Going Home

It's been a few days since my last post. This morning we're getting ready to leave so I'm a bit hurried. Internet access has been very bad the last two days. When I get back to the states, I'll post a few more updates from the trip.

A few things I will discuss in future posts include our trip to Tuol Sleng (Khmer Rouge torture facility), a visit to a christian orphange (this was AWESOME), and an interview with a monk who is now a professed christian and trying to leave his pagaoda (temple). I get back to the states early Wednesday morning so I will try to post these updates before Friday night.

Finally, I'm excited to tell you all that one of our tour guides accepted Christ the other night! He's a young married man who was searching and asking alot of questions. The other night, one of the guys in the group led him in prayer and he made the decision to follow Christ. (more to come on this when I return). Pray for him! his name is Sokhin (so-keen) and he needs discipleship.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I'm excited to see you all when I return to the land of ice cream sundaes and boston cream donuts. Bring it on! :-)

An evening out on the town

The other night a small group of us took a tuk-tuk and went to the Khmer Surin, a local restraurant for dinner. In general, Khmer food is GREAT. I lost about 7 pounds the first 5 days I was here but am quickly putting it back on. :-)

Tuk tuks are small taxi cab trailers that are pulled by motos (checkout the picture on the right). I can't explain what it feels like to be in one of these things amidst the chaotic traffic patterns. People drive all over the place, yet no one (that we've seen) gets into an accident. I included another picture from the perspective of being in the tuk-tuk. It's a little blurry but you can see the traffic of motos around the tuk-tuk. They will literally get inches from each other and no one gets upset. If this were the US, I can only imagine the lovely finger gestures that many Americans might greet each other with. :-)

After dinner, we went to Independence Monument, right in the heart of Phnom Penh. Pete (one of our teammates), brought his juggling equipment with him and set up around a street light. Within 5 minutes, we must have had over 70+ people watching his show. In the crowd were three juggling students from the university of the arts. They joined pete and all four of them juggled together. These guys were very good. They jumped right in and no one missed a beat. It was so much fun to watch them all juggle together and it was a great way to open the door to speak with some of the local Khmer people.

I was able to speak at length with a few Khmer men and really enjoyed the interaction. We were told that many of the people like to go to Independence Monument to hang out and when possible, practice their english with foreigners. I spoke with a few students and a tuk-tuk driver. Conversation ranged from what they did (e.g., work, school, etc) and included their perspectives on God as well. With close to or over 90% of the population being Buddhist, it's a great place to understand more about their beliefs.

I'm still amazed how safe I feel on the streets. A few of us have commented on this and wonder if it's reality or if we are just ignorant. It's amazing how comfortable you can feel when you have no clue about what's around you. :-) People are mostly very friendly and seem to be just about their own business.

We spent some time yesterday with the missionary families and their kids yesterday, as well as visiting Toul Sleng. Toul Sleng was a secondary school that was converted to a torture facility touring the Khmer Rouge. I'll post more about these at a later time.

This trip has been wonderful in so many ways, though I'm finding myself at a point where I really miss my wife and kids. We have two more full days and then we leave Tuesday morning. Please pray for safety and strength. There's still so much to process, most of which I will not be able to get my mind around until after I return.

CSI-Phnom Penh

No, it’s not what you think it may be. CSI stands for Cooperative Services International and it’s a clinic based in Phnom Penh. We had the pleasure of visiting this clinic today to see what’s being done to meet some of the needs of the Cambodian people. It’s a small clinic, but the workers have large hearts.

Though the clinic does see approx 60 patients per day, the larger goal is to educate and train medical professionals. During the Khmer Rouge regime, we were told that all of the educated people were collected by Pol Pot and executed. This included government officials, teachers, professionals and entertainers (to name a few). As a result, there has been a huge void of qualified teachers across the country over the last 30+ years. According to our guide, World Team’s involvement in the clinic is to help equip the next medical professionals inside the country. Basically, they’re training the people of Cambodia to care for their own people. They do this, though, with the foundation of the gospel. I was encouraged to hear the story of a woman from a distant Province outside Phnom Penh who knew of the clinic due to an earlier visit. When she recognized a man visiting her town from the clinic, she said “I remember you. You’re from the Jesus clinic.”

