Vision for a Country, Horror, Beatles, and a Sweat Box.

Final Day in Cambodia.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. This documents my last day in Southeast Asia, and I am writing in the Tokyo airport with no sleep in the last 30hrs....so forgive my writing.

Today we had a relaxed breakfast with Pyneath (country director in Cambodia) and talked more about the future of Young Life in Cambodia. Please pray for this man. He has carried the weight of the ministry on his shoulders for 11 years and he is very tired. It is amazing to hear him talk about his vision for the country (Young Life centers in each province, a work that is completely sustainable without foreign resources, and changing the Christian culture in his country from one that only takes, to one that gives) and to know that it is absolutely possible with his leadership. Please pray that the Lord would give him rest over a sabbatical in 2010 and renew his heart and soul. Pray for Clif and is his leadership and decerment with Pyneath. Pray for the finances in Cambodia. It a has been funded by a few large donors and those resources are drying up. We need monthly donors that would own a center, a staff person, a computer lab. More on that on my final...maybe you would be one.

After breakfast Pyneath took us to the Genocide Museum. I had certainly heard what happened here in Cambodia between 1975-1979, but did not know the details. Basically, a radical ultra communist rebel group called teh Kehmer Rouge led by Pol Pot took over the country on April 17th, 1975. Within a few hours they began the systematic emptying of every city in the country. Litterally millions of people were displaced. The goal, a whole new society where everyone was equal and worked the land. Within a few days they began to execute and imprision anyone who was educated: doctors, teachers, lawyers, government officials, and more. Not long after that it became an extermination of a population where anyone was killed, babies, elderly, etc. In 1,000 days it is estimated that 3 million people were killed. We walked through room after room that was filled with pictures (mug shots, if you will) of the victims. It was overwhelming to see the pictures, see the prison where many were held, tortured, and killed. There was a stack of old clothes that was just a mountain. We also had the chance to walk the Killing Fields. After the regime was ousted farmers around this plot of land began to notice a stench. It was the decaying bodies of thousands of people. As we walked there were still pieces of bone and clothing on the ground from 30 years ago. It was heartbreaking. They call it here ‘The Murder of a Gentle Land’ which sent the country back into the stone age. Pyneath told us that in the 1960's Cambodia was called the "jewel of Asia." Different countries came to them to see how to build a prosperous society. After Pol Pot they had to basically start over, because all the people who were educated had be killed. (picture above is a up close of the bone monument, picture in full below. Picture below of clothes and a bone still on ground, as well as picture of mass graves. I was sick after this experience.

After checking out of our hotel we ventured to the Central Market for one final assault on our senses. I have been to a couple of third world countries, but never had a seen so many merchants, packed so closely together selling everything from purses and scarves to spices and really large beetles (if I am not mistaken people eat them, picture below). We shopped and bargained and basically did an hour of the tourist gig. One piece of advice if you are traveling to Cambodia - go to the restroom before you go to the Central Market.

We then decided to get haircuts. We drove to a part of the city that looks like the rest to outside eyes - lots of people and shops lining the street. We walked into a hot and humid "hair salon" to find 5 people waiting for us. We were pumped. Unfortunately, we found out after I took the lad and the guy had started to cut my hair, but we found out only this guy cut hair. So Pyneath, Clif and Rob decided to see if there was another barber close, leaving me alone...fun. Pyneath remembered that his second cousin was a hair stylist, so he called his mom and found out that she was just doors down. The other guys walked in to be greeted by a nice air-conditioned salons. So, while I was in the small Sauna hot box they were enjoying a spacious air-conditioned environment. I am not sure why there were extra people in my barber shop staring at me, but by the end I was soaking wet from sweat. I was so mad when I walked in the door dripping in sweat to see Rob getting his head massaged after a comfortable air-conditioned hair cut. Fortunately for me they gave me the shampoo treatment like Rob. Total cost for three haircuts and for shampoos - $10. I am ruined. Every time I walk into SuperCuts from now on I will say 'three dollar for hair cut and 5min head massage'?

