Filed under: Cambodia
I am a home body. I love being at home. I don’t yearn to go out at night or on weekends. I like to eat meals at home. A good night out with my wife is often just hanging out on the couch together and catching up on the day or the week. Home is comfortable. Home is easy. Home doesn’t have any surprises. We use our homes as a refuge when there is a storm – whether meteorologically or relationally. Our homes offer protection. It is a good place to hide.
When I say home, I guarantee a picture pops into your head. Your mind knows exactly what home looks like to you. Your picture of home will be different than my view of home. That is just how it works. We have our own opinion of what home looks like, but home is the same regardless of it’s picture. Right?
This is my neighbor’s. It’s her home. It isn’t some beautiful mansion, but I am guessing Virginia wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. It’s safe and known. She doesn’t need anything else. It’s enough. And for some of you that may be true. For others of you, you would never live in a house like this. It wouldn’t fit your family or you just couldn’t live in such a small old house.
This is also my neighbor’s house.
They don’t live on my street but that doesn’t make them less of a neighbor.
Not every home in Cambodia looks like this. But some do. Is that wrong? Should anyone live like this? It doesn’t seem humane. It doesn’t seem right. We need to do something to change this!
But are they happy?
I would venture to say that I meet more unhappy people everyday in Iowa than I meet in a 9 day trip to Cambodia. Happiness has nothing to do with the size of your home or your bank account. If this is news to you, then I would guess that you have a lot of unhappy moments.
Our best opportunity at happiness is to seek Him first. Our best chance for smiling every day is not to chase the bigger house or better job or nicer car, but to chase after God. He may change our address, but he will definitely change our perspective.
Are you happy at home?
Filed under: Cambodia
Our crew took so many great pictures and this song goes perfectly with the message God wants the people of Cambodia to get.
You are children of God. Loved by God and of immeasurable value. Don’t ever forget it.
Filed under: Reading
On the flight to Seoul from Chicago I started and finished a book called the Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. You can learn more about the book here. I have read all but one of Batterson’s books, so I have to admit I am a fan. That doesn’t mean I can’t read his work with a critical eye. It is possible.
The Circle Maker is a book about prayer. Not about how to do it as much as it is about how to commit to it. To say that this book convicted me in the areas of my prayer life would be a vast understatement. It kicked the crap out of me in a number of areas.
What am I praying for?
Why am I praying for that?
Am I really praying for that or do I just say that I am?
Is my prayer costing me anything or do I just pray when it is convenient?
Am I praying about what God wants me to be praying about?
Do I believe God has answered my prayers?
Is my confidence in God or in my words?
Like I said a butt kicking.
This will no doubt be another Batterson book that I read more than once (i.e. Primal).
The best part of the book for me is the call to actually do something. Change your prayer life. Don’t just read a book about it, but do something. Make a change. The book isn’t theoretical, it’s practical. I am excited about what God has in store for this year, not because I will copy everything Batterson talks about in the Circle Maker, but because I can change my life by changing my prayer life. And so can you.
Enjoy the Circle Maker, I did.
Filed under: Cambodia
I just threw this together yesterday. All these photos were taken by folks on our team. Don’t we have a bunch of artists : ). Enjoy!
Filed under: Cambodia
We are back in the US, but the stories will linger for months, at least.
One of our first days in Battambang, we met this boy.
He was at Jeevit’s house for King’s Kids. King’s Kids is like an hour long Sunday school class, but it happens each day of the week in a different slum or village. On Monday’s it’s at Jeevit’s house. The first time this young man came to King’s Kids, he crawled there. You see he can’t walk. I’m not sure what is all going on, why he can’t walk or why he doesn’t really talk. But this I do know.
He smiled every second he was there. He had so much joy it was palpable. He never once gave us the “feel sorry for me look”. Rather, we got the “just try to keep up with me look”.
Why is it such a blessing to go to Cambodia? Joy. Regardless of circumstances – joy.
The people we spent time with aren’t poor or in poverty, they are rich beyond our imaginations. They have wealth we can’t even describe.
Why sleep deprive yourself? Why spend money to work your tail off? Joy.
I won’t soon forget this smile. Thank you for that!
Filed under: Cambodia
One thing that certainly isn’t hard to come by in Cambodia are babysitters. There are thousands upon thousands.
I’m not sure how old these two are, but suffice it to say in the US these two wouldn’t be allowed into the babysitters club. But here, these guy are in charge. We saw one little boy who’s face was burned by rice porridge on a day when his 7 year old brother was watching him for the day while their mom went to work. Good news, mom was at work. Bad news, here only option for daycare is her 7 year old son. She does what she can to survive.
