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
Saturday, January 26, 2008
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
Battambang
Hey Everyone!
So...I've been in Cambodia for about 2 1/2 weeks now, and it's about time I let you know what's going down out here. Where can I start? Well, our drive into Cambodia was rather interesting. We packed all of our luggage and team members into two pickup trucks and took off from the Avana Hotel in Bangkok and headed for the Cambodian border. It was about a 3-4 hour ride to Poi Pet, which is a major border crossing through which many trucks pass through as they deliver supplies from Thailand to Cambodia. We had to get out of our trucks and walk across the border, but we hired some guys with a big wooden handcart to carry our bags. There is a "no-man's land" between Thailand and Cambodia that has loads of casinos. Casinos are illegal in both countries, but since this area is not considered part of either nation, these huge casino resorts were built here. We walked inside one just to use the toilets and found that they could hardly be called "casinos" if you compare them to the ones in Reno and Vegas. They weren't too spectacular and didn't have many slot machines or card tables.
Anyway, it took a while to get across the border (longer than it took to get into Mexico) because we each had to fill out these Visa applications and then wait for them to be processed and our team leader Rob had to bargain with the border officials because they try to raise the cost of the VISAs because we're Westerners and such. Finally, we got to walk through this big arch that said "Kingdom of Cambodia." Then we waited for a while longer sipping on some green tea for our contact to arrive to pick us up in a van and another pickup. The ride to Battambang from the border actually really reminded me of some of the van rides we had in Tijuana. It's really dusty and really bumpy. Of course there's some different scenery (palm trees, etc.), but people still burn their rubbish (Kiwi/New Zealander word for trash that I've picked up) so you can always expect to wake up to the smell of plastic smoldering in the morning.
The houses are also a bit different. Instead of shacks thrown together with garage doors and things like that, people actually live in thatched roof cottages. I was amazed to see this as we drove through the countryside. It looked like a picture straight out of National Geographic. During the rainy season, much of the land floods, and so the traditional Cambodian house is built on stilts to keep it above water. But the houses are made of plant matter woven together with dry grass roofs.
After a couple hours of cramped, bumpy van riding, we drove into our new home base. The city of Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia, but it is still not very big. It has no skyscrapers or anything like that. The tallest buildings are maybe 5-6 stories. It's pretty compact and densely populated. Its streets are filled with mopeds or "motos" as we call them. There are some cars, but they are definitely a minority compared to the motorbikes, because cars are much more expensive. Battambang has no traffic laws. No stoplights. No stop signs. No yield signs. No speed limits. Nothing. So it's pretty much a free-for-all for all motorists. Our main forms of transportation have been "motodopes" which are basically taxis but on motos. You flag down a moto driver just like a taxi and then hop on the back. Usually 3 people ride on a moto (2 passengers and a driver), but I have seen a family of 6 (mom, dad, grandma, 3 kids, and cargo) on 1 moped. A couple times, we fit 4 guys on our friend and translator Seang's moto: Seang (a skinny Cambodian) and Seth, Dan and I (3 fat Americans). It was quite a challenge and we definitely had to be comfortable enough with one another to SQUEEZE all of us onto that little thing. The Cambodian people, or the Khmer people (pronounced Ka-meye) are very petit compared to Americans, and this has become even more evident when us guys go shopping in the markets and attempt to fit into their pants and shirts. We have to look for "Xtra Large" sizes because their clothes are so small.
This is only an intoduction to Cambodia, I know, and I will make sure to post another blog later today, but I need to try and make some phone calls before it gets too late back home in California.
TTYL
Dan
So...I've been in Cambodia for about 2 1/2 weeks now, and it's about time I let you know what's going down out here. Where can I start? Well, our drive into Cambodia was rather interesting. We packed all of our luggage and team members into two pickup trucks and took off from the Avana Hotel in Bangkok and headed for the Cambodian border. It was about a 3-4 hour ride to Poi Pet, which is a major border crossing through which many trucks pass through as they deliver supplies from Thailand to Cambodia. We had to get out of our trucks and walk across the border, but we hired some guys with a big wooden handcart to carry our bags. There is a "no-man's land" between Thailand and Cambodia that has loads of casinos. Casinos are illegal in both countries, but since this area is not considered part of either nation, these huge casino resorts were built here. We walked inside one just to use the toilets and found that they could hardly be called "casinos" if you compare them to the ones in Reno and Vegas. They weren't too spectacular and didn't have many slot machines or card tables.
