Does God speak today?

The title of this blog was for some years ago a topic of discussion. Does God speak today and if so, how, when and to whom are just a few of the questions which immediately spring to mind.

I believe he does and I also believe he speaks to people in as may ways as our minds can think of, pluss some more. I will give you an example:

Some time before I left to come to Cambodia I was praying for and about this country and I felt that I should buy 5 + 1 bibles in the Khmer language. There were no flashing lights or big booming voice, nothing like that just a feeling that I should do it. I tend to act on these feelings because past experience has shown me time and again that this is usually the voice of my Heavenly Father. I know it sounds wierd but read on and see.

Next, I thought where in the whole of Norway would I get a total of six bibles, preferably new ones, in Khmer. Norway has many many more products in the shops compared to when we first arrived here over 25 years ago but still, Khmer bibles? I thought that if I was being asked to get them, well a bit of common sense ought to show me how. I rang the Bible Society in Oslo and spoke to a very friendly man. I explained what I wanted and then held my breath. "Yes, we have them in stock, how many would you like?" I needed to quickly recover myself, tell him I thought I needed six, and give hime the church address to send them to. What could have been a long chase with no luck turned out in the end to be a five minute job as though it was something I did every day.

Ok, so I now have my bible pluss these six pluss half a suitcase of other things I was taking to give away. There was just room to cram in a few clothes for myself. It's a good job I had 30kg hold luggage allowance pluss 7kg hand baggage. The problem which immediately showed itself was that I couldn't actually lift my suitcase! It's a good job it had wheels and I did not need to see it again until I arrived. If God had whispered to me about bringing these bibles I said that he must also show me who to give them to. I had been told to get 5 + 1 bibles so I assumed that someone was to have one and someone else the other five.

I carried them with me throughout the first week but there were no obvious recipeints. At the end of the first week I shared with Steve and the team the reason that my suitcase nearly dislocated the arm of anyone who tried to lift it. They did not know of anyone who they might be meant for. I transferred them into my backpack which meant I had them with me all the time during the second week. Also my suitcase was decidedly lighter as all the other things I brought to give away had been passed on by then.

On the penultimate day of our time in the provinces we knew who to give the one to. It happened like this: The church leaders were gathered when we arrived at 8am and we got straight doen to it before the temperature began to soar. Both Steve and I are practiced in "reading" a congregation and we were reading the gatherings all the time and listening to hear if God was pointing anyone out to us. Both Steve and I honed in on certain individuals and it was great to chat and see that they were the same people each time. Except this time I had also been drawn to a little girl in a green velvet top. Throughout the day she was listening to the teaching and taking part in the activities. We found out later that she was nine years old. I pointed her out to Steve and he immediately saw what I meant. There was something special about her but we could not pin down what it was. We believe that God by his Spirit had pointed her out to us. Nobody else noticed her.

Towards the end of the final part of the day Steve turned to me and asked if I had a prophecy or word for her. I sat and thought about it for a while, sent an arrow prayer up and tried to listen for an answer. It came, not A WORD Tracy, THE WORD. I was to give her the word of God, a bible. We stopped them at the end and with the help of our translator (see previous post) explained about the bible and that I would like to give her one of them. We also said that we believed God had seen her and had a special future planned for her. Her Mum was pleased but speachless for a while. The little one could not stop grinning!

Although there is compulsory education here there is nobody to enforce it so it is in real terms up to the family whether they send there children to school. There is a lot more to say about schooling in Cambodia, especially in the provinces but here is not the place. There was no certainty that she could even read not least because she had not been to school that day, she had been with us. Did she go to school even... when we asked, yes she could read.

Here she is with her bible. Was it all in my mind or was it listening to the whispers of God the Holy Spirit? You decide.

What about the other 5 bibles? Well, you'll have to ask me when you see me!

Translaters

Our trip would have been very much the poorer and our teaching impossible if it were not for the translator. Chakreya is employed bt Normisjon to translate during the team trips. She is also an English teacher and has started a church due to the number of her students that were coming to faith.

When she translates for us what is being said in Khmer it is really easy to understand her. She is one of the best English speakers I have met here. She has also simultaneously translated all the teaching we have done. No mean feat! There have been three sessions each lasting a couple of hours per day.

Those of you who have ever tried simultaneous translation will know it is not as easy as it looks. Either you have to translate while the speaker is speaking and speak the translation at the same time as listening to what is being said so you can translate the next part. I promise you, it is enough to get you brain in a muddle. Or the speaker says a sentance or two then stops and waits for the translation to be given. This is what we have used in the teaching. Chakreya is such an excellent translator because she not only translates the words, she also translates what is being said in terms that are culturally appropriate, ie. she translates the meaning.


