thoughts from Mike.....

well, i know it's been awhile since the trip-- and, as we all know, alot has

happened since . . . tai's off to seminary, luong's off to the chapel,
janice and joel are just leaving the chapel . . . =)

i wanted to bring two things to light that are incredibly encouraging to me,

and, in my own little mind, are of the things that make God smile-- these
things show me that He is working and orchestrating, and that it makes Him
happy to find people who are open and available because they love Him and
want people to know. this is not meant to puff up with pride, or to
embarass, but really is to allow all of us to just rejoice and glorify the
goodness of our God . . .

the first one involves our dear brother jeff.

as some of you know, jeff asked a coworker of his from the pharmacy, yoriko,

to come to church one sunday. she came when pastor joe was speaking about a
month and a half ago, and, during that service, accepted Christ! she's from

japan, and is studying english and pharm stuff like mad to pass her tests,
etc, and has been working at jeff's pharmacy on a limited basis. this is a
really cool story in and of itself, but, what brought it home to me was,
well, as i just found out today, yoriko moved to a different pharamacy
department about a week or two ago, and said that she probably won't be
working in jeff's department anymore. when she was telling me this i was
just thinking, "wow, if jeff hadn't gone that extra step during that short
period of time she was working in his department, to ask her to come to
church, she probably wouldn't know Christ right now." she woulda come and
gone, and that would be it-- just another day of living and making it
through the work week-- it would've been, in one sense, so normal.

her eternity would be very different from what it is now. she'd have gone on

to another job, another city, another life -- their paths would have
crossed, and yoriko's wouldn't have been changed one bit in the context of
eternity. yet, b/c jeff cared, b/c he asked-- it's all very different, even
if she does move on to another job or another city. God rejoices b/c of
this little one. God is happy b/c of this little one. and i think God is
happy b/c of jeff's heart to want to share. one of the things i love about
jeff is his heart for God and for others-- and his heart to want others to
know about God. =)

the second thing is about our dear brother, mr. duong.

his heart for God, his humble faithfulness for the the things on God's
heart, and his willing perseverance in seeing God's work through (and the
way his faithfulness has allowed him to come in contact with others that God

wants to touch)-- really just makes me want to cry.

as you know, there was the young gal who needed the surgery that dr. jim saw

in clinic, and that we ended up supporting for surgery with some of the
funds we had. the suregery has been delayed even to this day by redtape and
bureacracy on the part of the hospital and the authorities. and who has been

there sheparding this whole thing through the whole time after we left, this

whole past year and a half? that's right, mr. duong. he's done it, not b/c
he had to. not b/c we paid him. not b/c he's related to this patient or was
a friend beforehand. he's done it b/c he loves God, and he wants her to know

how much God loves her. this has been "inconvenient,"" time consuming,""
frustrating, " . . . and yet, he's not complained, not even once-- i get the

sense that it's not even in his heart. he's met people along the way that
wouldn't have been met if this whole surgery thing never came to pass. and i

think it's neat how this whole process has allowed him to meet these people
that God wants to reach and touch-- and i think it's really cool that God
said, i love mr duong, and i love his heart, and i'm going to use him to
reach these people i want to reach, these people i love-- he's the man i've
chosen to do this, b/c he loves me and is available. =)

i love each of you, and, even to this day, have, from time to time, been
praying for each of you-- that each of you may know in your hearts how deep
and wide and high and glorious is the love that God has for you-- God loves
each of you so much. =)

may we as His sons and daughters, as His children, may we love Him back with

all that we have, and seek Him out with all that we have to know Him-- and
may we steward well all of the opportunities, talents, and gifts that He has

so graciously given to us. i've been blessed by each one of you-- and hope
to serve with each of you again on the foreign field to help those who don't

know to know who God is, and how much He loves them. =)

that all may know that He first loved,

mike =)

Just wanted to share one of many things that God showed me on this trip. In the months leading up to the trip, the emphasis was on being flexible for God and His will. There was a lot of planning involved considering the size of the group and the many different ministries that were new to the mission team. And just as important as all the great things that we were planning to do in Cambodia, it was even more so to have our hearts and attitudes aligned with God. The leadership team had done such a great job of helping us prepare for our responsibilities within each ministry. But I remember thinking about the possibility of having everything that was planned for go out the door. I was just praying that if the team just ended up building schools, or do anything else but what we had anticipated, that we would be at peace and still serve with joy since we were supposed to be about doing God's will, and not ours.

