Although it’s impossible to categorize an entire culture, we’ve compiled a list with some
key highlights and distinctions of Cambodian culture that will make your time much
more enjoyable.
Showing Respect in Cambodia
As with most of Asia, to “lose one's cool” in public is completely unacceptable.
Never shout at someone or criticize them in front of others.
Cambodians don’t typically show strong emotions in public, so don’t be alarmed
if they remain stoic in an emotional situation. Cambodians may also be
uncomfortable if you choose to show strong emotions in public.
Some Cambodians will giggle nervously or smile when they feel uncomfortable
with the strong emotion being expressed.
When offered a gift, it’s polite to refuse it at first, but in the end, always accept it
very graciously with both hands.
Give and receive gifts, money, and business cards with both hands. It’s a sign of
respect.
Be sure to give genuine compliments to people when they are merited.
Because of Cambodia's tough past, do not bring up sensitive subjects such as
war, violence, the Killing Fields, current politics, or the Khmer Rouge.
When gesturing with your hands to “come here”, it’s considered rude to gesture
with your palm up. Always have your palm down, and use all four fingers.
When using a tooth pick, you should cover your mouth with your spare hand.
In many Southeast Asian countries the head is considered the highest and most spiritual
part of a person’s body. The feet are considered the dirtiest and least sacred.
Don’t pat children or adults on the head.
Don’t gesture with your feet.
Don’t raise your feet higher than someone’s head.
When seated on the ground, women should attempt to hide their feet by
tucking them underneath themselves. Men should sit Indian style.
Remove your shoes and hat when entering a home.
Greeting People in Cambodia
The traditional Cambodian greeting, known as Som Pa, is made by putting your
two hands together (with fingertips near the chin) and a giving a slight bow with
your head. The hands are held higher to show more respect to elders.
Many Cambodians choose to shake hands with visitors, so the best rule-of-thumb
is simply to return whatever greeting you were given initially. It is considered very
rude not to return a greeting.
Pointing with your index finger is considered rude. Instead, gesture with your right
hand palm-up.
During conversations many Cambodians don’t make eye contact. Direct eye
contact is usually reserved for emotional conversations. Prolonged direct eye
contact can be interpreted as physical aggression or attraction.
Proper Dress in Cambodia
Modest dress is the rule in Cambodia, particularly for women.
Women should not wear short skirts or show their shoulders.
Men usually wear collared shirts and long pants.
Although many tourists wear shorts to deal with the heat, the locals tend to cover
as much skin as possible. While it is not a rule, pants or capris for women are safe
and acceptable.
Although tourism has caused these standards to relax somewhat, it’s always best
to dress conservatively to show respect.
Interacting with the Opposite Sex
It may come as a surprise to many, especially because sex trafficking is a rampant
problem in Cambodia, but Cambodians strongly frown upon public displays of
affection.
Couples, even if they are married, shouldn’t hold hands or kiss in public.
Be mindful in your contact with the opposite sex, even placing an arm around a
local to pose for a picture can be misinterpreted.
Women should never touch a monk or hand anything to him; even the monk's
mother may not do so.
Cambodian males will hold hands with and hug other Cambodian males; this is a
sign of friendship, nothing more.
When gesturing for someone to “come here” with your hands, using one finger is
considered romantic. Always have your palm down and use all four fingers to
show respect.
Respect for Elders
Aside from monks, elders are given the highest level of respect in Cambodia.
Always acknowledge an elder's status by allowing them to control the
conversation, walk first, and take the lead.
When seated, you should attempt to never sit higher than the eldest person in
the room.
73
Always wait for the eldest to sit and eat first.
Photos
Ask for permission before taking any photos.
Try not to take photos with three people in the photo. Some older Cambodians
think that it is bad luck, especially to be the person in the middle of the photo.85
You have reached the end of this 30-day devotional. You may feel a little more
nervous, overwhelmed, humbled, dependent upon God – and all of these things are
okay. It is God working through you who will make a difference in the lives of the
Cambodians you are going to serve
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Day 29: Saving Face
You are in Cambodia, and one afternoon you decide to take a brief outing. You are
walking down on the riverfront and you stop to ask a Cambodian which direction it is to
a particular restaurant someone has recommended to you. The Cambodian smiles
politely at you, listens to your question and, still smiling, points you in a direction. After
walking in the humidity and heat for twenty-five minutes and finally giving in, hailing a
tuk-tuk, and finding out that the restaurant was only about two minutes in the
completely opposite direction from where you had stopped to ask for directions, you
are livid.
Why did the seemingly friendly Cambodian
lie to you and give you bad directions? Was it
malicious? Did he not like foreigners? Was he
trying to send you down a rabbit trail?
Probably not. More than likely, the
Cambodian simply did not know the answer
but did not want to “lose face” by admitting
that he did not. Most Cambodians would
rather act with confidence than risk embarrassment or lose the respect of others, even if
it means sending you in the wrong direction.
The concept of “saving face” originates from China, but is has certainly spread to other
cultures.82 Saving face refers to the maintaining of one’s reputation and standing in
society.83 This means that in order to save face, you do everything to avoid
embarrassment.
Since “saving face” is such an embedded part of the Cambodian culture, it is
necessary to understand that it will impact your communication. It will be difficult to see
where this practice is at work, but where you sense that someone may not be telling
you something as it is, consider that it may not be from a malicious intent to lie, but an
attempt to save face.
While it would be great to give you an easy “how-to” guide to communicating in a
“saving face” culture, the reality is that it takes years to learn how to navigate
communication, just as it takes years for a low-context communicator to learn how to
communicate in a high-context communication society. We can give you a couple of pointers here, but be ready to be flexible, to be understanding, and to swallow your
pride when you believe that you have been lied to and wronged.
The following suggestions will be helpful to keep in mind:
Avoid pointing out someone's mistakes openly in front of their peers or strangers. If
you believe that someone is in the wrong and needs to be corrected or assisted –
for example, you are helping a staff person learn a new software or are tutoring a
student in a subject – do not correct them in front of the rest of their peers. Instead,
take them to the side and work with them to see how to complete the task
correctly. They may still feel embarrassed in front of you, but you have at least
eliminated their embarrassment in front of their peers and others.
Make sure to give sincere compliments when they are merited as it helps people to
increase “face” in front of their peers.
Show extra respect to elders, military or other people of uniform.84
Navigating within a new culture, new language, and new people will bring daily
stresses, frustrations, and will stretch you in new and different ways. Spend time in prayer
today that God would specially prepare your heart for the challenges in
communication that will likely arise during your trip.
walking down on the riverfront and you stop to ask a Cambodian which direction it is to
a particular restaurant someone has recommended to you. The Cambodian smiles
politely at you, listens to your question and, still smiling, points you in a direction. After
walking in the humidity and heat for twenty-five minutes and finally giving in, hailing a
tuk-tuk, and finding out that the restaurant was only about two minutes in the
completely opposite direction from where you had stopped to ask for directions, you
are livid.
Why did the seemingly friendly Cambodian
lie to you and give you bad directions? Was it
malicious? Did he not like foreigners? Was he
trying to send you down a rabbit trail?
Probably not. More than likely, the
Cambodian simply did not know the answer
but did not want to “lose face” by admitting
that he did not. Most Cambodians would
rather act with confidence than risk embarrassment or lose the respect of others, even if
it means sending you in the wrong direction.
The concept of “saving face” originates from China, but is has certainly spread to other
cultures.82 Saving face refers to the maintaining of one’s reputation and standing in
society.83 This means that in order to save face, you do everything to avoid
embarrassment.
Since “saving face” is such an embedded part of the Cambodian culture, it is
necessary to understand that it will impact your communication. It will be difficult to see
where this practice is at work, but where you sense that someone may not be telling
you something as it is, consider that it may not be from a malicious intent to lie, but an
attempt to save face.
While it would be great to give you an easy “how-to” guide to communicating in a
“saving face” culture, the reality is that it takes years to learn how to navigate
communication, just as it takes years for a low-context communicator to learn how to
communicate in a high-context communication society. We can give you a couple of pointers here, but be ready to be flexible, to be understanding, and to swallow your
pride when you believe that you have been lied to and wronged.
The following suggestions will be helpful to keep in mind:
Avoid pointing out someone's mistakes openly in front of their peers or strangers. If
you believe that someone is in the wrong and needs to be corrected or assisted –
for example, you are helping a staff person learn a new software or are tutoring a
student in a subject – do not correct them in front of the rest of their peers. Instead,
take them to the side and work with them to see how to complete the task
correctly. They may still feel embarrassed in front of you, but you have at least
eliminated their embarrassment in front of their peers and others.
Make sure to give sincere compliments when they are merited as it helps people to
increase “face” in front of their peers.
Show extra respect to elders, military or other people of uniform.84
Navigating within a new culture, new language, and new people will bring daily
stresses, frustrations, and will stretch you in new and different ways. Spend time in prayer
today that God would specially prepare your heart for the challenges in
communication that will likely arise during your trip.
Day 28: Power Distance
In the past few days we have been looking at ways Cambodian culture is different from
other cultures – particularly Western – such as how different cultures perceive time and
how they communicate. Today we will be looking at another issue one must address in
order to be effective in his or her ministry in Cambodia – power distance.
Power distance is the extent to which people who are less powerful in society – whether
youth, subordinate employees, lower class persons, etc. – will accept inequality in
power and consider that inequality to be normal. According to power distance theory,
there is inequality in power in every society, but the degree to which individuals within
that society will tolerate it varies.77 There are two types of power distances: high-power
distance and low-power distance.
In high-power distance countries and organizations, people don't question the
decisions of their leaders. Leader-follower relationships are not close and followers
expect to have their jobs and responsibilities dictated to them. In some cases, they will
not articulate disagreements with authority for fear of the consequences for stirring up
conflict. High-power distance societies perceive a clear delineation between superiors
and subordinates and between the young and the old, and they place high value on
obedience, respect and allegiance to superiors.78 Cambodia is a country with a highpower
distance culture where people expect leaders and followers to maintain their
roles in the social structure, both in the workplace, but also in everyday life between
elders and youth, parents and children, and other class, age, and societal distinctions.
Low-power distance countries, such as the United States, tend to have more
decentralized hierarchies and they encourage individualism and experimentation.79
Low-power distance individuals are expected to and are more comfortable with
voicing their opinions, even if it contradicts a supervisor’s word.80 Relationships outside
of the workplace – in families and other community groups – also tend to be less formal.
While elders and parents are given a certain degree of respect, individuals are often still
expected to make their own decisions according to their own best interests.
Since Cambodia is a high-power distance culture, it’s important that you show proper respect to those in authority. It is also important for you to know that as a foreigner, you
will be perceived as an honored guest, or person of authority yourself. Many
Cambodians, including AIM staff, may become uncomfortable if you break out of a
perceived hierarchical structure. For example: In an attempt to be kind, you decide to
go into the kitchen of a ministry site and make a meal for the Cambodian cook. While
your intention is to bless and honor him or her, the cook may become embarrassed or
uncomfortable that the honored guest is serving the staff. It may even be perceived as
insulting – that the cook’s service was not up to your standards or taste to the point that
you had to prepare the food yourself.
Because you will be viewed as a person of
authority by most Cambodians, you can use
this position to bless the staff and those you
are there to serve. One of the best ways to
serve Cambodians is to publicly praise and
give words of affirmation to those by whom
you have been blessed. Your words will give
them honor among their peers, followers
and/or superiors, and will allow you to serve
and encourage the staff while not making
them uncomfortable because of power
distance.
At the start of Jesus’ ministry, He went out to the desert to be baptized by John. As He
“came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens being torn open and the
Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my
beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’ The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the
wilderness.”81
God the Father affirmed Jesus publicly in His ministry. It was both a tangible reminder to
Jesus as well as an encouragement, particularly with the trials He was to face
immediately thereafter in the wilderness and in the years to come. Your words have the
power to build up the Cambodian staff by giving them honor and by encouraging
them. Remember that you are only there for a limited time, but it will be up to them to
face the challenges of the days and years ahead to continuously love and show Jesus’
love to the Cambodian people.
Regardless of what you think or how you feel about the high-power distance culture,
consider how you can operate within it to bless and to minister while you are in
Cambodia. Spend time in prayer asking God to prepare you to recognize and take
opportunities to bless others and bring glory to His name.
other cultures – particularly Western – such as how different cultures perceive time and
how they communicate. Today we will be looking at another issue one must address in
order to be effective in his or her ministry in Cambodia – power distance.
Power distance is the extent to which people who are less powerful in society – whether
youth, subordinate employees, lower class persons, etc. – will accept inequality in
power and consider that inequality to be normal. According to power distance theory,
there is inequality in power in every society, but the degree to which individuals within
that society will tolerate it varies.77 There are two types of power distances: high-power
distance and low-power distance.
In high-power distance countries and organizations, people don't question the
decisions of their leaders. Leader-follower relationships are not close and followers
expect to have their jobs and responsibilities dictated to them. In some cases, they will
not articulate disagreements with authority for fear of the consequences for stirring up
conflict. High-power distance societies perceive a clear delineation between superiors
and subordinates and between the young and the old, and they place high value on
obedience, respect and allegiance to superiors.78 Cambodia is a country with a highpower
distance culture where people expect leaders and followers to maintain their
roles in the social structure, both in the workplace, but also in everyday life between
elders and youth, parents and children, and other class, age, and societal distinctions.
Low-power distance countries, such as the United States, tend to have more
decentralized hierarchies and they encourage individualism and experimentation.79
Low-power distance individuals are expected to and are more comfortable with
voicing their opinions, even if it contradicts a supervisor’s word.80 Relationships outside
of the workplace – in families and other community groups – also tend to be less formal.
While elders and parents are given a certain degree of respect, individuals are often still
expected to make their own decisions according to their own best interests.
Since Cambodia is a high-power distance culture, it’s important that you show proper respect to those in authority. It is also important for you to know that as a foreigner, you
will be perceived as an honored guest, or person of authority yourself. Many
Cambodians, including AIM staff, may become uncomfortable if you break out of a
perceived hierarchical structure. For example: In an attempt to be kind, you decide to
go into the kitchen of a ministry site and make a meal for the Cambodian cook. While
your intention is to bless and honor him or her, the cook may become embarrassed or
uncomfortable that the honored guest is serving the staff. It may even be perceived as
insulting – that the cook’s service was not up to your standards or taste to the point that
you had to prepare the food yourself.
Because you will be viewed as a person of
authority by most Cambodians, you can use
this position to bless the staff and those you
are there to serve. One of the best ways to
serve Cambodians is to publicly praise and
give words of affirmation to those by whom
you have been blessed. Your words will give
them honor among their peers, followers
and/or superiors, and will allow you to serve
and encourage the staff while not making
them uncomfortable because of power
distance.
At the start of Jesus’ ministry, He went out to the desert to be baptized by John. As He
“came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens being torn open and the
Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my
beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’ The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the
wilderness.”81
God the Father affirmed Jesus publicly in His ministry. It was both a tangible reminder to
Jesus as well as an encouragement, particularly with the trials He was to face
immediately thereafter in the wilderness and in the years to come. Your words have the
power to build up the Cambodian staff by giving them honor and by encouraging
them. Remember that you are only there for a limited time, but it will be up to them to
face the challenges of the days and years ahead to continuously love and show Jesus’
love to the Cambodian people.
Regardless of what you think or how you feel about the high-power distance culture,
consider how you can operate within it to bless and to minister while you are in
Cambodia. Spend time in prayer asking God to prepare you to recognize and take
opportunities to bless others and bring glory to His name.
Day 27: Social Paradigm – Collective v. Individualistic
Cultures differ in how people relate to their society and how their identities are defined.
In individualistic societies, the goals of individuals are valued more highly than
the goals of the group. Individuals are rewarded for behaving independently,
making their own plans, and working toward achieving their personal goals. In
these societies, individuals are hired and promoted largely based on individual
achievement and qualifications.
In collectivist societies, the goals of the individuals are subordinated to the
group’s needs. In these societies, kinship and group ties are stronger and carry
great weight in decisions about hiring and promotion, even if another candidate
may be more highly qualified.73 People are born into a group to which they owe
loyalty and from which they expect protection. Their relationships and friendships
are determined by membership in their respective group. As life progresses,
people join other groups; for example, when they start working, they join a staff
or group of employees.74 Identity is not isolated; it is determined by the collective
views of the larger group. Likewise, what a person does and how one conducts
oneself is determined by group needs.75
Marriage, for example, provides a basic lens through which to understand the
differences between collectivist and individualistic societies. In countries such as India
or Pakistan, marriages are often arranged and are viewed as opportunities to form
family or business alliances. Children are expected to marry whomever the family
chooses based on the needs of the family. In other countries where arranged marriage
is not common, however, children marry whoever they choose. It is their decision and
they choose based on their own preferences, needs and desires. The preferences of
the individual take precedence over the welfare and preferences of the family.
