Pchum Ben and the death of the King.

The past three weeks have provided a lot of learning for Leanne and I as we learn more about the Buddhist holiday of Pchum Ben as well as reflect with our Cambodian coworkers about the life and times of their beloved King, Norodom Sihanouk.

First, Pchum Ben (Chum Ben) is a Buddhist holiday in Cambodia in which followers visit their local temple (wat) and give food and money offerings to their dead ancestors. These offerings are given in order to keep the spirits of their dead ancestors at peace as their spirits walk through this world. The Khmer believe in waking the dead and their spirits and hoping that as the roam the earth they will find their family's offerings and be pleased, thus blessing the living relatives that left the offering.  There is a certain darkness that is felt throughout this 15 day holiday as spirits are called, offerings are made and according to the Khmer, spirits meander the streets. There is also an interesting dynamic at play because there is little separation between the culture of Cambodia and Buddhism. In the west there is a certain distance between religion and culture, meaning people can avoid religion and still celebrate their culture. In Cambodia, that divide is much smaller with culture and religion being one in the same. This time is undoubtedly a very difficult time for our Khmer Christian friends.

We spent the days of Pchum Ben watching the Cambodian families around us dress in their white mourning clothes and travel with food to the wat. While there was a certain emptiness we felt in this time there was also a certain awe for us as we can now speak with our landlord, his family and other Cambodians about their beliefs, rituals and practices. The weeks of Pchum Ben were interesting as well as disheartening as we see the emptiness and darknes in many of these practices.

During this holiday, the nation as a whole also suffered the lost of their beloved King, Norodom Sihanouk. From my studies of this man, I am left with questions and cynicism because he led the nation during the rise and conquest of the Khmer Rouge. As an unknowing westerner, I judge him as I judge my own leaders and any failure seems to mean they let down their nation. However, Cambodians have a certain and understandable reverence for the King. He created independence for Cambodia from the French, he led the nation in its golden years of innovation and technological growth, he made Cambodia and Phnom Penh the one-time "Pearl of Asia."

Our coworkers and friends mourned his death and so many Cambodians that I love and respect have nothing but love and respect for this man and I believe that I must as well. His resume to an outsider is marred by questionable relationships with some of history's most dubious leaders but I am not Cambodian, I do not know how much he did for the people and both Leanne and I watched with great admiration as the nation mourned a national hero and a father to many Cambodians.

We have lived in Cambodia for nearly two and a half years and we are able to see and learn more about the culture, history and practices of the nation through each passing month. It has been a wonderful and blessed opportunity to learn about and contrast our own beliefs and nations with Cambodia and we both appreciate the opportunity to do so. However, we also ask you join us in prayer for this country as the need for knowing a loving and alive God is of utmost need.

If anyone has been to Cambodia, you might appreciate this video taken in Phnom Penh in 1965. It displays a nation that is far more advanced, orderly and polished than the city is today. I always find these films outrageously interesting.

Good Touch Bad Touch Training

This blog is stolen from Asian Hope's blog:

For the second week of September the students in Asian Hope's 2Five2 catch-up school in Prek Pneu were trained on the topic of "Good Touch, Bad Touch." This training is to help children in this vulnerable community learn of ways to better protect themselves, their family members, and their friends. With issues like child abuse, neglect, and child trafficking running rampant in Cambodia and this community, our hope is to help these students learn how to be an agent of change and live out their God-given potential.

The curriculum was developed by Love146 and Resource Development International. The project was funded by Chab Dai, a coalition of 50 Christian organizations in Cambodia working towards ending child exploitation.

The material was presented to the children by 2Five2 Program Director, Chanrith Moung. The subject is presented in an easy to follow story using a flip chart and pictures of puppets. The children really enjoy the story and often laugh at the characters. During this training, students learn what abuse is, how to stop it, and what to do if it has happened to them or to one of their family members and/or friends. We are excited about teaching this training as we know that God has a plan for each of their lives and we want to be a part of helping them find that plan.

AND...If you are tired of reading our super long blogs on our ramblings, thoughts, and stories you can find shorter (but not as funny) ones on Asian Hope's website www.asianhope.org.

Also, you can like Asian Hope on Facebook (click here) to read even smaller snippets of what is going on in Cambodia.

Happy fall!

