Holiday in Cambodia

Due to the lack of updates lately I'm going to make this one longer, it was a short trip but alot happened so hopefully you enjoy. As well I probably won't update for a while so take a week or so to read through if you need it. The next two weeks will be the usual ministy here in Pattaya and then we go north to Chang Mai for a week or so before heading to Bangkok for the flight home.

START.

Along with two canadian visitors from the upper ranks of lifeforce, Dawn Greyburn and Shelda lastnameun-known, the team partnered up with Dee-dee from a near by bible school for our visa run/mission to Cambodia. For those of you who aren't in the know, many long term visitors to Thailand will go to Cambodia or other surrounding countries when there visa's expire. They enter and exit the country on the same day and upon re-entry renew their visa for another month. Our three month visas were coming due so we had to do likewise in order to spend the last month of the mission legally in Thailand.

Through Dee-dee we connected to a fine young man named Joel. He's a missionary working in the border town of Poi Pet where he planted and runs four house churches. We were invited to give him a break and come preach at each Sunday service.

Our crew left Pattaya early Saturday morning and travelled to Poi Pet where we unloaded the van and loaded our backs for a trip through the boarder. As we passed through the various checkpoints the scenery subtly but surely began to change. As we crossed over a river boardering the two countries garbage appeared everywhere. There were also loads of people carrying loads on handpulled carts, sweating under the dry hot sun as they moved goods.

Despite choas, garbage, pickpockettering kids and baggers we managed to succesfully make our way. As we crossed over a river and under an eccentric arch of sorts we were greeted by beautiful casino's along the dusty dirty main road.

Gambling is illegal in Thailand so on the "no mans land" between Cambodia and Thailand they've built casino's to fill there craving. Lots of Thai's who have the money and an itch come to try there luck in no-mans land where they've built a small vegas of sorts that consists of about 10 casino's streatched along the boarder.

We had lunch at one of the nicer roadside resturants and then continued on our way into the actual country of Cambodia.

As soon as we passed through the gates the change was striking. We were greeted by a traffic circle filled with men eager to take us on as passengers. The roads were dirt and lined with old looking shops and buisness. The roads were also filled with older motorbikes and vehicles driving on the right side of the road without rules as they threw up dust to accentuate the towns look of poverty. Along the streets I saw road side shops with racks of big glass coke bottles that were filled with yellow liquid. Confused at first I would later learn that these were Cambodian gas stations. Bikes would pull up and the attendent would grab a funnel and a bottle filled with gasoline. Attentent gets to filling, exchange of funds and soon the drivers off again without leaving the cycle seat.

We boarded what would be our transportation for the next two days, three older motorbikes with sketchy side cars made of rebar attatched to them. Each side car held about four to five people and bounced uncomfortably along the roads as we travelled.

The guest house, despite having to flush the toiled by sticking our hands in the tank and not having a proper shower head wasn't too bad. The sheets seemed clean and we had a small television to watch Thai cable on. After dropping our stuff off and jumping on the beds a bit we headed to our first event, a youth gathering.

The youth event was held in a small childrens home. We played some games with those there and then performed and prayed with them. Afterwards the towns pastors treated us to a feast that was amazing. It consisted of about 30 people gatherd around a long table. On the tables were three pots of boiling water and the raw makings of soup. You took the soup items, raw meat, vegetables, stuff and noodles and added them as you went, waited for them to cook in the water and then dished out the soup. Kinda like a soup fondue but not so individualist. It was really humbling since they church had so little compared to us but used every extra penny they had to provide us with the meal. Needless to say we blessed them back before leaving, touched so much by the generosity shown.

That night we headed to an outdoor resturaunt and show where we were serenaded under the glow a gigantic neon lobster. The singer told the girls repeatedly that he loved them(not uncommon when you're the only white people around) and sang the cranberries "zombie" for us by special request. The song is so old but the people here love it and still sing it frequently at kareoke bars and the like.

The next day was a big one. It contained four Church services, one big gift in a small box, an alter call leading to salvations, a burger leading to salivation and many visuals which peirced the heart.

The first service took place in a small hut in the poorest circumstances I've seen in asia so far. All houses were crammed together and constructed with paper walls. Some of the young girls there had bloated stomachs and signs of parisites. Shelda, our canadian visitor(close relative to the Lunds and some Vonhollens from around Alhambra, knows David Thompson High School.... crazy coincedence) preached after some Cambodian worship with a single guitar.

After the service the church presented us with a gift which was so heartbreaking and humbling. The gift came in an operation christmas child box and contained toys that they had recieved from the ministry. The words of Jesus where he said the first will be last and the last will be first were pretty strong in my mind when that happened. Out of there poverty they gave us so much, it was so powerfull that I'm shedding tears while I write this.

At the next service Mellisa preached a stong message in another small home and we prayed with the people afterwards. With our team there we couldn't fit everyone in the hut but it went well. I guess the man who owned the home was partially paralyzed when the house church was first started, but since being prayed over he now has greatly increased mobility in his legs and is starting to move his right arm which was also once paralyzed.

Following this we travelled to yet another home, this one was much nicer and newer, in fact it was actually constructed of cement and wasn't surrounded by garbage. The woman there asked us to pray for her and her house as well as remove a buddist clothe from the house.

Lunch time and the team relaxed a bit. I was still stessing though because the big service was next and so was my turn to speak. After lunch and a half-hour chill session to the nature channel in the guest house we packed up and headed off to the service. There we performed our performance and afterwards I delivered some words which ended up forming a sermon. Then I called my first alter call, as was requested, and two people came up to pray and recieve salvation. It was encouraging for me and a blessing to be used by God in such a way.

The service ended and was followed shortly by supper and then half of the team was off to the last service where Dave preached. The rest of us went back to the guest house to play rook and get busy sleeping off our weariness from the days events.

We headed out at ten the next morning and after passing through customs and avoiding a few close pick-pocket calls we were back on Thai. soil and on our way home to Pattaya. Dawn and Shelda headed back to Bangkok that evening after a week of visiting our team. After that I went home and read while the impacts of the pevious days events settled inside.