by Katherine Parker
One visitor to Phnom Penh described it as a giant box store, because shops for certain items seem to be clustered in districts rather that spread out over the whole city. If I want to buy a sewing machine, I go to street 210; new shock absorbers for a motorcycle are at the corner of street 144. The business model seems to be “if my neighbor has a good business I should open an identical one.” When CHAD first started implementing development projects in Cambodia, this same principle seemed to apply. Everyone caught the idea that cow groups were a great project, and now we have 33 groups raising cows!
Two years after CHAD got started, the Methodist Church in Cambodia started a huge process of merging together the many members of our Methodist family into one church, and we started working with more pastors, many who were new to the ideas of church-based community development. We continued on, but took a few steps back in terms of leadership development as the CHAD program staff took on more of the responsibility of receiving project proposals and approving funding. But this was never our desire.
Last year, Ken Cruz (missionary from The Philippines) took over the chairmanship of the SCC committee and started the process of empowering the pastor representatives from all the Methodist districts that make up the SCC to make decisions for which projects will get new funding from the CHAD program. Initially, we were faced with the problem that most of the members of the SCC didn’t have a framework for making decisions about what makes a good development project. We offered opportunities for dialogue and challenged the group by prompting them with questions they should ask about a proposal. We also supported several pastors (under the initiative of Pastor Saron) and lay leaders to attend training on community development with our partner ICC-SPPA (International Cooperation Cambodia – Skills Promotion for Poverty Alleviation). And, then the big day came for reviewing the project proposals and allocating the funds that had been donated by our partner churches in the USA, Finland and Japan.
What was the impact of this year of training?
Ken reflected on the changes he saw in Pastor Saron and other SCC members. “A highlight has been the transformation of the SCC members into the owners of the process. This is demonstrated by their improved understanding of the process.
“I think one impact of the ICC-SPPA training that Pastor Saron and others attended is that they increased their understanding of development philosophy, such that they can have better judgment about what kind of project deserves to get support from CHAD. They can also deliberate more intelligently and make an informed decision to determine how much and what kind of funds they will approve. Pastor Saron encouraged the group to think about how the proposal dealt with community participation in the project. How many people would this impact? Did it reach out beyond just the church members? Was the project transparent to the larger community? He also challenged the group to think about the responsibility of the church to contribute. Did all of the funds need to come from CHAD? What was the group ownership in the project as demonstrated by the group's contribution? He also challenged the group to assess the management capacity of the group? Were there structures in place to handle the proposed project? Did the group have the ability to follow through with the project?
Up until now it had been the CHAD staff that raised these concepts of development and encouraged the SCC members to deliberate on them. But, at this meeting, it was Pastors Sarun and Phalla who were raising the issues and challenging their fellow pastors. It is not a fast process, but the signs of transformation are all around us as the Methodist Mission in Cambodia works to develop principled Christian leaders for the church and the world.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
A Small Miracle
from Martha Parker, Individual Volunteer in Mission
I don't know how this really happened. I only know that when I prayed with a young girl in Cambodia, the prayer was answered. I would like to tell the story from my point of view.
My daughter Katherine Parker is a missionary in Cambodia working to improve the lives of the poor. I am a community health nurse in California, serving the elementary schools of Mill Valley, my home community. The schools have a long break during the summer and I volunteered through the UMVIM program of our church ("United Methodist Volunteers in Mission"). I raised money for my expenses and to provide funds to carry out the work of the CHAD program within which Katherine works. "CHAD" stands for community health and agricultural development.
While in Cambodia, Katherine and I visited a newly formed congregation in rural Kompong Chhang province. At the end of the Sunday worship service, the pastor told us that one of the families that was present that day had lost all hope of finding help for a 12-year-old daughter who had a heart that was not healthy. The mother said she had been to many doctors in Phnom Penh and that the girl needed to have surgery, but the family had used up all its money. In fact, she said she had sold all her land to try to get help for her daughter. She said her husband had deserted her and that she and her three children were destitute.
What I had learned from Irene Mparutsa, the nurse with the CHAD program, was that the government hospital in Phnom Penh would care for the very poor if they had documentation from their village chiefs. I also knew that CHAD had pastors who were trained to assist families with the process of going through this system. I asked the mother if we could pray about this, and the congregation and the family prayed together. I asked the mother to prepare her documentation and gather what she needed and that we would contact her. Then, I talked directly to the young girl through an interpreter. The girl said she wanted her heart to be healed, and we prayed together.
Being a nurse, I knew she probably had lived with the condition her entire life. The mother said the doctors just told her not to drink coconut milk; they did not say anything else she could do. I could feel a murmur when I placed my hand on her chest, probably something that would have been corrected as a young child in the US. It was like looking at medical books that were 50 years old about children who had murmurs that kept them from activities and that meant they always would be tired and weak. This girl had difficulty breathing and her muscles were not well developed, because she had to rest so much.
The following week, I started my volunteer teaching of the nurses at a hospital in Phnom Penh. I found out from CHAD's Irene Mparutsa that a team of Methodist missionary heart surgeons from Korea was coming the following week. All was very vague and we had no easy way to communicate directly with the woman and her daughter other than by going to the village that was a three-hour drive for us.
We reported to the pastor and made plans on our end to help the girl come for the heart clinic, but were disturbed to hear back a few days later that the girl's condition had worsened, that the mother was also sick, and that they had set out from their rural village for Phnom Penh with their letter from the village chief, but *without* the information from us as to the specific hospital to which they should go.
I was so upset! I had so hoped to connect the girl with the heart surgeons from Korea, who I had learned were doing their surgeries at Phnom Penh's large public hospital. All I could do was continue to pray, and I asked my home congregation and healing prayer group in Mill Valley also to pray.
Another week went by, and still no one had word of the woman and her daughter. The surgeons had come and gone. Katherine and I visited the village again and we all continued to pray together.
Two more weeks passed and, one day, the pastor called Katherine and me with the joyful report that the girl had returned to the village! She had had open heart surgery and was better! We drove the three hours to the church that Sunday . . . and, who was there? The girl herself and her mother arrived by bike at the small bamboo-stilt church, beaming and praising God for the miracle of the surgery.
We asked where she had the surgery and it was at the hospital where the missionary team of Korean heart surgeons had been, and it happened the week that they were there. Did they do it? No one knew, except that the girl now had a heart to provide her a normal life.
If I have ever seen a miraculous answer to prayer, this is my witness.
I don't know how this really happened. I only know that when I prayed with a young girl in Cambodia, the prayer was answered. I would like to tell the story from my point of view.
My daughter Katherine Parker is a missionary in Cambodia working to improve the lives of the poor. I am a community health nurse in California, serving the elementary schools of Mill Valley, my home community. The schools have a long break during the summer and I volunteered through the UMVIM program of our church ("United Methodist Volunteers in Mission"). I raised money for my expenses and to provide funds to carry out the work of the CHAD program within which Katherine works. "CHAD" stands for community health and agricultural development.
While in Cambodia, Katherine and I visited a newly formed congregation in rural Kompong Chhang province. At the end of the Sunday worship service, the pastor told us that one of the families that was present that day had lost all hope of finding help for a 12-year-old daughter who had a heart that was not healthy. The mother said she had been to many doctors in Phnom Penh and that the girl needed to have surgery, but the family had used up all its money. In fact, she said she had sold all her land to try to get help for her daughter. She said her husband had deserted her and that she and her three children were destitute.
What I had learned from Irene Mparutsa, the nurse with the CHAD program, was that the government hospital in Phnom Penh would care for the very poor if they had documentation from their village chiefs. I also knew that CHAD had pastors who were trained to assist families with the process of going through this system. I asked the mother if we could pray about this, and the congregation and the family prayed together. I asked the mother to prepare her documentation and gather what she needed and that we would contact her. Then, I talked directly to the young girl through an interpreter. The girl said she wanted her heart to be healed, and we prayed together.
Being a nurse, I knew she probably had lived with the condition her entire life. The mother said the doctors just told her not to drink coconut milk; they did not say anything else she could do. I could feel a murmur when I placed my hand on her chest, probably something that would have been corrected as a young child in the US. It was like looking at medical books that were 50 years old about children who had murmurs that kept them from activities and that meant they always would be tired and weak. This girl had difficulty breathing and her muscles were not well developed, because she had to rest so much.