If you are lost, think about it like this, if I translate 17th May from norwegian to english, I translate what is being said, a date. All the meaning and cultural understanding gets lost. Or if I translate Remembrance day into norwegian, just translating the words looses the meaning in british culture.

Steve says when she translates his sermons his preaching just gets better. That is because she is apssionate about the topic, faith and Jesus and she conveys it.

Chakreya also notices when the people have glazed over and are struggling to concentrate. She then pops in a game mid-teaching. Cambodians love playing games! After the game which might only last a minute or two, we carry on where we left off. As I say, we would struggle to do this without such excellent translators as her.

Playing a game mid-session.

Dara has also translated quite a bit last week. He is studying a masters degree in Vietnam but has spent his college holiday working for the teams in lots of different ways. Another fantastic person we would struggle to be without.

Dara in action.















Sithuon has coordinated the trip and been responsible for it all running smoothly. He to is an amazing person who as well as being employed by Normisjon full-tme, leads a student church. He has seen lots of them become Christians in the past couple of years.



There is now a better internet connection and so I have been able to add a couple of pictures to the previous two posts.

An even busier day!

We  started the day at 7am when we headed to do the Agenda 1 taster. There were about 15 churches interested in knowing more about how it works and what Agenda 1 is, altogether there were about 80 people in the church, mostly pastors and leaders from other churches in the province. Some had travelled as far as 60km to be there today. As well as lunch we shared a traditional snack of rice starch steamed in a banana leaf.

Some of  the pastors.

We presented the Agenda 1 concept in as manageable language as possible so people would be able to understand. We also gave then a taste of the Method and Tools Agenda 1 uses. The people were from lots of different denominations and did not know each other from before. The atmosphere was one of expectation and interest and they remained interested throughout the next 6 hours. It would seem there are lots of churches wanting to be part of this process.

We then set out on a 6 hour Journey to the guest house in Chhuk which is the province we will be holding a taster day tomorrow (Tuesday). It is very comfortable and clean with a big double bed and en-suite bathroom (to say bathroom is a bit of a stretch).

The journey down to here meant we drove, or should I say bounced as the road is so bad, past an enormous lake. The sun was a ball of deep red fire as it set over the water. There were small fishing boats and individuals hoping to catch their evening meal. The reason for the bumping was the standard of the road. It was a main trunk road to and from the capital but it was so bumpy that I was regularly leaving my seat behind as I bounced along! Even the heavy suitcases were bouncing. We had a couple of toilet stops on the journey and for those of you who have been to Cambodia, you will know what I mean when I say the toilets had to be seen to be believed. I was very glad of the anti-bac!

We skirted round the outskirts of east of Phnom Penh at 6pm as the factory workers were finishing for the day. Workers in factories here have an eleven hour day, 7am-6pm which means they are never home in daylight. They are transported to work standing on the back of an open-topped truck. Some trucks were so over-loaded that the tail-gate was left open for people to stand on. There were hundreds of people loaded like animals onto these trucks. On the one hand we might with our western view think it is terrible but at leats these people have jobs and an Income.

We ate our evening meal in a street cafe, marinated beef which we barbequed outselves on a small barbeque which was brought to the table as well as noodles and vegetables. It was very tasty and I would happily have that meal another time too.

A busy day

The day started with a lovely breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, fresh french bread and butter, freshly squeezed orange juice and darjeeling tea. We then left for church in a tuctuc, 3 suitcases, 3 backpacks and 3 adults made for a bit of a squash but we made it safely.

Steve preached at the service and I shared a bible text. Rom 5:1 and my point was that when we are God’s children we are adopted into his family. When things are going well we feel secure as His child however when something doesn’t go well or we do something daft, we do not cease to be His child. In the same way that we would not cease to be the child of our earthly father just because we misbehaved. We have the same right as any child to come their father, say sorry, receive forgiveness and start again.

After church we set off across the city to an island in the middle of the Mekong river and a lovely restaurant. We ate a tasty lunch with a fantastic view of the river and another island on one side and the city of Phnom Penh on the skyline opposite. We then drover a further 2 hours north east and are now in province north east of Phnom Penh not far from the Vietnamese border. 

The Capital from the roof-top restrauant.

 

We are staying at a guest house near where we will be doing the Agenda 1 taster days. Before heading to the restaurant I watched the blood-red sun slip down behind miles of rice paddies. We had another great meal in a street café, I really do love Khmer food, it seems to have the right balance of spice and mild flavours. Now to sleep in the guest house, I have a clean room with a fan above the 2 double beds to keep me cool. I can hear grasshoppers and other insects outside my window and I am watching a lizard of some sort eating flies and mosquitoes off the bedroom wall.

Good stuff in Cambodia which is run by christian organizations or organizations based of Christian values.

