"jong" is Khmer for "want"
This afternoon one of the guys on the team wasn't feeling so well, so he spent the afternoon/evening resting at the hotel. One of the girls taught his afternoon class, and I taught his evening class. Today was the last day of actual classes, and the team wanted to make sure to share the Greatest Story Ever with each class, so that's what I did with this evening class!
While I was sharing, there was one guy, Sa-Rye, who was very interested in the story. There is this look that people generally have when they're truly listening and wanting to learn more about Jesus, and his eyes were filled with that desire! (He has been studying with our organization for well over a year.)
I shared the whole story with this small class of five students, two of which are already believers, then at the end I asked what they thought. He was the first to say anything ... "I want to believe Jesus." I'm not sure why, but I was somehow a little shocked, and unsure what to do. I encouraged one of the other believers, Roahtana to talk more about what that means, then I shared Romans 10:9, then the other believer told him in Khmer, "You can believe NOW if you want?" He said, "jong," which means he wants!!! It was so exciting to hear that in Khmer, understand it, then hear him say in his own language that he wants to believe.
Roahtana led Sa-Rye in prayer to follow Christ! They talked for a little bit afterwards.
Later in the night, when I was on Facebook, Sa-Rye messaged me, "Teacher, what can I do when I believe Jesus?" :-D That is so awesome! --> Pray, read the Bible, and tell others about Jesus!!! Our classes have been studying the gospel of Mark, and they all have a copy of it in Khmer and English, so I suggested that he start reading Mark.
Please pray for Sa-Rye, as he begins to grow as a new child of the King!
Also, pray that others will, "jong" too! ;-)
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Lions, Tigers, and Bears ...
Phnom Tamao
Last weekend we went to the market with our 3:30 classes, and today we went to the zoo with our 1:30 classes!
Foreigners pay $5.00, and Khmer pay $0.50! It's like this everywhere we go. The glass half empty - foreigners get ripped off ... the glass half full - Cambodians get a discount!
The purpose of these trips is to build relationships with our students, create more opportunities to share The Truth with them, let the team explore Cambodia, and have fun! We did all of the above! My favorite part was the playground at the end! Several of the guys competed on who could do the most pull ups, and the older lady tried to do them too! :-D
The ride there ... 30 people in a 25 passenger van ... it worked!
The ride home
On the ride home I got to talk with the two guys behind me (to my left, which you can't see in the picture), one of which is Islam. They've only been coming to class for about a week, so they've just started learning about Jesus. One thing I noticed was when they talked about Jesus they'd say it in Khmer and leave out, "Pray-uh," the part of His name that means God. Jesus in Khmer is "Pray-uh Yae-soo," and they were saying, "Yae-soo." I'm praying that one day God will open their eyes to see that Jesus is "Pray-uh," too!
We will be leaving in the morning to go to Siem Reap! We will only be there for 2 half days, and 1 full day! After that we will return to Phnom Penh, and the team will only have a week and a half left. Please pray for God to work mightily!
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. ~ Ephesians 3:20-21
Last weekend we went to the market with our 3:30 classes, and today we went to the zoo with our 1:30 classes!
Foreigners pay $5.00, and Khmer pay $0.50! It's like this everywhere we go. The glass half empty - foreigners get ripped off ... the glass half full - Cambodians get a discount!
The purpose of these trips is to build relationships with our students, create more opportunities to share The Truth with them, let the team explore Cambodia, and have fun! We did all of the above! My favorite part was the playground at the end! Several of the guys competed on who could do the most pull ups, and the older lady tried to do them too! :-D
The ride there ... 30 people in a 25 passenger van ... it worked!
The ride home
On the ride home I got to talk with the two guys behind me (to my left, which you can't see in the picture), one of which is Islam. They've only been coming to class for about a week, so they've just started learning about Jesus. One thing I noticed was when they talked about Jesus they'd say it in Khmer and leave out, "Pray-uh," the part of His name that means God. Jesus in Khmer is "Pray-uh Yae-soo," and they were saying, "Yae-soo." I'm praying that one day God will open their eyes to see that Jesus is "Pray-uh," too!
We will be leaving in the morning to go to Siem Reap! We will only be there for 2 half days, and 1 full day! After that we will return to Phnom Penh, and the team will only have a week and a half left. Please pray for God to work mightily!
