The team of ladies from Indiana Wesleyan University was involved in a variety of ministry experiences around the country of Cambodia. Here you are seeing them leading a children’s story at the church in Kratie. In Kratie, they also had the opportunity to teach several English classes at the Language School run by Pastors Vande and Titus. They focused on English idioms, a very difficult subject, and endeavored to explain to the Cambodians what it really means when we say that it is “raining cats and dogs”!
At every church, school, and meeting that the team attended, someone was called on to give their testimony. Here you are seeing Noel give her testimony at the Good News Church in Phnom Penh with translation given by Pastor Kim Sua. Sharing the great works of God in our lives is always such a blessing as we remember what God has done in our lives, and it is a blessing to the hearers as they are encouraged that Jehovah is faithful.
We know that God blesses us with talents and passions in order that we might shine more brightly for Him and so that we may pass the blessing on to others. Two of the team members, Erin and Elizabeth, who in fact are cousins, have a passion for ballet. They shared this talent with the students by performing for them, and then by teaching them a short routine that the students then performed in front of the church.
It was such a blessing to see the Bible School students practicing and performing their routine. They had a such a passion to learn this new skill, which in fact if much different in form and style than their own cultural dancing. The beauty of form and movement and the heart with which they performed was a great testimony of their desire to worship God with every aspect of their lives.
Another area in which the team from IWU ministered to our students was by teaching them many different skits and vignettes with which they would be able to explain different Biblical principles and teach about the Christian life. In this picture you are seeing Som On and Pholla performing a skit where they taught about the importance of having Jesus in every aspect of your life.
There were also many light moments of fellowship and fun between the team and the Bible School staff and students. The team brought several suitcases of clothing to distribute to the students. It was fun to see the students and the staff excited about these new clothes, especially our two resident jokesters, Rotha and Leak, who got of a kick out of these matching shirts.
During our time of fellowship, we also had a chance to play different games together. The game of Uno if very popular among the students, and they always enjoy playing it when they have an opportunity. But in looking at this picture, it does not seem to be a favorite of Noel’s, which appears to be very amusing to Leak.
We also had a time of worship together, and we sang some of the songs that the team had taught to the students. Seeing sights like in this picture of Karen and Zanda singing together, praising God in the harmony of the Body of Christ, help us all understand the worth and value that is found in short term ministry trips, both in terms of education and encouragement.
The team’s leader, Whitney, also celebrated her 21st birthday with us in Cambodia. It was great fun to have the students, the staff, the missionaries, and the team all share together in this special celebration.
While the team was in Cambodia, they had an opportunity to experience the joys of a Khmer wedding. Chantol and Sonicol, two of our former Bible School students, were married and we attended their wedding in Phnom Penh. Here you are seeing all of the ladies posing for a picture after the ceremony.
The men also got together for a picture after the ceremony, but as you can see, we are neither as colorful or a picturesque as the former picture.
Also, because we were already dressed for the occasion, we decided to take a new picture of the missionary team here in Cambodia. The Fernandezes (Greg, Resie, and their daughter Aleeyah) and the Gallants (Tim and Tiffany) are the missionaries serving God here in the country of Cambodia.
Tim was also very privileged to take place in the baptismal service of one of the team members from IWU. Karen’s family in the United States and Jun Rafael have a very close relationship as it was Karen’s father that led Jun to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. So, when Karen was in Cambodia, we held a baptismal service at the Bible School, where after the baptism, Tim led the assembly in prayer for Karen and the public dedication of her life to Jesus Christ.
On one of the team’s final nights in Cambodia, we went out on the town with the students from the Bible School. Here you are seeing several of the team posing with two of our students, Theavey and So Phol, at the restaurant where we had a dinner of meatballs, corn on the cob, and of course the Cambodian delicacy of….well I will let you see it in the next picture.
Duck eggs are a great treat for our students, though in this picture it does not look very appetizing. These eggs, which contain a fertilized duck embryo, are eaten with a pepper sauce and a great amount of zeal or trepidation, depending upon your appetite for strange and exotic foods.
