First day at work

We made it to Svay Pak this morning. The village is every bit as it was described, a few deep contrasts here and there but overall is extreme poverty and lots of work to do. We are here for a reason and I praise God for it.

My sanctuary gmail account is not working so far, unfortunately, and I have not been able to read any message sent there, but I thank you for your prayers.

Pablo Angulo

First work day

Karol Boschung - March 15

Today was our first day working at the Sanctuary in Svay Pak - what we actually came out to do. It was, overall, a good day of work. It was, as expected, hot and sweaty work - but it felt great to be bringing the light and the love of God to this place!

Our day started with some frustration and confusion - the contractor who was supposed to do the construction work had not finished yet, and the plastering, grouting, grinding and sweeping got in the way and limited what we could do and where we could work. We're not sure when they'll be gone, but we'll just have to work around that - God has a plan! Nevertheless, we got some good work in, mostly sealing and priming places that will be painted soon. We then ate an absolutely fabulous lunch at Rahab's house (the previous project that Fairview Presbyterian had worked on two years ago), made by the local pastor's (Pastor Chanta) wife. One word: delicious! One more: very.

Throughout the day, we were watched by various Cambodians as we worked - they often simply stood there and watched, but they also had a tendency to break into mad bouts of laughter at something one (or all, I have no idea) of us was doing. They seemed to find me especially hilarious. At one point, they entered the room to find me lying on the floor doing a bit of precision painting. They immediately convulsed in laughter, and one of them even brought a younger boy in to look at the crazy barang. Another time, as we were leaving, I was surrouded by about 5 Cambodian men laughing and jabbering away in Khmer. One of them grabbed my hand and laughed, while another pointed to his nose by way of explanation. Apparently, I found out afterwards, my nose, according to Khmer standards, is really very bizarre!

On a more sobering note, it's interesting to look at Svay Pak and consider the fact that this seemingly normal, poor Southeast Asian village is a world center of human trafficking and child prostitution. From what I have seen, you would not know this just from looking at it. Nevertheless, now that I do know it, it is a constant reality. While painting, I often looked out the window and saw children playing or sitting or running along the road - it is a sad fact when you then have to think "Will this child be sold tonight?" Yet it is also joyful and precious knowledge that God is inbreaking his kingdom here in this Heart of Darkness, and by all reports, doing this in a mighty way. I am privileged to be a part of that! I think I speak for the team when I say I want this trip and our lives to be like this:

Now the LORD said to Abram "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.... So Abram went, as the LORD had told him...Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. - Gen 12

So Abram went (leaving behind most everything). At seventy-five. No exegesis needed - that's remarkable.

While I've only been here for around 36 hours, it feels like a lot longer. As Grant told me: "you can fit a lot into Cambodia time!". I also will fit some sleep in there!

jum reap leah

-KB

Sunday - FIsh Amok

This message was written for Sunday March 14th but lost it at the same time I was loosing my Sanctuary gmail account. My apologies.

We arrived safely in Phnom Penh around noon and after checking we went to catch a quick glimpse of this beautiful country who knows a thing or two on tragedy, blood shed and human nature.

At night, for dinner I was quick to choose Fish Amok, one of Cambodia's cusine specialties. I have heard about it so much (part of it courtesy of Toph Marshall) that it was only logical to me to give it a try. Well... it was worth it, so worth it that to this day I have tried it twice (the 1st better than the 2nd) and even though I have no plans to break Toph's record I still want to try some other versions, given the opportunity.

Anyway, with this posting I am caught up and ready for more.

Reminder: my Sanctuary gmail account is not working.

"The lord is my shepperd, I lack nothing"

Pablo Angulo

Tomorrow...Svay Pak

So we're in Phnom Penh. We had a great flight with all of us getting
some sleep but I confess the travel has caught up with me. It is just
8:20 and I am SO TIRED.

