This week, I got new glasses. It was quite difficult not being able to see for a week and a half or so, but strangely I got used to it and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. All I had to do was squint a lot and read books and things on the computer so close that my nose was practically touching the page or the monitor (I felt like you, Mom).I think I told you that I lost my glasses on a beach in Sihanoukville (but in case I didn't, I forgot to remove them when I left my hotel room to go down to the beach, and when I got down to the water I left them on a table where people set their drinks and when I returned, they were gone). Last Saturday, I went to an eye doctor/glasses shop and had an eye exam, which was surprisingly legit. They used largely the same type of equipment that an optometrist in America would use. Then they gave me this pair of ridiculous tester glasses that looked like mad scientist goggles, they were so thick and round. The doctor was able to adjust them to fit my prescription to let me see if I got a headache if I wore them too long. Then I selected my frames, which are pretty similar to the ones I already had.
Anyway, they cost about half of what they would in the States, and it only took two days for the shop to make them. Two days later, when I put them on for the first time, it was like looking at the world through new eyes. Everything looked so beautiful, I could hardly believe it. Every detail was so clear, from each colorful fruit in the market to the fluffy cotton candy clouds spread across the sky as the sun set. It was really eye-opening, and I realized that I do not appreciate vision, or any of my senses for that matter, enough. It's so easy to take them for granted, and I wished the sensation of new eyes could last, but I knew that I would get used to being able to see clearly within a day or two. God is just so creative and amazing, and it's easy for me to lose sight of that. My heart becomes calloused to His love, just as my hands get dry and calloused after long days working with cement. I need to continually repent and turn from my ways of thinking and ask for refreshment from the Lord.
On Wednesday, the guys and I went out to the village of Phnom Kol and stayed the night out there so we could get more work done. We have been going there a lot over the past few weeks, and our labor is paying off. We have completed our slow sand filter jar (we learned how to make it in Bali), and the water that comes through it will be chemically tested first, but it should be safe for drinking. We have also seen a transformation in the vegetable garden we have been working on. Before, the ground was rocky and hard, but we have broken up the earth with hoes and tilled the soil, preparing it for plants. Now there are probably eight beds where we sowed seeds for cucumbers, corn, pumpkins, and tomatoes. We also installed drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation systems. It is really cool to be involved in this project that will be a model for villagers to see how they can improve their lives with better farming techniques and water systems. I have also learned a lot about planting seeds.
I have to go, but I will see you soon!
Love, Tree
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Hugging Jesus
Hello everyone,
Recently, God has been teaching me to be open and available for His Holy Spirit to use. When I pray for God to lead me and open up opportunities to talk to and love on people as I walk through my day with him , he answers.
For example, on Thursday, my team went to the Four Square orphanage in which we organize church services every Sunday to play games with the children. It was very energizing to play with the kids and give them the love they probably don't always receive. We had a blast doing three-legged races, a tug-of-war, and a water balloon toss. The kids love holding our hands and just being with us, even if we can't speak very much Khmer and they can't speak very much English. Near the end of the water balloon game, a middle-aged Khmer man who appeared to have dried mud all over his clothing stumbled towards us through the field. When I spotted him, I knew that he needed God's love. So I approached him with open arms and hugged him full on. He hugged me back with everything he had, and I was so close to him that I could detect the alcohol on his breath. We just stood there holding one another for a while, and I told him "Preya Yesu Sral Line Nyuk," which means "Jesus loves you." After our long embrace, I kept one arm around his shoulder to keep him from losing his balance in his drunken state. He gazed deep into my eyes, like he was looking into my soul, and I stared right back with the same intensity. I continued to pray for him out loud and speak truth into his life, and I believe the Holy Spirit destroyed the language barrier and spoke to his heart. It was as if this man was drawn to the love of Jesus in me and my compatriots and was hungry for it. He saw Jesus in my eyes, and I felt like I had just hugged Jesus. I don't know what this man's situation is, but I feel that he is one of "the least of these" that Jesus talked about, and it was my joy to do whatever I could for him, small as it was, with great love.
So Jesus is challenging me to walk with eyes open, looking for opportunities to love. And as Mother Teresa said, "We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it."
Thank you all for your prayers and support. I look forward to seeing you in less than a month.
Love, Dan
(Tree)
Recently, God has been teaching me to be open and available for His Holy Spirit to use. When I pray for God to lead me and open up opportunities to talk to and love on people as I walk through my day with him , he answers.
For example, on Thursday, my team went to the Four Square orphanage in which we organize church services every Sunday to play games with the children. It was very energizing to play with the kids and give them the love they probably don't always receive. We had a blast doing three-legged races, a tug-of-war, and a water balloon toss. The kids love holding our hands and just being with us, even if we can't speak very much Khmer and they can't speak very much English. Near the end of the water balloon game, a middle-aged Khmer man who appeared to have dried mud all over his clothing stumbled towards us through the field. When I spotted him, I knew that he needed God's love. So I approached him with open arms and hugged him full on. He hugged me back with everything he had, and I was so close to him that I could detect the alcohol on his breath. We just stood there holding one another for a while, and I told him "Preya Yesu Sral Line Nyuk," which means "Jesus loves you." After our long embrace, I kept one arm around his shoulder to keep him from losing his balance in his drunken state. He gazed deep into my eyes, like he was looking into my soul, and I stared right back with the same intensity. I continued to pray for him out loud and speak truth into his life, and I believe the Holy Spirit destroyed the language barrier and spoke to his heart. It was as if this man was drawn to the love of Jesus in me and my compatriots and was hungry for it. He saw Jesus in my eyes, and I felt like I had just hugged Jesus. I don't know what this man's situation is, but I feel that he is one of "the least of these" that Jesus talked about, and it was my joy to do whatever I could for him, small as it was, with great love.
So Jesus is challenging me to walk with eyes open, looking for opportunities to love. And as Mother Teresa said, "We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it."
