Someone sent me a series of questions about Cambodian church for his graduate study. Big questions. Here are my brief answers and I thought it's worth sharing with whoever maybe interested.
1. How has the church grown and changed since the most oppressive days of the Khmer Rouge?
In 1979 when the Khmer Rough regime was toppled, only handful Christians survived in country. Some had escaped to other countries through refugee camps. Some returned and established churches and ministries. The church growth has been rapid. Especially during 1990s, an influx of missionaries and Christian NGOs contributed to such a rapid growth. Last several years, the church growth has been slow down (some worry it's plateaued). Incidentally many of those who were initially attracted to church/Christians for physical needs gradually dropped out. Lack of discipleship and leadership contributes to that.
2. What does the church (domestic church and international church body) do to address the poverty that exists within the country?
In Cambodia, there are many Christian NGOs (Non Government Organizations) tackling the poverty issues, primarily through community development, job training, and some advocacy. Some of the NGOs are church related. Some denominations established their own agencies for relief and development. Used to be a lot of hand-out types of ministries to the poor, creating dependency and false expectation issues, but nowadays most agencies focus on education/training for self-supporting/sustainable development. For they recognize the value and importance of developing capacity and ownership of people in the community for their own poverty eradication. Local churches, mostly small rural house churches, are seen as strategic partners who have direct access and impact on communities. So much efforts are being put (by NGOs and denominational agencies) to train and empower church leaders and members to become almost like community organizers who will facilitate village meetings and discussions how to improve their lives.
3. What are some of the biggest strengths that the church currently has?
Cambodian church is still young and small with huge potential for growth and greater impact on society. Many local churches are house churches led by farming lay pastors and leaders. So they are closely connected to surrounding communities. They are dynamically organized and not institutionalized. Can grow and reach out easily without bureaucratic structure.
Church is attracting young population (over 50% of Cambodians is under 20) by providing educational/vocational opportunities.
4. What are some of the biggest challenges that the church currently faces?
Lack of qualified leaders to lead young generation. Older generation of leaders is gradually fasing out. Transition is not smooth.
Church leaders are poorly equipped to lead churches move forward. Not enough access to resources for discipleship and personal growth. Some cases of persecutions in largely animistic Buddhist communities and growing suspicion and hostility toward Christians by nationalistic Buddhist leaders. Also growing forces of modernization, materialism and secularism choking the dynamic spirit of the church members
5. What do you see as the future of the church within Cambodia?
Like most other developing countries, urbanization is rapidly changing the landscape of Cambodia society and the church. Young people move to cities for education and jobs and many stay on. The churches targeting this population and provide relevant ministries are growing. I see this trend will continue. In rural areas, the church will continue remain small and poor, since most members are poor farmers whose worldviews and lifestyles will likely unchanged. However, through its fluid and contextualized structure, the gospel can spread like wild fire by the prompting work of the Spirit throughout Cambodia. It's homogenious society with one language, culture and vocation (rice farming). It's a small and flat country with decent roads that can reach everywhere within a day. There is a movement among some Cambodian Christian leaders to network and promote the gospel movement to every village by year 2021, called Mission Kampuchea 2021. Who knows? This can spark the fire of the Spirit.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
A Bruised Reed He Will Not Break
Some of you may have heard of the tragedy that occurred earlier this week in Phnom Penh where close to 400 people were killed and many others injured in a crowd stampede on a small bridge on the Mekong River. The whole country is in shock and we ask you to pray for those who lost loved ones and for the nation as a whole. Our family is fine and so far we don’t personally know any one involved.
The incident happened around the time of Water Festival, one of the main national holidays. The festival marks the return to normal flow of the Tonle Sap River which is reversed when the Mekong River is at peak flow during the rainy season. The holiday also coincides with the rice harvest. People come from all the corners of the country to Phnom Penh to celebrate.
Our family went down to watch the boat races Monday morning. We were impressed by how the hundreds of boats were coordinated and the teamwork on the boats. It was colorful and beautiful. We said to each other, “this is something Cambodia can be proud of.”
Then we heard the news next morning. We are in shock too and still processing. There are so many wonderful gifts that God has given to Cambodia and her people. Yet people seem vulnerable in so many ways and seem to be victimized more easily than other places. People are “at risk”—malnutrition, human trafficking, drug-resistant malaria, TB etc. We see young people (not just children and women) vulnerable too—even in the everyday decisions they face as they grow up.
We don’t know what makes Cambodians so vulnerable. We don’t know why evil seems to win the day in the presence of so much that is good. We do believe and hang our hope on Jesus. The Bible promises that he “will bring justice to the nations” and in the process, “a bruised reed he will not break.” Jesus’ salvation doesn’t do any collateral damage.