But after a couple of rigorous days of ministry work, I came to the realization that we were no longer at Cornerstone and these were not the kids I remember from our Children's ministry. Things were not going so well, and the learning curve was quite steep. Just passing out crayons for a craft was an experience itself. At Cornerstone, the kids understand that crayons are used to complete a craft and they have plenty of them at home. Over there, it was as precious as gold. The crayons were a gift and coming from place where they probably have to fight for everything they get, the distribution of them turned into complete chaos. At one point, the pastor Tri had to step in to regain order and show us how it was supposed to be done. Another time, during one of our meetings with the translators in the morning to go over the day's schedule in order to give them an overview, one of the outspoken translators basically expressed her disapproval and reservation for just about everything we had planned to do.

At that point, I was pretty discouraged, beaten down and about ready to go home. I didn't realize it but I had expectations, expectations about the impact I was going to have and make on these kids. But I realize that they were ultimately rooted in my own selfish desires and not in God. My expectations and inner focus led to feelings of discouragement and inadequacy. Not only in the things that we did while we were there but also in the desired results (or lack thereof). I lost perspective in terms of looking at the bigger picture, of what was important from God's perspective instead of mine. I had to change my attitude, surrender my own agenda, and abandon my expectations to serve him despite how I felt one way or another. Because at the end of the day, it's not about how I feel but more about my heart and attitude in which I serve God with.

By the second week, things were running much more smoothly. We were really connecting with the kids, conducting altar calls on a daily basis and witnessing kids accepting Christ. It was awesome to have Joel and Carl join us from the ministries they were participating in for the first week. I remember thinking that, "man, knowing what we know now, things would be so different if we had to do it all over again." But then someone helped me realize that it was through that experience and the difficulty of that time that God was able to teach me something and grow me to a better understanding of Him and myself.

Now that it's been over a month since I've been back, I've had some time to reflect about our time over there. People told me about the possibility of having a hard time adjusting back to life here in the US, but I didn't have much trouble coming back home. Being back here and seeing all that we have didn't discourage me but instead made me think about stewardship and responsibility in terms of our choices we have with all that God has blessed me with.

There's a purpose in our lives here and it's all a part of God's plan. If it weren't for all that we have at our disposal, the trip to Cambodia would not have been possible. But as much as those blessings can be used to glorify God and bring me closer to him, the flip side is true in how easily those very things actually draw me away from God. And that brings me back to stewardship. As Luke 12:48 says, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted much, much more will be asked."

With that, I ask myself how am I going to respond and how am I going to be forever changed because of what God revealed to me in Cambodia? How will I make choices with my life and with everything that He has and continues to bless me with? During one of the times in which I was sharing about the Cambodia trip, my good friend said to me, "David, what a once in a lifetime experience!" As I thought about it that night, I said to myself, "Well, yes and no." Yes, it was an awesome experience but hopefully no, not a once in a lifetime experience because it's become a part of me, a part of who I am. God planted a seed within me on this trip. And as a result, the mission field is no longer any different than being in a small group or being in the Word. I won't be able to go once a week, or even once a month, but I know it's only a matter of time before my next experience abroad with God's people. But with the seed comes the responsibility of taking care of it, making sure it grows into something beautiful for God. It is my responsibility to figure out how it's going to grow and what's it going to look like. Those are the questions I've been asking myself since I've been back and have been wrestling with. I haven't found the answers but I know it starts with the pursuit of God!

"The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." James 5:11b

I served on the children's ministry team during the 2 weeks we were in Cambodia. We spent time in 4 different cities/villages playing with the kids, getting to know the teenagers, and sharing about God's love through telling Bible stories, doing crafts, playing games, singing praise songs, and teaching them sign language dances. Three of these days were spent in a coastal town during the 2nd week of the trip.