Anyway, it took a while to get across the border (longer than it took to get into Mexico) because we each had to fill out these Visa applications and then wait for them to be processed and our team leader Rob had to bargain with the border officials because they try to raise the cost of the VISAs because we're Westerners and such. Finally, we got to walk through this big arch that said "Kingdom of Cambodia." Then we waited for a while longer sipping on some green tea for our contact to arrive to pick us up in a van and another pickup. The ride to Battambang from the border actually really reminded me of some of the van rides we had in Tijuana. It's really dusty and really bumpy. Of course there's some different scenery (palm trees, etc.), but people still burn their rubbish (Kiwi/New Zealander word for trash that I've picked up) so you can always expect to wake up to the smell of plastic smoldering in the morning.
The houses are also a bit different. Instead of shacks thrown together with garage doors and things like that, people actually live in thatched roof cottages. I was amazed to see this as we drove through the countryside. It looked like a picture straight out of National Geographic. During the rainy season, much of the land floods, and so the traditional Cambodian house is built on stilts to keep it above water. But the houses are made of plant matter woven together with dry grass roofs.
After a couple hours of cramped, bumpy van riding, we drove into our new home base. The city of Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia, but it is still not very big. It has no skyscrapers or anything like that. The tallest buildings are maybe 5-6 stories. It's pretty compact and densely populated. Its streets are filled with mopeds or "motos" as we call them. There are some cars, but they are definitely a minority compared to the motorbikes, because cars are much more expensive. Battambang has no traffic laws. No stoplights. No stop signs. No yield signs. No speed limits. Nothing. So it's pretty much a free-for-all for all motorists. Our main forms of transportation have been "motodopes" which are basically taxis but on motos. You flag down a moto driver just like a taxi and then hop on the back. Usually 3 people ride on a moto (2 passengers and a driver), but I have seen a family of 6 (mom, dad, grandma, 3 kids, and cargo) on 1 moped. A couple times, we fit 4 guys on our friend and translator Seang's moto: Seang (a skinny Cambodian) and Seth, Dan and I (3 fat Americans). It was quite a challenge and we definitely had to be comfortable enough with one another to SQUEEZE all of us onto that little thing. The Cambodian people, or the Khmer people (pronounced Ka-meye) are very petit compared to Americans, and this has become even more evident when us guys go shopping in the markets and attempt to fit into their pants and shirts. We have to look for "Xtra Large" sizes because their clothes are so small.
This is only an intoduction to Cambodia, I know, and I will make sure to post another blog later today, but I need to try and make some phone calls before it gets too late back home in California.
TTYL
Dan
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Bali
Hey Everyone!!!
I know it's been awhile since I've updated and I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats waiting to see if I'm still alive (j/k). However, I have been living out in the cuts smack dab in the middle of an Indonesian jungle so we didn't exactly have internet cafes on every corner (We do have them in Battambang, Cambodia). So much has happened that it's going to be hard to type it all out.
To get to Bali, we had to fly from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where we had a layover. It was blistering hot there and I ate a "Spicy Beef Foldover" at a 24/7 McDonald's. They have many different items in Asian McDonald's restaurants. The soft drink cups and french fry containers are much smaller than American ones too, which explains some things...
Then we flew to the island of Bali, which is quite possibly the most beautiful place on Earth. It was raining when we got there that evening, and apparently it rains every day, year round. We stayed at a hotel close to the airport and when my friend Seth and I awoke the nest morning and took in the viw from our balcony, we both muttered,"We're not in Hawaii anymore..." Looking around we could see roosters and dogs everywhere, dirt roads, Hindu temples in front of every home, and very Asian architecture. After I had my first taste of Indonesian cuisine (Nasi Goreng, which is fried rice with a fried egg plopped on top), we drove to the airport that afternoon to find that everyone's luggage had arrived--except my suitcase and my friend Tina's guitar. It was difficult at first, but I wanted to "just receive it" as Paul taught me and to accept whatever lesson God was trying to teach me. So I did just that: I just received it. Our team had been hoping that these lost pieces of luggage would turn up by the time we came back to Bangkok a few weeks later, but they did not. So I am in Cambodia and I still did not get my suitcase and Tina did not get her guitar, but it has not been as bad as it sounds. But yes, Dana, it has been a different adventure.
