with the Father. For more details and to subscribe to their newsletters, prayer letters or to follow them on facebook please check out their website https://www.reachingcambodia.info