Thank you all for your prayers and support. I look forward to seeing you in less than a month.
Love, Dan
(Tree)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Beach Bums
So...this past week I found out that Cambodia has beaches. It takes two long bus rides to get there,(5.5 hours from Battambang to Phnom Penh and 3.5 hours from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville) but the bus rides were well worth it. Sihanoukville is Cambodia's tourist beach town, and apparently it is a much more popular spot for Europeans to visit than for Americans.
It was a fun, relaxing week of vacation, but it did not feel like I was in Cambodia. Our team met up with the Siem Reap team and the Phnom Penh team to share stories and catch up before the two month outreach students went home and the three month outreach students (that's me) went back for another month of ministry. I ate Western comfort foods such as pizza, pasta, burgers, and shepherd's pie, which was a nice change from rice twice each day. This debrief time almost felt like we were back in Kona, because three fifths of our Compassion school was reunited, hanging out at the beach and even taking a one hour boat ride to the beautiful Bamboo Island for the day.
Our team also had some great "halfway" debrief meetings during which we shared what God had been teaching us through our outreach time so far. We encouraged one another as well, which was very uplifting. In addition, we filled out self-evaluation forms and listed all of the ministry activities we have been a part of in both Bali and Battambang. It was so cool to see all that God has done through our team, and we still have a whole month left. I believe God will do some amazing things during this last month, because we are settled into our ministries and we can further develop relationships that we already have. We can also finish projects that are in the works.
It was so good to have an evaluation time in the middle of outreach because it gave me a time to reflect on what God has taught me and still wants to teach me. If we only had debrief at the end, then I am sure there would be more things that I would realize that I needed to work on, but it would be too late because outreach would be over. God continues to show me how I need to refocus and view people and situations with his eyes and his heart.
For example, on the way back to Battambang at the end of the week, I was sitting next to a middle-aged Khmer man on the bus. Fir the first half of the bus ride, I did not say one word to him. I had been asking God if he wanted me to strike up a conversation with this gentleman, but I still have a hard time talking to strangers. I worried that he would not speak English, or that I might say something stupid and make things awkward since I had to sit next to him for the duration of the bus journey. All of these fears are so silly. This is called the "fear of man," and it's something that I cling to in order to defend my pride and dignity. However, if I am operating in the fear of the Lord, I will step out of my comfort zone and talk to this man if I feel the Spirit leading me to do so. After all, this stranger to me is no stranger to God. He is one of God's beloved, unique creations.
God was really nudging me to talk to my neighbor, but I think eventually God said to me, "Alright, if you're not going to initiate this conversation, then I'm gonna let this man start it up." As I got back on the bus and walked back to my seat after a rest stop, the man smiled at me and offered me a sausage on a stick. I declined, but this interaction broke the ice between us and began an hour long conversation. It turns out that my neighbor is a government official. His name is Bunnal Ky (or Ky Bunnal, because you write the family name first in Khmer), and his title is "Project Officer - Prison Health." He told me that he is in charge of the health of all the prisoners in Cambodia. Most prisoners have very bad conditions and only get about 37 cents each day for food. He said that most prisoners are also either stressed out, hopeless, or bored.
When he found out that I was working with a Christian missions organization, he was excited for the possibility of my team going out to the Battambang prison and visiting prisoners. God is so good!!! He's always opening doors and opportunities for ministry, and this would be such a Biblical ministry if we were able to do it, since Jesus commands us to visit those in prison. I am thrilled that God used me to get our team and YWAM in general in contact with a prison official. Please pray for God to open the doors to this opportunity.
Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers. I look forward to seeing you all on Easter Sunday! I fly into SFO on Friday, March 21st at 9:15pm. If you would like to meet me at the airport, contact my parents and arrange a carpool or whatever.
Love, Dan
It was a fun, relaxing week of vacation, but it did not feel like I was in Cambodia. Our team met up with the Siem Reap team and the Phnom Penh team to share stories and catch up before the two month outreach students went home and the three month outreach students (that's me) went back for another month of ministry. I ate Western comfort foods such as pizza, pasta, burgers, and shepherd's pie, which was a nice change from rice twice each day. This debrief time almost felt like we were back in Kona, because three fifths of our Compassion school was reunited, hanging out at the beach and even taking a one hour boat ride to the beautiful Bamboo Island for the day.
Our team also had some great "halfway" debrief meetings during which we shared what God had been teaching us through our outreach time so far. We encouraged one another as well, which was very uplifting. In addition, we filled out self-evaluation forms and listed all of the ministry activities we have been a part of in both Bali and Battambang. It was so cool to see all that God has done through our team, and we still have a whole month left. I believe God will do some amazing things during this last month, because we are settled into our ministries and we can further develop relationships that we already have. We can also finish projects that are in the works.
It was so good to have an evaluation time in the middle of outreach because it gave me a time to reflect on what God has taught me and still wants to teach me. If we only had debrief at the end, then I am sure there would be more things that I would realize that I needed to work on, but it would be too late because outreach would be over. God continues to show me how I need to refocus and view people and situations with his eyes and his heart.
For example, on the way back to Battambang at the end of the week, I was sitting next to a middle-aged Khmer man on the bus. Fir the first half of the bus ride, I did not say one word to him. I had been asking God if he wanted me to strike up a conversation with this gentleman, but I still have a hard time talking to strangers. I worried that he would not speak English, or that I might say something stupid and make things awkward since I had to sit next to him for the duration of the bus journey. All of these fears are so silly. This is called the "fear of man," and it's something that I cling to in order to defend my pride and dignity. However, if I am operating in the fear of the Lord, I will step out of my comfort zone and talk to this man if I feel the Spirit leading me to do so. After all, this stranger to me is no stranger to God. He is one of God's beloved, unique creations.
