Day 11

Wow, can't believe we've been in Baray now for 11 days....and I'm still alive!!

It's been a busy weekend for the local church as Pastor Ling and Aunty Helen from DUMC have come to visit. This weekend Alvin and I got to sit in on the youth's worship practice. They had their bass guitar, electric guitar and mics out, all hooked up to an amp powered by a car battery and their seriously know how to rock and roll!! Somehow the car battery makes things more grunge. Whilst the youth were belting out their tunes the cows outside were munching on grass and the kids ran around half naked playing games I don't understand. All in all this place is kind of surreal.

Here are a couple of pics of the youth of Somrong church. Alvin wants to attempt a 5-tier pyramid next time.

(From top to bottom, left to right. Jeremiah, Abednego, Vannier, Rutta, Jonathan and Alvin)

I guess you could say we've settled in, after some initial teething problems. We've kitted out our little apartment with some furniture so it's a bit more homey now. We bought a rattan wardrobe and a shoe rack from Tuol Dam Nak village about 5km down the road and carried it home on the moped in two goes. We should have taken a photo of us on the bike, really looked like the locals and how they stack things on their bikes, except we had helmets on. We have a little routine going on as well, once we wake up and sort ourselves out then we do our laundry, tie up the mosquito net, dust the bed of dead bugs, sweep the floor, wash the bathroom and then go find some breakfast. The bugs aren't as big a deal as they were when we first got here, guess we're learning to live with them, well, at least the little ones anyway. The big ones still send us cowering into a corner. We've had praying mantis, stag beetles and strange looking leave insects come to visit us at night. We are constantly amazed at the people here and how brave they are...or maybe it's just because we're wimps. This little kid is Luca, he lives next door to us and is one of Pastor Kea's sons. He was holding this leaf insect and was totally ok with it. Amazing.

We're still suffering quite a bit from bites from both mosquitoes and ants, so far it seems all we've been good for is feeding the local insect population. I have a bite on the sole of my foot, it is driving me insane. It's been rainy a lot here the past two days and so the mosquitoes are reproducing rapidly, there are some monsterr sized ones too. Usually I'm quite clap happy and smack em dead with my hands, but these ones are big and scary. We just wave our hands around or run away.

Alvin's also been making use of his handy man skills and fixed our coffee table. Here he is in action with the local women looking on.
We've also been busy getting to know the local area, going to the market to shop and trying out some of the Khmer food. And before all the adults start yelling at us, yes we have been responsible about what we've chosen to eat. No prolonged toilet episodes thus far, praise God! We've found some very yummy things to eat out here, the yummiest of all has to be durian milkshake/smoothie. One of the youths at the Saturday night youth group we are helping with told us to go to this juice bar. We went one night last week and ordered one mixed fruit and one durian shake. They were soooooo delicious. I think the fact that we don't have a fridge or freezer here made the coldness of the drink all the more amazing. Another night we were in the market and bought two cokes out of a cooler box, and it was just so good. Coke has never tasted so good before. It was such a treat, so sweet and cooling. Mmmm. It makes me think back to that story that Pastor Ong told about being given a can of coke whilst in the depths of the jungle, we can appreciate that story now!!

"Work" wise....We're currently still waiting for word from the primary school principal about teaching English. We can't really decide on other areas to serve in until we know whether we are required there, as it would take up a lot of our time. School starts on the 1st October, so we should know by then whether we are needed or not. We've also been approached about teaching English to a number of groups of youths, and we know it's going to be difficult to choose between them.

First Blog From Baray

We've only been in Baray for 4 days yet it feels like a lifetime. There have been a lot of things to get used to and we now see how luxurious a life we led in the UK. I think it's been a bit more difficult for me than for Alvin. To set the scene, here are some pictures of our living arrangments.

Yes I know it looks like we're squatting, with our mosquito net strung up like that, bed on the floor and clothes everywhere. We don't have much in the way of drawers or cupboards so we're basically still living out of our suitcases.

And here is our bathroom. Yep, the infamous squat toilet. Just in case you're wondering the brownish colours on the tiles and loo are not poo stains, the water here is slightly yellow due to the colour of the soil. It hasn't been too bad using the squat, our only concern is getting bitten on the butt by a hungry mosquito. However we have had to train ourselves to remember to throw the toilet paper into the bin and not down the loo as it could block it up.

We've also had to get used to doing things in the dark. The generator kicks in at 6:30pm and is switched off at 9:30pm. We could actually use the lights during this time but then it attracts a large variety of bugs. So we try and do things in the dark. The first night we found out that the mosquito net isn't fine enough to keep out the smallest bugs. I'd just be drifting off and then suddenly something would either buzz in my ear or crawl through my ear. There was a lot of slapping of the air and shrieking that first night. We've both been bitten so many times by all sorts of bugs, we're constantly itchy and uncomfortable.

