Last Day in The Lord's Gym

Wednesday the 9th was my last day in The Lord's Gym. It was a bitter sweet time for me.

Som Khan, the head coach, let all the fighters know it was my last day, so we a full house. The coach said, "Clay, they are yours to train." In Khmer, coach asked them if they are ready for a hard workout? They replied in unison, "Baat (yes)."

I put them through two interval workouts. These guys are in great shape. I was happy to see that a couple of the new guys have to "tap out" near the end of the workout. The seasoned fighters looked tired but ready for more. I worked them out for about 40 minutes. When I was done, the coach took over and had them spar for another 30 minutes. These guys are tough.

When the training session was over we sat on the floor in a circle, and the coach asked me to share Jesus with them. I told them we are born in sin and God is perfect. Because God is perfectly just, we deserve punishment for our sin, which separates us from him. But, God loves us. He sent his son, Jesus to earth to pay the debt of our sin, something we could never do. Jesus' gift is our bridge to God. I asked them if they wanted to pray to accept Jesus' gift. Many of the fighters nodded their heads yes.

We closed our eyes and I lead them through the sinner's prayer.

I prayed God would give me the words to speak to these young men. He did. God has had his hand in everything we did this trip. We have been so blessed.

The gym's coaches, Som Khan and Sopaek, are there to help these young men live moral lives, and with integrity.

Som Khan told me that no other foreigner that has come to Svay Pak, to work in the gym, has invested themself into the gym as I have. I was blown away and incredibly blessed by this statement. I told him it was an honor for me because we are brothers in Christ, and I love these men.

We took a group photo. These are my boys. I wish I could take them home with me. As they left the gym they came to me, praying hands held just below the level of their nose (a sign of respect given to teachers and parents), and said thank you, "Soom ah kun neh." I retuned the gesture, "ah kun."

"Will you come back to see us again?" They asked.

"God willing, I will be back," I replied.

The Coaches

 

- Clay Cranford

 

Snippet from Suzie's journal

Here's an excerpt from my journal writings in Cambodia

Rahab House
Day 1
Today was a little overwhelming.
Fuz lead a bible study on Genesis1 to the young deciples group, ages 13 +. At first they seemed a little stand off ish. They perked up when Fuz asked the group if there were any students there who enjoyed science. 4 hands went up. A young man asked him during a break how science can prove that we were created and did not evolve from monkeys. Of course Fuz gave an answer that satisfied him.
We went to the first brick factory of 4 today . Fuz and I put on a skit. I think we gave a convincing performance !! We gave out over 30 bags of rice . Clay read john 3:16 and what it means. We came back and had a delicious lunch.

We had a turnout of almost 100 kids at our kids club . We put on a puppet show where I recruited the young disciples to master the puppets . I wish you could see the puppet show that was going on behind the curtain, hitting each other with the puppets etc. oh well Kids will be kids.
For dinner , we ate at Friends restaurant . It is employed by the rescued. It was really pleasant and the food is great.
A word about the food here..... YUM!!!!!
There also is a store next store where items are sold there that are made by the rescued.

We take a tuk tuk everyday to dinner and back. The tuk tuk rides are comfortable but I understand why they call them caskets on wheels

Bed at 8. I fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow. Good thing I slept with earplugs. It's noisy . Imagine sleeping on the freeway.


- Suzie Harris

The AEC Managers Retreat -A time for connection, rejuvenation and ministry part 1

The retreat weekend was a great time of connection, rejuvenation and ministry.
Our teaching theme was Servant Leadership -starting with a Biblical focus of Jesus as a Servant Leader lead by Fuz. On Saturday Clay spoke on the principles of Servant Leadership including many practical action steps. On Sunday morning Fuz completed the weekend  with Servant Leadership as worship- loving others is loving God.

There were 33 people in attendance at the AEC Managers retreat - 27 directors, managers and social workers leading the AIM Employment Centers (AEC 1, AEC 2, AEC 3 and made retail store).

We arrived early to the Good Time Resort a beach hotel in Sihanoukville to set up each room with a welcome basket to set the stage for the retreat.

Each basket contained a Khmer Bible, a journal with a pen, sun glasses, a beach towel, candy and a beach toy just for fun!

There were many firsts this weekend. This was the first ever retreat for the AIM Employment Centers.  For some it was the first time at the beach,  for others it was the first time to have a Bible of their own and for others it was the first time to get to know some of the people that they work with in their own AEC and meet for the other managers from the other AECs. Friday night started the process of such a special time of developing and deepening relationships.
It was such a joy to see everyone's smiles and hear the conversations at dinner during the ice breaker questions. The most touching moment for me was when the directors from each AEC walked each manager from their AEC to the front, removed their shoes and washed their feet as he affirmed and encouraged each person sealing them with a blessing- a strong movement of the Holy Spirit and Servant Leadership in action!

