Where Durian Grows Wild

Mountain path to Channa's home

Channa, a third grade boy, pointed towards a grassy mountain path. The boys in the class had decided his one hour walk through the forest was the farthest of them all. As we talked I wondered what types of things he saw on his way to school every day. 

Driving to the mountain village we had crossed rivers and bounced our way through muddy, steep roads.  Walking in the village I tripped over a sprouting pineapple plant as our team picked and ate fresh Rambutan and climbed the Durian trees. 

The children’s school was a rickety, wooden building with a dirt floor and limited resources. But Channa, the other kids, and the village families who gathered to meet us seemed happy and content.

I listened as a Khmer pastor I work with shared how he had helped the community put a new roof on the school. We talked about practical ways he had helped with putting in a self pumping water system from a nearby stream.

I felt inadequate and inept in an environment where I was very out of place. I wondered why I was there and what I had to offer.

Grade 1 sign in chalk by the
grade 1 doorway

They asked me to share something and I wasn’t “prepared”. I had been so awestruck with everything I had seen that day, so I simply asked the children “Who created the world?” They knew I had come with the Christian pastor, so they had a safe answer, “God”.  Then I asked what He created. They were silent for a minute, so I primed the pump. “Did he create the elephant?” They answered yes and then began to list all the animals they knew from the forest. We continued the pattern with fruits and forest geography.

Rambutan

Finally, I asked “What was His favorite creation?” It got really quiet as they all thought deeply. No one spoke and so I finally answered the question. I wasn’t expecting the look of surprise on their faces when I pointed to each of them and said “You”. Of all the grand things God created He loves you the most.  They all giggled and smile with warm looks.

That’s when I realized that was what I had to offer. The simple message that the God of the universe created them and loved them. Of all the needs I had seen that was the greatest need I could fill. The need to know they were special and loved.

Durian Tree

This isn't to minimize the work of the church planter who has helped in practical ways, showing the love of Christ. His practical works of love communicate the Gospel as well. God just used this day in a village where Durian grows wild to remind me that His love fills the most important need of any human heart.

A Moment of Opportunity

 

190 Baptisms in 3 Days

In the New Testament there are two words used for time. The first one is chronos, referring to clock or calendar time. It's a linear, sequential term (past, present, future) moving in one direction.

The second word used for time is Kairos.  The meaning of this word in Greek is "the opportune time".  It represents the critical moment or appointed time.  We find it used in Mark 1:15. 

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Kairos is also a term used in archery that denotes the moment in which an arrow may be fired with sufficient force to penetrate a target.  If you miss the opportunity, there is an opportunity cost.  If you make the most of any opportunity, it can turn into a defining moment. 

Church planters sharing their visions 

In Cambodia, we seem to be in what appears as a "Kairos" moment. It has been noted that at this time Cambodian people are some of the most receptive people in the world to the Gospel. Just a few of the things we have experienced over the last couple of months at New Life Fellowship and the Church Planting Center highlights this divine moment.  In March over a three day period across 3 provinces 190 people were baptized and acknowledged their life commitment and relationship to Jesus Christ.  In the first few months of 2018 New Life has seen the opening of 49 new cell churches and outreach points. Also in March the Church Planting Center hosted 45 church planters from various networks and denominations together for a week-long intensive on church planting.  From our August 2017 graduates of this same intensive we already have reports of 19 new cell or house churches being planted across different denominations.  While we don't always understand or know the timing of God, we do know that we are in a special moment.  For the nation of Cambodia we believe this divine moment of receptivity will be a defining moment in the future of the country.  We must take advantage of this opportunity!

Training church planters in Battambang

  

Your gift makes the work of the Hester family in Cambodia possible, and we work hard to maximize each dollar entrusted to us.  We are grateful for the generous support of many individuals and organizations that share our commitment to informed, responsible and effective service in Cambodia. To partner with us in 2017 Click Here

The 3D Gospel: Which Dimension Do You See from the Gospel?

The Gospel for All Cultures: An Interview with Jayson Georges

When I moved to Cambodia, I realized that I viewed the Gospel from one dimension.  Understandably, I had only lived in one country and only one state, Texas.  I grew up in one culture, the South.  Furthermore, I had been raised in one religion, Christianity.  I, like most North Americans, view Christianity from what is termed a “Western” perspective.  Before moving to Asia, I emphasized the Gospel message from a cultural context that had the most meaning to me.  During my time in Asia, God has taught me how to see the Gospel from multiple cultural dimensions. He  has shown me the importance of viewing the Gospel as 3D.
 

