And many happy new years to you!

One of the interesting phenomenon of our multicultural time-travel over the past few months was having experienced "the new year" four times. No, no -- we were not in some fantastic time machine. We just learned by experience that different places celebrate their "new year" at different times than the generally-recognized civil new year.

Last December when we were in West Africa we were present for the Muslim new year. Then we were back in the USA for the civil new year, officially turning the calendar to 2011. After that we managed to arrive in Singapore in February to participate in the last week of celebrations for the Chinese new year (having the same yummy "good luck" salad night after night!). Then, we ended up leaving Phnom Penh just as preparations were getting under way for the Cambodian new year.

I must admit that I was not aware of the number of the year being ushered in in each of the three new cultures, but the sense of celebration was evident.

So, wherever you are, "happy new year"!

Thoughts after 6 months of missions projects – (1) Infrastructure

Over the past 6 months, Bill has set foot in 15 different countries and ministered in 8 of them. I myself have been in 7 countries. We have seen a lot and learned more than we sometimes think we can process. But, I do want to share some of the observations and reflections we have gleaned over these past months.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The infrastructure of a country, which depends mainly on government action, makes a huge difference in how people live, how they overcome difficulties, and what their hopes are for themselves and their children. We experienced various levels of infrastructure development and saw the difference that it makes. Electricity and roads are the big ones that seem to influence all the others.

A West-African church leader told us that having dependable electricity would make an enormous difference for them. This is essential for the economic development of the population. Presently, it is difficult for small businesses to develop or even function because they never know when the electricity is going to be cut off. We drove around in the capital with him one day for half an hour looking for a neighborhood where the electricity was on so we could use Internet in a cyber café. In most places where we stopped, the employees were sitting in their dark offices behind dark computer screens just waiting for the electricity to come back on. They can’t all afford generators. They had paid for the office space and the equipment, but had no income that day.

Electricity also affects how food is used in a country. We were in a village that depended on fishing and had a small business for freezing and exporting fish. But, they regularly lost their production when the electricity was cut off for extended periods. There are some food sources, like dairy products (an important source of calcium) that just cannot exist without dependable electricity for constant cooling, from the production site to the level of the consumer. Electricity also contributes to the availability of clean water in keeping pumps and filtering systems working. Western cultures continue to develop exponentially, in part thanks to dependable energy sources.

Overall urban planning, such as for water and electricity sources, is lacking in many developing countries. The challenge of installing such systems in cities that already have populations of several million people is daunting. Where do you start?

We did see the difference that intentional development can make in the city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with a population of over 1 million. The government (surely with significant outside aid) has transformed the city over the last eight years. The main source of electricity is from a neighboring country and depends somewhat on seasonal factors. But, during the beginning of the dry season when we were there, the electricity only blinked off and back on again a very few times. We also had an excellent Internet connection, even better than what we had in the center of Germany! This gives a big boost to development on an individual level. And, there was no problem with having water in the faucets in Phnom Penh – which is not the case in the large cities we visited elsewhere.

The next challenge is getting this development out of the big cities into the countryside. Governments must be very intentional in this area. Rural development takes coordination and resources. Good roads are a key. This allows communication and transportation of both people and products that are necessary to development. In underdeveloped countries the rural populations are trapped in their local situation and very vulnerable to changing local conditions. If one food source disappears due to climatic conditions or disease, there is nothing for them to fall back on. As you saw in the video of Bill’s ride to a mountain church in Nepal, church development as well as economic and social development is handicapped by the lack of means of transportation.

Government choice is required for building roads, canals, rail lines and other transportation infrastructure. In one country where we worked, the government was “punishing” one region for having voted for the opponent by letting the roads degrade. The population was being intentionally cut off. In another country, no stable government has been in place for years, so no infrastructure development was being done at all. We saw positive results of government choice in Cambodia. Ten years ago the streets of Phnom Penh were dirt paths full of holes. During our visit, we did not see unpaved streets. This development is being extended outside of the capital. Missionaries in the country recently mentioned that the village they worked in was so inaccessible that they called it “the end of the world”. This year the land in front of the mission property is being leveled for a paved highway, with plans for an export-based manufacturing facility to be built in the town! It will also facilitate the mission’s outreach. From the time of the Roman Empire, the extension of roads has led to a rapid spread of the Gospel.

The key word for infrastructure is “dependable”. You can’t make plans if you can’t count on the availability of the tools necessary for carrying them out. Christians in these different countries rejoice in infrastructure improvements. It supports the health and economic status of the people in their churches. It removes seemingly insurmountable pressures on daily living. Their approach to these questions is very wholistic. They know by experience that the less time and energy you have to spend on just surviving, the more time and energy you can devote to serving.

Getting to church

Going to church seems like such a routine thing to most of us. We hop in the car, drive to the church, park in the parking lot, and we're there.

