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| JANUARY 2006 | ||||
| Newsletters top | ||||
| Taking A Risk | President's Desk | ||
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| by Dyan Kirkland | |||
| Cambodia Short-term | |||
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Changing lives for the Lord is great, but there is a lot of risk, especially
on the overseas mission field. You risk being brought to a new level of
sadness, you risk changing how you see the world and greater still, you risk
how you see YOUR world; you definitely risk being harder to live with
because of these changes. These risks and changes can be daunting but also
bring on a level of blessing that you will never experience any other way
except by going on a risky mission trip. So if your desire to change lives
for Him is strong and you are willing to know more about the risks, read on.
You might get a glimmer of the life God wants to change by your
participation and the resulting joy. If you are old enough to remember the Vietnam War, you probably remember the tragedy in Cambodia during the same era. At least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, enforced hardships or starvation at the hand of the Khmer Rouge between 1975-79. It was in 1979 that Vietnam occupied Cambodia, which then resulted in 13 more years of civil war. |
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Amid the clamor of adults and children waiting to see a doctor, this Cambodian man prays to receive Christ. |
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The long-term development of the Cambodian economy after such decades of war
has been minimal at best. The population lacks education and productive
skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from
an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Of the population, 75% remain
engaged in subsistence farming, 30% of households have access to safe
drinking water, 18% have toilet facilities, 15% have electricity and 89% use
firewood as their main cooking fuel. With such basic problems in education and the infrastructure, it is easy to understand why health care is almost non-existent. There are 16 physicians in Cambodia for every 100,000 people. There is one dentist for every 30,000 people. Most Cambodians never see a doctor or a dentist. Besides education, infrastructure and health issues, years of atrocities and political turmoil have left the people in a spiritual void. In 1990, Christianity was permitted in Cambodia and this change has resulted in some sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, however, the Buddhist government acceptance of this outreach appears to be fragile. In February 2003, Cambodia's ministry of cults and religious affairs issued a directive to ban all Christian proselytizing. It was with these risks that a team of 32 Christians in Action smiling and determined faces arrived in Cambodia on October 17. Their purpose was to spend a couple of weeks providing medical and dental services and to share God's love with the poorest in the countryside. Our team was made up of ten doctors and dentists and the rest of us came from a variety of walks of life, including pastors and five Cambodians who now live and work in the United States. Pastor Glenn Kennedy, CinA's Far East Director, coordinated this effort with New Life Ministries, a Christian organization that has focused on the youth of Cambodia and has planted several churches both in the city and in the countryside. It is this coming together of Christian organizations that is so important in making an impact for Christ. We were privileged to partner with New Life, to provide relief for those they had found hurting and for the young, enthusiastic interpreters who worked alongside us. Pastor Glenn also wanted to see how the Lord might guide Christians in Action's own mission outreach to Cambodia. Please keep that on your prayer list. Once our team reached one of the various villages assigned for us to set up a clinic, we would spring into action. We had divided up into sub-teams for registration, evangelism, triage, dental care, medical care and pharmacy. Sometimes we were able to set up the clinic in a structure. Sometimes all we had was the front of a hut or a grassy treed area to perform these tasks. The people came with their hurts and pain, old and young. All the pieces were in place for God to do His work. And He did! During our time in Cambodia He sent us 1800 men, women and children that needed medical and spiritual care. All were told the Good News of Jesus and many came to the Lord. They were then referred to a local Christian group or pastor. All were given medical services. The Lord let us minister to many who had gone through much human suffering. One woman had killed her most recent baby just two weeks prior because she was just not able to provide for one more child. Another woman had a large tumor removed from her back. Many children were malnourished. There were endless numbers of teeth extracted. Each village had children that had lost both parents or had one parent that was giving them minimal care. These children came by themselves and had teeth removed or services provided without a whimper or tear. The Cambodian people are strong, but gentle, friendly, and…shy. Their gratitude and smiles were our incredible gifts. |
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As our new Cambodian friends reached out, God poured out His grace on our team. The days were long and hot and no one had much of a break. Our medical and dental teams worked in difficult conditions and I never heard one complaint. Our evangelism team had no other resources than their personal testimony and a willingness to be used by God. That, of course, was all they needed. Despite the heat and elements, not one member of our team got sick. The young Cambodian interpreters from New Life worked tirelessly with us, not only to interpret but also to learn. They learned how to administer first aid and to give their personal testimonies to their fellow countrymen. All seem to realize the importance of this time together. | ||
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Dyan Kirkland (center) encourages two ladies who were waiting in line to see the doctors. |
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| There is always one person that stands out and for me it was Soty Trang, a Cambodian man who was a member of our team and who pastors a Cambodian church in Connecticut. He was returning to Cambodia for the first time since he escaped in 1979. As a child in a Buddhist family, he remembers having many questions about who created the world. In his youth he struggled with a sense of guilt over sins in his own life. Once, before Pol Pot took power, he noticed that a Christian missionary was talking to a group of people near his town. With a certain amount of risk, he stopped to listen. He sat spellbound as the missionary talked about Genesis and answered the many questions that he had had in his childhood about creation. The missionary went on to talk about sin and how the same God who created the world loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die as the price for our sins. Soty accepted the Lord during this meeting. When he got home his family disapproved of his newfound Jesus, but Soty started his relationship with God with the little he had been told. It wasn't long after this that the Khmer Rouge took over and Soty did not escape the terrible atrocities of this era. Still, throughout all the hardship, he knew in his heart that God is real and that if he were going to die, he would go to heaven. Soty says that the Lord came to him and comforted him many times during those years. At one time he was just skin and bones and in the worst condition, yet he was full of peace. Finally he was able to go to a refugee camp and immigrate to America. | |||
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It is so wonderful to go on a short-term mission trip, tell others about
Jesus and see people accept Christ as their Savior. Yet, it is also easy to
wonder if the seeds planted on a one-time basis give forth fruit. In Soty's
case, the one-time seeds were sown in good soil, showing that “. . . those
who hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring
forth fruit with patience." Luke 8:15 RSV. What a wonderful reminder Soty
was of God's sovereignty. He does have His plan. The important thing is for
us to be obedient to His call in our lives. Whether you are a dentist, nurse, doctor, pastor or one of God's special people who can give two weeks of your life to the poor and lost of this world, God has a plan for each of us. Is God calling you to go on a short-term mission trip? Is He calling your church? Can you join us on our next mission trip? Are you willing to risk being changed forever? If you are willing to risk: |
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Dr. Celia listens to the heartbeat of one of many children who came for skilled medical care. |
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| then call Christians in Action and ask for a schedule of the upcoming missions trips. You will have a risky adventure of a lifetime and one of the lives you change by your participation WILL be your own. | |||
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