travel for service

Christmas all around the world

2011-12-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

We were sent this video from one of our partner churches in Asia, showing a children's artistic presentation of the Christmas story. Even though the language isn't one I know, the story they are telling is very well known and clear. They do a good job. Merry Christmas to all!

My "salad bowl" neighborhood

2011-08-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

I am pleased that we now live in a part of the US that is multi-… : multi-racial, multi-national, multi-colored, multi-cultural, etc. Our house is on a small circle of 15 homes. Our neighbors are of Polish, African-American, and Mexican origin as well as traditional white. In the neighborhood across the street are a couple of Pakistani families. There are probably many other nationality origins that I haven’t yet met.

It has been fun to meet up with these “salad bowl” Americans as we have moved around over the past two years: the dealer we bought our car from was Iranian, the workers in our aunt’s nursing home were Haitian, the mattress salesman was Pakistani, the donut shop was run by a Chinese family, the restaurant hostess in the hotel was Thai, our movers were Bosnian, and so it goes. Unfortunately, these people, although Americans and very numerous, are invisible in the “public face” of America. Few of their representatives are television news reporters or seen in tv ads or shows, and almost none of them are among the politicians who publicly “speak for Americans”. How inappropriate.

In the weekly packet of ads that arrive in the mailbox is one for a Hispanic supermarket a couple of miles away. This week they had some special prices on things I usually buy, so I stopped by there yesterday. It was one of those delicious cross-cultural experiences that reminded me of so many similar excursions in other countries --- a few intrigued glances (what is she doing here?), some special attention “to make sure I could find what I was looking for”, my disorientation at shelves filled with so many unfamiliar products, and some wonderful surprises. Who would have thought I’d find the best freshly-baked French bread outside of France in a Hispanic supermarket in the Western suburbs of Chicago!?! There is now a new store on my shopping circuit.

My shopping trip is a kind of parable for cross-cultural contact. I had to take the initiative. It involved a certain degree of initial discomfort that I must be prepared to accept. But, it ends up being great fun and most rewarding, in both the short and long terms.

Full circle

2011-07-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

There has been a huge pause in postings because we are in the middle of moving into the first home in the US that is actually ours. The mover deposited our boxes in the house a week and a half ago. Since we have so very little furniture, actually getting the boxes emptied and the contents stored away is going to take a while as we gradually accumulate the appropriate stocking places.

Just a couple of days before moving, Bill and I celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary. We met at Wheaton College in the fall of 1964. Now, we have bought a home 5 miles from where we first met -- one of the last places we ever expected to live! In the meantime, we have literally traveled all the way around the world. So we really have come "full circle".

It has been quite a ride! And the past year has been the most surprising and stimulating part of it. There is a certain exhilarating feeling in living out of a suitcase, unattached to a lot of "things", and always ready to hop on another airplane. But, it is again time to settle down and get integrated into a community and a church family. Now we learn whether or not we are as adept at "settling" as we were at moving around. The Bible shows us frequently that migrants are more likely to depend on God and answer His call than sedentary folks are. We just don't want our settling-in to take the edge off of that alertness to service.

But, we again have a place that we can call "home".

Anglo-Other cooperation

2011-06-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

We attended an ethnic church in South Philadelphia yesterday. This is an interesting situation where a historic stone church with stained glass windows is still surviving amid the continual melting-pot stirring of an ever-changing mixed-race neighborhood. A remnant of an Anglo congregation still meets here, but they have had the graciousness (or courage) to open their building to multiple ethnic congregations representing the surrounding community. Presently, a Hispanic congregation, a Cambodian congregation, and a Laotian/Nepali congregation all share their facility.

Our contact is with the Laotian/Nepali congregation. The Laotian man serving as pastor has taken courses at our denominational seminary here in the Philadelphia area. When Bill first visited them in January, the group was mainly Laotian, with a few Nepalese. Since then, word has spread in the Nepali community, and they are now overwhelmingly the majority group. This mixture resulted in a very interesting trilingual service, with everything being translated into English, Laotian, and Nepali and songs in all three languages. The children sang a special song for Father’s Day – in Nepali and English. We were told that the children all learned English in refugee camps before arriving. A young person from the host church organized a children’s church (in English) for the kids. Those attending the service were really pleased to see the short video we presented of Bill’s time in Nepal in March.

As I was sitting toward the back of the group during the Sunday School and church services watching this ballet, I was asking myself: what kind of relationship can our American churches have with these rapidly multiplying ethnic churches in our towns and neighborhoods? How can we all work together to demonstrate the Oneness of the Body of Christ?

The answers need to be more than spiritual theory or lovey-dovey feelings. These are some ideas for concrete cooperation that came into my head:

1- Offer them a place to meet. It is unrealistic to think that first-generation immigrants and refugees can always just automatically integrate our services. We do things SO differently than what they are used to! And they do need to be able to express their faith and their concerns in their heart language. Besides, when you are half-a-world away from your culture, it is important to be able to meet with those who know and understand who you are and not have to always be on your guard about doing things the way the host culture expects. There is really no way they could ever acquire property for a separate church meeting place. So, being given access to a recognizable church building is important for them.

2- Establish a genuine pastor-to-pastor/leader relationship. I think this is important whether or not the ethnic group has a formally-trained pastor. Whoever is leading it is going to have to handle pastoral needs and concerns, and contact with the pastor of the host church as well as with other pastors in the area provides an essential network for support and accountability. For instance, the pastor of the host church came in at the end of the service yesterday to participate in special prayer offered for the military son of the Laotian pastor who is leaving this week for Iraq. I think working on this point is the key to carrying out numbers 3 and 4, below.