God was really nudging me to talk to my neighbor, but I think eventually God said to me, "Alright, if you're not going to initiate this conversation, then I'm gonna let this man start it up." As I got back on the bus and walked back to my seat after a rest stop, the man smiled at me and offered me a sausage on a stick. I declined, but this interaction broke the ice between us and began an hour long conversation. It turns out that my neighbor is a government official. His name is Bunnal Ky (or Ky Bunnal, because you write the family name first in Khmer), and his title is "Project Officer - Prison Health." He told me that he is in charge of the health of all the prisoners in Cambodia. Most prisoners have very bad conditions and only get about 37 cents each day for food. He said that most prisoners are also either stressed out, hopeless, or bored.
When he found out that I was working with a Christian missions organization, he was excited for the possibility of my team going out to the Battambang prison and visiting prisoners. God is so good!!! He's always opening doors and opportunities for ministry, and this would be such a Biblical ministry if we were able to do it, since Jesus commands us to visit those in prison. I am thrilled that God used me to get our team and YWAM in general in contact with a prison official. Please pray for God to open the doors to this opportunity.
Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers. I look forward to seeing you all on Easter Sunday! I fly into SFO on Friday, March 21st at 9:15pm. If you would like to meet me at the airport, contact my parents and arrange a carpool or whatever.
Love, Dan
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Lessons...
OK...so about my illness, I did get better and return to work on Thursday after staying home Monday through Wednesday. But there were some interesting things happened along the way. On Sunday, Pieter and Dawn Heres, the school leaders of my Compassion DTS from Kona, came to visit our team in Battambang. Pieter visited the team in Colombia, and then both of them came to Cambodia to visit the 3 teams here. (Siem Reap, Battambang, and Phnom Penh) Then Pieter will go to Rwanda, so he's really plane hopping around the world. Anyway, they came to visit us for a few days and see how we are doing and how we are working together as a team. They also had private meetings with each one of us to ask what God did in our lives through the lecture phase and how outreach is going. On Sunday evening, we had a worship time on our roof, and while we were praying, Dawn prayed that I would be a man of joy.
It was that night that I got really sick, and joy was a tough word to have spoken over me during this time. I did not want to be joyful. I was not exactly having a good time, especially before the antibiotics kicked in and I was still in pain and could not get a decent night's sleep. As I looked through my backpack one night, I unfolded a sheet of paper which read: "What God thinks about you." This was from an intercession exercise we did one morning in Kona in which we picked a small piece of paper out of a basket. This paper was folded over and one of our classmates' name was written on the inside, but we were not allowed to peek and see who it was. We were asked to pray for God to give us a word of encouragement or knowledge or whatever for this unknown person. When we had written it down on a separate sheet, we were to look and see who it was for and give it to them. A girl named Kat gave me a paper with the words "strong" and "loyal" on it. However it also said something like this: "You are going to suffer, and the rewards will be beyond your dreams. It will not be to the point of death, but you will have to stand up for your faith."
This was very interesting, and it was actually my mom who called it to my attention during a phone call a couple weeks ago because I told her about it when she came to visit me in Hawaii. This was actually a prophecy spoken over me. I did suffer. I was the only one out of 13 team members who lost my suitcase. I have discovered that I have a weak stomach, at least in foreign countries, and have gotten sick to my stomach at least 3 times now. And finally, I got "Acute Tonsilitis and Bronchitis." It was really interesting to look back at this note and think about what God is trying to teach me. I think that the words "strong" and "loyal" have a direct correlation with all this because it would take a strong and loyal person to press through all of these circumstances and continue to seek God. I am determined to not give up and give in to complaining about my situation. I don't want to miss God's lesson for me through this.
Anyway, the whole joy thing was challenging. I remember one of Paul Bagai's lessons that stuck out to me one year at Sugarpine, that joy is a decision, not a feeling. It's not feeling happy or pretending to be happy all the time. It's a choice that I must make every day of my life. It's a choice to believe that God is still good and sovereign no matter what my circumstances are. I want to delight in the Lord and let his joy be my strength, because I know I don't have the strength on my own. Does the fact that I am sick and in pain make God any less good? Should it make me doubt his love for me? No. God is my healer, and even if he did not heal me instantly and miraculously when my teammates prayed for me, he still healed me over the span of a few days.
Still, I was struggling with being joyful through this, and on Tuesday morning, my team noticed that I seemed down in the dumps. They detected a spirit of heaviness over me. My countenance was not exactly beaming with joy. They prayed again for God to heal me up, but they also prayed against the enemy and the way he was trying to bring me down and oppress my spirit with this sickness. This was so encouraging, and over the course of the day, my team saw God transform me. That morning, I looked depressed, but that evening, I was smiling, laughing, dancing and eating ice cream and cake. It happened to be Dawn's birthday, and we had a wonderful celebration for her. The treats helped cheer me up, but I think it was really God changing my attitude and lifting me out of whatever pit I had fallen into.
Jesus is my teacher, and he's a good one. He has been so patient with me over the years, and is showing me how to be patient as I teach my piano class at the youth center. This is the first time I've ever really been a teacher, and I must say I am enjoying it. I've only had about a week of class, but it's pretty cool. I started out with 4 students, but one girl had to drop out because my class is from 6-7pm and her father got angry at her when she arrived home past 7. I don't have a large class because the youth center only has one keyboard, and it would be too difficult for everyone to get a chance to play if I had many students.
I am reminded of when I first began taking piano lessons, and it's a strange role reversal. I used to get so frustrated at myself when I could not play something. As a teacher, I make every effort to encourage my students to keep trying and I remind them of the progress they have made, because I don't want them to give up. Sometimes they will say, "It is very difficult, teacher." I remember how difficult it was for me when I first started, and how I would proclaim: "I hate piano!" and pound all the keys at once. I am so used to being a student that it is weird to think of myself as a teacher. I don't usually think I have that much knowledge on the subject of music and piano, but I actually do have quite a bit to impart to a brand new student. Music is a really cool way to connect with people and build relationships, so I am excited for what God will do through this class. We meet four times a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, ad Friday. This gives me a lot of time with my students, and it's a regular responsibility that I am committed to every week, which is nice because some weeks I have had no idea what I was going to be doing. Suprises and spontaneity are good, but a schedule is important as well.
