Tobung Khmum day 2

After a full eight hours of sleep we felt refreshed and ready to meet whatever the day may bring. Thank you to the 37 people on the prayer list who prayed for a good nights sleep for us. Out again by 7am and after a very tasty breakfast of marinated pork with rice and a rather strong chili sauce we headded to the church.

The atmosphere was expectant, we started as a had started day two in Chhuk with teaching and ministry on the topic of how much our Heavenly Father loves us. It was very moving for many people and we hope and pray that many experienced a deep sense of His love either again or for the first time.

There was a break then and snacks for everyone, fruit and/or rice cakes steamed in palm leaves.



Trying a rice snack

Tom Kenneth after biting into  a sour local fruit yesterday

After snack time the churches divided into their groups for the last time and made plans for the coming 6 months.

Ten church groups working together.
 

The groups then chose a group member to come forward and present their pland to the rest of the people. For some this was a huge step out of their comfort zone, especially the women who may have never said anything in a meeting before. After each team presentation, the whole team from each church were prayed for.

I noticed that the children who were there could not get enough prayer ministry and were joining in for more and more - what a joy! I suggested we pray for them all together as well as with their church groups. In this picture it looks like they have been forced up against the wall, that's not really how it happened! We then prayed for the teenagers a second time praying for their future and the role they will have in shaping their country.

Please note all left the wall with their lives intact!

 After lunch, a leader review and some socializing we drove back to Phnom Penh along the border with Vietnam which in places was only 100 metres away. We say lots and lots of rice fields, a rubber plantation and loads of other interesting things to look at including the Mekong river which we crossed by bridge.

Rice not yet ready to harvest

Rubber trees

In Phnom Penh we changed some of the local team members before going out to a pizzaria for a meal and to celebrate Tom Kenneth's birthday.

The birthday cake was bright and colourful with "Happy birthday, may God bless you" written on. At lunch time we had made an improvized cake from green beans and other vegetables. We sang happy birthday to him three times in all today, once when we got up in the morning, once with the vegetable cake and once with the proper cake!

After we'd eaten we carried on to near where we are going to have an Agenda 1 taster day for churches in a province just an hour south of the capital. Agenda 1 involves a big committment on their part as it is twice a year for 2-4 years with follow up during the intervening 6 months. This is something the local churches has asked for and want. They will be expected to put the plans they make into action during the interveening 6 months then to feed back to the other churches how they have got on with it. It will, I'm sure, be an interesting day tomorrow. 

Tbung Khmum

Out of the guest house at 7am and the temperature was already 33 degrees with 57% humidity! We were in for a long and rather hot day. We eventually found the church where the meetings today and tomorrow will be held. The people have already gathered and are waiting. There were two fans for about 80 people, clearly not enough. We started With worship led by musicians on traditional Khmer instruments.

Worship leaders



playing traditional instruments



but I have no idea what they are!

The teaching, discussion groups and presentations got under way.

Group work



Tracy teaching

Steve, Tom Kenneth and I shared the teaching and Chakraya translated for the people. We had two students to translate for us when necessary.



Tom Kenneth teaching



Everyone focussed on what's being said.

By 11am I was struggling, everyone was struggling, even the locals! Thankfully there is pleanty of bottled water, we needed it. Lunchtime came and we had rice and a stew of intestines and vegetables. I think most of us westerners avoided the intestines and ate the rice and the veg.

Large intestine of some unfortunate animal with sauce and other delicacies.

 

We were not long into the afternoon before a tropical storm broke overhead. I have heard about these but never before experienced one.

 

 

As it rained we felt the temperature plummet from 43 degrees to a more manageable level. I cannot tell you what it was as we didn’t measure it after the storm. The day ended with another evaluation and meal of rice and mung bean and meat. There were other things to have with the rice but I chose not to.

One of the people in charge of food preparation by his preparatin area.

 

A meal for over 80 people

lots of pots bubbling merrily




in pots using a wood fire under each for heat

 

The team finished today with a couple of hours of prayer ministry then back in our rather hot bedroom we hope to sleep.

Day 2

We started this morning with worship and prayer. The focus was on how much God loves us and how we cannot do anything that will make him love us more, nor can we do anything to make him love us less. After the worship was a time of quiet prayer, the team moved around the room praying for and laying hands on the people. There was a fantastic sense of the presence of God in the room. and people were visible touched.

After a long time we moved onto the final piece of teaching and then the different churches made the plans which they will impliment over the coming 6 months. There were some dynamic plans to both lead new people into a relationship with the living God or that they would help new believers to grow in their faith. It will be exciting to see what God does through these people between now and the next meeting of Agenda 1. Some of the team swapped with others in Phnom Penh.

 

After lunch and a review with the leaders.

Lunch of rice and...

Offal in a suace

We headed to the next place which has the rather cool name of Tbung Khmum. We were unsure how long the journey would take, it was 6 hours in the end. That is quite long enough in a small mini bus on bumpy and sometime almost non-existent roads. We arrived in time to book into the same guest house we used last February then we immediately headed out to the nearest street cafe for a meal. The food was very tasty but the kitchen and preparation facilities leave something to be desired!



Steve and Chakrya deep in conversation



The cooking facilities. See the fire under the big pot at the back.



Food preparation area!



Sweet and sour chicken bones.

The new team.

Back to the room for the night but sleep was rather elusive probably because the room was well over 30 degrees and there’s no air conditioning. There is a fan which moves the hot air about but that’s of little help.