3- Ask them what they need. Perhaps it is English classes for adults, or tutoring for school children, or clothing and household goods for newly-arrived families, or information on local healthcare and social services. Immigrants often don’t know “how things work here”, so they need someone to whom they can talk safely and ask questions which they might be afraid “sound dumb”. We can help in many ways to let them feel more comfortable among us.

4- Find out if their pastors/leaders, children’s workers, and other volunteers would like training. There are so many resources available here that they do not have in their home countries. Most of this training could easily be provided by local pastors and people in our churches. It doesn’t have to be terribly formal. It can be just one-on-one.

5- Accept their invitations and their gifts. They have much to offer, and they are very pleased when we accept it with gratitude. In this way, you can participate in some really fun festivities and eat some really good food! It is also a very down-to-earth way of showing respect, acknowledgement, and acceptance for other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Will you friend me?

2011-06-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

One thing we have learned in moving around the world is that being a Christian can provide you with an automatic list of people who welcome you and quickly become your friends. No matter how strange the situation or the culture, we have had the privilege of being cared for and helped by other believers. When you feel like you have “lost control” because you have no idea how to evaluate what is happening around you in a new and strange place, it is reassuring to be in the company of national believers that you trust, who know the “code”, and can guide you around.

Is that always true? Recent conversations have led me to realize that is not always the case. When I was helping in the language school in Cambodia, one of the students was a Korean woman who was trying to learn English. She was moving to California in a few weeks and was very nervous about living there. I was flabbergasted to learn that she had previously lived in the US for 6 years and had not learned English during that time. When I tried to find out how that had happened, she replied: “I tried to talk to Americans, but they didn’t want to talk to me, so I just stayed with my Korean friends.” She was not a pushy person, very timid, and was easily discouraged when rebuffed.

The other conversation was with a young European who has lived in the US for several years. He speaks English fluently so I was surprised when he looked straight at me and asked, “How do you make friends in America? “ When I suggested he look up American students who had some overseas study experience, he replied, “It is well known that American students are more interested in texting their friends back home than in talking with the people around them.” Since living here, he has tried various ways to make friends but has been frustrated by the lack of interest of Americans his age in actually connecting with someone “different”, albeit in rather minor ways. He also feels rebuffed.

Sadly, both of these people are Christians who have not found companionship in Christian communities in the US. In one case there was a language barrier, in the other case a cultural perception difference. It is not EASY to reach out to those from other lands who are among us, but it is important. The leading pastors of the churches we worked with in both Cambodia and Nepal became Christians because a family member had found the Lord while living in the US. Someone here did go to the trouble of reaching out to a foreigner and the results are being multiplied hundreds of times over.

We recently read that 80% of the foreign students who come to the US for schooling return to their country without ever having seen the inside of an American home!! This is a chasm that Christians – every local church -- could be rushing into with world-changing results. I realize that it isn’t EASY to voluntarily move out of our comfort zone and invite those who are not like us, but it is vital.

So you don’t know what you would talk about with someone from a different background? Just ask them to tell you about themselves, their families, their homeland, their studies, their travels, their questions about American life, their goals… All you really have to do is be welcoming and listen. If you would like some ideas, zip us an email and Bill and I would be glad to give suggestions. For us, it would be a very small payback for all the care that other Christians around the world have generously bestowed on us.

Who is living in your town right now and needs to have you friend them?

Alive!

2011-05-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

One of the advantages of our present situation is that we get to visit lots of different churches, and we can actually sit together to worship because Bill doesn’t have to preach all the time. That is something special for a pastoral couple.

This weekend brought a meaningful worship experience for me. I deeply appreciate the sensible, step-by-step approach to seeing ourselves in God’s light afforded by a thoughtful liturgy. Yesterday, when the liturgy brought us to the confession of sins, the pastor gave a time for silent confession before the General Confession. I sharply felt the acuteness of having a sin nature and the impossibility of escaping those sins that cling to my basic personality. I envisioned this like being encased in a hard plastic bubble where you can see what it would be like to be on the outside, but you can never get there. I prayed that God would continue to shrink and soften the hardness of it.

Then the sermon was on the meaning of Christ’s resurrection as explained in the first 14 verses of Romans 8. I have lots of “favorite” Bible passages, but if I were forced to choose one that stands out from all the others, it would probably be Romans chapter 8. My heart throbs with the awesomeness of salvation every time I read it.

This time the emphasis was on the fact that when Jesus died, he was really, totally dead and could do nothing for himself. But, verse 11 says that the Spirit raised him from the dead and THAT SAME SPIRIT is given to those who trust him. The Spirit who guarantees our salvation “gives life to our mortal bodies”. Wow! That was quite a reminder that even the hard plastic bubble was pierced (shattered?) from the outside when God took the initiative and put his Spirit in me, and that the Spirit of Christ is working in me, even as I struggle with what remains of the bubble. That gives both life and hope.

How lovely that the liturgy then leads us to raise our voices all together in the words of Scripture as we glorify the author of our salvation and our sure hope. Praised be the Lord!

Transitions in olive oil

2011-05-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

Today I emptied the last few drops of olive oil out of the bottle that had come back with us in our shipment from France. As I did, it became a symbol of so many things that have “run out” and been replaced by new forms since our arrival back in the States 20 months ago. In those first months, the period of mourning for all we had left that was near and dear, I treasured every bit of French life I had brought back with me. During that time I desperately needed to lean on that normality. But, the void of what was left behind has little by little started being replaced by other new experiences, ones that would not have been possible if we had never moved. In that way, Germany and Eastern Europe, West Africa and Southeast Asia have not only been useful extensions of our ministry, but they have given the time and space needed to heal our souls and give us a new direction.

Whether it is a deep cut in the skin or a deep hurt in the heart, healing is a process that needs time. Just as the hurt came from being torn away from so many close Christian friends and colleagues, the healing has been provided by dozens of gracious, competent, and dedicated new Christian friends that we have had the privilege of meeting and working with on 3 continents. After all these months, I can now see that our heart bonds have not been reduced because we left France but have actually expanded and increased.