In search of kids we could gather together, we found ourselves going to the a "touristy" spot where we found kids making a living for their families by collecting empty cans/water bottles, selling chips, sarongs, scarves, bracelets, and fruit. Because the kids interacted with tourists everyday, their English was very good relative to the majority of other children we had interacted with throughout the trip. This was the first opportunity we were able to carry on conversations with the kids without an interpreter, which was a refreshing change and we saw it as an opportunity to learn more about their lives and to directly share about the gift of God's love.

Prior to our departure, I felt a burden to pray specifically for the young women in Cambodia, largely because I had heard and read about their involvement in sex trafficking there. Many of their families are given false promises of sound employment for their daughters and unknowingly handing their children over to participation in prostitution. Others are sold off by their families, while even some girls go voluntarily.

I met several girls in their late teens. We became friends and my heart grew for these young women. Many of the teenagers would join our programs in the morning, but as the area became more crowded with tourists, many times they did not return for the afternoon. Instead, I would find them sitting around groups of men vacationing from Europe, Australia, and the U.S. Although there were very few incidences where it was clear to me exactly what was going on between these men and the young Cambodian girls, I felt a burden for them that was so heavy that I knew I could only go to God for the answers as to why this might be happening to them.

Although I am still putting meaning to the experiences I had in Cambodia with these young women, I am reminded through James 5:11b that the Lord has compassion and mercy for His children in Cambodia and I need to put my trust and faith in the Lord and His plan for them. I have been encouraged to pray for them continuously. I thank God for the time I was able to spend in Cambodia.

Stark Contrasts
While I was in Cambodia in late October/early November, it struck me how different life was between the U.S. and Cambodia. Here's what were people thinking about in both countries:


United States--Elections, who's going to be president? What am I going to wear for Halloween?


Cambodia--Where will I get my next meal?

There are so many stories to tell and I find it difficult to explain to you what the two weeks in Cambodia was like. I hope to give you a glimpse through lesson's I've learned and through a few snapshots from the trip.

The first week I was off with a smaller team to help out at an organization called World Relief. This aspect of the trip it ended up impacting me more than anything I could physically do. I was able to observe Jesus working through his people to meet other's needs. We visited the slums and in what should have been a place that was devoid of hope, I found singing, dancing and laughter. However, more important than entertainment, this group brought HOPE to the Cambodian people.

Another thing that God let me experience was the chance to see God's workers in action. All these "worldly" skills I've acquired were worthless over there. Seeing other members of the medical team meet other's physical needs, but not only that, taking the time to reach out and meet their spiritual needs as well was a good lesson for this "doer." like me. It reminded me to keep my mind on the things above and not the earthly things. When all I could do was pray, it reminded me how helpless we are and how we need to rely on God to get his works done.

One last story of the amazing zeal and faith was a team member named Vinh. He would share with others with incredible zeal and in the evening when we'd get together for sharing, he would lament about the one person who did not accept Christ, instead of the 10 that had that day. What an example of the perspective we should have, where we put our all into seeing all those around us accept Him.
The experience has led me to ask the following questions:

1. Why is it so much easier to be missions minded overseas in a strange place, yet not in my home soil in my comfort zone?

2. What are my real priorities in life and what still needs to be surrendered to Him?

As I continue to work out the answers for myself, I challenge you to identify your mission field here at home. Thanks for all your prayers and support for our mission trip. I surely felt God's hand of protection over us and he accomplished more than we could ask for or imagine. If you would like to find out more about the trip, let me know, I'd be happy to share!

In Him,
Allen

Snapshots from Cambodia

Team Cambodia 2004

I just wanted to share a special moment I had with a little girl named Oun that I met on the beach of Sihanoukville. Even though I was supposed to write my update over three weeks ago (Monday of the first week of the trip), my memory and the emotion I felt during this encounter is still very fresh and will probably be forever etched in my heart and my mind.