The following week, I started my volunteer teaching of the nurses at a hospital in Phnom Penh. I found out from CHAD's Irene Mparutsa that a team of Methodist missionary heart surgeons from Korea was coming the following week. All was very vague and we had no easy way to communicate directly with the woman and her daughter other than by going to the village that was a three-hour drive for us.
We reported to the pastor and made plans on our end to help the girl come for the heart clinic, but were disturbed to hear back a few days later that the girl's condition had worsened, that the mother was also sick, and that they had set out from their rural village for Phnom Penh with their letter from the village chief, but *without* the information from us as to the specific hospital to which they should go.
I was so upset! I had so hoped to connect the girl with the heart surgeons from Korea, who I had learned were doing their surgeries at Phnom Penh's large public hospital. All I could do was continue to pray, and I asked my home congregation and healing prayer group in Mill Valley also to pray.
Another week went by, and still no one had word of the woman and her daughter. The surgeons had come and gone. Katherine and I visited the village again and we all continued to pray together.
Two more weeks passed and, one day, the pastor called Katherine and me with the joyful report that the girl had returned to the village! She had had open heart surgery and was better! We drove the three hours to the church that Sunday . . . and, who was there? The girl herself and her mother arrived by bike at the small bamboo-stilt church, beaming and praising God for the miracle of the surgery.
We asked where she had the surgery and it was at the hospital where the missionary team of Korean heart surgeons had been, and it happened the week that they were there. Did they do it? No one knew, except that the girl now had a heart to provide her a normal life.
If I have ever seen a miraculous answer to prayer, this is my witness.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
First Mission Conference
by Katherine Parker
Last week I served as a Conference Secretary for the First Annual Session of the Methodist Mission Conference in Cambodia. It has been a busy month as my assistant Vannak and I put together the "Conference Book" of reports and I worked together with Pastor Var Borom to take minutes of the Conference. It is incredibly exciting to be part of the church in Cambodia during these formative stages.
During Conference, the Implementing Board shared a vision based on Isaiah 54:2 of "Expanding God's Kingdom in Cambodia" and our goal of establishing an autonomous structure for the People called Methodists in Cambodia. These are goals laid out for how to establish an autonomous (not independent) church: self-governing, self-propagating, self-supporting and self-theologizing. This year was a milestone as we previously were organized as a "meeting" and now we have met for the first time as a "mission conference."
There were many exciting reports at Conference that pointed to the successful steps in increased autonomy. There is a time-line in place for the goal of self-government to be achieved by 2016 with the election of the first Cambodian Bishop. To this end, we celebrated the ordination of 11 new Deacons and 8 new Elders. Self-propagation has always been a strength of the church in Cambodia. Many new baptisms and full membership reports were given and for the first time congregations were designated as Local Church, Preaching Point or Outreach. The Treasurer gave an astounding report on the goal of self-supporting. The "5% offering" from local churches to MMC increased from $364.06 in 2007 to $3,729.36 in 2008 and the Cabinet resolved to raise $10,000 from local congregations in 2010. The first book of Cambodian sermons will also be published this year towards the goal of self-theologizing. The vision is moving forward.
The vision for the CHAD program parallels this development, has grown, and is bigger than just establishing livelihood development projects for rural communities and training health advocates. It is also to help create local organizational structures to continue this work. We are focusing not just on the current activities, but the long haul, and how to support the next generation of the church in Cambodia to continue the work of being the hands of Christ in this world.
At the same time, Bishop Roy J. Sano reminded us that sometimes we get caught up in building organizational structure because that is actually easier than the hard work of creating a just and peaceful society. He encouraged us to stay focused on our true goal.
CHAD is excited for the coming year again to support the Social Concerns Committee (SCC) of the MMC as it implements its vision: Inspired by our faith in God, Methodist Mission in Cambodia churches are working together with communities to improve the quality of life and to respond to emergency and disaster situations in Cambodia. Based on the Community Based Organization (CBO) model from The Philippines, CHAD is working with passionate pastors to help establish what we are calling Local Social Concerns Committees (LSCC) in some of the communities where we are working.
One of the biggest challenges we have faced in all of our work as CHAD is monitoring and following up to support the various projects and ministries as they face challenges and adapt to meet current community needs. One immediate dream is that the LSCC will be able to work with the SCC to help solve some of these problems so that we few folks in the central office don't spend all of our time running around the country on crisis calls. But the long term goal is that there will be transparent structures in place to initiate ministries of social concern that lead to personal and communal transformation.
Last week I served as a Conference Secretary for the First Annual Session of the Methodist Mission Conference in Cambodia. It has been a busy month as my assistant Vannak and I put together the "Conference Book" of reports and I worked together with Pastor Var Borom to take minutes of the Conference. It is incredibly exciting to be part of the church in Cambodia during these formative stages.
During Conference, the Implementing Board shared a vision based on Isaiah 54:2 of "Expanding God's Kingdom in Cambodia" and our goal of establishing an autonomous structure for the People called Methodists in Cambodia. These are goals laid out for how to establish an autonomous (not independent) church: self-governing, self-propagating, self-supporting and self-theologizing. This year was a milestone as we previously were organized as a "meeting" and now we have met for the first time as a "mission conference."
There were many exciting reports at Conference that pointed to the successful steps in increased autonomy. There is a time-line in place for the goal of self-government to be achieved by 2016 with the election of the first Cambodian Bishop. To this end, we celebrated the ordination of 11 new Deacons and 8 new Elders. Self-propagation has always been a strength of the church in Cambodia. Many new baptisms and full membership reports were given and for the first time congregations were designated as Local Church, Preaching Point or Outreach. The Treasurer gave an astounding report on the goal of self-supporting. The "5% offering" from local churches to MMC increased from $364.06 in 2007 to $3,729.36 in 2008 and the Cabinet resolved to raise $10,000 from local congregations in 2010. The first book of Cambodian sermons will also be published this year towards the goal of self-theologizing. The vision is moving forward.
The vision for the CHAD program parallels this development, has grown, and is bigger than just establishing livelihood development projects for rural communities and training health advocates. It is also to help create local organizational structures to continue this work. We are focusing not just on the current activities, but the long haul, and how to support the next generation of the church in Cambodia to continue the work of being the hands of Christ in this world.
At the same time, Bishop Roy J. Sano reminded us that sometimes we get caught up in building organizational structure because that is actually easier than the hard work of creating a just and peaceful society. He encouraged us to stay focused on our true goal.
CHAD is excited for the coming year again to support the Social Concerns Committee (SCC) of the MMC as it implements its vision: Inspired by our faith in God, Methodist Mission in Cambodia churches are working together with communities to improve the quality of life and to respond to emergency and disaster situations in Cambodia. Based on the Community Based Organization (CBO) model from The Philippines, CHAD is working with passionate pastors to help establish what we are calling Local Social Concerns Committees (LSCC) in some of the communities where we are working.
One of the biggest challenges we have faced in all of our work as CHAD is monitoring and following up to support the various projects and ministries as they face challenges and adapt to meet current community needs. One immediate dream is that the LSCC will be able to work with the SCC to help solve some of these problems so that we few folks in the central office don't spend all of our time running around the country on crisis calls. But the long term goal is that there will be transparent structures in place to initiate ministries of social concern that lead to personal and communal transformation.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
An open letter about chickens to the Vacation Church School children in Bakersfield, CA
From your missionary in Cambodia, Katherine.
To the children, youth and adults of the church in Bakersfield that gather this week for Vacation Church School: Grace to you and peace.
“I always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in my prayers, constantly remembering before our God your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For I know, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, that God has chosen you… And you have become imitators of Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 6a NRSV)
I hear that you are learning about Caring for God’s Creatures this year. In Genesis we learn that God wants us to care for God’s creatures in the same way that God cares for us. And so, I write to you again this year in the style of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians to remind you of the words from Isaiah that “The Lord is the everlasting God; God created all the world. God never grows tired or weary.” (Isaiah 40:28b NRSV)
Here in Cambodia, we raise a lot of different animals, such as fish, frogs, crickets, cows, water buffalo, pigs, ducks and chickens. Raising chickens is an important part of family life. Every family wants to be able to have a few chickens, even in the city.
One of the hardest parts of raising chickens is getting enough food for them to eat because all animals that are raised by families need to be fed by the family. This is how we take part in caring for God’s creatures. If you have a pet dog or cat or fish you need to feed it every day; the same is true for chickens. Chickens in particular love to eat vegetable scraps. What happens when you don’t eat all of your dinner? In Cambodia, the chickens get to eat all of the left over vegetables; they help to keep the farm clean. The left-over rice is dried in the sun and the chickens get to eat this too. Chickens also love bugs. They are particularly fond of termites and worms. A lot of families have a termite mound at their house, which is good for feeding both the chickens and the fish.
