Personal Reflection on Trip to Cambodia

It's my attempt to write a personal reflection on my trip to Cambodia with 4 TTC friends. In order to make sense of it, I encourage you to read my two previous blog posts.
Trip to Cambodia part 1 and Trip to Cambodia part 2
Please pardon my English and please bear in mind that I'm only a 'rookie' in the world of Mission (This year is the first time I was directly exposed to mission trip or mission work and it's only short-term ones). Happy reading!

During our trip to Cambodia, we had a great opportunity to learn much regarding mission work in Cambodia. We met foreign missionaries, tentmakers, local pastors, staffs of international and local mission organization. I am grateful to be given a chance to interview them, discuss with them on the challenges or issues arise, as well as pray with them. Many inspiration and learning came through these interactions, which further my understanding on what mission is and how cross-cultural ministry is supposed to work.

Evangelism and mission: the rocky road of discipleship
Since the starting of the Mission and Evangelism class, I have encountered new concept and deeper understanding of mission. My perspective on mission used to be so narrow. For me, mission is quite identical with evangelism. I used to think that mission means going out to other parts of the world and share the Gospel to others, but this is definitely not what Jesus means in his Great Commandments (Matthew 28:19-20). Steven Hawthorne mentioned:
“the primary action word was ‘disciple.’ The other action words, ‘go... baptizing... and teaching’ were all commanded actions, but they each filled our part of what Jesus meant by the pivotal command: ‘Disciple all the people’... They (Great Commandment) were not mandated merely to expose people to the gospel. They were commissioned to bring about a result, a response, a global following of Jesus from every people.”[1]

John Piper take further the concept of mission into worship by saying: “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Mission exists because worship doesn’t.”[2] So, what is worship? Steven Hawthorne elaborate: “Worship takes place when people recognize who God is and offer public acknowledgement and freely approach God, personally offering face-to-face gratitude and day-to-day allegiance. Worship is genuine relational interaction with God.”[3] Therefore, mission is not equal to evangelism. Mission is discipleship, to make people follow Jesus, to live and to be like Jesus. In mission, it is expected that we bring people to experience the transformational power of the Gospel. It means that we want to see changes in their lives. Transformation in life is important as it will attract others to Jesus, and the result is multiplication instead of a linear growth.

From my conversation with several missionaries, I gain better understanding of the difference between evangelism and mission. Several missionaries like Jac (Harvest Inn) and Rev. Phi (Methodist School of Cambodia) mentioned to us how it is quite easy to ‘convert’ Cambodian, but to disciple them is still a big issue. Even the local pastors affirmed it. Many of them share the Gospel to others and when they invite the person to receive Christ he/she would agree easily to what they say and would pray the sinners’ prayer with them. In a church service, when the pastor called the congregation to receive Christ, many responded. The problem is, it is hard to say whether it is genuine or not. One of the local pastor mentioned that according to Cambodian culture, it is rude for them to say no to other, so sometimes they would say that they want to receive Christ just because they were afraid to offend the pastor! It is, of course, difficult (and impossible) to disciple people who are not genuinely received Christ as their Saviour and Lord.
The second reason of why discipleship is difficult is because their understanding of sin is distorted. It is difficult for them to stop sinning because they live in the standard of society. Some sin such as bribery; corruption; gambling; cheating in class, is considered as ‘culture’ in Cambodia. For Cambodian, doing those things is considered as totally acceptable because everybody else is doing it.
The third reason why spiritual formation takes very long and hard time in Cambodia is because of external factors. First, the demand of their profession to work long hours, even on Saturday and Sunday, makes it difficult for them to attend the worship service or to spend time in other activities that can help to build their spiritual life. Second, people consider Christianity as bad luck, so when a person admit that they became Christian, they were usually rejected or persecuted by people around them. It becomes a problem especially to the middle-upper class Cambodian as they don’t want to tarnish their reputation by admitting that they are Christian.

Upon reflecting on the situation, I came to a conclusion on the necessity of reading and studying the Bible for spiritual formation. As stated in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”, the Scripture function as a standard where the readers are made aware of what is wrong and right, what is sin and what is not. Furthermore, Scripture teaches us how to continually live in righteousness. It provides encouragements throughout difficult days in dealing with struggle, rejection and persecution. Some of the people we talked to also mention that it is not common for Christian in Cambodia to own Bible in their house. First, the Bible is relatively expensive. Secondly, there is high rate of illiteracy among Cambodian. For most Christian, the only time they can listen to the Word of God is during worship service on Sunday. In light of the situation, I think Cambodia needs more support in providing Bible and in radio ministry, which has been run wonderfully by TransWorld Radio.