Similar examples may be drawn from what an individual may choose to study or work.
Students from a collectivistic culture, for example, may be sent to another country to
study whatever their government, company or family needs and not necessarily what they want to pursue. The needs of the group – whether family, company, or country –
take precedence over the individual’s desires.76
In Cambodia, it is all too often that young women “choose” to work in karaoke bars,
beer gardens, or massage parlors because their families put pressure on them to bring
home as much money as possible. Even if families know what actually goes on in such
locations (refer to Day 23 for more information), and even if young women are abused
and do not want to continue, the family pressure is often stronger than the preferences
of the young woman, even if it is to the young woman’s extreme detriment.
When people from individualistic cultures see these types of practices and coercion, it is
easy for the members of one culture to think, “Our way is better.” In our ignorance and
pride, we tend to see cultural differences in terms of good versus bad, right versus
wrong. While it is certainly the case that
certain practices are “bad” and sinful –
forcing one’s daughter into trafficking, for
example – it is not the case that all practices
that are different from our own are inherently
wrong or somehow less than ours.
Instead of judging, we need to understand
these differences and their implications for
ministry. Because Cambodia is a collectivist
society, it is necessary to minister to the entire
family unit and community, not just to individuals. In Svay Pak, putting on the children’s
ministry is not enough to protect the children and to provide for their needs. Unless their
families and, indeed, the entire community, also meet Jesus, they will continue to sell
their children to pimps and pedophiles each night, and the violence in the children’s
lives will persist. The ministry in Svay Pak conducted at Rahab’s House consists not only
of Kid’s Club each day but also medical clinics, the Lord’s Gym, brick factory outreach,
the Rahab’s House School, and discipleship, all of which are put on by the church to
share Jesus’ love with the entire community.
On your trip you may be asked to minister to a church member’s drunk uncle, and you
may find yourself asking, “I thought I was here to stop sex trafficking.” What you may
not realize is that in sharing Jesus with the drunk uncle, you are rescuing his nephew or
niece from being trafficked each night.
Spend some time in prayer that while you and your team are in Cambodia on your
short-term mission, God would use your work, even if seemingly indirect, to carry out His
larger plan to rescue His children from sex trafficking. Ask that you would be prepared
to be His hands and feet to Cambodia, to even the most undesirable of His people.
In individualistic societies, the goals of individuals are valued more highly than
the goals of the group. Individuals are rewarded for behaving independently,
making their own plans, and working toward achieving their personal goals. In
these societies, individuals are hired and promoted largely based on individual
achievement and qualifications.
In collectivist societies, the goals of the individuals are subordinated to the
group’s needs. In these societies, kinship and group ties are stronger and carry
great weight in decisions about hiring and promotion, even if another candidate
may be more highly qualified.73 People are born into a group to which they owe
loyalty and from which they expect protection. Their relationships and friendships
are determined by membership in their respective group. As life progresses,
people join other groups; for example, when they start working, they join a staff
or group of employees.74 Identity is not isolated; it is determined by the collective
views of the larger group. Likewise, what a person does and how one conducts
oneself is determined by group needs.75
Marriage, for example, provides a basic lens through which to understand the
differences between collectivist and individualistic societies. In countries such as India
or Pakistan, marriages are often arranged and are viewed as opportunities to form
family or business alliances. Children are expected to marry whomever the family
chooses based on the needs of the family. In other countries where arranged marriage
is not common, however, children marry whoever they choose. It is their decision and
they choose based on their own preferences, needs and desires. The preferences of
the individual take precedence over the welfare and preferences of the family.
Similar examples may be drawn from what an individual may choose to study or work.
Students from a collectivistic culture, for example, may be sent to another country to
study whatever their government, company or family needs and not necessarily what they want to pursue. The needs of the group – whether family, company, or country –
take precedence over the individual’s desires.76
In Cambodia, it is all too often that young women “choose” to work in karaoke bars,
beer gardens, or massage parlors because their families put pressure on them to bring
home as much money as possible. Even if families know what actually goes on in such
locations (refer to Day 23 for more information), and even if young women are abused
and do not want to continue, the family pressure is often stronger than the preferences
of the young woman, even if it is to the young woman’s extreme detriment.
When people from individualistic cultures see these types of practices and coercion, it is
easy for the members of one culture to think, “Our way is better.” In our ignorance and
pride, we tend to see cultural differences in terms of good versus bad, right versus
wrong. While it is certainly the case that
certain practices are “bad” and sinful –
forcing one’s daughter into trafficking, for
example – it is not the case that all practices
that are different from our own are inherently
wrong or somehow less than ours.
Instead of judging, we need to understand
these differences and their implications for
ministry. Because Cambodia is a collectivist
society, it is necessary to minister to the entire
family unit and community, not just to individuals. In Svay Pak, putting on the children’s
ministry is not enough to protect the children and to provide for their needs. Unless their
families and, indeed, the entire community, also meet Jesus, they will continue to sell
their children to pimps and pedophiles each night, and the violence in the children’s
lives will persist. The ministry in Svay Pak conducted at Rahab’s House consists not only
of Kid’s Club each day but also medical clinics, the Lord’s Gym, brick factory outreach,
the Rahab’s House School, and discipleship, all of which are put on by the church to
share Jesus’ love with the entire community.
On your trip you may be asked to minister to a church member’s drunk uncle, and you
may find yourself asking, “I thought I was here to stop sex trafficking.” What you may
not realize is that in sharing Jesus with the drunk uncle, you are rescuing his nephew or
niece from being trafficked each night.
Spend some time in prayer that while you and your team are in Cambodia on your
short-term mission, God would use your work, even if seemingly indirect, to carry out His
larger plan to rescue His children from sex trafficking. Ask that you would be prepared
to be His hands and feet to Cambodia, to even the most undesirable of His people.
Day 26: Communication – High v. Low Context
Communication may seem to be very black and white – you either know a language
and can communicate with someone, or you do not – but the truth is that the manner
and style in which ideas are communicated are entirely different in other cultures, and
go far beyond a simple language barrier.
In America, the style of communication typically used is classified as low-context
communication. In this style, one focuses more on the literal meanings of actual words
used rather than relying on non-verbal cues to fully interpret meaning. This type of
culture and communication style does well with written words, in which the entirety of
the meaning is dependent upon the words themselves to convey a message.68
Conversely, Cambodia is classified as using a high-context communication style. In this
style, groups use spoken words and non-verbal cues to comprehend what is being
communicated. To fully understand what the speaker intends, a listener must employ
their ability to “read between the lines.” In this style, it is important to listen and observe
concurrently, but even someone from a low-context culture who is highly skilled in both
may still find it difficult to fully grasp a high-context communicator’s meaning.69
In general terms, “high-context” refers to societies or settings that have longestablished,
deep connections. Because of the depth of connection between the
members of the group, much of the communication is understood by implication and
less is stated explicitly.70 Your family would most likely be a good example of a highcontext
group. Other examples of high-context situations might be a party of close
friends, a small church congregation, or a formal restaurant where the rules of behavior
and underlying cues are understood without having to be spelled out.
To most people from low-context communication societies, high-context
communication seems to be very indirect. For example, a friend says that he is hungry
but cannot leave his work to buy food. For a low-context person, this means that the
friend will be hungry until he finishes work, but a high-context person may get the signal
that his friend would like for him to pick up food for him. Saying this directly would
appear to be overly demanding to a high-context individual, but by telling his friend
that he is hungry, another high-context individual will be able to detect the cues and will be placed in a position of offering to pick up food.71 While it may seem that the
high-context individual is talking around what he wants, he is actually giving significant
signals that he expects the listener to understand.
Learning to understand high-context communication cultures is very difficult and takes
years. In the above example, what is going on reflects communication style, but also
other cultural preferences. By hinting that he would like for someone to pick up food,
the high-context communicator saves face if the friend were to refuse, and the friend
has the power to offer or not. Because there are so many cultural influences at work,
give yourself grace as you try to listen and connect with people in Cambodia.
If you are a low-context and direct communicator, you must be careful in how you
communicate with and perceive things from a high-context and indirect
communicator. You may think that they are being evasive, dishonest, can’t take a
stand, have no opinion, or that they are increasing tension by not dealing with issues
directly. Before this becomes your mindset, however, remember the things you have
learned about their culture and ask yourself questions such as, “What is the context
behind what they are saying?” and, “What is the point they are trying to convey?”
You must also be careful of what you might be communicating unintentionally. For
example, if you are sharing at a church in Cambodia with parents of children who are
unable to go to school and you say, “It would be great if someone built a school for all
these children,” a Cambodian listener might think you are stating that you want to
finance the building of a school.
Read Acts 2. There, years after God chose to muddle the languages at the Tower of
Babel, He made it possible for everyone in Jerusalem to understand what the apostles
were saying, each in their own native language. Though some remained incredulous,
God, through the Holy Spirit, spoke to the hearts of many in the crowd that day, “and
there were added that day about three thousand souls.”72
Even as much as God made the disciples’ words bear fruit, God can use your words to
bring glory to His name and serve others in Cambodia. As you are getting ready for
your trip to Cambodia, know that you will probably make mistakes and interpret
something incorrectly in your conversations with Cambodians. This kind of cultural
communication adjustment doesn’t happen overnight and in fact takes years. Spend
time in prayer today and ask God to give you wisdom and grace as you communicate
His love to the AIM staff and all of those you will be ministering to on your trip.
and can communicate with someone, or you do not – but the truth is that the manner
and style in which ideas are communicated are entirely different in other cultures, and
go far beyond a simple language barrier.
In America, the style of communication typically used is classified as low-context
communication. In this style, one focuses more on the literal meanings of actual words
used rather than relying on non-verbal cues to fully interpret meaning. This type of
culture and communication style does well with written words, in which the entirety of
the meaning is dependent upon the words themselves to convey a message.68
Conversely, Cambodia is classified as using a high-context communication style. In this
style, groups use spoken words and non-verbal cues to comprehend what is being
communicated. To fully understand what the speaker intends, a listener must employ
their ability to “read between the lines.” In this style, it is important to listen and observe
concurrently, but even someone from a low-context culture who is highly skilled in both
may still find it difficult to fully grasp a high-context communicator’s meaning.69
In general terms, “high-context” refers to societies or settings that have longestablished,
deep connections. Because of the depth of connection between the
members of the group, much of the communication is understood by implication and
less is stated explicitly.70 Your family would most likely be a good example of a highcontext
group. Other examples of high-context situations might be a party of close
friends, a small church congregation, or a formal restaurant where the rules of behavior
and underlying cues are understood without having to be spelled out.
To most people from low-context communication societies, high-context
communication seems to be very indirect. For example, a friend says that he is hungry
but cannot leave his work to buy food. For a low-context person, this means that the
friend will be hungry until he finishes work, but a high-context person may get the signal
that his friend would like for him to pick up food for him. Saying this directly would
appear to be overly demanding to a high-context individual, but by telling his friend
that he is hungry, another high-context individual will be able to detect the cues and will be placed in a position of offering to pick up food.71 While it may seem that the
high-context individual is talking around what he wants, he is actually giving significant
signals that he expects the listener to understand.
Learning to understand high-context communication cultures is very difficult and takes
years. In the above example, what is going on reflects communication style, but also
other cultural preferences. By hinting that he would like for someone to pick up food,
the high-context communicator saves face if the friend were to refuse, and the friend
has the power to offer or not. Because there are so many cultural influences at work,
give yourself grace as you try to listen and connect with people in Cambodia.
If you are a low-context and direct communicator, you must be careful in how you
communicate with and perceive things from a high-context and indirect
communicator. You may think that they are being evasive, dishonest, can’t take a
stand, have no opinion, or that they are increasing tension by not dealing with issues
directly. Before this becomes your mindset, however, remember the things you have
learned about their culture and ask yourself questions such as, “What is the context
behind what they are saying?” and, “What is the point they are trying to convey?”
You must also be careful of what you might be communicating unintentionally. For
example, if you are sharing at a church in Cambodia with parents of children who are
unable to go to school and you say, “It would be great if someone built a school for all
these children,” a Cambodian listener might think you are stating that you want to
finance the building of a school.
Read Acts 2. There, years after God chose to muddle the languages at the Tower of
Babel, He made it possible for everyone in Jerusalem to understand what the apostles
were saying, each in their own native language. Though some remained incredulous,
God, through the Holy Spirit, spoke to the hearts of many in the crowd that day, “and
there were added that day about three thousand souls.”72
Even as much as God made the disciples’ words bear fruit, God can use your words to
bring glory to His name and serve others in Cambodia. As you are getting ready for
your trip to Cambodia, know that you will probably make mistakes and interpret
something incorrectly in your conversations with Cambodians. This kind of cultural
communication adjustment doesn’t happen overnight and in fact takes years. Spend
time in prayer today and ask God to give you wisdom and grace as you communicate
His love to the AIM staff and all of those you will be ministering to on your trip.
Day 25: Perception of Time – Event Time v. Clock Time
In Western cultures, most people have a tight schedule. Breakfast at 8 a.m., work from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. with a lunch break at noon, dinner at 6 p.m., meet with Jim at 8:30 p.m.,
bed by 11 p.m., and repeat. For the most part we run on an organized day using what
is called “clock-time,” where everything is, as it sounds, scheduled on an external clock.
Our days are thought out, planned, and prepared for “making the most” of our day
and being as productive with our time as possible. Western culture is very futureoriented,
constantly focused on what needs to be done and by when, in order to keep
moving on and to be the most productive.
In Cambodia, along with many other countries, people run on what is called “eventtime.”
In event-time, a schedule would look much more like this: when breakfast ends,
work begins. When one feels that he has accomplished enough for the day, it is time for
dinner. When dinner is done and he feels ready, he can go meet with Jim, and once he
is tired, he will go to bed.66 People run their days by an internal clock; they are focused
on one task at a time and the present.
In clock-time cultures, showing up five to ten minutes after the set time is considered
permissibly late, 15 to 20 minutes after is late, and 30 minutes and beyond after the set
time is considered insultingly late. But in event cultures it is considered permissibly late if
someone is thirty to 45 minutes after the set time. One to two hours after the set time is
considered late, and two to three hours after the set time is considered insultingly late. For many who are accustomed to running on clock-time, this concept of running by an
internal clock is frustrating. It may seem that people do not care, are being
disrespectful, or that they are being unproductive with their time, but that is not the
case. Though event-time may not seem to be the most productive, studies suggest that
both event- and clock-time have to potential to perform well.67
If people are showing up “late” or your schedule is not happening when you exactly
planned it out, don’t freak out. Take a deep breath. You are going to be okay! Realize
that you are not on a mission trip just to accomplish a list of tasks. You are on God’s time
in a new culture and if you are focused on the ultimate thought of just bringing glory to
Him and showing His love, then He will use you wherever you are and through whatever
you are doing.
Read John 4. How does Jesus manage His time? Does He run by clock-time or eventtime?
Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Galilee and stopped to rest. While
sitting at the well, He built a relationship with the woman and stayed at the well waiting
on His disciples and then again waiting for the woman to come back. Who knows how
long that could have been! He was presented with a choice: keep with His plans and
go to Galilee or stay for a bit longer and minister to the Samaritans. What does Jesus
do? He postpones His plans for TWO DAYS! Jesus knew that, yes, plans are important,
but if you are doing the will of God and obeying His commands, then God gives you
the time you need to accomplish what He wants you to do, just as in Joshua 10 when
God literally stopped the sun for the Israelites to have the time they needed to defeat
their adversaries.
Take a moment to consider these questions:
About a week ago, you looked at the difference between making your “results”
people- and process-focused rather than projects- and products-oriented. Remember
that your goal on this trip is not to create specific quantifiable results and that
transformation happens along relational lines that take time to develop. Just as Jesus
operated based on the relational needs of the Samaritan woman and community, be
prepared to operate based on the relational needs of the AIM staff, a community
member, child, or one of your teammates.
Spend some time in prayer asking God to prepare you for what might change, that
when and if the time comes that your plans do not go exactly as you expected, He will
give you a peace and be your firm ground.
a.m. to 5 p.m. with a lunch break at noon, dinner at 6 p.m., meet with Jim at 8:30 p.m.,
bed by 11 p.m., and repeat. For the most part we run on an organized day using what
is called “clock-time,” where everything is, as it sounds, scheduled on an external clock.
Our days are thought out, planned, and prepared for “making the most” of our day
and being as productive with our time as possible. Western culture is very futureoriented,
constantly focused on what needs to be done and by when, in order to keep
moving on and to be the most productive.