Finally, on our way to the airport we stopped by the third and final Young Life Center. We should not have been surprised at what we found - three classrooms of kids being taught English, a packed computer lab and a couple of kids hanging out practicing the guitar. (notice what the student is practicing in English..Blind Bartemous). It truly is an incredible work that God is doing in Cambodia through faithful disciples living out the call of 2 Timothy 2:2, "And these things that you have heard me say in front of many witnesses entrust to reliable men (and women) who will also be qualified to teach others."

Frog Legs, incredible ministry, scooters and a goat!

Cambodia Day 2: (if you are still with me in reading this blog I am impressed, however I get the feeling I am just writing for me!! This will be a longer one as it was a big day)

Today started well and ended weird. We met for breakfast with Pyneath. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and sharing of our lives. Pyneath, who has been on staff for 10 years here in Cambodia, is a remarkable man. Cambodia is the #1 country in the world for NGO’s. (non-government organizations). World Vision, for example, has 1000 staff people here, AIDS organizations, child labor, the list is endless. This country received so much money and support post Khmer Rouge regime that it became and still is almost overrun by these organizations. Pyneath and his staff of 11 operate off a budget of $68,000 a year. The largest pay check is $450 a month. They have 4 ‘centers’, which I will describe below and 3 computer labs at school which I will also describe below. They literally minister to the whole kid, spiritually, life skills, and physically, and they do this with 1000’s of kids. The sad thing here is that different organizations steal the great leaders from each other by simply offering more money. Pyneath has been offered more jobs than he can count and his staff are continually solicited. He has seen many pastors and friends crumble under the weight of money and the traps it brings to a poor population when there is no accountability. Yes, YL Cambodia is supported from the United States but the long term vision is for Cambodians to be self supporting. That was part of the purpose of my visit, to start thinking with the staff here about sustainability from Cambodian donors.

After a full de-brief on the staff, budget, and Pyneath’s life over breakfast we headed to our most adventurous lunch. We ordered frog legs and a few dishes that Pyneath ordered that we didn’t understand. All was great, but when we were about done, while I was chewing on a piece of meat that seemed a little ‘chewy’, Rob asked what it was…Chicken Stomach. I didn’t eat anymore for lunch. (frog leg above)

We then headed to one of the computer labs that Young Life has set up in a local school. This is a tremendous strategy for reaching kids here. Most schools can not afford nor have the educated teachers to get computer training for kids. Young Life offered to outfit, set up, and staff a 20 to 30 station computer labs and many schools here in Phom Phen (largest city in Cambodia). It cost us about 12K to buy all the computers and get the room set up. Then the YL leaders and staff are the teachers. All this usually happens before and after school (6am to 9am), and then 3pm to 6pm. They have room for 30, but had 300 on the waiting list. The amazing thing is the curriculum. They are having kids do all English. So they do word, graphic design, formatting etc. The lessons however are bible versus. The graphic design is directions to the Young Life Centers they have here. The formatting is an organizational chart of the YL leaders and their phone numbers. It was amazing. Pictures below.

We then went to a Young Life Center. These are buildings that YL leases (3000 sq ft for $500 a month), and the others are cheaper. They are not the houses that we think of though. Think very clean, lots of plants, lots of joy, but a slum. (see alley where the house is below). Here they have Young Life club, one of the staff lives, they have an office and about 3 to 6 class rooms. Daily they teach multiple levels of English to 100’s of kids. It was fun to jump in and start teaching. They laughed a lot at me, but loved repeating everything I said.

We decided to take the whole staff out to an authentic Cambodian meal (ya, I thought the same thing you just thought…oh boy). We walked outside and all the leaders jumped on their scooters. Sope, one of the senior staff told me to get on the back of his. (below is a picture of us both). We drove through the streets of Phom Pen avoiding cars and scaring the life out of me. There were a about 10 scooters all going to the restaurant when all of a sudden Sope pulled over on the side of the road. I asked what he was doing when just then some guy started filling up the tires with air. Sope turned and said that I was too big to ride on his scooter. Nice. That was a good start to an interesting dinner.

Dinner consisted of fresh shrimp, more frog legs and for the main course..Goat Soup. Goat livers and lots of goat. I was done with adventurous Thai food.

What a day…tired and more tomorrow.

