Daneth's first week at the Asian Rural Institute, Japan

by Ms. Him Daneth

Daneth, part of the GBGM staff in Cambodia, is attending a nine-month training program at the Asian Rural Institute (ARI) in Japan. Here are some reflections from her first week at the program.

I would like to share what was happening, my feeling, and many activities…

Tomoko said that there are 17 countries for the 2010 participants. There are 16 male and 14 female.

The first session was an introduction about the Crop and vegetable session. It was talking about our farming situation back home. What we used to do and why we need to plant the vegetable and rice? Most of the participants answered, “Because we need to eat.” The end of the introduction was talking about the connection between every thing living on earth. Every thing on earth is connected; we have to know how they are connected. Good Sun asked, “What is the human need?” The participants answered that food and water sustain our life. “How can we have the food?” They said that we buy our plant and raise it. “How can we plant and raise the animal?” For example, the cow needs what? The cow needs the grass. “The grass needs what?” The grass needs the water. The human eats the cow and drinks the water, the cow needs the grass and the grass needs water and sun.

Tomoko san is the Associate Director. She is in ARI 15 years already. She shared about the Biography of ARI. The founder is Dr. Takami. Foundation and Spirit of ARI is very important for us to understand and helps you understand why you need to come here. She shared the key word of living in ARI. We share every thing with each other so that we may live together, it is the ARI motto. We also need to live and connect with nature.

Food Life Work

The facilitator of the crop and vegetable told us that before we plant potatoes, we have to know where they come from. The potatoes come from South Africa. Teacher explains about how to cut potatoes. “Do we need to cut potato in two pieces or many pieces?” It is according to the eye of the potato. “Why we need to do like that?” because the potato can grow more and more.

Community Life Policy

There are 3 main points: 1. Standard, 2. Guideline, and 3. Rule. It is talking about our living in ARI as the community. We come from different backgrounds so we need to understand one another. It is what we need to learn. How can we build the new community living if we do not understand each other? This community will be broken. We need to learn from one another as a person, work together, sleep together, eat together, and play together in order that we learn to help each other.

Hallelujah Moment from Cambodia "Answered Prayer"

Thank you to GBGM staff in New York for producing this wonderful Hallelujah Moment about the story of the girl with a heart condition in Kampong Chhnang. You can download the brochure or read the whole story from last August.

Every few months when I get to meet the girl, my heart sings praise at her improving condition. Her color and strength are improved and she is regularly participating with the congregation.

I am headed up to worship with the congregation again this Sunday. We are planning to do a hygiene outreach to kids in a neighboring village. We've been collecting supplies, such as nail clippers*, towels and lice shampoo that have donated by a variety of churches from the USA and Korea. The church members plan to teach hand-washing and treat kids who have head-lice. I'm going along to help test the water.

Please continue praying for Cambodia, the need is great, but so is the passion for Christ and the power of the small miracles happening all around us.

*when we took the health kits sent by Wesley UMC, Bakersfield to the prison ministry, we had to remove all of the nail clippers, so they are going to use now in this outreach.

Practicing economic justice in Cambodia

While studying theology of development with pastors in Kampong Speu, we discussed some ways they are or could practice just economic relationships. Weddings are a major event in Cambodia. While wealthy people usually can come out ahead because the cash gifts are more than the expenses, this is not true for poor families who usually loose money putting on a wedding. Rev. Sopeng suggests that an act of economic justice is to make sure that we give an equal gift when we go to the wedding of a poor family as a rich family. This idea is counter to common practice in Cambodia, but which demonstrates this value.