In Cambodia, along with many other countries, people run on what is called “eventtime.”
In event-time, a schedule would look much more like this: when breakfast ends,
work begins. When one feels that he has accomplished enough for the day, it is time for
dinner. When dinner is done and he feels ready, he can go meet with Jim, and once he
is tired, he will go to bed.66 People run their days by an internal clock; they are focused
on one task at a time and the present.
In clock-time cultures, showing up five to ten minutes after the set time is considered
permissibly late, 15 to 20 minutes after is late, and 30 minutes and beyond after the set
time is considered insultingly late. But in event cultures it is considered permissibly late if
someone is thirty to 45 minutes after the set time. One to two hours after the set time is
considered late, and two to three hours after the set time is considered insultingly late. For many who are accustomed to running on clock-time, this concept of running by an
internal clock is frustrating. It may seem that people do not care, are being
disrespectful, or that they are being unproductive with their time, but that is not the
case. Though event-time may not seem to be the most productive, studies suggest that
both event- and clock-time have to potential to perform well.67
If people are showing up “late” or your schedule is not happening when you exactly
planned it out, don’t freak out. Take a deep breath. You are going to be okay! Realize
that you are not on a mission trip just to accomplish a list of tasks. You are on God’s time
in a new culture and if you are focused on the ultimate thought of just bringing glory to
Him and showing His love, then He will use you wherever you are and through whatever
you are doing.
Read John 4. How does Jesus manage His time? Does He run by clock-time or eventtime?
Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Galilee and stopped to rest. While
sitting at the well, He built a relationship with the woman and stayed at the well waiting
on His disciples and then again waiting for the woman to come back. Who knows how
long that could have been! He was presented with a choice: keep with His plans and
go to Galilee or stay for a bit longer and minister to the Samaritans. What does Jesus
do? He postpones His plans for TWO DAYS! Jesus knew that, yes, plans are important,
but if you are doing the will of God and obeying His commands, then God gives you
the time you need to accomplish what He wants you to do, just as in Joshua 10 when
God literally stopped the sun for the Israelites to have the time they needed to defeat
their adversaries.
Take a moment to consider these questions:
- How will being in an event-time culture challenge me?
- How can I be preparing myself for those challenges?
About a week ago, you looked at the difference between making your “results”
people- and process-focused rather than projects- and products-oriented. Remember
that your goal on this trip is not to create specific quantifiable results and that
transformation happens along relational lines that take time to develop. Just as Jesus
operated based on the relational needs of the Samaritan woman and community, be
prepared to operate based on the relational needs of the AIM staff, a community
member, child, or one of your teammates.
Spend some time in prayer asking God to prepare you for what might change, that
when and if the time comes that your plans do not go exactly as you expected, He will
give you a peace and be your firm ground.
Day 24: Cultural Preparation – Understanding the Different Types of Sex Trafficking in Cambodia
Many people, when they think of sex trafficking, have a limited view of what this form of
exploitation entails. One common image that may come to mind is of a small child,
kidnapped from her parents or purchased from a rural village in Vietnam, transported
over the border to Cambodia and sold to foreign men in a dirty brothel along with
hundreds of other girls. While this perception is not wrong, the truth is that it is only one
of many examples of sex trafficking in Cambodia.
Today, you will read briefly about some of the most common forms of sex trafficking in
Cambodia, but it is important first that you deal with one very common but displaced
stigma on women and children in prostitution. Prostitution, in Cambodia and in the rest
of the world, goes hand-in-hand with sex
trafficking. Sex trafficking, as a crime, exists
where a person who is underage64 or by
force, fraud or coercion, has been
purchased and sold for sex—there is no
requirement that the person be transported.
This means that not only are kidnapping
victims who are bought and sold for sex
considered victims of trafficking, but also any
person in prostitution who is being controlled
by a pimp or brothel owner should be
considered a trafficking victim as well. Furthermore, coercion takes many forms—any
person who is in prostitution because of poverty, economic coercion, racism, a lack of
alternatives because of other stigmas or limitations placed upon her (she is the child of
prostitution, a minority, a non-citizen, an orphan, a victim of sexual abuse, etc.) is
trafficked. What may appear to be “choice” by a woman or child to sell sex is actually
coercion by the circumstances of their lives and depravity of their society.
It is crucial that we avoid placing stigma or judgment on any person we see in systems
of prostitution or trafficking because these are the very women and children you are
going to Cambodia to serve. Some of them will be easier to love than others, but it is
important that you remember the circumstances in their lives that have led them to
where they are today. Trafficking in Cambodia, as elsewhere in the world, takes many forms. The following are
typical examples of a few:
Child trafficking: Svay Pak, where AIM operates Rahab’s House I and II, the
Agape Training Center, Lord’s Gym, and the Rahab’s House School, was known
as the epicenter of child sex-trafficking in Cambodia. Tourists from all over the
world would travel to Svay Pak, about eleven kilometers outside of Phnom
Penh,65 to purchase the youngest and most vulnerable for sex. Most of the
children being bought and sold in Svay Pak came from Vietnam, rural
Cambodia, or Svay Pak itself. Most were typically taken through fraud or
coercion from their families, though some families may well know what is
happening and are complicit in the exploitation. Until about 2005, children were
sold out of brothels to pedophiles, but after many of these brothels were raided
by police, traffickers developed new tactics. Svay Pak is no longer the epicenter
it once was, but trafficking still persists, albeit more covertly. Now, when
pedophiles would come into town, a trafficker negotiates meeting places and
prices for the child to be exploited elsewhere.
Massage Parlor Trafficking: Many young women and children are also exploited
in massage parlors. Most of the young women in massage parlors are older than
the children exploited in Svay Pak, and their coercion takes a different form.
When customers, both foreign and domestic, come to the massage parlor,
prices and terms are negotiated. While the massage parlor may offer massages,
other forms of sexual conduct may also be available for customers to request.
The women who work at these massage parlors are typically expected to meet
customers’ requests, regardless of whether they want to or not, because it helps
to earn the massage parlor more revenue than basic massage services.
Karaoke bars are now one of the most common forms of entertainment and
exploitation in Cambodia. Karaoke bars employ young women to keep
customers entertained while they sing karaoke. In most bars, sex doesn’t occur
on the premises, but customers negotiate meeting places and times with bar
managers or the young women. Women are expected to make and keep these
appointments, and they have to pay fees to the karaoke bar, their drivers, and
often the hotels where the meetings occur. Holding these appointments offpremises
allows bar owners to claim that they are not brothels, but in most cases,
women are forced by their employers, at times with physical violence, to make
and take “dates,” even with customers who appear very dangerous. Many women and girls working at karaoke bars appear to be able to come and
go as they please, but they often have pressure from their families to work there
in order to send money home. While it may appear that it is their choice to be
there, it is important to understand that family pressure keeps them there as well
as cultural stigma if they try to leave and seek employment elsewhere.
Beer gardens are essentially bars or clubs where customers come to socialize,
drink and party. Similar to karaoke bars, young women are employed to serve
customers in beer gardens, and customers often make arrangements with the
women or managers to meet off-premises. Like in karaoke bars, the women have
little say in refusing customers, and while they have the freedom to quit their work
at the beer garden, because of the social stigma placed on them for having
engaged in that work, they are often left with few other opportunities.
Furthermore, like the girls working at karaoke bars, most of them are there
because of family pressure to make money to send home.
AIM does outreach to and works with young women and children who have been
subjected to trafficking in each of these different forms. Even where it may appear to
be a young woman’s choice to remain where she is, it is important that you understand
that the coercion and circumstances for why she is there vary. Rahab’s House-Siem
Reap is located within walking distance of a karaoke bar and was started specifically to
reach out to girls in these bars throughout the city. The center holds medical clinics, runs
a beauty salon, offers ESL and other types of classes, and provides opportunities for the
girls to leave the karaoke bars if they do not want to return (see page 32 of the
Appendix for more information about Rahab’s House-Siem Reap). The volunteers and
staff in Siem Reap are dedicated to demonstrating consistent and ongoing love for the
girls trafficked in the karaoke bars, and it has been through this type of consistent
presence and outreach that they have begun to make an impact in the community
and have seen many girls begin to transition out of the bars.
Read John 8:3-11. It is not your place to pass judgment, nor is it your place to think of
yourself as higher than you ought. Remember from earlier days in this devotional that
you are not going to Cambodia to rescue, to pity, or to look down upon those you
have come to serve, but rather that you are going in order to serve and to glorify God.
Here are some questions to consider:
exploitation entails. One common image that may come to mind is of a small child,
kidnapped from her parents or purchased from a rural village in Vietnam, transported
over the border to Cambodia and sold to foreign men in a dirty brothel along with
hundreds of other girls. While this perception is not wrong, the truth is that it is only one
of many examples of sex trafficking in Cambodia.
Today, you will read briefly about some of the most common forms of sex trafficking in
Cambodia, but it is important first that you deal with one very common but displaced
stigma on women and children in prostitution. Prostitution, in Cambodia and in the rest
of the world, goes hand-in-hand with sex
trafficking. Sex trafficking, as a crime, exists
where a person who is underage64 or by
force, fraud or coercion, has been
purchased and sold for sex—there is no
requirement that the person be transported.
This means that not only are kidnapping
victims who are bought and sold for sex
considered victims of trafficking, but also any
person in prostitution who is being controlled
by a pimp or brothel owner should be
considered a trafficking victim as well. Furthermore, coercion takes many forms—any
person who is in prostitution because of poverty, economic coercion, racism, a lack of
alternatives because of other stigmas or limitations placed upon her (she is the child of
prostitution, a minority, a non-citizen, an orphan, a victim of sexual abuse, etc.) is
trafficked. What may appear to be “choice” by a woman or child to sell sex is actually
coercion by the circumstances of their lives and depravity of their society.
It is crucial that we avoid placing stigma or judgment on any person we see in systems
of prostitution or trafficking because these are the very women and children you are
going to Cambodia to serve. Some of them will be easier to love than others, but it is
important that you remember the circumstances in their lives that have led them to
where they are today. Trafficking in Cambodia, as elsewhere in the world, takes many forms. The following are
typical examples of a few:
Child trafficking: Svay Pak, where AIM operates Rahab’s House I and II, the
Agape Training Center, Lord’s Gym, and the Rahab’s House School, was known
as the epicenter of child sex-trafficking in Cambodia. Tourists from all over the
world would travel to Svay Pak, about eleven kilometers outside of Phnom
Penh,65 to purchase the youngest and most vulnerable for sex. Most of the
children being bought and sold in Svay Pak came from Vietnam, rural
Cambodia, or Svay Pak itself. Most were typically taken through fraud or
coercion from their families, though some families may well know what is
happening and are complicit in the exploitation. Until about 2005, children were
sold out of brothels to pedophiles, but after many of these brothels were raided
by police, traffickers developed new tactics. Svay Pak is no longer the epicenter
it once was, but trafficking still persists, albeit more covertly. Now, when
pedophiles would come into town, a trafficker negotiates meeting places and
prices for the child to be exploited elsewhere.
Massage Parlor Trafficking: Many young women and children are also exploited
in massage parlors. Most of the young women in massage parlors are older than
the children exploited in Svay Pak, and their coercion takes a different form.
When customers, both foreign and domestic, come to the massage parlor,
prices and terms are negotiated. While the massage parlor may offer massages,
other forms of sexual conduct may also be available for customers to request.
The women who work at these massage parlors are typically expected to meet
customers’ requests, regardless of whether they want to or not, because it helps
to earn the massage parlor more revenue than basic massage services.
Karaoke bars are now one of the most common forms of entertainment and
exploitation in Cambodia. Karaoke bars employ young women to keep
customers entertained while they sing karaoke. In most bars, sex doesn’t occur
on the premises, but customers negotiate meeting places and times with bar
managers or the young women. Women are expected to make and keep these
appointments, and they have to pay fees to the karaoke bar, their drivers, and
often the hotels where the meetings occur. Holding these appointments offpremises
allows bar owners to claim that they are not brothels, but in most cases,
women are forced by their employers, at times with physical violence, to make
and take “dates,” even with customers who appear very dangerous. Many women and girls working at karaoke bars appear to be able to come and
go as they please, but they often have pressure from their families to work there
in order to send money home. While it may appear that it is their choice to be
there, it is important to understand that family pressure keeps them there as well
as cultural stigma if they try to leave and seek employment elsewhere.
Beer gardens are essentially bars or clubs where customers come to socialize,
drink and party. Similar to karaoke bars, young women are employed to serve
customers in beer gardens, and customers often make arrangements with the
women or managers to meet off-premises. Like in karaoke bars, the women have
little say in refusing customers, and while they have the freedom to quit their work
at the beer garden, because of the social stigma placed on them for having
engaged in that work, they are often left with few other opportunities.
Furthermore, like the girls working at karaoke bars, most of them are there
because of family pressure to make money to send home.
AIM does outreach to and works with young women and children who have been
subjected to trafficking in each of these different forms. Even where it may appear to
be a young woman’s choice to remain where she is, it is important that you understand
that the coercion and circumstances for why she is there vary. Rahab’s House-Siem
Reap is located within walking distance of a karaoke bar and was started specifically to
reach out to girls in these bars throughout the city. The center holds medical clinics, runs
a beauty salon, offers ESL and other types of classes, and provides opportunities for the
girls to leave the karaoke bars if they do not want to return (see page 32 of the
Appendix for more information about Rahab’s House-Siem Reap). The volunteers and
staff in Siem Reap are dedicated to demonstrating consistent and ongoing love for the
girls trafficked in the karaoke bars, and it has been through this type of consistent
presence and outreach that they have begun to make an impact in the community
and have seen many girls begin to transition out of the bars.
Read John 8:3-11. It is not your place to pass judgment, nor is it your place to think of
yourself as higher than you ought. Remember from earlier days in this devotional that
you are not going to Cambodia to rescue, to pity, or to look down upon those you
have come to serve, but rather that you are going in order to serve and to glorify God.
Here are some questions to consider:
- What are my preconceived notions about sex trafficking in Cambodia?
- What are my preconceived notions about the people to whom we will be ministering?
- How do I serve and love without judgment or bias and with a humble heart?
Day 23: Cultural Preparation – The Killing Fields and Their Effects
Cambodia’s recent history contains tragedy that has had profound, lasting effects on
its people and culture. It is important that you are aware of this as you prepare to set
foot in Cambodia, as it will help you to be sensitive and to better understand the
people.
Between the years1975-1979, Cambodia was controlled by a communist regime called
the Khmer Rouge, led by the extremely oppressive dictator, Pol Pot. During this time, Pol
Pot managed to inflict a massive-scale genocide which wiped out close to two million
Cambodians – more than twenty percent of its entire population.57
The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975 and Pol Pot turned the entire
country upside down, starting by declaring it “Year Zero”. With the goal to transform the
country into a Maoist agrarian state that would be completely autonomous, he
immediately instituted a program designed to eradicate any trace of capitalism,
religion, or foreign influences (specifically Western) from Cambodia. It was a brutal,
systematic process: foreigners were extradited, embassies were shut down, and the
currency was abolished. Shops and markets became illegal. Private property was
absorbed by the regime. Schools, newspapers, and religious practices were forbidden.
Anyone who opposed the regime or could be suspected of opposition was murdered:
members of the Lon Nol government, public servants, police, military officers, teachers,
ethnic Vietnamese, Christian clergy, Muslim leaders, members of the Cham Muslim
minority, members of the middle-class and the educated. 58
Agricultural labor camps the size of soccer fields were set up, and the Khmer Rouge
proceeded to force the country's entire population to live and work in the camps.
These camps, which infamously became known as the “killing fields,” were surrounded
by farmland and contained mass graves for around 20,000 Cambodians.59 Conditions
for inmates were extremely primitive. Families were not allowed to stay together,
religious leaders were not allowed to practice their beliefs, large-scale political
indoctrination and brainwashing was aggressively instituted, and children were taught to spy on adults, including their parents.60
Within these camps, millions died from over-work, starvation, disease, and execution for
punishable crimes. Such “crimes” included not working hard enough, complaining,
grieving for deceased loved ones, any expression of religious connotation, engaging in
sexual contact, collecting food, and wearing jewelry.61
On January 7, 1979, after three years, eight months, and twenty days of the Khmer
Rouge’s terrorizing rule, the Vietnamese invaded and freed the Cambodian people.
Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians fled to refugee camps at the Thai border. Their
homeland had become a place of
nightmares, and many Cambodians chose
to immigrate to places like the United States,
France, or Australia instead of returning
home.62
This genocide and these “killing fields” have
left a lasting effect on the people of
Cambodia. Those that survived were
subjected to working conditions that kept
them at the brink of death daily, they saw family and friends die of starvation or horrific
violence, and they received no reprieve from the terror. Because of this, many struggle
with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or severe depression.63
All of this has led to the breakdown of the family structure, a survival mentality, and a
cheap view of the value of life. These three outcomes contribute to a false perception
that it is not that big of a deal for parents to sell and traffick their children to ensure that
they will never be hungry again.