We are on the stretch home…

Jamie

Cambodia – Day 1

What a day and what a difference 130 miles can make. We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Phom Penh, Cambodia on a puddle jumper. It is hard to imagine how different these countries are from one another in dialect and culture. We were also blown away by going from a country that had no history of incarnational ministry to one that has had Young Life for 10 years.

We were greeted by Sohka and Rita. Rita was led to Christ by Sohka who was led to Christ by Sope who was lead to Christ by Penhyet, the man who started Young Life in Cambodia and is now the National Director. I wish I could express the joy of seeing just a small piece of God’s legacy here in Cambodia.

Tomorrow we will spend the day with Penhyet and see more of the ministry. We will also go to the Genocide Museum, and get a first hand account of what happened to this country when 3 million people were killed from 1975 and 1979. I will admit that I am not looking forward to this, but to understand this culture we have to understand this horror….. if that is possible.

I had a few moments today that were a little funny…hope you enjoy..

On our way into our hotel I hit a step, broke my favorite pair of sandals while falling into the lobby. Every time we walk into the hotel the reception desk staff look at me and start chuckling.

When we arrived in our room we found out we could have internet service. The Hotel said they would send someone up with a chord. The guy arrived empty handed. I started to move the night stand to look for the connection point. While I was looking for it the guy proceeded to crawl out the window, reach under the air conditioner and yank out an internet chord. All I saw was his legs dangling out of a 5th story window. With my mouth open, he jumped back in, handed the cord to me and said, “Internet.” It was awesome. I thought, I could have done that. Then I thought again, no it is worth it to have him come up here to dangle out the window for the $6 instead of me.

We went to meet the Young Life leaders to go out to dinner. We were standing in the courtyard of one of the Young Life centers introducing ourselves. When I introduced myself “Hi, my name is Jamie” everyone started laughing. Apparently, they just got a new puppy and they named him…Jamie. Below a photo of the boys together.

We went to BB World for dinner with Penhyet and his staff. BB World is the Cambodian McDonalds. I have gotten a bit picky about my eating and don’t eat hamburgers, fries, ice cream or drink coke or any caffeine (I know weird). To top it off the BBQ sandwich I did order never came. Finally, Penhyet told me to eat the hamburger that was placed in front of me. Reluctantly, I ate it, only to find out that I had just eaten one of the leader’s hamburger. At that point I tried to buy the young man everything on the menu, but he was fine with the extra fried chicken that was on the table. I asked Penhyet a few minutes later how often he took the leaders out like this and he said he does it as often as he could…every six months…gotta love stealing an every 6 month hamburger.

This country is amazing, mainly because of the people and especially the Young Life leaders we have spent time with. Great community and amazing amount of ministry happening. I can’t wait to see it all first hand tomorrow.

Carrot Omelets & the Start of Young Life in Vietnam

Day 4 Saigon (but sending from Cambodia because of security of pictures and names)

Friends

What a day. We started the day as usually going to the 11th floor for our steady diet of fruit and carrot omelet. The first day we arrived in Vietnam we were surprised when the waiter asked if we would like omelets. "Omelets? Of course we want omelets!" Each of us ordered a different kind, only to be served an omelet with pieces of shredded carrot in it. It has been the same everyday, we order an elaborate omelet with our young waiter saying, "yes, avocado...yes, bacon...yes, tomato" and for him to return with a carrot omelet...until today. Today something clicked, and we actually received a real omelet with bacon, peppers, cheese and tomatoes. It was wonderful We should have known that it was going to be a good day!

We rolled into the church at 8:30am for training. We began the day by talking about the "world of kids" in Vietnam. We put them in groups and had them discuss the issues that kids deal with in Vietnam, where we can find kids hanging out and how we might enter their world. The light bulbs started to come on. The leaders in the room began to realize that there are implications to befriending kids outside the church. How do we meet them? How do we start conversations with kids that we don't know? What do we do when the use bad language or try to leave a meeting? They started to understand that these are the very teens we want.  They were really starting to think that this is something they could do with kids in their country. Now, you have to remember that this is a communist country that persecutes people who share the love of Jesus with others. Yet, here we were with 50 of our new friends dreaming of a day when we would be in heaven with our young friends. A few ideas were: Rice fields, factories, coffee shops, soccer fields, long bus rides, and street corners.

