Here are a few pictures of this past week.
The country side of Cambodia. Also, there are a few pictures of the places that we held vbs. We were privileged to work with children from the ages of 3 to 13 at two different locations. The organization that we were working with Kone Kmeng (Children in Khmer). They are involved in assisting and empowering the Cambodian church to raise leaders for Christ. It is a joy to know that Jesus Christ is their hope and sustainer!













Our time as a group of 12 is now over as 4 members have returned to Hawaii to do a children's camp in Maui. We will be teaching English for a few more days to college students.
Please pray that we will be filled with the Spirit and rely on His strength alone. We have not worked with this age group before, and aren't quite certain what to expect - but if we've learned anything it is that our ways are not God ways, and therefore His ways will be fulfilled.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God for those who believe..." Romans 1:16a

Our God is alive and active

It has been nearly a week since my last post. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. On Sunday we attended New Life in Christ Church. Then immediately after the service we hopped into the van and drove from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Driving for approx. 7 hours through the country side was really an "eye-opener." We drove past rice fields, through provinces, and over bumpy unpaved roads (that was when we got lost for an hour ;) but all in all we got to "see" so much more of what the rural countryside of Cambodia is like.

Upon our arrival we had Pizza and Ice Cream for dinner, I guess we just couldn't do two weeks without those essentials. The following morning we explored the remains of AngKor Wat. Words cannot not easily describe the experience. For me, I was wrestling with the idea that these temples were built for false gods. Yet so many people took so much time and effort to erect these large and intricate temples.

When you think about what Scripture says in Corinthians, that our bodies are Christ's temple, one must understand the significance. We are God's building, the church, meant to be a sanctuary, a beacon, a monument, all actively drawing/pointing people to our "Head" which is Christ Jesus! What an immense privilege!

Monday-Friday we have been doing two mini vbs clubs. They each have amazing stories. The children are living in circumstances that we could never relate to or understand, but we rejoice that God is their God too. Salvation is given to all! So though we don't know what it's like to live off of $2 dollars a day nor only have one pair of clothes, we do have the same God who cares for us a sheep without a Shepherd.

That is all for now, I will give a more detailed update soon!

Praise OUR GOD, from whom all blessings flow!

Coconut Jello Anyone?

We have now finished up our week of VBS and English classes. Some of the team members have already expressed that they miss the kids. It is quiet here at the school (where we've been staying.) Thankfully it is just for the weekend. We will still be able to play with them in the afternoons this upcoming week.

Yesterday, Saturday, we just had the "Luau." Right at 7:30 Pastor Steve and Auntie Kori walked down the street to pick up the freshly cut pork for our Kalua Pork. We spent the entire day preparing the food and program. This included making (powder) Haupia, cleaning and cutting Okinawan Sweet Potato and Pineapple, and of course cooking the Kalua Pig.
At 8:30, Auntie Kori showed us her game plan for the meal. Everyone had their position and after we did a prayer we all went straight to our tasks.

At exactly 4:30, an hour before we had planned, all the food one done! Praise God. At 2:00 over a nearly 20 members of the church came to help us and there were more hands than needed so the work was done fast.

That's all for now, I've gotta go make some PBJ sandwiches for our road trip to AngKor Wat!

To all you Fathers, Happy Father's Day!

So Prea Po Tin Po Niet (God Bless You All)

Chum Ree Up Sua

Greetings!
According to my clock it is 9:50am in Cambodia on Thursday morning, but for many of you it is still Wednesday evening. So far this week has been a routine of Morning Staff Devotion, VBS, English Class, Recess, Computer Class, and Bible Study. We are active from 6:30am until 7pm but of course we have a lovely 2 hour nap in between after lunch.

The children have been learning everything in English classes, from colors --to how to use "do" or "does" in a sentence. Aaron and Chris have been able to "fix" a few of the old desktop computers so that more student could use them. We have been able to build relationships with the teachers and students. Though we don't always remember each other's name, we are still able to enjoy one another's company!

Please continue to pray for The Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of the students. Because of the language barrier it makes it difficult to directly share the gospel with the children but pray that they will be curious and ask their teachers questions.

Tomorrow is our finale for VBS. We are combining all the grades, Preschool to 5 grade, as our whole team presents to them the story of the Good Samaritan. Pray that we will be God's hands and feet. Also, that seeds would be planted as we share the gospel. The children have quickly picked up on the new English songs like "Absolutely Nothing" they even request it!