That process is not so easy in some parts of the world. When Bill was in Nepal, he was invited to speak in a village church in the mountains. Getting there proved to be a challenge. Normally it would have been a 2-hour walk up the mountain. Because he was there for such a short time, someone arranged for a 4x4 vehicle to take him up the road as far as it could go. That meant there was only about a 20-minute climb from where the vehicle had to stop.

He filmed part of the ride to give you an idea of what it was like. The movement of the camera reflects the movement of the car.





Once the group arrived, the church service was held in a hut-like thatched building. Around 50 people, including children, sat on the floor. At 6-feet tall, Bill's head was touching the ceiling as he stood to preach from Luke 15, translated into Nepali by one of the men accompanying him.

After the service, he was invited to a church member's hut for tea, before beginning the journey back down the mountain.

Ministering under such circumstances is not a matter of convenience. The pastors and lay workers overseeing these rapidly-expanding churches expend real time and effort. And, the church is growing!

tax break

The wonderful part of traveling in late winter is that you miss a lot of nasty winter weather. The down side of such absence is that taxes are due AS SOON as you get back! It has been a hectic week. We arrived back in PA on Monday night and have been scrambling to get the last documents together to get taxes filed on time -- federal, state, township. I think we're actually going to make it.

More SE Asia information to come after these financial necessities are finalized. So don't go away.

Special people, real service

We met some extraordinary people during our time in Southeast Asia. They are using their talents and training to serve the Lord in some really tough, but really important ways.

There is the single woman trained as a social worker who helps oversee a home for girls from 14 to 19 who have been rescued from sex slavery. This is an intense responsibility. These girls need so much help in rebuilding their lives, finally being able to go to school, learning job skills, and being able to live safely and responsibly in society.

There is the lawyer who is working with a Christian advocacy group in a country where human trafficking is a huge problem. While we were there, he was involved in some “really nasty stuff”.

There is the woman who has a weekly English Bible study in one of the city prisons. She was asking if anyone had any old English-language Bibles to give her for the prisoners. When I asked why these men didn’t speak Khmer, she said it is because they are foreigners. Why are they in prison in Cambodia? They were caught and condemned there for pedophilia.

Orphan care appears to be a huge need in Nepal. Several of the pastors there have taken numerous orphans into their own homes, even though their income is very limited. One of them has welcomed somewhere up to 30 orphans into his home.

The Anglican Diocese of Singapore built a new hospital several years ago and was wondering what to do with the old hospital grounds. They looked at unmet needs on the island and saw the lack of facilities helping those suffering from autism. Even though they had little experience in the area at that time, they began plans for building an autism center. After 6 years of planning and preparation, the new center started functioning several months ago. We were present at the end of March for the official opening, at which the President of Singapore spoke briefly. After a $20 million renovation, this beautiful and functional facility is open, staff has been trained with more to arrive, and autistic young people and adults are receiving appropriate training in schooling, life skills, music, art and physical therapy, etc by a very dedicated staff.

God’s people see the hurts and try to help.

(I am including a couple of pictures of the autism center and the present staff)

Croaking and warbling

Pictures do a lot to describe a place, but sounds are what really identify it to someone who has been there. There are two animal sounds that I will always think of when remembering Phnom Penh.

Just after sunset on the first day we arrived in Phnom Penh, a very loud croaking sound came from outside the kitchen window. It was a deep, loud croak ending in kind of a "hiccup" sound. This was repeated 5 or 6 times: co-ahup, co-ahup, co-ahup. We couldn't see what was making the sound. The following night we were startled awake about 3 a.m. when the same deep croaking came from right outside the bedroom window. Inquiries led to the conclusion that the sound came from a lizard, a very big lizard (maybe a foot long??). We dubbed it the "croaking critter" and heard it nearly daily during our stay. A couple of times I heard it during the day and would hurry outside to try to catch a glimpse of the author of the impressive sound. I never succeeded. So, the croaking critter has remained a purely auditory memory, never allowing for a visual confirmation.

The other sound was much more pleasant. Every morning about 5:30 a.m., about half an hour before sunrise, a bird would start warbling or trilling. The tone was lovely. Hearing that wake-up call was much more pleasant than the strident crowing of a rooster. It was my signal that the sun would soon be rising so I'd better think about getting up if I wanted to get out for a walk before it got too hot.

This specific croaking and warbling remains my auditory memory identity of the city of Phnom Penh.

Family :-)

We arrived safely back in the US. We then traveled to South Carolina for a family reunion of Bill's siblings -- plus 3 of our children and 2 of our grandchildren. Yay!! Thank you, Jon and Sara, for driving us here from VA. Your being behind the wheel was surely safer than us trying to drive after a 20-hour overseas flight and a 12-hour time change!

Lots of chatting and eating, and enjoying the lovely spring weather along with each other.