Khmer Khronicle May 2017

KK May 2017

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Where It All Began ~ 23 years ago.

This is where missions really started for us 23 years ago ~ with a group of young Lutheran high school students who took up the tremendous task laid before them with grace and valor, traveling to Russia over Easter to share time with Novogord School 31, bonding with students with whom today that friendship still stands. Their example has truly affected many since those moments and time.

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Angkor Wat area in a Nutshell !

Ironically today TripAdvisor listed Siem Reap Cambodia #8 of the top destinations to visit in the world, just as I was thinking to share a speck of the area in our backyard called Angkor Wat. To say that this is old is an understatement, to put it mildly. If anyone who has not ventured into learning about Angkor Wat, this is your chance to see a bit of it to jumpstart you.

 
Interestingly it took a tourist police guy at Bantrey Srei to show me a feature on my phone that I hadn’t figured out how to use. I’m suspecting the man has handled many a phone in his days there so he was really adept with what he did. So I’m told that usually the police aren’t much help when you may think you need them, but the tourist police have had high marks on the expat site here and this guy lived up to that statement. Yup, we all slipped him a buck or so for his time. He knew things and saw things that could have been easily missed.

Please enjoy some pictures of the area that were taken last week located on my Facebook page if you are interested. Thank you!

https://www.facebook.com/shary.frahm

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Khmer Khronicle April 2017

KK April 2017

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A New Learning Curve

Kok Kraul primary school was visited Saturday afternoon while school was still in session. It is located between three villages and houses 125 students. The unusual part of this is that this school advances all day school, with the children coming at 7:30am and going home at 4:00pm. I was told that this is the only school with this privilege, which apparently is a pilot program between the WFP and Feed My Starving Children. These children are given lunch thru the efforts of this program, which apparently came thru the Ministry of Education. This school does not have electricity as yet, though it stands on the roadway.

The norm throughout this country is that children either attend morning or afternoon sessions 6 days a week. Pastor Samuel would like to advance an English program into the school, which at this point has no English instruction for either the students or the teachers.

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Church Delight in the Jungle

Kok Kreul is a village outside Siem Reap. It is obvious that this wonderful group has been meeting in worship on a regular basis to the point that we see many points of a usual worship service (confession and absolution for one) going on in the midst of the norm of khmer language always used. These folk have no modern conveniences such as electricity so if they own a TV it is operated by a battery or generator. They put a tarp down on the floor so its reasonably clean for worship. There is no fan to move the stifling heat in the room, and since it’s in the jungle, there isn’t much breeze.
Shoes are left at the door. These people are joyful and when they come together it shows their love for Jesus. Age range is 7 months to 70 years. All are female, except some young teen males. They open each service with songs of praise, and they practice these songs before they begin service. They give thanks for the offering that is gathered amongst them at each service.

This is also where one of the English programs has been going on for a short period now. Yesterday one of the ladies I had seen during English class sat down on the green mat with me and clearly spoke “How are you doing today?” and thereafter she replied in clear conversation “I am very fine, thank you.”

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Stronger Together

Stronger Together ~ I could have never imagined that I could acknowledge this statement from half way around the world, but I am, here and now, to do just that.(It is the campaign heading for Immanuel Palatine IL and their congregation.) Today I can ecstatically shout to the world and our Immanuel Palatine family the fact that, a year later, I can now report that into the villages has come a very local oriented set of classes focusing on the making of soap to benefit the village in total. Thank you so very much to Trephina Frahm Bedell who shared her expertise to these people to give them exact basics of safe soap making and then Kanhchana Sar took that valuable information and is teaching a series of three classes to equip women in the villages to make their own soaps. In April we will take time out of our Siem Reap schedule to join Kanhchana Sar on one of her class outings into the villages so we can learn how a western perspective to soapmaking has tansitioned into a successful venture. God is so good! I am more than happy to share these photos with you, the first ones show the last year first exposure, and this year, the result of that teaching in the last two photos. I am excited to see a class in action and how to adapt this into Snor and the surrounding Siem Reap villages if Pastor Samuel would consider this beneficial for them. Can you hear my shout of joy???? AMEN!!

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Sweet Surprise !

Third Sunday in a row but this time it was a total surprise to the men leading the church service. This fine group of young guys appeared for church, sat in the back, and then came forward and asked to be baptized. So while the littles waited, these seven received their desired request. AMEN!

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Happy 5th Anniversary!

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A Church in the Jungle

In the jungle we find a building. It stands quietly in the brush with the gentle breezes flowing thru the open barred windows and open doorways. This is where we find a small church group waiting for our arrival to hold service. A dirt floor brushed away of its leaves with the help of a ‘twig’ broom stands in the corner awaiting its need. It seems that this church group have come together many times in the past.

Today is a special day for this group as well as there are 13 baptisms on this day for Samuel and George to do.

1.jungle 2.broom 3.church 4.interior 5.exterior 6.church  7.nursery 8 offering 9. baptisms 10. baptism group 11. church family photo

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