by Katherine Parker
My January and February schedule are filling up fast. My target geographic region has changed a little bit this year. Our new staff member Ms. Sophal will be taking over responsibility for the Kampong Thom region and so I will be traveling up there at the end of January to introduce her and collect our bi-annual project monitoring data.
I have also been traveling for monitoring out to churches in my three target area Kampong Chhnang (where I will be working in partnership with Ms. Daneth who just returned from a year of study at the Asian Rural Institute in Japan), Kampong Speu and my new area in the Takeo district.
We had a great meeting yesterday with the cow group at Trang Tre Yeung, Kampong Speu where I had been confused for the last year about exactly what had happened to their cows and calves. We sorted things out and I am excited to report that from the initial two cows purchased in December 2005 there have been 9 calves born.
One of the benefits of a cow-bank is that it provides increased security for the group members. Chen Han was one of the first care-takers of a cow, and so after passing-on he benefited from keeping the second calf born in March 2008. When he faced some health problem in 2010 he was able to sell the calf in order to pay for his medical care.
Of course we hope that families can experience the full benefit of a cow by rearing it until it is larger so as to gain maximum benefit and additional offspring, but I am also heartened when the cows can serve their purpose to provide security to the family that can be used in times of need such as this situation to pay for medical care.
Unfortunately, one of the original cows in this group was kill in a car accident and her current calf was not able to survive the loss of its mother, but the other cows continue to produce and the group is working well together.
How to measure the "success" of a project is not always clear. Just from looking at the numbers, this group has lost 3 of its 11 cows in the last year, which on the surface is not a good thing. But the loss brings awareness to the dangers of the increased traffic as more roads in Cambodia get paved and also to the hope that comes from individuals having the resources available to make decisions and take action for positive steps in their health care.
There is so much fear and even some fatalism around availability of health care in Cambodia. To see a situation where a man felt empowered to seek medical care and felt confident that he had the resources to do so on his own and then for him to actually improve in his health give me great hope that we are on the right path. This is not an overnight success; this cow project started way back in 2005. But as part of a global church community, we keep walking together, and there are these glimmers of hope along the way.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
UMCOR helps Social Concerns Committee respond to drought
by Katherine Parker
On January 6 and 7th we had a meeting of the Social Concerns Committee (SCC) where Rev. (Mr.) Pho Phala is the new chair (last year missionary Ken Cruz was the chairperson). This is another exciting area of increased Cambodian leadership.
The Social Concerns Committee was awarded a grant from UMCOR this winter in order to respond to anticipated food insecurities in the coming year due to drought during the 2010 rice growing season. As I have been conversing with various congregations it is apparent that this is a real concern since there has been a decreased harvest this December, in some cases 50% of the previous year yield. This is due in large part because of the variability in the rain we had last year. Some rains came early but then they stopped and so many seedlings died before they could be transplanted and heavy rains came very late in the growing season when it is typically time for the grains to be ripening. As you know from my other writing and sharing, food insecurity is already a problem in Cambodia and many families are not normally able to produce enough rice to eat for the year so the end up borrowing rice at exorbitant rates (50%-100% interest).
The Social Concerns Committee plans to use the UMCOR grant for three purposes, one is to provide rice-aid to highly vulnerable families who face severe shortfalls this year, a second is to provide rice-seed to farmers that suffered significant loss the previous year and would benefit from access to improved varieties and the other is to start about 100 new rice-banks (at about one-ton each rather than our typical three-tons), which will double the amount of rice available through rice-banks for low-interest community loans in the communities where the Methodist Mission Cambodia is working.
It is a big job for the pastors of the Social Concerns Committee to set up all of these and I have continued to meet with pastors in the districts where I am working to coach them and discuss the details of how we can quickly achieve this plan. One of the challenges to this kind of work is that the pastors will need to travel to visit communities in order to facilitate the planning meetings to initiate the new rice-banks. There are funds in the UMCOR grant to support travel to the initial meeting (about 100 meetings conducted by 18 different pastors over the next 3 months), but I am worried that there will be insufficient funds left for the pastors to travel to visit the rice-banks for the 6 month and 1 year monitoring visits, so there is a need to raise additional travel funds to support the pastors of the SCC to monitor the new rice banks. The next SCC meeting will be on February 3rd.