Last week, I went to visit the Minister of Agriculture in one province. He was very happy to meet me and to hear about the good work that our churches are doing. He encouraged me to support more families to raise chickens. It is a very good way for the church to help the poorest people in the community. Raising chickens is not too hard and it can give a family a good sense of accomplishment. The United Methodist Church, through the CHAD program is helping families to raise chicken in three ways.
First, we provide gift-loans to community groups so that they can start raising chickens. A group of about five families starts working together, and each family receives about 5 chickens. When the first flock of baby chicks grow to about bantee size, they are given to a new family. In this way, the gift of chickens from the church is passed on from family to family until everyone in the village has a small flock of chickens. Chickens get sick very easily, and this can kill off an entire village of chickens, so this is an important way for the church to help a village rebuild after a natural disease epidemic. The initial gift is not very big, just a few chickens for a few families, but because people share with their neighbor, everyone can benefit.
Another activity of the church is to start savings and credit groups. Every week, members of the savings group contribute a small amount to their savings account. Families can then take a small loan from the savings union to help them expand their farm. Many families will take a small loan of $25 for 3 months to help them buy chicken feed from the store so they can produce chickens to sell. When the family pays back the loan, the interest stays in the community, thus increasing the communities’ wealth.
The third way the church helps is to provide technical assistance about how to better raise chickens. Through our partner organizations we can share information about proper housing for chickens and improved feed such as worms. Chickens are not very smart creatures; they need the help of families, especially the children, to go in and out. In the morning, it is the responsibility of the children to shoo the chickens outside where they can hunt for bugs and vegetables. Then at night, the children need to gather the chickens back to their safe house again so they don’t catch cold or get stolen. With research from our partner CelAgric (which is funded in part by Heifer International), the church in Cambodia has distributed information about how to build better chicken houses. We have also provided information about what vegetables are best for improving chicken health. During my meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, he encouraged me to start teaching more about worm farming so that families would know how to raise worms, which can also improve the diet and health of chickens. We hope to start a pilot project about this in Methodist Amen Church in Kampong Chhnang province soon.
Learning about Caring for God’s Creatures is an important activity for the children in the church here in Cambodia and I am glad that you are also interested in learning these same lessons. We can sing praises for God’s care of creatures by saying: “You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, and bring forth food from the earth” (Psalm 104:14). We are all made in the image of God and called to continue taking care of God’s creatures. Thank you for your care. Beloved in Christ, pray for us in Cambodia as we continue to keep you in prayer as well and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
To the children, youth and adults of the church in Bakersfield that gather this week for Vacation Church School: Grace to you and peace.
“I always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in my prayers, constantly remembering before our God your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For I know, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, that God has chosen you… And you have become imitators of Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 6a NRSV)
I hear that you are learning about Caring for God’s Creatures this year. In Genesis we learn that God wants us to care for God’s creatures in the same way that God cares for us. And so, I write to you again this year in the style of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians to remind you of the words from Isaiah that “The Lord is the everlasting God; God created all the world. God never grows tired or weary.” (Isaiah 40:28b NRSV)
Here in Cambodia, we raise a lot of different animals, such as fish, frogs, crickets, cows, water buffalo, pigs, ducks and chickens. Raising chickens is an important part of family life. Every family wants to be able to have a few chickens, even in the city.
One of the hardest parts of raising chickens is getting enough food for them to eat because all animals that are raised by families need to be fed by the family. This is how we take part in caring for God’s creatures. If you have a pet dog or cat or fish you need to feed it every day; the same is true for chickens. Chickens in particular love to eat vegetable scraps. What happens when you don’t eat all of your dinner? In Cambodia, the chickens get to eat all of the left over vegetables; they help to keep the farm clean. The left-over rice is dried in the sun and the chickens get to eat this too. Chickens also love bugs. They are particularly fond of termites and worms. A lot of families have a termite mound at their house, which is good for feeding both the chickens and the fish.
Last week, I went to visit the Minister of Agriculture in one province. He was very happy to meet me and to hear about the good work that our churches are doing. He encouraged me to support more families to raise chickens. It is a very good way for the church to help the poorest people in the community. Raising chickens is not too hard and it can give a family a good sense of accomplishment. The United Methodist Church, through the CHAD program is helping families to raise chicken in three ways.
First, we provide gift-loans to community groups so that they can start raising chickens. A group of about five families starts working together, and each family receives about 5 chickens. When the first flock of baby chicks grow to about bantee size, they are given to a new family. In this way, the gift of chickens from the church is passed on from family to family until everyone in the village has a small flock of chickens. Chickens get sick very easily, and this can kill off an entire village of chickens, so this is an important way for the church to help a village rebuild after a natural disease epidemic. The initial gift is not very big, just a few chickens for a few families, but because people share with their neighbor, everyone can benefit.
Another activity of the church is to start savings and credit groups. Every week, members of the savings group contribute a small amount to their savings account. Families can then take a small loan from the savings union to help them expand their farm. Many families will take a small loan of $25 for 3 months to help them buy chicken feed from the store so they can produce chickens to sell. When the family pays back the loan, the interest stays in the community, thus increasing the communities’ wealth.
The third way the church helps is to provide technical assistance about how to better raise chickens. Through our partner organizations we can share information about proper housing for chickens and improved feed such as worms. Chickens are not very smart creatures; they need the help of families, especially the children, to go in and out. In the morning, it is the responsibility of the children to shoo the chickens outside where they can hunt for bugs and vegetables. Then at night, the children need to gather the chickens back to their safe house again so they don’t catch cold or get stolen. With research from our partner CelAgric (which is funded in part by Heifer International), the church in Cambodia has distributed information about how to build better chicken houses. We have also provided information about what vegetables are best for improving chicken health. During my meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, he encouraged me to start teaching more about worm farming so that families would know how to raise worms, which can also improve the diet and health of chickens. We hope to start a pilot project about this in Methodist Amen Church in Kampong Chhnang province soon.
Learning about Caring for God’s Creatures is an important activity for the children in the church here in Cambodia and I am glad that you are also interested in learning these same lessons. We can sing praises for God’s care of creatures by saying: “You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, and bring forth food from the earth” (Psalm 104:14). We are all made in the image of God and called to continue taking care of God’s creatures. Thank you for your care. Beloved in Christ, pray for us in Cambodia as we continue to keep you in prayer as well and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Alcoholism
by Katherine Parker
This summer I have made a commitment to visit two churches in Kampong Chhnang (Solang Kandal and Methodist Amen) every other Sunday and lead a Bible study on "Mobilizing the Church." This is one of the core curriculum models being used by the CHAD team to help churches organize a local social concerns committee that can plan and implement community development activities. Last week at Solang Kandal, we studied the Good Samaritan story (Luke 10:25-37) and talked about “who is my neighbor.” It was a challenging lesson, and the class worked really hard at thinking about what it means to love your neighbor.
Alcoholism is a huge problem in Cambodia, and Solang Kandal is no exception. During rounds last week, while my mom was volunteering at Center of Hope Hospital (a free hospital for the poor in Phnom Penh), she observed 3 of the 12 beds had folks in their 30s dying of liver failure.
At a previous meeting at Solang Kandal, we prayed for a young man that wanted to come to Phnom Penh to study at the Bible School, but his non-Christian, alcoholic parents were resistant because they didn’t want to lose his labor on the farm. The pastor had invited the parents to meet with the church community and was working to help them accept that this is a good opportunity for their son to improve himself. I only observed a little of the exchange, but I admired how the pastor was able to work with the parents.
This week, two of the women leaders of the church shared during the lesson about the struggle of having alcoholic husbands. After become a Christian, one woman stopped giving money to her husband to buy alcohol. It is not easy, she said. They argue a lot; he still finds other money to drink, and he blames her for many things. We talked about how as a Christian she wants to love her husband and wants the best for him, and so she no longer supports his alcoholism by giving him money. This was a very powerful example to the class of what it means to love your neighbor. Sometimes, loving our neighbors (or our family members) means not enabling them to go down a bad path. I think it was also helpful to the members of the community to be able to express their pain to an outsider and to have it acknowledged. As a guest in the church, I cannot solve the problems, but I can help provide a space and encouragement for people to give voice to problems, and we can pray together for guidance. In the middle of our conversation, one of the alcoholic husbands joined the meeting and was able to participate for part of the Bible study.
