Dancing Across Language Barriers

Published April 22, 2025

Katrielle Bauknight

Last summer I spent a month in Cambodia. Cambodia is a small third world country in South East Asia. The people of the land are called Khmer people (pronounced khu - mai) and they speak a non-tonal language called Khmer. The total population is approximately 17 million people, and 96% of them have never heard the name of Jesus. They are unreached.

So, there I was. 21 years old with a team of 14 people walking through the rugged villages of Cambodia. None of us spoke Khmer. However, we met two local women in the first week who were willing to be our translators: Mong & So-Pieth. So-pieth, my teammate Shannette, and myself asked God to lead us as we walked through Battambang sharing the message of Jesus. We were led to a little shack where a woman in her 30's, a man in his 70's, and two children were sitting.

As we approached them they welcomed us with the warm hospitality that is so common in Southeast Asia. We spent hours there talking with them about everything from soccer to the deepest heartache of losing a loved one. This is where an opportunity to share the Gospel opened. The man had lost his wife: she was a believer in Jesus Christ but he wasn't. He was reminiscing about her and her faith because the day before we met marked the anniversary of her death.

As we comforted this man, he was interested in his late wife's faith. So, we shared the Gospel and prayed with him. During this time, I noticed the two children longed to hear more. I stepped away from the adults and asked God to help me relate to the children, even though we didn't speak the same language. Suddenly, I had an idea: dance. I pulled out my little Bluetooth speaker and played music. I asked the children if they wanted to dance, and they got excited. We danced for half an hour before the translator was able to come and help us talk. In that half hour, we built a friendship. When I shared the message of Jesus Christ, they received it with joy that is unexplainable.

They truly understood that Jesus would be their friend. Even though I had to leave, Jesus wouldn't. He will never leave them nor forsake them. An 8 year old Khmer girl received Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior that day: she also got to know Him as a friend.