Dear Friends and Family,
For pictures please tap on to:
http://www.missionreports.com/oct2004_update/
1103! We finished our annual
census of churches on Sept 19th, (please notice the raised
subscript, as this is definitely computer generated) for my
annual missions report due on Oct 1st, and we now have 1103
Churches (groups of 10 or more adults meeting weekly) in
Cambodia. I was hoping for 1000. In February we counted 883,
so I thought 1000 was a little optimistic. As it turned out,
1000 was a milestone that we breezed by without notice,
probably sometime in July, and then in looking back, we (the
church leaders) all realized, we wanted to make it special.
So, we are planning a big celebration for number 1000
sometime in November. That will be just a little short of
six years since Sou, Hannah and I moved to Cambodia and
began working with our one, since-closed, rather pathetic,
little church. How can this happen happen? Well, the
District Supervisor, from the area near our medical mission
last month, walked in with applications for 36 new churches
last week.
I get compliments, inquiries,
and criticisms, on a pretty regular basis. They usually are
some form of, “How do you do it?”, or from the more critical
perspective, “What you’re doing is all wrong!” One such
recent epistle came; “I wish to be removed from your mailing
list. I cannot understand or support the approach you are
using in Cambodia. It appears that such a model will create
dependency and is unsustainable in the long term. This is
not a method or ministry I can support philosophically or
financially.” So, after I deleted the grouch (I wonder when
he expects me to ‘crash and burn’?) from my list, I started
to think about both perspectives; the supportive
(thankfully, for my ego’s sake, they outnumber the ‘sour
grapes’ by about 10 to 1), and the negative. What is going
on here? I have tried to explain, but I honestly am not
satisfied with my feeble answers, as they always leave me
feeling a little hollow, incomplete. The truth being, I
don’t understand it. The only answer that my heart feels is
founded on bedrock is that it is simply a sovereign move of
God and I am the lucky instrument. But, as I looked at the
sum of what the critics have to say, it struck a common
chord, “dependency”. A charge to which I joyfully plead,
“GUILTY!” No! No! No! It’s not what you think. Do not hire
the pallbearers. It is not yet time for a funeral. Then it
struck me. That’s it! That’s why many missionaries fail or
founder. I feel like I finally touched bottom after years of
flailing in mush.
Allow me to explain.
SCREEEECH, that’s the sound of me, dragging my soap box out
of the closet. Let me climb up on this thing. Ready? Ok,
here goes. Almost every missions organization that I know of
beats their candidates comatose with the mantra, “Thou shall
not build dependency!” Fortunately, for Cambodia, I am a
slow learner, and slept through most of the video tapes we
were forced to watch on that subject during my orientation.
Not that there isn’t some validity in the concept, none of
us want the infamous “Rice Christians”. But, ‘dependency
avoidance’ has become such an obsession with most missions
groups it has paralyzed them. One of the first Christian
books translated into Cambodian was, “The Indigenous Church”
The basic tenant being anti-dependency. All churches must
be: 1) Self Supporting 2) Self Propagating, 3) Self
Governing. The lights went on! The problem with this
position is “SELF” explanatory. That’s it! Self! Most
missionaries never get beyond themselves, beyond their
abilities, beyond their finances, or beyond their faith,
they’re self-sufficient, not dependent on something beyond
themselves. I’m so far out on the limb I can’t even see the
trunk. Rather than being “Self Supporting” we should be “God
Dependent”. Rather than being “Self Propagating” we should
be “Christ Centered”, and rather than being “Self Governing”
we should be “Spirit Led”. I know, I know, the author had
some good points in that book, and I believe that there is
no church in Cambodia that is more governed by Cambodians,
and growing through the efforts of Spirit led Cambodians
than ours. The sore point is always money. Why is it always
about money? It has amazed me how missionaries can refuse to
give any financial help to a local pastor while they drive
around in their new Land Cruisers and live in their nice
villas. The fact is we pay our pastors less than almost any
church organization I know of. Some of them get nothing, and
some get $10 per month. It doesn’t even cover the motorbike
gas to go on their evangelistic circuits. Here is the funny
part. I never hear “World Vision” or “Compassion
International” criticized for ‘dependency building’. Why?