It was our lunch break during our last session of our three-day stay in Sihanoukville. This last day had been especially hard. I think our whole team was sad with the thought of having to leave these kids in just a couple of short hours – most likely to never see them again. The children in Sihanoukville spoke very good English and we were able to converse with many of the children without translators and at a much deeper level than we had during our first week in Phnom Penh. This made it even harder to part since we had built friendships with the children and had learned a lot about their lives and their families. Not only that, but, we also witnessed their struggles and daily conditions. Most of these kids worked for a living, like the life of an adult, selling their wares on the beach to tourists. However, while we were there, it seemed like we were able to help these kids really experience a bit of "childhood" that they might not have otherwise had a chance to do – like just having fun, playing games, laughing and singing! While our team was eating lunch, I just watched the kids we had been ministering to the past few days all gather around our team to sell their goods. The kids who did not sell were running around trying to gather the empty plastic bottles and cans, which they could collect and earn money. Just watching this brought tears to my eyes – the reality of the hardships of their lives – such a struggle and so desperate just to earn money for themselves and their families, probably just to put food in their mouths. At that moment, I felt extremely helpless and hopeless. What could we really offer them that would change their situation? I wanted their lives to be better NOW, to be easier and not such a struggle. They're only kids! It shouldn't be like that! And, would the commitment many had made in Christ be encouraged and nurtured after we left? I felt like there was nothing I could do! And, in a way, I felt like what we had done over the last few days didn't amount to much. The sadness of their present situation overwhelmed me and I couldn't hold back the tears as the kids were coming up to me. Child after child touched my arm or grabbed my hand and asked me why was I crying? Why was I sad? A few of the kids laughed and said jokingly that I was crying because it was our last day. All I could say was "YES", that I WAS sad because I was leaving them and that I would miss each of them very, very much. But, in my head, I was heartbroken as well because I just saw hopelessness for their future. Then, that's when it happened! Oun, one of the vendor girls who had been coming to our sessions tapped me on the arm and said, "Why are you crying? Don't be sad! BE HAPPY! Like your song!" And, she just smiled at me! So innocent and so caring. That's when God reminded me that our work there was not in vain! He was totally using her to remind me and encourage me – she was repeating back to me the words to one of the songs we had taught her during our worship time! Which only made me cry harder!! BUT, it also encouraged me knowing that what we had taught in our lessons, through our songs and in loving them had made an impact. At that point, I couldn't doubt what God had done, the seeds that had been planted! He had worked and was continuing to work!

One of the verses that I came across in my daily devotions during the trip, which I also held as a promise from God was Psalm 77:14 – "You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." God truly did a miracle on that beach and His power was made known. That little girl ministered to me in a way that I don't think she will ever know! I just hope that one day I'll see her in heaven and can thank her in person!

The last 2 weeks of Cambodia had gone by like a whirlwind, and as I write this from the comfort of my home, Cambodia already seems so far away. It's good to be back with the familiar comforts of home, but already I miss the warm weather and the fellowship of the team. This was an AWESOME team, and the prayer requests for unity and adaptability among the team were answered! Everyone kept a great attitude in spite of the long hours and hot weather and bumpy roads.

It's easy to become melancholy after returning from a mission, especially when every day I encountered one tragic story after another. Without translators it would be impossible to hear these stories, but thankfully, I was blessed with an incredible translator named Sovath (pronounced "So what"). Sovath is 30 yrs old, and had already worked in the airline and pharmaceutical industry, and is currently back in school to get a business degree. His English was probably better than some Rainier Beach grads, but it was still difficult to get a clear history from the patients at times. One of the medical complaints that I would often hear was "difficulty breathing". I would ask more questions to try and determine if there was an infection, or asthma, and then do a physical exam - only to find everything normal! Many would have headaches and insomnia, fatigue, and after further questioning, a pattern began to develop. The patients were usually female, older than 30, and the symptoms usually came on at night. Often they had been suffering for years - about 20 years on average. I would ask a question about when their symptoms began and this would often be followed by a long, somber, response.

The patients often volunteered detailed stories of what happened to their family during the reign of Pol Pot, but Sovath would usually summarize their answer this way, "The Khmer Rhouge killed her family, she has no husband"). There was a lot he left untranslated, but I could tell it was difficult for him to hear the stories, and I had enough information to suspect that all these patients with "difficulty breathing" were actually suffering from anxiety/post traumatic stress, and I also knew there wasn't a thing in the pharmacy that would cure them. They needed emotional and spiritual healing - they needed to be held by their Heavenly Father and to know His love for them, and that there is still hope in Christ.

