Nations - Africa 2003
Kenya, Africa 2003
Within
the ten day span of my trip to Cambodia, I set foot
in Portland, LA, SanFrancisco, Tokyo Japan, Hong Kong
China, Singapore, and Phnom Penh Cambodia. Definitely
not a trip for the faint of heart. After roughly 23
hours of plane travel, and several ‘iffy’
meals on the plane, I landed at the airport in Cambodia.
Waiting for me just outside the airport were my gracious
hosts pastor Sophea and Jenny Sem, who immediately
took me to a local restaurant where I had my first
Cambodian iced tea. I must admit, I was a little concerned
when after asking about the
 New Life Center Church |
I had one solid week to spend in Cambodia and as it turned out, we packed the days full of activities. My goal in going there was to work with the musicians in a worship setting and perhaps exchange some songs as well as advise them on technical aspects of church music. But I didn’t realize that God had other things planned as well.
The
morning of the same day I arrived in Cambodia, Sophea
had just picked up two brand new computers from a
local shop (paid for by a Christian brother who left
Cambodia the day before I arrived). So suddenly, I
found I had access to these nice new office computers
and a group of young church musicians. So, having
a background in computer studio work, I studied their
church sound system and convinced them to dedicate
some of the space on one of the office computers to
creating audio recordings. By the time I left for
home one week later, their church was capable of recording
4 track digital audio mixes and burning full productions
onto CD. Who would have ever thought 
that
that would happen on the other side of the world?
Many churches in the U.S.A. don’t even have
that capability yet. Who says Mission work has to
be ‘low-tech’?
I
was pleasantly surprised, while attending a morning
prayer meeting, to see these young Cambodian men and
women so excited to pray. Many of them traveled miles
on bumpy, dusty roads, just to meet and pray as a
group. Their dedication and passion for touching God’s
heart is second to none.
After working with the worship team daily at pastor Sophea’s church – New Life Center, we would ride “motos” (mopeds) to eat lunch and then ride back to the church for “recording lessons” on the new system. Evenings we would often go downtown giving me an opportunity to experience the culture first hand.
One of the cultural differences I experienced right
away, that really stands out to me even now, is
the driving conditions. At first glance it seems completely
chaotic with no pattern. Cars would pass us on the
right side, even driving off the pavement to do it.
Motos were everywhere and would drive 7 or 8 side
by side, with sometimes 4-6 people riding together
on the same moto. But after being in the culture for
a little while, I became more familiar with the traffic
and started noticing the unwritten rules.
While
there I was able to visit the downtown market where
everybody goes to buy their food, clothes, and other
necessities. One vender was selling deep fried bugs.
She had several large bowls filled with crickets,
beetles, and giant tarantulas. I didn’t try
any, but there’s always next time.
Although
mission trips are not “vacations”, I was
able to sneak in a few sight seeing adventures. We
passed by several Buddhist temples, had strange looking
(but great tasting) drinks in the markets, and took
many moto trips around the bustling city. Sophea also
took me out, at my request, to visit the Killing Fields
(See the skull pictures) the events of which claimed
an estimated 2 million Cambodian lives in the late
1970’s. It was a very sobering sight, especially
considering that it happened within his lifetime and
Cambodia is still trying to recover from it.
After
spending a week with the Sems and their church I preached
to about 50 – 60 people during the Sunday morning
service. Then I spent the last night in their home
playing worship music with Naro (pictured with headphones
on) and missionary Beth-Ann (who originally comes
from right here in Oregon), prior to relaxing a little
with the family.
It’s also amazing to me how their church seems
to draw in people from other nations. While there
I must have met a
couple dozen people from literally all over the world.
Sophea and Jenny are very familiar with international
missions, and having that influence as a priority
is displayed clearly in the diverse makeup of their
congregation.
After meeting so many wonderful people, it’s
hard to say goodbye. But since retuning to the states,
I have received great 
news
that the church there is growing tremendously and
God is doing great things in the lives of the people.
Thank you Sophea, Jenny, your family, and your church
for being such great hosts for me. May God continue
to bless you and your ministries.
Rob Goodwin
If you would like to contrubute to
the ministry in Cambodia through
pastor Sophea and Jenny Sem, please contact
us here for more information.