So, just as a mother’s capacity to love is expanded by each child she brings into her family, so our capacity to “feel at home” has stretched to include many new places around the world. Of course, France will always hold an exceptionally special place in our hearts because it was, after all, the French who made this all possible through their acceptance and love.

During this process it was also great fun to discover how closely linked the worldwide Christian family really is. In every place we ministered we met people who already knew some of our friends in either France or the US! I like the French expression which calls such experiences a “clin d’œil de Dieu” (a wink from God). He really does demonstrate his love in very personal down-to-earth ways.

So, today I opened a new bottle of olive oil. The label says that this one was bottled in the US using oil imported from Tunisia, Spain, Turkey, Italy, and Argentina. An appropriately eclectic mixture, it seems. Hmm, I’ve already visited Spain and Italy. Maybe someday I can get to each of those other countries, too!

Instant communication

2011-05-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days we have had direct (skype) conversations with people in such far-flung and separate places as Croatia and Singapore. We get regular Facebook news from our friends in France (our FB friends list is purposely very limited – we don’t have the time to handle more!!). When we had urgent need of a document a couple of days ago, we emailed someone several hundred miles away and the document arrived in our in-box within 10 minutes. There was a similar contact this week with a local pastor in West Africa. We are negotiating for the purchase of a home half-way across the country and are getting continuous feed-back by email and phone, eliminating the need to be on-site and in someone’s office. Yesterday we needed a series of pictures from a mission partner in Europe and the pictures arrived on our computer within half an hour. Just 15 years ago any one of these communications would have required at least a two-week turn-around time to be completed. My! How times have changed!

Sometimes all this instant access can feel rather frantic. Whatever is needed must arrive NOW. If the requested information doesn’t arrive within three hours, we call to find out what is wrong! Our level of expectation (and impatience?) has been raised dramatically. We must be vigilant that such speed does not lead to superficial thinking and reacting. Having time to “mull things over” does have its advantages.

But, in my opinion, these new communication possibilities are among the most exciting things that have ever happened in missions. The cyber café phenomenon has meant that nearly everyone on the globe can communicate with everyone else, even from remote places. There is no longer an excuse for not knowing. If we want to, we can get in touch with our Christian brothers and sisters in Zambia or Bulgaria or Thailand at almost any time. We are no longer dependent only on official media to inform us of what is happening on the ground elsewhere. We can now weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice almost as though we were there, even when we are not. Being part of the worldwide Christian family no longer has to just be a theoretical theological theory. We have the possibility of living out Kingdom participation, our most essential loyalty, in very practical ways.

How exciting! I’m thrilled to be able to be around while this is happening.

Thoughts after 6 months of missions projects – (2) Influence

2011-05-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

There are great debates taking place right now in the US concerning the influence of the church in and on society. To what extent does the church (all Christians, in a collective sense) have political clout and how fervently should it be involved in social activism? To what point should it exercise such muscle, or even have it?

In most of the places that we have visited over the last six months, that question is not even being asked. It couldn’t be asked because Bible-believing Christians are a minority of a minority in those places. Other religious systems dominate the culture and are intertwined with those in power so much that these Christians are nearly invisible within their own countries. Their political weight is close to nil.

Do they suffer from being in this powerless position? Sometimes they do. In one country we visited Christians are trying to get a local government to agree to let them acquire land for a burial ground. Even such a “normal” request is being met with resistance. Their small numbers also mean that they usually do not have a voice that can be heard in denouncing problems such as corruption, human trafficking, or religious prejudice. Sometimes, they are even in a position where they don’t want to become more visible as this could lead to more negative attention and reaction by the majority movements.

But on the whole, it seems like the question of political and social influence and the lack of it doesn’t affect them because it has hardly crossed their minds. They are too busy bringing people to know the Lord, serving the weak and defenseless around them, and building the church to even bother with such a useless distraction. Their energy is focused on proclamation and service. Period.

We did see one striking example of a church located in a country which has complete religious freedom that was using its influence wisely. Instead of promoting itself or a narrow range of hot-button issues, it works humbly as an advocate for those in the country who the powers-that-are were overlooking, particularly handicapped people and immigrants. Because of this, the church is listened to and respected. I saw the same “service ethic” carried out by the church I visited in Zambia last year.

The subject of influence seems to only be one that is a concern for wealthy, majority Christian movements. History shows that such concern rarely leads to positive spiritual results and may even hurt God’s mission in that society. So much time, as well as mental and spiritual energy, is expended on something that often seems to actually move even the way Christians think further and further away from the goals that the Bible describes for the people of God: that of building a just Kingdom that spans all eras and cultures, and that is characterized by faithfulness and humble service to others. It seems flagrantly evident from my observations that the individual members of those minority churches we observed are closer to expressing these goals than are so many people in our established Western-culture churches. Yes, they struggle. But they have a focus and intensity – maybe even purity, in the sense of simplicity – in how they understand salvation and its consequences that are hard to find in the Western world.

My thoughts on this subject are obviously colored by the fact that I lived and served in France for so many years. France’s Christian history spans 12 centuries, but the Christian church in all of its forms is in the process of being totally sidelined by the culture. This has happened in spite of the fact that at one point in history, it was THE influence in French culture, controlling nearly every aspect of life and death for the ordinary citizen. But that total, overall influence only led to corruption and deep resentment, and when the people attained freedom, they spat the Church out like polluted water. Maybe they did “throw the baby out with the bathwater”, but today they make it clear that they will never, never go there again.

Actually attaining the position and influence that we think will help our cause can end up being the thing that hurts it the most. Success often has unintended consequences. Trajectories such as those of the State Churches in Europe should be a cautionary signal for us. They started with the desire to have all of society benefit from the enlightened principles of biblical living, but the influence they gained has actually made such a result all but impossible.

