Continuing to think of and pray for Cambodia...

Reentry is an interesting part of a Short term trip, especially  when you have been to a place like Crossroads in Cambodia.

Reading over our last blog entry, there was a big part missing......... a sentence or two that I lost in the writing. It was not intentional, but it was the part about saying goodbye and how the students typically bowed over their hands in Cambodian style and bowing their heads a bit to the person to whom they are saying goodbye. For our last night there, that "formality" lasted for about 10 people. Then came dear Mesa. He had implanted himself in Lynn's and my heart in January when we were won over by his smile, his servant heart, his willingness to "do" for Jesus. When he approached me to say goodbye  the tears started for us both. When it was time to think about saying "goodbye" there was no question but that a hug was imminent. I am sure that I broke some cultural rule, but we three felt like our hearts were breaking so for the three of us and them, the tears were unstoppable and so it went for the remainder of our time. 

Was it just our emotions at play?

I don't think so.

The three of us have returned to the States and our hearts and minds and world view has been impacted. We saw a precious piece of God's work and we felt so privileged to be there. 

Shortly after we returned to the states,  David went to the trouble one evening of setting up skype for us to be able to part of their worship. We were filled with so much joy just hearing them sing and seeing them sit around the room. 

Shortly after we left, the students also left Phnom Penh  for a country wide celebration of Ancestors and a  time in their home towns......4, 6, 9 hours bus ride away from the safety of Crossroads. They returned to Buddhist homes where Christianity is not accepted. They face persecution. Some might be asked to leave. They have counted the cost for following Jesus. BUT, David has mentored them well. The students are steeped in andknow Scripture. They have prepared their hearts in prayer. They have put on the FULL Armor that Ephesians 6 talks about.

Again, the paradigm shift......some of them are sending Facebook messages from their phones.

They continue to ask for prayer.

They want to be able to share the Gospel with their families.

They are first Generation Followers of Jesus who have been discipled well by David and Moonjung.

Thankfully, with technology we can still be connected. We can bring them before the throne daily.  We long to partner more so that Westover can see what God is doing.  I have been reading again of what God did in the early church that is recorded for us in  Acts and how the church exploded because of the new believers "devoting themselves to the teaching of the Word, and prayer and fellowship" 

That is what David and Moonjung Ooi are teaching the students to do. 

That "first generation" church in Phnom Penh is the future of the Christian church in Cambodia. They can and WILL impact that country for our Lord Jesus.

Please, even though the three of us are back, PLEASE continue to pray for the ministry that we were humbled to be part of for a short time.

Oour last night in cambodia

I woke at 4 this morning. We were thinking that we were going to sleep in a bit. Each day our schedule started VERY early so we have been used to getting up and being on the road, or attending a pre-6 prayer meeting. So today.............our last day, we kind of thought 6 or 6:30 sounded like a delightful sleep in.

 

But last night........

There is not really a way to describe it adequately.  The students had a farewell time for us. 70 plus kids squished in a tight little room all sitting on the floor, bumped up against one another. We had a quite relaxed day, Chris did some "guy talk" for a few hours with two yound men who are interested in dating........We girls headed out and enjoyed  seeing different Abolition  ministries and visiting around...even did a little shopping.Rebecca and I ended the day at the side of the soccer field in the monsoon rains. We have come to love these students so much and we wanted one more chance to cheer them on. Since both teams come from Crossroads, it is quite easy to not being playing favorites. The game was more like water polo, as the fields were drenched ....no, absolutley flooded and they, like boys are wont to do, were having a ball in the water. We were all drencked and for the first time in Cambodia actually felt chilly........but our hearts were TOTALLY warmed by the smiles of the kids as they saw us standing in the rain on the sidelines. They came off the field and first thing they did was thank us for coming. Such a little thing for us....turned into such a meaningful thing for them.

 

We came back and showered and packed up for our trip home, to be ready for our 7:30 meeting that actually surprised us and started at 7.

 

The students Worshipped. The singing was a foretaste of heaven. The tears poured freely as we were surrounded in Praise to HIM. What a special service. David gave leadership t shirts to the team

that would be continuing on in the work. They are coming on furloughand this team will take  on the responsibilities of the entire ministry.  David opened the floor for kids to comment on our time. That was humbling...........because we for sure felt that they blessed US much more than us blessing them.

 

We had a moment or two to share thoughts with them as our last blessing. I personally were happy for that last chance to encourage their hearts. In my quiet time a few weeks ago, God blessed me with a portion from I Chronicles, and David's challenge to the children of Israel giving instructions to them. Be Strong...Be Couragous. Remember the teachings of their "spiritual fathers" Don't get discouraged. Stay in the word. Search out the Scriptures....

 

Oh how we are jealousfor their hearts to stay strong in HIM. So many temptations and challenges in this country.