The rise of tentmaking ministry: a tool of witness and discipleship
According to Ruth E. Siemens, tentmakers are:
“...mission-motivated Christians who support themselves in secular work as they do cross-cultural evangelism on the job and in free time. They may be business entrepreneurs, salaried professionals, paid employees, expenses-paid voluntary workers or Christians in professional exchange, funded research, internship or study abroad programs.”[4]

During our trip in Cambodia, we spent our time with several tentmakers such as Jac (owner of Harvest Inn and renting tuk tuk), Rev. Dr. Kev (owner of a Cambodian NGO named Tabitha Services), the Tee couple (owner of Eden Cafe). I personally saw the rising trend of tentmaking. This can be seen through Jacob and Rev. Lowe who initially came to Cambodia as missionaries supported by the church, but later running their own business. The Tees also just recently started their venture after running their orphanage for a couple of years.
From our conversation with Jac, I understand that tentmaking is an effective way of discipleship. As a boss, he is to give example to his staffs (mostly local Christian youths). This is in line with what Paul said said “...but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate” (2 Thes. 3:8-9), and through the working life he can teach biblical principles. For examples, he can teach them to work hard and to be honest in dealing with their client when they deliver their tuk tuk. He also teaches them on other life skills such as how to do financial planning, which means teaching them to save money (most locals does not see the need to save money as they never plan for the future) and not to have debt (most locals would borrow money and spend so much to look good especially when they need to attend function such as wedding).

Humanitarian ministry: giving the poor a new chance in life
The poor and the marginalized constitute a big portion of Cambodian society. Under Khmer Rouge regime many children were left without parents, many intellectuals were murdered and the country was left with tiny hope of the future. Today, social issues are still arising. Husbands would leave their families to earn a living in other city. There, they find other women and exposed to AIDS. They are either die or transmitted their wives at home. Hence, there are so many young women and kids abandoned.
I was touched to see many missionaries or mission organization carry out significant works that give focus to the poor (some of them in absolute poverty), the marginalized and the sick, just as Jesus gives particular emphasize of preaching the good news to them (Matt. 11:4-6, Mark 10: 17-20, Luk. 4:16-21, Luk. 6:20). Some of these organizations are Christian Medical Mission to Cambodia-Jeremiah Hope and Sihanouk Hospital, who provides free healthcare services, minor surgeries as well as major ones. Others are Place of Rescue, Care for Cambodia, and COSI/EWC who provide shelters for AIDS patients and their families, orphan kids, abandoned young women and the elderly. Most of them provide holistic ministry in which they provide almost everything from place to stay and food to free education/skills trainings. Some of this organization, such as Sihanouk Hospital, would even go the extent that they will create a system to carefully select that the fund/aid recipients are those who really cannot afford it.
Running orphanages is also a very good way to disciple Cambodian kids to live in God’s truth. Missionaries who run orphanages can teach them faith in Christ and nurture them. Providing them basic needs is a significant witness that opens way to the Gospel, and by living with them it is easier to nurture their faith. These orphanages are very important. They raise future leaders of Cambodia. When I see the future of Cambodia, I see hope.