We closed our training session by asking them what they were going to take away from this time together:
"I learned what it means to really enter the world of non-believers and love them for who they are"
"I was reminded to be joyful"
"I understand how to organize a Christian camp for non-Christians"
"I was going to quit youth ministry, but after this conference I decided I must stay in it" (this from a 21-year old non-paid pastor, who is also over 5 other pastors and must provide for his 6 younger brothers and sisters, because his father passed away 2 years ago. By the way, he makes $300/yr selling rice and $250/yr selling sugarcane...humbling)
"I learned how Jesus steps into the boat of people's lives"
"I learned about how I have a relationship with Jesus that I can share with others"
"I learned how to prepare and share a message with great passion, joy and depth"

Please pray for this people. They will actually be risking their lives when the begin to do Incarnational Ministry in this country. Pray for protection. Pray for courage and creativity. Pray that God would give them the teenagers.

Sidenote: We took the team (pictured below) out for dinner tonight. Johnny and Pearl (far left) our the leaders and the other five Vietnamese young people are their team. They are amazing We practically ordered the entire menu. The meal for all ten of us cost a whooping $150 which is very expensive in Vietnam and a bargain in the US. At one point Alex (far right) leaned over and said, "this is the best meal any of us five have ever had." It was an honor for one evening to treat them like royalty. They are, after all, sons and daughters of the King.

Pictures:
Whole training group
Leadership team of conference
Playing lap sit game
Me, LanG, and rob (21 yr old pastor I talked about above)
The two fish I picked for dinner

In Cambodia now, amazing things already...more tomorrow.

Funerals & Factories

Day 3 – Saigon

Woke at 5:55am to a nice AC room. 30 minutes later I was outside with 90 degree temperature and it was humid. Did I mention it is REALLY hot here? Today I noticed it, mainly because I had pants on. I was teaching after all, had to look the part. Rob and Clif took the morning to talk about the Incarnation of Jesus. How the mystery of the gospel is that Jesus lives in us. Most had not heard it articulated like that. They understood Jesus, but that Jesus now lives in them? Nope.

We then had lunch. Oh boy. This time it was white rice and on top your choice of beef or fish. I was late so all there was left was the fish. It was a whole little fish. Head, tail, just a fish. I picked with my chop sticks but just could not do it. I put it down and went for my power bars (love my wife she packed like 30 for me, clearly anticipating this very moment for Mr. high maintenance). My Vietnamese friends clearly noticed because about 5mins later they brought me a whole new lunch they had gone out and bought. What servants, I was overwhelmed. Whatever it was they brought me I just ate it, and just swallowed and just said thank you, thank you. I still ate the power bar later.

I then took the afternoon to talk about Contact Work. This is what makes Young Life so different. We go where kids are. Leave the comforts of the church and enter the world of kids. This was a new concept for most. But we took time to talk about how these leaders could enter the worlds of Vietnamese kids. I was expecting to hear about soccer fields and tutoring. Which we did. What I heard next shocked me. They talked about doing contact work in factories. There are literally thousands of factories within a few hrs of the city of Saigon (8mil in city limits). One young believer (LanG) idea was to go and start befriending the teenagers working in these factories. Hundreds and thousands of teenagers work 15hr, 7 day a week jobs in manufacturing factories. I was speechless. Another young man stood up with his idea. He would take teens with him to funerals. What? In his world many friends and family die and these funerals are celebrations. Apparently enough that he could take kids with him and do Contact Work with kids both with this family and friends and the kids. Again, I did not know what to do with that idea. The point, this was taking a life of its own. Young Life was starting in Vietnam.

A few other highlights of the day:

We did a full blown entertainment night. 5 skits all done by the Vietnamese. It took Rob and I about 2 hrs to teach these, in very hot and sweaty little rooms. The night was amazing though. So much laughter and I think it was one of the best entertainment nights we have ever done.

I polished off an entire bottle of hand sanitizer in the last 3 days.