That story is repeated a thousand times a day just in Battambang.
These pictures remind me of a Matt Maher song. See below.
Definitions of some words are almost impossible. You just can’t really explain it. Especially if you are trying to explain it to someone who may not know the language. How would you describe beautiful to someone who doesn’t know what the word means?
I think this translates into any language. That is beautiful.
Can you believe how diverse and beautiful the children of God in Cambodia are? It’s just amazing. And beautiful doesn’t have to have a “Rodeo Drive” address. I know for sure three of these kids live in a slum behind the base in Battambang, because I played with them there. The two girls together were at Jeevit’s house, most of the kids who go there for King’s Kids are from a nearby slum.
People ask me all the time, why go to Cambodia? Why not just send a check?
Your check can’t look these kids in the eye as you play together on their streets. Your check can’t have it’s heart broken as you hear these kids laugh. Your check can’t lay awake at night praying for these kids. Your check can’t see the hope in the eyes of each of these kids.
These kids from the slums aren’t hopeless. They are learning about Jesus. They are seeing the hands and feet of Jesus in their homes and on their streets. Because we come. We bring support, believe that, but we bring it we don’t send it.
I have to keep coming back because this generation of beautiful people in Cambodia need to know Jesus. Their lives will never be the same.
Today was the craziest day yet. We had back to back huge clinics with just 1 hour in between. It definitely took a toll on the team. Everyone is pretty tired tonight. But an interesting thing happened today too. Everyone realized it’s Thursday and we leave on Saturday. So now you start thinking about all the things you had hoped to do but you haven’t done yet. People you want to talk with again before we leave.
It is difficult to figure out where Tuesday and Wednesday went. It seems like it was just Monday. Time goes super fast.
But today we got to bless a community and that was a ton of fun. We saw over 120 people in Samonoa a village about 25 minutes from Battambang. The trip itself was pretty wild. It was definitely as “rural” as we have been thus far. I think Samonoa gave the team a good picture of the status of a large section of Cambodia.
I got to teach a bit with Marty in DTS this morning. That was a lot of fun, but also a great opportunity that God presented with me. A kid named Tobi from Germany is in the class and he had a lot of questions similar to questions I asked when I first started pursuing Christianity. It was fun to meet with him and encourage him that he isn’t the only person to every ask the questions he was asking. I pray he continues to pursue a relationship with God. I know God is pursuing him and it is fun to see.
Sorry no pictures yet. Upload speeds aren’t the best in the places it is most convenient to use internet. So once we get home there will be a full smattering of pictures and videos and the like.
Tonight was our first night to treat the folks we support. We took Channouen & his wife Kovonne out to Cafe Eden. Our restaurant/ministry of choice for food. It’s a real blessing that you will have to check out next time you are in Battambang (and I hope that is soon : ).
They have been married just over a year. They have just started their ministry year together, staffing and leading Discipleship Training School here in Battambang. They are a great couple and it was fun to see new people hear their story.
We also got to treat Chhun a YWAM staffer who is from Battambang. He went to Cafe Eden for the first time even though he has been in DTS &/or staff the whole time it has been open. Really fun to be able to bless him like that. Simple yet effective : )
One thing to really pray for regarding Channouen & Kovonne – Channouen will be applying for a visa to visit the US this fall. Let’s pray he gets it so they can visit Kovonne’s home for the first time together.
Enjoy the snow – 90 again here today !
Filed under: Cambodia
This morning we read in Matthew 6 the passage about not worrying about provision because God is on it. He already knows what you need. Just seek first the Kingdom of God and all the rest will be given to you.
We truly have nothing to worry about here, but worry creeps in. We’re playing with kids who have lice. Will we get lice? We are treating patients who are HIV+, will we get AIDS? There are plenty of things we could worry about, but what good does it do? Has worrying ever helped anything? No. Worrying doesn’t do any good, and it truly shows your lack faith.
Can God protect us while we are in Cambodia? Yes – he is omnipotent. He can keep us from all harm, or if it will glorify Him more, He won’t. But are we under His car? Absolutely. If we are under His care we are in good shape. He cares for us constantly and watches over us as we work in His name.
Matthew 6 says worrying is worthless. I agree. So just stop it.
Let your faith be in the Lord. Worrying will never gain you anything. Giving up your life to Christ will gain you true life. When you can truly give your life up to Jesus, you just won’t worry anymore. Walking with Jesus never involves fear or worry. Have faith that He cares for you. It isn’t easy, but it is good.
