Dear Friends and Family,
Some things just don’t make much sense or,
maybe, “Any port in a storm”, may explain how
Sou and I got involved in leading a marriage
seminar for about 25 newly married pastoral
couples. I began by explaining that; “Sou and I
have been through about every marriage
difficulty known to man, that far from the
idyllic couple that never had a harsh word in 35
years of marriage, we’re lucky if we can go
three days without a spat. We call it the “Clash
of giftings”. Now, the miracle is; that after 35
years, we are still together. So, let me ask you
a question, “If you are going on a cruise across
the ocean would you rather travel with a captain
who has always had journeys with smooth sailing
or a captain who’s been attacked by pirates,
dodged icebergs and weathered hurricanes?” They
all chose the later, so, I added, “Maybe you do
have the right couple to lead you?” The idea for
the seminar came about as several couples were
on the verge of splitting up. Peter was
desperate. I was reluctant, but he prevailed. It
came off to rave reviews, now every pastor in
Cambodia is clamoring for “Ma and Pa’s marriage
course”, go figure! Me? I’m trying to figure out
how to get out of it. But, I may have to
acquiesce as I just caught the most endangered
couple smooching in the back office. Hey, you
can’t argue with success! I joked one time with
a US pastor that; “Sou and I have the perfect
marriage. When we married we saved two other
people from living miserable lives.” I was JUST
KIDDING! HONEST!! “Sou put down that ball bat! I
repent!” Whack! “Ouch!” Anyway, here it is: “The
Ma and Pa Marriage Show”
We have really hit our stride with the garment
factory workers. Every week about a dozen have
been coming to the Lord, just at the Cham Chao
Church. We have been trying to figure out how to
work in multiple services and will probably opt
for an afternoon service with the focus on the
factory workers. We are applying for a grant
that will complement funds already committed to
build a dormitory to allow us to train 300
evangelists that currently work in factories. We
feel the impact will nothing short of
revolutionary.
http://www.missionreports.com/chomchaochurchservice
What do orphan care, pigs, fish, car repair,
rice milling, tractor production, furniture
manufacturing, vegetable raising, weaving and
traditional dance have to do with missions? Some
people complain that we look like a development
organization not a mission movement. One
“Missions expert” came, looked, went back and
reported to a large church that we were not a
church planting movement we were an orphan care
organization. We lost their support. But, ok,
call us what you will we still planted more
churches than any other organization in the
history of Cambodia. It’s like that ridiculous
mantra, “Thou shall not build dependency!” or
the brainless appeal, “Don’t do anything to help
people materially because, they will come to
Christ for the wrong reasons!” Umm Hmm is that
why Jesus multiplied loves and fishes? There is
an old saying, “Feed a man a fish and you feed
him one meal, teach him how to fish and you feed
him for a lifetime”. Well, they missed it,
because what happens when the rivers are fished
out?? Better to teach a man how to raise fish
then he can feed a entire village, make some
money, and build the economy. So, that’s why we
do all of the above things and more, to help the
people, which helps develop the country and
demonstrates the love of Christ in practical
ways. And, most importantly, whether experts
agree or not, it builds the church.
Warm Blankets Orphan Care International, headed
by Craig Muller, has been our primary funding
partner for years. They provide at least $60,000
per month to feed, clothe, and care for the
orphans and widows of Cambodia. They almost
never get any glory for their sacrificial giving
and now are sending one of their key people,
Jamie Gonzoles, to help us out in Cambodia. I
had the privilege of leading Jamie to Christ
some time ago. Jamie read about Jesus’ request
to the ‘Rich Young Ruler’ and decided to go and
sell everything. She is a US army veteran and
will be very valuable to us. Jamie is still
trying to raise support. Warm Blankets maintains
all the websites for the homes and is wholly
dedicated to the Christ centered care of
orphans. Please don’t forget them in your
prayers.
http://www.warmblankets.org We are
anticipating another helper from Church on the
Way in the person of Emily Plater. Please pray
for these young women.
We received approval for eleven more church
homes from our partners at ICM. That will put us
right at 100 church/orphan homes for Cambodia.
Talk about dependency? I’ve gotta be nuts! We
dedicated one this month, have three more in
operation, but the dedications are postponed
until the rains slow down. Most dirt roads in
Cambodia, and that’s most of the roads, are
impassible without a 4X4 and a cable winch. I
put on new ball joints, all new suspension
bushings, 6 new shock absorbers, 4 new springs,
and repaired the 4X4 drive after my last outing
of a few days ago. We keep patching up our aging
fleet. Our newest vehicle is ten years old. Mine
has 240,000 hard kilometers on it. But we buy
wrecks and rebuild them. The best buys are cars
that people died in because the Cambodian’s are
afraid of the ghosts. Mine was purchased after
being rolled over multiple times killing three
passengers. That was four years ago, and I’m
still driving it. Hint: We really need some
newer vehicles.
There was a lot of practical love demonstrated
this month. We had four work teams and they were
all fantastic! We had Lutheran’s, Independents
and Foursquare and loved them all. I only saw a
few of them, but Anna spent all her time in the
countryside leading the teams in building
cafeterias, security fences, walkways and roads.
We honestly could not survive without the teams.
Thanks! You will never know the good you’ve done
this side of heaven but it is significant. We
hope you will all sponsor another church/home.
That is still our greatest need.
http://www.missionreports.com/imm_mts2006
http://www.missionreports.com/hope_chapel06
http://www.missionreports.com/lighthouse_jul06
Pastors are hungry for training, and thanks to a
Foursquare Foundation grant, about 135 trainers
come to Phnom Penh every month to be trained to
go and train about 20-25 more. The effect is
phenomenal. We are also training musicians. We
put out a notice for those that wanted training
to apply. We were flooded. So many applied we
had to turn many away and still wound up with
more than 80 students when we planned for 50.
Very few things bring vitality to a new church
than an anointed worship leader with a keyboard.
We realize that the musical expertise is the
minor element in excellent worship so most of
the training is spiritual.
http://www.missionreports.com/pastoral_training2006/july
On a personal note we took Hannah back to the US
in July so she can begin her studies at BIOLA
University in California. She is anxious to get
started, and Sou and I are trying to figure out,
after almost 36 years with kids in the house,
how to be empty nesters, but somehow, 3500 kids
calling us “Pa Thom” and “Ma Thom”(Big Daddy and
Big Mama, Sou’s not sure she likes that title)
every time we venture out seems to fill the
void.
We are working on another great month. Hope you
are as well!
Blessings!
Ted & Sou Olbrich,
Anna Blake,
Cambodia