I am thankful that Cambodia (unlike Vietnam) has freedom of religion, and we were able to pray with patients and tell them the gospel without having to worry about getting our hosts in trouble or getting kicked out of the country. At first, Sovath was uncomfortable with prayer, and would ask one of the Christian interpreters to translate instead, but by the second week he was interpreting my prayers, and then on our 2nd to the last day in Sihanouk Ville he prayed to receive Christ! To my amazement, he led one of the patients to the Lord without my even prompting him the very next day! (Why keep good news to yourself?).

To summarize the number of patients seen in our clinics over the two weeks, there were 742 patients seen in the medical clinic along with thousands of prescriptions, 705 patients seen in the optometry clinics, and 202 patients seen in the dental clinics (I've never seen children so happy to see a dentist!).

But some people might ask, "So what?". What long lasting impact have you made in your 2 weeks in Cambodia? We may have only saved one life (a severely ill infant with an infection) in the medical clinic, but most of the other patients will continue to have pain from arthritis and they'll just get another infection next year, the patient's vision may get worse with time, or their glasses may break. The kids will probably get more cavities... So what did we really accomplish? I believe that the biggest accomplishment and the longest impact we made was not in the health care we gave, but in the spiritual care and sharing of our faith. Jesus did come to heal the sick, but his BIG purpose was to save our souls. Hundreds of children were shown unconditional love, and heard the Gospel message in the children's ministry, and hundreds of women (and men) heard the Gospel message and were shown how to teach others about Jesus. The Baptist General Conference Church in Phnom Penh is now connected to the internet, and they will be able to use the computers for ongoing ministry, and we also helped out World Relief by teaching them video editing techniques and helping to organize their accounting department so that they can continue to do their life-changing work in Cambodia.

So what? So 10 translators prayed to receive Christ, and Sovath was one of them. I believe that these interpreters will make a big difference in Cambodia - they are all bright and ambitious, and only God knows how many more people will come to faith in Christ through their witness. And only God knows how many men, women, and children came to faith as a result of our brief ministry. We can continue to pray that the seeds of faith that were planted will continue to be watered and nourished by the Holy Spirit, and someday (sooner than we expect) we will be able to witness just what God has done in Cambodia through Cornerstone Christian Fellowship.

Jim

Addendum: I pray that as a church body we would continue to lift up our brothers and sisters in Vietnam and Cambodia in prayer, even though we don't have teams there right now. In Vietnam especially, the Christians continue to suffer persecution, and one patient I treated is a Vietnamese Pastor who had fled Vietnam to Cambodia because he was witness to the murders of Montagnard (an ethnic minority in Vietnam) Christians in the highlands of Vietnam. (Last Easter '04, hundreds of Montagnards (including children) were killed by the Vietnamese government, but this was largely unreported by the western media because the government closed off the area to reporters, and the eyewitnesses have all fled). The cruelty we witnessed in the museums in Cambodia is sadly being replayed in Vietnam today. Pray that the news agencies would investigate and report on the persecution so that pressure will be put on the Vietnamese government to stop what amounts to ethnic cleansing. There is a chilling similarity to the S-21 Prison we visited in Phnom Penh (now called the Genocide Museum) and the T-20 prison in Pleiku, Vietnam. (This is a portion of a news report August 29, 04) "Today the Vietnamese authorities are hunting down refugees to prevent word of human rights abuses reaching the outside world. 1. ARRESTED AND SOLD TO VIETNAMESE AUTHORITIES FOR BOUNTIES Ksor Krok, half brother of Kok Ksor, was arrested by Cambodian police in the area of Ban Lung in Rattanakiri province, northern Cambodia and sold to Vietnam for 150,000,000 [$9,843.81 US Dollar] Vietnamese Dong on July 20, 2004. He was taken to the prison facility T-20 in Pleiku, Vietnam where he was tortured. His family and relatives were not allowed to visit him because the police did not want them to see his injuries from the severe beatings he received. He is Ksor Kok's half brother and was targeted because Ksor Kok is President of the Montagnard Foundation."