On January 6 and 7th we had a meeting of the Social Concerns Committee (SCC) where Rev. (Mr.) Pho Phala is the new chair (last year missionary Ken Cruz was the chairperson). This is another exciting area of increased Cambodian leadership.
The Social Concerns Committee was awarded a grant from UMCOR this winter in order to respond to anticipated food insecurities in the coming year due to drought during the 2010 rice growing season. As I have been conversing with various congregations it is apparent that this is a real concern since there has been a decreased harvest this December, in some cases 50% of the previous year yield. This is due in large part because of the variability in the rain we had last year. Some rains came early but then they stopped and so many seedlings died before they could be transplanted and heavy rains came very late in the growing season when it is typically time for the grains to be ripening. As you know from my other writing and sharing, food insecurity is already a problem in Cambodia and many families are not normally able to produce enough rice to eat for the year so the end up borrowing rice at exorbitant rates (50%-100% interest).
The Social Concerns Committee plans to use the UMCOR grant for three purposes, one is to provide rice-aid to highly vulnerable families who face severe shortfalls this year, a second is to provide rice-seed to farmers that suffered significant loss the previous year and would benefit from access to improved varieties and the other is to start about 100 new rice-banks (at about one-ton each rather than our typical three-tons), which will double the amount of rice available through rice-banks for low-interest community loans in the communities where the Methodist Mission Cambodia is working.
It is a big job for the pastors of the Social Concerns Committee to set up all of these and I have continued to meet with pastors in the districts where I am working to coach them and discuss the details of how we can quickly achieve this plan. One of the challenges to this kind of work is that the pastors will need to travel to visit communities in order to facilitate the planning meetings to initiate the new rice-banks. There are funds in the UMCOR grant to support travel to the initial meeting (about 100 meetings conducted by 18 different pastors over the next 3 months), but I am worried that there will be insufficient funds left for the pastors to travel to visit the rice-banks for the 6 month and 1 year monitoring visits, so there is a need to raise additional travel funds to support the pastors of the SCC to monitor the new rice banks. The next SCC meeting will be on February 3rd.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Christmas in Kampong Speu
by Katherine Parker
I was honored when Rev. Hong Phally invited me to preach at her church on December 26th, which was only the second time I have preached here and the first time for me to preach almost entirely in Khmer (Hong Phally helped me with specific words and a bit more at the end when I started getting tired, but I was pleased that the congregation seemed to understand me). I reflected on the preparations that Mary made to welcome the baby Jesus.
There are many children in Cambodia (over 50% of the population is 20 years old or younger), and of course there are many preparations to be made in anticipation of a baby. Yet the Christmas story is so strange, I feel quite a bit of pity for Mary and Joseph and Jesus about the situation where they found themselves, and thinking about this story brings up the feelings of pity I have for the families I work with in Cambodia.
Pity is a very strong cultural emotion in Cambodia and it is evoked in many conversations I have here. Reading the following poem by John Donne got me thinking about this question of why I feel pity. I am inspired by Mary, who did not feel ashamed by her situation but rather rejoiced in her opportunity as she sings the Magnificat. She couldn't prepare a lot of "things" for the birth, but she prepared her heart and she was not ashamed by her situation to invite God into her place. We too can take inspiration from Mary to prepare our hearts, to not feel ashamed but to do what we can with who we are and what we have.
I was honored when Rev. Hong Phally invited me to preach at her church on December 26th, which was only the second time I have preached here and the first time for me to preach almost entirely in Khmer (Hong Phally helped me with specific words and a bit more at the end when I started getting tired, but I was pleased that the congregation seemed to understand me). I reflected on the preparations that Mary made to welcome the baby Jesus.
There are many children in Cambodia (over 50% of the population is 20 years old or younger), and of course there are many preparations to be made in anticipation of a baby. Yet the Christmas story is so strange, I feel quite a bit of pity for Mary and Joseph and Jesus about the situation where they found themselves, and thinking about this story brings up the feelings of pity I have for the families I work with in Cambodia.