Here you are seeing Karen and Erin sharing one of these eggs, which when translated into English from the Khmer language would be Duck Egg Child. The look on Karen’s face is a fairly normal response to eating these eggs, a look of uncertainty at the taste and texture of this new food. However the look on Erin’s face is also fairly typical of someone watching another person eat these eggs for the first time, a mild look of amusement and hilarity.
Tiffany also enjoyed these eggs with our students, showing that the Lord does in fact give us the grace to do things as missionaries that we would not normally do in the United States.
Tim is fast becoming a great fan of these eggs, which is very surprising when you consider that he does not eat boiled chicken eggs; strange to think that he would make a distinction between the two.
On our final night with the team, we took them out to one of our favorite places here in Cambodia, the Bong Karen gelato stand on street 240. We had a great time with these girls as they stayed at our house, ate with us, and generally enjoyed life together. We want to thank them for being such an encouragement to us and for being great examples of God’s love to everyone they met, including us.
After the team left for the United States, we were privileged to be invited out to Pastor Arun’s church for a day of fishing and for a feast of roast pig. The beauty of the countryside near the Mekong River is always breathtaking as the green land seems to stretch on forever.
We have both had experience in fishing in the United States, but when we found ourselves fishing in the river, we were woefully ignorant of their fishing practices, so we had to learn very quickly. Using a net to encircle a huge portion of the river and then the arduous task of drawing it all in was very difficult, but within a few minutes we were all working together and we caught an entire bucket of fish in a little over two hours. Here you are seeing Tim work with several other people in holding the net so the fish could not escape.
When we arrived at the church, we were treated to this view of our lunch. The pork was delicious and we were very thankful to Arun and the other church leaders who sponsored this great time of food and fellowship.
Another Cambodian delicacy is the intestines, though Tim does not rate this up with the duck eggs as one of the great elements of Cambodian cuisine. They are a bit on the rubbery side, and the only flavor comes from the sauce in which you dip your particular piece of the innards. However, the Cambodian men and women went after this food with great gusto and enjoyment. Perhaps next time Tim will be gracious enough to allow them to have his share as well, simply to be kind and allow them to enjoy this food and not for any of the other reasons that may seem so obvious to all of you.
During all of the excitement here on the field, Tiffany and I have continued to focus on our main duties here in Cambodia. We have continued learning the Khmer language at our school, and we have continued to teach English at the Bible School. The students are all progressing well in their knowledge of the English Language.
One way that we know that our students are progressing is the way that they were able to communicate with the ladies from IWU when they were here in Cambodia. Most of the students were able to hold conversations with the team, talking about their homes, what it is like to study at the Bible School, the ways and customs of Cambodia. These are great opportunities for the students, and they took great advantage of the times they had to practice their English with the team.
We were able to host a member of one of our supporting churches who came to Cambodia to host several soccer seminars around the country. Bob Lemon traveled quite extensively throughout Cambodia, teaching about how to set up soccer ministries in churches, and how they could be used to build relationships. In this picture, you are seeing him preach at one of our cell groups, giving the message that God has a Dream for the world; the whole world coming to a knowledge of His love. We had a great time hosting Bob at our house, even though we experienced a great amount of difficulties with our power which resulted in one very stifling night without air conditioning or fans. But we all persevered, and we know that this will just be something that we can talk about when we go to share at his church when we are home on furlough.
In June, we hosted a medical team from Redfield, South Dakota. Mike and Cindy Sanger led the team made up of their family members and other people from the Redfield area. They came to hold medical clinics at some of our Wesleyan Churches around Kampong Cham, ministering to the bodies of these people who cannot afford medical attention while they also minister to their spirits through sharing and programs for the children. Here you are seeing Dr. Dennis Sula, who is a doctor at the Redfield Hospital, examine a patient in the village of Timien.
Here you are seeing Cindy prepare the pharmacy to meet the needs of the people who came to the clinic seeking medical care. Many people and organizations donated medicines and vitamins for the clinic, and Cindy was in charge of packaging those medicines and preparing the instructions. It was a blessing to work with Cindy as it was not only a great ministry experience, but it was also a great learning experience to gain a simple understanding of many differing types of medications and their uses.