Through this trip God has allowed me to sense his heart for man. How it aches and longs for us to know His perfect love and how He desires to draw us close to Himself. He sent His Son to bridge the gap between God and man. Sin created that gap.

In Cambodia, I was face to face with the sinfulness of man and the evil he is capable of inflicting on one another. We visited the war museum and the killing fields, as well as hearing story after story from the people we saw each day in our various ministries. I saw pictures of the 'creative' ways innocent people were tortured and mutilated. Babies were thrown in the air and used for target practice. Everyone has experienced loss, death and corruption. Even today the scars left by the Khmer Rouge's cleansing efforts and the war, are deep. There seems to be very little healing because corruption and injustice is still a way of life for them. You can bribe your way out of anything. There is no trust; there is no one to complain to because they know that no one cares. One lady came into the clinic with her face covered. She was a second wife. Out of jealousy or anger the first wife picked up acid at the store. She then took the acid and threw it on the face of this lady causing severe scaring. The fist wife paid off the police so there was no justice, no one to listen to the voice of the victim. Parents abandon their children. Children learn at a very young age to fight for everything because there is never enough. They start working as early as 4 years old. From the people I talked with and from the stories I heard through others on the team, there is a sense of countrywide hopelessness. They don't expect things to get much better, at least in their lifetime. The society as a whole is not self-supporting. 80%+ of the population farms and earns less than $1 a day. This is barely enough to provide some rice for the family to eat. Many children attend school only for a short while or not at all. School is 'free', but there are so many hidden fees and bribes to be paid that they can't afford to attend. HIV is rampant. Prostitution, especially child prostitution is thriving. Children as young as 6 years old are sold for about $600 by their parents. This is almost 2 years of earnings for many people.

Where is God in this dark lonely country? When does life get so bad that the tears stop flowing? I asked God to give me a heart of compassion for these people. He answered that prayer more than I would have liked. I feel the emptiness. I feel the hopelessness. I see more clearly the brokenness of man.

It is because of man's sin that there is so much evil in this world. God gives us the freedom to choose to obey Him or follow our own desires. As we can even see today, our definition of right and wrong has deteriorated over the years because of our desires. God is working in Cambodia. His light is beginning to pierce through the darkness. The church is still very weak, but growing. Many of the house churches we visited share the same pastor/teacher. These leaders are still young in their faith and have only a couple of years of bible training at best. There is a huge need for workers and people to raise up and train/equip new leaders. Please pray for this. The children's crafts will fade. The medicines will run out. The eyeglasses will break. But our hope is that we left at least some of them with an eternal gift. Circumstances will probably not improve for them this side of heaven, but now there is a hope and joy for the future and a God who will walk with them through this life and display His love and peace to them in a personal way.

As we were leaving a remote village on our last day of clinic, I saw a man walking down a lonely path through a rice field. I could not help but think...for this man the path is very familiar. He has probably walked down it thousands of time before. He knows where it goes and it always leads him back to the same place. He knows he will walk along this path many times in the future. His children will learn to walk this same path. Each step is about the same as the next. Each day is the same as the next. This path never leads to something better, but it is all that he knows.

My prayer is that for the seeds that were planted during our trip - that they will find a new path to follow, one that will lead them into the eternal arms of Jesus.

Life has really thrown me for a loop over the past several months and my tears have stopped flowing because there is just no more left. In context of what the average Cambodia person has to deal with every day my struggles are so insignificant. Yet knowing this doesn't make them any easier. But God has been growing my faith and reminding me that He is bigger than my concerns, bigger than the daily struggles of the Cambodian people. Beyond my limited scope of view, God is good and everything is working together for His glory.

Following the first week of computer setup & training (no doubt, my so-called comfort zone) and some R&R in Angkor Wat, the 2nd week assigned to kids ministry in Sihanouk Ville was sure to be a challenge--both physically & mentally. Not being a natural "kids person", deep inside I was not looking forward to a full day of children's activities, "human" interaction (with kids who don't speak your language), and keeping unruly kids at bay. These were going to be 3 very long days.

