Round and round went the popcorn kernels as I turned the pot handle. Soon, the satisfying sound of popping invited two little toddler boys to come and watch. Swish went the popcorn as it poured into a bowl. After a dusting of seasoning and a shake of the lidded bowl, our snack was ready. But this time, I portioned it into baggies to share.

River and Osiah helped me fill the motorbike basket with the weightless bags of goodies. Our family headed out on our two motos (we have outgrown just one) to visit friends down the dirt road in our village. We visited a couple of friendly neighbors and shared popcorn with their children, who are always thrilled to have a salty snack to nibble on. The chickens are equally happy to be nearby for the kernels that miss the mouth. After chatting, we still had popcorn to share, so we waved goodbye and kept driving.

Warm smiles soon welcomed us to turn into Rafat’s front yard. We sat and visited while the sun went down. His two young children happily snacked on popcorn and shared bites with River and Osiah. By the time we left, I knew my two little toddler boys had very hungry tummies, and we had better head home. The moto basket still had four bags of popcorn, however, and I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

“Let’s just stop anywhere and give these to some children,” I said to Eric.

As we drove, I heard little voices holler, “Hello!” “Hello!” from the left and right, but I could never spot whose friendly voices greeted us in the dim light of dusk. I prayed, God, lead us to the right house to share our popcorn. Maybe we can meet someone new. Please help us stop at just the right house. Amen.

I soon saw a group of jolly youths frolicking in their front yard, so I pulled over. A beautiful, kind-looking woman smiled at us and came down the steps of her stilted home. I handed popcorn to her children. Four bags for four children. Perfect!

She asked the customary, “Where are you coming from?” meaning, “What’s up?”

“Oh, just out to visit people,” I responded. Then she eagerly asked me all about where I was from, where I live, how long I’ve lived here, how many children I have — the usual. She was so friendly and interested. I wanted to stay and chat longer, but the growl of hungry tummies urged me to get home. “See you next time!” I said.

Back at the house, I told Eric how friendly she was. “Come to think of it, I can’t remember exactly where her house was.” Since it was dark, I hadn’t noticed unique features about her house to imprint it in my memory.
I drove slowly on subsequent passes down the road, comparing houses to my shadowy memory of what they looked like. I watched for the children, but the village was full of children of the same size, and I wasn’t sure. I wanted to visit my new friend, but now I had forgotten where she lived.

One day, she showed up at my house, her four children piled on a moto. It took me a minute to realize this was the new friend I was looking for, Zara.

Since then, I have taken my children to visit nearly every day. On my first visit, Zara asked, “Does Christianity have a book like the Quran?”

“Yes,” I said. “The Torat Injil” (how Muslims refer to the Old and New Testaments).

“Do you have one?” she said curiously.

“Yes, do you want to read it?”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen one. I want to look at it.”

The next time I went, I took her the book of Mark, translated into Khmer. “This is a book from the Injil,” I said. “You can have it to read.”

Zara likes to ask me questions about Christianity, always following up with, “Yeah, Islam is the same. We are so similar.” I long to tell her that Jesus is not just a prophet with extraordinary healing powers and that Islam and Christianity are not, in fact, the same. Her openness and curiosity, however, are what we deem green lights when assessing interest in the Bible. She is receptive and always open to talking about spiritual things.

While the children make sand castles in her front yard, I share with her glimpses of the beautiful character of the God we know and love, a God of mercy, forgiveness, justice and personal relationship. Looking back, I see how God answered my prayer and saved those four bags of popcorn for four little children whose mom wanted to talk about God. I am praying for this relationship to deepen and for how to introduce Zara to the gospel.

• Twitter