Mike and Cindy both were in charge of the initial meeting with the patients, where they took a simple history and determined their symptoms. Here you are seeing Mike working with Voechnea to help diagnose the illnesses of one of the people who came to the clinic
The rest of the team had the responsibility of hosting a backyard Bible Camp for the children in the area. While their parents waited to be treated, Sally, Amy, Michelle, and Rachel shared Bible stories, games and crafts with the children. Here you are seeing Sally telling the story of Cain and Abel to the children in T’boung Kh’mum.
Simply treating illnesses would be reason enough to travel around the world, but this team truly followed the example of Christ by loving the people who came, treating their illnesses, and ministering to their spirits and hearts as well. Here you are seeing Michelle play with an infant who came with his mother to the clinic. We can never forget that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about more than just seeing people come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is about seeing the welfare of the world as a priority, about doing something to push back and fight the principalities of this world that cause so much of the pain and suffering. God’s work for us is more than just about evangelism; it is about redeeming the world back to they way that God intended it…good!
One of the most popular parts of the clinics was when Mike would take a break from diagnosing patients, and perform his magic tricks. Here you are seeing Mike perform a trick that Mike related back to the Biblical Principle of the Atonement and what it will be like when we get to heaven. As I said before, these tricks were very popular, gathering in this case nearly a hundred people to hear about the Gospel of Christ and to see Mike perform with the skills with which he has been blessed by God.
In this picture, you are seeing one of our pastors Makara, working with a woman after she has been in to see the doctor. He is explaining a Gospel tract to the woman, patiently going over the Gospel with her, and explaining all of her questions. It was a blessing to see our pastors work alongside of the medical team from the United States, focusing together on the Kingdom of God.
The final picture that we want to share with you was taken at one of the medical clinics. These young boys and girls are praying together after the presentation by the youth workers, and it was wonderful to see their knowledge of the Bible Stories and the Gospel message. This is a tribute to the pastors of our churches for instructing their children in the Bible, but also a tribute to the medical team who traveled around the world to bring the Gospel with them, not only in stories or in medicines, but in their lives, in their love, and in the way that they are showing God’s love and care for the Cambodian people. One of our pastors in Kampong Cham said it best… “ I can tell you love Cambodia by the way you care for our people”…and that’s the Gospel truth.
The team of ladies from Indiana Wesleyan University was involved in a variety of ministry experiences around the country of Cambodia. Here you are seeing them leading a children’s story at the church in Kratie. In Kratie, they also had the opportunity to teach several English classes at the Language School run by Pastors Vande and Titus. They focused on English idioms, a very difficult subject, and endeavored to explain to the Cambodians what it really means when we say that it is “raining cats and dogs”!
At every church, school, and meeting that the team attended, someone was called on to give their testimony. Here you are seeing Noel give her testimony at the Good News Church in Phnom Penh with translation given by Pastor Kim Sua. Sharing the great works of God in our lives is always such a blessing as we remember what God has done in our lives, and it is a blessing to the hearers as they are encouraged that Jehovah is faithful.
We know that God blesses us with talents and passions in order that we might shine more brightly for Him and so that we may pass the blessing on to others. Two of the team members, Erin and Elizabeth, who in fact are cousins, have a passion for ballet. They shared this talent with the students by performing for them, and then by teaching them a short routine that the students then performed in front of the church.
It was such a blessing to see the Bible School students practicing and performing their routine. They had a such a passion to learn this new skill, which in fact if much different in form and style than their own cultural dancing. The beauty of form and movement and the heart with which they performed was a great testimony of their desire to worship God with every aspect of their lives.
Another area in which the team from IWU ministered to our students was by teaching them many different skits and vignettes with which they would be able to explain different Biblical principles and teach about the Christian life. In this picture you are seeing Som On and Pholla performing a skit where they taught about the importance of having Jesus in every aspect of your life.
There were also many light moments of fellowship and fun between the team and the Bible School staff and students. The team brought several suitcases of clothing to distribute to the students. It was fun to see the students and the staff excited about these new clothes, especially our two resident jokesters, Rotha and Leak, who got of a kick out of these matching shirts.
During our time of fellowship, we also had a chance to play different games together. The game of Uno if very popular among the students, and they always enjoy playing it when they have an opportunity. But in looking at this picture, it does not seem to be a favorite of Noel’s, which appears to be very amusing to Leak.