I’d ask that you all consider praying for this clinic. They’ve apparently lost some funding over the last few years and have been unable to run at full capacity. The result of the reduced funding prevents them from caring for additional patients but more importantly, reduces their ability to train new medical professionals. Full capacity would require a monthly budget of $6-$7,000 per month. Today, they’re operating on half that amount. I was encouraged to hear that in the midst of tight financial resources, God also seems to be putting things in place to begin a new work in the clinic. It reminds me of Jesus’ words to Peter when he said “Upon this rock, I will build my church…” He’s building His church. :-)

A Dark Past but a Bright Future

We spent some time today with some missionaries that are affiliated with OMF (Overseas Missionary Fellowship). The one man is native to Cambodia and shared his story with us. You could hear a pin drop in the room as he told us about having to leave his home and working in the labor camps. At 10 years old, being forced to work 12-15 hours, 7 days a week. Then, after being reunited with your father to work with him in the fields, watching the soldiers take him away from you knowing that he was going to his death. If this were not painful enough, then later to find out the Khmer Rouge burned him to death and threw his body in a mass grave.

We also took a trip to the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh. It was estimated that between 12-20,000 people were brutally murdered at the one site we went to. As we walked, you could see clothes in the dirt beneath our feet. We were told that although many of the mass graves have been excavated, the rainy season moves the mud and dirt alot. As a result, clothes and bones emerge in random places along the walking paths. A few of the guys in the group saw some bones and teeth in the dirt. The clothes were prominent.

The memorial they built for the people who died houses the skulls of the victims. I don't know how tall it was but it had many, many rows of skulls, stacked to the ceiling. This was definitely a sobering experience.

One of our guides told me how his mother was living in Phnom Penh during the regime and was evacuated from the city. She was relocated to Siem Reap. It took our team 5 hours to drive to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh the other day. She, alongside thousands of others, were required to walk the trip (about 200 miles). I was told they walked the trip in about 6 days with only 3 days of food and supplies. Quick math told me they had to walk over 3 miles an hour, 10 hours a day to get there in 6 days. Many people did not survive.

Amidst the dark past, God is doing really awesome things here. The missionaries we met introduced us to some Cambodian men who are being trained for ministry. One was a pastor and the other two were church leaders. We were able to ask many questions and I was so encouraged to hear these men speak of what Christ is doing in their lives and the lives of those around them. Some of them had family that tolerated their "conversion," others said their families told them they were crazy. It was wonderful to hear these men stand firm in their faith, amidst the struggles. They're making a difference!

A few people have told us that the Cambodian government is trying to suppress education about the Pol Pot regime and the Khmer Rouge. They don't teach about it in their schools and from what I've been told, parents will not always talk about it with their children. As a result, There are generations growing up now that have very little understanding. I do think it's unavoidable that things will fade from the frontlines. Similar to our own country, some historical events seem to lose their focus over time (e.g., civil war, 911, etc). I just hope it's not being suppressed. Even the younger generation seems to express some interest in understanding and our human need to talk about things helps in the process of healing. I think the missionary, Daniel, gave the best summary when he said it was Christ that helped him come to a place where he could even set foot back into this country. Now, through God's help, Daniel and his family can serve the Khmer people and share the message of truth with them.

The boy

On our way back from Siem Reap today, we stopped mid-trip for a rest. The facility we stopped at was very nice and provided some great shade from the mid-day heat. You can see the front of the place in this pic (right). Take a closer look at the picture. Can you see something different? What you may have missed is the little boy in the left corner. He’s begging for money but he’s not speaking. He is just sitting there in silence with a basket. If You’re wondering why he isn’t talking, it’s because He’s blind. Getting close to him revealed that it he was born without any eyes.

My heart was arrested by this young boy. I watched a tour bus full of people get out, walk by him and act as if he was not even there. He sat quietly on his mat and waited for some money. Each person walked in and walked out, never acknowledging his presence.

As I watched, I found myself thinking about the lame begger Peter and John encountered as they entered the temple through the gate called beautiful, written about in Acts 3. The man was lame since birth and did not seem to look anyone in the eye (based on Peter’s comment in verse 4). Perhaps he saw himself as insignificant. I’m willing to bet society saw him that way so they probably ignored him. Though he and others may have seen him as worthless, Peter and John looked at him through a different lens; through the lens of Christ. To them, he was a lost sheep in need of the one true shepherd. As a result of their act of faith, they introduced this man to the great physician and he was healed.