Pity is a very strong cultural emotion in Cambodia and it is evoked in many conversations I have here. Reading the following poem by John Donne got me thinking about this question of why I feel pity. I am inspired by Mary, who did not feel ashamed by her situation but rather rejoiced in her opportunity as she sings the Magnificat. She couldn't prepare a lot of "things" for the birth, but she prepared her heart and she was not ashamed by her situation to invite God into her place. We too can take inspiration from Mary to prepare our hearts, to not feel ashamed but to do what we can with who we are and what we have.
Immensity, cloister'd in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His well-beloved imprisonment.
There he hath made himself to his intent
Weak enough, now into our world to come.
But O ! for thee, for Him, hath th' inn no room ?
Yet lay Him in this stall, and from th' orient,
Stars, and wise men will travel to prevent
The effects of Herod's jealous general doom.
See'st thou, my soul, with thy faith's eye, how He
Which fills all place, yet none holds Him, doth lie ?
Was not His pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee ?
Kiss Him, and with Him into Egypt go,
With His kind mother, who partakes thy woe.
~John Donne (1572-1631)
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Christmas Greetings
Can you imagine a wolf living with a lamb? A lion hanging out with a calf? How is this possible, and where might I find this place?
Indeed, this is hard to imagine either literally, or even figuratively here in Cambodia where the gap between the rich and poor grows ever wider, young persons search for opportunities for education and employment and tensions and boarder disputes continue.
Yet, this Isaiah 11 vision is ours to embody and proclaim now and here in this place, thanks to the birth of Christ Jesus who came to make things right. We praise God for the ways we have witnessed foretastes of this as local congregations practice and extend His reconciling hope among families, neighborhoods, and civil institutions that have been torn apart by fallen powers and principalities.
Therefore, we are deeply grateful for all of your prayers, encouragement and financial support. You are tangible expressions of God's grace to us and our work in Cambodia. We look forward to our ongoing adventure in 2011.
Indeed, this is hard to imagine either literally, or even figuratively here in Cambodia where the gap between the rich and poor grows ever wider, young persons search for opportunities for education and employment and tensions and boarder disputes continue.
Yet, this Isaiah 11 vision is ours to embody and proclaim now and here in this place, thanks to the birth of Christ Jesus who came to make things right. We praise God for the ways we have witnessed foretastes of this as local congregations practice and extend His reconciling hope among families, neighborhoods, and civil institutions that have been torn apart by fallen powers and principalities.
Therefore, we are deeply grateful for all of your prayers, encouragement and financial support. You are tangible expressions of God's grace to us and our work in Cambodia. We look forward to our ongoing adventure in 2011.
May joy fill your heart this season!
with peace and love from the CHAD team,
(back l->r) Ken CRUZ, LENG Thy
(front l->) HOUT Vannak, SOK Sophall, Irene MPARUTSA, Katherine PARKER
(back l->r) Ken CRUZ, LENG Thy
(front l->) HOUT Vannak, SOK Sophall, Irene MPARUTSA, Katherine PARKER
Sunday, December 26, 2010
"But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" Luke 2:19;51
Dear Friends,
As we celebrate Christmas this year, I am thinking about my 11 years in Cambodia; the triumphs, trials and challenges of working in a young mission church and in a multicultural environment in a Buddhist context. As I am writing, in my heart is a new song of praise and thanksgiving. I am especially thankful for you all as the cloud of witnesses that surrounds me each day from far and near. Through it I am inspired and rejuvenated to continue the work out here. I am also thankful for the amazing support I have received in taking care of Mutumwa, my grandson.
The year 2010 has been busy, fruitful and brief. I am amazed how at this point in my life, time seems to fly and there is not enough time for one to do all the things planned for each day! Nonetheless I am deeply grateful for the work that we have accomplished and for all those who came to help us- through UMVIM Teams and individually. We were blessed with visits by colleagues from GBGM-UMC New York as well as Conferences in Western Pennsylvania/ Virginia; California / Nevada; Louisiana / Texas; Rocky Mountain; Singapore and Malaysia. Their "hands on" support has enhanced our work immensely.