Apart from the bugs sleeping has been a problem because of the noise of passing trucks, the drunks across the road blaring their music out at random times in the night. Last night it was 4am hey started. Then there is a youth retreat going on at the moment downstairs. Boy do they love to worship, they get up at about 5am and start singing, clapping and shouting.
The lack of sleep, the weather and the cold showers have also made us ill. Last night I had a very fitful night going from hot to cold and back to hot again. The night before that alvin had a slight fever. Now we're both coughing and have runny and blocked up noses, another sleep depravator. My coughing is aggravating my back, shock waves go up and down my back when I sneeze....I just want to come back to London now really. I've pretty much had enough.

I've moaned and whinged a lot since being here about all sorts of things, that I want to go home, that I've had enough. But I know that I'm not going anywhere, God has said we are to stay here, Alvin has been hearing this really loud and clear and there is no way I can go against that. I have chosen to obey God but I'm finding it really difficult right now. So guys, I would really appreciate your prayers for God's strength and for us to trust in Him and rely on Him. It's really hard to accept the current situation, and just typing it all up is making me cry buckets.
Yesterday at one of the churches we visited (pictured below), thecongregation prayed for us, and it made me realise how much I miss you all and the sharing we have at home, church and central DG. So what did I do? Yep, you guessed it, I cried. That's 4 times in the past four days, it's a record!I've felt empty these past couple of days, unable to communicate with the locals, can't sing their songs or understand the sermons because they're in Khmer.

However it's not all bad, there are things that I can praise God for. We have a mattress to sleep on for one. There is clean water to drink, there's someone cooking for us at the moment so I don't have to think about that. I'm glad I'm not doing this by myself and that Alvin is beside me, I would have left on Friday when we arrived otherwise.

I also praise God for all the things that He is doing in this province of Baray, there are many small churches in various villages. The youth are hungry for the word and for their cell groups to grow and the children are all really enthusiatic about memorising scripture and their lessons. The primary school nearby is open to us teaching english and also about Jesus there. Currently Cambodia does not allow evangelism in their schools, but the principal of this school became a Christian and is very open to having us. So we praise God for this opportunity. However, Alvin and I have never taught English before so we know it'll be a steep learning curve, and we'll be spending many hours planning. I'll finally be able to identify with you teachers out there!

Ok, I've stopped crying now. It makes a difference when you look at God rather than yourself. Look into yourself and all you'll find is despair as you grasp at nothing. But God knows us through and through, He won't give you more than you can bear...it makes me wonder just how much I can bear...but then again I don't really want to find out. Obeying God is tough, make no joke out of it. I pray that all of you in the UK would strive to obey and submit to God as well, I'm still in the process of this but I can't wait for the joy that will come from it.

Phnom Penh

We’ve been in Phnom Penh for only 2 days, but I look like I’ve been here for longer because the back of my neck and my arms are black! To be brief here’s a quick time-line of what’s been going on the past two days.

Day 1

• Picked up from the airport, transportation? A tuk tuk!
• Went to CMS hostel and had our first Cambodian meal.
• Picked up Emily from the bus station.
• Went to see Khmer Life – the shop run by CMS selling handicrafts, met Esther.
• Went to Tuol Sleng Museum which is just next to the shop, it was a Khmer Rouge centre for torture, interrogation and imprisonment.
• Had dinner in a local restaurant.
• Went back to the hostel and set up our mosquito nets and mats for bed.

Day 2

• Visited the Royal Palace
• Visited Central Market
• Visited the Russian Market
• Went back to the hostel after lunch
• Emily and I drove the tuk tuk round the courtyard, and Emily learnt to ride a motorbike as well…sort of.
• Sent Emily off to the airport.
• Learning Khmer from one of the students – Kum He.
• Chilling out with the peeps in the hostel, holding impromptu English and Khmer lessons.

Day 3:

• Went for a walk around the local area
• Learnt how to sew with the sewing machines – made a phone case and a toiletry bag.
• Dinner in the hostel, spent the night hanging out playing cards – taught them snap and they had to count in english!

So yeah, it’s been a pretty packed couple of days. Currently we feel more like tourists than people on a mission trip.

It’s been nice staying in the hostel as we’ve gotten to know some of the students staying here. We have our own little room with a bathroom attached and western style toilet, so it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. We’re getting used to the cold showers, and eating rice at every meal, but our Cambodian style beds i.e. mat on the floor is a little harder to adapt to. Alvin is all achy and my back is really stiff as well. I think we’re gona see what Baray is like and then possibly invest in a mattress if we want to be well rested.