The story in Acts is a great story of compassion and obedience. In the midst of this situation, I found myself questioning my own level of compassion for others. I was deeply impacted by the sight of this boy, but to what degree? Was I willing to give him some money? Of course. After all, giving money is pretty easy...especially when the average donation for a Cambodian begger is about 100 riel ($.20 cents). If I was feeling generous, I could even have given him a full dollar.

But what about his spiritual condition? I may have enough compassion to give him money, but do I have enough to introduce him to the great physician...in the midst of a crowd? What if God prompted me to pray for this boy to be healed? Would I do it or would I ignore the prompting, dismissing it as a figment of my imagination?

If the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in each of us, why is it that we struggle, at times, with proclaiming his truth to others? Do we pray and believe that our great physician can still do the miraculous? If we do, why is it no longer common? Have we limited God by our lack of faith? This experience today has prompted so many questions in me. If I try to look at Christianity from the outside, it does seem slightly ironic that Christians are willing to trust God for salvation and eternal life yet some don’t believe He desires nor is willing to heal in practical ways any longer.

I didn’t write this post to cause tension, I’m just finding myself being stretched to believe and walk out the fullness of God in my life. I think it all comes down to faith. Not cognitive faith, but life-giving, fruit-bearing faith. It’s the kind of faith that is not based on what we believe, think or say; it becomes reality based on what we do. Remember that old addage "Actions speak louder than words?"

Can I say with certainty that God would have healed this boy? Of course not. For me, that's not the point...though I know that Jesus challenged us to love our neighbor as we love ourself. If that's our charge, what should that look like in the case of this blind boy.

I keep thinking of the words of Samuel..."To obey is better than to sacrifce." I'm reminded how God does not need us to accomplish His will, He choses to use us. That's a humble truth for me to grasp. For Him to use us, though, we need to to be available and ready to serve...whatever the task. It forces me to wonder if my reluctance to obey, at times, (especially when things don't makes sense) plays a greater part in the end result then I'm willing to admit.

The Children

I didn’t want too much time to go by during this trip without taking some time to post specifically about some of the children I met.

First off, they seem to be everywhere. From young toddlers to teens, the kids almost fill the streets of Cambodia. Some of them work in stores or markets. Others act as street vendors and then there are those who just beg for money or food. I highlighted a few of the kids in the following pics. Hopefully, this will give you some insight into what I’ve experienced so far.

These kids (left)were some of the children we saw at Angkor Wat but they are pretty typical of what we are seeing in other places. They’re carrying baskets full of items for sale. Tour guides, bracelets, rings, shirts and fans are just a few items they tried to sell us. They’re persistent and many times, we found they would not leave us alone. The group we encountered at the end of the day yesterday followed us to our vans and stood in the door opening hoping to sell something (right).

Young children are very active in selling too. One of the most common items I’ve seen them sell are postcards. At $1.00 a pack, they’re cheap and light enough for even very young children to carry…and MANY kids are carrying them. Each of the children in the following pictures sold postcards. Without rest, they went from person to person repeating the same thing over and over. “postcard mister, postcard mister.” Even after saying "no," they would repeatedly ask the same question. I met some of them at the beginning of the day and saw the same kids selling after sunset.

This little boy (right) may have spent the entire day at Angkor Wat selling postcards. I watched him for a while. In about 5 minutes, he must have approached 50 people asking them to buy his postcards. I never saw a child so persistent.

The rest of these pics are of other children selling postcards. As I said before, they were everywhere. I was told many of these children do not go to school. School costs money and these children have none...or they can make money by selling things and therefore, don't have any incentive to go to school.

Sometimes they work for adults. Though I’m not sure the relationship between child and adult, I was told some (not all) of them may be forced to sell goods. In those cases, children failing to meet a daily quota could be at risk of receiving punishment.

Then there are the children who have nothing to sell and simply beg for money. There were two I encountered that I will share. This little girl (right) boldly came up to some members of our team and asked for money. One woman she approached gave her some money but it apparently wasn’t enough because she told her it was too little and then asked for more. After the woman gave her a little extra, the girl asked for more again. I was amazed at how forward this child was. It seemed as though she was an “experienced begger.”

This boy (left) approached me and asked for money, making sure I saw that he had his little sister with him (or so I assumed it was his sister). What he didn’t know was that I watched him selectively choose who he would bring his sister to. Sometimes, he asked for money alone, sometimes he ran back and grabbed his “sister.” Again, the signs indicated he was "experienced."

