The Journey Begins

I had originally planned on titling this "Afterthoughts" but upon further thinking, I decided that just because our team is no longer in Cambodia it doesn't mean that everything is over.  Instead, this is really the start of our church's partnership with Nathan, Priscilla and World Relief.

Our team debriefed with Brian yesterday and we discussed what we learned/brought back from the trip as well as what we thought we brought to the staff in Kampong Cham.  Hearing what everybody had to say about what they experienced really brought me back to our time in Cambodia and made me excited for future teams/visits back to Cambodia.

Speaking of future teams, I'll just do a little plug for anyone who might be thinking about going as it actually ties into what I learned/experienced on this trip.  One thing that Nathan often said on the trip was "Go! Go! Go!" which kind of became an informal motto for our team by the end of the trip (in fact we may have "Gone! Gone! Gone!" so fast one time that we might have left someone behind...).  When we brought up how often Nathan said "Go! Go! Go!," he said that there were two reasons for it.  The first reason was simply because we didn't have a lot of time there and our schedule was really packed having cut out a few days due to ticketing/flight logistics.  The second reason is something that really stuck to me.  He said that often times Christians tend to say that they're not sure if they should do something and want to wait for a clear sign before doing anything.  While it is good to have a clear sign to do something, if we're all waiting for signs like Gideon's or Hezekiah's then I'm pretty sure the majority of us will end up waiting for a long long time.

Instead, if we know our Lord's heart, we should know at least some basic things that he would want us to do.  For example, take Daniel's friends, they refused the king's sweet meats and wine because they wanted to keep themselves undefiled and clean before the Lord.  Then they also defied Nebuchadnezzar and refused to bow down to his golden statue.  In both occasions they did not receive any sign from the Lord to do either of these things, in fact, in defying Nebuchadnezzar they even said that they didn't know if they would be saved from the fire or not.

Another aspect of this is that the Lord does not need us to do his will.  If he wants something to happen, it will happen.  I don't think that any of us are arrogant enough to think that our God who created the heavens and the earth would need our help in getting something done, but sometimes we may forget and think that we are doing something for God.  Instead, if the Lord is going to get something done and we have the opportunity to be a part of it, why not go?

For example, my going on this trip was completely out of character for me.  There were several reasons that could have prevented me from going.  The facts that I can't stand the heat, public speaking, and teaching along with the fact that I had only started going to GRX for a few months still make me wonder why I actually ended up deciding on going and joining the team; however, I think that joining the team was one of my best decisions that I have ever made, just being able to see what the Lord is doing in Cambodia and being able to be a part of it is something that I really don't think can be described through mere words (and I had a lot of those in my first post and this one is getting a bit long too).

While I say that I was a part of it, I don't want anyone to think that I'm contradicting what I said about thinking that God needs us to do his will.  I have no delusions about being vital to God's plan in Cambodia or as part of the team.  There's so much evidence of God's work in Cambodia already that there's no way that I could think that I was needed to further any of it and I honestly do not think that the team would've been any worse for the wear if I had not been a part of the team.  Sure being the sixth member made it easy to split the team into three pairs for rooms, field work, and teaching, but I'm pretty sure they'd have been able to get by.

Anyways, I just wanted to write a little(?) about what I had learned during our stay in Cambodia (also Amy keeps on asking if we'll keep blogging after the trip).  So for those who are wondering if they want to go on any future trips, I sincerely hope that if possible, you'll be willing to go and be a part of our church's journey in our partnership with Nathan, Priscilla and World Relief as it really was an amazing experience for me.

My Story: World Relief Kampong Cham

This is a sample I shared with my class (advanced) on what our goals are for teaching english and photography. The goal for them is to make something similar showing: where, when, why, who, and what; we want them to share their story so that we can pray for them. We are trying to make the english sentences as simple as possible. They are very excited at learning, its a blessing to teach them.

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My name is Vermont Lasmarias. In June, I visited World Relief Kampong Cham.

They provided us very nice hosts. Tiang Sa and her family made Yen and I feel at home in Kampong Cham.

At the start of each morning and afternoon in the World Relief office, they worship God. It is beautiful to see. God is at work.