When you are in Cambodia, do not be surprised by some families’ and communities’
calloused perceptions of the buying and selling of human life. Pray for the healing and
softening of their hearts, that they would not simply bury their pain but that they would
find healing and redemption in Christ.
its people and culture. It is important that you are aware of this as you prepare to set
foot in Cambodia, as it will help you to be sensitive and to better understand the
people.
Between the years1975-1979, Cambodia was controlled by a communist regime called
the Khmer Rouge, led by the extremely oppressive dictator, Pol Pot. During this time, Pol
Pot managed to inflict a massive-scale genocide which wiped out close to two million
Cambodians – more than twenty percent of its entire population.57
The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975 and Pol Pot turned the entire
country upside down, starting by declaring it “Year Zero”. With the goal to transform the
country into a Maoist agrarian state that would be completely autonomous, he
immediately instituted a program designed to eradicate any trace of capitalism,
religion, or foreign influences (specifically Western) from Cambodia. It was a brutal,
systematic process: foreigners were extradited, embassies were shut down, and the
currency was abolished. Shops and markets became illegal. Private property was
absorbed by the regime. Schools, newspapers, and religious practices were forbidden.
Anyone who opposed the regime or could be suspected of opposition was murdered:
members of the Lon Nol government, public servants, police, military officers, teachers,
ethnic Vietnamese, Christian clergy, Muslim leaders, members of the Cham Muslim
minority, members of the middle-class and the educated. 58
Agricultural labor camps the size of soccer fields were set up, and the Khmer Rouge
proceeded to force the country's entire population to live and work in the camps.
These camps, which infamously became known as the “killing fields,” were surrounded
by farmland and contained mass graves for around 20,000 Cambodians.59 Conditions
for inmates were extremely primitive. Families were not allowed to stay together,
religious leaders were not allowed to practice their beliefs, large-scale political
indoctrination and brainwashing was aggressively instituted, and children were taught to spy on adults, including their parents.60
Within these camps, millions died from over-work, starvation, disease, and execution for
punishable crimes. Such “crimes” included not working hard enough, complaining,
grieving for deceased loved ones, any expression of religious connotation, engaging in
sexual contact, collecting food, and wearing jewelry.61
On January 7, 1979, after three years, eight months, and twenty days of the Khmer
Rouge’s terrorizing rule, the Vietnamese invaded and freed the Cambodian people.
Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians fled to refugee camps at the Thai border. Their
homeland had become a place of
nightmares, and many Cambodians chose
to immigrate to places like the United States,
France, or Australia instead of returning
home.62
This genocide and these “killing fields” have
left a lasting effect on the people of
Cambodia. Those that survived were
subjected to working conditions that kept
them at the brink of death daily, they saw family and friends die of starvation or horrific
violence, and they received no reprieve from the terror. Because of this, many struggle
with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or severe depression.63
All of this has led to the breakdown of the family structure, a survival mentality, and a
cheap view of the value of life. These three outcomes contribute to a false perception
that it is not that big of a deal for parents to sell and traffick their children to ensure that
they will never be hungry again.
When you are in Cambodia, do not be surprised by some families’ and communities’
calloused perceptions of the buying and selling of human life. Pray for the healing and
softening of their hearts, that they would not simply bury their pain but that they would
find healing and redemption in Christ.
Day 22: Cultural Preparation – Religions in Cambodia (Buddhism and Animism)
Don Cormack wrote, “To be a Christian in Cambodian society was to be a social
pariah, misunderstood and ill-treated, a convenient scapegoat for blame and
abuse.”53
The Cambodian people have a religious system that is made up of many beliefs. Over
the years they have mixed together elements from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Animism to
form what is now referred to as Folk Buddhism, which has become a part of everyday
life in Cambodia.
Although Folk Buddhism is composed of three separate belief systems, Animism plays
the largest role and is a major cornerstone for Folk Buddhism. Animism is known as the
belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself, possess souls.54
The first thing we need to know about Folk Buddhism is that it is saturated in beliefs
revolving around spirits. The Cambodian people believe in a spiritual realm that is
unseen to everyone.55 Followers believe in a constant battle between spirits, rather than
one, all-powerful spiritual being. Followers of Folk Buddhism are also very superstitious
and ritualistic. Because of this, their faith is practiced in a tangible, practical manner.
For some, this may include going to a temple. But for many, a trip to a temple may be replaced with a daily walk into their front yard to a personally constructed spirit house.
These spirit houses reflect what each individual worships and how they worship. Each
house is constructed differently and serves a different purpose.56
Sadly in some cultures, Folk Buddhism has absorbed different aspects of Christianity and
Catholicism, taking bits and pieces and making them into parts of their own. As such,
you may stumble upon a spirit house built around Jesus or Mary. Keep in mind that such
a spirit house does not signal the worship of our God, but rather the recognition of His
powers, and a plea to help the person who built it. This will open up doors for ministry,
but needs to be treaded upon very cautiously.
It is important to understand the cultural and spiritual context in which you will be
ministering to understand how your words and your discussions might be perceived. Be
careful to continue to take into account where you are, and allow God to lead you in
your conversation. Spend time in prayer today that God might speak and work
through you in all of your interactions with people in Cambodia—that they may be
used for His glory and for the furtherance of His work.
pariah, misunderstood and ill-treated, a convenient scapegoat for blame and
abuse.”53
The Cambodian people have a religious system that is made up of many beliefs. Over
the years they have mixed together elements from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Animism to
form what is now referred to as Folk Buddhism, which has become a part of everyday
life in Cambodia.
Although Folk Buddhism is composed of three separate belief systems, Animism plays
the largest role and is a major cornerstone for Folk Buddhism. Animism is known as the
belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself, possess souls.54
The first thing we need to know about Folk Buddhism is that it is saturated in beliefs
revolving around spirits. The Cambodian people believe in a spiritual realm that is
unseen to everyone.55 Followers believe in a constant battle between spirits, rather than
one, all-powerful spiritual being. Followers of Folk Buddhism are also very superstitious
and ritualistic. Because of this, their faith is practiced in a tangible, practical manner.
For some, this may include going to a temple. But for many, a trip to a temple may be replaced with a daily walk into their front yard to a personally constructed spirit house.
These spirit houses reflect what each individual worships and how they worship. Each
house is constructed differently and serves a different purpose.56
Sadly in some cultures, Folk Buddhism has absorbed different aspects of Christianity and
Catholicism, taking bits and pieces and making them into parts of their own. As such,
you may stumble upon a spirit house built around Jesus or Mary. Keep in mind that such
a spirit house does not signal the worship of our God, but rather the recognition of His
powers, and a plea to help the person who built it. This will open up doors for ministry,
but needs to be treaded upon very cautiously.
It is important to understand the cultural and spiritual context in which you will be
ministering to understand how your words and your discussions might be perceived. Be
careful to continue to take into account where you are, and allow God to lead you in
your conversation. Spend time in prayer today that God might speak and work
through you in all of your interactions with people in Cambodia—that they may be
used for His glory and for the furtherance of His work.
Day 21: Confidentiality
Could you ever imagine that you might exploit a child sex-trafficking victim? Never in
your wildest nightmares, right? However, there are ways you might exploit one of the
children in Cambodia without realizing it. The most common way this occurs is by taking
her story and/or her picture and sharing it with others.
This may not sound like a big deal, but the exploitation is real and may be very
damaging to the child. Exploitation is the unfair treatment or practice of taking selfish
advantage of another person or situation, usually for personal gain. Many of the
children you meet have previously known nothing but exploitation. Their parents may
have sold them or may be selling them to traffickers or pedophiles to earn money, they
may be employed under horrendous conditions for minimal pay at a brick factory, or
they may have had community members turn their backs on them by refusing to help
end their abuse. The first time they may have met someone who didn’t want to use
them for their own personal gain was when they met an outreach worker from Rahab’s
House in Siem Reap or a church member from Svay Pak.
When you go to work with the AIM staff in Cambodia, you may become privy to
information that is highly confidential. One of the children you meet may choose to
share her story with you, you may learn something or see something that clues you in to
both the horrendous abuse and some of the
miraculous transformation that has taken
place in the lives of some of the people you
will meet. Their stories are precious and they
belong to the people whose lives they are
about.
If you take their stories to share them with
people back home, you are furthering their
exploitation because you have taken
something that belongs to them and are using it to your own benefit while no benefit
goes back to them. Sharing one’s story, particularly when it involves abuse, is very
vulnerable for a young woman or child, and allowing their stories to go beyond yourself
and your team may lead to her detriment.
Read James 1:26-27. Consider the harshness of James’ words. Your mission in
Cambodia is to love, to serve and to glorify God in the way that you interact with
everyone that you meet. This mission carries beyond your time in Cambodia to when
you come home. You are called to ongoing protection and care for “orphans and
widows in their affliction,” and to do nothing that may add to it. Now read James 3:1-12. Your task will not be easy. Spend time today and in the days
ahead in prayer, asking God to bridle your tongue.
You may notice that AIM has occasionally shared stories of different young women and
girls, including that of Mien, in The Pink Room. Agape Restoration Center (ARC) is a
facility that houses girls who have been severely abused through sex trafficking. At ARC,
girls receive counseling, therapy, education, and ongoing love and support from the
live-in staff (see page 20 of the Appendix to learn more about ARC). On occasion, a girl
may specifically approach the staff about being able to share her story, and after her
counselors, social workers and other staff have spent time in consultation and prayer to
ensure that this will help in her healing process, she has been enabled to do so. Only
under these circumstances are specific stories shared because the ability to share will
help – rather than exploit – the young woman.
Reflect on the following questions:
Remember that even as much as you are not going to Cambodia to be a “poverty
tourist” and to collect photos of the pitiful plight of impoverished people, you are also
not going to Cambodia as a collector of stories to bring back to your friends and family.
your wildest nightmares, right? However, there are ways you might exploit one of the
children in Cambodia without realizing it. The most common way this occurs is by taking
her story and/or her picture and sharing it with others.
This may not sound like a big deal, but the exploitation is real and may be very
damaging to the child. Exploitation is the unfair treatment or practice of taking selfish
advantage of another person or situation, usually for personal gain. Many of the
children you meet have previously known nothing but exploitation. Their parents may
have sold them or may be selling them to traffickers or pedophiles to earn money, they
may be employed under horrendous conditions for minimal pay at a brick factory, or
they may have had community members turn their backs on them by refusing to help
end their abuse. The first time they may have met someone who didn’t want to use
them for their own personal gain was when they met an outreach worker from Rahab’s
House in Siem Reap or a church member from Svay Pak.
When you go to work with the AIM staff in Cambodia, you may become privy to
information that is highly confidential. One of the children you meet may choose to
share her story with you, you may learn something or see something that clues you in to
both the horrendous abuse and some of the
miraculous transformation that has taken
place in the lives of some of the people you
will meet. Their stories are precious and they
belong to the people whose lives they are
about.
If you take their stories to share them with
people back home, you are furthering their
exploitation because you have taken
something that belongs to them and are using it to your own benefit while no benefit
goes back to them. Sharing one’s story, particularly when it involves abuse, is very
vulnerable for a young woman or child, and allowing their stories to go beyond yourself
and your team may lead to her detriment.
Read James 1:26-27. Consider the harshness of James’ words. Your mission in
Cambodia is to love, to serve and to glorify God in the way that you interact with
everyone that you meet. This mission carries beyond your time in Cambodia to when
you come home. You are called to ongoing protection and care for “orphans and
widows in their affliction,” and to do nothing that may add to it. Now read James 3:1-12. Your task will not be easy. Spend time today and in the days
ahead in prayer, asking God to bridle your tongue.
You may notice that AIM has occasionally shared stories of different young women and
girls, including that of Mien, in The Pink Room. Agape Restoration Center (ARC) is a
facility that houses girls who have been severely abused through sex trafficking. At ARC,
girls receive counseling, therapy, education, and ongoing love and support from the
live-in staff (see page 20 of the Appendix to learn more about ARC). On occasion, a girl
may specifically approach the staff about being able to share her story, and after her
counselors, social workers and other staff have spent time in consultation and prayer to
ensure that this will help in her healing process, she has been enabled to do so. Only
under these circumstances are specific stories shared because the ability to share will
help – rather than exploit – the young woman.
Reflect on the following questions:
- What might tempt me to break confidentiality and to share the stories of the children that I meet? Why would this be a temptation?
- How may I best be a steward of the stories I receive from the people I meet? Are there precautions I need to take in order to bridle my tongue to avoid telling people back home and risk exploiting one of God’s children?
Remember that even as much as you are not going to Cambodia to be a “poverty
tourist” and to collect photos of the pitiful plight of impoverished people, you are also
not going to Cambodia as a collector of stories to bring back to your friends and family.
Day 20: Trust and Respect the Staff on the Field
A short-term mission participant gets in the van to head out to Svay Pak, excited to see
the town and the people for whom she has long been praying. As she pulls into town,
she reaches for her camera and begins to take pictures from the van window. The van
stops, the door slides open, and the hot humid air rushes in. Her heart beats with
excitement as she steps into town, camera in hand. She is ready to capture amazing
moments, images of Cambodian men at a coffee shop, children running and playing in
an alley, and street vendors bartering over prices.
After taking a few pictures, however, an AIM staff member approaches her briskly. “Put
your camera away,” he says firmly.
“I was told by someone else at AIM that it was okay to take pictures in Svay Pak,” she
replies.
The AIM staff member grabs for the woman’s camera and says in a firm, almost
aggressive, tone, “I need you to put your camera down and get indoors right now!”
The young woman walks away, frustrated that she wasn’t allowed to take pictures and
taken aback at the staff member’s abruptness. Hadn’t she been praying and preparing
for months to come and serve the people of Cambodia, giving of her time, energy and
finances?
Given the situation, how should the staff member have responded to the young
woman? What could the young woman have done to improve the situation?
Maybe the staff member should have been kinder in his tone. Maybe he could have
explained why he wanted her to go inside. All the answers that you may give to the
above questions are based on your understanding of what was going on in the
scenario. However, there may be much more happening behind the scenes.
Read the story again.
Two hours before a short-term mission team is about to arrive in Svay Pak, the AIM staff
member spots a trafficker and two young girls for whom the anti-trafficking police had
been searching the last few months. The staff member discreetly follows the trafficker to
a home where he is hiding the young girls. The trafficker locks the young girls inside and
sits down on a chair outside the home to stand guard. The staff member finds an
inconspicuous spot to keep an eye on the home, just far enough away to avoid scaring
the trafficker into running away with the girls and to call the anti-trafficking police to get
a warrant and rescue the girls. The staff member sits in a chair, watching, praying, and
waiting, and he’s very excited about the potential of seeing these precious young girls
rescued. While he waits, the van full of Americans pulls up and one young woman starts taking
pictures of the alley he is in. The trafficker stands up nervously and begins to debate
whether he needs to run to a different location with the two trafficked girls. The AIM
staff member briskly approaches the young woman taking the pictures and says, “Put
your camera away.”
To his extreme frustration, she replies, “I was told by someone else at AIM that it was
okay to take pictures in Svay Pak.”
Knowing that the police are on their way and that these girls might not have a second
chance, he grabs for her camera and forcefully says, “I need you to put your camera
down and get indoors right now!”
As the young woman reluctantly and slowly obeys, the AIM staff member turns around
to see that in the time he was talking with the young woman, the trafficker has fled with
the two child victims.
The saddest part of this scenario is that it is a true story. We were never able to find
those two young girls again.
Knowing the full details of what was going on, how would you now respond to those
same questions? Given the situation, how should the staff member have responded to
the young woman? What could the young woman have done to improve the
situation? Now that you know the details, maybe your answers to this question have
changed.
Here’s the reality: You will not know the full details of what is happening in every
situation on the ground. You may not know that the reason an AIM staff member asks
one of the young men on your team to do a menial task instead of a home visit with
some of the other women on the team is because one of the girls at the home was
abused by a Westerner. You may not know that the reason that an AIM staff member
cancels an outreach is because police are trying to do an investigation. You may not
know that the reason you are not permitted to take pictures on a given day is that
tensions are high on the streets because two gang members got in a fight last night.
You may not know, but you must trust and obey the staff. Understand that rules or plans
may change for reasons that are outside what you need to know. They are not being
made simply to test your flexibility or patience, but for your own good or for the good of
those you are there to serve.