Our achievements this year include the recruitment of Sok Sophal, my local counterpart; H1NI vaccinations which we administered to 200 people; the establishment of the District Health Fund, Theology of Development Training with church leaders, HIV /AIDS / Malaria Workshop for church volunteers; as well as Medical Outreach and Pastors Training for patient advocacy. My crowning experience has been the training of church leaders. It has begun an important worldview shift in my Christian life. I am thankful for this opportunity to share, to learn and to grow together .
Pondering on, I realize how some of these experiences have had an often surprising effect on me and on my work. I think about the time our hopes were shattered when the cardiologist at Calmette told us that Phanya did not qualify for fee exemption.This meant he had to pay $4500 upfront in order to have open heart surgery. Neither Phanya's widowed mother nor the Pastor and I could think of where to find this money.We prayed together and asked God's help. Several weeks later I received a phone call.... the answer to prayer?? " A team of heart surgeons will come to work at Calmette from Korea. "Can you help find people in need. The team will cover all costs for treatments" - the voice spoke.
Phanya the little 12 year old had surgery in August. He is back at school playing football with other kids. "We have not because we ask not" - James 4:2b.
I also recall a brief encounter on one side of the world that led to amazing and rewarding team work on the other side. While I was at a meeting in Louisiana, I made acquaintance with a woman at a Book Sale Stand. At the end of the meeting, the woman asked what she could do to help in my work. I confessed I would love to have some administrative support-organizing my files, newsletters and updating documents...and the list continued.I did not expect much out of it. A year later, she and two friends were standing in my office ready to do just that! I was overjoyed. But the best was to come. The friendship and collaboration I experienced with these women brought benefits I could have never imagined. As I ponder this, I am reminded that while we are occupied with the details of our everyday life, God is similarly occupied, enabling us to succeed with these details. He does "exceedingly abundantly above all.....Ephesians 3:20".
In another instance I found myself extremely fatigued. It had crept upon me over a long period of time.While on a visit to Colorado, a friend had suggested I extend my visit, stay with her and get some uninterrupted rest. I agreed and she cared for me in all sorts of ways, healing and restoring wholeness. A year later she led the Rocky Mountain Medical team to Cambodia. Praying and healing the sick, the team launched us into an amazing collaboration with the provincial health department in Kratie.Through its witness, many have come to know Christ. Their gifts to Mercy Medical Centre - is helping us consolidate our partnership with this Christian Hospital.
GBGM-UMC has treasured up over the last century the wonders God has done in missions worldwide and GBGM went to Cambodia by faith. "But Mary kept all these these things and pondered them in her heart".It built her faith. Like Mary, this Christmas can be a time to ponder about the wondrous things in our lives. What is it that we hear and see God doing in our lives and have we kept it in our hearts?
To You all, Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year !
Irene
As we celebrate Christmas this year, I am thinking about my 11 years in Cambodia; the triumphs, trials and challenges of working in a young mission church and in a multicultural environment in a Buddhist context. As I am writing, in my heart is a new song of praise and thanksgiving. I am especially thankful for you all as the cloud of witnesses that surrounds me each day from far and near. Through it I am inspired and rejuvenated to continue the work out here. I am also thankful for the amazing support I have received in taking care of Mutumwa, my grandson.
The year 2010 has been busy, fruitful and brief. I am amazed how at this point in my life, time seems to fly and there is not enough time for one to do all the things planned for each day! Nonetheless I am deeply grateful for the work that we have accomplished and for all those who came to help us- through UMVIM Teams and individually. We were blessed with visits by colleagues from GBGM-UMC New York as well as Conferences in Western Pennsylvania/ Virginia; California / Nevada; Louisiana / Texas; Rocky Mountain; Singapore and Malaysia. Their "hands on" support has enhanced our work immensely.