This is going to have to be all for this week, but pray for my team and I board a bus to Sihanoukville tomorrow, which will take 10 hours. This is our midway debrief.
I love all of you.
Tree
It was that night that I got really sick, and joy was a tough word to have spoken over me during this time. I did not want to be joyful. I was not exactly having a good time, especially before the antibiotics kicked in and I was still in pain and could not get a decent night's sleep. As I looked through my backpack one night, I unfolded a sheet of paper which read: "What God thinks about you." This was from an intercession exercise we did one morning in Kona in which we picked a small piece of paper out of a basket. This paper was folded over and one of our classmates' name was written on the inside, but we were not allowed to peek and see who it was. We were asked to pray for God to give us a word of encouragement or knowledge or whatever for this unknown person. When we had written it down on a separate sheet, we were to look and see who it was for and give it to them. A girl named Kat gave me a paper with the words "strong" and "loyal" on it. However it also said something like this: "You are going to suffer, and the rewards will be beyond your dreams. It will not be to the point of death, but you will have to stand up for your faith."
This was very interesting, and it was actually my mom who called it to my attention during a phone call a couple weeks ago because I told her about it when she came to visit me in Hawaii. This was actually a prophecy spoken over me. I did suffer. I was the only one out of 13 team members who lost my suitcase. I have discovered that I have a weak stomach, at least in foreign countries, and have gotten sick to my stomach at least 3 times now. And finally, I got "Acute Tonsilitis and Bronchitis." It was really interesting to look back at this note and think about what God is trying to teach me. I think that the words "strong" and "loyal" have a direct correlation with all this because it would take a strong and loyal person to press through all of these circumstances and continue to seek God. I am determined to not give up and give in to complaining about my situation. I don't want to miss God's lesson for me through this.
Anyway, the whole joy thing was challenging. I remember one of Paul Bagai's lessons that stuck out to me one year at Sugarpine, that joy is a decision, not a feeling. It's not feeling happy or pretending to be happy all the time. It's a choice that I must make every day of my life. It's a choice to believe that God is still good and sovereign no matter what my circumstances are. I want to delight in the Lord and let his joy be my strength, because I know I don't have the strength on my own. Does the fact that I am sick and in pain make God any less good? Should it make me doubt his love for me? No. God is my healer, and even if he did not heal me instantly and miraculously when my teammates prayed for me, he still healed me over the span of a few days.
Still, I was struggling with being joyful through this, and on Tuesday morning, my team noticed that I seemed down in the dumps. They detected a spirit of heaviness over me. My countenance was not exactly beaming with joy. They prayed again for God to heal me up, but they also prayed against the enemy and the way he was trying to bring me down and oppress my spirit with this sickness. This was so encouraging, and over the course of the day, my team saw God transform me. That morning, I looked depressed, but that evening, I was smiling, laughing, dancing and eating ice cream and cake. It happened to be Dawn's birthday, and we had a wonderful celebration for her. The treats helped cheer me up, but I think it was really God changing my attitude and lifting me out of whatever pit I had fallen into.
Jesus is my teacher, and he's a good one. He has been so patient with me over the years, and is showing me how to be patient as I teach my piano class at the youth center. This is the first time I've ever really been a teacher, and I must say I am enjoying it. I've only had about a week of class, but it's pretty cool. I started out with 4 students, but one girl had to drop out because my class is from 6-7pm and her father got angry at her when she arrived home past 7. I don't have a large class because the youth center only has one keyboard, and it would be too difficult for everyone to get a chance to play if I had many students.
I am reminded of when I first began taking piano lessons, and it's a strange role reversal. I used to get so frustrated at myself when I could not play something. As a teacher, I make every effort to encourage my students to keep trying and I remind them of the progress they have made, because I don't want them to give up. Sometimes they will say, "It is very difficult, teacher." I remember how difficult it was for me when I first started, and how I would proclaim: "I hate piano!" and pound all the keys at once. I am so used to being a student that it is weird to think of myself as a teacher. I don't usually think I have that much knowledge on the subject of music and piano, but I actually do have quite a bit to impart to a brand new student. Music is a really cool way to connect with people and build relationships, so I am excited for what God will do through this class. We meet four times a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, ad Friday. This gives me a lot of time with my students, and it's a regular responsibility that I am committed to every week, which is nice because some weeks I have had no idea what I was going to be doing. Suprises and spontaneity are good, but a schedule is important as well.
This is going to have to be all for this week, but pray for my team and I board a bus to Sihanoukville tomorrow, which will take 10 hours. This is our midway debrief.
I love all of you.
Tree
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Battambang 4
So, it's been two weeks since I updated, but I figured that I updated enough for about three weeks last time. I think I was on the internet for at least 8 hours that day, which is pretty ridiculous, but I wanted to let you guys know what was going on. Sorry if it was so long that you had no time to read it. I just enjoy writing about my time here and I tend to keep going once I've started.
So...first on the list of events in the past two weeks was me getting sick. I've had a problem since I've been here with the dust and pollution. My chest seems to get clogged up with mucus and flegm that I have to cough out fairly often. A couple Sundays ago, I went to sleep and I was not feeling too well. I had a slight fever and headache, but I didn't think too much of it. I woke up around midnight with a sharp pain in my left side every time I attempted to breathe in. I was quite distraught that it hurt to breathe and I started to panic. This caused me to tighten the muscles in my body, which made the pain worse. I guessed that my chest congestion had become so bad that it was blocking my airways, and I tried coughing up as much mucus as I could, but it hurt to cough as well. I also tried drinking water, but that didn't seem to help either. I was praying the whole time, but I knew I needed prayer and support from my teammates, so I woke up Seth and Dan, and Seth woke up Rob and Barbara. It was difficult to explain my plight to them, because every breath was a struggle, but they prayed over me, took my temperature, cooled me down with a damp cloth, gave me Advil, and told me to relax and calm down. Finally, I was able to get back to sleep. The advice to relax really helped.