We also had a time of worship together, and we sang some of the songs that the team had taught to the students. Seeing sights like in this picture of Karen and Zanda singing together, praising God in the harmony of the Body of Christ, help us all understand the worth and value that is found in short term ministry trips, both in terms of education and encouragement.
The team’s leader, Whitney, also celebrated her 21st birthday with us in Cambodia. It was great fun to have the students, the staff, the missionaries, and the team all share together in this special celebration.
While the team was in Cambodia, they had an opportunity to experience the joys of a Khmer wedding. Chantol and Sonicol, two of our former Bible School students, were married and we attended their wedding in Phnom Penh. Here you are seeing all of the ladies posing for a picture after the ceremony.
The men also got together for a picture after the ceremony, but as you can see, we are neither as colorful or a picturesque as the former picture.
Also, because we were already dressed for the occasion, we decided to take a new picture of the missionary team here in Cambodia. The Fernandezes (Greg, Resie, and their daughter Aleeyah) and the Gallants (Tim and Tiffany) are the missionaries serving God here in the country of Cambodia.
Tim was also very privileged to take place in the baptismal service of one of the team members from IWU. Karen’s family in the United States and Jun Rafael have a very close relationship as it was Karen’s father that led Jun to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. So, when Karen was in Cambodia, we held a baptismal service at the Bible School, where after the baptism, Tim led the assembly in prayer for Karen and the public dedication of her life to Jesus Christ.
On one of the team’s final nights in Cambodia, we went out on the town with the students from the Bible School. Here you are seeing several of the team posing with two of our students, Theavey and So Phol, at the restaurant where we had a dinner of meatballs, corn on the cob, and of course the Cambodian delicacy of….well I will let you see it in the next picture.
Duck eggs are a great treat for our students, though in this picture it does not look very appetizing. These eggs, which contain a fertilized duck embryo, are eaten with a pepper sauce and a great amount of zeal or trepidation, depending upon your appetite for strange and exotic foods.
Here you are seeing Karen and Erin sharing one of these eggs, which when translated into English from the Khmer language would be Duck Egg Child. The look on Karen’s face is a fairly normal response to eating these eggs, a look of uncertainty at the taste and texture of this new food. However the look on Erin’s face is also fairly typical of someone watching another person eat these eggs for the first time, a mild look of amusement and hilarity.
Tiffany also enjoyed these eggs with our students, showing that the Lord does in fact give us the grace to do things as missionaries that we would not normally do in the United States.
Tim is fast becoming a great fan of these eggs, which is very surprising when you consider that he does not eat boiled chicken eggs; strange to think that he would make a distinction between the two.
On our final night with the team, we took them out to one of our favorite places here in Cambodia, the Bong Karen gelato stand on street 240. We had a great time with these girls as they stayed at our house, ate with us, and generally enjoyed life together. We want to thank them for being such an encouragement to us and for being great examples of God’s love to everyone they met, including us.
After the team left for the United States, we were privileged to be invited out to Pastor Arun’s church for a day of fishing and for a feast of roast pig. The beauty of the countryside near the Mekong River is always breathtaking as the green land seems to stretch on forever.
We have both had experience in fishing in the United States, but when we found ourselves fishing in the river, we were woefully ignorant of their fishing practices, so we had to learn very quickly. Using a net to encircle a huge portion of the river and then the arduous task of drawing it all in was very difficult, but within a few minutes we were all working together and we caught an entire bucket of fish in a little over two hours. Here you are seeing Tim work with several other people in holding the net so the fish could not escape.
When we arrived at the church, we were treated to this view of our lunch. The pork was delicious and we were very thankful to Arun and the other church leaders who sponsored this great time of food and fellowship.
Another Cambodian delicacy is the intestines, though Tim does not rate this up with the duck eggs as one of the great elements of Cambodian cuisine. They are a bit on the rubbery side, and the only flavor comes from the sauce in which you dip your particular piece of the innards. However, the Cambodian men and women went after this food with great gusto and enjoyment. Perhaps next time Tim will be gracious enough to allow them to have his share as well, simply to be kind and allow them to enjoy this food and not for any of the other reasons that may seem so obvious to all of you.