We cannot stress this enough. You must trust and obey the staff on the ground without
hesitation. Questions can be asked on van rides, at the hotel, or over lunch, but if you’re
on a ministry site and a staff member asks you to do or refrain from doing something,
trust and obey immediately.
the town and the people for whom she has long been praying. As she pulls into town,
she reaches for her camera and begins to take pictures from the van window. The van
stops, the door slides open, and the hot humid air rushes in. Her heart beats with
excitement as she steps into town, camera in hand. She is ready to capture amazing
moments, images of Cambodian men at a coffee shop, children running and playing in
an alley, and street vendors bartering over prices.
After taking a few pictures, however, an AIM staff member approaches her briskly. “Put
your camera away,” he says firmly.
“I was told by someone else at AIM that it was okay to take pictures in Svay Pak,” she
replies.
The AIM staff member grabs for the woman’s camera and says in a firm, almost
aggressive, tone, “I need you to put your camera down and get indoors right now!”
The young woman walks away, frustrated that she wasn’t allowed to take pictures and
taken aback at the staff member’s abruptness. Hadn’t she been praying and preparing
for months to come and serve the people of Cambodia, giving of her time, energy and
finances?
Given the situation, how should the staff member have responded to the young
woman? What could the young woman have done to improve the situation?
Maybe the staff member should have been kinder in his tone. Maybe he could have
explained why he wanted her to go inside. All the answers that you may give to the
above questions are based on your understanding of what was going on in the
scenario. However, there may be much more happening behind the scenes.
Read the story again.
Two hours before a short-term mission team is about to arrive in Svay Pak, the AIM staff
member spots a trafficker and two young girls for whom the anti-trafficking police had
been searching the last few months. The staff member discreetly follows the trafficker to
a home where he is hiding the young girls. The trafficker locks the young girls inside and
sits down on a chair outside the home to stand guard. The staff member finds an
inconspicuous spot to keep an eye on the home, just far enough away to avoid scaring
the trafficker into running away with the girls and to call the anti-trafficking police to get
a warrant and rescue the girls. The staff member sits in a chair, watching, praying, and
waiting, and he’s very excited about the potential of seeing these precious young girls
rescued. While he waits, the van full of Americans pulls up and one young woman starts taking
pictures of the alley he is in. The trafficker stands up nervously and begins to debate
whether he needs to run to a different location with the two trafficked girls. The AIM
staff member briskly approaches the young woman taking the pictures and says, “Put
your camera away.”
To his extreme frustration, she replies, “I was told by someone else at AIM that it was
okay to take pictures in Svay Pak.”
Knowing that the police are on their way and that these girls might not have a second
chance, he grabs for her camera and forcefully says, “I need you to put your camera
down and get indoors right now!”
As the young woman reluctantly and slowly obeys, the AIM staff member turns around
to see that in the time he was talking with the young woman, the trafficker has fled with
the two child victims.
The saddest part of this scenario is that it is a true story. We were never able to find
those two young girls again.
Knowing the full details of what was going on, how would you now respond to those
same questions? Given the situation, how should the staff member have responded to
the young woman? What could the young woman have done to improve the
situation? Now that you know the details, maybe your answers to this question have
changed.
Here’s the reality: You will not know the full details of what is happening in every
situation on the ground. You may not know that the reason an AIM staff member asks
one of the young men on your team to do a menial task instead of a home visit with
some of the other women on the team is because one of the girls at the home was
abused by a Westerner. You may not know that the reason that an AIM staff member
cancels an outreach is because police are trying to do an investigation. You may not
know that the reason you are not permitted to take pictures on a given day is that
tensions are high on the streets because two gang members got in a fight last night.
You may not know, but you must trust and obey the staff. Understand that rules or plans
may change for reasons that are outside what you need to know. They are not being
made simply to test your flexibility or patience, but for your own good or for the good of
those you are there to serve.
We cannot stress this enough. You must trust and obey the staff on the ground without
hesitation. Questions can be asked on van rides, at the hotel, or over lunch, but if you’re
on a ministry site and a staff member asks you to do or refrain from doing something,
trust and obey immediately.
Day 19: People and Process, Not Projects and Products
In thinking through solutions to human trafficking, it can be tempting to reduce the
problem to numbers. Human Trafficking 101 tells us that there are three primary parties
involved: the demand (johns and pedophiles), the supply (trafficked children and
women), and the facilitators (the pimps and the traffickers).
Basic economic theory would argue that if you reduce demand, supply will also
decrease or, if the supply decreases, prices will go up such that demand will decrease
to align with supply. Finally, if you eliminate the facilitators, maybe there would not be
any supply at all. This means that we have to rescue the girls out of sex-trafficking, arrest
all of the pimps and traffickers, and arrest, or at least scare away, all of the pedophiles
and johns.
Simple, right? Particularly for people who are numbers-oriented, it can be so tempting
to reduce problems to equations and to look for the perfect number that will help us
solve for X. However, just as an economist will tell you that this works in economic theory
but that it gets messier in practice, when you are dealing with people and not simply
widgets, suddenly the equation gets much more complicated.
Sokunthy was well-known in Svay Pak for trafficking young girls. He made thousands of
dollars each month through sex-trafficking. He was notorious in the community, but
each day, he attended the Lord’s Gym in Svay Pak where he was prayed for by the
staff, heard the truth about the evil he was perpetrating against these girls and his
community, and was invited to attend church.51 One day, however, AIM was called to
help two very young girls Sokunthy had brutally raped.
Though AIM tried to pursue legal action with the correct authorities, nothing was
moving forward. What should AIM’s response have been? It could have been
judgment and hate. It could have been to ostracize him, to condemn him for the evil
he had committed. But it wasn’t.
When he didn’t show up to the gym the next day, AIM’s pastor went and said to him,
“You know we hate what you did. But the truth is, the gym is the Lord’s gym. And no
matter what you’ve done, He’ll forgive you. We want you to come back.”
It is tempting to see arrest, prosecution and condemnation as the answer for human
trafficking. In many circumstances, it may be part of the solution. However, in a culture
in which one stands to make thousands of dollars per month by trafficking children compared to fifteen dollars per month working in a brick factory, the sad reality is that
even where a trafficker is arrested, another will take his or her place.
After the pastor visited Sokunthy, he came back to the gym the next day and agreed
also to go to church. At church he stood up and publicly proclaimed, “I know what I
was doing was wrong, and I am never going to do it again.” AIM started to disciple him
and helped him to get a new job, where he now makes fifty dollars per month.
Thousands of dollars compared to fifty dollars per month. Those numbers don’t add up
except where God is at work and His people are willing to sacrifice their time, their
energy, and even their anger at injustice to demonstrate agape love to His children
who need to know it most.
You may live in a consumer and results-driven culture where it is common to quantify
results and transformation: “We led fifty people to the Lord and built five new houses.”
In fighting human trafficking, it can be tempting to seek X number of arrests of
traffickers, X number of rescues, and X
number of pedophiles who will no longer
abuse children. The problem with these
numbers, however, is they don’t reflect
people whose hearts have been changed
or communities that have been
transformed.
When you go to Cambodia, resist the urge
to quantify your results. The change that
came in Sokunthy’s life was not the result of
arrest, not the result of a perfect VBS
program, and not the result of being offered
an “honest” job for fifty dollars per month to replace his livelihood as a trafficker. Rather
his transformation came from the moving power of God, working through the lives of
the AIM staff and pastor at the Lord’s Gym who consistently poured into and prayed
over Sokunthy’s life.
Though it is good to set goals that are measurable and time dated, this should not be
our mindset when it comes to a mission trip or the question of how effective you were.
Truly, the question should not be “How effective were we?”, but “Were we serving Christ
whole-heartedly and loving those around us like He would?”
When we begin to ask about our measurable quantifiers of effectiveness, we take the
focus off of Christ and take the power of changing people into our own hands. We
begin to look at people as projects and products; we forget that changing lives is a
process that only the power of the gospel makes possible. We must remember that God works in His own perfect time and that it is up to Him
where He might use us in His work. In Bill Hybles’ book, Just Walk Across the Room, Bill
talks about a close friend with whom he had shared the gospel multiple times over
many years, but the friend still had not accepted Christ. One day, however, his friend
took Bill’s youth group and one of the youth group’s sponsors out on his sailboat. While
out on the boat talking to the sponsor, the friend accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior.
At first Bill was a little upset since he had spent over a decade pouring into this man’s
life, but Bill realized that God had used him to show this man the love of Christ and to
plant a seed, even if he wasn’t the one to see it first begin to grow. 52
Remember that your time in Cambodia is to be about people and process, not projects
and products. Spend some time in prayer to ask God that He would prepare you to be
a blessing in the community and an encouragement to the staff, however that might
look. Ask that He might show you where He is already at work, that you might be used
as a tool to deepen relationships, build stronger community, and be a tangible
reminder to staff on the ground that God is indeed at work.
problem to numbers. Human Trafficking 101 tells us that there are three primary parties
involved: the demand (johns and pedophiles), the supply (trafficked children and
women), and the facilitators (the pimps and the traffickers).
Basic economic theory would argue that if you reduce demand, supply will also
decrease or, if the supply decreases, prices will go up such that demand will decrease
to align with supply. Finally, if you eliminate the facilitators, maybe there would not be
any supply at all. This means that we have to rescue the girls out of sex-trafficking, arrest
all of the pimps and traffickers, and arrest, or at least scare away, all of the pedophiles
and johns.
Simple, right? Particularly for people who are numbers-oriented, it can be so tempting
to reduce problems to equations and to look for the perfect number that will help us
solve for X. However, just as an economist will tell you that this works in economic theory
but that it gets messier in practice, when you are dealing with people and not simply
widgets, suddenly the equation gets much more complicated.
Sokunthy was well-known in Svay Pak for trafficking young girls. He made thousands of
dollars each month through sex-trafficking. He was notorious in the community, but
each day, he attended the Lord’s Gym in Svay Pak where he was prayed for by the
staff, heard the truth about the evil he was perpetrating against these girls and his
community, and was invited to attend church.51 One day, however, AIM was called to
help two very young girls Sokunthy had brutally raped.
Though AIM tried to pursue legal action with the correct authorities, nothing was
moving forward. What should AIM’s response have been? It could have been
judgment and hate. It could have been to ostracize him, to condemn him for the evil
he had committed. But it wasn’t.
When he didn’t show up to the gym the next day, AIM’s pastor went and said to him,
“You know we hate what you did. But the truth is, the gym is the Lord’s gym. And no
matter what you’ve done, He’ll forgive you. We want you to come back.”
It is tempting to see arrest, prosecution and condemnation as the answer for human
trafficking. In many circumstances, it may be part of the solution. However, in a culture
in which one stands to make thousands of dollars per month by trafficking children compared to fifteen dollars per month working in a brick factory, the sad reality is that
even where a trafficker is arrested, another will take his or her place.
After the pastor visited Sokunthy, he came back to the gym the next day and agreed
also to go to church. At church he stood up and publicly proclaimed, “I know what I
was doing was wrong, and I am never going to do it again.” AIM started to disciple him
and helped him to get a new job, where he now makes fifty dollars per month.
Thousands of dollars compared to fifty dollars per month. Those numbers don’t add up
except where God is at work and His people are willing to sacrifice their time, their
energy, and even their anger at injustice to demonstrate agape love to His children
who need to know it most.
You may live in a consumer and results-driven culture where it is common to quantify
results and transformation: “We led fifty people to the Lord and built five new houses.”
In fighting human trafficking, it can be tempting to seek X number of arrests of
traffickers, X number of rescues, and X
number of pedophiles who will no longer
abuse children. The problem with these
numbers, however, is they don’t reflect
people whose hearts have been changed
or communities that have been
transformed.
When you go to Cambodia, resist the urge
to quantify your results. The change that
came in Sokunthy’s life was not the result of
arrest, not the result of a perfect VBS
program, and not the result of being offered
an “honest” job for fifty dollars per month to replace his livelihood as a trafficker. Rather
his transformation came from the moving power of God, working through the lives of
the AIM staff and pastor at the Lord’s Gym who consistently poured into and prayed
over Sokunthy’s life.
Though it is good to set goals that are measurable and time dated, this should not be
our mindset when it comes to a mission trip or the question of how effective you were.
Truly, the question should not be “How effective were we?”, but “Were we serving Christ
whole-heartedly and loving those around us like He would?”
When we begin to ask about our measurable quantifiers of effectiveness, we take the
focus off of Christ and take the power of changing people into our own hands. We
begin to look at people as projects and products; we forget that changing lives is a
process that only the power of the gospel makes possible. We must remember that God works in His own perfect time and that it is up to Him
where He might use us in His work. In Bill Hybles’ book, Just Walk Across the Room, Bill
talks about a close friend with whom he had shared the gospel multiple times over
many years, but the friend still had not accepted Christ. One day, however, his friend
took Bill’s youth group and one of the youth group’s sponsors out on his sailboat. While
out on the boat talking to the sponsor, the friend accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior.
At first Bill was a little upset since he had spent over a decade pouring into this man’s
life, but Bill realized that God had used him to show this man the love of Christ and to
plant a seed, even if he wasn’t the one to see it first begin to grow. 52
Remember that your time in Cambodia is to be about people and process, not projects
and products. Spend some time in prayer to ask God that He would prepare you to be
a blessing in the community and an encouragement to the staff, however that might
look. Ask that He might show you where He is already at work, that you might be used
as a tool to deepen relationships, build stronger community, and be a tangible
reminder to staff on the ground that God is indeed at work.
Day 18: This is Not About You Doing Something New
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours,
be done.”49 You have probably read or heard this passage before. It is commonly
shared at Easter services, highlighting Jesus’ last moments in prayer on the night He was
betrayed. What is surprising about this passage?
Jesus had one purpose in coming to earth as a man: “In this the love of God was made
manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live
through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”50 What is remarkable about Jesus’ prayer in
the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal was that His will was NOT to
fulfill the will of God. He did it not out of desire to bear the sins of the world or die on the
cross, but out of obedience to the Heavenly Father. God the Father sent Jesus into the
world as part of His perfect plan; it was not about Jesus creating something new but
about fulfilling the calling God placed on His life.
Just as Jesus lived out of obedience to the
will of God, so too must we as we seek not to
do something for God or on behalf of God,
but to join Him in the work that He is already
doing. Your role as you go to Cambodia
with AIM is to build on what God is already
doing through the ministry and the staff, not
to create something new.
Think back to earlier days in this devotional
in which we discussed paternalism in
different forms and humility. There are
doubtless people on your team, maybe
even yourself, who are visionaries – people
who see potential in problematic situations – and your work is to try to find solutions. You
might come up with great ideas about how to help the people of Cambodia.
However, your role first is to look around you, to ask how God’s plan is being worked out
through AIM staff and through His church in Cambodia, and to understand how you fit
within that plan.
This is not to discourage new ideas, but your first mission is to do work that will benefit
the host organization and the long term missionaries on the ground, rather than
creating a project upon which you and your team can put your name. It may be the case that you will be able to assist on a project that has a discrete beginning, middle
and end, it may be that you construct a new building or help to launch a new
program, but it may also be that you won’t ever see the fruit that your individual work
in-country produces.
Regardless, God has a plan that He is working out in a mighty way in Cambodia, and
you have the privilege to be part of that work. Even amidst the poverty and the moral
depravity, you won’t have to look far to see God’s work among His people. God has
been raising up pastors through AIM for the past twenty-five years throughout the
country – in the cities and in rural villages. There are daily outreaches to brick factory
workers, and the Svay Pak kids’ club serves hundreds of children each day who work in
those factories, giving them showers, food, clean clothes, and a safe place for nap
time. AIM staff are also working with the brick factory owners and their families to get
their children enrolled in school. Church services are ongoing in red light districts, new
believers are being discipled, pimps and traffickers are being saved and brought to the
Lord, young women are leaving karaoke clubs to receive better opportunities through
Rahab’s House in Siem Reap and the Agape Training Center, and the list goes on.
People are being saved, the kingdom is advancing and God is at work! There are two
perspectives you can have coming into this environment: one is thinking how you can
create something new with your own fingerprint on it, and the other is thinking how you
can recognize quickly what God is doing and support it.
Consider the following prayer:
Lord, show me your fingerprints in Cambodia, the evidence of your workmanship in lives
all throughout the country. Teach me to partner with what you are doing first before I
ask for your blessings on something I’m dreaming about. Teach me to pray the prayer
of Jesus, “not my will, but yours be done.”
be done.”49 You have probably read or heard this passage before. It is commonly
shared at Easter services, highlighting Jesus’ last moments in prayer on the night He was
betrayed. What is surprising about this passage?
