Dear Friends and Family,
All of a sudden the cheap
labor, and anything goes,
‘wild west’ capitalism, (if
you have money) in Cambodia,
has been discovered by the
Chinese. The fact is, you
cannot hire a bricklayer in
Cambodia. The price of
bricks has doubled since
January. You can stand on
any street corner, in any
sizeable town in Cambodia,
and see new construction
virtually anywhere you look.
Factories are popping up all
over the country, and
recruiters are actually
traveling the countryside
trying to lure young people,
especially young women, into
the garment factories. This
kind of activity was
unthinkable, even one year
ago, when a young girl from
the countryside would have
to pay six months wages, in
advance, just to get the
privilege of being hired for
a 60 hour per week job.
(Recruiters prefer the girls
because they are more
docile, and easier to
control, than the young men.
Girls don’t go on strike in
Cambodia.) Now, recruiters
are paying hiring bonuses!
What has happened? It is
hard to believe, but there
is actually a labor shortage
in China, with its 1.2
billion people. China has
become more sophisticated,
bureaucratic, and some rule
of law has come into play.
Factory owners are even
being held liable for
negligent injuries. Not yet
so in Cambodia. Cambodian
worker’s comprehension
insurance goes like this,
“You get hurt; you’re fired!
Stupid!” Many times I have
heard the expression that,
“Cambodia is like the China
of 25 years ago, but with
the internet.” It is nice to
know, with 3500 orphans who
will be entering the job
market in the next 18 years,
that unemployment is no
longer the major concern.
The frightening thing is
that the window of spiritual
hunger is being replaced by
dawning materialism. We must
push on before it closes.
Hey! All’s well that ends
well! And May ended well!
It’s just the first half
that was a little rough!
It’s been more than a month
since my surgeries, I’m
still sore, which makes me a
little ornery, Spud (my dog)
is getting fat and cocky (he
killed two more rats last
night), and there are spider
webs growing on the soapbox.
Soooo, “Here Spuddy! Just
hold still while I hook up
your leash. OK? Yeehaa!
Giddyup! Put your back into
it you lazy mutt!”
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecccccccch.
“. “Good dog! Now, since my
leaping days are behind me,
at least until these wounds
heal, kneel down and pretend
you are a foot stool. And
quit growling, bad dog!
Relax! I lost eight pounds!
Atta’ boy, made it!”
I’ve come to a conclusion;
Faith looks a lot like
desperation. We burn through
about $80,000 US per month
keeping kids alive, and have
no guaranteed income. May
did not start out well.
First of all, I was in the
hospital (If I was a cat I’d
be running on credit – my 9
lives were used up some time
ago), and then our monthly
funds rolled in. The total
was around $38,000 US, about
half what we need. I’m
thinking, “I guess we’ll
sure have to water the soup
this month!” Just in case
something got missed, I
called Craig Muller at Warm
Blankets, “You got anything
left in the cookie jar?”’
His answer was quick,
pleasant, but none-the-less
discouraging, “No, we’re
scrapping bottom.” I hung up
the phone, and went to see
Sou, “Pay out ½ rations to
every home. Tell them that
this may be all we have.
We’ll supplement them with
the food we raise, that
which we’ve received from
donors, and we’ll run the
rice mill overtime. Maybe we
can do some trading? Better
get all the kids to pray!”
What we’d experienced was a
convergence of bad luck, or,
more likely, the devil’s
mucking up the works. Last
year, I managed to offend a
long term donor, by
undiplomatically stating
that, “I don’t see kicking
down brothel doors as a
valid Christian ministry”.
(Can you imagine that? Me?
Offensive? Perish the
thought!) That cost us
support for about 7 homes,
but we scrambled, and got
them covered, and to the
donor’s credit, they gave us
plenty of notice. The
director of another major
donor organization made a
“career change”, and alas!
They were a one donor driven
support group. After this
donor’s friend, the former
director, switched careers,
the donor pulled his marbles
out of the game. Scratch
another seven homes. Then a
wonderful brother, who
supports 10-12 homes,
decided after heart surgery,
at his doctor’s advice, to
sell his business. The
problem is; you don’t sell a
three-billion dollar
business like you’d sell a
house. The Security Exchange
Commission gets involved,
political pressure from
unscrupulous business rivals
gum up the works, and all of
a sudden, assets are frozen,
and a multi-millionaire has
trouble buying groceries.