Play Day

Last weekend we hosted our 2nd Logos Play Day (read here for the 1st) for the students in 2Five2 Prek Pneu and also for students at our new site in Toul Kork.  We had around 140 students come and get the reward of playing on the brand new soccer field, the playground and the ever coveted swimming pool.  If students had good attendance and good behavior in school then they were rewarded with this play day.  All went well other than the 2 pukers in the van (these kids never ride in cars or vans, so it can make them sick), and the one we had to sit down because he was not taking the time to breathe or drink water because he was so excited.  Poor little guy had no self restraint he was just so excited.  We are thankful for Asian Hope's wonderful facilities that we can use in our ministries.

 (morning prayer and rules before the fun began)

This Life is not About What but For Whom...

In the past two months we have mourned the sudden deaths of two people in our small community.

The first was a student at Logos that I knew well and who was killed in a moto accident on the last day of school. The second was a teammate with Asian Hope who passed away this week because of a heart attack and is leaving behind a family and a community that he served for nearly 30 years.

Both of these individuals were great. They were the best at what they did. They served well and they served hard. They loved people around them and, because of their service, were loved back. But, should we praise them?

We were challenged by our pastor this week to remember that in the Christian faith, we should reconsider praising an individual for their accomplishments in life but instead praise the God who they serve. This might sound a bit controversial but I think it is truth. Here is why.

Neither of these two individuals who we have mourned would want us to cheer their accomplishments at their funeral. Instead, because they knew Jesus intimately, they would want us to praise the father for His work in them. There is a difference there.

At the end of the second book of Timothy, Paul is explaining that he will soon parish for the cause of Christ. He explains that he had finished the race, kept the faith and will receive what he knows is coming to him - a heavenly reward. Paul, the MVP of the Bible, is not explaining that we should now  praise him. Instead, at the end of his life and locked in prison, Paul is a testimony of what a complete transformation looks like. Christians now examine what God did in Paul not what Paul did for God and we should follow the same blueprint.

In Philippians, Paul outlines what a believer should look like and how they should act so that they have a great testimony of what God did in them despite their shortcomings. We can do a lot in our lives and if we as followers do it right, others can see that we did not work to tally our accomplishments but we worked to tell others about what we already knew. 

In our Christian life I believe we need to look at our end and begin to see who we are living for and not what we did while we were living.

I think that the general population is disconnected from church because those who attend mark their success on church numbers, tithing amounts, short-term teams sent to poor countries. However, if all Christians worked to imitate Jesus, desired to hang out with the sick and poor in spirit, if we all became meek and modest then I think there may be a great groundswell of new followers. Following Christ needs little convincing but asking others to be like other Christians, myself included, is a tall order.

I guess these deaths, and those that I have mourned before have really helped me understand that what I do is often insignificant but the God who I do it for is not. These lives well-lived have helped me begin to learn that my life is not to be defined by what I do but who I do it for. 

Bucket List

Bucket Lists. “We all have a bucket list – whether it is written down or tucked somewhere in the back of our mind just waiting for the right moment to transition over to ink on paper.” I read this quote recently and also read about this topic not along ago. My interest was spiked, because yes I think it is true, we all desire to check those magical things off our list.

When I read about it was defined as “a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime.”

As I have been learning about Thankfulness for the past several years, I came to find that it contradicts everything about being filled with gratitude. It is counting a list of hopes and wants instead of list of experiences I can be thankful for.

It is hard to manage a never-ending list of want-tos and have-tos, when a growing list of thanks-for-this-experience should just flow out of us naturally. Or so you would think?

Why is it that I want more and more to fill my bucket, when I haven’t even thanked God for all the ways He’s already filled my cup?

If the height of our joy is dependent on the depth of our thanks then the exhilaration isn’t in fulfilling our bucket list experiences, but in exalting Christ in all He has given us.

Here is what I read, that struck me as I always thought about my bucket list, “The best lives don’t have Bucket Lists as much as they have Empty Bucket lists. Because the thing is when I kick the bucket, I don’t want there to be anything left in my bucket. When I kick the bucket, I want the bucket to be rightfully empty.”

I am still learning, but I do know that I don’t want my life to be how I took experiences — but that I gave exceedingly. I hope I can be defined by what I poured out, that I was part of giving. Because I am hoping that my life is not about trying to fill my life up — but trying to spill my life out.