Jesus had one purpose in coming to earth as a man: “In this the love of God was made
manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live
through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”50 What is remarkable about Jesus’ prayer in
the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal was that His will was NOT to
fulfill the will of God. He did it not out of desire to bear the sins of the world or die on the
cross, but out of obedience to the Heavenly Father. God the Father sent Jesus into the
world as part of His perfect plan; it was not about Jesus creating something new but
about fulfilling the calling God placed on His life.
Just as Jesus lived out of obedience to the
will of God, so too must we as we seek not to
do something for God or on behalf of God,
but to join Him in the work that He is already
doing. Your role as you go to Cambodia
with AIM is to build on what God is already
doing through the ministry and the staff, not
to create something new.
Think back to earlier days in this devotional
in which we discussed paternalism in
different forms and humility. There are
doubtless people on your team, maybe
even yourself, who are visionaries – people
who see potential in problematic situations – and your work is to try to find solutions. You
might come up with great ideas about how to help the people of Cambodia.
However, your role first is to look around you, to ask how God’s plan is being worked out
through AIM staff and through His church in Cambodia, and to understand how you fit
within that plan.
This is not to discourage new ideas, but your first mission is to do work that will benefit
the host organization and the long term missionaries on the ground, rather than
creating a project upon which you and your team can put your name. It may be the case that you will be able to assist on a project that has a discrete beginning, middle
and end, it may be that you construct a new building or help to launch a new
program, but it may also be that you won’t ever see the fruit that your individual work
in-country produces.
Regardless, God has a plan that He is working out in a mighty way in Cambodia, and
you have the privilege to be part of that work. Even amidst the poverty and the moral
depravity, you won’t have to look far to see God’s work among His people. God has
been raising up pastors through AIM for the past twenty-five years throughout the
country – in the cities and in rural villages. There are daily outreaches to brick factory
workers, and the Svay Pak kids’ club serves hundreds of children each day who work in
those factories, giving them showers, food, clean clothes, and a safe place for nap
time. AIM staff are also working with the brick factory owners and their families to get
their children enrolled in school. Church services are ongoing in red light districts, new
believers are being discipled, pimps and traffickers are being saved and brought to the
Lord, young women are leaving karaoke clubs to receive better opportunities through
Rahab’s House in Siem Reap and the Agape Training Center, and the list goes on.
People are being saved, the kingdom is advancing and God is at work! There are two
perspectives you can have coming into this environment: one is thinking how you can
create something new with your own fingerprint on it, and the other is thinking how you
can recognize quickly what God is doing and support it.
Consider the following prayer:
Lord, show me your fingerprints in Cambodia, the evidence of your workmanship in lives
all throughout the country. Teach me to partner with what you are doing first before I
ask for your blessings on something I’m dreaming about. Teach me to pray the prayer
of Jesus, “not my will, but yours be done.”
Day 17: Money—How We Can Do Great Good or Harm
Read Mark 10:17-31. What must the rich young ruler do in order inherit eternal life? Jesus
cuts to the chase: sell everything, give it all to the poor, follow Me.
The message here isn’t necessarily that every one of us is supposed to sell all that we
have and live as ascetics following Jesus. No, the message is that we are to love Jesus
more than our money and, if we are called to do so, that we would be not only willing
but joyous to sell all that we have to follow Him. We should not view our money and
resources as our own at all, but as God’s, and we should steward His resources
accordingly.
The following subsections discuss two key aspects of stewardship as they relate to your
partnership with AIM and your work in Cambodia.
Stewardship Part I
In Cambodia, how you steward your money
can lead either to great harm or great good.
After the Killing Fields (see Day 22 for more
information on the Killing Fields), an
organization with significant financial
backing went to Cambodia to bless and
empower the Church. For one month they
asked pastors to come and submit their
requests for funding. However, when people
realized that the organization wasn’t there for the long-term, wasn’t going to provide
accountability, and wasn’t going to check up on their stories, they began to invent
churches, orphanages and other ministries in order to get some of the funding.
Through this well-intentioned effort, people learned that they could manipulate wealthy
donors and get easy money. This practice is still a challenge in Cambodia today.
When you go to Cambodia, it may be that a pastor, staff or other individual will ask you
for funding. While the request may or may not be ill-intentioned, we do not want to ever
promote this type of behavior or create temptation for our staff or partner church
ministries. It is always best to have a structure of accountability through which to give. If
you want to promote the mission of AIM and the work that God is doing through their
staff, please give to AIM directly, trusting that the staff know how best to steward and
allocate your donations given their experience with the country and their work on the
ground.
Stewardship Part II
Now imagine that you are part of a small church in a rural community. Another church
from overseas contacts you and says you can choose between them sending a mission
team to put on a VBS at your church or giving you the money it would have cost to
send the team. It will cost them about $30,000 to send over their ten team members for
the two-week VBS. Your church has been praying for $20,000 to repair the heating
and air-conditioning unit that hasn’t been functioning properly for months, and the
remaining $10,000 would more than triple your typical VBS budget. What do you think
your church would do?
You have no doubt been raising money or have been paying out of pocket no small
amount in order to go to Cambodia. The above anecdote is not designed to make you
feel guilty about the cost to go and to serve, but it is meant to challenge you to
consider what this short-term experience will mean.
You have the opportunity to see first-hand what God is doing in the lives of
Cambodians through AIM’s ministry. You have the opportunity to serve alongside
practiced staff, to love children who desperately need to know they are loved and
cherished, and to give of your time, your energy, and your resources to live out God’s
call on all of our lives to serve the helpless and the oppressed.
Some people view short term missions as an unwise use of money. Some believe it’s an
appropriate use of money. It all depends on how you follow through after the two
weeks you get to serve in Cambodia. If your trip prompts you to consistently give of your
finances and time in prayer upon your return, then it was a good use of your time. But if
it is was solely for a two-week personal experience, it was an unwise use of God’s
resources.
The rich young ruler left Jesus disheartened because the wealth that he had was great.
He did not understand the promise of riches from which he was walking away – that
material blessing is worth nothing in comparison to the greatness of walking with and
following Jesus.
Spend some time in prayer in thanks for the blessings God has bestowed upon you and
ask how He may be calling you to steward His finances.
cuts to the chase: sell everything, give it all to the poor, follow Me.
The message here isn’t necessarily that every one of us is supposed to sell all that we
have and live as ascetics following Jesus. No, the message is that we are to love Jesus
more than our money and, if we are called to do so, that we would be not only willing
but joyous to sell all that we have to follow Him. We should not view our money and
resources as our own at all, but as God’s, and we should steward His resources
accordingly.
The following subsections discuss two key aspects of stewardship as they relate to your
partnership with AIM and your work in Cambodia.
Stewardship Part I
In Cambodia, how you steward your money
can lead either to great harm or great good.
After the Killing Fields (see Day 22 for more
information on the Killing Fields), an
organization with significant financial
backing went to Cambodia to bless and
empower the Church. For one month they
asked pastors to come and submit their
requests for funding. However, when people
realized that the organization wasn’t there for the long-term, wasn’t going to provide
accountability, and wasn’t going to check up on their stories, they began to invent
churches, orphanages and other ministries in order to get some of the funding.
Through this well-intentioned effort, people learned that they could manipulate wealthy
donors and get easy money. This practice is still a challenge in Cambodia today.
When you go to Cambodia, it may be that a pastor, staff or other individual will ask you
for funding. While the request may or may not be ill-intentioned, we do not want to ever
promote this type of behavior or create temptation for our staff or partner church
ministries. It is always best to have a structure of accountability through which to give. If
you want to promote the mission of AIM and the work that God is doing through their
staff, please give to AIM directly, trusting that the staff know how best to steward and
allocate your donations given their experience with the country and their work on the
ground.
Stewardship Part II
Now imagine that you are part of a small church in a rural community. Another church
from overseas contacts you and says you can choose between them sending a mission
team to put on a VBS at your church or giving you the money it would have cost to
send the team. It will cost them about $30,000 to send over their ten team members for
the two-week VBS. Your church has been praying for $20,000 to repair the heating
and air-conditioning unit that hasn’t been functioning properly for months, and the
remaining $10,000 would more than triple your typical VBS budget. What do you think
your church would do?
You have no doubt been raising money or have been paying out of pocket no small
amount in order to go to Cambodia. The above anecdote is not designed to make you
feel guilty about the cost to go and to serve, but it is meant to challenge you to
consider what this short-term experience will mean.
You have the opportunity to see first-hand what God is doing in the lives of
Cambodians through AIM’s ministry. You have the opportunity to serve alongside
practiced staff, to love children who desperately need to know they are loved and
cherished, and to give of your time, your energy, and your resources to live out God’s
call on all of our lives to serve the helpless and the oppressed.
Some people view short term missions as an unwise use of money. Some believe it’s an
appropriate use of money. It all depends on how you follow through after the two
weeks you get to serve in Cambodia. If your trip prompts you to consistently give of your
finances and time in prayer upon your return, then it was a good use of your time. But if
it is was solely for a two-week personal experience, it was an unwise use of God’s
resources.
The rich young ruler left Jesus disheartened because the wealth that he had was great.
He did not understand the promise of riches from which he was walking away – that
material blessing is worth nothing in comparison to the greatness of walking with and
following Jesus.
Spend some time in prayer in thanks for the blessings God has bestowed upon you and
ask how He may be calling you to steward His finances.
Day 16: Understanding the Difference Between Relief, Rehabilitation, and Development
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of people were without power, without
shelter and without food. Countless volunteers and aid workers swooped into the area
to provide them with food, places to stay and blankets to keep warm.
On Tuesday evening, a young mother and her child come to your church. She has just
lost her apartment because she couldn’t pay the rent, and she needs a place to stay
and food for her child. Your church has some money set aside to care for people in her
situation, so they give her a bag of groceries and take her to a nearby shelter for the
evening.
In both scenarios, the needs seem to be the same, and yet the response should be
different. There are three primary types of providing aid and assistance. Read the
following and consider how these types of interventions might apply to the scenarios.
Relief is the “urgent and temporary provision of emergency aid to reduce
immediate suffering from a natural or man-made crisis.”42 Economic conditions
plummet, and help is needed to “halt the free fall.”43 Relief may also be applied
on an individual level: On the first night when a child is rescued out of being
exploited by traffickers and pedophiles, her immediate needs may be a safe
place to stay, medical care, and food. Counseling, therapy, schooling, etc.
come later.
Rehabilitation begins as soon as the immediate needs are met, and “it seeks to
restore people and their communities to the positive elements of their pre-crisis
conditions.”44 Importantly, while relief was largely assistance provided to helpless
people, rehabilitation works with victims of disaster to empower them in
participating in their own recovery.45 For the children being rescued out of
trafficking, this step may be the process of counseling and therapy whereby they
begin to understand their trauma and, more importantly, understand who they
are in Christ Jesus. This is the bridge between relief and development.
Development is the “process of ongoing change that moves all the people
involved—both the ‘helpers’ and the ‘helped’—closer to being in right relationship with God”46 and dealing with all of the forms of poverty we discussed
yesterday (spiritual, internal, community, and material). It is a process that
people do with each other, not simply for each other.47 This is the process not
simply of rebuilding, but of helping impoverished people become productive
such that they can care for their own needs and the needs of others. It is the
process of discipleship that makes a new believer able to lead and disciple
others to know Jesus; and it is the process of working with a child sex trafficking
victim to be an empowered individual, whose identity is in Christ and who is able
to contribute and give back to her community as God planned for her.
In the Hurricane Katrina scenario above, the aid workers were providing relief. In the
weeks and months that followed, they continued to show up, but this time to help with
rehabilitation. In some cases, the people in New Orleans and surrounding areas
participated in the rebuilding. At other times, they let the aid workers do the work. With
the young woman and her child, the church provided relief, but they also had the
opportunity to intervene to help her avoid this situation in the future. This would have
required getting involved in her life in a more substantial way, which takes more time,
more energy, and can sometimes get messy. Maybe she needed job skills training, or
education to finish her high school degree. Maybe she needed childcare to have time
to go to work. Perhaps she needed a mentor to help her understand budgeting, or
maybe she needed somebody willing to open their home to her as a family.
One of the greatest challenges in the Church today is that it too often applies relief
when rehabilitation or development are the more appropriate actions. Why do you
think this is? What is more gratifying – coming home from a mission trip and telling your
church that in the two weeks you were in Cambodia you helped provide food for more
than 2,500 people with the money and provisions they sent over, and that you built a
brand new house for a family, or that you spent two weeks training an AIM staff person
on how to input numbers into an Excel spreadsheet. One certainly makes for better
pictures and stories, doesn’t it? One also requires a different type of emotional energy
and a different kind of time.
Read Luke 5:3-11. Peter was the disciple upon whom Christ chose to build his church.
Yet in his first interaction with Jesus, he told Him, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man,
O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Peter knew that he was not worthy of being in the presence of God,
and yet, Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men”
(Luke 5:10). Peter didn’t hesitate; he dropped everything and followed Jesus.
But Peter’s exploits certainly didn’t stop there, and his was a process of training and
discipleship that prepared him for the ministry ahead. Read Matthew 14:22-31, 16:21-23, John 18:1-11, and Luke 22:54-62. It was Peter who began to walk on water to meet
Jesus but faltered when he lost sight of the Lord. It was Peter who tried to stop Jesus
when He foretold His death and had to be rebuked. It was Peter who rushed forward to
strike the right ear from the high priest’s servant in the Garden of Gethsemane, and it
was Peter who denied Jesus three times after He had been betrayed and arrested.
Peter was a man of zeal who was constantly screwing up, and yet, Jesus chose him as
a disciple and constantly poured into him to prepare him to be the rock on which the
church would be built. We see his discipleship in bringing Peter to witness the
transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13), and most tenderly when Jesus forgave and commissioned
Peter after the resurrection (John 21:15-19). It would have been so much easier for Jesus
to have done things Himself, just as it would be so much simpler for God to not involve
us in His plans.
AIM’s work reflects each of these types of interventions. They work with police in
Cambodia to provide relief and rehabilitation to children brought out of brothels
immediately after their rescue through the Agape Restoration Center (ARC, see page
20 of the Appendix for more information), and they participate in the development of
both the community and the lives of individual young women through the Agape
Training Center (ATC). ATC demonstrates the empowerment, growth and discipleship of
young women in communities plagued by sexual exploitation and abuse. At ATC, these
young women are trained and employed at a higher wage than what they would be
making in karaoke bars (see Day 24 for more information about karaoke bars), they
receive mandatory education each day, and there are childcare and counseling staff
on the premises (see page 22 of the Appendix for more information).
While it would be easier and more lucrative for ATC not to provide these additional
services, they are vital to the development of these women in that they are not only
making a living, but they are also being given the tools to rise above their situations.
Similarly, it may be far simpler for you, when you go to Cambodia, to see a project or a
need and to simply fill it – but it may be that it would be far more beneficial to the
people to help train them, support them in their work, and to patiently walk alongside
them so they are empowered and equipped with new skills and new confidence.
Spend some time thinking through the following questions:
shelter and without food. Countless volunteers and aid workers swooped into the area
to provide them with food, places to stay and blankets to keep warm.
On Tuesday evening, a young mother and her child come to your church. She has just
lost her apartment because she couldn’t pay the rent, and she needs a place to stay
and food for her child. Your church has some money set aside to care for people in her
situation, so they give her a bag of groceries and take her to a nearby shelter for the
evening.
In both scenarios, the needs seem to be the same, and yet the response should be
different. There are three primary types of providing aid and assistance. Read the
following and consider how these types of interventions might apply to the scenarios.
Relief is the “urgent and temporary provision of emergency aid to reduce
immediate suffering from a natural or man-made crisis.”42 Economic conditions
plummet, and help is needed to “halt the free fall.”43 Relief may also be applied
on an individual level: On the first night when a child is rescued out of being
exploited by traffickers and pedophiles, her immediate needs may be a safe
place to stay, medical care, and food. Counseling, therapy, schooling, etc.
come later.
Rehabilitation begins as soon as the immediate needs are met, and “it seeks to
restore people and their communities to the positive elements of their pre-crisis
conditions.”44 Importantly, while relief was largely assistance provided to helpless
people, rehabilitation works with victims of disaster to empower them in
participating in their own recovery.45 For the children being rescued out of
trafficking, this step may be the process of counseling and therapy whereby they
begin to understand their trauma and, more importantly, understand who they
are in Christ Jesus. This is the bridge between relief and development.
Development is the “process of ongoing change that moves all the people
involved—both the ‘helpers’ and the ‘helped’—closer to being in right relationship with God”46 and dealing with all of the forms of poverty we discussed
yesterday (spiritual, internal, community, and material). It is a process that
people do with each other, not simply for each other.47 This is the process not
simply of rebuilding, but of helping impoverished people become productive
such that they can care for their own needs and the needs of others. It is the
process of discipleship that makes a new believer able to lead and disciple
others to know Jesus; and it is the process of working with a child sex trafficking
victim to be an empowered individual, whose identity is in Christ and who is able
to contribute and give back to her community as God planned for her.
