The Search For Significance

Living in Cambodia has caused me to evaluate many areas of my life. One of those areas is significance. Is who I am and what I’m doing significant? I know we often look at the activities we’re involved in, what we have accomplished, or how much money we make to determine if we are successful, but is what we do significant? There is a difference between success and significance. One visit recently to a village school made me evaluate this a little deeper.  I met a school principal whose life work challenged me.

When I lived in Texas I was surrounded by family and friends and was able to be a part of so many peoples lives through my antique business, teaching and pastoring. Simply being known and loved by that many people made me feel significant. Now that I’m removed from that and look back at what I’ve done with my life it has really caused me to evaluate what was significant. When it boils down to it the things that I believe were significant were not things I did for myself, but were things that had a long-term positive impact on other people’s lives.  I had many events, ministries, projects and achievements that could be categorized as successes, but in the long run they had very little long-term impact on anyone’s life.

Living in a new country where I am not known has caused me to look at everything I invest my life and time into and ask the question of whether what I am doing will simply be seen as a success or if it is actually significant.

I mentioned a village school principal a minute ago. Principal Min has been working and teaching in the same village for 13 years. On a recent visit to his village he told me the story of the primary school where he works.

The school grounds are now nearly 2 ft higher

When he started 13 years ago the village was in the jungle. The school borrowed whatever community shelter it could to have school for the very few students who would attend. The government had given the school land, but it was covered in trees and brush. The area was susceptible to flooding during the rainy season and fire during the dry season. Principal Min worked to motivate the local community and over time got the village to help him clear a small part of the land to construct a small school building. 

The Classroom Floor

Over the next few years the village cleared more of the land, as fires often endangered or damaged the small school during the dry season.  Principal Min didn’t stop there. He eventually worked with the local village chief, a local church in the community and an aid organization that helped him and the villagers construct 5 more classrooms and a latrine for the school. He kept working and was recently able to get two water ponds dug to provide a year round water supply for the latrines and the school. Being resourceful he even used the dirt dug from the ponds to raise the elevation of the school grounds so during the rainy season the school grounds would no longer flood.  Today over three hundred primary school students attend class at the school!!

The "chalkboard" is actually polished treebark
and you can see through the outside walls

Now if you are looking at the pictures of the school on this page you might question whether Mr. Min is a success. The school has a dirt floor, is made of rough cut planks from trees and on the day I was there, 48 children had to pack into one classroom with 3 children sharing each desk. I realized that day that Mr. Min isn’t working in life towards personal “success”. If he was, he would have left the village years ago to pursue an easier post in a more affluent area.  He is however working towards something significant. He is investing in generations to come. He began to tell me as we were finishing our time at the school about the number of teacher’s and students who have accepted Christ and I realized that Mr. Min’s perspective on significance stretches into the eternal.

I read an article this week by John Maxwell on the difference between success and significance. As you read these think about whether you are striving for success or are you meant for the higher purpose of significance.

48 children in 1 class - 3 kids to a desk

“Success can last a lifetime; significance can last several lifetimes.”

“Success asks, “How can I add value to myself?” Significance asks, “How can I add value to others?” My evolution from selfishness to significance went something like this:

What can others do for me? → What can I do for myself? → What can I do for others? → What can I do with others, for others?”

“If I pursue success, my joy is the result of my success; if I pursue significance, my joy is the result of others’ success.”

By the way, my work with Samaritan’s Purse will hopefully help the local government and Mr. Min get a new school with new desks on that land he worked so hard to build up over the last 13 years!

Christmas in January

While we were in Texas in December one of the questions I was asked several times was if I ever got to see the Christmas shoebox gifts delivered to children. It’s really funny, but Westerners from countries that donate the shoebox gifts through Samaritan’s Purse seldom ever get to see them delivered.

This little girl is modeling her new hat.

The whole process, after the gifts leave our prosperous countries, is handled by local churches in the countries where the shoeboxes are delivered. That makes the fact that a couple of times each year I get to be a part of the delivery, REALLY special. I took the pictures and video in this blog two weeks ago when helping at various shoebox distributions in Siem Reap province. I always enjoy it and hear special stories from children and parents every time. 

