CMA - Ministry to the Vietnamese in Cambodia

I just wanted to give you some information about the Christian Missionary Alliance which is the ministry that I work with and the place where I teach English.

The CMA have different ministries worldwide but this one is based in Canada, located here in Cambodia, reaching out to the marginalized Vietnamese population.

There are two Vietnamese staff, Kim and Than Nguyen: Kim manages the projects and Than Nguyen is both pastor and teacher. There are projects here in the Siemreap area, a school which is here in town and a church (below) which is actually on a floating barge on the Tonle Sap lake which is about an hour's drive and boat trip away.

The Vietnamese have been in Cambodia for many centuries and are truly exiled and on the edge of society. They are amongst the poorest of the poor here and their lives are a daily struggle for survival. I think this is one of the reasons why I enjoy my work with them because they don't have any rights to education or land-ownership and seem truly grateful for that which you aim to do for them.

The people cannot return to Vietnam because they are not recognized by the Vietnamese government as they have no such identification. They originally came to Cambodia to fish the Tonle Sap lake and they actually live on the lake itself in floating villages. Many tourists here go on excursions to visit the floating villages as they are seen as an attraction but when I went there with Kim, there was nothing attractive about it. OK, the surroundings of the lake are beautiful but the lives of the people are truly pitiful and I felt sad that people make money out of selling boat trips to visit this impoverished people group.

They struggle to make a living; the unique tide patterns of the lake mean that its depth changes quite radically and the fishermen often have to move their families to where the most abundant source of fish is found. Many don't have the money to buy drinking water and so drink the water from the lake which is, as you can imagine, used for a whole manner of things. Even after boiling, its muddy content merely conceals a whole range of water-borne diseases.

However, their daily battle to survive has brought many to Christ although many find trusting in Him for their daily needs difficult. You can teach the people about hygiene and healthy eating but the problem is that they are too poor to invest in these lifestyles - bottled water and vegetables are costly staples and Than Nguyen struggles to meet the needs of the church, even as she loads her motorbike up with as much water and vegetables as she can carry.

One of the other problems faced by Kim and Than Nguyen is of families willing to sell their children to gangs promising them work in the 'coffee shops' of Phnom Penh - from the outside these establishments look innocent enough but they are merely a front for brothels. Once tipped off that there is a real possibility of a family being lead this way, they do all they can to educate them in order to keep the child at home. However, the lure of employment in this manner is often too strong to keep them in the family.

An example of this was one of the girls that attends the church on the lake who was actually told by her parents that she would be sold in order to pay off a gambling debt. Apparently the figure they would receive would be around $500 - I can't imagine what it must be like to have to consider selling one's own child into imminent abuse.

As a reward for good behaviour and diligent learning, the students are given tokens in class that they can save up and then, at the end of the week, they are allowed into the school storeroom (photo above) where they can redeem the tokens they've earned for bags of rice, shampoo, drinks, toothpaste, clothing, shoes and school books.

The kids who come to the school often lead difficult lives as they combine studying with their 'ep chai' duties of scouring the streets looking for rubbish to sell on (photos below). They are used as a source of income by their parents who often run up large debts gambling, which is rife in these poor communities. Sadly, I've heard stories of the children being beaten at home and one child whose prostitute mother actually tried to drown her before a neighbour stepped in to save her life. Many of the Vietnamese can't get good jobs and scrape a living doing what they can to make ends meet.

Than Nguyen (pictured here) works hard for these people; her love for them shines through even when she has to deal with difficult situations at the lake or when the kids at the school misbehave. I also tutor her in English as she has expressed a wish to be able to share the ministry's needs with Western visitors out here; this is enjoyable and her confidence and fluency is improving. She has needed assistance for a while now and thankfully, Kim has found a Vietnamese lady who will be joining us in February but more help is still required.

Until next time..

With every blessing,
Dan

Trepidation? What trepidation?