The bucket list article went on to say, “Where do you want to go?” What do you want to see — and, most important, with whom? Then just do it! Figure out a way to make it happen, and 20 years from now, you will not be disappointed. As we have the opportunity to check items off the list, not only are we given fantastic stories to share, but we also gain memories that will last a lifetime.”

Though not totally off base, the question I then thought about is really not what do you want to see — but who do you want to serve — and yes, most importantly, for Whom do you do that for?

As I read more about this woman’s thoughts on bucket lists I began to agree with all she said, “Figure out a way to make sacrifice happen — and an eternity from now, you won’t be disappointed. Because not only have we been given the most fantastic story of Grace to share, but the only thing worth gaining is the memory of the giving of yourself — and that will outlast time.”

A bucket list of merely exploring? Why not live a bigger, greater life — an empty bucket list of expending. When my cup’s already full of the blessings of God, I guess I don’t need a bucket list anymore...

Water Filter Distribution

 

Last week was the culmination of many months and weeks of work and preparation.  We helped distribute over 700 ceramic pot water filters to every household in Prek Pneu.  It was a joyous week to say the least.

 

Two weeks ago we hosted the Adult Community Workshop on why drinking clean water is important and how that keeps families healthy, and how it ultimately protects children. Children can be protected because families are less likely to spend precious income on the medical issues within the family, thus lessening the probability that the family will go through a financial crisis that would then put them in the scenario of choosing if they need to sell a child into labor for additional income.  (In case you ever wondered why we even were involved in this project). 

 

Water filters do more than I ever once knew.

 

As the process -- we invited 30 or so households at a time to come to our building and receive a personal training on why to use a filter, how the filter works, and then how to clean and maintain the filter.  Sometimes I felt as if we were putting on a magic show because we would pour the Mekong River water into the filter and then drink it ourselves, as staff and trainers, and then give samples to the attendees and watch their facial expression turn to amazement as the see the once brownish-yellow water turned to clear, safe water that is good to drink.

 

Each day was filled with unloading filters off a truck (pictured above), four "formal" trainings and then the never ending trainings for the late comers who inevitably came about 45 minutes and were right in between trainings.  Our staff worked hard, and I was proud to call them co-workers. 

 

Each household interested had to purchase a filter for $2.50 to insure they found value in it and weren't going to use it to store fish or some sort of fish by-product, but actually as a water filter.  For some this was weeks of savings.  We even had one student in our catch-up school work extra jobs for 2 weeks to give her mom the $1.80 she was still needing so her family could get a filter. 

 

God is faithful and last Friday ended in a day of praise and thankfulness for all that was done.

 

Like Riding Thunder...

Driving the Tico is like riding thunder. If you have never imagined what riding thunder is like, then imagine driving a Tico.

Ticos are Daewoos built in post-Soviet Eastern Europe. They are known for their performance on snowy Romanian roads and their dependability on isolated Polish highways. When the autobahn was being built, the precursor to the Tico was the German's test car. It was this Tico's lineage that helped to engineer the world's greatest road.

The Tico is build out of a carbon-aluminum alloy. It has the capacity to go fast, so fast that I will not even publish its amazing abilities. Sometimes, the Tico takes control of its own path which is why it was the Tico that inspired the great show NightRider.

When we were given the opportunity to get the Tico, Leanne and I had to really determine if we were ready and able to make such a commitment. We said yes, and we do not regret it. Now we have a car that manages to push out about 80 horsepower on its incredibly advanced 3-cylinder engine.

Now Leanne can drive back and fourth from Prek Pneu in a car that is safe, reliable and dust-free (for the most part). The Tico is actually no more than a golf-cart with doors. If I raced a golf cart, I am not sure which vehicle would win, I guess it would be a matter of how old the golf cart is. But the car provides much a safer way for Leanne to get to work, and for that we are so excited. 

The Tico sits about 8-inces off the ground and is about 4.5 feet tall - seriously. It does not idle unless it is warmed up like a go-cart and we constantly have to choose between the fan or radio because the car cannot manage both well. We literally have to be careful about driving in rain because too much water means a the Tico floats away - I wish I was joking. But we love the new addition to the family and we cannot wait and see where the Tico takes us next.

If you want to know more about Ticos, you can join their Facebook page.

Its maiden voyage home

Tape deck.  We gladly will accept your best cassette tapes.

Proud owners of the Red Baron.

Thank you to those who pray for our safety.  This awesome car is such an answer to the prayers that we have had for the last month.