Individual Christians may be called to defend certain causes or promote certain ideas. But, as groups of believers, what are we called to defend or to promote? Who sets the agenda? How should we be serving the Lord until He returns? Personally, I prefer the enthusiasm and hard-working zeal of those Christians we’ve met over the past six months, serving and actually being able to influence people’s lives in spite of facing numerous limitations and constraints, to the ease that allows us to argue with each other and spend our energy on secondary pursuits.

I guess it really is true that travel expands one’s horizons! :-)

travel and housing

2011-05-07T06:57:00.001-07:00

Well, I've been on the road again this week. I flew to Chicago on Tuesday to start looking for housing in the area. After all, I hadn't flown for over a month, so it was about time!! :-)

My search was successful and we will be moving to the western suburbs of Chicago, 30 miles west of the lakefront, sometime in July. After having all our household goods packed in boxes for nearly 2 years, it will be somewhat of an adventure to unpack and "rediscover" what we had actually decided to bring back with us!

Guests

2011-05-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

What fun to be able to repay just a tiny bit of the hospitality that we experienced in Southeast Asia.

This weekend some of the people we met at the Autism Centre in Singapore were here in the US, visiting care centers for ideas. They were staying quite near us. So we showed them around the area all day Saturday and took them to one of our supporting churches in NJ on Sunday. During the coffee hour after the worship service they gave a very interesting presentation on the social services organized by the Anglican Church in Singapore, and especially the Autism Centre.

But, we learned that you always seem to end up on the receiving end when these people are around. Before leaving they gave us a beautifully embroidered Chinese hanging representing dozens and dozens of children, so that we could remember them and their work.

How could we ever possibly forget!

And many happy new years to you!

2011-04-29T17:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

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 :-)

2011-04-02T14:47:00.000-07:00

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.

Himalayas

2011-03-31T04:13:00.000-07:00

Bill has had the privilege of seeing the Himalaya Mountains from both sides. When we flew from Paris to Hong Kong in 2003, our flight took us along the north side of the Tibetan Plateau. We were glued to the airplane window in awe for nearly 2 hours as the endless snow-covered peaks displayed in front of us.

By flying in and out of Kathmandu earlier this month, Bill saw the Nepali side of the "top of the world". He filmed his climb out of Kathmandu. So, now you too can sit by the window and enjoy glimpses of the Himalayan Mountains for several minutes until the plane turns south toward Thailand.

The longest day??

2011-03-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Maybe not. But a REALLY long day indeed.

When I woke up on Wednesday, March 30, in Singapore at 4 a.m. to get ready to leave for the airport, it was still 4 p.m., March 29 on the East Coast of the US. Some 24 hours later we landed at Dulles Airport outside of Washington DC, on Wednesday, March 30. It is now 6 hours later. We are at our son's home near the airport. It is STILL Wednesday, March 30, and it is not even midnight yet.

This has been a really long day.

More on Cambodia, Nepal, and Singapore is still to be posted on the blog, but the travel of the past few days has meant that more information will have to show up in several stages. Stay tuned...

des français! ... and ... cricket

2011-03-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

Today there was a new couple that came to church for the first time -- an American/French couple that lives in Paris. What a treat to be able to speak some French again! I was glad I had decided to wear my French Huguenot cross today. The man is retired from a financial company and they come to Phnom Penh every year for a few weeks. I guess we aren't the only ones who have discovered this pearl of a city!

And, cricket? No, not crickets, the insects; but cricket, the game. Did you know the Cricket World Cup is presently being played? Since we have people from England, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India attending the church, we are quite aware of the games. This week Australia and England were just eliminated in the quarter finals, and the semi-final games will be India-Pakistan and New Zealand-Sri Lanka. I still have little idea of how the game actually works, even though excerpts are always shown on the news here. But, I must check on Internet after I get home to see who wins the semis later this week.

Yes, our time in Cambodia is nearly over. We fly back to Singapore tomorrow. Our six weeks here have gone by so quickly. It has been a very rich and enjoyable experience. We are very grateful to the Church of Christ our Peace for welcoming us in such agreeable conditions.

Kathmandu

2011-03-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

Kathmandu! The name in itself evokes far-away, exotic places with endless mountain vistas.

As Bill discovered when he visited Kathmandu earlier this month, the reality is a bit grittier. This city of over 1 million people squeezed into a tight valley at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains gives the impression of being rather jumbled together and is highly polluted. The infrastructure is not developed in a coordinated manner, with buildings and roads put up as opportunity presents itself. Electricity goes off regularly, and most travel sites describe the water distributed in the city system as “toxic”!

Bill visited this city because this country has had some amazing “people movement” church growth since the instauration of religious tolerance just over a decade ago. He was there to look into partnership opportunities between our home denomination, the Reformed Episcopal Church, and one of these fast-growing churches. He spent several days visiting churches and pastors in Kathmandu as well as in nearby hill provinces.

In the attached videos you can ride along with him on a road into Kathmandu (notice the pollution haze in the background) as well as follow him as he surveys a typical market street scene.

Teaching session

2011-03-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

Our final teaching session with the Khmer staff was held all day Thursday and Friday morning. The following 2-minute video clip gives an idea of how it was done with translation.

My teaching was on lessons for living with each other in the Christian church, based on the epistle of James.

The pastor doing the translation has an amazing but tough story. He was born to a Buddhist family in a distant province. His family was killed by the Pol Pot regime, the "killing fields", so he was raised as an orphan. He first heard the gospel when an aunt who had taken refuge in the US and become a Christian returned for a visit. The first opportunity he had to have ANY schooling was when he was already 18 years old. He eventually attended Bible school and was ordained in 1998. He is now the senior pastor in the Anglican Church of Cambodia. We are finding that his life story is very similar to that of many people of his age group.