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. ~ Ephesians 3:20-21
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Cambodia Bucket List
baby duck egg ... check! I ate an entire baby duck egg tonight ... and it wasn't bad. I'm really thankful for the team from America, because if it hadn't been for them, then I probably wouldn't have finished it. BUT I DID!
I tried it a couple months ago, and didn't like the taste, but wanted the team to try it too, so I was willing to eat it with them. They're rock stars! All five of them ate their baby duck, and a couple even ate a second one!
To give you an idea ... baby duck egg in Southeast Asia is like pizza in America. It's not too expensive, it tastes delicious (according to the people who live there), and it brings people together! Now you get the idea? Cambodians don't normally like pizza at first. They have to acquire a taste for it ... yea I know, crazy!
I tried it a couple months ago, and didn't like the taste, but wanted the team to try it too, so I was willing to eat it with them. They're rock stars! All five of them ate their baby duck, and a couple even ate a second one!
To give you an idea ... baby duck egg in Southeast Asia is like pizza in America. It's not too expensive, it tastes delicious (according to the people who live there), and it brings people together! Now you get the idea? Cambodians don't normally like pizza at first. They have to acquire a taste for it ... yea I know, crazy!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Crazy Week ...
Jau
Jau is Khmer for thief. In the city there are a lot of thieves. It's well known that if you leave anything out / not locked up really well, then it will not be there the next day, or even the next hour. Growing up in Oklahoma, things get stolen, but not too much. Here, I've heard stories of thieves stealing women's purses while they're on driving down the road on their moto. The thief either pulls really hard to break the strap, or they come prepared to cut the strap with scissors. Like I said, I heard of these things, but didn't really take it too seriously. Honestly, I thought that Cambodians are just too paranoid. Well, a couple of nights ago I was driving home, just before 9pm on a busy street, and two guys came up beside me on my left side. My purse strap was across my body, and my purse was in my lap. All of a sudden, the passenger on the moto grabs my purse and started pulling on it. I immediately yelled a long NOOO at the top of my lungs while slapping him with my left hand and driving with my right. He kept pulling for a few seconds, a car behind us was laying on their horn, then the guy let go and the moto sped off. Praise the Lord that I am okay, we didn't wreck, and he didn't get my purse! Needless to say, I bought a small backpack the next day! (Thieves won't try to steal a whole backpack because it's not easy to steal, like a purse with thin straps.)
--> I tell you all of that, not so you can be worried, but so that you can pray for our safety, and pray for this country. We should be careful and take all safety precautions, but no matter what we do God is in control!
Phnom Penh Tour
I started out the day with Proverbs 16:1, "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord." The original plan for the PP Tour was to have three groups of 2 Americans and 2 Khmer, with the Khmer taking the students to certain "touristy" places around the city on their motos. As of yesterday, one guy cancelled, one girl tried to cancel so we weren't sure if she'd show up or not, and another girl said she didn't have a moto; therefore, we changed the plans to three tuk-tuks. Another guy was able to come unexpectedly, the girl did show up, and the other girl did have a moto! We already hired the tuk-tuks, so we just continued with that plan, which gave us more quality talking time during traveling! Here are some pictures:
Both groups of girls at the Royal Palace (left) and the Riverside (right).
My group (left), and all three groups together (right). Both are at Wat Phnom.
Market Scavenger Hunt @ P'sa Orussey
This was the part of the day that I'd been worrying too much about all week. We invited both 3:30 classes to go to the Orussey Market with us on a scavenger hunt. I was praying that God would have the right students come, and the right number of students. I was really worried that too many students would show up. The number I thought would be ideal was 3-4 guys and 6-8 girls, but still knowing that God's thoughts and ways are higher than mine.
We've always obeyed the buddy system with teams, but in the past it was okay for one of the buddies to be a trusted student. This year, it's important for the team that there are two Americans together at all times, which meant we could only have three groups. To no big surprise ... God is in control and He does answer prayers!!! We ended up having 4 guys and 7 girls, in addition to us 6 Americans. PERFECT! The groups weren't too big, each group had one tuk-tuk, and we all had a wonderful time!
Dried Shrimp BBQ'd pigs
We ran into the guys ... and the girls!