              Did you know the Gospel is presented in 3D (meaning 3 different cultures)?  Western Christians (typically North Americans or British) view the Gospel from what is called the (1) “Guilt-Innocence” culture.  This is a culture where people who break the law are guilty and seek justice or forgiveness to rectify wrong. (2) Shame-Honor culture (common in the East like Cambodia) is where people, shamed for not fulfilling group expectations, seek to restore honor to the community.  (3) Lastly, Fear-Power cultures (typically tribal or African) refer to cultures where people, afraid of evil and harm, pursue power over the spirit through magical rituals.

A Global Map of Culture Types available @ HonorShame.com

               

God speaks to the primary heart desires of all cultures – innocence, honor, and power.  

              Now, not everyone is 100% one culture or another. Most have a combination of all three. However as Westerners, many of us predominately see the Gospel through the guilt-innocent lens.

              Did you know the Gospel message was written in 3D to capture all people in all cultures?  Paul explains the three components of salvation in Ephesians:

1)Guilt-Innocence: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins”.  God “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions”

2)Shame-Honor: “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ”.  “You are no longer foreigner’s and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household”.

3)Fear-Power: “That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at this right hand…far above all rule and authority, power and dominion”

While theology from Western contexts address guilt/innocence, and emphasizes how God forgives and acquits guilty sinners, the Majority World cultures desire honor to cover shame and power to mitigate fear.  Despite the prominence of shame-honor and fear-power dynamics in global cultures, there remain conspicuous blind spots in most Christian theology.  The cultures of the Biblical world were primarily shame-based and fear-based.  The salvation story of the Bible presents a theology and missiology for all three types of cultures.  The contemporary church must also present the 3D Gospel in various cultural contexts.

            To learn more about the 3D Gospel or if you are planning to join a short-term mission team on a journey into a new country, then I would encourage you to read The 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame, and Fear Cultures by Jayson Georges. It is a short read just 74 pages!  I would also encourage mission pastors and ministers to ask their mission teams to read this short book so they are prepared to share the Gospel in a 3D cultural context.

TAKE THE CULTURE TEST TO FIND OUT WHICH CULTURE YOU IDENTIFY WITH MOST:

 theculturetest.com

Blessings,

Tricia

             

             

Frangipanis and Cats

Frangipanis in bloom

This week our team had a local teacher training at a small boutique hotel. The hotel had beautiful flowers everywhere! There were even fresh flowers on my bed and the towels. The smells and sites were amazing! And there were a couple of cats. The cats roamed around the lobby. Everyone loved it, BUT for those of you who know me I am very allergic to pollen and cats. By the end of the first night I had a bad headache.

Cat waiting for me in the lobby

At first my reaction was frustration. Why did our team use a place with flowers and cats? Why did the hotel use so many flowers? And cats? It wasn’t working for me. I began to think what people of today might do. They would definitely complain to their team. They would probably post a nasty TripAdvisor hotel review warning everyone to stay away. Some might even demand to be moved somewhere else. The goal would be for the hotel to change to suit me.

Flowers everywhere!

Then I started looking around. The local teachers with us and all the guests of the hotel were taking photos of the flowers. They were sitting in the lobby just petting the cats and enjoying a quiet, cuddly moment. The explosion of colors was stimulating and invigorating. Great place to get the creative juices flowing for a training.

The problem wasn’t the hotel, it was the focus on me. If I demand the world change to suit me then what does that do to the world?

I was reminded of what the Apostle Paul says “Love does not insist on it’s own way”.   “…in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Teacher learning math games

In our culture today if everyone keeps demanding their own way, we’ll soon have a cold colorless world.  Other’s advocate for a world without boundaries to avoid that. In both cases the focus would be based on ME (the individual) and what I want and feel.  Biblical standards provide a higher standard for us than our personal feelings.

Graduation

After all the purpose this week was to help local teachers be better teachers and reward them in some small way for the very difficult job they do in rural villages. My purpose was to give and learn too. So I took an antihistamine, was a little groggy for a couple of days, but had a great, fulfilling time in a beautiful place.  As cross-cultural, workers Tricia, the boys and I are constantly challenged to lay down our own personal comforts for the sake of others. I’m wondering if there is a lesson in this for today’s culture. If we don’t stop demanding our own way I’m afraid we’ll soon face a very cold, colorless, cookie-cutter world, or one of utter chaosJ

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