Trip to Cambodia (Group Report 2 - Siem Reap)

This post is a continuation of the previous post.

Siem Reap, 3 Oct – 7 Oct
Having said our farewells in Phnom Penh, we headed to Siem Reap by bus on 3 October. After a long 6 hour bus journey, we were received at our hotel by Rev. Lu who immediately put us to work interacting with English students at the evening classes that are conducted at his school. The Mustard Seed School was started in 2008 by Rev. Lu of the Methodist Church in Cambodia with aims to generate income while reaching out to students and their parents. The school currently operates out of a small two-storey building and has approximately 70 students. Lessons are run by Rev. Lu, his wife and another Christian lady. Ministry to the students is done through morning devotions and regular outreach programs. Rev. Lu envisions that the testimony of the students will impact their parents. At present, income generated from the school is used for maintenance, operations, salaries, and to operate Pathway Fellowship Cambodia.

Pathway Fellowship Cambodia is a Church planted soon after the Mustard Seed School was started. Church services are held on the second storey of the school building. Approximately 25 youths and adults attend church service regularly. Through conversations with Rev. Lu, we gained an understanding of the vision for starting the school. Rev. Lu had been seeking a way to effectively reach the community in a financially self-sustaining way, and in a way that was helpful to the community, and also brought him in close contact with the villagers. Education was the open door.

Conclusion
Despite the very meaningful experience, it was a really tiring trip for all of us. In fact, we were so tired after our three day ministry with Rev. Lu that we hardly had the energy to enjoy our visit to the Angkor Watt National Park on our last day in Cambodia. Over the course of 10 days, we had the opportunity to see many different models of mission work. Starting from the tent-making social entrepreneurial work of Harvest Inn and Rev. Dr. Kev to the traditional institutional mission efforts of MMS and OMF International, we saw missions in many different new perspectives. Our visit to the humble orphanage that the Tees run and the Place of Rescue that Mar runs also left indelible marks in our hearts of the deep humanitarian work that needs to be part of the Christian mission, a work that many non-Christian NGOs have unfortunately taken over from the Christians. Most importantly, spending those last three days with Rev. Lu reminded us that the end goal of missions should be self-sustaining indigenous work.

Our experience taught us the urgency of mission work. The deep need not just in Cambodia but across the world for God’s messengers to share a message of hope to those who are trapped in darkness both physically, socio-economically and spiritually. Our trip (or post- trip) has also taught us of our failure to pray for the missionaries and the mission field. In the process of putting this report together, we were once again reminded to live up to our promises to pray for the missionaries that we spent time with. A promise that we have too often forgotten. It is indeed our prayer that God will use us and the Gospel to bring hope, love and security to the people of Cambodia.