Our achievements this year include the recruitment of Sok Sophal, my local counterpart; H1NI vaccinations which we administered to 200 people; the establishment of the District Health Fund, Theology of Development Training with church leaders, HIV /AIDS / Malaria Workshop for church volunteers; as well as Medical Outreach and Pastors Training for patient advocacy. My crowning experience has been the training of church leaders. It has begun an important worldview shift in my Christian life. I am thankful for this opportunity to share, to learn and to grow together .
Pondering on, I realize how some of these experiences have had an often surprising effect on me and on my work. I think about the time our hopes were shattered when the cardiologist at Calmette told us that Phanya did not qualify for fee exemption.This meant he had to pay $4500 upfront in order to have open heart surgery. Neither Phanya's widowed mother nor the Pastor and I could think of where to find this money.We prayed together and asked God's help. Several weeks later I received a phone call.... the answer to prayer?? " A team of heart surgeons will come to work at Calmette from Korea. "Can you help find people in need. The team will cover all costs for treatments" - the voice spoke.
Phanya the little 12 year old had surgery in August. He is back at school playing football with other kids. "We have not because we ask not" - James 4:2b.
I also recall a brief encounter on one side of the world that led to amazing and rewarding team work on the other side. While I was at a meeting in Louisiana, I made acquaintance with a woman at a Book Sale Stand. At the end of the meeting, the woman asked what she could do to help in my work. I confessed I would love to have some administrative support-organizing my files, newsletters and updating documents...and the list continued.I did not expect much out of it. A year later, she and two friends were standing in my office ready to do just that! I was overjoyed. But the best was to come. The friendship and collaboration I experienced with these women brought benefits I could have never imagined. As I ponder this, I am reminded that while we are occupied with the details of our everyday life, God is similarly occupied, enabling us to succeed with these details. He does "exceedingly abundantly above all.....Ephesians 3:20".
In another instance I found myself extremely fatigued. It had crept upon me over a long period of time.While on a visit to Colorado, a friend had suggested I extend my visit, stay with her and get some uninterrupted rest. I agreed and she cared for me in all sorts of ways, healing and restoring wholeness. A year later she led the Rocky Mountain Medical team to Cambodia. Praying and healing the sick, the team launched us into an amazing collaboration with the provincial health department in Kratie.Through its witness, many have come to know Christ. Their gifts to Mercy Medical Centre - is helping us consolidate our partnership with this Christian Hospital.
GBGM-UMC has treasured up over the last century the wonders God has done in missions worldwide and GBGM went to Cambodia by faith. "But Mary kept all these these things and pondered them in her heart".It built her faith. Like Mary, this Christmas can be a time to ponder about the wondrous things in our lives. What is it that we hear and see God doing in our lives and have we kept it in our hearts?
To You all, Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year !
Irene
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Reflections on Missions as Transformation
from Ken Cruz
If I had to choose among the many blessings God has afforded me in 2010, I would have to thank Him most for the way in which he continues to humble me. In a vocation that involves heavy interaction with peoples from various backgrounds, I am often faced with temptation of deeming my own views superior to those around me. But, by the grace of God, I continue to grow in my willingness to look past my own prejudices and anxieties.
Development work is difficult precisely because there are so many ways one could conceivably go about it and everyone has a different understanding of what “best” means. We are not, however, called to debate endlessly on this issue but to play out our faith through deeds. To actually start the “doing” and is an act of in faith itself because there is no guarantee that our endeavors will produce tangible breakthroughs, at least in the short run.
Too much talking never works to the advantage of the Kingdom of God. Listening to others, conversely, tends always to promote the right spirit in all who have a stake in our work here in Cambodia. When people feel empowered, they are more willing to take part in the action.
This is one of the bedrock principles upon which I attempt to conduct my ministry here in Cambodia. I have had the privilege of meeting and working with people who are, in many areas of development work, more knowledgeable than I am and vice versa. This dynamic, although explosive at times, encourages me to practice humility. As a result, I have seen benign transformations not just in the communities in which I work but also in me and my co-workers.
May God be glorified in all that we do!