These little guys were focused on looking through their boxes at all the goodies

They were both really excited by what they found!

If someone gets a shirt that is too big, or shoes that don't fit, there is no complaining. This group is gathered around the well discussing their gifts and trading for the right sizes. 

I’ve had parents come to me and say “thank you” because their child only had one pair of clothes and in the shoebox was a complete set of new clothes. I’ve had teachers in schools say “thank you” because children who don’t have school supplies now have school supplies. And the kids always say “thank you” because they love getting toys, which is very, very rare for most of them. Of course I’m not the one giving the gifts, but I guess that is why I’m posting this photo and video blog. TO SAY “THANK YOU” from the kids and to let you see just a few pictures of some of the kids who receive those gifts. Hope you enjoy sharing in the joy just a bit.

This little boy is using the traditional hand gesture to say "Thank You"

This video is just a taste of how excited the kids are when they open their gifts. On this particular day when the kids first opened their boxes the squeals were sooooo loud it hurt my ears.

The other part of the story is the local church pastors who volunteer a large amount of their time to coordinate delivering these boxes to the remotest and most disadvantaged parts of the country. For those of you who have sent shoeboxes you also are helping these hard-working men and women, share the Gospel across their country. I have the great fortune to be friends with two of the national leadership team for delivering the shoebox gifts. These men are always overwhelmed at the love others have for the children of their country. It’s no wonder that God is doing great works in their churches. My friend Sophea recently had to work with his congregation to build a much larger sanctuary to hold the growth of their church. Your shoebox gift story doesn’t end with a child, it is only the beginning of what God is doing in expanding His Kingdom in nations around the world!

This is my friend Pastor Sophea. He is the National Leadership Team Leader .
He is responsible for leading the team that distributes the shoebox gifts across the country.
His church has outgrown their current facility and is almost finished with their new place!

50,000 Days' Wages

I recently  began reading a book which was given to Wayne and I while we were on furlough in the states over Christmas.  It's called Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn.

I was intrigued with a certain section in the book which I would like to share:

“In the story recounted in Acts 19:18-20, the Ephesian occultists demonstrated the reality of their spiritual conversions by their willingness to burn their magic books, which were worth the vast sum of 50,000 days’ wages, the equivalent of perhaps six million dollars in today’s economy.  The depth of transformation in the lives of the early Christians as most clearly evident in their willingness to surrender their money and possessions...." (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35).



 Shrine which can be found in homes and businesses

Alcon goes on to say “There is a powerful relationship between our true spiritual condition and our attitude and actions concerning money and possessions….It was no more natural for the Christians in the book of Acts to cheerfully liquidate and disburse assets they had spent their lives accumulating than it would be for us. And that’s the whole point. Conversion and the filling of the Holy Spirit are supernatural experiences that produce supernatural response”.



Shrines for sale

These paragraphs caused me to pause and think about how much sacrifice is made when a Cambodian chooses to follow Christ. When the choice is made, a new believer will remove or destroy a shrine or object of worship. These shrines are usually located inside their home, place of business, and outside the doorway to their home. All these places provide a public display of their beliefs.  The connection to this shrine is very powerful not only spiritually, but financially as well.  It is the regularly observed sacrifices to these shrines that are believed to bring about power, wealth, and a secure future. 

I am moved to stop and reflect on what little I had to sacrifice to become a follower of Christ having grown up in a community with family and friends who strongly supported my decision.    I am humbled by the tremendous sacrifice those around me here in Cambodia make to follow Christ. Please continue to pray for the Christians here in Cambodia!

"Going where no man has gone before!"

The last couple of months have been quite a whirlwind. Our family left for the states back in November for a short furlough to visit family and friends.  Although our time was too short in Texas, we were glad to get back into a normal routine.  On January 1st, we departed the states to start the New Year back in Cambodia.