His English is rather limited. We had to use simple sentences and basic vocabulary so he could translate correctly into Khmer. Sometimes we both struggled to find an appropriate word. It appeared from the students' reactions that he handled the task rather well. Our biggest difficulty arose from his limited possibilities for translating back into English any questions or comments from the students.

In spite of these limitations, our contact with these Cambodians working to build the church in their country was very stimulating.

Don't

2011-03-25T02:43:00.000-07:00

In addition to the usual cultural sensitivity that should be shown whenever visiting any country that is not your own –- modest dress, not being loud, always polite rather than demanding –- there are particular things that can be perceived as being impolite or even offensive in each culture. Here are a few of the “don’ts” when visiting Cambodia.

DON’T point your feet at anyone. Be careful when seated not to cross your legs in a way that has your feet at pointing at someone (better not to cross your legs!). This rule applies even when seated on a mat on the floor. Pointing at someone with your foot is considered an insult. Shoes should be removed when entering a home or a temple. (Don’t worry, no one will take them!)

DON’T pat anyone on the head, even children. The head is considered the most sacred part of the body and should not be touched. Don’t point at someone’s head; don’t count the people in a group by pointing at their heads.

DON’T kiss and cuddle in public. Overt displays of affection, even among married couples, are frowned on everywhere in the country. (This one was tough since we are used to holding hands when walking together!)

DON’T wear shorts or spaghetti straps in public. Upper arms and legs should be covered, at least to the knee.

DON’T walk in a monk’s shadow. This superstition is thought to lead to illness since walking on the shadow can release the demons of ill health.

DON’T lose your temper or talk loudly and aggressively. That will only aggravate a situation and make it worse. Smile. Don’t criticize. Allow others to “save face”.

DON’T use your left hand to give something to someone. The left hand is considered dirty. Use either the right hand or both hands together.

DON’T touch a Cambodian woman if you are a man, even in friendliness or joking.

DON’T cross your fingers (like a “good luck” sign in the US), this is an obscene gesture in Cambodia.

We have observed that not all Cambodians observe all of these rules very strictly, especially young people. But, it is up to them, not us, to decide where the limits can or cannot be relaxed, so we try to be aware of situations where these norms apply and respect them.

Rainstorm!

2011-03-24T05:47:00.000-07:00

Remember when I said it doesn't rain here during the dry season? Well, I guess it does, occasionally. We have been away for 3 days visiting Angkor Wat (more on that later -- fabulous!!). On the way back yesterday afternoon, the bus drove through a heavy rainstorm about 20 mn before arriving in Phnom Penh. But, upon arrival, our tuk-tuk driver said there had been no rain in the city. That storm did come through our part of the city about half an hour later. And, there was another very heavy rainstorm just after supper. After asking if this is normal, we were told that there are "occasional" rains during this period, before the "big dry season" starts in April. The main result of yesterday's rain was to bump the humidity level up a notch.

Street sweepers

2011-03-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

Every morning I wake to a soft swish, swishing sound. The guardian is sweeping the courtyard, as well as the sidewalk and curb outside the church property. As I leave for my sunrise walk, everyone up and down the street is doing the same thing. Every morning all the leaves that have fallen in the past 24 hours are swept up. There are sweepers on the open public spaces as well, and street sweepers every morning at various places on surrounding streets.

Street sweeping is bottom-of-the-line labor, but it is a job that is helpful and appreciated. The street sweepers I see here in Phnom Penh are all women. There have been street sweepers most of the places where we have lived. Most French cities have them. In the last French town we lived in, the same 2 men swept the streets in our part of town and we would greet them as we went about our morning business.

I guess sweeping the streets is only important in a society where people walk around neighborhoods to shop or to go to the bank and post office and doctor’s office. I guess that wouldn’t make any sense in a “cars only” society. Too bad. I appreciate street sweepers.

Follow-up traffic report

2011-03-15T04:20:00.000-07:00

After my post yesterday on traffic patterns, I had the surprise this evening while walking back to the apartment during rush hour, to see someone directing traffic in the middle of an intersection about 3 blocks away. He was wearing a uniiform of some kind and, with wild gestures and much whistle-blowing, was stopping and releasing the flow the traffic. The only visible result, as far as I could see, was a two-block back-up on both of the intersecting streets.

Traffic patterns

2011-03-14T02:31:00.000-07:00

My first impression of traffic in this city of 1 million people was summed up in one word: chaotic. Without following any particular lanes, motorbikes, SUVs and tuk-tuk crowd each other along the street. There are hundreds of thousands of motorbikes, interspersed with thousands of SUVs (relatively few sedans), tuk-tuk, and pedestrians in the street. (A tuk-tuk is a covered, open-sided carriage pulled by a motorbike and is the main means of paid public transportation—it can easily seat 4; and 6 passengers fit if you squeeze a bit.)

I have since learned that there is a definite pattern to what happens on the streets of Phnom Penh. The movement is kind of like a slow-motion dance. If you follow a couple of basic rules, you can merge into it quite well.

Normal Western rules-of-the-road are only followed in the most general sense. There are stop signs, but I have never seen anyone stop for one. There are so few traffic signals in the city, that city maps indicate every one of them. This means that every intersection has to be negotiated. But, to my surprise, it all seems to work very well, and I have yet to see an accident.

This morning I had an appointment out on a far corner of the city. That meant a half-hour ride in a tuk-tuk, so I again observed this “dance” from right in the middle of the “dance floor” since we took some of the busiest thoroughfares in the city.

