It’s time for me to write something to
let you know what we have been doing here at the BEC.
Things have been very busy with the
number of students coming for instruction in Bible subjects and also for
further study in the English language. English is so important for anyone who
wishes to make a reasonable living; and other languages such as Korean,
Japanese and Chinese can be just as important depending on where the individual
is working for example.
Brother Albert Cruz from the Philippines
has been working in the recently established BEC in Sihanouk-ville. A young
brother named Dy is stationed there permanently and when Albert traveled to
the city he also took with him sister Pov to help maintain the household. Our
BEC local manager, Vitou at Phnom Penh, decided it would be good to visit Albert to
see how he was getting along and we had a most enjoyable time with him. So
Dany, Vitou’s beautiful wife, Vitou and I made the journey down to the seaside
town of Sihanouk-ville.
The town has none of the hectic pace and
urgency of Phnom Penh. The traffic is so sparse I was ready to hire a moto for
a run…I could even walk across the road unassisted; something I have not dared
to do on my own in the main city! This is not the tourist season and so the
town was even quieter than you would expect.
Albert is one of those brothers you
instantly love. He is calming, compassionate and gentle and he loves nothing
more than to talk about the Truth; whether it’s a student discussing basic
elements or another brother like me talking about some deeper things he is
always enthusiastic and indeed passionate about his love of God and his plan
and purpose. I will certainly miss him and our conversations when I go back to
Australia.
Many Cambodian people had come to
participate in the elections and they are compelled to travel to where they
have been registered to vote. This in itself is quite daunting. The trip takes
several hours in a cramped and overcrowded bus with “refreshment stops” you do
not want me to describe in any detail, believe me!
But once we were there the air was cool
off the sea, the breeze light, and the pace more like the one I am used to. We
visited the beach areas and on the Sunday morning we four sat together at one
of the beach tables sharing the bread and wine of the memorial. It seemed so
natural and “uncontrived”, informal yet solemn, and was a pleasant experience I
think we all enjoyed. We also went out into the country along an unpaved road
in a little Tuk Tuk, and come to a beautiful park where there was a river
winding its course across waterfalls and weirs. Here we lunched with friends of
Dany’s enjoying the quiet atmosphere and each other’s company.
The trip back to Phnom Penh was quite
the opposite: there had been an incident related to the election outcome and
the road to the city had been blocked. We were compelled to stay in one of the
provinces for the night, and next morning, 25 people crammed in a bus built for
12, for the remainder of the journey home to the BEC.
Thank You heavenly Father for the opportunity
to have experienced these things with these brothers and sisters. I will take
the memory of them to my grave or until you send your Son.
Max
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