Celebrations & Prayer Requests
May God multiply your goodness a thousand folds! Your partners in Christ,
Ken, Jomil, Kim & Kyle Cruz
www.advancinghope.org
Missionary Support Code: 3019583
Program Support Code: 14916A
“There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.”As we bid farewell to 2010 and welcome 2011, I can only praise and thank God for everything He has done for me, my family, and our ministry with churches and local communities in Cambodia. This year has been a journey filled with many transforming experiences both for me and the people I am privileged to serve.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
If I had to choose among the many blessings God has afforded me in 2010, I would have to thank Him most for the way in which he continues to humble me. In a vocation that involves heavy interaction with peoples from various backgrounds, I am often faced with temptation of deeming my own views superior to those around me. But, by the grace of God, I continue to grow in my willingness to look past my own prejudices and anxieties.
Development work is difficult precisely because there are so many ways one could conceivably go about it and everyone has a different understanding of what “best” means. We are not, however, called to debate endlessly on this issue but to play out our faith through deeds. To actually start the “doing” and is an act of in faith itself because there is no guarantee that our endeavors will produce tangible breakthroughs, at least in the short run.
Too much talking never works to the advantage of the Kingdom of God. Listening to others, conversely, tends always to promote the right spirit in all who have a stake in our work here in Cambodia. When people feel empowered, they are more willing to take part in the action.
This is one of the bedrock principles upon which I attempt to conduct my ministry here in Cambodia. I have had the privilege of meeting and working with people who are, in many areas of development work, more knowledgeable than I am and vice versa. This dynamic, although explosive at times, encourages me to practice humility. As a result, I have seen benign transformations not just in the communities in which I work but also in me and my co-workers.
May God be glorified in all that we do!
Celebrations & Prayer Requests
- Praise the Lord for the 180 church pastors/leaders who completed the Mobilizing Local Church training program for Holistic Ministry.
- Praise the Lord for allowing the CHAD community development programs to support 60 churches/ villages.
- Praise the Lord for giving our CHAD team an opportunity to teach Bible School students on transformational development course.
- Praise God for faithful provisions for Kim & Kyle’s college expenses.
- Praise for God for keeping family safe and enjoy good health.
- Please pray for God’s healing for my wife Jomil’s elbow injury.
- Praise God for giving me and my wife Jomil 21 years of blissful marriage.
- Finally, we want to thank God for all those who blessed us in small and big way
May God multiply your goodness a thousand folds! Your partners in Christ,
Ken, Jomil, Kim & Kyle Cruz
www.advancinghope.org
Missionary Support Code: 3019583
Program Support Code: 14916A
Monday, July 19, 2010
A Healthy Family
by Leng Thy, CHAD staff
Enjoying a healthy life, where family members live in harmony, parents enjoy bountiful harvest from their farms, children have three meals a day with nutritious food, and families willingly help their neighbors, is one of the things the CHAD program wishes to see in the villages where the Methodist churches are situated. Such an ideal picture of a healthy family can now be seen in the life of one of the members of the irrigation crop production group in a village called Phum Phnao in the Svay Rieng district.
In a wooden nice house with a clean, fairly large backyard, located approximately 500 meters behind the church, lives a four-member family: husband, wife and two children. The sizeable yard provides enough space for the family to grow fruit trees, cultivate a vegetable garden, manage fish in a pond, and raise its own animals (such as cows, pigs, ducks and chickens), thus enabling this industrious family to survive easily. It is no surprise that most of the people in their village recognize them as model farmers.
Mrs. Sam Ang, 51-years-old and the farm’s owner, reported that she and her 59-year-old husband, Mr. Em Sakhorn, have six children, of which four have already married. There are only two children remaining in her care. In retrospect, Sam Ang sadly recalls her family story. She said that before she came to know and believe in Christ she was so poor. She worked so hard that she had little time to be with her children, to give them proper care, except at nighttime when they were already asleep. During the daytime, Mrs. Sam Ang had to walk the whole day long selling noodles, in order to earn money to support her family. Since her children were very much part of running this small family business, it came to a point that all her children stopped going to school. She also tearfully told about living in a dilapidated house that was ready to collapse. She felt feel isolated and hopeless. Nobody in the village gave her any support or comforted her when she was in trouble with sickness or with no food to eat.