No sooner had we arrived than Brian had Kit and I being interviewed by
Cheryl Webber as an update to the story on Rahab's House. Then we
quickly settled into our rooms and it was off to Toul Sleng for the
crash course on Cambodia's painful history.

We spent some time going over details for the next two weeks. We were
told there are 48 rooms in The Sanctuary - there is a lot to do.

Back to Svay Pak tomorrow...

I promise to write more when I am a little more lucid.

Grant

First Impressions

I just arrived in Phnom Penh, and after being warmly greeted by Brian
McConaghy and Beth Davis-Lauer of Ratanak, am sitting in my hotel
room.

Some thoughts:
- it is HOT! I knew in advance that it was going to be hot and humid,
but... it's hot! ... and humid!
- Southeast Asia loves their motorcycles. We were driven to the hotel
in a van and there were huge flotillas of motorcycles and mopeds and
everything in between, weaving in and out of traffic. I've only seen
three people on one moto so far, but I know from stories and previous
experience that that number can be much larger!
- Traffic rules are guidelines - malleable guidelines.
- Apparently there is not a universal set of rules for crossing the
street. In Vancouver, you wait for a gap and then dash accross. Here
in Phnom Penh, you look for a small gap then calmy meander accross,
traffic whizzing past on either side. The person crossing the street
takes a small island of calm with them, as traffic shifts around them.
I had it put to me this way: "Well, when they see a concrete post,
they won't drive into a concrete post. So when they see you, they
won't drive into you!"... OK.
- The Khmer Rouge genocide has profoundly marked this country, and
everyone in it. I got to talking with a friendly Khmer man in Taipei
airport - he was a Calgarian, but had quite the backstory. He was
returning to Cambodia to visit the few members of his extended family
that had survived Pol Pot; both his parents and many close family
members had been killed and he had only fairly distant relatives left.
He also spoke openly to me about escaping to Vietnam and coming to
Canada as a refugee with the Boat People, and how he came to Canada
and worked in a coal mine. I think it's telling that the first
Cambodian I met had a story like this. While this backstory may seem
remarkable to us, I get the feeling that only the good parts of it are
really extra-ordinary.
- That having been said, I'm excited! I'm excited to see and
experience new things, but I am am mostly excited to serve God and
these people.

-KB

Edit and addition:
It's time I bed down for the night (5:30 AM wakeup call!) but I have a
few more thoughts. After I finished typing out that last paragraph, we
visited Toul Slang Prison/Genocide Museum. I don't think I do those
who suffered in either WWII or the Cambodian civil war an injustice in
calling it the Auschwitz of Cambodia. Formerly a highschool, this
complex in the middle of Phnom Penh was converted into a death camp
when the Khmer Rouge took over. People estimate that 12-18000 people
went through Toul Slang. We know of only 7 survivors. This horrible
place was a startling reminder of the harsh truth of Cambodia's recent
history. It was still in suprisingly good (if that is the right word)
shape: there were blood splatters on the ceiling, roughly mortared
brick cell walls, and barbed wire fences. It was absolutely shocking -
a sobering introduction to Cambodia.

And yet. If that was all, it would be depressing. But God works even
though this. The former superindendant of Toul Slang, Duch, currently
in a huge national war crimes trial, is, startlingly, amazingly, a
FORGIVEN brother in Christ. He has plead guilty to all charges and
made abundantly clear that he is willing to face the penalty. Even
greater, in a trial covered by the national media, he has publicly
professed faith in Jesus and his forgiveness. Wow. In a country which
needs forgiveness in a way we cannot even understand, forgiveness is
being preached and debated on national airwaves!

This story is only the most high-profile of many that are around. The
forgiveness shown here by Christ is, to be honest, scary! This
instance in particular brings out the depth of what forgiveness
actually means - talk about "mighty to save!". We'd do well to think
about that.

I think this ends on the same note as it did last time I closed the
laptop: I'm excited!

-KB