This week the pastor called me with encouraging news. The man who joined the meeting had not drunk any alcohol this week and he had been helping his wife with the farm. Even he was able to find encouragement in the discussion. Please keep praying for these families. It is not easy, but our faith gives us hope, and hope gives us strength, and day by day with God’s help we can persevere.
This summer I have made a commitment to visit two churches in Kampong Chhnang (Solang Kandal and Methodist Amen) every other Sunday and lead a Bible study on "Mobilizing the Church." This is one of the core curriculum models being used by the CHAD team to help churches organize a local social concerns committee that can plan and implement community development activities. Last week at Solang Kandal, we studied the Good Samaritan story (Luke 10:25-37) and talked about “who is my neighbor.” It was a challenging lesson, and the class worked really hard at thinking about what it means to love your neighbor.
Alcoholism is a huge problem in Cambodia, and Solang Kandal is no exception. During rounds last week, while my mom was volunteering at Center of Hope Hospital (a free hospital for the poor in Phnom Penh), she observed 3 of the 12 beds had folks in their 30s dying of liver failure.
At a previous meeting at Solang Kandal, we prayed for a young man that wanted to come to Phnom Penh to study at the Bible School, but his non-Christian, alcoholic parents were resistant because they didn’t want to lose his labor on the farm. The pastor had invited the parents to meet with the church community and was working to help them accept that this is a good opportunity for their son to improve himself. I only observed a little of the exchange, but I admired how the pastor was able to work with the parents.
This week, two of the women leaders of the church shared during the lesson about the struggle of having alcoholic husbands. After become a Christian, one woman stopped giving money to her husband to buy alcohol. It is not easy, she said. They argue a lot; he still finds other money to drink, and he blames her for many things. We talked about how as a Christian she wants to love her husband and wants the best for him, and so she no longer supports his alcoholism by giving him money. This was a very powerful example to the class of what it means to love your neighbor. Sometimes, loving our neighbors (or our family members) means not enabling them to go down a bad path. I think it was also helpful to the members of the community to be able to express their pain to an outsider and to have it acknowledged. As a guest in the church, I cannot solve the problems, but I can help provide a space and encouragement for people to give voice to problems, and we can pray together for guidance. In the middle of our conversation, one of the alcoholic husbands joined the meeting and was able to participate for part of the Bible study.
This week the pastor called me with encouraging news. The man who joined the meeting had not drunk any alcohol this week and he had been helping his wife with the farm. Even he was able to find encouragement in the discussion. Please keep praying for these families. It is not easy, but our faith gives us hope, and hope gives us strength, and day by day with God’s help we can persevere.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Kratie Mission Update
Dear Friends,
A lot has happened since you were here! We have had three different groups come. One was from Phum Thmei who went to CSI, a Christian clinic who partners with us and is especially interested in getting good diagnosis for the poor. Another was from Kantout, the health center where we went last. The 10 year old with epilepsy and another both went to the National Paediatric Hospital. The third group went to Luk Song Hospital because it has a good equity fund for helping the poor.
The Provincial Health Director (PHD) in Kratie has invited us to the Grand Opening of the new laboratory at the hospital. I am pleased because it indicates his interest in our continued cooperation! Rev. Joseph was happy and will go if I am busy! Do you see how the mission you did is bearing fruit?
Last week Rev. Joseph went to Kratie and reports that they dug the foundation for the church. Another fruit! Please pray for the pastor who had to take a leave of absence. Now we will need someone to continue all the work he was doing. I plan to go up in July to follow up the referrals, connecting with the PHD staff, village authorities and VHSGs. I am especially interested in seeking solutions for the large number of women with goiters. Pray for a breakthrough.
Maybe you will remember the little girl with a neurogenic bladder at Kantout. She came to the National Pediatric Hospital about 4 weeks ago. They treated her for a UTI and sent her home for 10 days. When she returned they did diagnostics and surgery. She has healed well and her mother is happy that she is no longer incontinent and can go to school. Another fruit. She will be back for surgery for the strasbismus next month.
The pale young man we saw the first day at the church site who was referred to the PHD, came to CSI and was diagnosed with schistoma melcongie (hepato-splenic type), portal hypotension, gastric ulcer stage 3, and esophageal varices and anaemic microcytic. He was sent home on treatment. At long last he has been diagnosed and treated, what a sweet release for his mother! He is due for review in August.
May God bless you richly as you have blessed others,
Irene
A lot has happened since you were here! We have had three different groups come. One was from Phum Thmei who went to CSI, a Christian clinic who partners with us and is especially interested in getting good diagnosis for the poor. Another was from Kantout, the health center where we went last. The 10 year old with epilepsy and another both went to the National Paediatric Hospital. The third group went to Luk Song Hospital because it has a good equity fund for helping the poor.
The Provincial Health Director (PHD) in Kratie has invited us to the Grand Opening of the new laboratory at the hospital. I am pleased because it indicates his interest in our continued cooperation! Rev. Joseph was happy and will go if I am busy! Do you see how the mission you did is bearing fruit?
Last week Rev. Joseph went to Kratie and reports that they dug the foundation for the church. Another fruit! Please pray for the pastor who had to take a leave of absence. Now we will need someone to continue all the work he was doing. I plan to go up in July to follow up the referrals, connecting with the PHD staff, village authorities and VHSGs. I am especially interested in seeking solutions for the large number of women with goiters. Pray for a breakthrough.
Maybe you will remember the little girl with a neurogenic bladder at Kantout. She came to the National Pediatric Hospital about 4 weeks ago. They treated her for a UTI and sent her home for 10 days. When she returned they did diagnostics and surgery. She has healed well and her mother is happy that she is no longer incontinent and can go to school. Another fruit. She will be back for surgery for the strasbismus next month.
The pale young man we saw the first day at the church site who was referred to the PHD, came to CSI and was diagnosed with schistoma melcongie (hepato-splenic type), portal hypotension, gastric ulcer stage 3, and esophageal varices and anaemic microcytic. He was sent home on treatment. At long last he has been diagnosed and treated, what a sweet release for his mother! He is due for review in August.
May God bless you richly as you have blessed others,
Irene
Sunday, May 31, 2009
A birthday thank you from Irene
As I write this, it is pouring rain, the beginning of the planting season here and everything is turning green. We are welcoming the daily rains and the short respites from the hot sun.
Maybe you already know, but there is a great cloud of saints and angels who love this little missionary “out of Africa” into Southeast Asia and remembered her birthday this week. Throughout all this month, my mailbox has had fresh surprises for me every day and when I open my emails there is another surprise. I have felt so loved and special to have so many friends, especially all of you UMW members.
I do have for you a special story.
This week on Thursday my telephone rang. It was a 15-year old with Thalacaemia, a disease where the body makes abnormal red blood cells. Periodically, therefore, he must come to Phnom Penh to receive blood transfusions of healthy red blood cells from Angkro Sang Methodist Church in Takeo. He needed help.
He told me, “We have no food. I cannot go to school.” Sometimes, when the food runs out, parents keep children at home to help find food. Normally hiss mother,a widow who owns no land herself, works on other people’s land for food.
I was thinking, “How can I help?” Usually, I help this family with transportation-to-hospital money, but this time they are asking for food relief. Then I had a sudden idea. In February when he came to Phnom Penh in crisis, he was transfused and we sent the family home with $50 for food because he was so undernourished. So, now was he needing another transfusion?
I asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m not well.”
“Ok, you come to Phnom Penh on Monday and I will give you some food money, but can you go to the hospital and get checked first?”
Can you see what was happening? The family had used up all the food money we had given them in February and now (May) it was gone. But now the 15-year-old is unwell again. Because he was calling me, I was able to inquire and discover his need for medical attention.
I am so happy because our new Medical and Welfare Relief Advance is bringing the resources to help people like this 15-year-old. Slowly, with our help, he is learning to manage his illness and to use the hospital services. The church has set up a safety net to assist his family. It is health development in its finest hour.
It makes me happy to share this story with you, both because you can see how important your prayers are, but also how significant simple money support can be in making a difference for a family and their sick child.
Love, Peace and Joy,
Irene
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Thank you to CSI Mercy Medical Center
We in CHAD are so grateful for our partners at CSI Mercy Medical Center. This team of compassionate missionary and volunteer medical staff provide among the best care and certainly the best follow-up services in Phnom Penh. Patients consistently express their appreciation for the dignity with which they have received care. It gives pastors and lay leaders hope that they really can reach out and help those poorest sick in their community when they know such an institution exists for those needing referral to the capital city. It is helpful to us (and to dispelling the patronage mentality) to have these new guidelines outlined by CSI for patient contributions.