Being back in PhnomPenh has meant I was able to meet up with Ådne Berge who is a member of my congregation in Norkirken Sandnes. He is down here with two others for a week with Viator Microcredit of which he is the manager. Viator does some fantastic stuff at grass root level in countries such as Azerbaijan. See their film clip here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nliEvsVdhQA  Here is a link to Erik's blog which talks about him, Dag og Ådne's trip here this week. To my English speaking friends, sorry, you will have to use google translate. http://investeringsnettverket.tumblr.com/ 

We talked until almost midnight about the exciting things he is involved with, both here in Cambodia and in other developing countries and about the past week and what I have been doing. We arranged to have breakfast together with the rest of his team and Steve in a french restraunt the following morning. After breakfast, which lasted a couple of hours because we were talking so much, we headed to Three Corner Coffee Company's office accross town. This is a fantastic project employing and bettering the life of girls and women previously involved in the sex industry here in Cambodia. Have a look at their website, there is pleanty of interesting information there: http://threecornercoffee.com/  I bought some coffee for Tim.

Next stop was lunch at Daughters of Cambodia, who are also helping women previously involved in the sex industry. Take a look at their website here: http://daughtersofcambodia.org/  I had a chicken caesar wrap which was very tasty! The sex industry is a sad side effect of the tourist industry, tourism is important for the economy but sadly not all tourists behave appropriately. I will be back there again before I leave Cambodia.

The prayer and more.

Today has been an exciting one, It is today that we get the best idea as to whether the people have understood the teaching and caught the vision for what it can mean for their church and local community.

We began every session (3 per day) with outstanding worship led by the students from the Normisjon dormitory pluss others. Something I don't often see in my church are elderly people bopping and dancing to the latest Christian song, as worship is loudly led by a very good and enthusiastic drummer, bass guitarist, accoustic guitar, keyboard and african drums. There were also up to 12 teenagers leading the worship. It was alive, vibrant and moving. Some of the songs we knew from English but by no means all of them, it didn't matter.

There was a lot of time allocated to group work today. When everyone had made plans for their church for the next six months it was time to present their ideas and vision to the other churches. This always takes some time so we divided into two groups in two seperate rooms. There will be another Agenda1 for these same leaders in six months time. The first session will then be self-assessment of what they planned and how it went. What are the successes and what are/were the challenges?

I have had to wear a "tag" so that people knew I was a member of the conference, this was especially important at meal times otherwise I risked not getting anything to eat! Those of you who have ever been with me to an event where we wear name labels will know that I HATE them. I was however happy to wear this one because I thought it was rather fun, my name was written in Khmer - how cool is that!

Talking of food, I generally like Khmer food but there was a couple of dishes which I passed over. One of them, chicken with ginger and noodles sounded very nice, I am fond of both chicken and ginger. It wasn't until it was passed to me that I realized that the chicken was chicken feet. So there I was with a problem, having been passed the plate to help myself I thought it would be too rude to say I had changed my mind but could not imagine eating the scaly toes of a chicken, whatever the sauce tasted like! My solution? I just took noodles and hoped nobody noticed.

Mealtime

During the worship both yesterday and today the sense of the presence of God was really powerful. I do not have prophet as my main area of gifting but sometimes, especially when singing and worshipping I feel Him telling me stuff. There was no exception yesterday when He showed me His plan for Agenda 1 and today he reminded me of His promises for the persecuted and the poor (Rev 7:9-end).

At the end of the conference each group is prayed for with the laying on of hands. In the west we pray for one another in turn and quietly. Not so in Cambodia! Here there is a huge enthusiasm to pray and to be prayed for. Everyone prays loudly and at once and these are by no means short prayers! As each group is prayed for, if anyone has as prophecy or word of knowledge they can write it down for the group to take home with them. There were lots and lots! Prayer like worship in Cambodia is authentic, active and loud. This picture does not do it justice but might give you an idea. I would love Norkirken's prayer ministry team to have been here today. Another time maybe?

Now I am back at the Goldiana Hotel in the centre of the city. There is internet and a swimming pool! Although I will be out and about doing stuff over the next couple of days, I will be staying here until Monday morning.

Helping to develop direction and a missional mindset

The conference is being held in a church. All the meals and the accommodation are in the church. I have a very comfortable room and all the rooms we are using, including the bedrooms have air conditioning, a pleasant surprise.

The Church is not built on a hill, I am holding my camera wonky and have no idea how to correct the problem digitally!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was no internet at the Church but there was electricity, something which I learned on my last trip, not to take for granted! I have teken a picture of the powerlines to give you an idea of the standard.

 

 

There are 2 of us here from Norway for the Agenda 1 Conference as well as the Cambodian team. Steve Bruns and I. Here's a picture of Steve thinking during one of the breaks.