The first morning started off with the realization that our ministry was to take place in a far-away beach instead of the safe confines of the church where other team members were. When the few of us got dropped off from the bus, it felt like we were being abandoned and left to the sharks--with no clear idea where to be (on the beach sand out in the open to be scrutinized by tourists and strangers?), what to do (no electricity for our CD player), and who to reach out to (uh, where are the kids?). Yet God provided--we settled down in a shaded area next to a restaurant & trash-filled field, electricial power was finally negotiated from the restaurant bartender, and slowly but surely, the kids came--perhaps out of curiosity, or enticed by the opportunity to sell us something.

As it turned out, most of these kids are made to work all day at the beach--dropped off early in the morning by their parents so they can sell snacks, fruits, trinkets, or garments to tourists (and practically begging in order to make a sale). If they are fortunate, they attend school for an hour or two a day. They are kids cheated of their childhoods because they must work, too, for their families to continue surviving. These kids look younger or smaller than they are in actual age (maybe due to malnutrition?); ironically, they are mature beyond their years (having to be more street-wise to make a living). Most can even speak a little English.

For 3 days, kids were kids again. They readily soaked in what we shared with them. They brimmed with joy and child-like faith with every game played, song danced to, story told, craft made, gift given, and prayer said. As eagerly as they received love, they also returned it in bounty with their laughters, spontaneous hugs, gestures of thanks, and most of all their ready acceptance of God into their lives.

It was Wednesday 4pm--I couldn't believe our time there was about over. I didn't want to leave--we just started making each kid a balloon animal but time was running out; we had more gifts to hand out, too; we wanted to finally buy from these kids (something we had promised but deferred from early on; hopefully to offset their loss of sales by having spent time with us instead of working). Time had gone by so fast that last day. We made 3 attempts to leave the beach; and for various reasons, we returned there to say one last goodbye, take one last picture, and say God loves them one last time.

Hong, Boy, Lon, Oun, Door, Yadid, Pap, Mary, Mya, Tria, Lan, Nyok, Pagna, and his sister Darnie--those are just some of the kids I got to know. Soon, I may forget their names, their faces, and what their laughters sounded like. Soon, they may also forget our names, where we came from, and specifics of what we told them. Maybe we'll just be remembered as those funky strangers who showed up one Monday morning, distracted them from work, but gave them gifts, sang, danced and played with them. Of the many who received Jesus, I don't know who will be able to attend church or be followed up on right away. But with our prayers, we have the hope that the one truth they'll remember and know is of God's boundless and forgiving love--that no matter how tough their lives are, how ignored or mistreated, how little they get to learn and play as kids, and how hungry or thirsty they get--they'll still always remember and know in their hearts that God loves and cherishes them, so much that Jesus died on the cross for each one of them. And may from this tiny seed of God's love will they someday grow mightily in Jesus and become the future of Cambodia.

Today has been a whirlwind - from power shopping in the markets, to watching teammates eat deep fried spiders (take it from Linda, who immediately said "the butt is gross!" after popping it in her mouth), to the long plane ride home... it's hard to believe that the trip is already over.

Leaving Cambodia has been more challenging than anticipated... I really do wonder "How will i respond to what God has shown me during these two weeks? In what ways does God intend to use these experiences as a catalyst? Will i remember the faces and burdens of these beautiful and oppressed people once life in America gets hectic?" I pray so.

I pray that i remember the woman who lost all of her children to the Khmer Rouge killings. The Bible college student that has been disowned and persecuted by his family because of his faith. The young man who said "maybe tomorrow i will come back to accept Christ," but did not return. The teenager, soliciting herself to the foreigners on the beach. The elderly woman with no family that had a stroke in her sleep, leaving her unable to speak and how she begged us to help her through her tears. The decisions that were made, to accept Christ into their lives. I pray that I remember all of these things and so much more - that my heart will stay broken for our family in Cambodia and that i will not be complacent and satisfied in my own little comfortable life here. Lord, please help me remember. Amen.

