Yesterday, Jenny & I took 3 other people to Tent City to play with the kids we had visited last sunday. The kids more-than remembered us, and were all very eager to play. The 3 guys we took and I played with the older crowd, while Jenny had the young ones. They seemed to be enraptured with her.
The people of Tent City do not have much. They have been dealt a blow that we cannot imagine. The only thing Jenny and I can do for them is love them, and communicate a value to their lives.
Jesus came and died for nothing less.

One of my favorite things to do (in the world) is meet and hang out with random street kids, and the like. Most 'whities' refrain and avoid ones such as these, but they are missing out on meeting some of the most interesting people the world has to offer.
Every time we go out, there is a great opportunity to meet someone whom the rest of society has seem to forgotten. These precious ones are so dear to God, that He constantly beckons His children to go out and show love to them.
On sunday afternoon, Jenny and I went out on our weekly 'date' to Friend's ( a non-profit restaurant that works at getting teens off the street, and training them for employment, etc). Afterwards, we walked down by the river and met a 15 yr old girl (who looked more like 9 yrs old), her 6 yr old brother, and her 2 yr old naked baby brother. Her story (so she said), was that she was selling bottled water for $1, and the proceeds were going towards her education, which cost $10/mth. This girl was pretty much fluent in english, so I have no reason to doubt that she does indeed go to school. Her mother, and 2 brothers were close by, also selling water. Her little 2 yr old brother was the funniest little critter I've seen in awhile, and had some crazy big alien eyes goin on! She said that her father had lost a leg under the Pol Pot days, and now the family struggles to get by day-to-day.
Jenny & I have NO extra money for contributing to a 'beggar mentality' but we had to give this girl $1 anyway. It's not much, but to us, right now, it's more than you think. It is not usually money, the poor are seeking; it is love and acceptance, and time. This means more to the forgotten that throwing a bill their way and passing by and ignoring them. People are robbing themselves of the greatest experiences they will ever have, by not going to the people Jesus went to.
My most favoritest people I have ever been around are those whom the world goes out of their way to avoid.
Let's learn a lesson from Jesus, shall we.

Today was a highlight of our first month in Cambodia. Jenny & I lead a cell group, comprised of believers and non-believers that is a branch off of our evening english classes. To promote fellowship, these groups were created to be a time of fun and getting to know each other. There are 4 groups and jenny & I have a far bigger group than any other; 40 people, compared to about 20 in the other groups!! All the students got to select which group they wanted to join; we must be fairly popular!
Today, we took our group (named: Team Compassion) and walked fifteen minutes down the street to a field that is currently housing about 500 families that were displaced in april due to a big fire which destroyed their homes. They now live in make-shift shacks, waiting for the govt to provide other housing for them. % mths later, and noone knows when that reality will happen.
Anyways, we thought it would be a good idea to start an outreach to this area we have named: Tent City. After Church today, 15 members of our group (which is an amazing percentage for Cambodia) expressed interest in playing soccer with the kids of Tent City. Our group does not speak english well, and as we walked, we tried to explain to them about what exactly we were trying to do. Everyone nodded and said, "Yes, yes." When we got to the field and seen the poverty and filth, the looks on our team's faces said it all LOL!!!! Half of them just abondoned the outreach and left, leaving us with 8 people.
We gathered some children together (which was easy) and started playing 'monkey in the middle' with them. The group that stayed for the game had a great time. We played for 40 minutes or so (in the blazing heat 30C/86F) and then wrapped it up, telling the kids we would be back to play again.
We hope to do this once or twice a week; building relationships with the kids and families there. It seemed that the moms and dads there were so grateful and happy that we came to play with their children!
It's funny how we can show the world Jesus in the most practical ways. It's so easy.

Pastor Keat graciously let me deliver a message to his congregation yesterday. He sprung this opportunity to me on friday eve, so I had not much time to prepare. He is a great man, who is humble enough to surrender his pulpit to others. I am grateful to be part of his vision and ministry.
Enjoy!!