He has done an excellent job of making the Agenda 1 concept accessible to the Cambodian people who have varying levels of education. We have both been bending our minds about how to convey a thaught or concept pictorally. Between us we have come up with some very good and easy to understand ideas. At least, easy to understand if you are following the teaching. Here is an example:

Can you guess what it is illustrating?








The teaching is not all about sitting on chairs listening. We have many different churches from different places and different denominations represented here. That is the genius of the Agenda concept! It is equally relevant to all, it is cross-denominational and cross-cultural. It was also really great to see the unity of the churches as they worked, worshipped and lived together for three days.

Although there are lots of people, the leaders from each church work together in their group looking how their plans made last time have gone, applying the teaching, dreaming big dreams and then coming back to reality and making concrete plans as to what they want to implement in their church, how they are going to go about it and who will be responsible. Here is a picture of the groups at work:

Notice how young the leaders are!

The conference begins

After a very nice breakfast of freshly made omelett and toast with tea to drink we left the hotel by tuctuc. Travelling on the roads in the city always feels chaotic and uncontrolled and today was no exception. There were people, bikes, mopeds, tuctucs cars and lorries, all going in different directions - usually at the same time. The ride took about 30 minutes and took us to a part of town I have not been to before. There is also here the usual mix of affluence and abject poverty co-existing and clear for all to see. There is so much poverty here that it is not possible to hide it away or legislate against it was we do in the west.

 

 

 

There are over a hundred church leaders gathered for three days of teaching, discussion and planning. As with all gatherings of Christians, the day began with some excellent worship led by students from the dormitory which Normisjon runs here in the capital.

 

 

The church leaders who are gathered reflect the society in general here with the majority being young. The country still struggles With the after-effects of the Khmer Rouge genocide. T he four years they were in power during the 1970’s saw almost a whole generation wiped in those few years.

 

 

The lunch was very tasty, traditional Khmer cuisine eaten outside in the shade. In conversation with one of the pastors he shared with me that one of the problems he faces in his area is the ever present threat of starvation. This is not a real problem for most of us church leaders in the west. The church in the west is in danger of over-eating both spiritually and literally while the churches in countries like Cambodia is hunger both spiritually and literally.

 

The theme of these next three days is discipleship. What was a disciple in Jesus’ day and what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus today? I shared with the conference that a disciple is not what you do but who you are. Whether we are aware of it or not we are all followers of something or someone. Being a Christian is about who you choose to follow. You can’t follow someone unless you are going the same way as them. It is easy to see that we cannot follow Jesus and at the same time go our own way. I touched on the truth that following Jesus is a way of being, it’s who we are. I will be going deeper into it in a teaching session this evening (using Matt 4. 18-22). We are both disciples and leaders at the same time. Jesus sent us into the world as his disciples but with a mandate to amongst other things, make disciples (see Matt 28. 16-20). Who are you following and who’s following you?

Sights and smells

I have arrived safely in Cambodia, just waiting for the other person I am working with, Steve, to arrive on a flight later today, The journey was a little long but went very well. I left a cold Sola airport in Stavanger at 7am headed for Frankfurt. After that was a lunch time flight from Frankfurt to Singapore. It was a 12 hour flight which made my arrival time midnight European time but 6am here. Lost a night somewhere on the journey!

Landed safely in Singapore, found my way to a different terminal by sky train and onto the flight in time.






 

 

It was so nice to be met at the airport and to see old friends again. I have spent some time by the pool, then into the nearby shops to locate factor 50 suncream. Not so necessary in the city but this evening we, the leaders are sharing a meal and having a planning/strategy meeting. After that I have no idea when I might get time for shopping before the last day! I will definitely need the suncream.

 

Travel in the city is either by private car, Bicycle, moped or tuctuc. Tuctucs are everywhere and the drivers are all willing to take you anywhere you want to og.

These are an inexpensive and reasonably safe way of getting around the city. It is helpful if your tuctuc driver speaks a bit of English, mine didn't! No problem though, he got out his map of the city so I could point to where I wanted to og to, but the map was written in Khmer! Still no problem, we just stopped a passing padestrian who happily translated for us.

It is almost three years since I was here last but I still remember the sights, whole families and shopping crammed onto a moped. Nor are the smells forgotten, the smell of oyster sauce, quite pleasant in small quantities is really overpowering when the streets are full of street vendors selling take-away food. The combination of that and the usual city pollution and grime means that Phnom Penh is not easily forgotten.

Tomorrow we head into the suburbs for the start of the conference I will be helping to lead. There will be lots of Church leaders from all over the country and various denominations gathered for a week of inspiration and teaching. Very exciting!