The next morning, I was still in pain, but it was not quite as intense. Our translator Galyan took me to a trusted doctor. His office was at the back of a pharmacy type store, but it seemed like a very clean and legit doctor's office. After asking me some questions and doing some examination, the doctor diagnosed me with "Acute Tonsilitis and Bronchitis." This sounds pretty serious, I know. He said that my tonsils were inflamed and swollen, probably from coughing so much. He gave me some antibiotics along with some other medications to help my symptoms and I paid only $11.00 for the drugs and the consultation.
I had to rest up for 3 days until I could go back into ministry activities, but the antibiotics worked great and I am fine now.
I am about to go get some dinner, but I will try to come back and tell you more of my story.
Love you guys
Dan
So...first on the list of events in the past two weeks was me getting sick. I've had a problem since I've been here with the dust and pollution. My chest seems to get clogged up with mucus and flegm that I have to cough out fairly often. A couple Sundays ago, I went to sleep and I was not feeling too well. I had a slight fever and headache, but I didn't think too much of it. I woke up around midnight with a sharp pain in my left side every time I attempted to breathe in. I was quite distraught that it hurt to breathe and I started to panic. This caused me to tighten the muscles in my body, which made the pain worse. I guessed that my chest congestion had become so bad that it was blocking my airways, and I tried coughing up as much mucus as I could, but it hurt to cough as well. I also tried drinking water, but that didn't seem to help either. I was praying the whole time, but I knew I needed prayer and support from my teammates, so I woke up Seth and Dan, and Seth woke up Rob and Barbara. It was difficult to explain my plight to them, because every breath was a struggle, but they prayed over me, took my temperature, cooled me down with a damp cloth, gave me Advil, and told me to relax and calm down. Finally, I was able to get back to sleep. The advice to relax really helped.
The next morning, I was still in pain, but it was not quite as intense. Our translator Galyan took me to a trusted doctor. His office was at the back of a pharmacy type store, but it seemed like a very clean and legit doctor's office. After asking me some questions and doing some examination, the doctor diagnosed me with "Acute Tonsilitis and Bronchitis." This sounds pretty serious, I know. He said that my tonsils were inflamed and swollen, probably from coughing so much. He gave me some antibiotics along with some other medications to help my symptoms and I paid only $11.00 for the drugs and the consultation.
I had to rest up for 3 days until I could go back into ministry activities, but the antibiotics worked great and I am fine now.
I am about to go get some dinner, but I will try to come back and tell you more of my story.
Love you guys
Dan
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Battambang 3
Allright, so I know this is my third post today, but you guys deserve to know what's going on. Now, about this rice harvest. During our intercession times in Kona and Bali, we would often pray as a team, "Lord we want to bring in your harvest in Cambodia..."
We meant, of course, that we wanted to work in God's spiritual harvest field and have a fruitful ministry in which we would see people come to Christ. However, God showed us his sense of humor, and some poetic justice, by answering our prayers literally. For three very long days last week, our team got to work in the ricefields of Cambodia.
This was very strenuous labor, but it was also an interesting and worthwhile experience. Even the start of each workday was an adventure. We would take off from our house between 6:30 and 7:00 AM, and climb into the back of a pickup truck. If I thought I had experienced a bumpy ride before this, I was wrong. The ride from Bangkok to Poi Pet was all paved highway, and the ride from Poi Pet to Battambang was inside a van. These drives were not just bumpy and uncomfortable; they were painful and at times dangerous. There were always many of us crammed into one pickup truck bed along with ice chests and other supplies, so we had to sit on the edge of the truck bed. The ride would usually take about an hour to an hour and a half, but it wasn't the distance that made it take this long. It was the road quality. I didn't even know you could call what we were driving on a road, it was so bad. We had to drive through ditches and over humps that made the truck lean over to the point where the truck bed was diagonal. At times we went over bumps that threw our bodies into the air and the only thing that kept us from flying off was our hands hanging on for dear life. Whenever I would fly through the air, another bump would cause my bum to slam down onto the narrow railing I was sitting on, leaving me with a sore bottom even from the start of the workday.
These rides were also interesting because we'd see all sorts of livestock. Hey dad! I finally got to see one of those pigs that are as big (if not bigger) than cows! I remember one time this summer when we went to the zoo and they had these outlines of different sizes of swine, and you said that you used to see pigs the size of cows all the time. Anyway, the cows in Cambodia are actually quite skinny (they don't look like they're very well fed), especially when you see them next to the humungous water buffalo. Water buffalo are these big, fat, black bulls with huge horns that stretch out to the sides and pull heavy carriages stacked with bags of rice or what have you. The pig I saw was actually more comparable in size to the water buffalo. Sometimes, I'll see a guy riding a moto with this huge pig inside a basket strapped onto his moto sitting behind him.
When we finally got out to the rice fields, there was this village where we saw boats lying around, looking kind of like Noah's ark must have. These wooden canoes were sitting in a completely dry as bone landscape. Why would you ever need a boat here? It turns out that this whole piece of land floods during the wet season, and the water gets at least 6-8 feet deep! It happens because of the Mekong River, which is the only river in the world that flows upstream. When the rains come, it backs up and floods this huge area in Cambodia. The rice actually grows while the fields are flooded (it's floating rice), and people can only get out to the fields by paddling in a canoe. Then the rice is harvested during the dry season (December and January). So we arrived at the perfect time to harvest rice.