In the Hurricane Katrina scenario above, the aid workers were providing relief. In the
weeks and months that followed, they continued to show up, but this time to help with
rehabilitation. In some cases, the people in New Orleans and surrounding areas
participated in the rebuilding. At other times, they let the aid workers do the work. With
the young woman and her child, the church provided relief, but they also had the
opportunity to intervene to help her avoid this situation in the future. This would have
required getting involved in her life in a more substantial way, which takes more time,
more energy, and can sometimes get messy. Maybe she needed job skills training, or
education to finish her high school degree. Maybe she needed childcare to have time
to go to work. Perhaps she needed a mentor to help her understand budgeting, or
maybe she needed somebody willing to open their home to her as a family.
One of the greatest challenges in the Church today is that it too often applies relief
when rehabilitation or development are the more appropriate actions. Why do you
think this is? What is more gratifying – coming home from a mission trip and telling your
church that in the two weeks you were in Cambodia you helped provide food for more
than 2,500 people with the money and provisions they sent over, and that you built a
brand new house for a family, or that you spent two weeks training an AIM staff person
on how to input numbers into an Excel spreadsheet. One certainly makes for better
pictures and stories, doesn’t it? One also requires a different type of emotional energy
and a different kind of time.
Read Luke 5:3-11. Peter was the disciple upon whom Christ chose to build his church.
Yet in his first interaction with Jesus, he told Him, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man,
O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Peter knew that he was not worthy of being in the presence of God,
and yet, Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men”
(Luke 5:10). Peter didn’t hesitate; he dropped everything and followed Jesus.
But Peter’s exploits certainly didn’t stop there, and his was a process of training and
discipleship that prepared him for the ministry ahead. Read Matthew 14:22-31, 16:21-23, John 18:1-11, and Luke 22:54-62. It was Peter who began to walk on water to meet
Jesus but faltered when he lost sight of the Lord. It was Peter who tried to stop Jesus
when He foretold His death and had to be rebuked. It was Peter who rushed forward to
strike the right ear from the high priest’s servant in the Garden of Gethsemane, and it
was Peter who denied Jesus three times after He had been betrayed and arrested.
Peter was a man of zeal who was constantly screwing up, and yet, Jesus chose him as
a disciple and constantly poured into him to prepare him to be the rock on which the
church would be built. We see his discipleship in bringing Peter to witness the
transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13), and most tenderly when Jesus forgave and commissioned
Peter after the resurrection (John 21:15-19). It would have been so much easier for Jesus
to have done things Himself, just as it would be so much simpler for God to not involve
us in His plans.
AIM’s work reflects each of these types of interventions. They work with police in
Cambodia to provide relief and rehabilitation to children brought out of brothels
immediately after their rescue through the Agape Restoration Center (ARC, see page
20 of the Appendix for more information), and they participate in the development of
both the community and the lives of individual young women through the Agape
Training Center (ATC). ATC demonstrates the empowerment, growth and discipleship of
young women in communities plagued by sexual exploitation and abuse. At ATC, these
young women are trained and employed at a higher wage than what they would be
making in karaoke bars (see Day 24 for more information about karaoke bars), they
receive mandatory education each day, and there are childcare and counseling staff
on the premises (see page 22 of the Appendix for more information).
While it would be easier and more lucrative for ATC not to provide these additional
services, they are vital to the development of these women in that they are not only
making a living, but they are also being given the tools to rise above their situations.
Similarly, it may be far simpler for you, when you go to Cambodia, to see a project or a
need and to simply fill it – but it may be that it would be far more beneficial to the
people to help train them, support them in their work, and to patiently walk alongside
them so they are empowered and equipped with new skills and new confidence.
Spend some time thinking through the following questions:
- Why is it more difficult to provide development rather than relief?
- What kind of sacrifice does “development” require of me and what would it looklike to participate in the development of people in Cambodia for the long-term, even if I am not present in the country?
- Am I willing to give the time, energy and resources to be part of long-term development work, both in the lives of people in my own community as well as in Cambodia? What holds me back?
Day 15: What is the Problem?
You have a friend who has been sick for many years. He’s a quadriplegic, so he can’t
move around on his own, and he has to rely on his friends and family to care for him.
You and the rest of his friends care deeply for him and have long been hoping that a
cure or treatment would be found to help him, but his health has been fast
deteriorating and it doesn’t seem like there are many chances left for him.
Now, in assessing your friend’s situation, what would you say is his greatest need? A
cure? A new medication or other form of treatment?
Presumably, the friends of the paralytic man in the Bible would have said the same.
Read Mark 2:1-5. There are so many people gathered together to listen to Jesus preach
that the friends had to literally remove the roof from the building to lower their friend
down into the center of the room. They probably expected Jesus to heal their friend
from his illness; how strange it must have been to hear Jesus’ first words to their friend:
“My son, your sins are forgiven!”
Jesus knew the man’s greatest need, and it was much deeper than physical healing,
though He dealt with the man’s physical needs later. How often do we step back and
ask ourselves, what is the problem in this situation? What is the greatest need?
We have a tendency to view problems through a lens of financial and material
dilemmas, believing that if we just give enough money, buildings or other resources,
then we have helped the poor. Not everything is as it appears at face value, however,
as poverty is not solely about lacking financial or material resources.
There are different types of poverty, which are certainly not mutually exclusive and
more often operate in tandem one with another.
Spiritual poverty refers to the absence or lack of knowing Jesus, lacking a
personal relationship with God, or worshiping a false god such as money, power,
prestige or other material things. Each of us experience spiritual poverty in
different seasons of our lives when we lose sight of Jesus and allow the
temptations and the worries of the world to creep in. What are ways that you
experience spiritual poverty in your own life and where do you need to return to
Jesus for His guidance and provision?
Internal poverty has to do with individuals’ views of themselves – whether they
have low self-esteem, self-hatred, shame, pride and/or a god-complex. This type
of poverty is influenced by people’s relationships to themselves; do they think too
highly or not highly enough of themselves? How can you and your team come
alongside others to help them have right views of themselves?
Community poverty refers to illness within a community that allows depravity to
persist. Community poverty may take the form of the persistence of exploitation
and abuse, whereby community members, even “good ones”, stand by as
women and children are bought and sold for sex. In Svay Pak, Cambodia, for
example, there were many “good” people who were not buying or selling
children and who were not participating directly in the abuse. However, they
knew exactly what was happening in their neighborhoods and behind closed
doors; yet they did nothing to make the problem stop. This is a problem of selfcenteredness,
whereby community members are not willing to put their own
necks on the line to address wickedness within their community.
Material poverty is probably what is most commonly referred to as “poverty” –
the lack of finances, resources or other material things. There are times when
what a person needs is food to feed her family, some start-up capital to launch a
business, or money to pay for schooling or medical care or other needs.41
Just as the paralytic’s need for physical healing was real, so too are people’s material
needs. When you go to Cambodia, you will see dire material poverty: people who are
physically hungry, need medical care, and who are struggling to get by making $15 a
month working at a brick factory. It will be easy to focus on their material poverty as the
problem at hand, but it is important to ask first: what are the other underlying forms of
poverty and, more specifically, what are the problems God has you there to address?
People working in the brick factories in Svay Pak are confronted with a combination of
material poverty, spiritual poverty, and community poverty in their lack of education
and opportunities to work in better conditions. While it may be tempting to “rescue” children by buying them out of the brick factory, if these children aren’t simultaneously
receiving education and opportunities for other work, they will end up back working in
the factories. AIM conducts outreach to the brick factory workers every weekday,
providing showers, naps, clean clothes, food and educational programs to their
children and medical care and discipleship for their parents (see page 29 of the
Appendix for more information about the Brick Factory Outreach). In approaching their
poverty from a holistic level, AIM has been better able to serve them and address their
problems.
It may be that you are there to help build a new housing facility for the girls being
rescued from trafficking, but it may also be that you are there to give words of
encouragement to the AIM staff, to build them up so that as they continue the work
going forward, they are reenergized to keep fighting for exploited children day in and
day out.
Ask yourself these questions:
What are my preconceived notions about what “the problem” is in Cambodia?
How would I feel if the problem God is calling me to address during my time in
Cambodia is that one of the AIM staff is feeling discouraged about the work and
needs to hear words of truth and encouragement?
Spend some time in prayer to ask that God would open your eyes to the problems and
the types of poverty that He would have you work on, both within your own life and
during your time in Cambodia. Ask that you would be ready and willing to do the work
He calls you to do, even if it is not how you initially imagined it might be.
move around on his own, and he has to rely on his friends and family to care for him.
You and the rest of his friends care deeply for him and have long been hoping that a
cure or treatment would be found to help him, but his health has been fast
deteriorating and it doesn’t seem like there are many chances left for him.
Now, in assessing your friend’s situation, what would you say is his greatest need? A
cure? A new medication or other form of treatment?
Presumably, the friends of the paralytic man in the Bible would have said the same.
Read Mark 2:1-5. There are so many people gathered together to listen to Jesus preach
that the friends had to literally remove the roof from the building to lower their friend
down into the center of the room. They probably expected Jesus to heal their friend
from his illness; how strange it must have been to hear Jesus’ first words to their friend:
“My son, your sins are forgiven!”
Jesus knew the man’s greatest need, and it was much deeper than physical healing,
though He dealt with the man’s physical needs later. How often do we step back and
ask ourselves, what is the problem in this situation? What is the greatest need?
We have a tendency to view problems through a lens of financial and material
dilemmas, believing that if we just give enough money, buildings or other resources,
then we have helped the poor. Not everything is as it appears at face value, however,
as poverty is not solely about lacking financial or material resources.
There are different types of poverty, which are certainly not mutually exclusive and
more often operate in tandem one with another.
Spiritual poverty refers to the absence or lack of knowing Jesus, lacking a
personal relationship with God, or worshiping a false god such as money, power,
prestige or other material things. Each of us experience spiritual poverty in
different seasons of our lives when we lose sight of Jesus and allow the
temptations and the worries of the world to creep in. What are ways that you
experience spiritual poverty in your own life and where do you need to return to
Jesus for His guidance and provision?
Internal poverty has to do with individuals’ views of themselves – whether they
have low self-esteem, self-hatred, shame, pride and/or a god-complex. This type
of poverty is influenced by people’s relationships to themselves; do they think too
highly or not highly enough of themselves? How can you and your team come
alongside others to help them have right views of themselves?
Community poverty refers to illness within a community that allows depravity to
persist. Community poverty may take the form of the persistence of exploitation
and abuse, whereby community members, even “good ones”, stand by as
women and children are bought and sold for sex. In Svay Pak, Cambodia, for
example, there were many “good” people who were not buying or selling
children and who were not participating directly in the abuse. However, they
knew exactly what was happening in their neighborhoods and behind closed
doors; yet they did nothing to make the problem stop. This is a problem of selfcenteredness,
whereby community members are not willing to put their own
necks on the line to address wickedness within their community.
Material poverty is probably what is most commonly referred to as “poverty” –
the lack of finances, resources or other material things. There are times when
what a person needs is food to feed her family, some start-up capital to launch a
business, or money to pay for schooling or medical care or other needs.41
Just as the paralytic’s need for physical healing was real, so too are people’s material
needs. When you go to Cambodia, you will see dire material poverty: people who are
physically hungry, need medical care, and who are struggling to get by making $15 a
month working at a brick factory. It will be easy to focus on their material poverty as the
problem at hand, but it is important to ask first: what are the other underlying forms of
poverty and, more specifically, what are the problems God has you there to address?
People working in the brick factories in Svay Pak are confronted with a combination of
material poverty, spiritual poverty, and community poverty in their lack of education
and opportunities to work in better conditions. While it may be tempting to “rescue” children by buying them out of the brick factory, if these children aren’t simultaneously
receiving education and opportunities for other work, they will end up back working in
the factories. AIM conducts outreach to the brick factory workers every weekday,
providing showers, naps, clean clothes, food and educational programs to their
children and medical care and discipleship for their parents (see page 29 of the
Appendix for more information about the Brick Factory Outreach). In approaching their
poverty from a holistic level, AIM has been better able to serve them and address their
problems.
It may be that you are there to help build a new housing facility for the girls being
rescued from trafficking, but it may also be that you are there to give words of
encouragement to the AIM staff, to build them up so that as they continue the work
going forward, they are reenergized to keep fighting for exploited children day in and
day out.
Ask yourself these questions:
What are my preconceived notions about what “the problem” is in Cambodia?
How would I feel if the problem God is calling me to address during my time in
Cambodia is that one of the AIM staff is feeling discouraged about the work and
needs to hear words of truth and encouragement?
Spend some time in prayer to ask that God would open your eyes to the problems and
the types of poverty that He would have you work on, both within your own life and
during your time in Cambodia. Ask that you would be ready and willing to do the work
He calls you to do, even if it is not how you initially imagined it might be.
Day 14: Positive Perspective – Flexibility
Maybe you have a co-worker, a friend or a family member who, well, likes things to be
a certain way. Organized to a fault, they approach the day with daily planner in hand,
dutifully checking things off their list. The plan must be adhered to, time is of the
essence, and putting it all aside for a spontaneous movie and popcorn is audacious.
We all know someone like this, or we will at some point. They are the “choleric”
personality, the type-A, if you will. They have much to offer, but their way of doing things
isn’t always conducive to the circumstance or group they are operating in.
Imagine if your entire missionary team was like this. Actually, this rigid sense of mission
and time is all too common among Western missionaries. It’s quite characteristic of the
Western culture, really; they like to get things done quickly, make the money and do it
the easiest way. There is some value to this, of course. Much prosperity has indeed
come, at least in part, from assertive and focused people who blaze ahead. But the
mission field is not actually a project to be completed. You may make deadlines, but
there is no real deadline other than the one God has set for the last days, and not even
the Son knows when that is.38
To approach the mission field like a raging type-A personality is unrealistic and perhaps
destructive. This is not to say that plans and organization are superfluous and
unnecessary. The contrary is quite true. Managing and leading a group of people in a
foreign country over a short period of time absolutely requires a great deal of planning.
To leave everything to whims and spontaneity could indeed be a costly and ineffective
experience. But like most things in life, we must be careful not to hold onto these
schedules and expectations with a closed fist.
Flexibility is the name of the game here. To adhere to a rigid, unchanging, and often
break-neck schedule might leave you and your team members in a frenzy for a couple
of reasons.
1. The Cambodian culture varies from the Western lifestyle. We will delve into
cultural differences in the days to come, but understand that Cambodians
operate differently than Westerners. Many other cultures are slower-paced, less
inclined to Western ideas of timeliness, and what they say might mean
something other than what you think. If you arrange and plan according to your
ideas about time and efficiency, you might be sorely disappointed or frustrated.
2. The work of the Holy Spirit is not confined by human time-tables. Think about
Paul. He was doing his own thing – a very different thing than God wanted – in
his own time. These plans were fortunately severely disrupted. For most of us, a blinding light will not suddenly halt our vans and change our plans. But you must
have a mind and heart open to change what the agenda is and meet a
different need than was originally intended for the day.
Being flexible is a balancing act of sorts. You must learn as you go. Make a plan,
approach it with an outstretched hand, all the while being willing to adapt and
change, and then reflect to make future adjustments, knowing full well that strategies
and time might change again. You must be neither too urgent nor spend too much
time getting everything together to be just right. Rather, “having the attitude of a
humble learner throughout the process is far more important than having
comprehensive knowledge at the start of it.”39
It is important to remember that a local staff already works in Cambodia every day.
They understand how things work, but even they must work with different circumstances
as they are handed to them.
We can see flexibility even in the ministry of
Jesus Christ. Let’s visit Mark 6, when Jesus and
His disciples fed the five thousand. This wasn’t
really in the plans. Jesus had intended for
them to withdraw to a “deserted place”
after some intense ministry. But the crowds
couldn’t give them a break and Jesus was
“moved with compassion.” So the plans
changed, and a miracle happened.
This is not to say that being purposeful and
intentional is wrong. But your ultimate
purpose must be to advance the kingdom of God and serve Christ and His people.
Sometimes, that might look a bit different than what you were expecting.
Venturing into the unknown and having your day or your next hour look like
unchartered waters can warrant feelings of fear. Control no longer feels like it rests in
your hands as you struggle to re-orient yourself around a new circumstance.
Look at what Jesus said in Mark 8 to His disciples after the five thousand were fed. He
told them to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.” They thought He said these things
because they had forgotten to take bread with them on their journey. He asked,
“When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments
did you take up?” “Twelve,” they responded. “Also, when I broke the seven for the four
thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” It was seven
baskets that they collected. Here we see that Jesus operates outside of our finite and earthly way of thinking. We
are quite concerned with the way things ought to be, with what we think of as reality.