 

In Cambodian...or at least Crossroads custom, the students circle around the room to say goodbye. The typical response is folding ones hands in front of your face, and tilting your head to the person to whom you are showing respect. No touching, hand shaking, hugging etc. Just a very respectful gesture.  Last night..Then a song...holding hands about standing together in unity. More tears ....

 

They all left to go home, and I asked Rebecca and Chris if we could head up to the roof for a bit. It was still raining but there is a shelter up there....cool breeze and view of the city. We sat in total silence for a good 10 minutes, none of us able to speak. As we silently reflected, each of us were all wracked with sobs..........

 

In such a few short days, our hearts have been altered. Our lives have been impacted by what seems like the "early church" stronghold. When our own crying ceased we had a precious time of prayer..for these kids...for their ministry..and for Lynn and Chris ministry going on simultaneously :real time in Africa.

 

What a GREAT GOD we serve. We remarked over and over how blessed we were for this privilege of peeking into this land where the spirit of God is POURED and spilling into the city and out in remote villages.

 

Thank you for allowing us to be YOUR respresentatives as well as God's.

 

In spite of all of the fabulous food we have eaten, perhaps the chunk of our hearts that we are leaving will make up for the physical weight we have gained.

 

We are homeward bound at 1 today (Saturday) We will have a brief stop in Singapore to meet with Paul Chang, and then leave at midnight from there and home in GSO by Sunday afternoon.

 

Again....thanks for holding the ropes in prayers. We rejoice in Good health, great rest, GREAT appetities and HIS bleessings.....

 

Our time is coming to a close...

Our time is so quickly coming to a close here in Cambodia.  The things that we have seen and heard and have been a part of,  have reminded us,  in many ways of being part of the  early Church. The new believers sat under the teaching of the disciples. They devoted themselves to prayer, and fellowship and learning from God's word. We have been blessed and in more ways than we could begin to express. We also have been inspired and challenged by the lives of these University students. Studying God's word is a priority for them. It is truly their life blood. As new believers coming from a Buddhist background, they are like thirsty sponges, soaking in the teaching from the Word. I know that it seems almost trite to say that, because it is so much more than just attending a Bible Study.

 

Beside their own time in the Word, they come here to Crossroads,  sit on the hard tile floor for hours and hours.....Literally!!!!!

 

 US??? not so much. Well, we are sitting on the same floor, but a lot more wiggling around and trying to get a comfortable position.

 

There is a huge paradigm shift here in Cambodia. This is not really a "third world,"  but a developing world.  Riding down the highways, one can see many brand new Lexus as well as an abundance of little TukTuk taxis and motorbikes.

 

The other day we drove with Davd in a very nice 4 Wheel Drive SUV/Truck. After about three hours on some pretty hairy heavily trafficked roads........(trucks with live chickens and ducks by the dozens hanging upside down...........pigs....bikes, people...and even a fearless little monkiey hanging on for dear life on the back of a truck with his hair blowing in the wind!!)  we arrived to a spot where we changed from the SUV to an ox cart. A VERY primitive ox cart, which was loaded with all of our water/rice/hammocks/sleeping nets for our stay in the village.  The roads were very muddy and rutted with DEEP water pits. It is the monsoon season and Rebecca and I were commenting on the beautiful blue skies as we trundled along in the wobbly cart.

 

Spoke too soon. The heavens opened and the downpour, which would last the remainder of the 1 1/2 hour ride drenched us all thru and thru.   We jumped off the oxcart and Potra, a dear student got everything covered. A big tractor came along and picked us up as we were walking along covered in mud!! Walking in the slippery mud holes proved to be an exciting adventure. 

 

Even before arriving at the village where we would be spending the next three days, our senses were bombarded with the poverty and stark reality of life amonst the Kuy people. They are steeped in Animism but God is doing an amazing work and home after home is turning to Christ. 

 

It is quite easy to spot the new believers with their smiles and JOY. In contrast, the empty dark faces of those still bound by animish, teeth blood red from chewing on the beetle nut juice that gives momentarily relief from all that is going on around them.  

 

Chris, Rebecca and I were given the privilege of sleeping on the wooden floor of the one roomed  thatched house that is up on stilts. It belongs to Uncle Hun and he is the second in charge of the Village that we were visiting. He and his family have given their lives to Christ, and have been baptized. Actually, when Lynn and I were here in January we were present at the baptism of his daughter and son. What a difference Jesus has made in that family. 

 

Back in the city.......Iphones, computers, fancy cars can be seen all around. The difference of city life and farm life abound in Cambodia abound....yet the constant, in both places is the difference that Jesus makes in the lives of those who have given themselves to serve HIM.

