Ministry With Khmer University Students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
For information about future missions trips to Cambodia and Vietnam email Jeremy.
Cambodia Report by Jessica Madonia
I want to thank the CCSB so much for their generous financial support to short term missions like mine. I'm sure you all will receive it back ten fold.
Students who are members of a Canadian Convention of Southern Baptist Church may qualify for a missions scholarship from the Canadian Missions Offering. For more information and an online application form click here.
The recent trip to Cambodia that I and six other students and our team leader embarked on has allowed God to once again make a lasting impression on my heart and will be a time I will remember often. While in Cambodia for three weeks, our team had the privilege of working alongside Chris and Rebecca Abner, two very wonderful and down-to-earth full-time missionaries who have been in Cambodia for almost three years.
Our primary focus was to participate in activities that would hopefully give us many opportunities to engage in friendships for Christ (aka “relational evangelism”). And that is exactly what happened and more! By just simply being anglophones, God seemed to open doors for conversations everywhere we went! It was amazing to experience warm and relational character of the Cambodians as well as their enthusiasm for learning the English language. Throughout the trip we encountered many students who wanted to practice their English with us.
The Mission Team in Angkor, Cambodia.
We spent a lot of our time taking part in conversational English classes at the Focus Centre run by Chris, Rebecca, and another missionary named Kathy. Here we learned about “storying” which is a simple yet effective way of teaching English using Bible stories all the way from creation to Jesus. It was great to be able to sit in on the classes because we were able to interact with students of our respective ages on a much more personal level and actually get to know them more deeply.
Many of us had the chance to build close relationships with some of the students who would often invite us to hang out with them outside of class time, and even show us around Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. I know that on several occasions, several of our team members got the chance to share about Christ and what he’s done in our lives one-on-one with the Cambodian students, some Christian and some not. One fond memory I have is of when I went along with Kathy’s English class on a bike trip around the city. I can remember being able to share the story of how God changed my life, made me whole, and gave me an eternal purpose outside of myself with one student while dodging cars and “mottos” coming from all directions. However it turns out that the Christian students there were probably more of an encouragement to me than I was to them.
Jessica with Sovann's english class after leaning about the Gospel through singing "Lord We Lift Your Name On High"
Some of our team members and I also had the opportunity to attend two nightly English classes at a private school with Sovann, one of the Cambodian students who became a Christian through the Focus Centre. I think our team had a huge impact on many of Sovann’s students for Christ and even challenged Sovann to speak out to his students about his faith.
Before leaving for one of Sovann’s English classes, one of my teammates Julian had grabbed a guitar and one sheet of music. When we arrived, Sovann saw the guitar and immediately encouraged the three of us to teach his class a song. But I remember getting really nervous inside and thinking to myself, “I’m not prepared for this! God, please help me! I can’t sing, and I’m not a good teacher!” So, in a nervous sweat and with my heart pounding, I wrote the words to “Lord I Lift Your Name On High” on the whiteboard. I made eye contact with Graham, another team member and asked if he wanted to explain the song but he encouraged me to give it a try.
Julian and I singing Jesus Loves me with the our english class in Kam Pong Speu, a small town outside of Phnom Penh (the capital city of Cambodia)
As I began to teach these eager students the lines of the song, it seemed as though they understood most of the lyrics easily. While explaining the words of the song - when we would come a concept that the students didn’t know – I would explain what I was trying to say to Sovann and he would translate and explain the meaning in the “Khmer” (Khmai) language. It was as if God was opening their eyes and revealing himself to them! To my joy, about ¾ of the way through, I realized that the lyrics of the song actually laid out the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. It’s as if the lyrics of the song were a door to sharing the Gospel! Here are the lyrics of the song:
Lord, I lift Your name on high;
Lord, I love to sing Your praises;
I'm so glad You're in my life;
I'm so glad You came to save us.