Our team leader Rob had some contacts with this organization called CAMA (Compassion and Mercy Associates) and its parent organization CMA (Christian Mercy Alliance), and they own a bunch of land in Cambodia and rent it out to rice farmers for a much cheaper price than most landowners do. They basically help farmers who don't have any land of their own get started in the farming business. the land that we harvested was not being rented out to any locals, but CAMA planted a crop because if they had left it fallow, it would have grown weeds, which would be very problematic for next year's planting season. We had 12 hectares to do. A hectare is 100 meters by 100 meters, or a football field square. So 12 of them is a sizable chunk of land to harvest. Fortunately, the stalks had already been cut with a sickle and gathered into bundles, or sheaves. So our job was to go out into the ricefields and collect the sheaves of rice.
We could carry two at a time (any more would get too tiring). There were some Khmer Christians who were working with us that were able to take a lot more, but that's because they're used to working in the hot sun for hours on end and often stack it up and carry it on their heads. For the first 3 hectares, we had to carry all the bundles back by hand to a certain spot where they had laid out tarps and were organizing them into neat stacks. After an exhausting morning, we had a much welcomed lunch break. After lunch, we realized that carrying it all by hand back to this one spot would take too much time and effort, so we rented this great big dump truck to collect the sheaves. Our job then changed to going out into the field and gathering the rice bundles into stacks so that when the truck drove by, we could toss them up into the truck. This was quite difficult at times, because the guys standing up in the truck bed would arrange the rice so that as much as possible could fit, and they would stack it to the max. So we had to lob these heavy bundles of rice way up to the top of the stacks, and sometimes I felt like I was going to throw out my shoulder.
They would stack the rice so high in the truck that one time, as the truck drove over a bump, half of the rice flew out of the truck and we had to throw it all back in.
These were challenging, long days, but we learned a lot of perseverance and they were definitely character building exercises. The last day (we worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), after all 12 hectares of rice had been stacked high into one pile, we hired a guy who owned a threshing machine to come out. He drove out in this huge tractor, and the deafening roar that would last all day began as he started the thresher. Our job that day was to toss the bundles of rice into the thresher and then collect the grains of rice in sacks as they fell down the chute. Meanwhile, the chaff (all the useless straw-like material) launched out of a cannon on the other side of the thresher. This was the longest day by far. We left at 6:30 AM and didn't get home until after 12 midnight. Threshing is just a very long process, and the fact that the machine broke down several times throughout the day didn't help. Over the course of the day, the pile of rice sheaves dissipated as the mounds of chaff grew exponentially.
The sacks that we filled with rice are stuffed to the absolute maximum, and I think they weigh about 220 pounds by the time they are full. The crazy thing is that the Khmer guys could carry them. Although the Khmer people are very slender, they are very wiry and strong for their size. We were all amazed by their strength and how hard they worked. They were almost like machines themselves. This one guy Dara was at least 50 years old and he seemed to never tire out and would stop for water so seldom that Rob called him a camel.
Working alongside the Khmer was so cool. At times we wondered why we were doing this, because harvesting rice had never crossed my mind as being one of our outreach ministries, but it was really a time to just humble ourselves and serve, carrying every bundle of rice as if we were doing it for Jesus. It was also cool because Jesus' parables about the sower and about separating the wheat from the chaff are relevant to me now. They make more sense because I know more about the whole process. Plus, we got to learn how the food we eat everyday here in Cambodia comes to our tables. I think I appreciate it more now. I never realized how hard farmers work in order to bring the staple of Khmer diets to the people.
It was challenging, but Jesus taught us some lessons along the way, such as:
Be careful what you pray for! (you just might get it!)
Working in God's harvest field is sweaty, arduous work; it's not easy. It takes effort and time to get to know people and bring them into the Kingdom.
The harvest is great, but the workers are few. This saying is so true, both in literal rice harvesting and in Kingdom of God harvesting.
Overall, Jesus is cool in telling about the Kingdom through stories about farming that down home, humble people would have a better chance of understanding. So often we don't understand Jesus' parables because we don't know about farming and stuff like that. So it's cool to get a life experience that I would never have unless I grew up on a farm.
God is teaching me so much!
I love you guys.
Tree
We meant, of course, that we wanted to work in God's spiritual harvest field and have a fruitful ministry in which we would see people come to Christ. However, God showed us his sense of humor, and some poetic justice, by answering our prayers literally. For three very long days last week, our team got to work in the ricefields of Cambodia.
This was very strenuous labor, but it was also an interesting and worthwhile experience. Even the start of each workday was an adventure. We would take off from our house between 6:30 and 7:00 AM, and climb into the back of a pickup truck. If I thought I had experienced a bumpy ride before this, I was wrong. The ride from Bangkok to Poi Pet was all paved highway, and the ride from Poi Pet to Battambang was inside a van. These drives were not just bumpy and uncomfortable; they were painful and at times dangerous. There were always many of us crammed into one pickup truck bed along with ice chests and other supplies, so we had to sit on the edge of the truck bed. The ride would usually take about an hour to an hour and a half, but it wasn't the distance that made it take this long. It was the road quality. I didn't even know you could call what we were driving on a road, it was so bad. We had to drive through ditches and over humps that made the truck lean over to the point where the truck bed was diagonal. At times we went over bumps that threw our bodies into the air and the only thing that kept us from flying off was our hands hanging on for dear life. Whenever I would fly through the air, another bump would cause my bum to slam down onto the narrow railing I was sitting on, leaving me with a sore bottom even from the start of the workday.
These rides were also interesting because we'd see all sorts of livestock. Hey dad! I finally got to see one of those pigs that are as big (if not bigger) than cows! I remember one time this summer when we went to the zoo and they had these outlines of different sizes of swine, and you said that you used to see pigs the size of cows all the time. Anyway, the cows in Cambodia are actually quite skinny (they don't look like they're very well fed), especially when you see them next to the humungous water buffalo. Water buffalo are these big, fat, black bulls with huge horns that stretch out to the sides and pull heavy carriages stacked with bags of rice or what have you. The pig I saw was actually more comparable in size to the water buffalo. Sometimes, I'll see a guy riding a moto with this huge pig inside a basket strapped onto his moto sitting behind him.
