As my plane flew through the
morning light across Cambodia towards China, I felt sad to be leaving behind so
many engaging, and always smiling, brothers, sisters and students with whom I
had enjoyed fun and fellowship at the BEC and at the dorm. Just three short weeks previously, I had
flown into Phnom Penh late one night, with my son, Luke, wondering if I was up
for the task of being a field worker.
Light versus darkness is a very biblical theme, but in the end, it
seemed that although I contributed my teaching skills in both English and Bible
studies, I gained the greater illumination from the whole experience. However, my students will probably remember
me for my very bad drawing skills and for my somewhat better ability to act out
just about any unfamiliar English word!
Since there were several field workers there during this period, we
quickly fell into a routine which divvied up the many tasks of the day. Each day, I might add, commenced very early
and on my first morning I awoke to the sound of a man’s voice very
enthusiastically taking some students through a Bible lesson. It turned out that my bedroom, shared with
two other sisters, overlooked the main floor room in the BEC so this was to be
a recurring experience, albeit with an ever-changing soundscape as different
voices partook of up-before-the-rooster classes . I never did meet the owner of the original
disembodied voice as he snuck off to the other BEC at Sihanoukville later that
morning. Perhaps
one day our paths will cross?!
Shortly after, Luke and I were thrown in at the deep end, as Sister
Jackie and Sister Faye took us out into the heat and traffic mayhem of PP to
stock up on breakfast fare. We learned
how to cross streets relatively unscathed and how to say no to the unwavering
cry of ‘Tuktuk Madam?’. The solution to
the former is run fast while eyeing the traffic lights and to the latter is
just keep walking because the plaintive calls are never going to end.
I could recount many tales but suffice it to say that it was more than a
pleasure to teach the inquisitive, cheerful students at the dorm every
afternoon. In English class, we focussed
on vocabulary acquisition and conversation skills as it seemed apparent that in
order to benefit from Bible discussions with the many foreign visitors who
filter through the BEC, stronger oral language skills are in order. In the Bible study class, we continued on
with lessons based on “The Way of Life”.
Most of the students were relatively new to studying the Bible so this
involved ensuring that basic spiritual concepts were understood. A few young Cambodian brothers were a great
asset when it came to this as they could determine in Khmer that the heart of
the lesson had been comprehended.
Other highlights included taking a lengthy tuktuk ride to the LCDI
school to teach Bible studies and having a tour of this intriguing charity school afterwards. The
students were charming and very enthusiastic about participating in the
discussion generated about life now compared to life in the Kingdom. The lessons taught at the BEC seemed to be
somewhat more fluid. Attendance could be
intermittent with some students and the level of Bible knowledge within a given
class varied considerably so it was more productive to adjust the assigned
material as the lesson progressed on any particular day. What never seems to change though is the
thirst for knowledge, both spiritual and linguistic.
Sunday is a special experience at the BEC starting with little piping
voices engaging animatedly in Sunday School classes. Sitting barefoot in a packed room amongst a
very friendly ecclesial body listening to an exhortation being translated from
Khmer to English or vice versa, depending on the native tongue of the speaking
brother, is one of those indescribably delicious foretastes of the
Kingdom. These are those special moments
that encourage us to keep our feet firmly on the Kingdom road because this kind
of fellowship is very sweet and often rare.
After the meeting, the young people continue on with further Bible
study. Sister Jeannie and I split the
group into two sections and we did a two-part series on developing a
Christ-like character. After a fairly
long, and for this northerner, hot morning, both teacher and student alike feel
as if they have earned their lunch and a break.
One of the more vibrant memories I have retained of this spiritually
uplifting experience is that of working together as a team under the able
direction of Brother Vitou towards one of
life’s great goals: helping our brothers and sisters and helping those
who will, God willing, become part of the ecclesial, and ultimate, family. The burden is truly light and imbues life
with an ease that defies explanation once the experience is over. For those reading this from afar, field
workers are always needed so don’t hesitate to offer your talents and
time. You will be rewarded and enriched
beyond what you can imagine.
A final image that constantly replays in my head, is that of a little
street girl who was always on the same busy corner when I was riding back to
the BEC from the dorm. She was always
hoping ............hoping for anything.......candies, a small item, a bit of
money......possibly more. The last
evening, a young sister who lives at the dorm was riding with me and she gave
her a durian-flavoured candy from the bounty that we had been enjoying at our
farewell celebration. That little girl
was rapt while coping with the intricacies of the candy’s wrapper and then
happily trundled off to savour its taste like any child anywhere. I want to help everyone but given my present
limitations I can’t so my prayer is, ‘Even so, come Lord Jesus quickly
come.’ Amen.
Sister Grace
August 2013
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