All my guy teammates have been very generous with loaning me ther stuff (shirts, shorts, socks, boxers, and I was able to buy a pair of shorts, three shirts, and some underwear all for very cheap ($2.00 shirts, $6.00 shorts). One of the shirts I got was in a package and I just picked it up real quick. I thought, "I wear 'small' shirts back home, so I'll get one size up." However, it turned out that an Asian "medium" is WAY smaller than an American "medium." So it's a little snug, or maybe a lot snug. I also picked up a deodorant and a toothbrush and I was good to go.
I think that through all this, God is teaching me to let go of material possessions and not depend on them for comfort, but to look to Jesus instead. I like to look to James 1:2-4, which says: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." I think God wants to teach me to trust him more through this. I don't want to have a negative attitude because then I will not learn and grow from it. So often I might say in a worship time that I want to grow and I would do anything for Jesus, but when the time comes for my faith to actually be tested, then I'm not sure I want to be stretched. But I must remember that I did not come to YWAM to be comfortable, I came to take a leap of faith into the unknown and follow God's leading. So I am excited to be in a totally foreign country without any of my "stuff" to cling to.
So...about Bali...it makes the big island of Hawaii look dead and barren. It rains a lot in Hawaii too, but the black lava rock stains its beauty in places. Bali is also a volcanic island, but it is the lushest and greenest place I have ever seen. We did not stay long in the city. The day after we arrived, we took off for the mountains, and along the way I saw a marvelous sunset reflecting in the rice paddies, and all I could do was worship this scene's Creator. We stayed on the property of a man named Rus Alit, who is one of the only Christians in the surrounding Hindu villages. 30 years ago, his four siblings were martyred by the locals for being Christians and Rus is only alive because he was not at home at the time of the killings.
Rus traveled the world working with World Vision in countries such as China, Cambodia, India, and East Timor teaching people simple technology to collect, filter, and store rainwater, pond and river water to be safe for drinking. Many people are sick all over the world because they are drinking water that is filled with harmful bacteria. His technology is simple, not high-tech, so the people will be able to use it themselves and teach others. He builds sand filters and underground storage tanks that kill light-dependent bacteria. During a Crossroads DTS in Kona, someone prophesied over Rus that he would go back to his home country and village and start a ministry there that would be very fruitful. So he went back to his rural rice-farming village in Bali and tried direct evangelism for two years and did not see one person give their life to Christ. It was then that he realized God wanted him to use his kowledge and gifts, so he started "BATI," the Bali Appropriate Technology Institute.
When he approached the Hindu village as someone that wanted to help them develop their community, people started to look at him differently. He shared his water technology and when he introduced his "Ram Pump," the villagers thought it was magic because it pumped water from the bottom of a deep valley way up to the village. The best part is that it doesn't use power of any kind. It uses air and water pressure and requires a certain height of water fall, but the people don't have to pay for any power source to carry the water up to their village tank. They only pay for the initial cost of materials to build it. So this is excellent technology for people living in third world countries and it was awesome to learn about it and hopefully we will get to utilize it in Cambodia.
Anyway, Rus'status in his village has gone from someone who was shunned to a "holy man" that is on the village council and is part of all the village's executive decisions. His relationship with the people has grown and everywhere we went people smiled and asked if we were with Rus Alit. So it was very cool to be a part of his ministry there and improve the people's image of what a Christian looks like.
Sorry I don't have any more time tonight (it's getting late), but I will definitely update again soon.
I love all of you guys and I miss you very much
Dan
I know it's been awhile since I've updated and I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats waiting to see if I'm still alive (j/k). However, I have been living out in the cuts smack dab in the middle of an Indonesian jungle so we didn't exactly have internet cafes on every corner (We do have them in Battambang, Cambodia). So much has happened that it's going to be hard to type it all out.
To get to Bali, we had to fly from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where we had a layover. It was blistering hot there and I ate a "Spicy Beef Foldover" at a 24/7 McDonald's. They have many different items in Asian McDonald's restaurants. The soft drink cups and french fry containers are much smaller than American ones too, which explains some things...