Please pray for Christ’s redemption to take hold of Cambodia and for him to bring justice and salvation to his people here quickly.
The incident happened around the time of Water Festival, one of the main national holidays. The festival marks the return to normal flow of the Tonle Sap River which is reversed when the Mekong River is at peak flow during the rainy season. The holiday also coincides with the rice harvest. People come from all the corners of the country to Phnom Penh to celebrate.
Our family went down to watch the boat races Monday morning. We were impressed by how the hundreds of boats were coordinated and the teamwork on the boats. It was colorful and beautiful. We said to each other, “this is something Cambodia can be proud of.”
Then we heard the news next morning. We are in shock too and still processing. There are so many wonderful gifts that God has given to Cambodia and her people. Yet people seem vulnerable in so many ways and seem to be victimized more easily than other places. People are “at risk”—malnutrition, human trafficking, drug-resistant malaria, TB etc. We see young people (not just children and women) vulnerable too—even in the everyday decisions they face as they grow up.
We don’t know what makes Cambodians so vulnerable. We don’t know why evil seems to win the day in the presence of so much that is good. We do believe and hang our hope on Jesus. The Bible promises that he “will bring justice to the nations” and in the process, “a bruised reed he will not break.” Jesus’ salvation doesn’t do any collateral damage.
Please pray for Christ’s redemption to take hold of Cambodia and for him to bring justice and salvation to his people here quickly.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Summer update
At last, rainy season is here (late this year). It's pouring outside of my window right now, and I'm enjoying the coolness it brings. We are also glad that the moving is over and our new house feels more like home. The last few weeks we've been busy fixing things and settling in. The major remaining issue is the bat guano in the ceiling which sifts down through the tiles. We passed by our old house the other day, and it was already demolished for a new building. We know why the landlord wanted us to be out. There is a construction boom in Cambodia making people busy building and rebuilding.
One of the ministry highlights has been the follow-up visit to those who responded to the gospel presentation at the dental clinic a few weeks ago. see the clinic:
I along with Ly and GCT staff visited their village homes. They were happy to see us and welcome us, and we were happy to encourage them and pray for them. One of them was "Sok" a mute lady. She was extremely shy and reluctant (probably due to many years of isolation and being ostracized), but when we finished praying for her, I saw her tears which seem to speak of God's work in her. Most of the villagers are illiterate, so there needs creative way to introduce them to the Bible.
So I'm beginning to use portable MP3 speakers that can play Khmer New Testament. These MP3 speakers can be purchased locally and relatively cheap. I'm field-testing so to speak. If goes well, I may use them more widely. Technology can definitely contribute to the gospel work if used wisely.
There is outbreak of Cholera in Cambodia. Many have died, including 3 men in the village. Villagers are afraid, believing evil spirits cause the sickness and death. So they place scarecrows in front of their houses. O only Christ can deliver them from the life of fear. I plan to continue helping the follow-up and possibly a church planting effort as the Lord opens the door.
Joyce continues volunteering at EFC Women Commission through advising and teaching. She is preparing and will be leading a session at the annual conference for women leaders in July 5-9. This time a focus will be to create regional networks. Rural women leaders are isolated and need encouragement from each other. A Bible study on discipleship is being developed for the semi-literate women so that they can get together and minister to each other centered around the Word. Please say a prayer for this effort.
It's school holidays for kids, but they are taking summer school in the mornings. Thanks to Logos school for providing this.
And of course they are growing daily.
One of the ministry highlights has been the follow-up visit to those who responded to the gospel presentation at the dental clinic a few weeks ago. see the clinic:
I along with Ly and GCT staff visited their village homes. They were happy to see us and welcome us, and we were happy to encourage them and pray for them. One of them was "Sok" a mute lady. She was extremely shy and reluctant (probably due to many years of isolation and being ostracized), but when we finished praying for her, I saw her tears which seem to speak of God's work in her. Most of the villagers are illiterate, so there needs creative way to introduce them to the Bible.
So I'm beginning to use portable MP3 speakers that can play Khmer New Testament. These MP3 speakers can be purchased locally and relatively cheap. I'm field-testing so to speak. If goes well, I may use them more widely. Technology can definitely contribute to the gospel work if used wisely.
There is outbreak of Cholera in Cambodia. Many have died, including 3 men in the village. Villagers are afraid, believing evil spirits cause the sickness and death. So they place scarecrows in front of their houses. O only Christ can deliver them from the life of fear. I plan to continue helping the follow-up and possibly a church planting effort as the Lord opens the door.
