Funny thing is, my new friend Jesse (a missionary from Nagaland, NE India) asked my other new friend Pheng (a former Buddhist monk in Cambodia for 8 years) how to stay young-looking: Pheng's opinion was to stay single, but my opinion was to keep playing, so you never forget how.
The timing of this study has been interesting in that Asia (like much of Africa) seems to be filled with cultures where "youthfulness" can be looked down upon, seen as inappropriate, and even viewed as a second class. I guess it's not too far from the way many older "responsible" Christians may view young leaders of the faith. For example, another new American friend named Andy, who is a second generation missionary to Japan, shared that one of the biggest crises in the Japanese church today is the lack of young leaders because their "inexperience" is looked down on. Likewise, Brian Maher shared with us some similar examples in the Cambodian church, but I am inspired by his motivation & call to empower the Khmer youth.
So, about a week and a half ago, we traveled from the coast of Cambodia (Sihanoukville) into the Mekong Delta and arrived in Cambodia's capital (Phnom Penh) just in time for the Water Festival -- an annual cultural festival which brings over a million people from the countryside into the city. We checked it out briefly, got our fill, and then chose to avoid it for the rest of the weekend due to the crowds.While in Phnom Penh, we visited with Hayden Sewall and Lisa & Dave Everitt of Innerchange Ministries, Andrew Thomas of The Bible League, Pastor Meng Aun Hour & his wife Rady of Followers of Jesus Church & Orphan Voice, International Christian Fellowship, Kiri Nguon through the International Sports Coalition, Brian Maher & Todd Smith of the Youth Commission
of Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia, and Christina Valenti of two International Youth programs, Cross-culture & Solar. Aside from visiting with all these people, we also tried to grasp a bit of Cambodia's tragic history by visiting the Killing Fields & the Tuol Sleng genocide museum -- both landmarks of the Khmer Rouge... a lot to fit into one week.Lisa Everitt is a vivacious woman with a refreshing sense of humor, and she helped us get oriented and connected to youth ministries around Phnom Penh. Her husband Dave shared from his heart one evening speaking to our hearts and encouraging us. With over 12 years of ministry experience in Cambodia, Lisa & Dave have incredible insight.
We had met Pastor Meng at the sports ministry conference in Thailand, and he invited us to join a group of about 20 Christian leaders on a short trip up to Kratie (NE Cambodia) for a marriage conference led by Andy (the American missionary in Japan mentioned above). We were only with the group for just over 24 hours, but we were blessed by Andy's teachings & perspectives, by learning more about the culture of Cambodian marriage & youth, and by meeting Vatong with World Hope International & Veasna of EFC/Youth Commission in Ratanakiri (far NE Cambodia). After our return to Phnom Penh the next day, Pastor Meng's wife Rady graciously introduced us to the Followers of Jesus School which provides a 1st through 4th-grade education for youth from the streets of southwest Phnom Penh... most of whom would otherwise not get an education because of the corrupted, bribe-fed expense in Cambodian public schools.
Later, we spent an evening hearing Kiri's incredible story: escaping the Khmer Rouge by floating down the river, playing professional soccer for Vietnam, returning to Cambodia just to escape again through mine fields, coming to faith by independently reading the Bible in a Thailand refugee camp, traveling to America, and then returning to Cambodia several months ago to pursue sports ministry through coaching. Amazing!
One morning, we caught a motorcycle taxi to the north side of Phnom Penh to have breakfast with Brian Maher. Both Lisa and our new friend Veasna encouraged us to meet with Brian, and we're so thankful for the opportunity. Brian has spent the last 13 years in Cambodia working with Khmer youth... empowering & mentoring them. I resonated with his approach and his passions, especially regarding the Diamond Project. After breakfast, we went back to the Youth Commission office with him to meet the visionary of the Diamond Project, New Zealander Todd Smith, as well as some of the empowered youth who came through the Diamond Project & currently serve on staff. The whole morning was a huge blessing... In fact, it's not surprising (anymore) to discover that we have a mutual friend in the States -- a wonderful friend who grew up in his former youth group in CT and later attended Montreat College: Annie Helstein. What a small and beautiful world!
The web continues to grow... as our new friend Andrew Thomas became a surrogate brother during our stay in Cambodia -- checking in with us periodically and then connecting us with Pastor Vuthy of the Bethel Church. In our short trip to Siem Reap, we were blessed to be able to stay with Pastor Vuthy, his family, & his 'apprentice' Pheng Sopheak (the former monk mentioned above). Our brief visit also included assistant-teaching some English classes with 2 Bethel Church staff & 2 missionaries from NE India (Jesse & Akom) and spending each evening hearing Pastor Vuthy & Pheng's stories... And of course we fulfilled the usual tourist requirement by checking out the incredible ancient temples & ruins of Angkor Wat.Overall, our experience in Cambodia amazed me but, like many other places along this big "introductory" trip, it made me want to come back to spend more time. Today, we're leaving Bangkok and heading south towards Malaysia. We're also visiting a couple of YWAM ministries in the beginning and then... only God knows!
0 comments:
Post a Comment