Monday, October 10, 2011

Ancient temples and sweat

Today we spent the day in Angkor Wat, the largest temple complex in the world. We visited Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Angkor Phom. Angkor Phom is the place where Angelina Jolie filmed the movie tomb raider. That temple complex was in the process of being destroyed by nature when the French found it in the 12th century. Abandoned for several years by the Cambodian King, the trees had begun to uproot the foundations. Despite several centuries of restoration, and a couple of wars, the trees are still winning. What do you think that has to say about how we take care of things?

It was an all day expedition, in the heat and humidity. We were all soaked. And we are all in one combined room, preparing to depart. But it felt so good to be showered and clean. Next, on to dinner, and then the airport. Homeward bound.

this was a thin place sort of day.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Tourist time

We are in Siem Reap. This is the tourist Mecca of Cambodia, primarily because of the Angkor Wat temple complex nearby. And the town is like any tourist town. The prices are higher simply because of the location. Our day Sunday was a busy one, but I would like to recount it in reverse order.

The team attended the Cambodian Royal Dance and dinner at the Kulen Theater. It is essentially a dinner show, but the show consists of young men and women dancing traditional Cambodian dance. And the only response is wow. The costumes are elaborate and the dance grace filled. Some dances celebrated rituals, like the coconut dance for youthful relationships or the fishing dance for the tradition of fishing (and youthful relationships), while others told complex stories or fables. Although the dancers moved relatively slow, it was difficult to get good images because they were always moving.

Earlier in the day we had gone to the Silk Farm. This is a program to train young men and women different sustainable crafts such as silk weaving, stone carving, and silk printing. Our tour started with a visit to the mulberry bushes where the food for the worms was grown. But these are special worms, they don’t come to the plants, the plants are brought into them. We were then taken through each stage, from cocoon to string, to raw and fine silk, to weaving, to finishing, and of course, terminating in the store. Because it was Sunday there were only a few workers present and their primary duty was to be available to show tourists the production, so it was a privilege. And yes indeed, we impacted the Cambodian economy.

But our day started in worship. We went to the first Methodist church in Siem Reap, built in 1995. However, that congregation has already outgrown that structure and they are in their new building, which by the looks of it they need to head towards two services or a bigger structure. The old building is now the children’s wing, which also serves as a classroom for preschool children through the week. The music was all played with gusto on traditional Cambodian instruments. Our challenge for the day was crossing the flooded out drive to the church. The Siem Reap area, and nearby Thailand, have suffered very serious flooding this year due to unusually strong monsoon rains. Only last week the Night Market had been flooded. Many of the smaller rivers in the city are still well out of their banks. Getting into worship meant going through about 20 yards of mid calf high water. Solution. Moto.

Much of Cambodian gets around on Moto’s. Scooters. Men and women hire themselves out as mototaxies. You hop on the back and they will take you where you want to go. In Cambodia, it is more economical to travel by moto. So it is not uncommon to see as many Cambodians as possible on a moto. Our record this trip is seeing seven Cambodians on a moto. That was four adults, one child and two babies.
But we had a church member on a moto, who agreed to ferry us in one by one, through the water. What a way to get to church! And what a way to eliminate excuses. A packed church that had to wade through a flood to come to church.

This is a thin place.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Thursday fun and Friday Sabbath

We went to the beach Thursday. And it was the start of our Sabbath rest. As you walk onto the beach area the vendor women and children approach and want to make you bracelets, or give you a massage. Some even offered to pull the hairs out of our legs using those thread things you may have seen in the mall. No thanks. That even sounds painful. Out of the 100 participants in the event, ½ have never been to the beach before now. It was such a joy to watch them play in the sand and surf. There were photographers wandering up and down the beach to take photos of the fun. Many of them spent money to get that image. Of course, the four little boys who have been with us this week all had to have something that makes noise. Turns out boys are boys even half way around the world.

When we returned we had dinner and something that roughly translated into Happy night. This was a cross between American Idol and any high school dance that you may have ever been to. They were having a contest between districts for who could sing the best. And when every song started everyone had to get up and dance. And this was magnificent graceful dance. Their feet and hands move in a slow movement that it captivating. And then there were those of Northern European heritage, who simply shuffled around the dance floor. One of our favorite ladies was the winner (you can say little, the peep hole for our hotel room door is at the level of the chest.

We took Friday as a day of Sabbath rest. Our teaching task was completed and today the District superintendents taught on small groups. Pretty much everyone in the group has some type of physical complaint from the snots to the trots. Aches and pains abound, as it turns out when you bounce around the Cambodian countryside in a minibus not everything remains happy. S on the advice of our two nurses and at the direction of the team leader we chilled today. And it was so good.