When we finally got out to the rice fields, there was this village where we saw boats lying around, looking kind of like Noah's ark must have. These wooden canoes were sitting in a completely dry as bone landscape. Why would you ever need a boat here? It turns out that this whole piece of land floods during the wet season, and the water gets at least 6-8 feet deep! It happens because of the Mekong River, which is the only river in the world that flows upstream. When the rains come, it backs up and floods this huge area in Cambodia. The rice actually grows while the fields are flooded (it's floating rice), and people can only get out to the fields by paddling in a canoe. Then the rice is harvested during the dry season (December and January). So we arrived at the perfect time to harvest rice.
Our team leader Rob had some contacts with this organization called CAMA (Compassion and Mercy Associates) and its parent organization CMA (Christian Mercy Alliance), and they own a bunch of land in Cambodia and rent it out to rice farmers for a much cheaper price than most landowners do. They basically help farmers who don't have any land of their own get started in the farming business. the land that we harvested was not being rented out to any locals, but CAMA planted a crop because if they had left it fallow, it would have grown weeds, which would be very problematic for next year's planting season. We had 12 hectares to do. A hectare is 100 meters by 100 meters, or a football field square. So 12 of them is a sizable chunk of land to harvest. Fortunately, the stalks had already been cut with a sickle and gathered into bundles, or sheaves. So our job was to go out into the ricefields and collect the sheaves of rice.
We could carry two at a time (any more would get too tiring). There were some Khmer Christians who were working with us that were able to take a lot more, but that's because they're used to working in the hot sun for hours on end and often stack it up and carry it on their heads. For the first 3 hectares, we had to carry all the bundles back by hand to a certain spot where they had laid out tarps and were organizing them into neat stacks. After an exhausting morning, we had a much welcomed lunch break. After lunch, we realized that carrying it all by hand back to this one spot would take too much time and effort, so we rented this great big dump truck to collect the sheaves. Our job then changed to going out into the field and gathering the rice bundles into stacks so that when the truck drove by, we could toss them up into the truck. This was quite difficult at times, because the guys standing up in the truck bed would arrange the rice so that as much as possible could fit, and they would stack it to the max. So we had to lob these heavy bundles of rice way up to the top of the stacks, and sometimes I felt like I was going to throw out my shoulder.
They would stack the rice so high in the truck that one time, as the truck drove over a bump, half of the rice flew out of the truck and we had to throw it all back in.
These were challenging, long days, but we learned a lot of perseverance and they were definitely character building exercises. The last day (we worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), after all 12 hectares of rice had been stacked high into one pile, we hired a guy who owned a threshing machine to come out. He drove out in this huge tractor, and the deafening roar that would last all day began as he started the thresher. Our job that day was to toss the bundles of rice into the thresher and then collect the grains of rice in sacks as they fell down the chute. Meanwhile, the chaff (all the useless straw-like material) launched out of a cannon on the other side of the thresher. This was the longest day by far. We left at 6:30 AM and didn't get home until after 12 midnight. Threshing is just a very long process, and the fact that the machine broke down several times throughout the day didn't help. Over the course of the day, the pile of rice sheaves dissipated as the mounds of chaff grew exponentially.
The sacks that we filled with rice are stuffed to the absolute maximum, and I think they weigh about 220 pounds by the time they are full. The crazy thing is that the Khmer guys could carry them. Although the Khmer people are very slender, they are very wiry and strong for their size. We were all amazed by their strength and how hard they worked. They were almost like machines themselves. This one guy Dara was at least 50 years old and he seemed to never tire out and would stop for water so seldom that Rob called him a camel.
Working alongside the Khmer was so cool. At times we wondered why we were doing this, because harvesting rice had never crossed my mind as being one of our outreach ministries, but it was really a time to just humble ourselves and serve, carrying every bundle of rice as if we were doing it for Jesus. It was also cool because Jesus' parables about the sower and about separating the wheat from the chaff are relevant to me now. They make more sense because I know more about the whole process. Plus, we got to learn how the food we eat everyday here in Cambodia comes to our tables. I think I appreciate it more now. I never realized how hard farmers work in order to bring the staple of Khmer diets to the people.
It was challenging, but Jesus taught us some lessons along the way, such as:
Be careful what you pray for! (you just might get it!)
Working in God's harvest field is sweaty, arduous work; it's not easy. It takes effort and time to get to know people and bring them into the Kingdom.
The harvest is great, but the workers are few. This saying is so true, both in literal rice harvesting and in Kingdom of God harvesting.
Overall, Jesus is cool in telling about the Kingdom through stories about farming that down home, humble people would have a better chance of understanding. So often we don't understand Jesus' parables because we don't know about farming and stuff like that. So it's cool to get a life experience that I would never have unless I grew up on a farm.
God is teaching me so much!
I love you guys.
Tree
Friday, January 25, 2008
Battambang 2
OK...where was I?
I tried to call my brother and sister but they didn't pick up...so I'm back.
So, the team and I live in 2 story house on a dirt road. An American woman named Barbara lives in the house and she is on staff with YWAM in Battambang. The YWAM base was started about 2 years ago by a 6 month outreach team. We live about 5 minutes from the YWAM base by moto. The base is really cool because they have this Youth Center ministry every day from about 4-7pm. It's a place for local young adults to come after school. It keeps them out of trouble (gambling, drinking, drugs, etc.) and it's also an organized school. They have 4 levels of English classes that are taught by staff members and outreach teams every weekday as well as Bible classes, guitar classes, etc. A new quarter at the youth center is just about to start (next week) and our team will be involved with teaching classes.