Whether these children were genuinely in need or working for an adult, I will never know. What I do know is that there are legitimate needs here. Anyway you look at it, the kids tug at your heartstrings and it's hard to walk away unaffected. What is the best way to help these kids? We could give them a token gift and leave, but I wonder if perhaps we're called to serve a greater purpose.

Wat's Up?

Yesterday, the team took a 5-hour drive to Siem Reap. Siem Reap is the most heavily visited city in Cambodia by tourists because it's home to Angkar Wat, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. I can't post many pictures of the temple because I don't have my laptop with me but I uploaded one just so you can see it. It stands almost 200ft tall and took over 37 years to build with 400,000 workers. The size was amazing, but the interior carving in the sandstone was unbelievable. The standstone was transported by Elephant and raised by hand and pulleys, then traced, printed and carved. The detail, over a thousand years later is still amazing.


The poverty level of the people of this country hit me very hard today. As we left one of the temples, we were surrounded by people trying to sell us their goods. From old to young, they were relentless...even pushing their way into the vans and trying to stick their hands through the windows. We were told that most of the kids have no education and therefore, have nothing else to do in order to make money.

Before today, I knew the statistic that about 90% of the country is Buddhist, but I didn't undertstand how entrenched the country was in this religion until I saw the history they are so proud of. In the mid 70s, the Pol pot regime, as militant and brutal as they were, refused to destroy Angkar Wat because of the significance of the temple to the country. They feared that destroying it would have caused a revolt of such magnitude, they would lose political control.

After seeing the scale of the buildings and knowing the amount of people who worked on the project, I couldn't help but think how many men probably spent much of their entire life building this temple. Yes, they gave all of themselves to create a magnificent structure for a God who doesn't even exist. In the midst of the awe I felt, I couldn't help but feel sadness as well. I walked away thankful...knowing that everything I do, I do for the living, breathing God of all creation. He's not represented in a statue or building. He lives in me.

Living in Community

My room overlooks the local housing in Phnom Penh. They are in very poor condition but will give you an idea of the general economic status of many residents of this area. Last night many families slept on the roof due to the heat. There also doesn’t appear to be any running water in the homes. This morning I watched a young man brush his teeth and wash his face on the roof with a small bucket of water. A family of 7 sat on their roof and prepared breakfast. Everyone used buckets of water for washing & cooking. It is not uncommon for a few families to share a single toilet. When it rains, you can smell sewage.


We visited a local Khmer church this morning. The group I was in went to a small church that was supposed to reflect the culture a little more closely. I noticed that the service involved many people in the front. Prayers, worship, liturgy, sermon, close, etc. They were all done by different people. Their prayers were not short, they were long. I chuckled inside a little wondering how a prayer like this would fly at home! :-) I’m wondering if this is a cultural thing.



The Pastor spoke on Matthew 24 and our role as Christians before jesus returns. We had a few interpreters for portions of the sermon. It was a wonderful experience to see fellow Christians onthe other side of the world worshipping the same God. The church TRULY is universal and God's doing cool things in the lives of these people. I also spoke at length with the worship leader afterwards and discussed what he felt are Cambodia’s biggest needs. Without a breath, he said “The Gospel. Money and other things come later.”

He told me that Americans are usually very willing to meet a need by giving money to a cause but sometimes do not recognize that the gospel must be the priority when engaging the community. He agreed that some basic needs must be met first, but he was very specific in saying that they will not resource communities unless sharing the gospel is the focal point. This can only happen by sharing life with the people.

I ponder how this perspective has made its way into the US church. The perception, to some degree, may exist that says giving money to causes, even great causes, satisfies our obligation to do the work of ministry. How many times do people write their offering checks and feel they’ve done their part in the church? Yes, the financial piece is needed but I beleive God’s true calling to us requires that we share our lives with others. Jesus said that what we do for the least of His brethren is done as unto him (matt 25:45). Money won’t solve the problems of Cambodia or the US. It may make their temporary life on earth more comfortable but it won't do a thing for their soul. Only the power of Christ can do that.

Tomorrow begins our three-day visit to Angkor Wat. if you don't know anything about Angkor Wat, you may want to google it. It's part of Cambodia's pride and the most popular tourist spot in the country. The temple is over 1,000 years old and still holds great signifcance to the people due to its Buddhist heritage. Internet may not be available on the trip so I may not be able to post until Wed night.

Rumor has it that we'll be stopping for some Cambodian delicacies on the way. Fried Tarantulas are first on the list. (no joke)

Blessings!