Teaching day one

At least 80 local church leaders were gathered expectantly this morning for the first of two days of teaching. Most of the 18 churches represented had sent a small team of their main leaders. The day began with worship led by boys from the church children's home whose site we are meeting on, it was all in Khmer but there was one song which I knew from growing up some of you british readers might know it too, "Because he lives." Here it is on you tube for any of you who are curious; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPW9xYEyijQ  

We then moved on to the morning teaching session which was "Our assignment is to make disciples." It is based on the verses from Matthew 28:18-20 The teaching is very visual with lots of descrictive diagrams. The church leaders here vary from trained pastors who have possibly been to theological college to others who are unable to read and write.

Steve teaching with Chekraya translating

We stopped mid-morning for a snack and a half hour break. The snacks were unfamiliar and exciting as usual. I chose deep fried battered banana and a rice doughnut they tasted very gooood!

Snacks Khmer-style

Tom Kenneth agrees, the banana was tasty

The churches worked in their church teames with the different sections that were covered today and gave feedback to the rest of the churches.

Group work



Discussion in church groups
 

It is fantastic to see the topic we are teaching moving fro people's heads to their heats as they understand and see the biblical basis for it. The main thrust of the afternoon teaching was how we serve, what is out motivation for serving God. Too often it is out of a sense of obligation or duty or wanting to make God happy. This is all well and good but that should not be what drives us, it should be the knowledge that we are God's children, adopted into his family and unconditionally loved by him that leads us to want to serve him in all sorts of ways. Otherwise we end up disillusioned, worn out and feel we never are quite good enough. The church in Cambodia is in good company with many churches in europ and else where in needing to have a fresh insight into who we are as children of our Heavenly Father and members of his family "the Church."

Lunch was rice and a variety of tasty meat and vegetable dishes which following the noodle soup we had for breakfast and the morning snacks meant that nobody started the afternoon hungry. After lunch there was an hour to rest in the heat of the day. I used this time to speak to some of the female church leaders. In Cambodia there are as many women leading churches as there are men. Culturally it is easier for me to relate to these women than it is for the men on our team. I took a translator with me and went to meet some ladies. I was privileged to hear fantastic testimonies about all sorts of things including the supernatural and miraculous healings.

A lady sharing her testimony with the rest of the participants.

The afternoon session started with testimony and worship before we jumped back innto the teaching and group work.

This evening we have been to a street cafe again and has another meal of rice and a variety of meat dishes including chicken marinated in coka cola! So now it is time for me to catch some ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

We're here!

We are now safely in Chukk, we will be here for two full days of church leader development known as Agenda 1. We are to be out of the guest house by 7am so we can eat breakfast before the teaching begins at 8am.

Today has been a travelling day flying overnight to Hong Kong we spent a couple of hours waiting for our transfer. Feeling a bit thursty we found an excellent water dispenser which gave sterilized drinking water at the temperature you asked it to, so anything from cold to boiling water was just the touch of a button away.



Water dispenser


The flight to Phnom Penh was only a couple of hours and we were treated to another meal followed by luxury ice cream. Those of us who did not sleep last night are now quite tired! Everything went smoothly in Phnom Penh airport and thankfully all our baggage arrived at the same time as us.

The rest of the team were assembled to welcome us and it was not long before we were driving south out of the city. The traffic chaos, sights, smells and sounds are now familiar but they are at the same time very different from home!

 

 

When we arrived at Chukk we went straight to a street cafe and ordered dinner. They brought out marinated beef, vegetables, noodles and soup. The beef and vegetables were cooked at our table on a table-top bbq grill sort of thing. Not sure how to describe it so here's a picture:

We are now in our rooms, mine is lovely and has air conditioning so it won't be too hot. Provided I can sleep through the rattle of the machine of course. There is a spectacular thunder and lightning show going on outside the window, we have arrived just at the end of the rainy season. Now to test out the bed...

Almost there

We have made it safely to Hong Kong and are waiting for our connecting flight to Phnom Penh. Yesterday we had breakfast in Norway, lunch in London and dinner somewhere over Lithuania and breakfast this morning over China! The overnight flight went smoothly and was on time. Some of us slept better than others however so it will be good to sleep in a bed rather than a chair tonight.

Dinner in a London pub

The final part of our journey is a flight of 2 hours 40 min to Cambodia where we will be collected by the rest of the team and driven by mini bus to Chukk. The final leg of the journey taking about two hours depending on traffic around the city centre. We will have the same minibus and driver for the whole trip. Cambodia is 6 hours aheas of Norway and 5 hours ahead of the UK.

Teaching preparation, the same book in two different languages.

We will spend tonight in a small privately owned guest house and I assume we will go out to a street café for a meal before turning in for the night. Our first teaching session starts at eight o'clock tomorrow morning (2am in Norway), a time when many of you will still be in bed!

Getting ready for another trip

I am getting ready for another trip to Cambodia. This time with a small team from Norkirken and Steve Bruns (Imi Church) who will meet us there. I will be travelling with and working with Tom Kenneth Ravnås and Anne Kate Usken and I am very much looking forward to it.

Steve

Tom Kenneth

Anne Kate

We will be visiting Tbung Khmum province which is towards the boarder with Vietnam and Chhuk province which is south of the capital Phnom Penh. I was at both places doing taster days when I was last there in February. It will be nice to go back to both places and see some of the same people again.

 



Sithuon

Chakreya

There are also three other people I am looking forward to seeing when I arrive. Members of Normisjons local team, Sithuon, Lysom and Chakreya. They will, along with Steve, be at the airport when we arrive and we will travel in private minibus directly to the first province.





Anne Kate has been to Kambodia twice before although she is not so heavily involved in the leadership training we are giving to the local churches. Her role on the team will be prayer ministry and general information and support. Tom Kenneth has not been to Cambodia before but he and I have been involved with the leadership training for some years.