During all of the excitement here on the field, Tiffany and I have continued to focus on our main duties here in Cambodia. We have continued learning the Khmer language at our school, and we have continued to teach English at the Bible School. The students are all progressing well in their knowledge of the English Language.
One way that we know that our students are progressing is the way that they were able to communicate with the ladies from IWU when they were here in Cambodia. Most of the students were able to hold conversations with the team, talking about their homes, what it is like to study at the Bible School, the ways and customs of Cambodia. These are great opportunities for the students, and they took great advantage of the times they had to practice their English with the team.
We were able to host a member of one of our supporting churches who came to Cambodia to host several soccer seminars around the country. Bob Lemon traveled quite extensively throughout Cambodia, teaching about how to set up soccer ministries in churches, and how they could be used to build relationships. In this picture, you are seeing him preach at one of our cell groups, giving the message that God has a Dream for the world; the whole world coming to a knowledge of His love. We had a great time hosting Bob at our house, even though we experienced a great amount of difficulties with our power which resulted in one very stifling night without air conditioning or fans. But we all persevered, and we know that this will just be something that we can talk about when we go to share at his church when we are home on furlough.
In June, we hosted a medical team from Redfield, South Dakota. Mike and Cindy Sanger led the team made up of their family members and other people from the Redfield area. They came to hold medical clinics at some of our Wesleyan Churches around Kampong Cham, ministering to the bodies of these people who cannot afford medical attention while they also minister to their spirits through sharing and programs for the children. Here you are seeing Dr. Dennis Sula, who is a doctor at the Redfield Hospital, examine a patient in the village of Timien.
Here you are seeing Cindy prepare the pharmacy to meet the needs of the people who came to the clinic seeking medical care. Many people and organizations donated medicines and vitamins for the clinic, and Cindy was in charge of packaging those medicines and preparing the instructions. It was a blessing to work with Cindy as it was not only a great ministry experience, but it was also a great learning experience to gain a simple understanding of many differing types of medications and their uses.
Mike and Cindy both were in charge of the initial meeting with the patients, where they took a simple history and determined their symptoms. Here you are seeing Mike working with Voechnea to help diagnose the illnesses of one of the people who came to the clinic
The rest of the team had the responsibility of hosting a backyard Bible Camp for the children in the area. While their parents waited to be treated, Sally, Amy, Michelle, and Rachel shared Bible stories, games and crafts with the children. Here you are seeing Sally telling the story of Cain and Abel to the children in T’boung Kh’mum.
Simply treating illnesses would be reason enough to travel around the world, but this team truly followed the example of Christ by loving the people who came, treating their illnesses, and ministering to their spirits and hearts as well. Here you are seeing Michelle play with an infant who came with his mother to the clinic. We can never forget that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about more than just seeing people come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is about seeing the welfare of the world as a priority, about doing something to push back and fight the principalities of this world that cause so much of the pain and suffering. God’s work for us is more than just about evangelism; it is about redeeming the world back to they way that God intended it…good!
One of the most popular parts of the clinics was when Mike would take a break from diagnosing patients, and perform his magic tricks. Here you are seeing Mike perform a trick that Mike related back to the Biblical Principle of the Atonement and what it will be like when we get to heaven. As I said before, these tricks were very popular, gathering in this case nearly a hundred people to hear about the Gospel of Christ and to see Mike perform with the skills with which he has been blessed by God.
In this picture, you are seeing one of our pastors Makara, working with a woman after she has been in to see the doctor. He is explaining a Gospel tract to the woman, patiently going over the Gospel with her, and explaining all of her questions. It was a blessing to see our pastors work alongside of the medical team from the United States, focusing together on the Kingdom of God.
The final picture that we want to share with you was taken at one of the medical clinics. These young boys and girls are praying together after the presentation by the youth workers, and it was wonderful to see their knowledge of the Bible Stories and the Gospel message. This is a tribute to the pastors of our churches for instructing their children in the Bible, but also a tribute to the medical team who traveled around the world to bring the Gospel with them, not only in stories or in medicines, but in their lives, in their love, and in the way that they are showing God’s love and care for the Cambodian people. One of our pastors in Kampong Cham said it best… “ I can tell you love Cambodia by the way you care for our people”…and that’s the Gospel truth.
