‘Urges’ are a funny thing. They seem so sudden, yet they have been creeping up all along. And we totally unknowingly cultivate these urges helping them to grow and flourish. ‘Dying my hair’- a sudden urge but not really. You see, as I watched a 1 season and a half of America’s Next Top Model, this urge was fed-by myself and Tyra Banks. I watched in delight as twelve whiney models got makeovers- hair extensions, new bangs, highlights! ‘I should get a makeover’, I thought ‘and I’ll do it in Cambodia?’ Am I crazy? Apparently, I am.

      Me and a Cambodian named Lokeinna from my Bible study (really awesome Jesus-loving girl) jumped on her moto and went to a salon today. I was on a quest to get my ends trimmed and colour my hair. Since Lokeinna speaks decent English, she helped me communicate this to the hair stylist. The hair stylist whipped out a small panel of colour swatches, featuring colours like: orangey-blond, bright red, light blond, black, green, etc. Both Lokeinna and the stylist wereunder the false impression that a white girl can look good with any hair colour even if it’s ‘Ariel from the Little Mermaid-red’!

      I finally convinced them that light red and light blond highlights would do me just fine. Well, I think something got lost in translation! The stylist mixed the light red with the light blond which made a fluorescent orange! It looks like someone took a high lighter and literally used it to streak my hair. I am not upset in the least bit nor do I have any right to be. The whole thing cost $5 and that includes getting my ends trimmed and my hair straightened. Also, I was totally asking for something to go wrong by even going about something like this in a totally different culture. And lastly, because I am white, I am automatically a trendsetter. This fact was confirmed by Lokeinna as she stared at my hair in awe and gushed “Oh, I think next time, I will get this done too!”
Hold still! I’ll just grab a high lighter and do it for free!
  
   So, that is another lesson learned from me in Cambodia, and another reason to perhaps lay off the Americas Next Top Model...maybe after I finish watching this season.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} On Friday, Josh and I had a 'Questions and Answers' night. We combined our Bible studies, putting the boys and girls together for a special night of asking any questions they wanted about God, the Bible, etc. Just for fun we even served some snacks. We had orange cream cookies, blueberry jam filled marshmallow things and juice. We dragged the desks into a circle and invited anyone to offer up a question. These were some of the questions:

Why do Christians need to read the Bible?

Why is there an Old Testament and a New Testament?

If Satan repented to God, would God forgive Him?

Why is Jesus sometimes called a ‘lamb’?

Why was Satan on the Earth (in the Garden of Eden)?

Who was the first to see the glory of God and how did the people in the Old Testament become saved?

  Some of these questions are BIG questions and weren’t the easiest to answer- especially the ones about Satan! I tried to answer the one about why Satan was one Earth. I rambled on for a few minutes about nothing before finally handing the question over to Josh! We offered up some theories and possibilities, because for some questions like that one, it’s really all we can do. It was a very good night and we hope that they will retain at least some of the information that we shared with them. At the end of the night we emphasized to them our job as Christians: Show the world that God is real and that God loves them. We must live out the gospel in our actions.

 We can have many answers and theories, but it all takes a backseat to the living witness of Jesus in our lives to a dead world. Our delight is in a vision that these Cambodian students shining so brightly with the revelation of Jesus’ radical, life-changing love. Our vision is for them to grow into spiritually mature Christians burning with a passion for Jesus, to take His gospel to every inch of their country and beyond!

     Behold Sorya; a dome shaped mall with five floors. Most of the floors of Sorya are booming with all the Western trends that Cambodians have made their own. Manicans with barrel-curled hair, are adorned in ruffly-button up shirts, v-neck sweaters,big jewelery, thick belts, tights, skinny jeans,e. The play boy bunny is never far from view, as it seems to be one of the most popular brands to wear. Both girls and boys wear playboy. It's most popular among teens and young adults, although I have seen a few children sporting the logo as well. A symbol, that has become an emblem in North American culture, representing sex, appears to be so innocent in Cambodia. The bunny head is stitched on very modest apparel such as sandals, track pants, polo shirts,etc.
     From talking to people, we have found out that the meaning behind the Playboy logo, is not common knowledge at all. To the Cambodians, it is just another brand name; the same as Gucci or American Eagle. Some Cambodians who may be keen on American culture and media would know what the symbol really means. But I believe, that most of the Cambodians have no idea that it means.
     Last week, when I was helping in the school, I was talking with one of the Cambodian teachers. I pointed to a preschool student and remarked about how funny he is.
"Yes!"she gushed,"He is a playboy!"
"A playboy?"I asked, making sure that I understood her.
"Yes!"she insisted,"a 'playboy'he likes to play!"
     And so, this is the meaning of playboy in Cambodia; 'one who likes to play'.
oh no..but at the same time..oh well. Since, she was trying to use English terms and speak in a way that would appeal to me as a North American, maybe next time I'll explain to her about 'playboy',so she will know the way that a foreigner would think of it. But for now, ignorance and innocence prevails over the connotations of America's well-known rabbit.

