Traveling North and South

Transcription

1 October 26, 2013 Traveling North and South It's been two weeks since the last update, because we've been on the road and quite thoroughly occupied. On the 14th we traveled by bus down to Sihanoukville to visit the School of Hope. We had been to this school twice before, when leading teams of High School students from Grace Christian. Those times we were always focused on our teams, and not on the school itself. This time we went to see how we could serve the faculty. We observed in every classroom, then talked with

2 the staff members to get their views on how we could best be of value over the next 10 months. We were able to stay with Brett and Susan, the directors of the school and the Sihanoukville Children's Home orphanage. Their hospitality was fantastic! We look forward to growing in our working relationship with them both. We then were able to come "home" to Phnom Penh for one evening. On Saturday the 19th we headed up to Battambang to visit Salaa Hope school there. We were able to ride north with the directors, Kelly and Cyndi, as they were hosting a small team of pastors from Smyrna, TN, and taking them to see the school, among other things. It was great getting to know Bruce and Jill, Allen and Renee too! At Salaa Hope we once again visited all the classrooms and talked with all the teachers. Then we boarded a bus to Phnom Penh, a six-hour ride. The next day we sat down with Ann, who has been coordinating professional development for these schools over the years, and discussed how we should move forward. It was encouraging to Kirsten and I that the path God had laid on our hearts Ann supported fully, and what's more, she had excellent material to contribute! We decided that our overarching theme for this year's trainings will be Biblical Integration in the Classroom. This topic is foundational for all Christian schools, and we're excited to begin in-services for both faculties! There are many, many other details, issues and projects that we will be embracing as we work with these two schools in the coming months, but for now it's good to have the framework established. More to come! -----

3 October 13, 2013 Water, Work and Witness First thing that stood out from this past week were the torrential rains. Much of the country experienced flooding. 720 schools across the nation were closed and at least 82 people died. Here in Phnom Penh the result was flooded streets and homes, but nothing so deep as to be life-threatening. Still, the Bible College offices on the ground floor were flooded, twice during the week, with over 6 inches of water, making a mess to clean up. Kirsten and I helped man brooms and move books. The parking lot was a lake- -literally. Kelly is relocating these offices indefinitely, until something can be done to prevent this happening again. Second, Kirsten and I began working at Logos School and Asian Hope this week. Before arriving in Cambodia, our role with Asian Hope was unclear. Now we see that God has prepared a place for us. Ann and Lynette have teamed with Trinity Teacher College (a brand new organization), to provide a state recognized Christian teacher certification program. Kirsten and I will both be mentoring K'mai teacher trainees, who are working toward completing their teacher certification. Between my recent work administrating Anchorage School District's teacher mentoring program, our liaison work with Host teachers and the University of Alaska, and experience creating professional development trainings, God has custom designed a position for me, or rather, me for a position. In addition, Kirsten will be mentoring the music teacher at Logos school. But not just in anything old thing, she will be mentoring elementary music in the Orff Schulwerk philosophy, which is what her expertise is! The school even has a complete set of the Orff barred

4 instruments. That a school here in Cambodia would have these instruments is beyond any possible coincidence. It shows God's hand in orchestrating the entire circumstance. Lastly, I want to share a bit from the sermon at ICA church this morning. The guest speaker is a pastor at a K'mai church, who graduated 10 years ago from the very Bible College that I mentioned above. He spoke on the need for churches to have a strong missions focus in order to grow and respond to the Holy Spirit. One thing he said really struck me as true. Missionaries have often come from America, but the time is coming for Cambodians to send mission teams to the United States. Amen. For more information on the flooding throughout the nation:

5 October 5, 2013 Yesterday Kirsten and I took a tuk tuk across town to Kelly and Cyndi's house. They were having the kids from the student house over for an evening of dinner and fellowship. These are all college students who grew up in the orphanage in Sihanoukville. The church runs a boarding house for them here in Phnom Penh. Kirsten and I know several of them from our previous visits. It was a fun evening. It's great to see these students doing so well! Getting back to the tuk tuk ride--it was very unusual, because there was hardly any traffic. In fact we had a hard time finding a tuk tuk at all. That's because Thursday, Friday and Saturday the Cambodians were observing Pchum Ben. It's a buddhist holiday to show respect for the dead: People in Cambodia believe that during Pchum Ben, the gates of hell are opened so that the deceased ones are able to leave the hell

6 temporarily. Thus, food-offerings are made to benefit the ghosts before they go back to the hell and continue their suffering. Pchum Ben is also believed to benefit the deceased ones in heaven and the ones who have reincarnated. In Cambodia, Pchum Ben is observed as a three-day holiday so that Cambodian people are able to perform the Pchum Ben tradition earnestly. During Pchum Ben, people usually visit the temple and offer food to Buddhist monks alternately in the hope that the offerings will benefit their deceased ancestors. - We appreciated the empty roads, but mourn the bondage of the people to their superstition. Meanwhile we rejoice in the fellowship with our vibrant Christian friends from the student house. Monks sitting before the food offerings--finishing their meal.