Ducks only feet away from death We came back and ate snacks together
We all tried crickets for the first time! They're really not too bad! I wouldn't choose to eat them, just because it's a mental thing, but I'd eat crickets over hot dogs any day! They're kind of like chips!
Please be praying for the students in the pictures. There are only a couple students pictured that say they are believers, and only one that I've seen fruit from. A few of the students, we haven't gotten to talk to them much before today, but most of them are genuinely seeking! These seeking students already KNOW The Truth, but aren't willing to surrender yet. Please pray that they'd quit saying, "no" to the Holy Spirit, and confess Jesus Christ as Lord!
Also pray for us, as believers, that God would give us strength, energy, health, obedience, and above all LOVE for our students!
"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Jau is Khmer for thief. In the city there are a lot of thieves. It's well known that if you leave anything out / not locked up really well, then it will not be there the next day, or even the next hour. Growing up in Oklahoma, things get stolen, but not too much. Here, I've heard stories of thieves stealing women's purses while they're on driving down the road on their moto. The thief either pulls really hard to break the strap, or they come prepared to cut the strap with scissors. Like I said, I heard of these things, but didn't really take it too seriously. Honestly, I thought that Cambodians are just too paranoid. Well, a couple of nights ago I was driving home, just before 9pm on a busy street, and two guys came up beside me on my left side. My purse strap was across my body, and my purse was in my lap. All of a sudden, the passenger on the moto grabs my purse and started pulling on it. I immediately yelled a long NOOO at the top of my lungs while slapping him with my left hand and driving with my right. He kept pulling for a few seconds, a car behind us was laying on their horn, then the guy let go and the moto sped off. Praise the Lord that I am okay, we didn't wreck, and he didn't get my purse! Needless to say, I bought a small backpack the next day! (Thieves won't try to steal a whole backpack because it's not easy to steal, like a purse with thin straps.)
--> I tell you all of that, not so you can be worried, but so that you can pray for our safety, and pray for this country. We should be careful and take all safety precautions, but no matter what we do God is in control!
Phnom Penh Tour
I started out the day with Proverbs 16:1, "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord." The original plan for the PP Tour was to have three groups of 2 Americans and 2 Khmer, with the Khmer taking the students to certain "touristy" places around the city on their motos. As of yesterday, one guy cancelled, one girl tried to cancel so we weren't sure if she'd show up or not, and another girl said she didn't have a moto; therefore, we changed the plans to three tuk-tuks. Another guy was able to come unexpectedly, the girl did show up, and the other girl did have a moto! We already hired the tuk-tuks, so we just continued with that plan, which gave us more quality talking time during traveling! Here are some pictures:
Both groups of girls at the Royal Palace (left) and the Riverside (right).
My group (left), and all three groups together (right). Both are at Wat Phnom.
Market Scavenger Hunt @ P'sa Orussey
This was the part of the day that I'd been worrying too much about all week. We invited both 3:30 classes to go to the Orussey Market with us on a scavenger hunt. I was praying that God would have the right students come, and the right number of students. I was really worried that too many students would show up. The number I thought would be ideal was 3-4 guys and 6-8 girls, but still knowing that God's thoughts and ways are higher than mine.
We've always obeyed the buddy system with teams, but in the past it was okay for one of the buddies to be a trusted student. This year, it's important for the team that there are two Americans together at all times, which meant we could only have three groups. To no big surprise ... God is in control and He does answer prayers!!! We ended up having 4 guys and 7 girls, in addition to us 6 Americans. PERFECT! The groups weren't too big, each group had one tuk-tuk, and we all had a wonderful time!
Dried Shrimp BBQ'd pigs
We ran into the guys ... and the girls!
Ducks only feet away from death We came back and ate snacks together
We all tried crickets for the first time! They're really not too bad! I wouldn't choose to eat them, just because it's a mental thing, but I'd eat crickets over hot dogs any day! They're kind of like chips!
Please be praying for the students in the pictures. There are only a couple students pictured that say they are believers, and only one that I've seen fruit from. A few of the students, we haven't gotten to talk to them much before today, but most of them are genuinely seeking! These seeking students already KNOW The Truth, but aren't willing to surrender yet. Please pray that they'd quit saying, "no" to the Holy Spirit, and confess Jesus Christ as Lord!
Also pray for us, as believers, that God would give us strength, energy, health, obedience, and above all LOVE for our students!
"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
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