"look for small pairs of shoes" John Turner said, as we walked through the slum to find and invite children to hear about Jesus. We were wandering through the narrow, rubbish strewn, dirt paths, glancing at the cramped meagre dwellings of the people who call the Steung Meanchey (SMC) dump slums their home. Spotting small sets of shoes at the entrance of many homes indicated that small children lived in the home and was our cue to stop and chat with the adults therein, inviting the children to come to join in the morning program.
The Elim team (comprising of primarily Cambodian Christians) have been heading to villages in SMC for 4 1/2 years. They sing, play games, teach the children about Jesus, do coloring in and give them some fruit.
A number of the adults in the villages have responded to the message of Jesus. There is even a church in one of the villages which Elim supports with this work. While the morning program is aimed at children, adults in the background linger and hear the gospel message too. Some adults also visit the Elim Centre itself. The Centre runs numerous programs such as English and computer classes, a childcare centre and church services.
While the village morning program is underway Anne Turner visits the various village families to determine what medical needs there are to be addressed. A medical team from another organisation visit with Anne on Sunday evenings to provide medical services. Anne takes those in need to Hospital when required.
I relished the opportunity to be part of the team heading to the village recently. Though as a westerner there is little hands on work that I am able to do. Predominantly the work in the Village is conducted by the Khmer on the team. It is a blessing to see Khmer Christians trained to reach the Khmer people and to hear their testimonies as we travel by tuk tuk to the villages and back.
Please pray for wisdom within the many ministries in Cambodia. There are a myriad of aspects each mission team must consider in deciding what is and isn't appropriate in working with the Cambodian people. What work to undertake, who with, who by (Westerners or Cambodians) how far to take programs, how to introduce the gospel, how to respect Cambodian Culture, whether to allow photography of people in the programs, when to step back and hand projects over to the people. etc etc
For me, I am advised of various policies when I volunteer with an organisation and I stick with the policy for each group. For example, in relation to photography, Elim let me take photos and put them on my blog. I have photographed for two other organisations who do not allow me to share images. Each to their own. I understand the reasoning behind each decision and respect them. Of course you will just have to believe me when I tell you that I have taken some "like-so-so awesome photos" while here in Cambodia and then not show them to you!