Funny as I look back to the time when I had just arrived out here and there was a just tinge of trepidation (well, probably a bit more than a tinge) about how things would pan out... and there was me going on about stepping out in faith. I knew this was what I had to do and I knew that I could step out in faith and trust that everything would fall into place. Admittedly, there is the odd day of challenge, but one cannot deny that the His plan is undoubtedly unfolding as it should.

Have thankfully moved back into the original guest house and now have a different room which I'm told is mine for keeps; I even have a warm shower which is a bonus although it isn't essential.

The area within the grounds of the guest house has a lot of greenery, palm trees and a few seated areas to chill out in the shade. Exotic creatures can be heard and the other day I saw a colourful butterfly the size of a small bird. The inside of the guest house is decorated with traditional Khmer art and typical Indochinese-style wooden furniture.

My ground-floor room has a small TV, a fridge, a bamboo clothes rail, an en suite bathroom and the all-important ceiling fan. The windows look out towards the eating area, have metal grilles and slideable mosquito screens. It has a tiled floor and the room gets cleaned once a day, usually while I'm out teaching, so very convenient. It's modest and it has all I need.

The other day I pulled up on my loaned 100cc Honda Dream motorbike and was promptly invited over to the outdoor table of the owner's family who were eating. They beckoned me to sit down and I understood that they wanted to offer me some Khmer food. “OK”, I said and an array of various types of veg and small dishes of spices were shuffled before me. Then the owner's mother placed an egg in front of me, to which I thought, “OK, at least they aren't trying to feed me deep-fried snake or anything.”

How wrong I was.

She took a teaspoon and knocked the top off the egg and there it was inside: duck embryo. It was one of the grossest things I have ever seen and I made my excuses and left the table feeling decidedly ill. There was an Australian woman at the table who, in French, politely declined their offer too (French is still occasionally spoken here).

I've had some very positive feedback from the ministries where I teach, which is what I need as I'm the type who needs reassurance that what I aim to do is well received. However, the heat is an issue and keeping oneself protected and cool is essential. I've just added another Khmer student to my schedule; he is a former monk whose brother is a Christian and we are studying conversational English and some simple Bible verses with him as he has been asking me a lot of questions. Please pray for him, his name is Gurt.

Another of my students in the evening class, Sen, is a former officer in the Cambodian army who fought the Khmer Rouge in the civil war here. When he went into the army his studies were put on hold and he now works as a tour guide and actually speaks English well but is keen to improve and is one of my best students. The older generation here have many stories to tell.

I've found a cheap eatery in town and I was there on Saturday night, sat at one of the outside tables to see the world as it passes by. A man pushing his elderly father in a wheelchair approached me; the elderly man was a blind amputee and I was overcome with empathy for them, especially as it reminded me of when I used to take my mum out in her wheelchair. The difference here is that the people need to eat and clothe themselves as there's no social security system, something we in the west can often take for granted. I handed them some Cambodian money and I prayed for them as they went on their way.

The Vietnamese school closes for a couple of weeks in January and I'm hoping to take time off and explore some of Cambodia, especially the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh so that I can understand more of what happened during the genocide here. I do need to find someone to cover for me at the evening class so if anyone fancies coming over to help me out, let me know!

Despite what Bing Crosby says, it doesn't feel a lot like Christmas out here but in church, it does. We've been singing carols and studying Luke chapter two, the birth of Jesus, God's gift to mankind. In verse 8 we learn of the shepherds' visitation by the angels who told the good news, that a Saviour was born in Bethlehem.
And what did the shepherds do? They took action! They went to Bethlehem and witnessed the Lord Jesus for themselves. So as we're thinking about gifts this season, maybe we can remember that Jesus is the greatest gift of them all. He has given everything for us, so how are we presenting ourselves as a gift to Him?

GIFT:
Give your life to Him
Invest your life for Him (time, talent, treasure, testimony)
Face the future with Him
Tell others about Him

You see, HE is the reason for the season.

Until next time..

