Return to short-term missions
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Dear Family and Friends,
I have been wanting to do mission work for many years, and now I have a
chance to be a part of a team in Cambodia. My plan is to stay for two
months: Jan. 9th thru March 11. I will fly out of St. Louis on Jan. 9th (25
hours in an airplane) to the opposite side of the globe (12,000 miles). The
doctor who gave me my vaccinations told me jokingly, "If you go out in your
backyard and dig straight down, you will come out in Cambodia, and that will
make the trip a lot shorter." He has been to Viet Nam, right next to Cam
(officially called The Kingdom of Cambodia).
Cam is about the size of Oklahoma, and has 11 million people. As you will
remember from history, after the Viet Nam war ended, the communists
ransacked Cam, and a murderous dictator named Pol Pot slaughtered between 1
and 2 million of his own people (That's why they call it The Killing
Fields). Sounds like Saddam Hussein doesn't it? The Viet Cong planted
millions of land mines in Cam at that time, and there are many Cambodians
who have their legs blown off as a result. The people there are very tired
of war and are very peace-loving, so that makes them very receptive to the
Gospel of the Prince of Peace.
Their religion is 95% Therevada Bhuddist, but they have freedom of religion,
and they are hungry for the Truth about The Real God. The women especially
like Christianity. The reason is that a Bhuddist woman cannot go to Heaven!
They have to be reincarnated as a man in order to go. American women don't
know how good they have got it over here. How would you like to be a woman
Bhuddist trying to teach their religion to the feminists over here? Ha!
The good news is that
Partners in Progress, the church organization that I
will be working with, is converting 1.7 people per day, and, if they had
enough workers for follow-up, they could plant a new church every week! PIP
does many things for the Cambodians. It teaches them English (using a modern
English Bible), since the nationals cannot get any decent job without
knowing it (the average annual income being $240). It does medical missions,
building projects, etc. But, of course, the main thing is saving their
souls.
If you want to know more about the country, then rent the movie called The
Killing Fields.
Mandi
is, of course, more than a little worried about my being in a 3rd
world country where malaria and other health hazards are rife. Please
encourage and pray for her, and for me, that I will stay healthy and glorify
God with this mission trip.
Love,
Pete