A Stone's Throw

Just got this from our missions pastor, Brock Cummins.  I was planning on going with the team on this trip, but it just didn’t work out.  Please keep these four people in your prayers!  Pray also for the missionary doc, the Cambodian people that are receiving medical care there.

Hey All,

I apologize for not getting an update out sooner.  All of our flights went smoothly and we arrived Saturday night around 11:45pm local time.  All of our bags arrived with us and we had no trouble getting through customs with all the meds.

Sunday morning we did some shopping at a market in Phnom Penh.  Sunday afternoon we loaded up the van and the truck and headed to the province of Kompong Chhnaing (I don’t know how to pronounce it either.).  The hotel here is nice.  The air conditioners work great and we have hot water.

Today, we had a great first day at the village.  It is about 1 hour and 15 minutes from our hotel. Dr. Blake Little and Dr. Kit (a missionary Dr. with New Tribes Mission) saw 50+ people.  We shared the gospel with those who were seen.  Nurse Terry Osborne assessed everyone before they were seen by the Doctors.  Nurse Julie Reed and I worked in the pharmacy and we found some time to play with kids.

It is very HOT, but we are all surviving.  Terry and I both have colds.  Dr. Blake put us on antibiotics.  We both have bad coughs and squeaky voices.

Jessica, the missionary we are working with, is great.  She is taking wonderful care of us and did a great job of getting all the details taken care of before we arrived.

We are looking forward to another good day tomorrow.

Thank you for your prayers,
Brock

I am getting ready for my first international mission trip this March.  It is actually only the second time I have been outside of the country…the first time was a few years back for Brad and Nora’s wedding in Montreal.

I am heading to Phnom Penh, Cambodia with four others from Forest Park.  It is going to be a medical mission trip to (tenatively) a village called Srai Chan.  It is on the Mekong River and we will be staying in the providential capital and traveling to the city each day to set up clinic.

I am going with a doctor, two nurses and Brock Cummins, our missions pastor.  I asked the doc that is leading the trip if he could call Brock and I “doctor” for the trip–”Spies Like Us” style!  I am doubting that is going to happen…but it is always worth the try!

Actually, Brock and I are going to be the “gophers” for the trip–which is awesome!  We are going to be doing whatever they need us to do…anything from helping with the medical exams to playing with the children.  Probably going to be a lot of playing with the children…which is cool.  There is going to be another national doctor that will help Dr. Blake set up clinic in the village, so we are hoping to see several hundred people over the 5 days we are doing clinic.  All the while, we are able to share with them the hope we have!

Please pray for the Cambodian or “Khmer” people that we see in clinic…that they would find medical answers to what ails them.  Pray also for them to find answers that only the Gospel can bring!

I will give more updates in the coming days, but for now, check out some of the articles on Wikipedia concerning Cambodia and their history.

• Cambodia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia
• Mekong River  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong
• Phnom Penh (Capital City)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Penh
• The horrible Killing Fields  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killing_Fields

Watch the film, “The Killing Fields” to get a good idea of the where we are going to be…in the villages right around the Killing Fields.

Here are few pictures of the people and places of Cambodia…be in prayer for them please.

We have started our Generations Campaign last weekend and we are SO excited about what God is going to do over the next 6 weeks in growing our faith!  One of the awesome things about this spiritual growth campaign is a 40 Day Prayer and Devotional Guide.  We actually have started a website that you can go to and comment on each day about what the Lord is teaching you.  We believe this is going to be a very powerful tool for us as a church family.

Check out the “pretty” format that looks like the paperback books on our website here.  You can also check out our new website called “PAUSE:  Stop. Learn. Live.” On that site you will also be able to learn more about a daily reading plan, how to journal, how to fast, etc.  The daily reading portion will be up and in full swing after our 40 days of prayer and devotions are over with the Generations campaign.

We will continue a daily reading program after our 40 days of Generations prayer and devo is completed.

Don’t starve!  Feed yourself!  Grab a Bible, a pen, a journal, and a Generations Devo (or hop online) and join us on this adventure to spiritual maturity!