Service + Leadership

Okay, where do I start? A week and a half ago I had a great opportunity to spend a weekend with some amazing teenagers.  I brought a group of high school students (most from the service leadership class that I co-teach at Logos) to Koh Kong, one of Cambodias coastal provinces.  The students that came were an eclectic bunch.  They were from Cambodia, Philipines, Korea and the US.  They ranged from children of wealthy business owners, missionary kids (including Alex, our 16-year-old), as well as some very low income kids who are in our scholarship program.  Although the kids were diverse, the impact that they had and the impact that was had on them was consistent.  Although I would love to chronicle the entire trip, it would take me a long time and your eyes would probably eventually glaze over.  So I will just hit some highlights.

13 of us left from Logos before school on Friday Dec 3rd to drive out to the coast.    We arrived in Koh Kong, got settled and met our host from World Team.  We spent some time with him, got unpacked and went to our first project.  Our first project was to spend part of the evening at a local school helping the students with their English.  The school has about 120 students crammed into small, hot classrooms.  The students range anywhere from beginners to intermediate English speakers and ranged from about 8-years-old to 18.  This first night it took our students a while to get in the groove.  What was expected of them was not totally clear.  They could converse, play games, sing songs...etc, just as long as what they did was helping the kids with English.  Our kids are used to clearly defined expectations but they did not have that here.  However, after about 20 minutes, each of the 6 classrooms were buzzing with different activities.  At the end, there were smiles, hugs and laughter all around.  Some of our students were sad as this was the last time we would see these kids, or so we thought.  Fast forward to Sat morning.

Saturday morning had us heading out fairly early (for a group of H.S. students). We drove about 10 minutes to a densely populated village filled with Cham people, Cambodian Muslims.  Our stated goal was to pick up trash for them.  Clean up.  Make the area where they live a bit more inhabitable.  So we did. Very diligently and joyfully.  Our not-stated goal was to help establish a bridge between the Cham people and our World Team contacts there.  Both goals were accomplished.  However, God did much more than that.  First, our project became publicized enough so that the government decided to get in on the action.  They sent a large group from the Ministry of the Environment as well as some students that belong to their version of the Boy/Girl scouts.  Second, much of the project was filmed in order to air on national television.  Only God could orchestrate that.  Third, he touched the lives of many, if not all, of our students.

Our team in front of the school wih some of the kids.

Tirot, from our House of Faith, interacting with the kids.  A natural!

David, from our House of Hope, with Sharon leading a class in learning games.

Alex was great to have along.  I love being able to serve along side him.

Some Buddhist monks attend this school.

Our team lined up ready to pick up trash with representatives from the MInistry of the Environment and boy/girl scouts.

Hara very focused on the trash at hand.

Pree working alongside a very hard working girl. They made a great team.

I loved interacting with the kids.

Tirot throwing trash into the truck.

Pierre and some other students led the kids in some songs. 

One example comes from one of the girls that came with us. She had never been away from her family overnight.  Ever.  She is from a Buddhist Cambodian home, comes from a family with means and is not someone you would picture walking around picking up trash willingly.  However, God used some poor, dirty children from this village to soften her heart.  They smiled big at her and helped hold her trash bag as they walked around together picking up trash.  For one of the first times in her life, she was interacting with kids from the lowest social class and she really enjoyed it.  God used this weekend to impact so many lives, maybe more so some of our own students.

Once we left the Cham village, we were going to go have lunch and spend the whole afternoon at the beach.  Sounded like a nice, relaxing conclusion to the day.  However, our students had another idea.  They had had such a nice time connecting with the kids at the school from the night before that they wanted to go back. Khmer schools are in session 6 days a week so I knew that it was an option so I asked our World Team host.  He called  and the school was thrilled to have us back, but not quite as excited as our kids.  In short, our team from Logos chose to cut their beach time short in order to go back and spend another evening with the kids at the school.  I was so proud of their choice to do so.  This second night was about 10x better than the night before since there was not a need for the kids to find their comfort zone.  They were already there.  They just jumped right in and hit the ground running.  It was a lot of fun to watch. 

Then on Sunday morning we headed back for Phnom Penh.  It was a quick weekend but one that God to impact his kingdom in many ways.  I was thrilled, humbled and blessed to be part of it.  Thanks for sharing in our journey.

Thanksgiving

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is here.  I know that is somewhat of a proverbial statement, but this time I really mean it and not just because "it seems like we just celebrated the 4th of July yesterday".  It doesn't feel like Thanksgiving at all to me.  Why?  Here is a list of what comes to my mind when I think of Thanksgiving:

• Cold (or cooler) weather.  Sure in Colorado it could be 65deg and sunny, but most of the time it is colder.  Last year we had snow on the ground.
• Football!  Both playing it with my brother against Alex and my nephews and watching it (Detroit and Dallas vs. whoever their opponents are).
• The smell of Turkey roasting.
• The warmth of the house in contrast to the cold of the outside.
• Family all around.
• Christmas season in the air all around.
• Stores decorated for the holidays...luring willing consumers through their doors.
• Christmas lights going up.