Today was our last day serving as we headed out of Sihanouk Ville to Kompot, a small city on the Southern portion of Cambodia. As we headed out early in the morning, many of us felt the end of the trip creeping upon us with mixed feelings. Some of us are homesick, some of us are ready to stay another two weeks, but I don't think any of us regret coming on this trip. The fact that so many friendships were forged, that many will continue via the new electronic pipeline (email), makes the end of our two weeks a bit bittersweet.

At Kompot, we set up and ran a shortened half-day clinic and ministries. Vinh had decided to share a local delicacy with us since we did not get a chance to have lunch and so several feasted on roasted banana with sticky rice.

After leaving Kompot to get to our final celebration dinner in Phnom Penh, the magical wonder-bus that has been faithfully serving us well for the last week started to show signs of an early demise. Early that morning, several noticed chunks of one of the front tires missing, but of course we simply continue riding with faith that the Lord will watch over us for the rest of our time in Cambodia. Of course the Lord often has greater plans than we can imagine. With the trip back up to Phnom Penh being a long 4 hour ride and the temperature reaching the 90's, the air conditioning in the bus started to show signs of imminent failure in the morning, and eventually failed completely during our long journey back. At one point the bus driver managed to jury-rig a battery to power the A/C fan but that eventually failed, too. One of the interpreters managed to pop the top ventilation hatches using the ever-present water bottles that litter the bus. Some more savvy passengers found the "cool" spots in the bus that provide the best airflow as we struggle for cool air not unlike a nest of hungry baby robins wrestling for a morsel of food. However the temperature and humidity made the small ventilation effort futile and we pulled over for one more attempt to get the A/C working to at least get us to the hotel. It didn't. [Rita's simple but very effective contribution] Someone suggested leaving the rear door open but nobody could figure out how to open it (including the driver). As we sat on the road side waiting for some resolution or rescue, Vinh and I decide to try and pry open the rear door. With considerable prying and effort, the door finally creaked open for what was probably the first time since the bus's prime (no doubt from the Pre-Cambrian era). With a donation of a nice nylon camera strap from Carl and the most useful emergency tool ever invented (duct tape), we were able to tightly rig the door open and we happily loaded back onto the bus for what we hoped would be the last time. By now the sun was starting to set and the temperature was cooling down, but with that came darkness and mosquitoes. We loaded onto the bus once again looking forward to a slightly uncomfortable ride back. As we pulled out onto the road again, something looked odd to the driver. It slowly dawned on everyone--the headlights weren't working anymore! We pulled over at what appeared to be the typical dangerous joint you see in the movies--a seedy little strip with shops protected by rusty security gates and various rough looking street kids all around. As we got off the bus for what would be the last time, we consolidated water and mosquito repellents like castaways on Danger Island, preparing ourselves for an apparent long wait for a replacement bus.
As God is great and has wondrous ways to take you to places that you never expect, there must have been some reason for him to have this group of young missionaries get stranded on a bus in the middle of a seedier part of Cambodia. As we huddled together, Allen grabbed Jim's guitar, and Vinh grabbed the little souvenir bongo drum that I had bought in Angkor Wat (but couldn't stowed in luggage) and we proceeded to worship the Lord with joyful hearts. As the darkness set in, the storekeeper that we had found refuge in front of tried to turn his lights off in an effort to shoo away the strange foreigners, but we just broke out flashlights and continued worshiping; he eventually turned his lights back on. By now we were gathering quite a crowd of curious bystanders. Street kids, shirtless men on motorbikes, and others began to rapidly outnumber our small band. It became increasingly apparent that the Lord put us together on this bus with a group of our interpreter friends who know Khmer and Vietnamese. This was His way of giving us one more opportunity to bear witness for Jesus. Several of the spectators expressed an interest in knowing more about what we were doing. They were fascinated that we were foreigners, and more importantly, were curious to know what we were singing about. It was by no mistake that we were to be there. God had His hand on us, and we began to worship and pray for that place. It was so dark and heavy there, and we wanted to bless that place with the presence of Jesus. As Janice had said, the enemy has no place where there's true worship. Seeds were planted and His presence made known. One more place of ministry that God had blessed us with. Thankfully, we were open to joining Him where He was at work. What an amazing adventure these two weeks have been!