Culture and contextualization: issues and challenges
With the bulk of foreign missionaries in Cambodia, culture and contextualization becomes the major issue. Foreign missionaries come to Cambodia, bring their culture with them and living hand-in-hand with the locals. There is a contact established between cultures. One might wonder what the appropriate role of foreign missionaries in culture change is. Don Richardson says, “The missionaries introduced culture change, but it was not arbitrary, nor was it imposed by force. The missionaries brought only changes required for New Testament ethics and for the survival of the people. Often the two requirements overlap.”[5]
During the trip to Cambodia, I saw many types of mission organizations which run each in its own distinctive way. Some of them, like Place of Rescue (Mar) and Care for Cambodia orphanage (the Tees), tried hard to maintain the Cambodian culture within their organization. At the Place of Rescue, Mar (Canadian) speaks with each of them in Khmer language. She also arranges the housing to be similar like the local houses and she let them to do everything on the floor, even when they eat or the kids do their homework, because that is their culture of the people before they stay at the Place of Rescue. At the Care for Cambodia orphanage, kids are sent to the local schools. But I observe a different environment at COSI. COSI is still quite strong with its Singapore culture. I notice it in the way they prepare their school curriculum. It is very well-planned, organized, and systematic.
Jac told us that there is a tendency where the children who are raised by the care of foreign missionaries or mission organization will have difficulties to integrate back to society once they finish their time in the orphanage because the way they were brought up is totally different with the way most of other kids brought up. There is a sense of cultural clash with others. During the presentation by COSI coordinator, I found out that several youths who graduated from COSI, after failing to get a job outside, came back to COSI to teach or to be its staffs. COSI is also currently building a farm with the hope that giving employment opportunities to its graduates as a farmer there. Some of COSI graduates work under other Singapore missionaries like Jac. I wonder whether they would be able to integrate back with the society or they will, within their whole life, only be able to identify themselves with Singapore people or culture only. It is definitely a concern that needs to be taken seriously. Charles Kraft says, “Christianity should be perceived as excitingly relevant to the problems people struggle with in their context.”[6], and here I am wondering: If they cannot even survive within their own society, how can they become ‘light and salt to the world’?
Other concerns regarding foreign missionaries also raised during our discussion in Siem Reap with several local pastors (thanks to Ps. Lu who arranged it for us). Those local pastors that I talked to mentioned that some foreign missionaries came with their own program and within their own timeframe and demand the locals to work hard to fulfil the purpose of the programs. The demand is sometimes too high and the locals are stressed out to achieve the target set. What is even worse is that there were cases where some foreign missionaries just left the local pastors when the timeframe given finished and the target was not achieved!
Some of the local pastors also complain on the way the foreign missionaries would ‘push’ their own culture in worshipping. Some of the missionaries would teach the locals ‘their way’ of worshipping. For example, the missionaries told the locals that they need to lift up their hands and speak loudly while praying, while, according the local pastor, Cambodians are relatively quiet people and are not used to lift up their hands when they worship as they are afraid that it will attract much attention. While writing this, I was reminded to one lesson in “Mission and Evangelism” class where the lecturer gave us a paper with a list of items (commands, practices, customs) and asked us to identify which items are essential to the church in every age and which are negotiable (may or may not be valid for the church in any given time or place). I think it is a very good exercise and a valuable learning especially for those who serve in a cross-cultural setting. They need to be able to differentiate the essentials with those which are not.

Indigenous church: empowering the locals
William Smalley defines indigenous church as
“a group of believers who live out their life, including their socialized Christian activity, in the patterns of the local society, and for whom any transformation of that society comes out of their felt needs under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and Scriptures... An indigenous church is precisely one in which the changes taking place under the guidance of the Holy Spirit meet the needs and fulfil the meanings of that society and not of any outside group.”[7]

Despite the drawbacks of foreign missionaries mentioned above, there are some success stories where foreign missionaries help the locals to ‘stand on their own feet’. Mar started the ministry in Preah Khet Melea Military Hospital by visiting AIDS patient there, sharing the Gospel to them and sometimes taking care of their needs. She has been encouraging the locals to join her and guiding them for several years on how to minister to the patients. Now, the ministry is run independently by the locals. When we visit the hospital, there were approximately 20 Cambodian Christians, men and women in their 40s and 50s, from different churches in Phnom Penh. Such a joy to see their ministry!

[1] Steven C. Hawthorne, “Mandate on the Mountain” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 4th ed. (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009), 128.
[2] John Piper, “Let the Nations Be Glad!” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 4th ed. (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009), 64.
[3] Steven C. Hawthorne, “The Story of His Glory” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 4th ed. (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009), 51.
[4] Ruth E. Siemens, “Tentmakers: Integrating Work and Witness” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 4th ed. (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009), 761.
[5] Don Richardson, “Do Missionaries Destroy Cultures?” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 4th ed. (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009), 488.
[6] Charles H. Kraft, “Culture, Worldview and Contextualization” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 4th ed. (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009), 404.
[7] William A. Smalley, “Cultural Implications of an Indigenous Church” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 4th ed. (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009), 498-499.