While as much as possible we ask the patients to cover their portion as outlined in CSI Patient Payment Plan, your contributions to Advance #3020542 give us funds to help folks with transport and logistics involved in getting care and to pay the actual test and treatment costs above patient co-pays that are incurred by CSI-MMC for the people we refer (about $500 per quarter), and additional donations as funds are available. It is a multi-leveled partnership, and we in CHAD are excited to be able to facilitate your help to our pastors who are helping the poor sick to receive dignified, compassionate care from our partners at CSI.
--
Dear CSI Mercy Medical Center Referring Partners (RPs),
Just as Jesus sent his disciples out “to preach and to heal” we are pleased to partner with you in the work of proclaiming His good news in word and deed in Cambodia!
Beginning May 4th (the first Monday in May, next week), we are launching a new Patient Payment Program. The intention of this new program is to enable us all to more effectively minister to the needs of poor Cambodians in a way which is as sustainable and empowering as possible. Because there are no increases in costs to you, the RP, we will assume your continued partnership unless you inform us otherwise.
Details of this new Patient Payment Program are attached. Key features and changes include the following:
New “sliding scale” (income-based) Patient Visit Fee: Over the past year, a first-visit fee of $10 and follow-up visit fee of $5 has been assessed to the RP, included in the monthly bill. There will no longer be a different first-visit fee, and the new visit fee will be USD 2.50 for the poor, 5.00 for medium income, and 7.50 for high income patients. We are asking all RPs to determine the patient’s income status as objectively as possible using a scoring system (attached and distributed each time new Referral Forms are distributed) and indicate this on our new Referral Form as a score (1,2, or 3).
New Referral Forms: On May 4th, please use our new Referral Forms as able (we will continue to accept OLD Referral Forms through May 30 only). You may stop by and pick new forms up as early as May 4th.
Option of designating patients as “Self Pay”: Referral Forms require the RP to select whether the patient is sponsored (meaning the RP will be billed retroactively for his/her visit) or self-pay (meaning the patient must pay at the registration window). Sponsored patients have a YELLOW MMC ID card; Self-Pay patients have a PINK MMC ID Card.
Standard Enrollment Period: Patients sponsored by an RP will be sponsored for their first 5 visits only, and then will change automatically to “self pay” status (unless the RP notifies us to continue sponsorship). During those first 5 visits (Standard Enrollment) our goals will be to establish clear diagnoses and most-sustainable treatment plans, provide the patients with opportunity to learn about preventive health and God, and communicate at least once with you regarding the patient’s health.
Finally, we’d like to remind all Referring Partners that we welcome donations to support patient care. The Patient Visit Fees help cover only a portion of the real costs of patient care. The reality is, without significant additional donations we would need to close our doors. Please prayerfully consider: a one-time or monthly donation to support the work of MMC, sponsorship of a staff member, or sponsorship of a special-needs patient. Thanks to all of you who have provided additional donations in the past. We praise God for His ongoing provision and rest in Him to provide.
In Christ,
Doug Collins
Medical Director
CSI Mercy Medical Center
While as much as possible we ask the patients to cover their portion as outlined in CSI Patient Payment Plan, your contributions to Advance #3020542 give us funds to help folks with transport and logistics involved in getting care and to pay the actual test and treatment costs above patient co-pays that are incurred by CSI-MMC for the people we refer (about $500 per quarter), and additional donations as funds are available. It is a multi-leveled partnership, and we in CHAD are excited to be able to facilitate your help to our pastors who are helping the poor sick to receive dignified, compassionate care from our partners at CSI.
--
Dear CSI Mercy Medical Center Referring Partners (RPs),
Just as Jesus sent his disciples out “to preach and to heal” we are pleased to partner with you in the work of proclaiming His good news in word and deed in Cambodia!
Beginning May 4th (the first Monday in May, next week), we are launching a new Patient Payment Program. The intention of this new program is to enable us all to more effectively minister to the needs of poor Cambodians in a way which is as sustainable and empowering as possible. Because there are no increases in costs to you, the RP, we will assume your continued partnership unless you inform us otherwise.
Details of this new Patient Payment Program are attached. Key features and changes include the following:
New “sliding scale” (income-based) Patient Visit Fee: Over the past year, a first-visit fee of $10 and follow-up visit fee of $5 has been assessed to the RP, included in the monthly bill. There will no longer be a different first-visit fee, and the new visit fee will be USD 2.50 for the poor, 5.00 for medium income, and 7.50 for high income patients. We are asking all RPs to determine the patient’s income status as objectively as possible using a scoring system (attached and distributed each time new Referral Forms are distributed) and indicate this on our new Referral Form as a score (1,2, or 3).
New Referral Forms: On May 4th, please use our new Referral Forms as able (we will continue to accept OLD Referral Forms through May 30 only). You may stop by and pick new forms up as early as May 4th.
Option of designating patients as “Self Pay”: Referral Forms require the RP to select whether the patient is sponsored (meaning the RP will be billed retroactively for his/her visit) or self-pay (meaning the patient must pay at the registration window). Sponsored patients have a YELLOW MMC ID card; Self-Pay patients have a PINK MMC ID Card.
Standard Enrollment Period: Patients sponsored by an RP will be sponsored for their first 5 visits only, and then will change automatically to “self pay” status (unless the RP notifies us to continue sponsorship). During those first 5 visits (Standard Enrollment) our goals will be to establish clear diagnoses and most-sustainable treatment plans, provide the patients with opportunity to learn about preventive health and God, and communicate at least once with you regarding the patient’s health.
Finally, we’d like to remind all Referring Partners that we welcome donations to support patient care. The Patient Visit Fees help cover only a portion of the real costs of patient care. The reality is, without significant additional donations we would need to close our doors. Please prayerfully consider: a one-time or monthly donation to support the work of MMC, sponsorship of a staff member, or sponsorship of a special-needs patient. Thanks to all of you who have provided additional donations in the past. We praise God for His ongoing provision and rest in Him to provide.
In Christ,
Doug Collins
Medical Director
CSI Mercy Medical Center
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Medical, Dental, and Eye Outreach Clinic in Kratie
For the last two weeks, CHAD has been working in partnership with doctors, dentists, nurses and eye technicians from Colorado and with District Superintendent Rev. Joseph Chhleav Chan and the pastors in Kratie district to host a Medical Outreach Clinic. Here is a reflection from two of the Colorado team members about their experience:
We just returned from our latest medical/dental mission trip, our second trip to Cambodia within two years. We went with an all Colorado Methodist group on a church planting mission to the northeastern part of Cambodia. This was the area where the US bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail extensively from 1969 until the end of the Vietnam War. There are still quite a few water-filled bomb craters that the water buffalo now find a handy cooling off place in the heat of the day. We stayed in the Mekong River town, Kratie and worked in four villages over nine days about an hour’s drive from there.
Rev. Joseph Chan was our missionary host. Joseph is an American Bible School-trained Methodist pastor who was an ardent Communist early in life but later converted to Christianity while in a refugee camp in Thailand. He survived the horrors of the Pol Pot era, the uncertainty of refugee life, and eventually made his way to the US where he became a pastor. It was his dream to return to Cambodia to evangelize and to build churches and Christian education facilities. After clinic the first day, we participated in the ground-breaking ceremony for the first stage of his ambitious project. During a weekend break, we spent time visiting hill tribes near Ratanakiri, a border area very near Vietnam and Laos. We saw basket and textile weavers at work. The entire process from growing the cotton to spinning and dying the thread and weaving is done right there by tribal members. We also rode elephants along a jungle trail and hiked to nearby waterfalls and lakes.