The students have been great at teaching us Khmer, they are all really eager to tell us what things are. We were trying to learn part of the Khmer alphabet, so the lot of them sung it to us. Kind of like how we sing ABC, but all their letters sound the same. We’ve managed to learn quite a bit in just two days, and give the students much to laugh about as our Khmer pronunciation is terrible!

Tonight we are joining a boat cruise for a team of Australian short term missions. Not sure what they’re doing in PP. But we’re going to be waiters for the night and helping the chef, think we’re supposed to be chatting with the team as well but we’re not quite sure what we’re required to do. We will be in Phnom Penh until Friday morning, when we will make our way up to the village of Baray. Will see what internet connection there is like.

God Bless

Last Evening in KL

What a high cholesterol evening this was!! First of all bak kuh the for dinner, went home, I blogged and Alvin watched F1 with the Teoh family and then we went out again after for supper. Nasi goreng (fried rice) fried with pork lard and sprinkled with pork lardoons (heart attack on a plate), hokkien mee again, oyster egg pancake. Oh my goodness the pain! But you know what? It was so worth it, because we were able to spend a good 4 hours talking with Alvin’s cousin and also a guy whom I’ll call Rod – one of the Teoh family we stayed with.

It all started off with talking about girls! Rod commented that Alvin had met me at church and Chun Yip and Kristy had met at church, therefore he thought it would be a good idea if he went to church as well in order to meet a girl. What followed was a conversation where we talked about what his beliefs are and what we believed. He said he was open to going anywhere, and asked us at the end when we would take him to church!! He has grown up with Buddhist parents, going to temple and encouraged to pray but somehow going away feeling like it’s pointless. He said he believed in setting your own boundaries and hard work. However when we asked him what these boundaries were based on and what would stop him from pushing them further he couldn’t answer.

Later on when Alvin’s cousin (I’ll call him Will) arrived as well there was yet more talk. We shared with them our experience of DUMC. They both asked questions on lots and we had a great time of discussion and sharing. Rod asked me if I was born a Christian, so I was then able to explain how no-one is born a Christian and I ended up giving him my testimony. You know what? I have never actually given my testimony to a none-Christian before. But it felt good to share, it feels like another step for me.

Anyway, it seems like a lot happened those few days in KL. God is evidently working in those around us and giving us opportunity to talk to them about our faith. I pray that this would continue, and I pray that both would come to know the real God. Please continue to pray for these two guys, they really really need our prayer.

Jumping Children and Basketball Courts...

We have just come back from spending a day with Pastor Ling and Aunty Helen from DUMC church. We arrived at the church Saturday afternoon and were whisked away to the children’s and youth services. Alvin went and joined the youth cell group whereas I went and observed the children’s Sunday School. Here’s just a short video of part of the worship set. I’ve got to say that the video doesn’t do it justice, the atmosphere was electric! Kids jumping up and down, doing all the hand actions, singing loudly and shouting “We love Jesus!! YA YA YA YA” It was something amazing to see a hundred over kids worshipping God with no self-consciousness

DUMC was a pretty big church, with services on Saturday and Sunday, each with about 1000 people attending. We were the only new people at the Saturday evening service, and had a taste of what it feels like to be a newcomer when we had to stand up in front of the other 1000 people. The most hilarious thing was then having all the pastors and ushers come up to us to shake our hands. I think I shook hands with about 14 or so people in the space of 10 seconds, they just rushed at us!! Ha ha ha. Alvin was really impressed with the AV side of things, he had to stop himself from dribbling all over the different pieces of very expensive equipment...don't ask me what they were...just had LOADS of buttons on it. He was equally impresed by the sports facilities. There’s a gym, but best of all….6 basketball courts…or at least that was how many he counted and could see!

It was really great to spend time with Pastor Ling and Aunty Helen as well. They showed us videos and photos, and told us many stories of the things going on in Cambodia that really helped to prepare us for what lies ahead.

As I shared earlier, we were hoping that Alvin’s cousin would join us for a service at DUMC. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to make either Saturday or Sunday due to work commitments. We have bought him a couple of books about Christianity and also about what Jehovah Witnesses believe, please continue to pray with us for him as he searches for the truth.

We will be flying to Phnom Penh tomorrow morning and staying there for 5 days before heading up to Baray.

Till the next blog…God bless!

p.s. I've put up a few more photos on facebook if you're interested.

Fear of Fish - A Random Post

Today we were in a local shopping mall just hanging out, walking around not doing much when we came across a Fish Spa. For those who haven't heard about this new craze, it's basically where you go and dunk your feet into a tank of water with fish in it, they then nibble at your feet eating off your krusty dead skin. Nice.

