an update

written by Jonathan:

Hello Church family,
I know many of you are praying for me so I would like to thank you for your support and for partnering with me on this mission trip.

Well a little over two weeks in Cambodia and already so much has happened! We just finished teaching at an English Camp last week and said good bye once again to many of the students and church leaders that we met the first year we were here. It was hard when we said goodbye last year and it's even harder the second time around. One of the missionaries accurately described English Camp as "Relationship Camp". The truth is that only a little English teaching goes on during the course of the week. The real impact is in the relationships that are built between the short term missionaries and the students. Through those relationships and the conversations that occur the students get to practice their English. Many of the other missionaries that joined us (about 24 from both Canada and the U.S.) said that their students said they look forward to English camp all year. An average day starts at 6 am when a few brave souls wake up for half an hour of morning worship. We then wake the others up and prepare for the day and walk about 10 min from the guest house to the church where English camp is held. Half the journey is down a busy paved road were motorcycles, cars and trucks rush by. The other half is down a muddy dirt road where the puddles never seem to dry up no mater how hot it gets during the day. We eat breakfast at the church with the students and then begin our morning session. We always have worship in English and all the students jump and dance around and have a great time. There are a couple testimonies shared by the short term missionaries, a bible story and a game. Then we go into a 2 hour "teaching session". I put that in quotes because there's a little teaching but we also play a lot of games and sometimes just talk with our students and share details of our lives. Then we have lunch and then meet together again for an afternoon field trip. Over four days we went to museums, a lake, the local market and hiking up a small mountain. (The last day of the 5 day camp was spent entirely at different temple complexes including the famous Angkor Wat) After we return from our trip we have dinner and then a night service. There are more testimony sharing from both the missionaries and the students. The things that the students share are amazing and very encouraging, but I don't have time to go into that now. After that many of the missionaries go back to the guest house or go sightseeing around the city. Emily, Rocio, Darlene, myself, and one or two other missionaries stay at the church to spend more time with the students there. Many of them travel quite far to come to English Camp and so they live at the church for the week. We spent several nights playing all sorts of traditional games with them and have a blast. Night is the best time to run around because it is so much cooler than the day. By the time we finish it is usually around 9 or 10. Phearum, one of the local church leaders has to kick us out or we would keep the students up all night probably. Haha, but he is happy to have us at the church and he arranges a small convoy of motorcycles to take us back to the guest house every night. We try to stay awake for a quick team meeting, shower, wash clothes (I brought 3 pairs with me) and then catch about 5 and a half hours of sleep before starting all over again the next day. It was super tiring but so worth it. There is much more to tell but I will move on.

Most of the team returned to the States on Sunday. Emily and I stayed on and joined 4 other young people who are on the Global Ventures program for a 6 hour bus ride down south to the capitol city of Phnom Penh. We stayed there a couple days resting and recuperating and getting sick. Some of you may have heard that I got food poisoning or some sort. We ate at a KFC the night we arrived in P.P. that night I had intense stomach cramps and vomiting that kept me up till 4 or 5 am. I blame it on the coleslaw, I was the only one who at 3 cups of it. American food makes me sick, go figure.

On Tuesday we rode another bus to Kampong Saoum where the annual CMA Field Forum was to be held. It's a time for all the missionaries from throughout Cambodia to come together to connect, share, learn, and relax. Emily and I were put in charge of the youth. (12 kids ranging from 6th grade to about to enter college) It was a major shift to go from hanging out with local youth to spending time with missionary kids with a very western mindset. Though it is a bit of a challenge to keep them entertained we've been having a good time with them. The most amazing part of field forum is having so many different missionaries, each with their own unique and moving stories, all in one place. I wrote to someone earlier today that it is a major task to decide who to sit with for each of the meals. I have been so encouraged by the conversations that I've had with these men and women out here on the front lines. We're a little more than halfway through field forum and our plans for the next couple weeks are still up in the air. It might be possible for us to link up with different missionaries and follow them to see the ministries they are involved with but that is still to be decided. There are so many missionaries doing so many amazing things that I wish I had a year to spend in Cambodia. =P

In about two weeks time we will begin the second English Camp this time in Phnom Penh. The student demographic will be different since they live in a big city, the first English Camp in Siem Reap involves students who live a more rural lifestyle. I must admit that I love the rural feel of the Siem Reap camp. People there are much more concerned with enjoying the event than they are with schedules and keeping time. The students are very content playing simple games or starting impromptu song and dance sessions. They know how to entertain themselves and keep occupied. Still, I look forward to the next camp I know it will be fun too.

Thanks for reading and for praying,
Jonathan Chua