Well here I am again in Cambodia, renewing
old friendships and making new ones. The clash and clamour of political rallies
resounds throughout the city as the elections approach. I am here as a fill- in until the “soon-to-be-greatly-missed”
Jonnie and Melinda go home for the birth of their little one and they are
replaced. Their work here has been wonderful: the way they relate to young and
old, the love they share with their contacts and brothers and sisters is a joy
to witness as they interact, both at the BEC and the dormitories.
I have had some memorable experiences in my
short 2 weeks and one I have to tell you.
We were about to go somewhere and Brother
Vitou asked me did I have a pair of thongs for the road. When he saw I did not
he provided me a pair from the twenty or more on the ground outside the door.
They fitted me perfectly and then he told me whose they had been.
“These are the thongs of Brother John
Tappouras from Australia,” he said.
The VERY MAN WHO HAD BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN
THE BAPTISM OF MY WIFE MITZI AND I nearly 45 years ago!!!
So Brother John, if you’re reading this; I
have your thongs! (Love to Joy, Simone and the boys)
It really is a small world.
The work continues and students regularly
walk through the doors to learn English and then, as their eyes are opened to
the power of the Gospel message, to learn of Jesus Christ and the coming
Kingdom of God.
One young student I have been provided (who
shall remain nameless), comes from 1:30 to 2:30, four days per week. He is so
exhausted he almost immediately nods off in repeated micro-sleeps, and it is a
constant battle to rouse him. I ask him to read to help, but soon his tired
pupils roll back in his head, his eyelids still open in a desperate bid to stay
awake, and off he goes again. I had thought it was all wasted time until I
asked him to repeat what he had just learned. And then it would come back to me
in micro-detail as he tells me in his halting English, every principle we
discuss.
His day begins at 5:30 and he finally gets
to sleep (after study, university, Scripture lessons, 5 hours work to support
his education, and homework) at 11:00 pm. Then bed and up again the next
morning to go through it all again.
Life IS so hard in Cambodia: Please pray
for our work and for the salvation of all God’s children.
God Bless
Uncle max
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