You came from Heaven to earth;
To show the way,
From the earth to the cross,
My debt to pay,
From the cross to the grave,
From the grave to the sky;
Lord, I lift Your name on high!
After we finished teaching the students not only the lyrics of the song, but about God’s love for all humanity embodied in Jesus Christ, we sang through it once with them. Then we asked the students if they wanted to sing it again and to our surprise, most of them responded with a joyful and enthusiastic “yes”. I thought back to a document I had read about the negative misconceptions that most Cambodians have about Christians. I realized that the reason these impressions have formed is because the Cambodians have only heard lies and have never heard the truth; that God, their Maker, took it upon himself to pay for and forgive the sins of the world through Jesus. It was clear to me from the smiles on the Cambodians faces as we sang that this was the first time any of them had heard this good news. This fact satisfied my soul; this experience was truly enough to make me feel that the whole trip was worth it and that our team was indeed allowing God to accomplish the tasks that he set to do through us.
All in all, I can say that this experience - along with the 5-day teaching of English and concepts from the Bible we did in a small Buddhist village – has made me realize how God transforms people with His truth and how he desires to do so. In hindsight, I know that though God chose to use us to reveal himself to many, this was accomplished through the Holy Spirit working on the hearts of the Cambodians. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of this and if I had the chance to go back there or do something like that again, I would take it in a heartbeat. Therefore, I would of course recommend that anyone who has the chance to be a part of a trip or even lifestyle like this to take it if God so leads you, because God can and will use anyone who is willing in mighty ways. That isn’t to say that you won’t experience hardship (opposition, sickness and extreme heat), which we did, but that in the end, contributing to the eternal Kingdom of God is infinitely rewarding. I for one often remember and pray for Cambodia and think of the friends we made and shared our lives with there.
From: Jenni Seppenwoold
The mission trip to Cambodia I went on in May has definitely had a huge impact on my life. I found out about it from Jeremy Langley who goes to my church and also from hearing stories from others who have gone on previous trips with Jeremy to Cambodia. When I first heard how much it would cost I was very skeptical about going. $3000 is a lot of money to fund raise when you are a student with no job, but God definitely showed me how he provides. He more then supplied to money I needed. It came from everywhere. I wrote a letter which I mailed to some people and my parents emailed it, I had people I didn’t even know send me money which was incredible. This allowed me to really see big God’s family is!
I was incredibly nervous heading into the trip because I didn’t know anyone else going other than Jeremy and I also knew that I was going to be pulled out of almost all of my comfort zones during the trip. After spending 24 hours flying with the rest of the team, we got to know each other pretty well, but I was still nervous about what I was going to be expected to do. One of the things that make me really nervous is talking with people I don’t know, and obviously going on a mission trip that one is going to have to be overcome. It really didn’t take long either. The Khmer students were so friendly to all of us and made us feel so welcome! I never imagined that in only 3 weeks I could meet so many amazing people and make so many wonderful friends!
One evening at the Student Centre where the students go for English classes, we were asked if we would organize something. We were told to prepare our testimonies and we also decided to teach the students some worship songs in English. Singing the songs was no problem for me, but giving my testimony brought all kinds of nerves. Never before had I shared my testimony in front of a crowd and so I was a mess. Just as we were about to start, and I would be the first to give my testimony, I began to feel nauseous. I then went and found a quiet place a prayed to God and asked him to please heal me if only for this time so I could get through my testimony and I asked him to calm my nerves. While I was speaking in front of all the students I felt so much better. God used this moment to teach me that when we rely on him and ask for his help only the best will come out of it.
This trip really encouraged me in my faith because I was able to see first hand God’s community growing among people who are persecuted for their faith. I was able to encourage the students I met and show them that we all have struggles in our faith regardless of where we live. This trip has really opened my eyes to missions and I am now praying about doing more missions in the future. I would encourage everyone to go on a short term mission trip, it definitely gives you the opportunity to see how God is working in other countries and how He can use you to help develop Christ centered communities around the world.