Then we flew to the island of Bali, which is quite possibly the most beautiful place on Earth. It was raining when we got there that evening, and apparently it rains every day, year round. We stayed at a hotel close to the airport and when my friend Seth and I awoke the nest morning and took in the viw from our balcony, we both muttered,"We're not in Hawaii anymore..." Looking around we could see roosters and dogs everywhere, dirt roads, Hindu temples in front of every home, and very Asian architecture. After I had my first taste of Indonesian cuisine (Nasi Goreng, which is fried rice with a fried egg plopped on top), we drove to the airport that afternoon to find that everyone's luggage had arrived--except my suitcase and my friend Tina's guitar. It was difficult at first, but I wanted to "just receive it" as Paul taught me and to accept whatever lesson God was trying to teach me. So I did just that: I just received it. Our team had been hoping that these lost pieces of luggage would turn up by the time we came back to Bangkok a few weeks later, but they did not. So I am in Cambodia and I still did not get my suitcase and Tina did not get her guitar, but it has not been as bad as it sounds. But yes, Dana, it has been a different adventure.
All my guy teammates have been very generous with loaning me ther stuff (shirts, shorts, socks, boxers, and I was able to buy a pair of shorts, three shirts, and some underwear all for very cheap ($2.00 shirts, $6.00 shorts). One of the shirts I got was in a package and I just picked it up real quick. I thought, "I wear 'small' shirts back home, so I'll get one size up." However, it turned out that an Asian "medium" is WAY smaller than an American "medium." So it's a little snug, or maybe a lot snug. I also picked up a deodorant and a toothbrush and I was good to go.
I think that through all this, God is teaching me to let go of material possessions and not depend on them for comfort, but to look to Jesus instead. I like to look to James 1:2-4, which says: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." I think God wants to teach me to trust him more through this. I don't want to have a negative attitude because then I will not learn and grow from it. So often I might say in a worship time that I want to grow and I would do anything for Jesus, but when the time comes for my faith to actually be tested, then I'm not sure I want to be stretched. But I must remember that I did not come to YWAM to be comfortable, I came to take a leap of faith into the unknown and follow God's leading. So I am excited to be in a totally foreign country without any of my "stuff" to cling to.
So...about Bali...it makes the big island of Hawaii look dead and barren. It rains a lot in Hawaii too, but the black lava rock stains its beauty in places. Bali is also a volcanic island, but it is the lushest and greenest place I have ever seen. We did not stay long in the city. The day after we arrived, we took off for the mountains, and along the way I saw a marvelous sunset reflecting in the rice paddies, and all I could do was worship this scene's Creator. We stayed on the property of a man named Rus Alit, who is one of the only Christians in the surrounding Hindu villages. 30 years ago, his four siblings were martyred by the locals for being Christians and Rus is only alive because he was not at home at the time of the killings.
Rus traveled the world working with World Vision in countries such as China, Cambodia, India, and East Timor teaching people simple technology to collect, filter, and store rainwater, pond and river water to be safe for drinking. Many people are sick all over the world because they are drinking water that is filled with harmful bacteria. His technology is simple, not high-tech, so the people will be able to use it themselves and teach others. He builds sand filters and underground storage tanks that kill light-dependent bacteria. During a Crossroads DTS in Kona, someone prophesied over Rus that he would go back to his home country and village and start a ministry there that would be very fruitful. So he went back to his rural rice-farming village in Bali and tried direct evangelism for two years and did not see one person give their life to Christ. It was then that he realized God wanted him to use his kowledge and gifts, so he started "BATI," the Bali Appropriate Technology Institute.
When he approached the Hindu village as someone that wanted to help them develop their community, people started to look at him differently. He shared his water technology and when he introduced his "Ram Pump," the villagers thought it was magic because it pumped water from the bottom of a deep valley way up to the village. The best part is that it doesn't use power of any kind. It uses air and water pressure and requires a certain height of water fall, but the people don't have to pay for any power source to carry the water up to their village tank. They only pay for the initial cost of materials to build it. So this is excellent technology for people living in third world countries and it was awesome to learn about it and hopefully we will get to utilize it in Cambodia.
Anyway, Rus'status in his village has gone from someone who was shunned to a "holy man" that is on the village council and is part of all the village's executive decisions. His relationship with the people has grown and everywhere we went people smiled and asked if we were with Rus Alit. So it was very cool to be a part of his ministry there and improve the people's image of what a Christian looks like.
Sorry I don't have any more time tonight (it's getting late), but I will definitely update again soon.
I love all of you guys and I miss you very much
Dan
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