IN CAMBODIA!

I guess this is our first blog since we've arrived at Cambodia. I am... Sharon. Yes, I am now on-board and in-tune with everyone else. Basically, the plane ride over went very smoothly. The first part was about 17 hours long, which is a little too long for me. However, I think Jonathan and Darlene found it rather enjoyable, as they viewed movies together across the aisle. Emily did get plane sick, but not half as bad as her Urbana experience from what I've heard. On the ride over, she threw up three times during the entire 17 hour flight, and I believe none during the half an hour flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap. Currently, we're sitting in perhaps the most "heavenly" place we'll experience during this entire trip. Basically, it's on the second floor of this building. The place is filled with white furniture, and air conditioning. We're sitting on white chairs with a long glass table, but they also have these extremely comfortable looking white sofas along the edge of the room, and an open view of the streets outside on the far side of the room. I'm guessing our co-leaders decided on this place because they didn't want Darlene and I to "suffer" toooooo much on the first day. haha But actually, it's not that bad. Besides being dirt-filled (air and roads), the humidity of the area is somewhat like how it is in Hong Kong. So basically, that's all so far. We've been taking a lot of pictures, and uhh.... yeah. I apparently forgot to bring a lot of items, but besides that.. the trip's been pretty painless. :) Anyways, until next time.

-Sharon

TODAY is the DAY

Its 6:10 pm and we are all at Jon's getting last minute things ready... or at least Jon is because hes such a procrastinator!!! lol but we still love him....:)
sooo me ( darlene) and sharon are blog updaters soo i have no clue what that means and shes not here right now for some odd reason , thats y we don't leave the MALARIA PILLS for last minute right guys......haha
this is really exciting just knowing that by this time tomorrow we will be way on the other side of the world sweating like pigs haha!!! something great to look forward to.
No but this year we were really blessed to have all these people on the team. We all have bonded so much and this year is going to be unforgetable.
We appreciate all the love you guys have shown and encouragement we have received from you all. Please pray that we have not left anything behind and that Emily will not get tooo sick on the plane. Also pray for our protection while being overseas and that God will use us all for his glory.
Thankyou for all the people that showed up to our send off and to the people that didn't we missed you!!

God bless.
~Cambodia team "08"~

15 more days.......

Ohhh yeah! As you read in the previous entry, the Cambodia team performed a skit at SGVAC yesterday! Thank you all for staying, and for those who couldn't stay, it's under the videos section on the left side of this page. :-) Thanks to Rocio and Jonathan for leading this skit, and thank you Elbert for directing it.

One sister in Christ said something that really stuck to me after the skit. She said with teary eyes that this isn't merely a skit. It's something that is happening around the world. Our brothers and sisters in the Lord are going through persecutions for the sake of the Gospel. It may be entertaining to watch [and perform] the skit, but don't forget the messages it brings out.

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Now, let's look at some pictures!

Cambodian dinner in Long Beach after a full day of team training and skit rehearsal

Commissioning Service:

China Team ("We are as one team.")

Tammy, Cecilia, Rebecca, Pastor Chao, Helen, Rachel (and also Pauline and Dickson who will be joining the team in Hong Kong)

Cambodia Team minus Sharon :-(

Our excellent director- Mr. Elbert Traister

Alain, Rocio, Sharon, Darlene, Emily, Elbert, Jonathan

These kids are up to no good at Patrick Wong's office!

Our team verse:
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen." -Ephesians 3:20-21

Commissioning Service

The 2008 Cambodia team was officially commissioned today at San Gabriel Valley Alliance Church. In both the English and Cantonese services members of the governing board of the church prayed over the team members from both the Cambodia and China mission teams. After the conclusion of both services all the members of the church were invited back into the sanctuary for a special presentation by us, the 2008 Cambodia short term mission team. We performed an adaptation of a skit called Perseverance. We chose this skit because it served as an encouragement to us that even though we face hardships and sometimes brutal persecution as Christians we are still called to testify Jesus to the world. (John 15:18-27) It was also a powerful reminder that we are not alone in this task, in fact we don't even have the power to determine the success of failure of our efforts. Ultimately it is the Holy Spirit who works in us and through us to draw people to God the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus. The recording of the skit is up on the video bar on the left hand side of the page. You can also view it at a larger size on YouTube.

I didn't know Darlene's going to Cambodia with us...!

WE MISS U DARLENE !

Well, I guess that's why we went to Palm Desert that day :-)

No worries- we treat her like a princess. We hold her plate, feed her, and have a napkin prepared at any moment!

Aww, what a beautiful picture :-)

Where's Jonathan Chua?!

Mmm, that's still not him... but hi Alex!

More pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/alain.c.gyger/2008042627CambodiaMeetingAndBakeSale?authkey=vNSlkno7oIs

and

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AYsW7FkzatmFj

What are these folks up to these days?!

As I'm writing my testimony, these quotes pop into mind.

Urbana.org- http://www.urbana.org/_articles.cfm?recordid=901
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it this way: “No one knows what they’re living for until they know what they would die for.”

Passion is tough because it's connected to pain. But God calls us to imitate Jesus Christ - even to the point of allowing our pain to be used for His kingdom. Are you willing to say tonight, "Lord Jesus, I invite You to use my dysfunctional past, my physical pain, my learning disabilities, my emotional pain, my brokenness - all to fuel passion for You and dedication to Your mission in the world."

Mack & Leeann's Guide to Short Term Missions
Elisabeth Elliot: The will of God is not something you add to your life. It’s a course you choose. You either line yourself up with the Son of God and say to the Father, “Thy will be done,’ or you capitulate to the principle which governs the rest of the world and say, ‘My will be done.’” (p. 57)

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While I'm at it, here's a quick update on what we've been doing. Tomorrow is another Cambodia team meeting, and we're going to pack the day with video training, language/culture review, testimony sharing, prayer, skit practice, and of course lots of love, laughter, and food! Ohhh, the team's been reading the STM book mentioned above, and it's really a great book. I'm glad the team's excited about the reading, and I'm sure we'll have more quotes/reflection in the near future! Here's the link to some pictures we took at our last team meeting and the bake sale at church! http://picasaweb.google.com/alain.c.gyger/2008042627CambodiaMeetingAndBakeSale?authkey=vNSlkno7oIs

Short Update

Tomorrow I have to share about why I'm going to Cambodia with the English Congregation. And as you guys all know, I hate public speaking! So I'm really praying hard that God will put the right words in my mouth as I share with everyone. I am prepared.... so let's hope I don't choke and forget what I've been practicing tomorrow! :D

We also had a Cambodia meeting today. I can't remember which number this one was; there's been so many meetings, I've lost count of how many we've had. But that's a good thing. I've found that with each meeting, we bond a little more. Gradually, our team has really been coming together and recognizing each other as more than just teammates. It's important for us to be familiar with each other. If an issue arise when we're overseas, we'll be able to tackle it as a whole group, instead of just an individual (who's prone to stumbling much easier). We have a good group vibe going on, and it's been beneficial.