While in the states,  I was visiting with a friend of mine who would be returning to her home country in the next couple months. She had been living in the US for years, but felt  God was calling her to return to Africa and to minister the Gospel there.  She also shared her reluctance about how God could use her since she was woman, and how there were many challenges to face because of this.  I then began to share a story about my Cambodian friend, Sreymum.
(for confidentiality real names and locations are not used)

My friend and I traveling to the village 

Last year Sreymum and I, along with a small medical team, traveled to a village just outside of Phnom Penh.  As we were traveling,  she began to share about how she came to know the people there.  She said, "One day God told me to travel to this village". Sreymum resisted God saying, "I don't know anyone in this village. I don't know what to do when I go?  I am only a woman. How can I tell the people about you?  I don't have a certificate to teach the Bible!"  Sreymum finally gave in, and began traveling to this village every Saturday.  During this time she did not share the Gospel, but instead began talking and visiting with the people. Overtime, her relationship with the people deepened. One day, the village Buddhist monk approached her. This was highly unusual.  He began asking many questions about why she was coming to the village.  In the months to follow, Sreymum shared with him about why she was coming and about God's love for the people.

Shortly after, the monk gave his life to Christ! Today, about 80 families in the village gather on Sundays under a tarp to worship God.  Sreymum meets regularly with the monk, village chief, and other key leaders in the community to study the Bible.

This story often reminds me of Moses, and how he resisted God also.  He told God, I don't have what it takes to do what your asking me to do! How often do we say, "I can't because........."  But with God, all things are possible! 

Tricia

Our first day, we were met by 4,000 displaced people....

A couple of weeks ago,  I traveled 10 hours via a Cambodian night bus to Poipet, a border city of Cambodia next toThailand.  I met up with a medical team from England to help with a 3 day medical outreach.  Our original goal was to team up with a local Christian organization for a week of medical clinics in local villages.  About a week before we arrived, massive flooding occurred in the area causing many Cambodians to become displaced.  This radically changed our plans for the week.



Distributing supplies to 4,000 displaced flood victims

On our first day,  we were met by 4,000 displaced people (women, men, & children) as a result of the flooding.  TEAR fund and CHO (Cambodian Hope Organization) donated a set of supplies for the flood victims: 1 mosquito net, 20kg sack of rice, 1 large box of noodles, and soy sauce.
Our next day we traveled to the center of the city.  There on a concrete slab covered by a plain metal roof were about 300 displaced people.  No running water, no toilets, no relief.  Each family had created a temporary shelter which consisted of one rattan mat and a few personal belongings. Each family's mat was directly adjacent to the next family. We quickly set up a temporary clinic on the edge of the concrete slab and worked until the evening.



Organizing 300 displaced people at temporary shelter site

The second medical clinic was outside the city. We were ministering to 3 local villages where many had been displaced from the flooding.  One of the 400 people we were supposed to see was already waiting for us. She was carried in on a wood bench by the local villagers. She was a 16 year old girl, crying.  Tears of pain rolled down her face as her grandmother held her hand. She was suffering from an advanced stage of  breast cancer.

Her family was desperately poor. They were without resources. She was terminally ill and was suffering tremendously.  We soon  learned from the translator that she had no medication for pain relief.  We quickly adminstered  pain medication to her.  After about 45 minutes, once the pain medication had time to start working, I cleaned and placed fresh dressings on her chest wounds.  We gave the grandmother 2 months worth of pain medications and dressing supplies. Our ministry team prayed for her, and shared God's love to her. She prayed with the team. We helped her grandmother place her back into the tuk tuk, and she left back to her village.



City of Poipet, flooding of homes throughout the area

The next day several of our team members traveled out to where she was living. The area was flooded, and difficult to reach.  Even with a 4 wheel drive vehicle, it took the afternoon to travel to her home which was just a short distance away. She was living on a mat on the floor. Our team brought her a soft mattress pad, pillows, and sheets. Several of the village people thanked our team. They said "We don't know what medicine you gave her yesterday, but she is smiling now and eating, and she wasn't before". What a blessing to know she was comforted and through Christ we were able to minister to her. 
We finished up the week with two more medical clinic days, and I returned back to Phnom Penh.  Less than a week later, I received an email.  This young girl had passed away.  I was grieved deeply by such a tragic loss, but at the same time thankful that God used our team to minister to her and bring her comfort.