Well, they’re not the church! But, duuhh?? Wasn’t the church
instructed in the Bible to “remember the poor”? Do you
suppose that meant to ‘just think fondly’ of them?? And,
what about orphans, widows, and true religion in the book of
James, hmmm?? Seems to me that the work of World Vision and
Compassion needs to flow through to the church not
visa-versa. That’s what I like about our partners. They are
church focused. I know we, with their help, will put the
money to its intended use. SCREEEECH. I put it back.
Sermon’s over. Want to help?
http://www.foursquareorphans.org/
One of our guests this month
came to gather data for a business plan for a pet project of
mine. It has been on the shelf for about two years. I want
to build a ‘Theatrical and Restaurant Arts Training Center’.
You see we have 2500+ kids that are growing up, and those
that don’t go into ministry need other jobs. This should
make you ‘anti-dependency’ people happy. The Mission?? To
train and move post school age orphans and youth into
productive employment within the tourism trades, and bring
sustainable income into the Orphan Homes to reduce outside
dependence. Tah Daa!!! Hey! All I need is about $1,600,000.
Chough! Hack! Wheeze! I’m glad God has more faith than I do!
(You can
read about it.). Got some loose change?
http://www.warmblankets.org
Then we had a visit from a
group of high powered women (I mean that in the most
positive sense), mostly District Supervisor’s wives. These
women know how to get things done! They got new school
uniforms for more than 1000 kids, and took all kinds of
projects back home to add to the “To Do” list. You know
what? I think they’ll do it. You go girl!
We continue to be blessed
with hard working groups who come and labor to build
facilities for the orphans. Anna Blake, our “Teams
Specialist”, is almost never in Phnom Penh as she is
constantly on the move. Some of our early homes are having
roof problems. Seems like the skinflint that designed and
built them (I leave him un-named to protect the guilty and
avoid self embarrassment) put tin foil thick roofing on them
to reduce the cost. We now have about 6 homes with leaky
roofs – not good in the rainy season. Well, now we have one
less, thanks to Thousand Oaks Foursquare Church! Bless you
guys!
We have been encouraged by
the donation of funds ($10,000) to purchase a site for a
rice mill and storage facility in the heart of our primary
rice production area. May God bless the Christian Life
Center in Riverside, CA! Pastors Jack and Jane Lankhorst are
here now. We have also been given a new 350 ton rice bin,
(like those
pictured -- Way to go Warm Blankets!) which is in the
process of being erected. Also, we have received a new steel
Quonset building (40’ x 60’) to house the rice mill
(currently being shipped from the States). What we need now
is the actual mill. It is a complicated piece of machinery
and consists of about 8 separate machines all running off an
80hp diesel engine. It resembles an 1890’s factory from the
US with all the belts and shafts running the various
machines. (see
picture). The completion of this project is a vital step
in supplying both, rice for the orphans, and feed for the
livestock. This equipment would enable us to mill our own
rice, save the bran for animal feed, and utilize the hulls
as an energy source for cooking in nearby homes. The total
savings for us, when we have this in operation, would be
about $20-40,000 per year. During harvest we can purchase
rice for about $80 - $100 per ton. It mills out at about
70%, but 20% of that is bran which is used as animal feed
and costs us about $100 per ton to purchase. The milled rice
is selling in Phnom Penh right now for $257 per ton. You can
see that the savings would be substantial. A complete rice
mill, new, installed in our building, will cost us $19,500.
Hint! I don’t know if you have any resources for funding at
this time? But, I would greatly appreciate your prayers.
We are in the midst of
finishing the building of 10 new Church/homes (see
pictures). That will take us to 67 operating
church/homes with a capacity of around 3000 children. Yikes!
Thanks to International Cooperating Ministries. That means
we need sponsors for ten more homes (I just crawled a little
farther out on that limb). But, when that happens it means
400 more orphans will grow up in a loving family serving the
Lord. Thanks to Warm Blankets, Kids for the Kingdom and
Children of Promise, they carry the brunt of this burden.
All of you really should come and see this sometime.
Especially the skeptics! You really are welcome.
I
included
a poster that the government produced which
displays the integrated agriculture concept. We take it a
step further by confining the livestock and recycling the
manure for vegetable production. Food is our most expensive
item and we produce all we can. We received three containers
this month packed full of dried fruit, raisins, powdered
milk and nutrition bars from Gleanings for the Hungry, The
National Raisin Board, and Glad Tidings Church. Thanks!
That’ll do for this month!
Blessings!
Ted, Sou and Hannah,
Cambodia