In 1998, she and all her family members accepted God, and since then their living conditions have improved gradually. She firmly and faithfully states that God supplies her everything she needs, like the ability to send her children to school and the resources to rebuild her house, which she accomplished in 2004. In church she has many beloved friends and is not lonely, as she was before. She was included in an irrigation crop production group, in which she was given the priority to receive the pump machine first. Having a pump machine provides her family an opportunity to cultivate a vegetable garden, from which she earns enough to support their daily needs. The garden also provides some extra resources to help her needy neighbors who come for help.
Full of compassion and kindness, she visits her neighbors and other sick people. She divides her life among her family, church, and work. She also finds time for self development, through attending training and workshops sponsored by NGOs or the government. Attending these trainings, she gaines experience that is helpful in making her farm very successful. Not wanting to keep the blessing just for themselves, Mrs. Sam Ang and her husband are eager in sharing their knowledge when meeting people at her church. She also said that because of God her life is really full of joy, since He takes care of her farm. That’s why it becomes so fruitful, enabling her family to have three meals a day, good clothes, and a nice house. She says, “I am now satisfied with everything God provides for my family; praise God for helping me.”
Enjoying a healthy life, where family members live in harmony, parents enjoy bountiful harvest from their farms, children have three meals a day with nutritious food, and families willingly help their neighbors, is one of the things the CHAD program wishes to see in the villages where the Methodist churches are situated. Such an ideal picture of a healthy family can now be seen in the life of one of the members of the irrigation crop production group in a village called Phum Phnao in the Svay Rieng district.
In a wooden nice house with a clean, fairly large backyard, located approximately 500 meters behind the church, lives a four-member family: husband, wife and two children. The sizeable yard provides enough space for the family to grow fruit trees, cultivate a vegetable garden, manage fish in a pond, and raise its own animals (such as cows, pigs, ducks and chickens), thus enabling this industrious family to survive easily. It is no surprise that most of the people in their village recognize them as model farmers.
Mrs. Sam Ang, 51-years-old and the farm’s owner, reported that she and her 59-year-old husband, Mr. Em Sakhorn, have six children, of which four have already married. There are only two children remaining in her care. In retrospect, Sam Ang sadly recalls her family story. She said that before she came to know and believe in Christ she was so poor. She worked so hard that she had little time to be with her children, to give them proper care, except at nighttime when they were already asleep. During the daytime, Mrs. Sam Ang had to walk the whole day long selling noodles, in order to earn money to support her family. Since her children were very much part of running this small family business, it came to a point that all her children stopped going to school. She also tearfully told about living in a dilapidated house that was ready to collapse. She felt feel isolated and hopeless. Nobody in the village gave her any support or comforted her when she was in trouble with sickness or with no food to eat.
In 1998, she and all her family members accepted God, and since then their living conditions have improved gradually. She firmly and faithfully states that God supplies her everything she needs, like the ability to send her children to school and the resources to rebuild her house, which she accomplished in 2004. In church she has many beloved friends and is not lonely, as she was before. She was included in an irrigation crop production group, in which she was given the priority to receive the pump machine first. Having a pump machine provides her family an opportunity to cultivate a vegetable garden, from which she earns enough to support their daily needs. The garden also provides some extra resources to help her needy neighbors who come for help.
Full of compassion and kindness, she visits her neighbors and other sick people. She divides her life among her family, church, and work. She also finds time for self development, through attending training and workshops sponsored by NGOs or the government. Attending these trainings, she gaines experience that is helpful in making her farm very successful. Not wanting to keep the blessing just for themselves, Mrs. Sam Ang and her husband are eager in sharing their knowledge when meeting people at her church. She also said that because of God her life is really full of joy, since He takes care of her farm. That’s why it becomes so fruitful, enabling her family to have three meals a day, good clothes, and a nice house. She says, “I am now satisfied with everything God provides for my family; praise God for helping me.”
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