Alvin's always had a fear of fish - ask Kristy and she will testify to this. So we walked past the spa and I told him to look. Ha ha, you should have seen the look of horror on his face when he saw the fish nibbling at people's feet. So anyway, being the very supportive wife that I am I dared him to have a go as it would help him in facing his fear of fish. He agreed after about 10mins of me badgering him, but only on condition that I did it as well. So anyway, here's what happened...

That was fun. Alvin is now no longer scared of little fish, and we both have silky soft feet!

Day 2 in KL

So day 2 in KL. And what have we eaten? Roti canai with teh tarik, hainanese chicken rice, hokkien mee, char kway teow, to name but a few things.

Ha ha, this is almost turning into a food blog! Ok, onto some serious stuff…

Last night I sent out our prayer requests for the week, one of the requests was for us to be effective witnesses to our relatives in KL who aren’t Christians. Today we met up with one of Alvin’s cousins and spent most of the day with him. It was funny because when he rang us up last night he asked us what we would be doing today. Alvin told him he wanted to get a hair cut and go camera shopping, and his cousin said that he was intending to do exactly the same thing, so why not go together?! So he picked us up in the morning and we went off to the hairdressers.

In his car I found a Bible and also a book titled “What does the Bible teach us?” On looking into the book however I found that it was actually produced by the Watchtower society i.e. Jehovah Witnesses. I wasn’t sure if the stuff was his, so I asked and he said yes. He told us that he had been curious to find out about Christianity ever since coming back from the UK, when he stayed with one of his and Alvin’s uncle who is a Christian. He mentioned that he’d been to visit some charismatic churches, and some others which he found very boring. Then he came across this couple who were very well versed in “the bible” and who showed him a lot of care. He is currently meeting with them every week to study the aforementioned book. He asked us what we thought of it because he wasn’t sure. We told him what we knew of Jehovah’s witnesses, what they believe and how it is different from Christianity.

I guess the point of all this is that I want us all to pray for him. He is obviously searching and openly shared that he has a lot of questions to ask, and that he is trying to find a church that is suitable for him. We are hoping to bring him along with us when we go for the evening service on Saturday evening at DUMC. The church itself is a little far away for him to travel to, but hopefully they’ll be able to connect him up with one more local to him.

First stop - Kuala Lumpur

We have arrived safely in KL. The flight was alright, a bit of turbulence, but we both managed to get a good 6hrs sleep at least. Although my back is playing up now due to 12.5hrs of sitting. Hopefully a good nights rest on a flat bed will do the trick and my back will be all better again.

We're currently staying with an old family friend in KL. They picked us up from the airport and we pretty much went straight to dinner. Oh how we have missed Malaysian food! Here's us with our very tasty fish, frogs legs, chicken, tofu and veg...mmm yum!

After we returned home aunty brought out a tub of durian segments. Alvin procedded to gobble up quite a few in a very short space of time. And to my surprise I also managed to eat a whole segment myself, and even holding it in with my own fingers. The king of fruits and I have had our differences in the past, but it seems we have now come to an understanding, and I quite like the creaminess! I'm sure a lot of you will be very surprised to hear that I liked it. Mum - this one's for you!!

Leaving with a bang...

Wow what a weekend to experience before we leave! It'll be one that will stay in our memories for a long time I'm sure. Some memories made this weekend:

1. watching with pride as Mervin & Jun Yi danced their first dance.
2. seeing all the laughing and smiling faces of the congregation during our commissioning - especially when Alvin said "no!"
3. seeing so many of our loved ones feasting on satay in the back garden and taking pictures with them.
3. being prayed for and then building a human pyramid.

And now we're packing. We really do just have so much STUFF. Friends - please try to live simply, declutter your lifes!! We're trying to be wise with what we're bringing, taking what is essential. This seems to have been a little easier for me than for Alvin who wants to bring just about everything, for those "just in case" situations.

Ok, so just to give you guys the low down on what's going to happen over the next week. We're leaving tonight at 10pm on a flight bound for Kuala Lumpar. We'll be there for 5 nights, and whilst we're there we will be visiting Pastor Ong's home church Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC), this is the church which set up Cambodia Methodist Services (CMS).

We will be attending Super Saturday Children/Youth Church in the afternoon and then the evening service. Super Saturday sounds like it'll be a lot of fun, really crazy and loud. Alvin thinks it'll be like his uncle's church in Tawau, East Malaysia where all the kids scream at the top of their lungs during worship. We're really looking forward to attending and connecting with all the Sunday School and Youth pastors and seeing how they do things out there. Then on Sunday we will be going to the church's mission centre and meeting some more people.

So there you are, our timetable for the coming week. We'll wave to you all from the plane when we lift off!

blog ya later.
Alvin & Chu