Valentines Day in Phnom Penh was filled with sweetness. As Josh and I breezed down the streets in a tuk tuk tables of roses could be noticed on just about every street. They were selling single roses for only a dollar. I don't remember how much a single rose costs in Canada- but I am sure that it's more than a dollar!
When Josh and I reached the market we went our separate ways, on a hunt to buy each other surprise gifts. Forty five minutes of squeezing through people in the crowded market(which included the moment that I discovered that the gift that I planned on buying Josh was no longer being sold) resulted in me spending $3 only a last-minute gift idea that I thought was kinda lame. Josh and I had agreed to meet at Sorya mall which was just up the street from the market. Upon reaching the mall, I ran into our favourite video store as a last resort. The girls giggled upon my arrival and wished me a 'happy valentines day'.
"Any plans?" they gushed knowingly. It was written all over their pretty faces that Josh had just been in the same store buying a gift for me and he had told them all about our 'gift exchange plan'. This was no surprise, since Josh and visit this store at least once a week to browse, pick up movies and talk to the friendly people who work there.
"I don't know what to get him!"I groaned to one of the girls. She stood next to me as I flipped through a shelf of movies.
"When do you have to meet up with him?" she inquired. I glanced at my watch. 11:30.
"Oh no, right now!"I exclaimed, "I have to go!" I scrambled out of the store empty handed and made my way to the 'Pizza Company' restaurant. Josh was already sitting inside drinking a beer. As we waited for our pizza and appetizers, we exchanged gifts. Josh was happy with my little gift to him, and he presented me with 'America's Next Top Model' series1-11, and 'We're Not Married' starring Marilyn Monroe. After lunch, we returned to the video store and Josh picked out the rest of his gift from me. Hey, that works too!
"He came here first and told me not to tell you he was here," one of the girls giggled, in the cute way that the Cambodians do. Yes,it was a sweet Valentines Day, topped off with strawberry-banana ice cream sundaes.So clearly we just used Valentines Day as an excuse to buy each other presents and eat ice cream. It was a lot of fun. I don't think that every day should be like Valentines Day in the way of gifts and dessert. But everyday a celebration of love? Yes, please!

Something that has concerned me is when I listen to messages, preached by the foreigners at the youth meetings. When I say 'foreigner' am referring to any other North American or white person who comes here. I have heard only a few foreigners actually preach but their messages seem to all have the same pattern and the same list of instructions: and all you have to do is accept Jesus as your savior and you can have a relationship with God and go to Heaven. As true as I think those instructions are, I think they are only half of the truth. I think to only preach about claiming Jesus as your saviour to become right with God, is to preach only half of the gospel.
Let's think about John the Baptist. John the Baptist preached the gospel to the multitudes, telling them to 'repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.' John performed a baptism of repentance, which was the for the people who were sorry for their sins and recognized that a savior would come and wipe away their sins forever. This savior would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. In Luke 3:8, John urges the people to 'bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance'. He told the people to give to one another, to stop stealing and to stop making false accusations about one another. These actions were evidence of a repentant heart. When Jesus began His ministry, John's disciples became the disciples of Jesus. They were sorry for their sins and wanted to be a student of Jesus, living righteously for God. The kingdom of God was now in the midst of them. First they repented, and then they followed Jesus. All through-out Jesus' ministry, He told people to repent and turn from their wicked ways. He told them to have faith in God, and He forgave people for their sins.
Now, let's look at a sermon from a student of Jesus.in Acts 2, the believers become filled with the Holy Spirit and Peter preaches his first sermon to the people who have gathered. Peter tells the people that the man who they crucified, was Jesus Christ, sent from the Lord to be their savior. The people's hearts are pierced by Peter's words, and they ask him what they should do.
Peter says,"Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit".
To repent means to turn from our sins. To repent is to have regret for what we have done wrong, accompanied by a true change of heart, and a desire to do what is right. A repentant person looks on their past and feels regret for the wrongs they have committed, resulting in a wiser view of the past and future. To repent is to want to flee from wickedness and draw near to God and His holiness.
Today, we have taken the emphasis off of 'repentance' and we have focused our messages and evangelistic efforts on preaching 'the free ticket to Heaven gospel'. This cheap, half-gospel ensures people that they can pray for Jesus to come into their hearts and then 'it's all good', they can continue living however they like. This gospel guarantees that they have the stamp of approval from God; what they have done in the past doesn't matter and what they do in the future doesn't matter because God just overlooks all their sins. There is a huge problem with this poor, one-sided message and the results can be seen in North America today. Christians and non-Christians look the same. You cannot tell the difference between the majority of believers and non-believers, because they act the same way and do the same terrible things. Christians can have the same poor regard for sin as unbelievers, but because they said a prayer at one time, they can do as they like and God will just keep over-looking all their wrong doings.
This may not be the terrible message that we are trying to convey, but if we preach only about praying for Jesus to be our savior, then we are preaching only half the gospel. We are not preaching the consequences of sin and of a heart that doesn't trust in Jesus. We feel it is wrong to preach about Hell, which is what Jesus spent most of His time preaching about. We are not preaching repentance; turning from sin and walking in God's holiness. We are preaching a 'free ticket to Heaven' and we are counting raised hands. Therefore, there is no regret or turning from sins, and people continue along the same road as the wicked, claiming that it's alright with God. It's no secret that the North American church is in bad shape. We should not take the half-gospel that the North American church is preaching, and preach the same weak, wrong message in other countries, producing the same worldly 'Christians'.
Let's stop copying the message of other preachers, and let's begin preaching the very message that Jesus preached: repentance, forgiveness and grace.

"If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified."
-Leonard Ravenhill