Joyce continues volunteering at EFC Women Commission through advising and teaching. She is preparing and will be leading a session at the annual conference for women leaders in July 5-9. This time a focus will be to create regional networks. Rural women leaders are isolated and need encouragement from each other. A Bible study on discipleship is being developed for the semi-literate women so that they can get together and minister to each other centered around the Word. Please say a prayer for this effort.
It's school holidays for kids, but they are taking summer school in the mornings. Thanks to Logos school for providing this.
And of course they are growing daily.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Singapore Trip
We just returned from Singapore trip. It was second time trip for Joyce and Mary and the first time for the rest of us. Our purpose of trip was two fold: (1) medical check-up for Mary and me (Gil); (2) family vacation during this school break--Khmer New Year.
First of all Mary needed to have a progress check up for her possible "precocious puberty." She has grown so fast over the last year that made us concerned and take her to see a specialist in Singapore in Nov. last year. Doctor said she's in "early stage of early normal puberty" in terms of her development and wanted to monitor her growth to determine if she needed a hormone treatment. Mary is not ill or anything, but a concern is if she grew too fast now, she may stop growing too soon and become a short adult. Also psychological and emotional stress related to early puberty is another concern. Thankfully, according to doctor's visit this time her growth has slowed down a bit so at this time we don't need to make a tough decision whether to treat her or not. We pray her growth would not accelerate but normalize.
For me, I needed to have a check-up on two lumps under my arm pit. I discovered these lumps a few months ago. A preliminary scanning in Cambodia showed no evidence of lymph nodes but not conclusive about sarcoma--cancer. A recommendation was to see a specialist in Singapore and have a MRI. The doctor in Singapore casually recommended a biopsy rather. Then at the lab, radiologist said there is no visible "target" to do a biopsy which she said is a rare case and recommended MRI. Interestingly that was the SOS doctor's recommendation in Cambodia. I took and showed her report to the Singapore doctor. He apparently ignored it or didn't take it seriously. (Later a taxi driver told me if it was a Singaporean patient, the doctor could have been in trouble--possibly being sued). Anyway I went ahead with MRI. Result was the lumps were 6 cm long each but most likely benign (lipoma). But the doctor recommended a surgery to remove the lumps completely in a month or two. I need to make a decision soon and feel stress about it although thankful for being spared from worse situations.
We had a nice family time in Singapore. A lot of things are quite contrary to Cambodia. Spotless and orderly. Upscale and controlled. But I didn't want to stay any longer than a week. Well, we couldn't afford it anyway; things are so expensive. Materialism was at work. I don't think there is any other city in the world that has so many clusters of shopping centers. And restaurants everywhere you turn to.
We stayed at YMCA International Guesthouse. Highly recommend. Basic but adequate. Perfect location. Everything is nearby: Bus station. Food court. Shopping centers. Cinema. Museum, and Orchard Road Presbyterian church was right next so we worshipped there on Sunday. Very nice service. Kids really liked the zoo and Science center. Joyce's favorite was Botanical garden. I enjoyed food courts.
We are happy to be back to Cambodia though. Humble modest Phnom Penh airport was so welcoming and I felt home hearing people speaking Khmer. Riding Tuk-tuk on the way home, my senses were again stimulated and came to life. All the sights, sounds, smell and sticky air blowing my face. Yes, this is Cambodia. I'm home.
One thing I was reminded of in Singapore was the importance of leadership for any group or society. Singapore became independent in 1965 and faced many challenges as a diverse society with high unemployment rate and lacking natural resources. How did it become so stable and developed in relatively short period of time? A key was effective leadership of the first prime minister who set solid foundation for the entire society--current prime minister is his son who seems highly effective and respected as well. I'm sure it's not perfect but in my mind it's a contrast to Cambodian history which is filled with tragedies due to leadership failures in my judgment. But Cambodia survived, and its people spared. Now busy rebuilding the society. Please join me praying that many leaders with the Kingdom vision will be raised up and write up new history for Cambodia.
Here are some pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/suhmission/SingaporeTripApril2010#
First of all Mary needed to have a progress check up for her possible "precocious puberty." She has grown so fast over the last year that made us concerned and take her to see a specialist in Singapore in Nov. last year. Doctor said she's in "early stage of early normal puberty" in terms of her development and wanted to monitor her growth to determine if she needed a hormone treatment. Mary is not ill or anything, but a concern is if she grew too fast now, she may stop growing too soon and become a short adult. Also psychological and emotional stress related to early puberty is another concern. Thankfully, according to doctor's visit this time her growth has slowed down a bit so at this time we don't need to make a tough decision whether to treat her or not. We pray her growth would not accelerate but normalize.