Another highlight was the chance to work with two Cambodian dentists, Drs. Nee and Kim, and hear their amazing story of survival. Kim finds it too painful to talk about his experiences but Nee was open to sharing everything with us. Kim and Nee were born in different villages. While they were children, the country experienced a civil war between Khmer Rouge and government forces, but was also infiltrated by Vietnamese forces using the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Nee’s village came under attack several times and he wasn’t always certain who was attacking. This was also during Nixon’s “Secret War” in Cambodia, so B-52 attacks added to the mix. US bombers made carpet bombing raids that tore up the countryside with building-sized holes one quarter-mile long. Nee recalls seeing flairs set off by recon planes, knowing an attack was to come, and it was time to flee to the cover of the rice paddies surrounding his village. Helicopter air strikes fired bullets under the stilts the huts were standing on. Nee’s family owned some cattle. Once he recalls tending cattle in a field when a helicopter swooped down, swept them up as fish in a net, and took them away to wherever the attacking force wanted them. Eventually the boys’ families were forced to flee their homes. Each became separated from his family. Nee much later learned that, in all, 32 members of his extended family died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Nee and Kim mostly hid in the underbrush during the daytime and would travel by night. It was necessary to keep out of site as much as possible. They would walk trying to keep in sight of the road, but never walking directly on the road. All along the way it was necessary to scavenge for food. They ate whatever they could find: snakes, rats, dog. People were dying of hunger all around. Somehow the boys found their way to a UN-run refugee camp near the Thai border. This was when they were about 13 years old. The refugee camps started out as large tent cities, but over time the refugees built more traditional homes out of bamboo and straw. The camps housed 10,000 people or more. They lived in the refugee camp for 12 years. Their camp had UN-administered schools where the boys completed their schooling. Kim and Nee even completed seven years of dental studies while refugees. During their time in the camp, they were introduced to Christianity and became converts. Kim and Nee returned to Cambodia at last in 1992. Both have private dental practices in Phnom Penh. They spend much free time doing volunteer dental clinics in the countryside. Having been given so much during their time of need, and from gratitude to God, they have the sense of wanting to give back to others in need. We feel privileged that Nee would share his painful memories with us.
The medical and dental team treated over 2000 patients and provided 253 surgery referrals to hospitals and clinics in Phnom Penh, for conditions like cataracts and cleft palettes. In addition, the team paid for the patients’ needs in connection with the referrals, such as for transportation for the patient and accompanying family.
While on our way back to Phom Penh to catch our flight, we made a brief rest stop at a Buddhist temple. While there, a man approached one of our doctors with the offer to sell his three-year-old daughter. Selling children either for foreign adoptions or the child sex trade is all too common in Cambodia! We wondered: What was the man thinking?
Dale and Mary Ann
Cambodia, April 17-May 2, 2009
We just returned from our latest medical/dental mission trip, our second trip to Cambodia within two years. We went with an all Colorado Methodist group on a church planting mission to the northeastern part of Cambodia. This was the area where the US bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail extensively from 1969 until the end of the Vietnam War. There are still quite a few water-filled bomb craters that the water buffalo now find a handy cooling off place in the heat of the day. We stayed in the Mekong River town, Kratie and worked in four villages over nine days about an hour’s drive from there.
Rev. Joseph Chan was our missionary host. Joseph is an American Bible School-trained Methodist pastor who was an ardent Communist early in life but later converted to Christianity while in a refugee camp in Thailand. He survived the horrors of the Pol Pot era, the uncertainty of refugee life, and eventually made his way to the US where he became a pastor. It was his dream to return to Cambodia to evangelize and to build churches and Christian education facilities. After clinic the first day, we participated in the ground-breaking ceremony for the first stage of his ambitious project. During a weekend break, we spent time visiting hill tribes near Ratanakiri, a border area very near Vietnam and Laos. We saw basket and textile weavers at work. The entire process from growing the cotton to spinning and dying the thread and weaving is done right there by tribal members. We also rode elephants along a jungle trail and hiked to nearby waterfalls and lakes.
Another highlight was the chance to work with two Cambodian dentists, Drs. Nee and Kim, and hear their amazing story of survival. Kim finds it too painful to talk about his experiences but Nee was open to sharing everything with us. Kim and Nee were born in different villages. While they were children, the country experienced a civil war between Khmer Rouge and government forces, but was also infiltrated by Vietnamese forces using the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Nee’s village came under attack several times and he wasn’t always certain who was attacking. This was also during Nixon’s “Secret War” in Cambodia, so B-52 attacks added to the mix. US bombers made carpet bombing raids that tore up the countryside with building-sized holes one quarter-mile long. Nee recalls seeing flairs set off by recon planes, knowing an attack was to come, and it was time to flee to the cover of the rice paddies surrounding his village. Helicopter air strikes fired bullets under the stilts the huts were standing on. Nee’s family owned some cattle. Once he recalls tending cattle in a field when a helicopter swooped down, swept them up as fish in a net, and took them away to wherever the attacking force wanted them. Eventually the boys’ families were forced to flee their homes. Each became separated from his family. Nee much later learned that, in all, 32 members of his extended family died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Nee and Kim mostly hid in the underbrush during the daytime and would travel by night. It was necessary to keep out of site as much as possible. They would walk trying to keep in sight of the road, but never walking directly on the road. All along the way it was necessary to scavenge for food. They ate whatever they could find: snakes, rats, dog. People were dying of hunger all around. Somehow the boys found their way to a UN-run refugee camp near the Thai border. This was when they were about 13 years old. The refugee camps started out as large tent cities, but over time the refugees built more traditional homes out of bamboo and straw. The camps housed 10,000 people or more. They lived in the refugee camp for 12 years. Their camp had UN-administered schools where the boys completed their schooling. Kim and Nee even completed seven years of dental studies while refugees. During their time in the camp, they were introduced to Christianity and became converts. Kim and Nee returned to Cambodia at last in 1992. Both have private dental practices in Phnom Penh. They spend much free time doing volunteer dental clinics in the countryside. Having been given so much during their time of need, and from gratitude to God, they have the sense of wanting to give back to others in need. We feel privileged that Nee would share his painful memories with us.
The medical and dental team treated over 2000 patients and provided 253 surgery referrals to hospitals and clinics in Phnom Penh, for conditions like cataracts and cleft palettes. In addition, the team paid for the patients’ needs in connection with the referrals, such as for transportation for the patient and accompanying family.
While on our way back to Phom Penh to catch our flight, we made a brief rest stop at a Buddhist temple. While there, a man approached one of our doctors with the offer to sell his three-year-old daughter. Selling children either for foreign adoptions or the child sex trade is all too common in Cambodia! We wondered: What was the man thinking?
Dale and Mary Ann
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter Greetings from Irene
Easter Greetings from Cambodia! Praise be to God for the power of the Risen Christ in our lives!
Saturday, we went to a private clinic in Phnom Penh to visit a proud new mother and father, Chanry and Sam Naren, two pastors who are serving in Kampong Cham and are celebrating the birth of their firstborn, a daughter, Elisa. Entering into the room, my heart sank when I saw the infant formula on the bedside table. The doctor had prescribed formula milk exclusively for the first three days. There was no reason not to follow doctor’s orders, so the parents thought. It thrilled my heart to be just on time to assist mother and baby to a good start with breastfeeding.
We have just finished a Midterm Evaluation of CHAD and are astounded at how God has grown the work into the life of the church here. Just to think that 5 years ago Jim Gulley started ADRC which in 2005 became CHAD to include health and that today CHAD is being embraced as a vital model for ministry, how wonderful! Involved in the evaluation were representatives of the Methodist Church in Finland Catarina and Hakan; Jim and Bruno Feuiller, an external evaluator and fellow missionary from Laos. Catarina also brought along two friends to see our work. We all agreed about the relevance of the program. It was gratifying to see the growing numbers of churches wanting to partner with CHAD. Main recommendations coming out of the evaluation are to decentralise; increase local congregational involvement and to develop leadership.
At the end of the evaluation, Hakan who is the General Secretary of the Free Church Federation of Finland, expressing hope for reconciliation and a fresh start for the nation of Cambodia resulting from the current ongoing UN trials, noted promising signs of new life in the Methodist Church in Cambodia (MCC) as we observe the continuing healing and reconciliation of relationships.
On a more personal note, God continues to heal my family and fill our home with new hope and joy. Fara is finding his way. Mutumwa is growing, happy and secure with his dad and “gogos”(grandma). We celebrate the developments in Zimbabwe and thank God for what He is doing there.
I thank you for all your support and prayers for this amazing work.May the power of the Resurrected Christ be a present reality in all you do this day and in all time to come.
Love in Jesus,
Irene
Saturday, we went to a private clinic in Phnom Penh to visit a proud new mother and father, Chanry and Sam Naren, two pastors who are serving in Kampong Cham and are celebrating the birth of their firstborn, a daughter, Elisa. Entering into the room, my heart sank when I saw the infant formula on the bedside table. The doctor had prescribed formula milk exclusively for the first three days. There was no reason not to follow doctor’s orders, so the parents thought. It thrilled my heart to be just on time to assist mother and baby to a good start with breastfeeding.