They prepare lessons for the community in Kampong Cham province.

For teenagers, they are teaching about “Good families”. A good family does not have violence. They treat each other with respect.

They go very far in the province to teach because they love their province. The bike ride is 40 minutes long.

They teach the teenagers to draw what a family looks like and to act it out too.

For children, they teach them about dengue life cycle with drawings, acting, and puppets! Humans, mosquitos, and flies are all part of the disease spreading process.

My church is in Kampong Cham to teach English. My class is very good at learning English and Sherry is great at teaching it!

Sokung shared that a cell group reaches out and prays for people with HIV. Before, the people were scared of HIV people. Now, they embrace and love those with HIV thanks to Jesus.

I am teaching Photography and my class learns very fast! I am very impressed.

Our goal for every student is to take photos and to share their stories about World Relief Kampong Cham. Just like this!

We want them to share their story so that everyone can pray for Cambodia. Please pray for them to learn how to share their story. They love God. They love their people. Pray for their outreach to save lives in Cambodia.

"Sick thoughts"

Thank you for all of your prayers while our team has been here! The last few days have been pretty rough for me, but I am now recovering ... I think. I've been having gastroenteritis (the misnomer is the stomach flu … I've had a whole day alone in a guesthouse by myself too weak to do much but lay in bed). Since I spent so much time in bed, I had a lot of time to pray for the team as they were out in the field and teaching for the first day.

I was asking God why He had me come to Cambodia if I was going to be sick and unable to teach, especially leaving Vermont, my teaching buddy, by himself on the first day. I didn't have an answer. Nathan suggested that maybe God called me here because God is just pleased that I’m here. I agree that being obedient pleases God. Maybe it’s to show the power of prayer, as I felt so much better after a few days because of your prayers. Maybe it’s for me to remember that I often draw closer to God with people and He wanted to show me how to do that alone. Then I remembered during prophetic worship at Blazing Fire Church months ago that I had the vision of being in the shoes of a prostitute in Cambodia needing to hear that God still found her precious, loved her, valued her, and called her daughter. My week last week spent with all the organizations and ministries targeting anti-human trafficking allowed me to come face to face with many former prostitutes and current prostitutes and I tried to pray for each of them.

I think God showed me several reasons and as I reflect more, I think I’ll realize even more.

Of course, the thought did cross my mind about being out of commission, “Really, God!? Again?” (Referring to my first GrX Cambodia trip in 2007 when I sprained my ankle). Even Nathan asked if every time I came back to Cambodia, something bad happened to my health. (For the record, no, I was fine in 2008 and 2009). But at least I had an “again” to think about. Since my first trip here, God has really been growing the seed He had planted in me for my heart for Cambodia, for the marginalized, and answering the question: What do I do about it now that I’m home? Regarding my spiritual walk, each time that I've returned, God has personally spoken to me about my Walk with Him. I once learned that if we’re not moving forward in our spiritual walk, we’re moving backward. There’s no stagnant place. All of my missions trips have rocketed me forward with my relationship with God, but it’s up to me when I return home to use what I learn to share with others, to spark interest in others about what I’v learned and to hopefully join together so that it’s not as difficult by myself. That’s how Steep, the small group, was birthed! God has revealed more of Himself to me not because He wasn't trying to this whole time, but because I had the eyes to see.

God also wants us to see His work as a whole picture. Since my first trip here six years ago, I've gotten to see the drastic change that God has been doing here. One anti-human trafficking NGO we visited, Daughters of Cambodia, didn't start until 2007, the first year we had our Cambodia trip. Now, it’s grown into a well-known, healthy and holistic NGO. Last Friday, we visited World Relief in Phnom Penh. Yen shared about his experience worshiping in Khmer with the staff. When they prayed for us, I got the vision of a flower blossoming from an aerial view, maybe how God sees Cambodia turning into the redeemed country that He intends for it to be. 

Hospitality and Simplicity

(I can't believe I have 3G access here)

For the next few nights, the team is separated into pairs and staying at different staff homes throughout the town/village. Couple of thoughts so far after the first night....

