Cambodia Bible Education Centre

Every  Sunday  a team from Phnom Pehn head out into the province of Kampong Speu to teach a  Sunday  school of about 100. We wake early in the morning to travel and see the sun rise as we eat breakfast in the markets of the province. When we arrive at the  Sunday  school the children are already there and waiting eagerly for us. We begin with a prayer and start teaching. A little Bible, English and some games. The games are happy and enthusiastic, with screams and yells to urge people on to win. After  Sunday  school has concluded we eat a snack and the older boys jump over the fence to a small school to play soccer. As a surprise last weekend we brought new soccer uniforms for the boys to use, and the smiles on their faces were well worth it. We then renew our energy with lunch. What the team going out to the province do, is not only teach the SS but they also help out family's who have work that needs doing. On one particular week we went out t...

Possibly the hardest and most assiduous task any fieldworker faces is the blog. After managing to avoid it for almost 7 months last year (thanks Melinda) it has come home to roost. Ha ha ha... Well done, Jonathan!  After writing two sentences you've managed to pass the task on once again.  Your negotiation skills are outstanding! (Jonathan is watching Demelza swim in a large bucket while I sit in front of a fan to type this treatise).  The Siem Reap BEC was set up earlier this year and is run quite differently to the PP and Sihanoukville versions.  It is not inhabited by Westerners, but instead is run by the Khmer brothers and sisters who run a regular Sunday School and Worship Service (memorial meeting), and a monthly seminar.  These brothers and sisters either live in the northern part of Cambodia or have family in the area.  They come from every direction, travelling many hours, to spend time with each other and assist with the preachi...

Pack the van – food, cooking equipment, sound system, water, plates, chopsticks; bags, pillows, blankets; driver, ten people and baby Jessica.  Start into the frenetic traffic that is Phnom Penh on Saturday afternoon, past the airport and then on to the endless kilometres of factories, worker flats, and workers crammed standing onto trucks at the end of their working day for the journey to their accommodation. At last, a stop at the bakery at Kampong Speu, and a very welcome warm bread stick to eat (yum!).  The last part of the journey is short, but slow because of potholes, slippery mud and water pools. We arrived at brother Vitou’s parent’s home somewhat relieved to be able to move around again, and unloaded everything in the warm evening.  A number of brothers and sisters and dormers who had travelled on their motos met us there. Then an amazing example of teamwork sprung into action.  There were 200 people to feed in the morning! And about 35 to fee...

Life at the BEC continues, with the constant flow of brothers and sisters, students, fieldworkers and friends. One of the interesting features of life here is the intriguing whiteboard illustrations on all topics, ranging from creation to prophecy.                                                                                                                             ...

Its Sunday morning and I’m awoken by the sound of pouring rain on the rooftop. Yep its been raining all night and now the streets now resemble more of a river than a road. Once breakfast is downed the rain subsides enough to get on the moto and ride over to the dorm for worship service. Sis Rosie’s on the back, Sis Loys in the middle and I’m riding, should’ve been driving a boat, knee high water in some places but still we keep wading our way through the flood as motos drop like flies to the side of the road overcome by the water. We reach the dorm and the situation is not much better there, ankle deep water covers the courtyard. Despite this, all of us are very happy, it seem as nothing can dampen our spirits as we sit down for the worship service. Just as we are going to start the rain comes down again and is deafening on the tin roof, we cant even hear what the person sitting next to us is saying, so what do we do, we get up and sing praises to our heavenly father for 15 mins until...