We have just finished a Midterm Evaluation of CHAD and are astounded at how God has grown the work into the life of the church here. Just to think that 5 years ago Jim Gulley started ADRC which in 2005 became CHAD to include health and that today CHAD is being embraced as a vital model for ministry, how wonderful! Involved in the evaluation were representatives of the Methodist Church in Finland Catarina and Hakan; Jim and Bruno Feuiller, an external evaluator and fellow missionary from Laos. Catarina also brought along two friends to see our work. We all agreed about the relevance of the program. It was gratifying to see the growing numbers of churches wanting to partner with CHAD. Main recommendations coming out of the evaluation are to decentralise; increase local congregational involvement and to develop leadership.
At the end of the evaluation, Hakan who is the General Secretary of the Free Church Federation of Finland, expressing hope for reconciliation and a fresh start for the nation of Cambodia resulting from the current ongoing UN trials, noted promising signs of new life in the Methodist Church in Cambodia (MCC) as we observe the continuing healing and reconciliation of relationships.
On a more personal note, God continues to heal my family and fill our home with new hope and joy. Fara is finding his way. Mutumwa is growing, happy and secure with his dad and “gogos”(grandma). We celebrate the developments in Zimbabwe and thank God for what He is doing there.
I thank you for all your support and prayers for this amazing work.May the power of the Resurrected Christ be a present reality in all you do this day and in all time to come.
Love in Jesus,
Irene
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Prison outreach ministry
by Katherine Parker
Last time I was home in California, one of our partner churches in Bakersfield gave me two suitcases of health kits prepared by the VBS kids to bring back to Cambodia. During a recent visit to Kompong Chhnang for a Medical Outreach Clinic I shared the kits to Rev. Ean Hun and his wife Pastor Sophean. They were very pleased to receive them in support of the prison outreach ministry of the church in Kompong Chhnang. They shared a few stories with me about the significance of this ministry.
The prison in Kompong Chhnang has 280 men in terrible conditions. Rev. Hun said that the men have to sleep in 2 hour shifts because there is a shortage of beds, there is a lack of food resulting in swollen bellies and a prevalence of itchy skin rashes due to a lack of soap and hygiene supplies. Rev. Hun has been visiting the prisoners, and when available, bringing food (basically only men who have relatives who visit have food to eat), soap and detergent for washing clothes. He has been leading a bible study and recently distributed 12 bibles to men who had been participating.
He was very pleased to have the health kits sent from Bakersfield, and shared them with the men with whom he is working. We talked a bit about his hope to be able to provide soap, detergent (for washing clothes) and liniment oil to all of the men at another point in the future. He also hopes to establish a library of Khmer language literature for the men to use during their 1 hour of release each day.
Recently, one of the prisoners Rev Hun has been working with was released. Rev. Hun has invited him to stay at the church and to lead a nearby church group without a pastor.
This is a wonderful partnership that has come out of your generosity. I am so pleased that we could support the outreach of the Cambodian Christians in this prison ministry in this way.
Last time I was home in California, one of our partner churches in Bakersfield gave me two suitcases of health kits prepared by the VBS kids to bring back to Cambodia. During a recent visit to Kompong Chhnang for a Medical Outreach Clinic I shared the kits to Rev. Ean Hun and his wife Pastor Sophean. They were very pleased to receive them in support of the prison outreach ministry of the church in Kompong Chhnang. They shared a few stories with me about the significance of this ministry.
The prison in Kompong Chhnang has 280 men in terrible conditions. Rev. Hun said that the men have to sleep in 2 hour shifts because there is a shortage of beds, there is a lack of food resulting in swollen bellies and a prevalence of itchy skin rashes due to a lack of soap and hygiene supplies. Rev. Hun has been visiting the prisoners, and when available, bringing food (basically only men who have relatives who visit have food to eat), soap and detergent for washing clothes. He has been leading a bible study and recently distributed 12 bibles to men who had been participating.
He was very pleased to have the health kits sent from Bakersfield, and shared them with the men with whom he is working. We talked a bit about his hope to be able to provide soap, detergent (for washing clothes) and liniment oil to all of the men at another point in the future. He also hopes to establish a library of Khmer language literature for the men to use during their 1 hour of release each day.
Recently, one of the prisoners Rev Hun has been working with was released. Rev. Hun has invited him to stay at the church and to lead a nearby church group without a pastor.
This is a wonderful partnership that has come out of your generosity. I am so pleased that we could support the outreach of the Cambodian Christians in this prison ministry in this way.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A new rice field at Solong Kandal Church
by Katherine Parker
Last Sunday I joined worship at Solong Kandal Church, and then we continued with the Mobilizing the Church study. I brought a local translator, Nara, with me. He was a good group leader and we had a very dynamic workshop, but a bad translator since he kept forgetting to keep me in the loop. So, I just had to struggle along with my own understanding for most of the day (luckily I basically knew what we were doing). The congregation at this church is really warm and welcoming, and I always feel like a member of the family when I visit. Here is a quick update about the status of their project development.
Last time I visited Solong Kandal (church of Pastor Sophean) we talked about the past outreach activities of the church and a bit about their future plans. Currently, they worship in the house of one of the members. It is a very simple house, the type that is often translated to be a cottage (meaning it has walls made from woven palm leaves, rather than bamboo slats or wood, but it did have a mettle roof which is nicer than thatch, but not as nice and hotter than tile). They are currently looking for a donor(s) that will support them to build a brick church (about $30,000). One of the church members has agreed already to donate the land.
The church members are very active and have done a lot of work to raise funds themselves for various things and are engaged in a lot of visitation ministry (to the poor, alcoholics, etc.). This time, we were talking about "outsiders", and how we can be more welcoming to folks different from us. It really struck me about how marginalized Christians are in Cambodia when I asked about visiting people with AIDS. They said that there are folks with AIDS in their community and that, yes, they have gone to visit them. I asked if they experienced that people sometimes look down on people with AIDS. They answered yes, but also that sometimes the people with AIDS looked down on the Christians. Wow!
They have also been collecting rice through their Sunday offering and also a first-fruits offering (this village grows 2 crops of rice a year since they are close to the river and it is easy for irrigation). Recently they sold most of their rice and bought a small paddy field (50m^2) for $580 that will be used to grow rice to raise additional money for the church. They hope eventually to have about 5 hectors of land to use for supporting the church, but they are starting small according to their ability to buy rather than waiting without action until a donor materializes. CHAD has really been promoting the concept of "seed projects", and it is amazing to see a church that is really putting it into practice.
They are asking CHAD to partner with them to purchase some farm equipment (such as a hand tractor or threshing machine) that they can rent out, also as a small business venture to raise funds for the church. Since this is a much more costly investment that CHAD usually engages in (about $3000), we are moving very slowly and making sure that everything is in place first. We are continuing with group formation through Mobilizing the Church and developing a clear plan so that we do not create a situation of dependency. I have high hopes for success because the pastor is a former business woman and they keep clear records already.
Last Sunday I joined worship at Solong Kandal Church, and then we continued with the Mobilizing the Church study. I brought a local translator, Nara, with me. He was a good group leader and we had a very dynamic workshop, but a bad translator since he kept forgetting to keep me in the loop. So, I just had to struggle along with my own understanding for most of the day (luckily I basically knew what we were doing). The congregation at this church is really warm and welcoming, and I always feel like a member of the family when I visit. Here is a quick update about the status of their project development.
Last time I visited Solong Kandal (church of Pastor Sophean) we talked about the past outreach activities of the church and a bit about their future plans. Currently, they worship in the house of one of the members. It is a very simple house, the type that is often translated to be a cottage (meaning it has walls made from woven palm leaves, rather than bamboo slats or wood, but it did have a mettle roof which is nicer than thatch, but not as nice and hotter than tile). They are currently looking for a donor(s) that will support them to build a brick church (about $30,000). One of the church members has agreed already to donate the land.
The church members are very active and have done a lot of work to raise funds themselves for various things and are engaged in a lot of visitation ministry (to the poor, alcoholics, etc.). This time, we were talking about "outsiders", and how we can be more welcoming to folks different from us. It really struck me about how marginalized Christians are in Cambodia when I asked about visiting people with AIDS. They said that there are folks with AIDS in their community and that, yes, they have gone to visit them. I asked if they experienced that people sometimes look down on people with AIDS. They answered yes, but also that sometimes the people with AIDS looked down on the Christians. Wow!