 

The University students have such a passion to share Jesus with all they meet. They are eager to spend HOURS in studying the Word. Prayer meeting was held at 5:45 in three different locations this morning.....our room was full.

 

There are several young men that are such examples of Servant Leadership that we keep remarking about their lives, over and over.  God has given them a passion to Serve HIM and it is unbelievably special and such a blessing.

 

Sex trafficking in blatant and the ravages of sin on the lives of so  many in this country is almost oppressive.... BUT JESUS!!  He has transformed. He has given hope. He has reversed their lives. How thankful we are for these few days we have had in Phnom Penh to have a birds eye view into the life of some very dedicated servants of God.

 

We are honored and privileged to be here. Thanks for your prayers.

 

 

It takes a village to make rice noodles

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO MAKE RICE NOODLES

Uncle Hun slowly wandered over while Judy was speaking to the ladies and told them that tomorrow evening they should bring food so the Christian community in the village could share a meal together with us. It was a quick statement and while we were excited about a village "potluck," we thought nothing else of it.

Until...The next day we walked to the neighbors hut where she was grinding rice into a pure white paste with a crude rock grinder. Our dear and faithful translater, Chetra, told us that when Uncle Hun told them about the "potluck," they went home after our time together and put the rice that they had grown themselves,  on to soak, so it would be soft enough the next day to grind.

We then asked, why she was grinding the rice. Chetra told us that they had to grind the rice to make paste, which once squeezed of all the liquid would make dough,and so on and so forth until rice noodles filled our plates. We were awed athe procedure, but just took a few pictures and went on our way to a
neighboring village just across the stream to do some visiting.

On our return...
We saw the women gathered at one of the huts working away. When we stopped to say hello, we saw what it really takes for the villagers to serve us Cambodian Rice Noodles. Let me explain...

Day one evening:  All the women soak the rice at their own huts to make it soft.
Day two....all  morning:  Each one grinds the soft rice into a thick paste - it looks just like glue - and then delivers it to a central hut  where almost the whole village has gathered to turn that paste into noodles.

Day two mid-morning  thru to late afternoon:  Each lady performs a job to make the paste into noodles.

One woman takes the thick  cloth of rice paste and wraps it up and then sits on top of a wooden contraption so the water squeezes out of the paste. It forms a clump of white rice paste. A second woman takes the clump and breaks it into pieces -  where it takes on the appearance of feta cheese - and then rolls it into a ball, half the size of a soccer ball. Woman three takes the ball and drops it into a huge pot of boiling water. After it boils for a while, she pulls it out places it on a large banana leaf and sets it in cold water. That's when women four, five, and six put the cooked ball of rice paste into a wooden threshing container and with one pole each, they pound the liquid out of the paste. It's then dumped into woman #7's pan and she kneeds the paste into a dough for 15 minutes for each ball of dough. Then woman #8 takes the dough and puts it into what looks like a wooden pasta press, and she sits a log, that presses on a wooden container and out flows hundreds of strands of rice noodles. They drop from the press into a pot of boiling water, where they cook. She then dips them out, washes them in cold water, and then delivers them to woman nine, who dips the noodles out into bunches the size of your palm and places them into a deep colander.

As we sat watching this elaborate process Judy reminded the ladies of what it says in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. That we are all part of the body of Christ and each one is needed to do their part. Some preach, some teach, some serve, some make rice noodles, and some eat the noodles - guilty! However, when we all work together the body of Christ is built up and flourishes. As Judy shared, you could see each woman - all of them baby Christians, some just a week old in the faith - listen and make the connection. With smiles on their faces they nodded in return.

Perhaps they saw the connection between rice noodles and the body. Regardless, we learned what they already know, that it takes a village to make rice noodles and it takes each of us - doing the one thing God has called and gifted us to do - to make the body of Christ function effectively.

LIFE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

She couldn't have been older than 5. maybe 6 at the most. I spotted her playing under a strange looking tree.
She was caught up in her own little world of make believe. It looked as though she had no idea I was even there. I watched her singing and dancing around with two leaves in her hand. She would swing them back and forth as if they were her own personal wings. You see, we had stopped at an open aired restaurant and rest area on our way to the Kuy Village, about 4 hours north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We had been driving for around and hour and a half, and stopped for breakfast. There were tables under a thatched roof, and waitresses that brought us rice and grilled beef, with soup and sweet vegables. I was eating a spoon full of rice when I spotted her. There were lots of people around selling various types of food - pineapples, fried banana chips, stuffed fried frogs, pomello's, yams, boiled peanuts, and barbeque'd spiders (huge ones I might add) - so I took it she was a daughter of the one of the vendors. Every day they come to this same restaurant area to sell their goods to the travellers. Every day it seemed their day was the same. Get up. Harvest the pineapples. Bring them to the rest area. Slice and peel them. Bag them. Walk around and sell them. Day after day. We were told that the children at the side of the road did not go to school. They could not read. There were no books to tell them about life on the side of other roads or in other villages or even in other cities. There was no television for them to see how life looked so completely different. She had no concept of what life looked like on the side of the road where I lived. All she knew...all she was aware of...all she would ever know would be life on the side of this remote road in Cambodia. And in one moment as I looked at her, I felt a wave of compassion - perhaps the same compassion Jesus has for people who live their lives on the side of the road.