Those are just to name a few.  My how things change.  This year is so different. I will go through the list and compare/contrast this year's Thanksgiving:

• Okay, it is "cooler" than the hot season.  Low 90's on Thanksgiving doesn't seem cool to me though.  I long for a blast of cold air in my face.  Hold on a second...let me run and stick my head in the freezer.
• Football.  Wait, no...I mean American football.  We have plenty of what the rest of the world calls football over here.  I want the real sport.  We don't get it though.  No cable TV for us.  You can get it here, including American football but we haven't as of yet.  Maybe sometime.  Part of it is that it is near impossible to watch a game live.  The 2:15 (Mountain Time Zone) Sunday afternoon game will be played at...well lets see...4:15 a.m. Monday here.  Yikes!
• Smell of Turkey...Nope!  $50 for a turkey here.  I think chicken will do just fine, although they do not smell the same when you roast them.
• Okay this one we do have, the warmth of the house.  Although we do not have the contrast of the cool outside to the warm inside.
• Family all around.  Well, kinda.   My parents are here for Thanksgiving and for that I am eternally grateful.  Other than that, just Carolyn (for whom I will always be the most Thankful for) and our kids (okay, I am thankful for you guys, too) as far as family goes. But we are very glad to have HOH (House of Hope; Asian Hope's boy's home) and their house parents as well as a teacher and his wife over, too.  I think 24 in all.  The more the merrier.
• Christmas season in the air...well, no. 95+% Buddhist.  Need I say more?
• I think I can count on one finger the number of stores decorated for the holidays.  For reference, see previous bullet point.
• Haven't really seen Christmas lights going up either.

So am I complaining? No, I am not.  I wouldn't change where I am for the world.  I am simply grasping onto our new reality and being real with what I miss this time of year.  Allowing myself to feel the emptiness and loss from what we are missing also allowed me to reflect more clearly on what I have to truly be thankful for.

• A God who wants me as I am, not as some perfect package.
• Loving family and friends all around me
• A job I really love and the chance to make an eternal impact often.
• Amazing people back in the States partnering with us to make it all possible.
• Health.
• The joy of living out what I truly believe God has prepared for me to do.

So, our thanks go out to each of you.  Even having you read about our journey here encourages us.  It makes us feel connected more to you.  We are so grateful to each one of you who keeps us in your prayers and those who faithfully support us and the work we are doing here.  We love you all lots and are remembering you on this Thanksgiving Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Uttermost Parts

We are really enjoying ministering to the many unreached people here in Phnom Penh. It is a whole different feel than outreach in the States. Whenever I taught kids at outreach events in the US, I could be about 99% sure that every kid there knew the name of Jesus, knew what the Bible was and had probably even read some of it. Here I can be pretty sure that no one will have heard the name of Jesus. That is a sobering and exciting reality all at the same time. However, there are still more remote places here, where people are even less likely to hear the Good News. 
That is why one of my friends and I took a motorcycle trip out of the city a few weeks ago, to evaluate needs in outlying villages and assess how we can minister to them best. 
Our trip took us about 40 km west of Phnom Penh on a highway.  Then we went north 5 km or so and then headed west on dirt road for another 100 km or so.  The dirt road began as a wide, fairly well maintained road, much like the pic below with the ox carts.  Then the last 20 km or so was like the picture right below that one: difficult to navigate, but well worth it. We were able to visit with several families and make valuable contacts.  Our plan is to make a couple more trips out there in the next few months to set up ways that we can efficiently help the villagers and ultimately bring the Gospel to them.  When you think of it, please pray that God would direct us and prepare the hearts of those we will minister to that they would be receptive to the Gospel.

One of the families we were able to visit with.




Sharing the road with a train of ox carts.



This is actually the same road.  This is how it looks the further we get toward the end of the road.

Some spectators.  They were great.

  Dinner is delivered.

My friends bike got stuck.  The last 20 km or so was a lot like this.

Reaching Out

I can hardly believe that it is almost November. In the past, I look so forward to the cooler days, first snow storms, changing leaves and , most importantly, football.  Although I have caught myself looking forward to those things several times, none of them are our reality this year.  I guess cooler days have come in the form of low to mid 80s instead of 95+ degrees, but no snow...yet.  These are all changes that I expected and anticipated, yet they can take some getting used to.  We did manage to watch the last 5 minutes of a Denver Broncos pre-season game a few weeks ago.  It was great, even though it was about a week old at the time we watched it.  Nonetheless, we are continually adapting.
One really exciting thing that we are a part of this fall is an outreach to the kids in the neighborhood that Logos is in.  Logos (Asian Hope's largest school and the one that our kids go to; http://www.logoscambodia.org/) recently moved and is situated in the midst of a couple dozen homes.  The homes around our school are in various states of construction and crumbling.  Some are completely open with just a roof, a few have sheet metal leaning up against some precariously stacked bricks and some are even worse. 