 First, hospitality is serious business here. There is a joy in "successful" hospitality that resonates with my Chinese culture. Alex and I can see the relief and joy in our host's eyes as we ask for seconds during dinner. They have gone above and beyond in making sure we feel as comfortable as possible and it's hard not to be humbled and moved in response. In many ways, it makes me think about how we approach hospitality back home, or even in our small groups. Our hosts have little to give but their love for God, and us, is hard to mistake through their simple offerings. It's not just the food but how they go out of their way for our benefit, like waking up at 4am so I could use the restroom outside because my fear of dogs. Yes, that really happened. It's not too different from our small groups or Sunday mornings at GrX, where we put out snacks and coffee before service begins, where the power of hospitality is not in the coffee (yes, we are aware that the Sunday coffee leaves much to be desired)... it's us, the hosts.
My second thought: simplicity is refreshing to the soul of those with a cluttered life, namely me. There is a simplicity of life here that is void of numbing busyness, cynicism, and #yolo culture/jokes back home. Don't get me wrong... people are busy here. They wake up 4am to start the day. The husband cleans up the house, does laundry (by hand), while the wife prepares breakfast. They then drive off to setup their "shop" at 5:30am, selling rice and chicken from a trolley of sorts. They work hard here. They also never talk about how busy they are. They just own it and live their life with obedience and faith. I would like to think that busyness is relative because the truth is... I enjoy talking about how busy I am. As I lay here, 4:30am under my mosquito net and listen to the roosters wake up the neighborhood, I also can't help but wonder if what comes out of my mouth ends up affecting my character and soul more than I am aware of. For once, I am not feeling busy. I feel content.
-Victor
Picture is a panaramic of our living space.
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Day 5: Workout, Missionary Care, Superman, and Prayer Walk

Prayer request:

• Victor's ankle is killing him. Please pray for quick healing.
• Sherry is starting to get under the weather, please pray for healing.
• Candace's sinus to not affect her
• Yen's arms are really sore so please pray that he heals quickly
• Vermont has been coughing a lot lately (pollution? hope it's not tuberculosis). Please pray for it to subside.

Today was a really good day. At 6 AM, Sherry, Yen, and Vermont went to the rooftop to workout. Soon after, Victor popped up and was surprised that we were there. He did his own intense workout. Meanwhile, Alex was running up and down the stairs. Candace really needed her rest to withstand the long day today so she rested up.

At 8AM, we ate breakfast as a group and Sherry led devotions (Phil 2:14-15) where we reflected on where we struggled so far in the trip and how to be light to the world. After that, we split into groups where one group went to the Russian Market, another group to go purse shopping, and another group rested up.

The main focus today was to support our missionaries, Nathan and Priscilla. So Victor bought lunch from the Russian Market and we feasted at Nathan and Priscilla's house. We wanted to do whatever we could to care for them. Nathan really wanted to play Settlers of Cattan but unfortunately we ran out of time and had to go out and watch Superman (3d!) while we treated Priscilla to the spa. Honestly, after spending time with them for the very first time the last few days, to see the sacrifices they've made, the mercy and obedience they do to serve the Lord, and their faithfulness to God's call, this is the least we can do. They truly love God and live and breath His mission, 100%, every single day, every hour, minute, and second.

Superman was good. We had bubble tea while we watched the movie. The action was amazing, very much like Dragon Ball Z, Android 17 and 18, and Cell. The storyline and acting left much to be desired, but it was still the best Superman in recent memory. After the movie, we went back to our hotels and rested before dinner.

We went to a French restaurant for dinner and had great fellowship. Nathan spoke about MST: basically a bi-monthly prayer walk/mission in red light districts in Phnom Penh. They pray as they walk around town, they approach people in groups of 2-3, and start conversation. They do what they feel God calling them to do, for example, if someone praying says God told them to speak to someone in a red hat, they do that. Really, the goal and measure of success is to do what God tells them to do that evening. While the groups go out and about, another group prays for the entire evening, wherever God leads their hearts to pray. A sample success story is where they spoke to a person and after an hour conversation, the foreigner decided to go home rather than seek out intimate companionship.

One of the important points Nathan wanted us to realize is that every "John" has a backstory. His reasons are sinful as our reasons when we disobey. One sin is not greater than another. It is important to not judge, and to see these people as creations of God and need God just as much as we do. This was hard to do when we later went to to the red light districts to experience it ourselves.