-P

The Market

We went to the Central Market yesterday afternoon. Young children begged for money and food. The missionaries encouraged us to give food to kids if they ask for money (if we are moved to help a few). They discourage money because some of the kids in the market are paid beggers. The country is trying to discourage begging and push the inportance of education. If begging is profitable enough, they kids will never go to school. Amputees (due to land mines) tried to sell movies and books to us. Goods are extremely inexpensive, from clothing to jewelry. Jade is EVERYWHERE and very cheap. I can buy a beautiful Jade elephant (2”x3”) for $5.00. A decent quality silk scarf sells for $2.00. Cotton are 2 for $1. Since Cambodia does not use coin money, many things cost 1 US dollar. A good meal will cost $3-5.

I noticed that hardly any Cambodians wear shorts. Where temperatures are pushing 90+ degrees and the humidity makes it feel over 104, I asked Boray (one of our guides) why this was the case. He told me it’s an issue of modesty. Women, especially, are very guarded with what skin they bare in public and therefore, keep themselves well covered. Capri’s are acceptable but you won’t find a woman in shorts for fear of giving men the wrong impression about their virtue. Contrasting this perspective to the US, I found myself wondering which nation is really the developing country.

Safe and Sound

Well, after 20+ hours in three different airplanes, we finally made it safe and sound to Phnom Penh. Overall, the flight was actually very smooth, just very long. We stopped off in Anchorage for about an hour just to refuel and refresh before the 9 hours to Taipei. China Airlines personnel was very professional and cordial to us. It was a really nice trip

Due to the longer days in Alaska, we were able to see the mountains off the one side of the airport. SO beautiful. On the leg to Taipei, we flew right over the mountain ranges of Japan and saw a breathtaking view of Mt. Fuji, snow covered and all. The final leg of the trip took us over the southern part of Vietnam and finally to our destination.

The culture Cambodia is VERY different. Traffic patterns are unlike anything I've seen in the U.S. Motor scooters (or Motos, as they say), are the primary form of transportation. There are cars, but they're probably outnumbered by about 40 to 1 (just a guess). There are traffic laws, but most people disregard them. To cross streets, we've been advised to slowly walk into the flow of traffic and drivers will just drive around us. The analogy was similar to throwing a rock into a ragin stream (us being the rock and the traffic being the stream). One thing that struck me about the odd traffic flow was that no one seemed angry at other drivers for their tactics. They seemed pretty relaxed and not worried about the maneuvering required at every intersection. Our missionary guides keep telling us Cambodian time is different then US time. I'm sure we'll see more of this over the next two weeks.

Two of our guides are young Cambodian men that are affiliated with the missionaries here. I talked at length with one of them tonight and inquired about his family. If things go well over the next week, I might be able to meet his family. He was very excited that I expressed interest in meeting them. I think it would be a wonderful opportunity to get to know them all.

Tomorrow we will visit two Cambodian churches, walk the city some more and have our orientation class. Monday AM, we plan to travel to Angkor Wat for 2-3 days. AW is the world's largest buddist temple. I'll give an update on that in a few days.

Please pray for the team that we get acclimated quickly. Most of us are operating on 4-5 hours of sleep in the last 2 days. We need to be refreshed.

Good things are to come. thanks so much for your prayers!

Paul

We're off!

We'll be on our way to JFK tonight. Our flight leaves at 11:45pm and takes us to Anchorage for our first stop. After a brief rest, we'll be off to Taiwan and then Phnom Penh. 21 hours after we started, we should safely reach our destination. And so the journey begins...

Team Effort

Living life in community is part of being a Christian. Team learning has been an integral part of our DNA since day one of our degree program and this missions trip is no exception. We will experience Cambodia as a team and share those experiences with all of you. If you're interested in seeing what the rest of our the cohort is doing as part of the trip, check out our community blog site at http://cohortepic.21publish.com/

Both Ends Burning

There's so much to do in preparation for my upcoming trip to Cambodia. Three years in the making doesn't quite capture the reality of what seminary life has been. I'd be remiss if not to thank my wonderful, understanding wife for her love and support over this time. I can honestly say that I could never have made it through these last three years if not for the workload she carried in my absence (and I was quite absent at times).

As I quickly approach the day of departure, each night quickly becomes early morning. Tying up lose ends, preparation, papers, blog updates...it's never-ending. Over the last few days, my thoughts have finally started to shift towards the upcoming trip. The expectation level is starting to build. More to come later...