Scratch support for another
dozen homes for several
months. (This really is a
devilish attack against a
man of God, I won’t mention
his name, but please stop
reading for a moment, and
pray for a release of this
bondage) Not all the news
was bad, we’ve been picking
up new support at the rate
of three to four new
sponsors per month, but
we’ve also been opening new
homes, so “Comfortably
bleak” seems an appropriate
description of my demeanor
during the first half of
May.
In a way, this is not
unusual. (That’s why I said
‘comfortably’.) Every month
has its challenges. We’ve
always been under pressure,
but this time the pinch was
extreme. About three days
after we started to pray, I
got an email from a church
in West Virginia, “Some
people in our church want to
donate a large gift
($36,500) toward an orphan
home in Cambodia”. I asked
if we could dip into that to
stay the storm, and they
readily agreed. A couple of
days later a group of
growers (vineyards and
fruit) and dairy men
(several thousand cow herds)
from central California,
that I’d met over a year
ago, through Gleanings for
the Hungry, sent $15,000 out
of the blue. Then, a 40’
container of nutritious food
arrived. I was traveling to
the International Church
Convention, and decided to
stop and see my friend Robby
Booth (He was serving his
last Sunday as an interim
pastor for a church in the
Los Angeles area) He
graciously put me on the
platform. $8000 was raised
along with a pledge to
sponsor a home. I went to
meet with the growers and
dairymen, they didn’t even
take an offering and raised
another $6000, and spoke of
trying for $10,000 per
month. (That wouldn’t hurt!)
I stopped to thank the WV
church, and more help came
in. Warm Blankets brought us
a couple of new donors. Now,
I’m back in Cambodia, the
bills are paid, and we are
getting ready for the next
round. So, what’s that got
to do with faith?
The truth is, I do live in a
state of continual
desperation, but if this
doesn’t sound like a total
contradiction, I am not in
panic. I have grown used to
this, in fact I am grateful
for it, because it drives me
into the arms of God. You
see, I actually expect God
to show up. I am so
desperate to be desperate,
that I’d be desperate to be
desperate, if I wasn’t
desperate. Another
conclusion; Living by faith
is not fun! I find myself so
far out over my head that if
I quit paddling I’d hit the
Titanic before I touched
bottom, but honestly, I
believe, if God has asked
you to do something, you’re
probably in over your head,
or you really aren’t living
by faith, because, if you
can do it alone, you don’t
really need God. We actually
finished May with a couple
of dollars left. PTL! Here
comes June! Almost eight
years and we haven’t missed
a meal yet. I believe that
Hudson Taylor said, “God’s
work, done God’s way, will
not lack God’s provision.”
The trick is figuring out
what He wants you to do, and
how He wants it done. Don’t
expect everyone to like it!
Enough of this! Back Spud!
Church growth continues,
especially in the northeast,
Peter and several
supervisors returned from
Mondalkiri and Rattanakiri
Provinces greatly encouraged
by the new churches started.
We just received permission
to apply for 10 more church
homes. I know it seems
crazy, but, “Never say whoa
in the pull!” Right?
http://www.missionreports.com/kralia_dedication
Life Pacific University has
a team here (pictures next
month). Ryan Taggart, our
soon to depart medical
director, and our two, full
time, Cambodian doctors
finished a vitamin
assessment.
http://www.missionreports.com/vitamin_assessment
Our Cambodian dental workers
stay busy!
http://www.missionreports.com/dental_ratanakiri_may_2006
Hannah Joy, our youngest
daughter, graduated from The
International School of
Phnom Penh with her
International Bachelorate
Degree. This fall she will
begin as a freshman at Biola
University in California
(thank God for some generous
grants) to begin her studies
to become a physical
therapist.
http://www.missionreports.com/hannah_graduate
And yes!! It is beginning to
rain; rice is being planted
in some areas! It’s my
favorite time of year!
God bless you all. May you
have a wonderful June!
The ex-patriot specks on a
God sized Cambodian church.
Ted, Sou and Hannah Olbrich,
Anna Blake and Ryan Taggart