The secret is that no one goes fast, so there is continual, gradual merging in lanes. At intersections, the heaviest flow of traffic seems to have the priority and everything – bikes, motorbikes, trucks, tuk-tuk – gets through at the same time. When crossing an intersection, you slowly merge your way into the center through this crossways flow until you get across. The same rule applies to pedestrians. You keep your eye on the oncoming flow of traffic and start walking slowly across it, being careful not to stop or make a sudden move. Everyone sees you and adjusts accordingly. If they are not going to let you go in front of them, they honk – and you’d better listen!

Traffic goes on the right side of the street, like in the US – usually. Several times I have found myself intently watching the arriving flow of traffic as I step out into the intersection and am startled by a motorbike that beeps because he cuts me off, coming the other direction! A couple of times my tuk-tuk driver has also taken the left lane in a divided street so he could turn left at the next intersection.

Pedestrians walk in the street along with the flow of vehicles. There are wide, tiled sidewalks along most major streets. However, they are rarely available to walk on. Whoever owns the building also owns the sidewalk in front of it. This means that he can set up his shop all the way out to the street or, more commonly, use it for parking. When walking, it is just easier to walk in the street rather than slalom through all these obstacles. I’ve also found, contrary to my intuition, that it is safer to walk along with the flow of traffic rather than facing it. Motorbikes are used to avoiding pedestrians in front of them, but they don’t seem to know what to do when they find you facing them.

I actually find all of this vaguely beautiful and very fascinating. And, yes!, it works!

Teacher! Teacher!

2011-03-11T23:23:00.000-08:00

I enjoy teaching, especially adults. So, I gladly accepted when Lawrence asked if I could teach the conversation class for the pre-intermediate level at the Four Rivers English Language Center. I've done it a couple of times now and have had a good time. Fortunately, the students seemed to enjoy it, too.

These two Khmer sisters are adorable, and very clever.

This 22 year-old Korean student insisted on joining me for my 6:30 a.m. walk so she could practice English with me. Now, that is dedication!

A real Cambodian wedding

2011-03-10T03:08:00.000-08:00

A wedding in Cambodia is a BIG thing. A traditional wedding lasts three days, although modern families usually reduce it to just one. I had a front-row seat this week to a Cambodian wedding, and it was quite an impressive affair.

The bride and groom were a young couple from the Khmer congregation. Neither of their families are Christian, but the couple wanted a Christian ceremony. The bride’s parents basically said that none of their Buddhist friends would come to a ceremony in a church, so if she wanted it that way, she would have to pay for it! The church rallied around and provided a fabulous wedding. The families did attend the church ceremony.

Preparations started 2 days ahead of time with the construction of the wedding tent that covered the whole church yard and half of the street out front. A huge outdoor kitchen was set up along the curb. The wedding day began very early with a sit-down Cambodian breakfast (various kinds of soups, rice, and noodles) served to all the guests at beautifully decorated tables. This varied from a traditional wedding which begins with the groom’s family processing to the bride’s house to present the dowry and begin the ceremonies, which take place in the home.

The wedding itself began about 8:30 a.m. It had most of the elements of a traditional US wedding ceremony – giving away by the parents, exchange of vows, exchange of rings, and lighting a common candle. One very nice touch was when the bride and groom each knelt and washed each other’s feet. Since public displays of affection are not acceptable in Cambodia – even for married couples, the usual “you may kiss the bride” was reduced to a discreet peck on the forehead and each cheek.

I was told that since there is little audience participation at a Buddhist wedding where the monks chant on and on, people are used to talking on their phones, drinking tea, etc. during the ceremonies. So, the atmosphere in the church was less than hushed, and when the sermon went on a bit long, many of the Buddhist family members gradually got up and went outside to visit.

At the end of the ceremony, the bridal party disappeared, only to re-appear about 15 minutes later. They had all changed out of their white dresses and tuxedos and now wore fabulously ornate traditional pink and gold Cambodian costumes. Then there were more ceremonies in which each set of parents, followed by other relatives and friends, sat down beside the couple kneeling with their hands joined on golden pillows to give them words of blessing and encouragement. Many Christian friends prayed for them at this time. Of course, everything was in Khmer, of which I don’t understand a word, so I was depending on brief explanations given by those around me. This second time of ceremony ended with more prayers by the pastor and the couple being showered with flowers.

After the ceremony, the family members left, but the other guests were again given a lunch of soup, rice, a sort of omelet dish with vegetables, and a delicious steamed fish. That ended the 4 ½ hours at the church, but the day wasn’t yet finished.

Late in the afternoon over 200 of us gathered at a banquet hall in another part of the city for an elaborate Cambodian meal. Hot meat or fish hors d’oeuvres were followed by steaming plates of poultry, meat, fish, vegetables, salads – there were over a dozen dishes in all. The whole thing was accompanied by a band with singers performing very good, but very loud, Cambodian music.

During the whole dinner, the bride, groom, and entire wedding party stayed outside at the entrance to the banquet hall to greet all guests as they entered or left. I suppose they got to eat at some point, but they had not yet come inside when the party I was with decided to leave.

Part of the tradition is for the whole wedding party to change costumes numerous times during the various ceremonies so that they can be seen in various colors. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime extravaganza for which no one wants to cut corners. Cambodians are a naturally beautiful people and, I must admit, the visual effect was stunning!

Lizard in the sink

2011-03-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

As I was washing supper dishes, I saw a baby gecko in the stainless-steel kitchen sink. He seemed terrified and tried to “hide” along the edge when I ran water. I thought I’d leave him alone and let him find his way out overnight. In warm climates where the homes are quite open to outside air, geckos are welcome in the house since they eat mosquitoes and other unwelcome insects.

The next morning he was still there. I concluded that he was too small to be able to climb up the straight, slick sides of the sink. I have no idea how he got in there! So, I went ahead and caught him and put him in the pail under the sink where the garbage is kept. After all, that is where all the other lizards live! I have actually gotten in the habit of banging the cupboard door before opening it to put something in the garbage pail. If I don’t, there is a good chance that one or more lizards will come flying out, then scrambling around to find a place to hide. So, I prefer knocking ahead of time to let them know I'm coming.

