Dear Summit Family,
Only 2 month (August 16) to go! Bitter sweet, I can’t wait to come home to Canada but I also can’t imagine leaving. Praying I can finish my time here well!
At the beginning of August I had an Intern with the Envision Program, a C&MA initiative. As a resource of the C&MA, Envision identifies and develops future missional leaders who innovate, establish, and strengthen communities of faith in key urban environments. We do this through short-term trips, internships, go global careers, leadership development, and ministry resources.
Mark Mitchell, Grandson of the late David Mitchell. Mark is from Owen Sound and is attending McMaster University and studying Chemical Engineering! Mark came every afternoon for 10 days and taught two English classes. The first class was with our older youth, he really challenged them and at the end of each class he would teach them math. They loved it!! The second class he taught five rambunctious boys, never a dull moment. Mark stayed at the Psar Leu church in one of the classrooms and worked with the church in the morning and evening. The thing I was most impressed about Mark is that he picked up the Khmer language very quickly. When he first arrived in Cambodia he didn’t have any ministry opportunity in Phnom Penh so he made the most of his time by studying the language. I enjoyed having Mark come every afternoon it gave me a break from teaching and is was wonderful to have full conversations in English.
I decided to give Mên a break from teaching the Sunday lesson and also wanted to give others the opportunity to teach. Sunday August 5th Pha taught the story of Jesus walking on water. She did a good job and was very willing and eager to teach. The second Sunday August 13 Hà taught the story of Cain and Abel. She too did a super job, well prepared and very easy to understand! So proud of them. Liêu asked if she could lead the service, give announcements, read scripture and pray. It’s so important to give opportunity for the youth to use their gifts, talents and develop their leadership skills.
We had our monthly visit to Psar Leu church, the youth sang! Not a stellar job but they did the best they could!
One of my roles here is attending the schools of our children, making sure they are doing well, paying fees, signing report cards etc. Yesterday I attended a parent meeting for two of our children, I went to Rot School (Government School). I think it is very important for them to see that we care and support the school. I really like the principal he seems to care about his students!
One thing this trip has done for me is to really see the daily lives of the families. We have some families and areas like Lok Diang that are very poor and most of the children have to go out to recycle and earn money for their family to survive and not able to attend school. But than we have the children living around “Thi’s Grandmothers Coffee Shop” who seem to have more money and life is good. One of our youth Pha, her parents asked her if she would like “gold or a motorcycle?” She said a motorcycle, her parents bought her a brand new Honda Beat worth $2700 USD. She is 14! A week later Diem Mi who is 12 her parents bought her the same motorcycle as Pha. I really wrestle with this in regards to giving to families who have money. I recently said no to helping financially to one of these families, they were not happy with me and now refused to attend church! It is hard because if you give to the poor families the other families complain and get jealous. Greed and entitlement!!
To those of you who have been to Cambodia and have walked the road in front of Kim’s house you will be happy to know that they are fixing the road! Not just repairing a few pot holes by throwing in broken brick and ceramics. They are actually properly fixing the road! Yeah!!
The owners of the house have divorced and have been showing the house on a weekly basis. There will be a time when the house will sell and we will need a new facility, please pray for the timing and location of a future home for this ministry!
There has been a lot of fear amongst the Vietnamese, they tell me that “people are kidnapping children, killing them and selling their organs for money!” I asked Bill Lobezzoo about this but he thought it was just a made up story! The other day someone tried to take a boy from Lok Diang (he doesn’t attend our ministry but I know him!) Please pray for the protection of the children as they bike/walking to school and playing after school. Because of this “situation” we have put measures in place to protect the children that attend (locking the gate, driving them home)!
Love! Leah
Click here to see lots of pictures of the kids and Love Your Neighbour ministry in Siem Reap