We held a team meeting in our coffee shop at nine and discussed the things we had seen and done. What we would take back with us to our work in our local churches and conference. Then we made a provisions raid on the grocery store procuring water, sesame crackers, bananas and yogurt. So we skipped Cambodian lunch and had a picnic. Probably from the alternating heat and humidity and the A/C set to stun (17 C to be precise), my roommate and I both have a cough. So as we lay down for our naps, I would cough, she would cough, I would snort, she would chortle. Then we would laugh which caused us to cough. TB sanitariums where never this much fun.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

we are the church together

It has been my privilege to worship in churches all over the world, and at a church were the world comes to worship. At Iona last summer one of my favorite things during Sunday worship was when we would all pray the Lord’s Prayer in our native language and learned style. It was a cacophony of voices raised together saying the same prayer. Here in Cambodia one of their practices in prayer is to all pray aloud but all saying different things, closing with the Lord’s Prayer together. It is many voices in the same language but with different words. It truly seemed to be the whirlwind of the Acts 2 Pentecost experience.
We return from breaks and meals with the band playing, joyous, cranked up music. Like Charles Wesley the Cambodian church has taken popular music and put words to them. So they become familiar praise songs. This morning during opening worship we danced and sang a song that I am sure was “La Bamba.” And it was sedate as a Zumba class. We hopped and jumped and ran in place. And the team doesn’t understand a word they are singing, but it was a joyful noise.
Interestingly, the theme song of the Cambodian church is Bill and Gloria Gaither’s Because he lives. It is the title of the biography of Joseph and Marilyn Chan and tells of their life in Cambodia prior to Pol Pot, during Pol Pot and their escape to the US. It then chronicles their life in the US and return to Cambodia as missionaries for the UMC. It is their Amazing Grace or Oh for a thousand tongues to sing. And they celebrate it with gusto.
This is a thin place.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Cambodian food

People have asked about the food. It is this odd combination of Chinese and Mexican. So you get all the common Chinese dishes; fried rice, noodles, but you get this assortment of pepper sauces in little bowls to add to the food. We have grown quite fond of the red chile pepper sauce but our favorite is the crushed peppercorn sauce. We have been told that the Cambodians grow a little green chile about 2 inches long, and it should be avoided. Caliente!
The fresh fruits and vegetables are beautiful. We can eat the fruit if we can peel it. The vegetables are enjoyed when cooked. Today at lunch I am quite sure the carrots were in the ground yesterday. They grow four different varieties of bananas, each with its own flavor. My favorite is the little one that is about 4 inches long. We had watermelon for dessert today, and afterwards my teammates practiced using their chopsticks to pick up melon seeds.
The staple of the Cambodian diet is soup. Like a lot of developing countries with a poor population, they can make soup our out of anything. And apparently they put everything in the soup, so we are always picking out bones. For breakfast we had rice soup, which sounds a little gross, but it is a lot like porridge (and you know what a favorite that is of mine). But when you add a little chile sauce it was fine.
And of course, there is the rice. Steamed white rice comes with everything. And you begin to appreciate that when the main course seems a little dicey, like the steamed squid a day ago, a little white rice and soy sauce goes a long way.
I have gone on and on about the food, but have saved the best for last. The bread and coffee. Both are holdovers from when Cambodia was a French Colony. The bread is fresh baked and served as baguettes. It is crusty and wonderful. But my absolute favorite is the coffee. Rich, black and syrupy. It has the viscosity of refrigerated honey. And they sweeten/lighten it with sweetened condensed milk. Granted they serve it is demitasse cups, but a little goes a long way. Here at the conference it is not served at breakfast, but at the break. So the first day I was approaching serious caffeine withdrawal, but I discovered a coffee shop on the corner. All is right with the world.

On the road again

We depart Phnom Penh today and head south. This will be our third day of travel and our third hotel in Cambodia. We traveled south to Shinookvile. It is a city on the Sea of Thailand. And, even half way round the world it is the same, we have landed in a beach town. Here 100 lay leaders of the Methodist Church in Cambodia have gathered for their first lay leadership training. The theme is prayerful contemplation and spiritual formation. And the team I am on has the privilege of being the teachers for the event. The energy in the air is like a heartbeat, probably due to the pounding bass line in all the music. They love to sing and play their music LOUD. One of the district superintendent’s said she felt like her heart would pop out of her chest. I imagination this is what the lay session of Annual Conference must be like.
We are working with five pastors of the Cambodian church who make up their leadership team. They are responsible for developing conference wide Christian formation training. They include two district superintendents, the principle of the Bible College and three pastors. They are all young and exciting to work with. They have given us name tags and we have a great banner for the event and even received a t-shirt. But best of all was the conference bag. It is a plastic envelope, perfect for keeping papers dry in the rainy season. The reason it is my favorite; contained in it is our pen and notebook. I am such a school supply geek.
The first topic we will teach is Prayer. Although prayer is a common practice, we are sharing some ancient practices that this new church is not aware of. It is difficult teaching as whatever you say has to be translated by Tara or Tola. So a lecture that would typically last 40 minutes expands to an hour. The participants are also asked to break into groups and work on exercises. It is exactly like any number of training events I have attended.
Except for the language.
And the food.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