We are still alive. It has been a few days since my blog was updated, and I wanted to throw a quick note on here for ya's.
We are still busy. Still teaching english through the week, and still working with New Life in Christ Church on the weekends. Today I got to preach at church and the title of my message was: From Eden, to Calvary, to Phnom Penh. I think it was received rather well! There was a few over a hundred in attendance.
On thursday, we went to the riverside to watch some of the boat races during Phnom Penh's annual water festival. We met 3 children from Siem Reap, and took them to a restaurant for fruit shakes. They tried luring us into buying bracelets from them that they had made, but ended up liking us so much that they gave us a couple each for free! They were such good kids, and smart! We promised them that if we made it up to Angkor Wat, we would find them and hang out.
It is great to be part of a growing Christian ministry in a Buddhist country. I really think my previous missions experiences has led me into being a much humbler person. 
As Jenny and I seek new and innovative ways to disciple Christians and lead people to the knowledge of their Savior, we covet your prayers. We want our time here to be as productive as possible.
Jesus' heart longs for these people of Phnom Penh.

A while ago, we (Jenny, I, and the 5 other missionaries here right now) were having supper and discussing a dilemma that was currently surfacing in the evening classes of New Hope School. (The school is teaching english at a VERY discounted rate to locals here in Phnom Penh, with the goal of exposing them to people who truly love Jesus and give that love out in servanthood. Right now we have about 100 people in 5 different classes ranging from Introduction to Level 3.) There is a lack of quality Christian english teachers available. Because of the need, a decision was made to let a girl (Muoy, by name) teach an introductory class with a westerner serving as her translator. To the missionaries at the table, this seemed like it could've been a compromise to the vision of New Hope School, which is to have a 100% Christian witness as staff. Muoy was not a Christian. Amidst the conversation, in true charismatic form, I blurted out (in all seriousness), "Well, then, I guess we'll just have to get her saved, and that will end the problem." There was unenthusiastic agreement with my statement.
If the students enrolled in these english classes are not able to afford the $5/month tuition, then they can recieve a scholarship, which means they have to attend 5 programs/mth at New Life in Christ Church. By doing that, the $5 fee is waived and learning english is free. One of the program options is a saturday evening youth meeting that starts around 5:15pm and lasts till 6:30pm. I was to speak at the youth meeting on Nov1/08. I decided to give my testimony (because in this culture, with no Biblical knowledge, testimonies are more powerful than back home) and speak a bit about how God's Spirit constantly calls out to our spirits, to know us more intimately. At the end I decided to give an opportunity for people to acknowledge their need for Jesus. In Cambodia, this is a sign  of weakness, and pride usually prohibits people from responding to "altar calls". I encouraged people to raise their hands as a sign of belief, and the only hand to go up, was Muoy's! I didn't know it was her at the time, but found out later. After that, because of the cultural reluctance, I explained that Jesus doesn't care about raised hands, or a rehearsed prayer, but He cares about the quality of one's heart. I led those who might be interested,  in a private prayer of repentance.
It is an honor to be working in a nation that is Buddhist in name only, much like those in the West work in nations that are Christian in name only. It don't matter if you are Hindu, or if you are Buddhist, or if you are Muslim, or if you are Christian; you must be born again!

Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3 nasb)

Jenny & I have settled somewhat into a routine with New Hope School here in Phnom Penh. We help teach between 30-35 hours a week, aside from the church activities which constitute the weekend. It is a constant schedule, but a good one, although we both would like to limit our church activity to try and get working with a couple other ministries we have been in contact with here (YWAM and Prey Sar Prison Fellowship, most notably).
Cambodia enjoys more holidays than I have ever thought possible. So far, in the 2 short weeks we've been here, there has been 3 holidays. And in the next week, there is a big holiday which runs from friday-->thursday!!! A benefit to these 'days off' is that the teachers who work here at the school get some time off; they work awfully hard. But that's life in Cambodia.
The weather right now is consistently 30 C, and HUMID!!!! I take 2 or 3 short showers a day. It is hard to not feel gross and sweaty.
We are coming out of the rainy season, but there is still quite a bit of rain falling day to day. The sewage system is all but non-existent here in Phnom Penh, so when it rains, the sewage backs up and flows out onto the streets, and it's a big ole open sewer in the city. When the sun comes out, the sewage dries and ends up becoming blowing dust that is inhaled by the residents. Thank God for typhoid vaccinations! Many people here wear masks when they go out so they won't inhale the filthy dust that is ever constant in Phnom Penh.
We are loving being here though, and seek to make the most of every day. Continue praying for us here; it's almost like acknowledging the need for a Savior is a sign of weakness in this culture. Pride has risen almost to the status of an idol here.