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.