And the people you meet

A four and a half hour van ride to Kampong Thom Village is simply a great way to meet new friends. And on the ride back you meet more new friends.
Amanda – Amanda is a westerner from the Midwest who has a dual major in International relations and journalism. She was scheduled to go to the Middle East as a missionary intern, but at the last minute was rerouted to Cambodia. She has been here a little over 8 months, and is planning to apply for full missionary status. Amanda has spent much of her time here documenting video and still images of the work on going in Cambodia. And she is a delight. She regaled us with her stories of learning the Khmer language which is quite difficult. Apparently what you do while traveling from place to place is practice your language skills with your tutor. And for a novice she is very good. So much so she negotiated a price for the other team at a store. She lives in an apartment not far from her office and is a blessing.
James – James is Cambodian and serves in a branch of the military. He is a Christian and takes his leave time to work with mission teams that come here. He spent his time off last week working with a predominantly female crew and taught them how to mix mortar and lay bricks. He also helped one of the team teach a song to the children of the village to sing at the dedication of the new church. He has tremendous responsibilities in the military, but feels his most significant responsibility is to serve God, and take the Gospel to neighboring countries like Thailand and Laos. James is a blessing.
Tara and Tola – Tara and Tola, a married Cambodian couple, work for the mission. They serve as translators and to a large degree chaperones. They work with the teams when they arrive, and essentially live with the team until they depart. Tara, whose name means star, will begin work on his MBA soon. Tola will start her MSW at the same time. It is their prayer that furthering their education will provide a new depth of skills to the Methodist church in Cambodia. Tola is helping Amanda with her Khmer language skills, and it is quite difficult to be in a conversation with them as the language slips back and forth. They are a blessing.
These are all thin places.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

And then you must laugh

After our amazing lunch, we began our journey to KampongThom. There we will be joining a team from First UMC Baton Rouge. They have been working here for a number of years building a church in this part of the country. And this Sunday it will be dedicated. So we will travel about six hours in a van to participate in this event. Similarities are continuous. Driving out of Phnom Penh is like driving out of Houston, the first hour of the journey is simply making it out of town. We have added another traveler with us for this part of our trip. Romey is the country director from the General Board of Global ministries, and formally served as the district superintendent of the area where the church is to be dedicated.
One of the striking things along the way was the flooding that was present. This is nearing the end of their rainy season and it has been a particularly harsh one. In addition, a dam on a river from Thailand into Cambodia has ruptured and much more water is following down from the north. A resourceful people, many Cambodians were taking the opportunity to fish in the flood waters. We stopped for a break in the trip, and were swarmed by beautiful young children selling fruit on the side of the road. Well mostly fruit, a couple were selling fried spiders. Big fried spiders. One young woman even had a living spider to prove that they were fresh spiders.
Once on our way, the conversation naturally turned to food. What would you expect? Eight Methodists in a van, we were going to talk about food. And I am not sure how to classify the conversation; it ranged from delightful to disgusting, even in the same breath. Two of the members of our group have never been on a mission previously. EVER. Taking new people on a mission is always a little dicey, but on a mission that includes 24 hour plane travel and a complete change of culture, that has the potential to become a nightmare. This is not the case here, however. This two folks are apparently willing and able to try anything. Well almost anything. First the conversation was about eating fried spiders, the accepted wisdom that once the first couple of legs were down, it was easy going. When compared to the taste chicken the topic naturally turned to frogs legs. From there the delicacy described was boiled fertilized duck eggs, which ultimately it was agreed that with the appropriate amounts of pepper sauce they would try them. Then one of the newbie’s asked the ultimate question. What about dog? She didn’t think she could eat dog. I couldn’t resist. Really, premature baby ducks were okay, but not a puppy. Where exactly in the animal kingdom do you draw the line? It can’t be with cuteness, because nothing is cuter than baby ducks. Is it with animals we have the potential to have a relationship with? We laughed. And laughed. But deep inside I think I finally understood those that are vegan.
On a day that traversed deep despair and pain to common laughter about what we would or wouldn’t agree to eat….
This is a thin place.