For me, I needed to have a check-up on two lumps under my arm pit. I discovered these lumps a few months ago. A preliminary scanning in Cambodia showed no evidence of lymph nodes but not conclusive about sarcoma--cancer. A recommendation was to see a specialist in Singapore and have a MRI. The doctor in Singapore casually recommended a biopsy rather. Then at the lab, radiologist said there is no visible "target" to do a biopsy which she said is a rare case and recommended MRI. Interestingly that was the SOS doctor's recommendation in Cambodia. I took and showed her report to the Singapore doctor. He apparently ignored it or didn't take it seriously. (Later a taxi driver told me if it was a Singaporean patient, the doctor could have been in trouble--possibly being sued). Anyway I went ahead with MRI. Result was the lumps were 6 cm long each but most likely benign (lipoma). But the doctor recommended a surgery to remove the lumps completely in a month or two. I need to make a decision soon and feel stress about it although thankful for being spared from worse situations.
We had a nice family time in Singapore. A lot of things are quite contrary to Cambodia. Spotless and orderly. Upscale and controlled. But I didn't want to stay any longer than a week. Well, we couldn't afford it anyway; things are so expensive. Materialism was at work. I don't think there is any other city in the world that has so many clusters of shopping centers. And restaurants everywhere you turn to.
We stayed at YMCA International Guesthouse. Highly recommend. Basic but adequate. Perfect location. Everything is nearby: Bus station. Food court. Shopping centers. Cinema. Museum, and Orchard Road Presbyterian church was right next so we worshipped there on Sunday. Very nice service. Kids really liked the zoo and Science center. Joyce's favorite was Botanical garden. I enjoyed food courts.
We are happy to be back to Cambodia though. Humble modest Phnom Penh airport was so welcoming and I felt home hearing people speaking Khmer. Riding Tuk-tuk on the way home, my senses were again stimulated and came to life. All the sights, sounds, smell and sticky air blowing my face. Yes, this is Cambodia. I'm home.
One thing I was reminded of in Singapore was the importance of leadership for any group or society. Singapore became independent in 1965 and faced many challenges as a diverse society with high unemployment rate and lacking natural resources. How did it become so stable and developed in relatively short period of time? A key was effective leadership of the first prime minister who set solid foundation for the entire society--current prime minister is his son who seems highly effective and respected as well. I'm sure it's not perfect but in my mind it's a contrast to Cambodian history which is filled with tragedies due to leadership failures in my judgment. But Cambodia survived, and its people spared. Now busy rebuilding the society. Please join me praying that many leaders with the Kingdom vision will be raised up and write up new history for Cambodia.
Here are some pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/suhmission/SingaporeTripApril2010#
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Long time No blog!
Our blog hasn't been updated for awhile. Sorry! A lot of things happened. It's impossible to mention them all. I will post some pictures that highlight our last few months. Thanks.
Many visitors in Jan-Feb. including the students from Calvin college and Handong University
Calvin college students took over our living room. They were really good guests and eager to learn and engage. It was a delight to interact with although brief.
A short-term team from Michigan and a local Cambodian church helped building a new house for widow and her blind son. The hut on the right is the old one.
New Life Church of Phnom Penh Thmey mostly for young people. On a Wednesday service there was an altar call for many visiting students from the area. The pastor Sem is one of Timothy Leadership trainee.
Our family joined EFC staff going to visit Vietnam over New Year. At one of the stops.
Many visitors in Jan-Feb. including the students from Calvin college and Handong University
Calvin college students took over our living room. They were really good guests and eager to learn and engage. It was a delight to interact with although brief.
A short-term team from Michigan and a local Cambodian church helped building a new house for widow and her blind son. The hut on the right is the old one.
New Life Church of Phnom Penh Thmey mostly for young people. On a Wednesday service there was an altar call for many visiting students from the area. The pastor Sem is one of Timothy Leadership trainee.
Our family joined EFC staff going to visit Vietnam over New Year. At one of the stops.
Snapshots of highlight
Our kids in Christmas t-shirts sent from a missionary friend's family in Canada
Grandma Dorothy visited us and had many unforgettable experiences including visiting Angkor Wat
And conversing with a Buddhist monk
Joyce continues to be involved with EFC Women Commission through teaching and consulting
Annual meeting of Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia. Gil led a session on mission movement in Cambodia
more snapshots of highlights
Mary's 2nd grad class leading chapel of Logos school at their new campus
Our friend Ly Chhay sharing his life-timeline at Refocusing Leaders seminar in which Gil also attended.
Church leaders training at a village in Svay Rieng province, one of the poorest areas.
Pastors praying for their ministry plans at Timothy Leadership Training
Delicious Khmer food!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