The evening Bible Studies have been well attended, but when it rain it makes it difficult for some the of youth to come. Pray for clear weather and willing hearts, so that God's word will be received by all.

Thank you for your prayers.

Chum Ree Up Leea - Good Bye

An Eventful Monday

There are times when much planning and preparing is vital to make a goal successful, and there are times when you have to throw any sort of game plan out the window - Monday was one of those "wing-it" days.

For MCC the initials "VBS" are very familiar and have been apart of the youth's summers for the past ten years. God has used Vacation Bible School to be learning and teaching experiences for leaders and students alike. However, the term VBS has become a very loose term these past two days. New Hope School kindly incorporated us into their weekly schedule to hold a "Chapel" where we taught them songs, verse, and Bible lessons. Each of us knew our roles and had been preparing for several months. BUT, God and different plans :)

My group, which includes Auntie Kori, Chris, and Aaron were assigned to the youngest group which is preschool and kindergarten we found out the night before that, that meant over 100 kids! Okay, so we made our schedule for the "40" minutes with the kids but when the forty minutes were up they told us we still had 20 more! So we quickly had to think of how to fill the time. One of the kindergarten teachers, "Mey" (pronounced: My) took the lead and helped us to do a few more songs. It all worked out in the end... at least for group 1.
Group 2 their time was cut short and they weren't able to finish the story so they ended in the middle. Also, we learned that the teachers wanted us to teach English while the other groups were in VBS. No lesson plan, no partner, no interpreter.
I encourage you to ask each team member how their class time went--- you will be both encouraged and amused.
During lunch we were able to meet together and discuss a new game plan - and we even got to take a nap.
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with the children during recess and going into the classrooms to teach English.
At night we had youth bible study, where we played games, sangs songs, and had a lesson.
Talk about a FULL day! But ask any one on the team - it was a good "full."

Here are just a few more pictures from this weekend:

Here's a link to a short video I put together of Taipei:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2134828169220&comments

First Official Day

Good Morning Everyone!
It is 5:30am here and I am staring out my 3rd story window watching a Cambodian sunrise. Rich colors bursting through a quilt like patch of clouds - breathtaking!
For most of us it hasn't quite "hit us" that were in a different country. After 14 hours of being in the air and two layovers in between that (one in Narita, Japan and an overnighter in Taipei, Taiwan) we touched ground in Phnom Penh, Cambodia around 10:30am yesterday. Though, I say "yesterday" it is still today for you all in America. We are 17 hours ahead of Hawaii Time.

Gary had us catalog our "first impressions" upon our arrival here. One of the most noticeable aspects is the heat - even I have to admit that it is "warm" but the most common adjective is "hot!" It is currently an innocent 75 degree, however there is 94% humidity. This will take a lot of "getting used to" on our part. After getting our Visas approved Keat Kove met us immediately outside the airport and loaded us up into a Hyundai Truck with an exceptionally long, truck bed were all our suitcase and selves sat. We learned that street lanes, lights, and directions are merely suggestions as the multiple motorcycles, cars, bicyclist, and pedestrians traverse the streets. Honking here is simply a way of declaring "I'm here" or "please don't hit me!" to the larger vehicles.

Our destination was the church, New Life in Christ Church, where we are staying for the next two weeks. As soon as we pulled up near the driveway we saw about 200 children nicely lined up. The second we realized they were waiting for us we all looked at each other in shock. They cheered for us as we walked down the driveway saying "Hi" in English. They even had a yellow rose for each of us. We gave a few high fives.... and then they suddenly swarmed around us and gave us the biggest hugs! I was speechless. I was thinking to myself, "this is for us?" We were able to talk to a few, in English, but they needed to get back to their classes.

We then settled into out living quarters, which is much nicer than any of us expected. Fans, big comfy beds, warm showers, plumbing, electricity, a complete kitchen... it is wonderful!
I've been taking videos but I don't have time to edit them yet... so here are a few pictures of our first day.

Another Summer, Another Adventure

This summer Mililani Community Church will be sending out two short-term mission teams.
-The first is Team Cambodia, as seen in the picture above. A total of 12 people will be spending 2.5 weeks in Phnom Penh, Camodia's capital city. The plan is to partner with New Life in Christ Church with Pastor Keat Kohv in children and youth ministries.

-The second is Team Maui. A group of youth and adults are once again partnering with several local churches of the island of Maui to put on a children's camp. It will be in late June at Camp Keanae in Hana.

Please go with us on your knees. Pray that God would be glorified above all and that people will be blessed by the teams.

Aloha Ke Akua!