Since we moved in, as a school we have had the desire to be a good neighbor.  One that will leave a positive, sweet taste in the mouths of those who interact with us.  Part of making that a reality is pursuing spending time with those around us.  The primary way this is happening is through our Neighborhood Kids Outreach.  I am coordinating this ministry through the Service Leadership Class that I am co-teaching this fall.  The game plan for the outreach is easy and effective.  We invite kids from our neighborhood to come into our school grounds for an hour to 1 1/2 hours every Wednesday.  While they are with us, we love on them, teach them a Bible story and then let them play.  We offer soccer on grass (many play on dirt or pavement) with a real ball, playing on our playground and even sometimes swimming in our pool. Instead of playing, some of the children opt to stay in the classroom and learn English from some of our High School students.  It is such an amazing opportunity to serve and impact these lives for good.

Last week, I was teaching the kids about the birth of Jesus.  At the beginning, I asked them to raise their hands if they had heard of the Bible...no one raised their hands.  Then I asked the same question about Jesus...and got the same response.  Please pray with us that God will bring to our outreach the children that will be receptive to the gospel.  Also pray for the Spirit to move in their hearts as they hear the Truth.  We are so grateful to be working and living in an area that is so ripe for harvest.  Thank you for joining us on this journey.

The more things change...

Just past eight months here and the paradoxes (or maybe paradoxi; or paradoxen...?) never end.  What I mean is that the more used to this new culture I get, the more comfortable I feel trying new things and in doing so I again realize how far this life really is from everything I once knew to be "home".  To me that is a good thing, by the way (or BTW for the younger generation).  Following are just a couple of examples of how seemingly uncomfortable things turned out for the best.

First, I went back to my favorite "restaurant" yesterday (see post titled "Empty" if you want to know more about my favorite restaurant).  When he didn't have my usual, he offered me the house special.  I politely accepted and waited for it to be delivered.  My bowl of "soup" arrived shortly after and he proceeded to add some extra toppings on it, which I again accepted without protest.  Once he had placed the finishing touches on it, I began to dig in.  The noodles were fine.  I didn't hesitate at all either with the herbs and vegetables.  In fact, probably about 80% of the soup went down the hatch without any hesitation at all.  It was the other 20% or so that presented the problem.  I was sure that some of the meat products that were in the soup were only there for flavor and not intended to be eaten.  One piece looked like a wad of silly putty.  Another looked like a bone, until I poked at it and it was squishy.  I covertly looked at the man sitting at the other table eating the same dish and I didn't see him leaving anything in the bowl.  That is when, again not to offend as I am a people pleaser, I decided to consume the whole thing...mystery meat and all.  Most pieces went down without chewing the obligatory 20 times.  In fact they went down whole.  It was tasty, though and the smile on the guy's face was worth it.  Don't know why I can't just stick with PB&J.  I am glad that I can't though because while he was still smiling, I was able to give him the book "50 Reasons Why Christ Came to Die" by John Piper...in his native tongue.  He was pleased to receive it and I will be pleased to follow up with him many more times.

The other example comes with language barriers. For the most part, I can get by with English.  Almost anything we need can be purchased from someone who knows enough english to make the transaction.  However, I am in Cambodia and I want to learn their language.  However, since I am far from fluent in Khmer, I have to stick to English.  I am constantly in awe of the many Cambodians I come in contact with who can make me feel very comfortable with the level of English they speak.  But even though their English is lightyears beyond my Khmer, it still lacks many key components which cause it to make sense. One great example of how all of the right words might be placed in a certain text, the arrangement leaves you wondering: WHAT?  This is demonstrated in the sign above.  Another came in the form of a business card.  The well meaning business owner was trying to promote his computer servicing business by stating that he was the "One stop shop for all of you computer needs".  All of the right words were there but the end product was less than desirable.  It read: "One of your stop shops for all of you computer needs".
The cool thing about this is is that as a result of a different translation miscommunication (or miscommunilation), I am now meeting with a local businessman weekly to help him learn English while also introducing him to the Gospel.   God works in such cool and amazing ways.  It is so fun to be caught up in them.  I will keep you posted on both of them.