on our way to Kuy village

We leave in the morning at 5 am to head up to the kuy village - along with David and 7 xroads college students  - about 4 hours of driving, riding in an oxcart and walking (probably through the mud:)! Pray that we will be a blessing to the people we meet. Thanks for the prayers you have already been praying!

Another day in Pnom Penh....

Morning to you,

I am sitting early this morning in the bathroom/shower. Had a great sleep but 4 am came and it seemed time to wake up. We laughingly sad last night as we walked home at almost 10 PM that "last month" ....meaning yesterday. It seems impossible that we have only been here for two days. We arrived at the Greensboro airport at 4:45 AM and arrived here in our room  in Phoom Penh at midnight the next day. I guess that was 37 hours door to door. David and Moonjung had waited for us and were such a delight to see their smiling faces to greet us. David's suggested we meet at 7:30 for breakfast and we stretched it to 8...and we have been full on the go since then. Both days he has insisted that we go rest for an hour after lunch, so that we would be ready to go for the remained of the day. We have been amazed at the energy that we have had...and there is NO DOUBT that people have been praying. It has been awesome to be here again. I remember with such fondness the time we were here in January, and how impressed I was by this University students. Their commitment to serving God is quite amazing. I am even more impressed/challenged and blessed by being with them now for  a longer time. They are mature in their faith. Many of them have suffered so much in this soceity. Hearing some of their stories is shocking....to hear how God has intervened and healed is amazing.

 

Out lessons have opened up some deep conversations. Sexual sin is so sadly having a resounding impact on the youth of this country. The horrors of the Polkot regime and the 3 million people lost in genocide in the 70's has left deep and lasting scars. BUT the difference that Christ has made in the lives of these students who have made a commitment to Christ is palpable. They have a maturity in their faith that is far beyond their years.

 

We have packed much in the first two days, including watching a soccer match and being able to stand on the sidelines and cheer for the guys, who were playing with a new soccer ball that Lynn sent............in his absence!! f

 

If the three of us have said it once, we have said it a dozen times.....we love these students. In such a short time!! they have captured our hearts with their honesty. With their solid commitment to serving God. With their walk with the Lord. The last two meetings we have had discussion time and they have asked deep questions, well beyond their years. A young man yesterday said, he was studying to be a civil engineer, another an accountant, and yet they have shared how God has now touched their hearts and they want to serve HIM. Some might do it thru business, others by full time ministry, but there is an amazing commitment to SERVING God.

 

Rebecca and Chris have blessed my heart more than I can tell you. They have been tireless. They have eaten with enthusiasm every thing that has been set before them. That is not always the case for people in a foreign country like this. Deep fried banana, fresh bottled coconut milk (with slices of coconut floating on the bottom, a variety of different, unfamiliar fruits. They have shown up enthusiastically for every thing that has been set before us, in very full long days, with no thought of the jet lag. We have been so very blessed with energy and we can ONLY attrtibute that to your prayers.

The day will again start at 7:15 AM....in just a few hours. The days go long and are packed with people, and yet we feel HIS refreshing hand on our lives.

 

Thanks so much for your faithful prayers.

Much love to you and more later....

Judy

Jesus is our safety guard

we are continuing to have a rich sharing time with the college students of crossorads through these leadership lessons. many of these students are surely sold out to Jesus and are struggling with hard issues. It is humbling. We had the opportunity to have some 'fun' time yesterday afternoon with a tuc tuc ride accompanied by two of the students Chanthy & Pichet. they took us around pnom penh where we saw many buddhist temples , an elephant walking down the street, and at least 1 million motor bikes. we stopped to treat them to some icecream at a shop which was situated so  that we had to cross the road (no crosswalks here) with the one million motor bikes going both directions. after we made is safely across (nothing short of a miracle) Pichet said "Jesus is our safety guard".  How true!! we are so blessed to be here. thank you for your prayers.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation  of everyone who believes...for in the gospel a righteousness from god is revelead, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is writtedn: "The rightewous will live by faith."  romans 1:16-17

Friday

two wonderful sessions - one with the leadership group of 18 and the larger group of dorm students - about 75 - all college students. many are on fire for the Lord and have great stories. we are being blessed! off to bed as you all get going for the day! thanks again for all the prayers - we feel them!