I will be teaching a piano/keyboard class, which is very exciting but I'm a little nervous since I've never really taught anyone before. There is only one keyboard at the base and it's about the same quality as my old keyboard (ok maybe not quite as good), so I will be teaching a very small class (maybe 3 students). I will have a translator, which will make things easier. The plan is to teach worship songs (probably starting out with simple chords) and on Tuesdays and Thursdays (the days on which the Youth Center is allowed to teach more about God), I can explain what the songs mean and maybe talk about worship and my experiences with God and music. I will start out teaching 3 days a week and maybe go up to 4 days if I deem it necessary. The Khmer people love music and are very interested in learning how to play instruments, so that is why this is a good opportunity to form relationships with teens. Pray for my keyboard class and that God will be able to use me in kids' lives.
The guys (Seth and Dan) will be teaching a guitar class, and I think some of the girls will be teaching an English and/or Bible class, so pray for them as well. I wouls like to be involved in teaching English, so if I have time I might do that as well. However, the guys and I are about to start some physical labor projects next week. We will hopefully be using the water technology we learned about in Bali to build water tanks/filters/pumps in a village called Phnom Kol and at our translator Seang's family's home. Seang became a Christian 3 years ago, but his family is still Buddhist so pray for our relationship with them, that we could be good witnesses of Christ in their lives.
This week, we also started a vacation bible school type program for kids on our street. On Thursday, we had one for the older kids (age 9-17), and on Friday, we had one for the younger children (age 3-9). We invited them onto our property (our house and its yard is behind a gate) and we played with them, taught them songs, played games in which we had to memorize each others' names and ages (in the Khmer language), did arts/crafts, taught short Bible lessons, and gave them snacks. Yesterday, I taught a short lesson about Jesus saying "Let the children come to me" even though the disciples tried to send them away because Jesus was "too important" and "didn't have time for kids." Just as the parents brought their kids to Jesus for him to bless them, we let our neighborhood children sit on our laps and we blessed them and prayed over them. These times went really well, and the kids were amazingly well behaved and attentive (the grace of God, no doubt). We plan to hold these little VBS meetings at least once a week, so pray that there will be real seeds planted in these children's lives and the enemy will not snatch them away. One very encouraging scripture is Isaiah 55:11, which says, "The Word of God will not return void." There is more power in speaking out God's word than we know, and even if we don't see fruit in people's lives immediately, we can rest assured that we planted the seed and God will take care of the rest (Keith Green song!).
One very interesting thing we got to be a part of last week was the Cambodian rice harvest. I'll tell you about this soon!
Love you guys
Tree
I tried to call my brother and sister but they didn't pick up...so I'm back.
So, the team and I live in 2 story house on a dirt road. An American woman named Barbara lives in the house and she is on staff with YWAM in Battambang. The YWAM base was started about 2 years ago by a 6 month outreach team. We live about 5 minutes from the YWAM base by moto. The base is really cool because they have this Youth Center ministry every day from about 4-7pm. It's a place for local young adults to come after school. It keeps them out of trouble (gambling, drinking, drugs, etc.) and it's also an organized school. They have 4 levels of English classes that are taught by staff members and outreach teams every weekday as well as Bible classes, guitar classes, etc. A new quarter at the youth center is just about to start (next week) and our team will be involved with teaching classes.
I will be teaching a piano/keyboard class, which is very exciting but I'm a little nervous since I've never really taught anyone before. There is only one keyboard at the base and it's about the same quality as my old keyboard (ok maybe not quite as good), so I will be teaching a very small class (maybe 3 students). I will have a translator, which will make things easier. The plan is to teach worship songs (probably starting out with simple chords) and on Tuesdays and Thursdays (the days on which the Youth Center is allowed to teach more about God), I can explain what the songs mean and maybe talk about worship and my experiences with God and music. I will start out teaching 3 days a week and maybe go up to 4 days if I deem it necessary. The Khmer people love music and are very interested in learning how to play instruments, so that is why this is a good opportunity to form relationships with teens. Pray for my keyboard class and that God will be able to use me in kids' lives.
The guys (Seth and Dan) will be teaching a guitar class, and I think some of the girls will be teaching an English and/or Bible class, so pray for them as well. I wouls like to be involved in teaching English, so if I have time I might do that as well. However, the guys and I are about to start some physical labor projects next week. We will hopefully be using the water technology we learned about in Bali to build water tanks/filters/pumps in a village called Phnom Kol and at our translator Seang's family's home. Seang became a Christian 3 years ago, but his family is still Buddhist so pray for our relationship with them, that we could be good witnesses of Christ in their lives.
This week, we also started a vacation bible school type program for kids on our street. On Thursday, we had one for the older kids (age 9-17), and on Friday, we had one for the younger children (age 3-9). We invited them onto our property (our house and its yard is behind a gate) and we played with them, taught them songs, played games in which we had to memorize each others' names and ages (in the Khmer language), did arts/crafts, taught short Bible lessons, and gave them snacks. Yesterday, I taught a short lesson about Jesus saying "Let the children come to me" even though the disciples tried to send them away because Jesus was "too important" and "didn't have time for kids." Just as the parents brought their kids to Jesus for him to bless them, we let our neighborhood children sit on our laps and we blessed them and prayed over them. These times went really well, and the kids were amazingly well behaved and attentive (the grace of God, no doubt). We plan to hold these little VBS meetings at least once a week, so pray that there will be real seeds planted in these children's lives and the enemy will not snatch them away. One very encouraging scripture is Isaiah 55:11, which says, "The Word of God will not return void." There is more power in speaking out God's word than we know, and even if we don't see fruit in people's lives immediately, we can rest assured that we planted the seed and God will take care of the rest (Keith Green song!).
One very interesting thing we got to be a part of last week was the Cambodian rice harvest. I'll tell you about this soon!
Love you guys
Tree
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