Before we delve into that experience, we asked Nathan and Priscilla what they felt was their greatest sacrifice being missionaries. Nathan responded, "God desires mercy, not sacrifice." He said that they haven't really sacrificed anything, just some parts uncomfortable here and there. Priscilla agreed and said that it is their honor to serve God.. I would have expected some mention of salary, living conditions, etc, but to them, these pale in comparison to their genuine desire to see God's kingdom grow and their faithfulness to serve the Cambodian people. For me personally, there are plenty of "distractions" to steer me away from this type of passioe towards God: career, being busy, etc; in reality these distractions are deeply engrained idols needing to be torn down. To see Nathan and Priscilla cast these asides to follow our Creator deeply inspires me to do better.

After a great dinner and dessert, Nathan again put us first and spent the next hour doing a prayer walk in the red light district. For all of us, this was the first time, so it was great to see what we heard and learned about in action. He took us to three places: imagine Santana Row with only 8-12 shops on either side. The first place was meant for foreigners. Practically every girl on that block was a working girl. We were quickly angry at these foreigners but we also remembered Nathan's earlier lesson to not judge these individuals. We also prayed that these foreigners go home alone rather than with a working girl. For the second location, it was meant for Cambodians and we prayed for the girls there to find their beauty in Christ rather than in physical. Finally we went to a location that was a mall like atmosphere, but girls approach men in hopes of servicing them. We prayed for the children there (age 3-5) who begged, as this type of lifestyle will be normal in their eyes having seen it from such a young age. This cycle needs to stop.

After that, we went back to our hotel in thankful spirits for the experiences we were blessed with today, the inspiration received from such wonderful missionary partners, and being able to experience a prayer walk and to feel God's work in a place of darkness.

Day 4: World Relief and Tears of Joy

Today was a bit special for me as we got to visit the World Relief staff in Phnom Penh for the first time and this occurred smack dab in the middle of their morning worship. Prior to this moment, my emotions were more or less off partly due to jet lag, reading ahead about Cambodia's painful history, and the sheer quantity of knowledge that was being shared to our team during our NGO visits. Somehow when we entered worship, everything about why we're having a missions trip in Cambodia and partnering with World Relief and Nathan/Priscilla became very real for me.

Although I had absolutely no idea what the staff was singing nor what the pastor (?) was preaching, once everyone started singing together in Cambodian AND English from Candace/Sherry, I truly felt like this place was a holy place filled with the love of God. There was so much passion for God in the room that I found myself tearing up a bit. Nathan introduced us to the staff and they told us to stand in a circle in the center so they can pray for us. As the staff simultaneously prayed over us, I again had no idea what they were saying, but then I realized they probably prayed the same prayers that we might pray - For God's love, strength, justice, grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, and joy to shine through in the faith and the work we accomplish over the next few days. I teared up again (whoops!)

Nathan then shared with us some of World Relief's values, which can be seen below - they're awesome!

Nathan gave us a presentation on how World Relief Cambodia works with local children, teens, and parents to educate and empower the local community via daycare, sex education/prevention, financial management, and more.

While Vermont & Alex were helping the IT guy downstairs, Candace, Sherry, and I tested and inventoried a bunch of cameras; I can safely say that we all have a greater appreciation for Inventory Management now haha.

We had probably 3 times this amount toward the end...

We had lunch at Daughters of Cambodia's lunch spot, Sugar & Spice and got a chance to worship in their prayer room (look at Victor's post). After relaxing (30 mins of swimming & 80 burpees in 6.5 mins in 85+ degree/humid weather), we had dinner at this awesome Indian restaurant with Nathan, Priscilla, Simon, and Jane and the food was AWESOME!

Finally, we dropped off at a sports bar to watch a rerun of the 4th quarter of the NBA finals lol (note huge screen & Candace lol)

Worship and Mission

@ Daughter's of Cambodia: House of Prayer

Being reminded that worship and prayer always makes more sense within the context of mission.

Praying that this may also be the case for us back in Union City.

- Victor



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Location:Street 430,Phnom Penh,Cambodia