The Pastor's view

Today we went our separate ways: Michelle and Rod stayed at the Destiny Café to work on menus and publicity; Matt, Dave and Ellie took 4 classes of children for lessons at the Safe Haven School; Graham was working on IT teaching for Safe Haven School too; Sue disappeared into the villages to teach oral hygiene and I started the first five of a series of sessions on 2 Corinthians with 35 village pastors. The effectiveness of their ministry will be apparent on Saturday when a baptism service has been planned for about 100 people from the churches they have planted! Very few second-generation Christians here: this is conversion growth.

The first two chapters of 2 Corinthians cover being called into a ministry of bringing God’s comfort to people, the importance of praying for others and being prayed for, and the forgiveness of sins and how that works in a culture where shame and honour are dominant values. Who is teaching whom? The pastors were unanimous in affirming that God could and did forgive the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge and saw forgiveness as an integral part of the good news they proclaim so effectively. Already as a result of preparing and delivering these talks in this culture I know I have gained fresh and significant insight (for me) into parts of 1 Corinthians. A learning experience in all sorts of ways.

Other impressions: today’s heavy rain showers will be welcomed by the farmers; we welcome the relative coolness although the all-pervasive dust on the paved roads has turned into a muddy slosh. As I write this, a dozen small birds are feeding happily on the grass a few yards from me: the school, where I am based, is a Safe Haven for them as well as for the children who are taught here so effectively: children at Safe Haven tend to learn three times as quickly as they might in a state school: no wonder Chomno has a vision for extending the education provided to university level. The CHO team have worked tirelessly; they work when we work and when we have meal breaks (delicious food!) they are serving us.

It’s now 4.40 pm on Tuesday here – just over 24 hours since we crossed the border into Cambodia, but our journey here already feels like a distant memory. If you want to pray for the BRBC team, please pray for good nights’ sleep: a combination of jet lag and noisy hotels have meant disturbed nights for most of us– a couple of the team (no names mentioned) have slept through our alarms and they may not be the last to do so. It’s a challenge and a privilege for us to be able to play a very small part in an amazing project: so far, by God’s grace, so good!

Tim