They have also been collecting rice through their Sunday offering and also a first-fruits offering (this village grows 2 crops of rice a year since they are close to the river and it is easy for irrigation). Recently they sold most of their rice and bought a small paddy field (50m^2) for $580 that will be used to grow rice to raise additional money for the church. They hope eventually to have about 5 hectors of land to use for supporting the church, but they are starting small according to their ability to buy rather than waiting without action until a donor materializes. CHAD has really been promoting the concept of "seed projects", and it is amazing to see a church that is really putting it into practice.
They are asking CHAD to partner with them to purchase some farm equipment (such as a hand tractor or threshing machine) that they can rent out, also as a small business venture to raise funds for the church. Since this is a much more costly investment that CHAD usually engages in (about $3000), we are moving very slowly and making sure that everything is in place first. We are continuing with group formation through Mobilizing the Church and developing a clear plan so that we do not create a situation of dependency. I have high hopes for success because the pastor is a former business woman and they keep clear records already.
A savings & credit group
On Saturday I visited the church of Lun Sokom, here is a quick update about the project at this church.
About a year ago they started a saving group in the church. The 20 members of the group (both Christians and non), each save 1000 reil ($.25) every month. They have also been giving out small loans of about $15-$25 to the members (repayable in 3 months). Three members took loans last year in order to buy feed to start raising chickens. They pay 3% interest. According to an earlier plan, they would start the savings group and after they demonstrated it's success, then CHAD would come in to provide additional capital (around $500), which would allow the group to give larger loans out to the members. I went to evaluate their progress and also to introduce the curriculum "Mobilizing the Church", which is a bible study designed to facilitate group formation.
The group has been functioning successfully so far. However, before we contribute to the capitol, they need to have the group by-laws in writing, so that there is a clear understanding about what will happen when folks enter or leave the group, etc. We also want to formalize their record keeping. Finally, the group suggested that they open an account with Acelde Bank since they will now have a larger sum of money that needs to be handeled. Step by step we can see progress.
About a year ago they started a saving group in the church. The 20 members of the group (both Christians and non), each save 1000 reil ($.25) every month. They have also been giving out small loans of about $15-$25 to the members (repayable in 3 months). Three members took loans last year in order to buy feed to start raising chickens. They pay 3% interest. According to an earlier plan, they would start the savings group and after they demonstrated it's success, then CHAD would come in to provide additional capital (around $500), which would allow the group to give larger loans out to the members. I went to evaluate their progress and also to introduce the curriculum "Mobilizing the Church", which is a bible study designed to facilitate group formation.
The group has been functioning successfully so far. However, before we contribute to the capitol, they need to have the group by-laws in writing, so that there is a clear understanding about what will happen when folks enter or leave the group, etc. We also want to formalize their record keeping. Finally, the group suggested that they open an account with Acelde Bank since they will now have a larger sum of money that needs to be handeled. Step by step we can see progress.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Reflections on my journey as a GBGM Missionary
by Ken Cruz
A year ago, as I was traveling from Cambodia to New York to attend my missionary orientation and training at Stony Point, I contemplated upon some of the ways in which I expected this training to impact my life and ministry. I joined GBGM not as your typical fresh-out-of-college rookie or a budding missionary eager to build a career in missions. I was already someone who has been in the mission field for a considerable time. Hence, I was not expecting to learn much, intending only to fulfill the formalities required to become a fully-commissioned GBGM missionary.
However, this all changed during the training itself, where I was confronted with some of the most provocative revelations about mission, which I have ever encountered. Most vividly etched in my memory was my encounter with the idea of “mutuality” in mission. This concept about missions seeks to encourage an approach of interdependence and covenantal relationships. Dr. Jacob Dharmaraj and his wife Glory capture this image in their words when they say that:
As a missionary from a Third World country I am honored to work with my brothers and sisters in the West and in Cambodia as we bring God’s transforming love to the people of Cambodia. By the grace of God, our partnerships with the ministry to the poor has enabled us to touch lives, heal the sick, feed the hungry and provide hope in many communities in Cambodia where the Methodist congregations are present.
I am truly grateful to be your hands and feet in God’s vineyard!
A year ago, as I was traveling from Cambodia to New York to attend my missionary orientation and training at Stony Point, I contemplated upon some of the ways in which I expected this training to impact my life and ministry. I joined GBGM not as your typical fresh-out-of-college rookie or a budding missionary eager to build a career in missions. I was already someone who has been in the mission field for a considerable time. Hence, I was not expecting to learn much, intending only to fulfill the formalities required to become a fully-commissioned GBGM missionary.
However, this all changed during the training itself, where I was confronted with some of the most provocative revelations about mission, which I have ever encountered. Most vividly etched in my memory was my encounter with the idea of “mutuality” in mission. This concept about missions seeks to encourage an approach of interdependence and covenantal relationships. Dr. Jacob Dharmaraj and his wife Glory capture this image in their words when they say that:
“Christian mission is a back-and-forth movement, between senders and receivers, older churches and younger ones, missionaries and believers, listeners and speakers. Mission is a dynamic interchange between giving and receiving, serving and being served, us and them.”
As a missionary from a Third World country I am honored to work with my brothers and sisters in the West and in Cambodia as we bring God’s transforming love to the people of Cambodia. By the grace of God, our partnerships with the ministry to the poor has enabled us to touch lives, heal the sick, feed the hungry and provide hope in many communities in Cambodia where the Methodist congregations are present.
I am truly grateful to be your hands and feet in God’s vineyard!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Ken's reflection on the inauguration of the 44th president of the USA
Just like Obama, God promises hope. And that is what everyone is waiting for, hope. Even though they announced the time of the inauguration would be noon, the people came early and were waiting urgently. People were willing to sacrifice; they were coming from miles and miles.
If we only had that urgency of waiting for the 2nd coming of Christ, this world would be a different place.
I just hope I can wake up each morning with that anticipation; I will be running and running.
-- Ken
If we only had that urgency of waiting for the 2nd coming of Christ, this world would be a different place.
I just hope I can wake up each morning with that anticipation; I will be running and running.
-- Ken
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A new school
Sam Oeurn, assistant pastor from Spien Church, stopped by our office today to share about his new business. He has just purchased a school he named LTS (Language and Technology School). He wanted to know if we would come and participate in the ceremony to welcome students for the new semester.
It was a novel request for me, but as Oeurn shared more about his vision for his church and for Cambodia it became clear. Oeurn's dream is three fold: 1) that folks will have the knowledge for a better life, 2) that folks will have the resources to accomplish their dreams, and 3) that the church will have good leadership.
It is big investment for Oeurn, a young man in his 30s, to buy and run this 10-teacher school with 250 students. (There have been 50 new students in the last month since he took over operations!) I know that he prayed a lot before taking this step. But I understand that his vision is big and that he doesn't see this as running just another school in Cambodia. He sees it as a way that he is living out his faith. We are all involved in building a better world (in religious terms: The Kingdom of God), and Oeurn sees his part in this as providing education for kids in his community.
I think it is exciting to see a young Cambodian take his faith seriously and listen to how it influences major life choices. And I applaud him for being able to articulate how this step is helping him to live an authentic life true to his vision and calling.
It was a novel request for me, but as Oeurn shared more about his vision for his church and for Cambodia it became clear. Oeurn's dream is three fold: 1) that folks will have the knowledge for a better life, 2) that folks will have the resources to accomplish their dreams, and 3) that the church will have good leadership.
It is big investment for Oeurn, a young man in his 30s, to buy and run this 10-teacher school with 250 students. (There have been 50 new students in the last month since he took over operations!) I know that he prayed a lot before taking this step. But I understand that his vision is big and that he doesn't see this as running just another school in Cambodia. He sees it as a way that he is living out his faith. We are all involved in building a better world (in religious terms: The Kingdom of God), and Oeurn sees his part in this as providing education for kids in his community.
I think it is exciting to see a young Cambodian take his faith seriously and listen to how it influences major life choices. And I applaud him for being able to articulate how this step is helping him to live an authentic life true to his vision and calling.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Service
Ken and Thy visited a church in Kompong Chhnang yesterday to disburse funds for a rice bank. The son of the pastor prepared the lunch meal for them. It was a wonderful and humbling experience for all. When Katherine and Thy visited last month, he was so sad and didn't engage, so it was exciting this visit to see him animated. The son is living with AIDS and lost his wife to the disease last year. Ken said, "It is very humbling; those who are supposed to be served are serving."
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