Desire

A sweet little girl I saw at a local market

I have been reflecting lately about our move to Cambodia almost 8 months ago. That always leads me back further to the year and a half leading up to our move. We had many people standing by us, cheering us on but we also had our share of people saying "what in the ... are you thinking?" or some derivative thereof. Believe me, I have been in the second camp at times myself but thankfully only for short periods.


Those questions always left me thinking, why did we move here? When we are walking down the sidewalk stepping over trash; passing naked, dirty, begging children; sweating almost constantly; being stressed out by CRAZY traffic; being so far from what is familiar; unable to find what you need and if you do, often unable to communicate with the workers selling the item you need...etc. Those don't even take into account the fact that it is the "wrong time" to move the kids, as we had many people say.  Wait until they get out of school...etc.  The list of reasons is so long as to why we shouldn't have moved. So what were we thinking?

A car amongst unusual traffic

A boy begging for money, presumably with his sibling.

We wanted to.  It was our DESIRE to move here. Really. It is not that we are overly spiritual but we just wanted to come. It sounds so counter intuitive. No one wants to move to one of the poorest countries in the eastern hemisphere, do they? Before we visited I even had to find it on the map. Not exactly a top 10 desirable destination for most. But that is where God comes into play.  He says: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."  Now, I am not sure exactly what we did to "delight" ourselves in Him except to walk in obedience to His leading.  And I guess when we boil it all down, that is really all He wants. Obedience.  "To obey is better than sacrifice".  As a father myself, I know that feeling.  I have told my kids before that there is nothing they can give me that I don't already have...except their obedience.  Which really represents the gift of your heart.  To obey is to trust the other person's heart for you, even if you can't see the end result.

Some sweet kids we brought clothes to after they were displaced by a fire.

So that brings us to where we are.  Enjoying our new home...trusting God's heart for us...excited to walk in His plan for us in Cambodia...the best place on earth to live.

The Runs :-)

You can read on because I am sure this post will have nothing to do with what you are thinking right now. I will leave that for another one...or maybe not. Anyways, Carolyn and I have been running together. We are training for a half-marathon race in Siem Reap (home of Angkor Wat) in December. We have committed to this in part to keep in shape, in part to maintain sanity and in large part to connect with eachother. Although it isn't easy in the heat...it has been the highlight of my last few weeks. We often run at a pace where we can converse while running and the sights we see are more than enough fodder for conversation. Many times we chuckle about how different it is to run here than in Colorado, and the weather is the least of the differences. Here are some of the observations and differences we witness on our "runs":
*We have really changed our standards for what constitutes good running weather. It used to be low to mid 60's was ideal and we wouldn't even think about running if it was over 85. Now, since it NEVER gets below 68 (and I do mean NEVER) that has had to change. After one day in the hot season when we returned from running and our thermometer read 103 F, a few days later I found myself saying "wow, the run felt nice today, it is only 89 degrees."
*We get greeted by "Hello" more times than I can count every time we go running. The person may be 2 years old or 82. We will be running by and hear that wonderful greeting, always accompanied by a huge smile, which is accentuated by the contrast of their white teeth and brown skin. For many, it is the only English word they know so they use it whenever they can. It is such a fun way to connect with our community by shouting back a "Hello" or "Susedai" with a smile and a wave.
*Herds of oxen and goats are often obstacles on our running path. We also dodge many types of poultry. There are more loose dogs than I can count. I am very thankful that they seem as interested in chasing us as they are the world economy.
*Long, dusty, dirty roads.
*Beautiful palm trees dotting the landscape.
*There is even something resembling a mountain in the distance. Comes close to making us feel at home. I didn't see any snow on it though. Probably because it probably only towers 100 meters above sea level and the average daily temperature is 82.635 degrees F. Anyways, I digress.
*People. What we both really love are the people we see. The man herding goats; the women harvesting rice; the children digging through trash to find recycable material to sell; boys walking through a chest deep pond with a fishing net in order to catch a meal; families washing their clothes in large bowls in front of their houses; the unclothed children playing in the dirt and water trying to escape the heat...etc. All of them are going about their days, doing what they can to survive, but almost all of them will pause, stare at us unapologetically and greet us. That is what we both love. That is what at times makes us smile and at times can move us to tears. The utter brokenness of so many here contrasted by their outer joy. That is why we are here. For the people. It breaks our hearts to see their outer circumstances but it pales in comparison to the condition of their hearts. In a country where 95%+ are Buddhist, our hearts ache for the fact that almost everyone we pass would spend eternity apart from their Creator if they died today. Please join us in praying for the people of Cambodia and for the lives of those we interact with on our "runs".

I included a link to more pictures from our running route. Copy and paste it into your browser and enjoy getting a glimpse into what we experience.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=ohlinsincambodia&target=ALBUM&id=5508558802471745377&authkey=Gv1sRgCOWxwaqshb3HTA&feat=email