But Jesus understands circumstances differently. He sees matters in an eternal light and
limitations as somewhat relative. Changes in plans do not prevent Him from working.
Sometimes they are the very evidence that He is in fact doing something marvelous in
the lives of people. Jesus is our powerful and able God who takes that which does not
make sense to us, that confuses and frustrates us, and he turns it into something that
demonstrates His love and glory and brings about His kingdom.
Take some time to think about how attached you are to Western ideas about action
and ministry. Honestly, how tightly do you hold to your perceptions of time or how
ministry ought to be conducted? Do you have a sense of fear at the prospect of really
not knowing what your day is going to look like? Begin to truly understand your own
level of flexibility, how that might need to be adapted for the Cambodian mission field,
and how you can confidently surrender your fears into the capable hands of the Lord.
“We must not live as if God’s mission is somehow contingent upon our plans and
strategies. God remains on the throne and continues His redemptive work with or
without our frantic sense of urgency.
a certain way. Organized to a fault, they approach the day with daily planner in hand,
dutifully checking things off their list. The plan must be adhered to, time is of the
essence, and putting it all aside for a spontaneous movie and popcorn is audacious.
We all know someone like this, or we will at some point. They are the “choleric”
personality, the type-A, if you will. They have much to offer, but their way of doing things
isn’t always conducive to the circumstance or group they are operating in.
Imagine if your entire missionary team was like this. Actually, this rigid sense of mission
and time is all too common among Western missionaries. It’s quite characteristic of the
Western culture, really; they like to get things done quickly, make the money and do it
the easiest way. There is some value to this, of course. Much prosperity has indeed
come, at least in part, from assertive and focused people who blaze ahead. But the
mission field is not actually a project to be completed. You may make deadlines, but
there is no real deadline other than the one God has set for the last days, and not even
the Son knows when that is.38
To approach the mission field like a raging type-A personality is unrealistic and perhaps
destructive. This is not to say that plans and organization are superfluous and
unnecessary. The contrary is quite true. Managing and leading a group of people in a
foreign country over a short period of time absolutely requires a great deal of planning.
To leave everything to whims and spontaneity could indeed be a costly and ineffective
experience. But like most things in life, we must be careful not to hold onto these
schedules and expectations with a closed fist.
Flexibility is the name of the game here. To adhere to a rigid, unchanging, and often
break-neck schedule might leave you and your team members in a frenzy for a couple
of reasons.
1. The Cambodian culture varies from the Western lifestyle. We will delve into
cultural differences in the days to come, but understand that Cambodians
operate differently than Westerners. Many other cultures are slower-paced, less
inclined to Western ideas of timeliness, and what they say might mean
something other than what you think. If you arrange and plan according to your
ideas about time and efficiency, you might be sorely disappointed or frustrated.
2. The work of the Holy Spirit is not confined by human time-tables. Think about
Paul. He was doing his own thing – a very different thing than God wanted – in
his own time. These plans were fortunately severely disrupted. For most of us, a blinding light will not suddenly halt our vans and change our plans. But you must
have a mind and heart open to change what the agenda is and meet a
different need than was originally intended for the day.
Being flexible is a balancing act of sorts. You must learn as you go. Make a plan,
approach it with an outstretched hand, all the while being willing to adapt and
change, and then reflect to make future adjustments, knowing full well that strategies
and time might change again. You must be neither too urgent nor spend too much
time getting everything together to be just right. Rather, “having the attitude of a
humble learner throughout the process is far more important than having
comprehensive knowledge at the start of it.”39
It is important to remember that a local staff already works in Cambodia every day.
They understand how things work, but even they must work with different circumstances
as they are handed to them.
We can see flexibility even in the ministry of
Jesus Christ. Let’s visit Mark 6, when Jesus and
His disciples fed the five thousand. This wasn’t
really in the plans. Jesus had intended for
them to withdraw to a “deserted place”
after some intense ministry. But the crowds
couldn’t give them a break and Jesus was
“moved with compassion.” So the plans
changed, and a miracle happened.
This is not to say that being purposeful and
intentional is wrong. But your ultimate
purpose must be to advance the kingdom of God and serve Christ and His people.
Sometimes, that might look a bit different than what you were expecting.
Venturing into the unknown and having your day or your next hour look like
unchartered waters can warrant feelings of fear. Control no longer feels like it rests in
your hands as you struggle to re-orient yourself around a new circumstance.
Look at what Jesus said in Mark 8 to His disciples after the five thousand were fed. He
told them to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.” They thought He said these things
because they had forgotten to take bread with them on their journey. He asked,
“When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments
did you take up?” “Twelve,” they responded. “Also, when I broke the seven for the four
thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” It was seven
baskets that they collected. Here we see that Jesus operates outside of our finite and earthly way of thinking. We
are quite concerned with the way things ought to be, with what we think of as reality.
But Jesus understands circumstances differently. He sees matters in an eternal light and
limitations as somewhat relative. Changes in plans do not prevent Him from working.
Sometimes they are the very evidence that He is in fact doing something marvelous in
the lives of people. Jesus is our powerful and able God who takes that which does not
make sense to us, that confuses and frustrates us, and he turns it into something that
demonstrates His love and glory and brings about His kingdom.
Take some time to think about how attached you are to Western ideas about action
and ministry. Honestly, how tightly do you hold to your perceptions of time or how
ministry ought to be conducted? Do you have a sense of fear at the prospect of really
not knowing what your day is going to look like? Begin to truly understand your own
level of flexibility, how that might need to be adapted for the Cambodian mission field,
and how you can confidently surrender your fears into the capable hands of the Lord.
“We must not live as if God’s mission is somehow contingent upon our plans and
strategies. God remains on the throne and continues His redemptive work with or
without our frantic sense of urgency.
Day 13: Positive Perspective – Teachable
Jim and Elisabeth Elliott were a young couple who did ministry among the indigenous
people of Ecuador. They, and several other couples, were instrumental in bringing the
gospel to some of the most remote tribes in that part of the world. And while Jim’s
ministry was powerful yet short due to his martyrdom at the hands of a tribe that would
later become believers, Elisabeth has remained on this earth to tell their story and write
numerous books offering spiritual lessons from a woman who knows much about the
trials of life.
In her book, Be Still My Soul, Elisabeth gives a brief account of her time spent among the
Auca Indians:
When I lived with the Auca Indians for two years, I learned more about servanthood
than I had known from my Christian upbringing. . . . The women would go
out into the fields as soon as they had taken care of the babies and fed the small
children and had eaten whatever might be left over for them. At the end of the
day, an Auca woman would come home carrying her fifty- or sixty-pound basket
of manioc and plantains . . . She would walk into her house, stoop down to drop
the basket behind her, and set to work stirring up the fire, cooking the food, very
calmly and quietly doing the things that needed to be done before the family
went to bed. Sometimes far-away Westerners, who had little idea of the actual
situation, commended me . . . There were others . . . who condemned me . . .
[But] I became reconciled to my situation by watching the Indians, serving each
other and me untroubled by the relative value of their work, free of the pressures
of competition and comparison.36
We find in this account a willingness to learn, to adjust and conform to the Auca’s daily
life – to be teachable. She found in the Auca way of life something valuable and
refreshing in comparison to the cultural practices from home. No doubt Elisabeth had
much to adapt to and overcome as she transitioned from a Western lifestyle to the
seemingly simplistic, but perhaps more laborious one of the Auca Indians. Despite the
criticism she received for bringing her children into such an environment, she was
nevertheless willing to abandon her customary way of life and trade it in for another for
the sake of the gospel. She did not enter the Auca community expecting to transform
every aspect society. She may have had much to teach them spiritually, but that would
come in time. And there were some things that did not need to change. Superior
technological knowledge and ideas about efficiency may very well have been on her
side, but whereas other missionaries often come in with blueprints and plans
characteristic of their cultures and ways of life, Elisabeth recognized the value of setting
all that aside for the sake of meeting people where they are. Staying and working in Cambodia will be not be as dramatic an experience culturally
as Elisabeth encountered in Ecuador. But just as Elisabeth was a student of the Aucas,
so too must you become a student of the Cambodians as well as the local staff. She
held the keys to the kingdom of God in her hand, but the way to teach those people
was not like that of an army storming a city and claiming it de facto and with mere
banners.
You have much to say. There is a passion and a desire in your heart to bring heaven to
earth, to show the world who God is and what He has done. There is a time and a
place for that to happen in Cambodia. But it must also be important to you to learn
what you can from the Cambodians, to go before them in humility and listen with open
ears and open hearts. This is not just a formality, a way of being culturally sensitive.
Rather, it is an avenue for you to better serve
those whom you have come to minister to as
you learn to operate within their culture and
be salt and light to them in a way that they
will best understand.
Cambodia comes with its own dirt, decay
and underlying community issues that differ
from those that you might find in your own
area. Customs are different and ways of
communicating might be strange. The ebb
of history has formed and shaped this
country and its people uniquely.
Do not let pride convince you that you are infinite in your knowledge and all powerful in
your ability to teach. Omniscience and omnipotence belong to God alone. The rest of
us always have much to learn, forever students of the kingdom of God and of one
another.
“He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm
spirit.
people of Ecuador. They, and several other couples, were instrumental in bringing the
gospel to some of the most remote tribes in that part of the world. And while Jim’s
ministry was powerful yet short due to his martyrdom at the hands of a tribe that would
later become believers, Elisabeth has remained on this earth to tell their story and write
numerous books offering spiritual lessons from a woman who knows much about the
trials of life.
In her book, Be Still My Soul, Elisabeth gives a brief account of her time spent among the
Auca Indians:
When I lived with the Auca Indians for two years, I learned more about servanthood
than I had known from my Christian upbringing. . . . The women would go
out into the fields as soon as they had taken care of the babies and fed the small
children and had eaten whatever might be left over for them. At the end of the
day, an Auca woman would come home carrying her fifty- or sixty-pound basket
of manioc and plantains . . . She would walk into her house, stoop down to drop
the basket behind her, and set to work stirring up the fire, cooking the food, very
calmly and quietly doing the things that needed to be done before the family
went to bed. Sometimes far-away Westerners, who had little idea of the actual
situation, commended me . . . There were others . . . who condemned me . . .
[But] I became reconciled to my situation by watching the Indians, serving each
other and me untroubled by the relative value of their work, free of the pressures
of competition and comparison.36
We find in this account a willingness to learn, to adjust and conform to the Auca’s daily
life – to be teachable. She found in the Auca way of life something valuable and
refreshing in comparison to the cultural practices from home. No doubt Elisabeth had
much to adapt to and overcome as she transitioned from a Western lifestyle to the
seemingly simplistic, but perhaps more laborious one of the Auca Indians. Despite the
criticism she received for bringing her children into such an environment, she was
nevertheless willing to abandon her customary way of life and trade it in for another for
the sake of the gospel. She did not enter the Auca community expecting to transform
every aspect society. She may have had much to teach them spiritually, but that would
come in time. And there were some things that did not need to change. Superior
technological knowledge and ideas about efficiency may very well have been on her
side, but whereas other missionaries often come in with blueprints and plans
characteristic of their cultures and ways of life, Elisabeth recognized the value of setting
all that aside for the sake of meeting people where they are. Staying and working in Cambodia will be not be as dramatic an experience culturally
as Elisabeth encountered in Ecuador. But just as Elisabeth was a student of the Aucas,
so too must you become a student of the Cambodians as well as the local staff. She
held the keys to the kingdom of God in her hand, but the way to teach those people
was not like that of an army storming a city and claiming it de facto and with mere
banners.
You have much to say. There is a passion and a desire in your heart to bring heaven to
earth, to show the world who God is and what He has done. There is a time and a
place for that to happen in Cambodia. But it must also be important to you to learn
what you can from the Cambodians, to go before them in humility and listen with open
ears and open hearts. This is not just a formality, a way of being culturally sensitive.
Rather, it is an avenue for you to better serve
those whom you have come to minister to as
you learn to operate within their culture and
be salt and light to them in a way that they
will best understand.
Cambodia comes with its own dirt, decay
and underlying community issues that differ
from those that you might find in your own
area. Customs are different and ways of
communicating might be strange. The ebb
of history has formed and shaped this
country and its people uniquely.
Do not let pride convince you that you are infinite in your knowledge and all powerful in
your ability to teach. Omniscience and omnipotence belong to God alone. The rest of
us always have much to learn, forever students of the kingdom of God and of one
another.
“He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm
spirit.
Day 12: Positive Perspective – Humility
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which
you have ordained,” writes the psalmist, David, “What is man that you are mindful of
him, and the son of man that you visit him? For you have made him a little lower than
the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honor.”30
If there is any doubt as to the inferiority of man in comparison to God, this passage of
scripture clears it up well. We serve a great and powerful God who alone can grant
honor and glory to men. But unlike the world of men in which inferiority breeds hurt and
pain and jealousy, an acceptance of humility before a deserving God fulfills the best in
us personally and enables the best kind of ministry in a way that our own arrogance
and pride cannot.
Perhaps in the studies on paternalism the last few days you have begun to form in your
heart and mind a positive replacement for notions of paternalism that too often
accompany foreign missionary service. But to make sure there are no weak points in
your foundation, know that the hole that the absence of paternalism leaves must be
filled with something.
And that something is humility.
This is at the core of doing effective ministry – both spiritually and materially – in
Cambodia, and thus the reason humility is addressed more than once in this guide.
Dealing with different economic markets, worldviews, leadership styles and cultural
expressions of time and commitment can be frustrating to a foreigner. To successfully
navigate cultural barriers and demonstrate the best love you can to the people of
Cambodia, you must embrace an attitude and heart of humility.
In her book, Brokenness: The Heart that God Revives, Nancy Leigh DeMoss outlines
characteristics of prideful people compared to those who walk in humility. Since pride is
at the root of many manifestations of hurtful ministry, it is imperative that prideful
attitudes be uncovered and substituted with humble ones. Below are a few points she
makes that are poignant in their application to your ministry in Cambodia.
“Proud people feel confident in how much they know. Broken people are humbled by
how very much they have to learn.”31
Whether it is your knowledge of economics, construction, or theology, you will probably
want to share. And to desire to do so could be of great use in certain ministry settings But a failure to listen to locals and understand cultural context could render your advice
unheeded or disallow a community from building for themselves. Being willing to listen
and learn could enhance your knowledge and help a community, both economically
and spiritually, even more.
“Proud people are self-protective in their time, their rights, and their reputation. Broken
people are self-denying.”32
Short-term missions make it so that time is of the essence to prideful missionaries who
want things done a certain way. Humble missionaries will lay down their plans and way
of doing things for the sake of being true servants of God and His people. They are
willing to include locals, listen to permanent staff members, and use wisdom that might
previously have been unknown to them.
“Proud people desire to be known as a
success. Broken people are motivated to be
faithful and to make others a success.”33
Home churches might want pictures and
statistics to justify their financial investments in
their mission teams, and team leaders crave
positive testimonies to report every day and
confirm progress, but this is not to be the
heart and core of ministry. Humble missionaries will put the needs of the people and
guidance of the Holy Spirit first, recognizing that fruit may not become evident until they
have returned to their own homes. This is not to say that ministry tactics shouldn’t be
evaluated and adjusted, but they should not be judged purely on a Western definition
of success. Instead, missionaries should mark success by how much the ministry enables
the community for future progress.
“Proud people have a feeling – conscious or subconscious – that ‘this ministry is
privileged to have me and my gifts.’ They focus on what they can do for God. Broken
people have a heart attitude that says, ‘I don’t deserve to have any part in this
ministry’; they know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing
through their broken lives.”34
This is perhaps what points most directly at the heart of what often defines foreign
ministry work and what ought to define it. Remember who did the real work of
salvation: Jesus. It is Christ who prepared good works in advance for us to do,35 who strengthens our hands and minds and puts breath in our lungs in order to be able to
give and serve. These are gifts given to be freely poured out in recognition of the
power, love and grace of the gift giver.
Your skills and knowledge may find a place of use in Cambodia. Or they may not. Are
you prepared to just do the dirty work? Are you prepared to learn and adapt and
admit ignorance? Are you going into ministry with a genuine heart and plan to serve
the Cambodians according to their needs, or according to what you desire? Do you
think you can do it on your own?
It is God who will enable you to effectively minister to His broken people in Cambodia,
so long as you are a humble and willing vessel. You were and are in as much need of
restoration and redemption as those who you will minister to. You are a tool in the
hands of God who does the real work of bringing the dead to life and restoring
individuals, communities and humanity unto Himself.
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