Collective health maintenance

2011-03-06T23:06:00.000-08:00

I promised some pictures from my daily morning exercise jaunt. This gives some idea of the variety of people who are out exercising between 6 and 7 every morning.

This is a group playing a pick-up game of soccer, they are setting up the "goal posts".

There is also the karate lesson.

Then there are a couple of really organized groups that exercise to music with set movements.

This group is quite impressive, exercising with fans, and sometimes with swords:

We are also fascinated by this game, which seems to be common throughout Asia:

There are many that make their own exercise program. In addition to this woman jumping rope, there is one older woman who spends half an hour every morning bouncing a ball with her knees.

But then, most of us just walk briskly or jog along the sidewalks on either side of the grass mall, everyone going the same way on the same side.

Church attendance update

2011-03-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

Let's see, after this Sunday's service, we can add to the nationalities that attend services at CCOP. Ones that are new since last week's list are Nigeria and Bangladesh.

There were also two Khmer girls taking the English language classes who decided to attend the English service today. That was neat.

Do you speak English?

2011-03-04T23:35:00.000-08:00

Cambodia is a country that is rebuilding. It is also a country with a very, very young population. According to 2009 statistics, 35% of the population is under the age of 14.This means that the need for education is tremendous. The education level is generally quite low due to the lack of trained teachers and also because the overwhelming majority of the people live in poor rural areas. Education is thus one of the many services being provided by NGO and mission organizations.

There is also a real hunger to learn English. Speaking English is seen as the means for moving out of menial labor jobs. As I walk around this part of the city, it seems that there is an “international” school in every block. Many of them are “international” in name only and the quality of English-language teaching varies greatly.

The Four Rivers English Language Center is an outreach of the Anglican Church of Cambodia. It is staffed and supported financially by Christians from several Anglican parishes in Singapore. Lawrence and Lyn are the directors and only teachers at this time. Joy just arrived and is taking an intensive ESL course this month in order to qualify and begin teaching. They would be very glad to welcome qualified ESL teachers from America to help for any period of time.

There are now pre-beginner, beginner, pre-intermediate, and intermediate levels of English classes taught at the center. Being able to offer higher level classes is presently limited only by the lack of teaching staff. Lawrence and Lyn are doing all they can handle at the moment. Right now there are an equal number of native Cambodian (Khmer) and Korean students. They are all older teenagers and adults. The Khmer students come to these classes after their regular school classes or fit them in between hours at a job. They work hard and are very warm, agreeable people to be with.

The center is so bright and clean. The grounds are a garden setting and make it a real haven of peace in a loud and busy city. It is a pleasant place to come.

I have sat in on several of these classes since arriving. This past week I led the hour-and-a-quarter conversation class for the pre-intermediate group. I will be doing the same thing next Thursday morning. Lawrence is glad to have the help and is pleased that the students can hear a different English accent for a change.

This is a ministry that is both very important and easy to fit into. Since it is a church-sponsored school, there is no problem in talking about Christian faith. The classes run for 3-month terms. Lawrence and Lyn would be especially thrilled to have Christian teachers who could come and help for a whole school year.

Would you consider doing that?

Today's weather forecast

2011-03-03T23:57:00.000-08:00

Today’s weather is … unchanged. After morning haze, the weather will be sunny, hot and humid, with just a hint of a breeze. This is the same as it was yesterday, and last week, and last month, and probably the two months before that. Overnight lows are around 80-82°F(26-27°C). Daily highs are 88-90°F (30-32°C). Humidity is steady at 76-78%. There won’t be noticeable wind, and it won’t rain. The sun will rise at 6 a.m. and set at 6 p.m.

After living all my life in temperate climates where atmospheric conditions vary greatly – and sometimes wildly or violently, it is strange living somewhere where you don’t ever have to think about the weather. You know what it is going to be. I wonder to what extent such predictability affects the way people here approach all of life.

As with many tropical areas, Cambodia only has two seasons: wet and dry. Dry season began in November and will continue through May. Then rainy season will start, lasting from June to the end of October. We are now moving to the hottest part of the year in April and May, the end of the dry season. So, our daily temperatures will slowly edge up.

Of course, for us the most discomfort comes from the constant high humidity. Ceiling fans are automatically turned on whenever you go into a room. They are wonderful!!!! We do have air conditioning available in our bedroom and office, but we have adjusted enough that we use it lightly. The thermostat is kept at 80-81°F – just enough to cut the humidity and maintain a pleasant “summertime” temperature. We often opt for the fan rather than any AC at all.

We both like to walk for exercise. It appears that the residents of Phnom Penh do, too. We quickly learned that all such exertion is done between sunrise and 7:30 a.m. There is a large open mall area along one of the main streets near us. Every morning the sidewalks are full of people walking, playing badminton, doing group aerobics, karate, pick-up soccer with small rubber balls, and other activities. It is a pleasant atmosphere and we enjoy going there. I’ll take my camera one of these days and post some pictures. By 7:15 we come back to the apartment dripping with sweat, clean up with a cool shower, and are ready to get some breakfast and start work for the day.

I think I can handle this!

getting ready for Nepal

2011-03-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Bill sent this note last night from Singapore. As I write this, he is in the air, flying to Kathmandu.

I had a Nepali meal tonight – in Singapore.

P is in his third and final year at a Seminary here in Singapore. He is the first pastoral candidate from the Anglican Churches in Nepal to actually go to Seminary. He and K have been married about a year, and they invited me to their student apartment for a hot chicken curry meal. I got to cheat since they set out knife and fork for me to use, but partway through the meal they explained that in Nepal this would be eaten with just scooping it out with one's hand-- the way the women and kids were eating in Africa.

