Bringing Comfort to Hurting People – Divine timing turns an accident into an eternal encounter

As I was sitting inside a small thatch home constructed of wood and braided palm leaves, visiting with a fellow believer and the Samaritan’s Purse Ministry Team, out of the corner of my eye I saw a lady in the narrow “street” pouring cool water down her back. I was shocked to see her back was about 25% covered in fresh, third degree burns with skin peeling off of her badly burned body. Recognizing the lady was in severe pain and had been burned only moments before, a Samaritan’s Purse Ministry Team member approached her to see what happened and offer comfort. While the lady’s injury was tragic, the timing of the Samaritan’s Purse Ministry Team visit was an eternal miracle from God.

Andong is a resettlement community/urban slum on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The people here suffer in abject poverty. The “street” is a narrow passageway only accessible on motorcycle or by foot and is cluttered with litter and pools of polluted water. Samaritan’s Purse has established a **Targeted Child Nutrition Project ( www.samaritanspurse.com.au/project/targeted-child-nutrition-project/ ) in this community to address the severe malnutrition among the children here. I was with the Ministry Team in this community following up with families served by the TCNP team, sharing the Gospel with them, when we encountered Srey Pheak.

 Srey Pheak had been out that morning on her motorcycle trying to sell rice porridge in Phnom Penh hoping to earn a few Riel to support her family.  While she was stopped at an intersection, a car ran into her from behind, splashing her scalding hot pot of porridge onto her back. Having no access to health care she simply returned home to wash her wounds, and to have an eternal encounter. While on that day the Ministry Team could only provide comfort and a referral to a free health care option, we were able to return two days later for a follow-up visit. It was during this follow-up visit that we found that she had been visiting a partner church, but had not accepted Christ. After visiting with Srey Pheak and sharing the Good News of Christ she made a decision to accept Christ as Savior and Lord. Fortunately, she has been receiving medical care for her physical wound, but more importantly, in Christ, she has found the only answer for her spiritual condition, eternal salvation.

**The TCNP is the program where Tricia interns. She spends time each week doing assessment and trainings in these communities as well.

Texas City Girl Goes to the Cambodian Countryside

River Crossing to one of the villages

For  four days,  I a left both Phnom Pehn and my family to travel by van along with 18 other people to a remote district of Cambodia called the Chey  S’aang District in the Preah Vihear Province near the border of Thailand. We left on a Friday morning and arrived at our “guest house” that afternoon.   Our van ride started out on paved roads but eventually turned into pot hole filled dirt roads.  Our team was the staff from the Targeted Child Nutrition Program.  Next year, Samaritan’s Purse will be launching a new base in this region.  Our goal was to assess and evaluate the incidence of malnutrition in 4 different villages in this particular district in order to strategically design a plan to reach out to the moderate to severe malnourished children and expectant women .   My assignment on this trip was to assess and screen pregnant and post-partum mothers.

My teammates measuring children's heights

I was both excited and apprehensive about the trip. Since I was the only westerner on this excursion, I knew my traditional comfort level was going to be challenged.  I was secure in knowing that I just needed to pack my personal clothing, mosquito spray, and any personal toiletries (which that means TOILET PAPER ALWAYS!)  The chances of seeing a “western toilet” were zero, and so I mentally prepared myself for 4 days of a “squatty potty”.  My four day outlook was to focus on the needs of others and not myself along with listening to what God needed to do in my heart regarding setting aside my own personal needs.  

When we arrived at our “guest house” , I quickly realized I had no idea what the next four days would include.  I thought the Lord was going to reveal some great “Word of Revelation” to me on this trip. The scripture I humbly embraced became Matthew 6:25-34 “Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing?” Our guest house was a large oversized hut on stilts with the “kitchen” below on a dirt floor.  We had three double beds and 7 women.   I was overwhelmed with thoughts from my western mindset as I was staring at basically what some would call a shack made of wood planks, no air conditioning, no running water, and  3 hours of electricity by generator in the evenings.  “My” bathroom was a “squatty potty” outhouse with a bucket and large tub of water for bathing to share among about 15 people next to the pig stalls.  I adored the “cute” little scrawny “organic” chickens that ran around everywhere which I thought were to provide us with daily fresh eggs.  However, one afternoon as I rounded the side of hut to go to the outhouse, I saw a young Cambodian kid who obviously had just wrung the neck of one of those “cute” chickens and was plucking its feathers!  I suddenly realized that I was observing the elaborate preparation of my supper tonight which was later presented on the table right next to the pig ears!

Passing a water buffalo  

With all this in mind, my thoughts were centered around these findings at the end of the 4 days.  As a nurse, I assessed approximately 50 pregnant and post-partum women in all and found that around 20% of them were malnourished.  This being said, I am thankful to be exactly where I am. I am thankful  for this season in my life. I am being used as an instrument by Samaritan’s Purse to make a difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate than myself. Please pray that our team will develop an effective  strategy to combat malnutrition in the district of Cheng S’aang.

How Clean Water Facilitates Church Empowerment

I have always taken for granted being able to turn on the water faucet and have a fresh flow of clean, safe water for drinking, cleaning and bathing, until I moved to Cambodia that is. Like many small communities throughout Cambodia, the community of Khadai Ron in the Takeo Province had only one source of consistent drinking water. The 1,137 residents of the community had to walk from their homes to the local Pagoda to fill their water buckets from a community pond. As you might expect a community pond would often become contaminated. While the long walk to obtain water made life difficult enough, the sickness that often came from drinking contaminated water made life unbearable. If you became a Christian in Khadai Ron there was an even greater challenge.

Christians are a very small minority in Cambodia. They are often discriminated against. Because they are a religious minority they do not have a voice in the community government system. In most communities the Pagoda leaders hold a great deal of influence within the community and in some cases they use the influence to persecute Christians. In Khadai Ron if a person became a Christian the local Pagoda leader would deny them access to the community pond.

On a recent visit to Khadai Ron Pastor Mai, the pastor of one of Samaritan’s Purse’s many partner churches, told me the story of how the Samaritan’s Purse Seeds of Hope program has changed lives in the village. www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/sowing_seeds_of_hope/ Samaritan’s Purse chose the church, where Pastor Mai serves, as  a partner church in the village. Together with Pastor Mai, Samaritan’s Purse staff went to community leaders and asked for the names of villagers who would most benefit from the Seeds of Hope program and be good stewards. Samaritan’s Purse then went to these community families and supplied them with agriculture projects and clean water access. Wells were drilled for community members and handpumps were installed. Clean water means healthier lives and no more spending hours each day carrying water from the community pond.

Agriculture programs provide long-term 
food production for families and provide a 
source of income. 

While clean water access was important in improving people's health, it was the rest of the story that amazed me. After village leaders saw the love of Christ being shown to both Buddhists and Christians alike in the village by Samaritan's Purse and Pastor Mai, they no longer discriminated against Christians in the community.

Pastor Mai, a community member and one
 of many wells drilled by Samaritan's Purse

They began to listen to Christian leaders and include them in the local decision making process. Water wells, vegetable gardens, and livestock were a practical display of God’s love that broke down barriers and empowered the Church. Many believers open the use of their wells to other community members. They are now able to share the Living Water as these wells become a focal point for relationships and evangelism. Pastor Mai now has a healthy thriving church with approximately 75members. As a part of the Ministry Team, I now travel with staff to communities like this and visit homes with pastors like Mai proclaiming the Good News and encouraging believers!