Oh the places you will go

What if some of the places you go are not pleasant places but the places of much pain and misery? What do these types of places have to tell us about ourselves, our roles as humans on this planet, and our Christian journey? These are the types of places our journey included today.
An escapable part of the Cambodian story is the years of genocide brought about during the regime of Pol Pot. The Dalai Lama has said that the Chinese government response to the Tibetan people brought the people into the understanding of the world. The systematic extermination of the Cambodian people by their own government essentially did the same for Cambodia. Our journey began at breakfast when the sixth member of our team, Sam, joined us. Sam is a Cambodian who survived the extermination and now pastors a UMC in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sam was housed in a camp in the northern part of the country, and literally escaped being killed because his name sounded like an Islamic name, and he was given unpleasant tasks to do. He told us that he became so angered by the actions of his captives that he often incited them to harm him so he would simply die. His anger did not stop there. He became so enraged, that the only thing he wanted to do was to escape, so he could die in another place. Ultimately he and his surviving family made it into Thailand, where journalists and aid workers would not believe the stories of atrocities that he told.
After breakfast we went to the Choeung Ek Genocide Center, which is the area known as the Killing Fields. Located about 30 minutes outside of Phnom Penh it is where the intellectuals and professionals were taken after interrogation and summarily executed. It is estimated that 2 million Cambodians were put to death here. This historical and memorial site is a government supported center, and remains a working recovery site. Remains are still being recovered, and the peoples clothing which was stripped off and buried still makes its way to the surface. The central point of the site is a Stupa, a traditional Buddhist memorial for the head. This beautiful structure has glass walls to permit you to see the horror that is within.
From there we traveled back into Phnom Penh to the Tuoi Sleng camp or S-21. Originally a high school, it was transformed into cells, some individual for torture and interrogation, while others were converted into 10 – 12 small holding cells, while others remained unchanged, but large numbers of people were crammed into them. The rooms have been left as they were, including the metal frame beds and shackles. One holding building was draped with barbed wire so that the desperate would not prematurely end their lives.
I was unable to complete the tour, and joined Sam under a Japroot tree where we talked of deep theological issues. What good could come out of these things? How has God used this to bring the Kingdom of God to Cambodia? What is our responsibility as Christians in the world to not permit this to happen in the future?
Despite the pain. Despite the ugliness.
This is a thin place.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Gate D-14 DFW International Airport

It is not often in the US that a person of Northern European descent stands out in a crowd. But when checking in for a Korean Air flight bound for Seoul, a Northern European is a bit distinctive. A Korean gentleman standing behind me in line asked me where I was going and I said Phnom Penh. He smiled then asked "are you a missionary?" And I responded that I was. He reached over and patted my shoulder and said "Bless you."

Making my way through security I met a woman going home to Vietnam and a young family going to Korea for their new daughter to meet her grandparents for the first time. At gate D-14 I met the remainder of my team and getting together for group photographs I asked my new Korean friend, Huen, to take our photograph. He agreed and then he and his wife joined us for our devotion. Huen related to us about his journey in Christianity. He had sustained many back injuries performing manual labor in the US and had become a person that sat with others in the hospital and prayed with them. So Huen offered a prayer in Korean, at gate D-14 in DFW International airport for us on our journey.

This is a thin place.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Thin places in Cambodia

Join me on this next phase of the Search for thin places, as I travel to Cambodia with a team of missionaries from the Louisiana Annual Conference. A thin place is considered one of those places where earth comes close to heaven and the veil between the two is lifted for a moment. I believe they are not located in any one place, but all around us. Often they are missed because of the demands of our everyday. And while my daily journey brings me near thin places, and even into thin places, I am sharing with you my travels to places that are extraordinary in the hopes that the revelation of that particular place helps us, helps me, to search better in my every day.

This journey takes us to Cambodia. The Kingdom of Cambodia is located in the southern portion of Southeast Asia, and bordered by Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the Gulf of Thailand. It is a lush, tropical country with the diversity of major cities such as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and ancient temple cities such as Angkor Wat. It has been discovered by both celebrities and tourists alike, but remains a largely young and impoverished country. Much of what we may know today about Cambodia is from the movie the “Killing Fields” which chronicled the plight of the Khmer people during the atrocities of the Pol Pot regime. Approximately 2 million people, including most of the professionals, of the country were executed in extermination camps by the military. This has resulted in an eminence brain drain and youthful population, with 50% of the population under 22 years of age. Sociologists claim this is of particular concern because countries with younger populations are more likely to engage in violence. Religion has been sought as a source of stability for the young population, hoping that mindfulness and loving kindness can reduce the risks of violence.

The team I travel with is part of this educational process. The five of us will be teaching Christian spiritual practices to lay members of the Methodist Church in Cambodia. Come along and join us on this mission.