K is from a Christian family, but P is the first convert from his Buddhist family. His grandfather was head of the local Buddhist temple in their village, so it was seen as betraying the family for him to become a Christian. In this culture, you are supposed to follow your parents' lead and defend them no matter what. When P's father started talking about killing him, his mother told him to flee, and the national pastor who first befriended him took him in for 2 years. He was going on 20 then. Now he is the first seminary-trained pastor from the Anglican Churches that will be going back to his people. He and a friend have even started a weekly Nepali service here in Singapore. This ministry indicates his calling to the ministry and prepares him for the service in his home land. The Nepalis they reach are mainly here as house servants working for rich locals

This was an interesting introduction to Nepal, but tomorrow I see the real thing.

Taxi / taxi

2011-03-01T01:50:00.000-08:00

Bill left this morning for Singapore, and tomorrow he flies to Kathmandu in Nepal.

The trip got off to an interesting start. A taxi was scheduled to pick him up at 7 a.m. for the ride to the airport. A few minutes before 7 a car was waiting at the gate, so Bill went out. The driver took his bag, put it in the trunk, and they left. Several minutes later the guardian came to tell me, "the taxi is here to take Pastor to the airport". !!! Sure enough, a "real" taxi was sitting by the gate. Sooooo -- who did my husband drive away with????

Thank goodness for cell phones! He was contacted about the switch-up and then let me know when he got to the airport all right. Whew! That was a few more minutes of uncertainty than I needed early this morning!

His flight to Kathmandu leaves Singapore early tomorrow morning (around dinner time tonight for those of you in the US), so you can be praying for him in this new leg of his exploratory mission.

And where are you from?

2011-02-26T23:35:00.000-08:00

“Hello, where are you from?” This is the most common question asked in conversations in the international English church we are serving right now in Phnom Penh. The natural follow-up to that one is, “why are you in Phnom Penh?” and “how long have you been here?”

The answers given to the first question this morning showed the great variety of people who have come here for business, as missionaries, or for humanitarian service. In today’s service there were people from: Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Korea, Pakistan … and the United States. What a privilege to all be worshipping together.

Oops - challenge faced and met!

2011-02-25T00:38:00.000-08:00

One thing we learned over our many years of service in France is: if something can go wrong, it probably will – and you have to adapt to it.

One responsibility Bill had in coming to Phnom Penh was to provide a monthly training session for the Khmer staff of the Anglican Church of Cambodia, doing his teaching in English and being translated into Khmer. That training took place yesterday and today. The staff members arrived in the city from provinces scattered around the country. But, the interpreter didn’t come. This presented quite a challenge! Bill handed out a simplified version of his notes so that those who know some English could follow along. The pastor who speaks the most English did what he could to translate what Bill said into Khmer. However, he had a hard time putting back into English the participants’ reactions and contributions, which means there was very limited feedback for Bill to go on.

Everyone did what they could to make this work, and the training continued. The subject was on Barnabas as an encourager and motivator in ministry, and conflict resolution, using the problem that arose between Barnabas and Paul concerning John Mark. We pray for understanding, and trust that these sessions were somehow helpful to people who are working hard to serve the Lord in this country.

Prison laughter

2011-02-22T22:47:00.000-08:00

I had envisaged that going into a prison would bring an oppressive feeling of clanging metal doors echoing through concrete corridors. So, when the Khmer pastor of CCOP invited us to accompany him and some staff members for their weekly prison Bible study, I was somewhat apprehensive. What a surprise as, once through the main gate, we walked through unlocked doors into a garden-like setting with trees and manicured plants and bright red flowers along paths between the various fenced-in housing units. The neatly-painted off-white buildings with low red tile roofs resembled more what I would have expected at a beach resort. But, this is a minimum security prison with around 1000 prisoners. CCOP has a weekly outreach to women here.

As we were getting set up in the covered open-air refectory, 30 women in blue cotton prison suits with white trim were marched in by a guard. Some seemed very, very young; others were definitely middle-aged; two young women carried babies about a year old, meaning they had been born after their pregnant mothers were incarcerated. During the hour and a half that we were there, guards in grey or dark green uniforms would come by to watch and then move on. A CCOP staff member accredited by the prison was the only one with us the whole time.

While we were there, we could hear another group singing and laughing in an area close by. The young men in a housing area behind the refectory came into their exercise area for an hour, doing group exercises and then playing soccer with a small ball. Several of them came up to the fence to try to hear what was going on in our area. Other than the mesh-wire fences topped with barbed wire separating the areas, you could have imagined being in a well-organized youth camp.

The pastor created an atmosphere that was relaxed and fun. For over half an hour he had the women play games, something like “hot potato”, as they were sitting in two long lines on either side of the picnic tables in the refectory. They were laughing and cheering as one or the other would get caught with the “hot potato” when the music stopped. The pastor brought his guitar and led a time of singing. Then he had asked Joy from Singapore and Bill to give their testimonies, which he translated into Khmer. He himself read the parable of the unforgiving servant who had been forgiven, parable which follows Peter’s question about how many times he should forgive someone else. Then, 5 women from the group were chosen to act out the parable, which they did with great enthusiasm.

The time ended with one of the women getting up to give her testimony. She told how her life had been so full of problems that she wanted to die. She was glad that she had come to the prison where she learned about Jesus and came to trust him. Pastor Hieng told us that last year he baptized 29 people in this prison. We all helped distribute plastic sacks of useful items to each of the women (toothpaste, laundry soap, a toy for those who have a child...) before they were led back to their unit. This weekly outreach by CCOP staff, done in a relaxed, friendly, and creative way, is clearly bearing fruit for the Kingdom.

(photo: our ministry team getting ready to leave the prison)