3 men afflicted with physical aliments came and asked that we pray that they be healed. I have certainly prayed for people to be healed before but this was different. One man had been in a scooter accident and broken his leg which had never healed properly. He showed us how his knee didn’t function right. He needed his leg to work and asked it be healed. There were two others with similar stories. We prayed hard for the Lord to heal. I have never been so overcome. I prayed like I have never prayed before. Who knows what the Lord will do, but there are many people here that have been healed by prayer from disease and physical aliments. They really NEED Jesus here...can't say the same for us in the US.

Please for for the protection of my family (Jenny, emma, jack, lanni, and jmmy). Please pray for a great finish to our conference, pray that leaders would go home and implement these principles. PS - any idea which shoes are mine??

Day 2 – Saigon.

Today was a work day. We spent most of the morning with our two main contacts who organized this training preparing for the start of the conference. It is amazing, what should take 15mins to plan takes 90mins. Between the translation, the explanation, and then the examples it just takes a long time to get a point across and to plan. At noon we drove through town which is a pretty incredible experience in itself. There are so many scooters you would not believe it. No stop lights or signs, people just flying around everywhere. I posted a picture below, but it does not do the real thing justice.

We drove to the outside of town (the suburbs) where there is a church. I had a picture in my mind of what these suburbs looked like. I also had a picture of what this church would be like. And like so many other pictures I had of these people, of this place, I was wrong. I can’t find another word for it other than a slum. Other than the cross on top of the patchwork building you would not know what it is. We had an hour meeting with some of the key leaders and volunteers. We learned their names and got to know their stories a little. Phom, My, Alex, and Uen. Some of them take English names so we can understand them. But most Vietnamese names are really hard to say. They use pronunciation and inflections in their voice that we don’t use. They laughed a lot at us, but we got their names down. These are wonderful, simple, and joyful people. One young man I met, Nyguen came from 700 miles away to be here. He travelled 2 days by bus. He works in the rice fields, but wants to learn to reach the teenagers for Jesus in his village. He makes $100 a month working 15hr days. It is hard to put this in perspective for me, even now as I type sitting in my air conditioned room knowing that Nyguen and 70 others are sleeping at the church in one room on the floor. Hard to come to grips with this (as you can see I am struggling)

Couple of highlights on the day:

Rob and I basically ran a Young Life club tonight. Modeled the principles of great incarnational ministry in a whole new way for these friends. During trivia we flashed pictures of famous people on the powerpoint, we started with a picture of Yoda. Whoever stood up and said who it was got some candy. Bad Idea. Ok, being an avid Star Wars fan I thought everyone knows who Yoda is. They all just sat there and looked at it. Rob and I looked at each other and then someone stood up. They asked if it was Satan. Yoda, Satan? Ouch. That was funny. By the way they also had no idea who Tiger Woods or Bart Simpson were. They all knew Obama was. Interesting.

The food was not as eclectic and good today. We had noodles for lunch and for dinner they catered in a meal for everyone. I thought, heh catered meal this is going to be great. Ya, it was a box of rice. I ate 2 power bars when I got in the car.

Big day tomorrow. Would love your prayers as we share the principles of Young Life and of relational ministry. A big hurdle will be how to interpret the practical application into their world.

Blessings,

Jamie

Meeting a Saint...and $8 of pain.

Day 1 in Saigon:

Just wrapping up a full day here in Saigon, Vietnam. What a full and rich day it has been. We spent the majority of the day with Johnny (our main contact here in Vietnam and younger guy 2nd from the right in the photo) who is the organizer for the conference that starts tomorrow. Johnny is a 34 yr old with 2 kids who is full of joy, laughter, and the love of God. He took us to the ‘American War’ (that is what they call it here) museum today. It was eye opening seeing the war from the perspective of the North Vietnamese. So many died, so many casualties, and no winner. It is truly incredible what man can do to each other.

The highlight of the day was eating dinner with Elisha. Elisha is the one next to me in the picture. For the last 30 yrs since the start of communism in Vietnam in 1975 he has been one of the main leaders of the under-ground church. The house churches and mini-congregations have grown to more than 400,000 people. In the early 90’s he was imprisoned for 3yrs in a communist prison. Sleeping sideways because there was no room, horrible sanitation, and other horrible things I am not going to mention in a public blog were some of his story. After much political pressure he was released and the church grew so large that the government finally made it a state recognized church 2 yrs ago. He is an amazing man who had a free ticket to leave the country when Saigon fell in ’75 but chose to stay because God was calling him to tend to his flock. He talked tonight much about Paul and how he was sustained in prison because of what Paul had experienced. You get the picture. Powerful stuff.

