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)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
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
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