These are the times that make living in Cambodia difficult.    

On The Roof

During the last year of living in Cambodia I have done a number of things that take me out of my comfort zone, and most of the time they are done in interesting places that are also "out of the comfort zone". This week was no exception!

Each year, thousands of young Cambodian men and women leave their homes and families in rural provincial areas, to move to Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh. Seeking after education, careers and income, these young people leave their family homes in the hope of forging a better life for themselves, and the family members who depend upon them.

Young Cambodians leave their homes to live with distant relatives or family acquaintances in Phnom Penh. Mostly forced to fend for themselves, these young people pay their hosts for housing and meals in a variety of manners.  Unfortunately they only have a modest education, few marketable skills and are unequipped for an urban environment.

Every week “on the roof” our church has a team of talented English teachers who welcome hundreds of these young people to come and learn the English language for free. Classes start at 6:30am and run hourly until 6:30pm. These amazing teachers reach out and not only teach the students English, but provide them with life skills for surviving in their new city and begin the process of sharing the Gospel and discipleship. As the students begin to speak English they can then enroll in university, technical training schools or find jobs that provide a higher wage.

This week I had the privilege of being a guest teacher in one of our English classes. I went up “on the roof” and taught English using the Bible and the scripture 1 John 4:19 “We love because God first loved us.” I keep saying “on the roof” because our classes are actually “on the roof”. We use every inch of our facility, every day! The only place for English classes is “on the roof” under a tin cover. The same area "on the roof" serves as the children's church for hundreds of kids ages 5-12 on Sunday morning. 

This particular day there were about 40 young people. Almost all of them were from villages in provincial areas. My contribution this day was minute compared to the tireless efforts of our faithful teachers, but it was exciting to teach some English and share the Word of God. We spent time discussing what love truly means and talked about several examples. One young man talked about the selfless love of a mother for her child. When I asked him why a mother and father love a child, he answered “because the mother and father create the child.” Everyone agreed this was one of the purest examples of love.

My favourite moment was when one young lady asked the question “Why did Jesus love us first?” I was able to remind her of the young man's example and share with her that Jesus is the Creator of all life and that as a mother and father love their child, so Father God loves His children. We were then able to discuss God as Creator and as Father. In a culture where only 2% of the population is Christian these basic truths are new to most people. Thank God for the opportunity to use such a simple tool as teaching English to introduce people to Father God!

More than a Good Cup of Coffee!

Coffee Cart purchased by Mother's Heart

Sustainability is one of the main goals at Mother’s Heart when it comes to helping the women in our program become financially independent in their communities.  Most of the women at Mother’s Heart enter our program with little or no specialized skills that, along with being single, create an enormous hardship financially.

Once the women enter our program, we provide them access to either job placement or vocational training of their choice such as cooking, hospitality training, and sewing from fair trade organizations throughout Phnom Penh.  Before the training, the majority of the women only have the capacity to earn about $50-70 per month. After vocational training, their incomes increase substantially to $100-$130 per month.

Several months ago we had a creative and unusual request by one of the women in our program. Along with the help of her mother, she wanted to start her own micro enterprise business. Her idea was to sell coffee just outside a factory close to her home.  We were impressed with her idea as well as her recognition to select a location that would provide her with the most customer traffic.

The staff at Mother’s Heart shared in her and her mother’s vision by purchasing a coffee cart as well as the start up supplies necessary to allow them to start their business.  It has been both fun and exciting to partner with this family in raising their income level.  Micro enterprise is widely recognized as a powerful tool to help the very poor but business-minded, throughout the world to rise above poverty.  For as little as $200, we were able to make an incredible investment into the lives of this family!