We made it back
We are back in the States and as far as we know disease free. Our time in Cambodia was amazing and we know that if we would have not gone we would have missed a big part of what God wanted to do in us. From the walk in the rice fields, to the kids in the provinces, to the church being what it was created to be; God is still using the trip to reshape our thinking and the way live out our lives.
During our 2 weeks there we worked with a church that really amazed us in many ways. First of 
all the church has accomplished what a church-plant should, from my understanding there are around 90 staff members with about 30ish being full-time. Now there were only about 4-5 foreigners on the staff. The rest of the staff our locals who became Christians through a ministry of the church and are now on the staff. That in it self is a pretty unusual and amazing thing to see. We got to see the US church-planters truly trying to work themselves out of a job and turn of the leadership to locals, which is by far the most effective way to reach a people. This was very encouraging and challenging for us to see as we are leaving to go plant a church in England. We are challenged to raise up the locals and see them become the church and not just some Americans living in England trying to be the church with a few English in the mix. This is such a starch contrast to our church culture in America where churches often now looked like a business with leadership being hoarded and being turned over to our kids rather than the next God anointed leader. This biblical model of raising up the anointed leader regardless of age, background, education, etc. is something that is challenging but very exciting to see and hopefully be a part of in England.
all the church has accomplished what a church-plant should, from my understanding there are around 90 staff members with about 30ish being full-time. Now there were only about 4-5 foreigners on the staff. The rest of the staff our locals who became Christians through a ministry of the church and are now on the staff. That in it self is a pretty unusual and amazing thing to see. We got to see the US church-planters truly trying to work themselves out of a job and turn of the leadership to locals, which is by far the most effective way to reach a people. This was very encouraging and challenging for us to see as we are leaving to go plant a church in England. We are challenged to raise up the locals and see them become the church and not just some Americans living in England trying to be the church with a few English in the mix. This is such a starch contrast to our church culture in America where churches often now looked like a business with leadership being hoarded and being turned over to our kids rather than the next God anointed leader. This biblical model of raising up the anointed leader regardless of age, background, education, etc. is something that is challenging but very exciting to see and hopefully be a part of in England.Another area God highlight for us on the trip was poverty & the hurting and broke
n. We have been reading a great book...the Bible and we have been seeing it in a way like never before. We look at Jesus and we are trying to be more like him (trying is a very key word) and a few things are jumping out that I suppose I have chosen not to see. One is that Jesus was homeless (Mt. 8:20 & Lk. 9:58) and he spent a bulk of his time with poor, hurting, broken, socially unpopular people, awkward and down right shady people. So we are wrestling with what that means for us, if we really want to look like Jesus. How do we love people well and give our lives to the sick that Jesus said needed a doctor (Mt. 9:12, Mk. 2:17, Lk. 5:31)? We realize this may mean throwing out or previous theology about how we love and help the poor. But we believe God is in the business of transformation not conversion (2 Cor. 3:18), so how can we see the poor/hurting live transformed lives full of the Holy Spirit? We are on a journey of hearing God and trying to obey how he is telling us to live, pray for us as we journey in this.
n. We have been reading a great book...the Bible and we have been seeing it in a way like never before. We look at Jesus and we are trying to be more like him (trying is a very key word) and a few things are jumping out that I suppose I have chosen not to see. One is that Jesus was homeless (Mt. 8:20 & Lk. 9:58) and he spent a bulk of his time with poor, hurting, broken, socially unpopular people, awkward and down right shady people. So we are wrestling with what that means for us, if we really want to look like Jesus. How do we love people well and give our lives to the sick that Jesus said needed a doctor (Mt. 9:12, Mk. 2:17, Lk. 5:31)? We realize this may mean throwing out or previous theology about how we love and help the poor. But we believe God is in the business of transformation not conversion (2 Cor. 3:18), so how can we see the poor/hurting live transformed lives full of the Holy Spirit? We are on a journey of hearing God and trying to obey how he is telling us to live, pray for us as we journey in this.OK now to a cool highlight of the trip. Kids are the same no matter where you go.
One morning to drove to one of the distant provinces (about 2 hrs. away and all dirt roads) and when we arrived they simply told us to pray for the sick in the village and to play with the children. So before we went to pray I was playing with little boy who was about 3 years old. Boys are boys and we quickly developed a game with a make shift car made of a mud wheel and a piece of metal and plastics bottles that we would knock down. The game ways simple and very similar to something I would do on any given day with my own boys. We lined the bottles up on a chair, held the "car" at the top of the chair, and then let it go and watched as physics took over. We both laughed a lot and hopefully we left my little friend and the group of boys watching a new game to play for years to come.
One morning to drove to one of the distant provinces (about 2 hrs. away and all dirt roads) and when we arrived they simply told us to pray for the sick in the village and to play with the children. So before we went to pray I was playing with little boy who was about 3 years old. Boys are boys and we quickly developed a game with a make shift car made of a mud wheel and a piece of metal and plastics bottles that we would knock down. The game ways simple and very similar to something I would do on any given day with my own boys. We lined the bottles up on a chair, held the "car" at the top of the chair, and then let it go and watched as physics took over. We both laughed a lot and hopefully we left my little friend and the group of boys watching a new game to play for years to come.All in all this trip was great and we will honestly be looking back at it for a while to make sure we learn everything we need to from it. We would have been missing what God had for us if we hadn't gone on this trip even though it came at a difficult and awkward time for us. But we serve a God who is faithful to guide us and teach as we simply obey the next the he says to do. Thanks so much for praying for as we ventured out on this journey, we needed and felt your prayers. Thank you, thank you!!
posted by Christie Otts @ 9:20 PM
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