A day in the life

I write this in the restaurant area of the guest house, looking across at my room with a strange feeling because someone else is now staying in it. I don't know how the staff here managed to do it but I have had to vacate and go and stay at the guest house over the road because they somehow double-booked it. Apparently I can move back here tomorrow but I'll have a different room; it has been a pain because these couple of days have been very busy and having to pack and unpack my bags again is a hassle I could've done without. But that's the way it goes sometimes and you just have to roll with it.

However, days like today remind me of how important it is to take notice when God is tapping you on the shoulder and reminding you that it is time to take a step in a different direction of your journey. That's what it felt like for me over the months preceding the trip out here: despite the pull of a comfort zone of sorts, He was clear about what I had to do and circumstantially everything was pointing towards coming out here. Today has been part of what all this is about, in allowing God to use me just as I am and although I didn't realise it at the time (as it is all part of a normal day) it has dawned on me that I am bang in the middle of where He wants me to be and what He wants me to do.

This morning I was so humbled by the Vietnamese youngsters in the morning class. They are really coming along well with their alphabet, numbers and basic vocabulary although it is a bit repetitive teaching 2-3 classes pretty much the same thing. We start and end the classes with a short prayer and then out they all troop, one by one saying “goodbye teacher!” and “see you tomorrow!” But what really got me today was that as they were walking out, a couple of them grabbed my hand and kissed it. It was one of those life moments that I'll never forget, such a simple but heartfelt gesture of appreciation. I know I've said this before but it is an honour playing a part in their education.

After teaching the kids, I have a short break then I have one-to-one tutoring with Wing who is the Vietnamese teacher at the school. She speaks broken English but with time and encouragement, she is actually a lot better than she gives herself credit for. Today she shared how God has answered her prayer that she would be able to study English with a foreigner as she had been unable to afford to go to an international school back in Vietnam. She said that it can be frustrating for her because they sometimes have mission teams from Canada, the USA and Europe visiting and she is unable to answer their questions and share the kids' stories but now she says that she is happy that she'll be able to communicate well with them.

It has been a bit problematic getting to the church for the evening class; the church has a couple of tuk-tuk drivers but they're not always available and as it would take about an hour to cycle there, one of the students has been kindly picking me up on her motorbike on her way there. Well, when she arrives, she gets off the bike and says: “teacher, you ride!” so I move my small backpack round to the front and climb onto the bike while she sits side-saddle on the back, which is a normal way for a woman to ride pillion in Asia.

Admittedly I didn't have a helmet and neither did she but I was wearing a straw hat which I may as well have exchanged for a paper bag, the use it would have been in the event of an accident. So off we went and were just chatting as we rode along when suddenly she shouts: “Teacher, STOP, POLICE!”

And there they were, the boys in brown, parked up on their motorbikes on the roadside, gesturing for us to pull over. So we pulled in; I got off the bike and started talking to them in my smattering of Khmer but I soon ran out of steam as I didn't understand a word he was saying in response to me. At least he hadn't been drinking (well, I don't think so). Anyway, my faithful student spoke to him and it transpired that she was breaking the law for not wearing a helmet and would have to pay a 'fine' so she handed him some cash and we were then allowed on our way. Oddly enough, he didn't have any problem with me so evidently it must be OK to wear a straw hat whilst riding a motorcycle over here. The fine? Oh, it was about 50p.

I taught the lesson which was mainly a Bible study on 1 Peter 3:4 which went well and they grasped the idea of inner beauty taking precedence over outer appearance. It did rain though, then the mozzies came out in force plus the neighbours were still noisily renovating their property which made speaking and listening difficult.
At the end of the lesson, Pastor Timothy arrived and he gave me the temporary use of a motorbike (and helmet) on which to get to and from the church so I now have motorised transport which is appreciated. It is an older machine and I feel a bit like Coco the Clown riding it as it has a comedy horn on it and when I press the various switches I expect it to squirt water in my eyes or something.

Nevertheless, I am very grateful.