A few other highlights from the day:

1. At dinner tonight we ate at a restaurant where we got to pick the fish we wanted to eat as it was alive in a tank. They brought it to the table flopping around and then steamed it. Both the before and after picture are below.

2. Other fun treats at dinner was Jelly Fish salad and large shrimp cooked on the table by a candle.

3. As we were walking back to our hotel Clif talked us into getting a foot massage. $5 for an hour. You heard right $5. We all sat together and talked about our day. Then all of a sudden they had us lie flat and these foot massage ladies started walking on our backs. I then got a full nelson from one of them until I almost cried. Gave them a $3 tip and called it good. $8 for the pain I am in right now…..worth it..not sure. Funny though.

I am Super tired, Rob is already snoring next to me…jerk. We are up early tomorrow to start the conference. Learned today that many of the volunteers who are coming from 16+ hr bus rides will stay at a local church for our 3 day training. They will sleep on the floor and eat on $1 a day.

Again, humbled.

Jamie

Before & After shot of the hand picked main course...

You can see the melted candle under the shrimp...

Airplane bathrooms & Scooters

Finally we have arrived in Ho Chi Min City (Saigon). I left my house at 5am PST on Monday the 9th. It is currently 10:30pm Vietnam time (8:30am PST) Tuesday. Yup, you got it from door to door it took me 28 hrs to get here. Couple of random thoughts/observations:

• I drank lots of water as I was advised by many to do. I peed 24 times on the 14.5 hr flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. Yup, I counted.
• 14.5 hrs is a long time. When I got on the plane my kids were asleep in their beds. When I got off, they were asleep again. Time, funny deal.
• It never got dark the whole time I travelled. Living in Alaska must be weird.
• Reading three books at once.
• Vietnam – A History. Wow, I thought I knew about the war but I really didn’t.
  Eat That Frog – I was reminded how much I like lists, and goals.
  Unchristian – my summary intermixed with a quote: Christians have become political, judgmental, intolerant, weak, religious, angry, and without balance. Christianity has become a Sunday drive. Where is the living God, the Holy Spirit, and amazing Jesus, the love, the compassion, the holiness”? This type of life, how I yearn for that.
• It is good to travel with someone who knows how to travel internationally. Red Carpet Clubs, free wi-fi, 1K lines, Clif Davidson the Asia Young Life regional director is a seasoned vet and a great friend.
• The influence of US culture is everywhere. Not sure I like that. But I do like that people speak English :)
• The streets and driving here is jaw dropping. I saw a family of 5 riding a scooter, no helmets, driving along side another 150 scooters. Questioning my need for 2 SUV’s.
• Being with Rob Crawford one of my best friends has been a joy. We lhave laughed a lot and both have grown beards since we first saw each other over 24hrs ago.
  
  Can’t wait to see this culture tomorrow. We will spend time preparing for the conference we will host for 75+ Vietnamese friends.
  
  More Later…
  
  Jamie

Trip to Vietnam & Cambodia

First I appreciate anyone who made it here to actually read my blog. I guess this is kind of wierd for me, writting about myself and thinking people will actually read this.

I have a range of emotions that I am feeling at this point about my trip to Veitnam and Cambodia. I leave Monday AM. I am excited to see these new cultures. I am excited to travel with two great friends. I am excited to meet hundreads of Veitnamese and Cambodian believers who are on fire for thier faith. I am expecting to be humbled.

I am nervous about the time change, the food, and the language barrier. We will each be assigned a translator, not sure how that will go. More than anything I am humbled by the fact that these people are travelling from far away, are spending money many don't even have, to come to this conference that I am helping to host. I feel my faith is small and thiers is huge. Why am I teaching? Bottom line, I feel I will learn more than I teach on this trip and that is humbling.

More to come....

JH