What a blessing!!!!

Amy

Leadership Retreat

Our three-day leadership retreat, in Sihanoukville, for the AIM employment managers and directors was an amazing time of learning and worship. The theme of the retreat was "Servant Leadership."

 

Each room was set with a "goodie bag," which contained a new Cambodian language Bible, notebook, sunglasses, candy, and beach towel.

Friday evening began with a dinner at our hotel and a time of fellowship. Fuz gave a great talk on how Jesus is our example of what a servant based leader should be. This biblical perspective of leadership set the tone for the week. Jesus' example of humility and service was demonstrated when he washed the disciples' feet. Following Fuz's talk, Pete, the employment center's head director washed the feet of his head managers, and then in turn, the head managers washed the feet of their managers. It was a special expression of God's love that these people have for each other.

Pete lead us in the taking of Communion and worship. It was amazing for me to take Communion and praise The Lord with my Cambodian brothers and sisters in Christ.

Saturday began with breakfast and then team building games on the beach. It was fun to watch the three employment center managers mix and mingle, and then come together as a team.

The afternoon was theirs to enjoy the beautiful beach. Many of these managers are from Svay Pak and come from very poor families. They started out as line workers and then promoted to be a manager. Many of them have never stayed in a hotel or been on a vacation. I'd like to thank the members of NewSong Church and all the financial backers of this mission. You have greatly blessed these amazing people. This generation of Cambodian believers are the change agents; the future leaders of Cambodia.

Saturday night, we had dinner at a different hotel, overlooking the water. It was a beautiful location, we watched the sun set as we ate our delicious traditional Cambodian dinner.

When dinner was finished, I spoke about five practical ways a leader can be a servant leader in their workplace. The evening concluded with prayer and worship.

 

Sunday morning, our final day, we walked to the beach and listened to Fuz speak about love, justice, and the image of God in us. After Fuz's message we had a time of reflection. The Cambodian managers had an opportunity to share about what they learned. It was the perfect bookend to the retreat. All of the comments were filled with their love for Jesus and each other.

 

One last treat. On our drive back to Phnom Penh, we stopped to have a picnic lunch at rest stop. We were joined by some friends.

 

- Clay Cranford

 

Leadership Retreat

Our three-day leadership retreat, in Sihanoukville, for the AIM employment managers and directors was an amazing time of learning and worship. The theme of the retreat was "Servant Leadership."

 

Each room was set with a "goodie bag," which contained a new Cambodian language Bible, notebook, sunglasses, candy, and beach towel.

Friday evening began with a dinner at our hotel and a time of fellowship. Fuz gave a great talk on how Jesus is our example of what a servant based leader should be. This biblical perspective of leadership set the tone for the week. Jesus' example of humility and service was demonstrated when he washed the disciples' feet. Following Fuz's talk, Pete, the employment center's head director washed the feet of his head managers, and then in turn, the head managers washed the feet of their managers. It was a special expression of God's love that these people have for each other.

Pete lead us in the taking of Communion and worship. It was amazing for me to take Communion and praise The Lord with my Cambodian brothers and sisters in Christ.

Saturday began with breakfast and then team building games on the beach. It was fun to watch the three employment center managers mix and mingle, and then come together as a team.

The afternoon was theirs to enjoy the beautiful beach. Many of these managers are from Svay Pak and come from very poor families. They started out as line workers and then promoted to be a manager. Many of them have never stayed in a hotel or been on a vacation. I'd like to thank the members of NewSong Church and all the financial backers of this mission. You have greatly blessed these amazing people. This generation of Cambodian believers are the change agents; the future leaders of Cambodia.

Saturday night, we had dinner at a different hotel, overlooking the water. It was a beautiful location, we watched the sun set as we ate our delicious traditional Cambodian dinner.

When dinner was finished, I spoke about five practical ways a leader can be a servant leader in their workplace. The evening concluded with prayer and worship.

 

Sunday morning, our final day, we walked to the beach and listened to Fuz speak about love, justice, and the image of God in us. After Fuz's message we had a time of reflection. The Cambodian managers had an opportunity to share about what they learned. It was the perfect bookend to the retreat. All of the comments were filled with their love for Jesus and each other.

 

One last treat. On our drive back to Phnom Penh, we stopped to have a picnic lunch at rest stop. We were joined by some friends.

 

- Clay Cranford

 

The Disciples

Thursday March 3, 2016

Amy mentioned the Disciples in one of her recent blog posts. They are a group of about 20 young men and women who are being groomed by Pastor Chan Tha to be among the next generation of leaders in the Cambodian church. They are truly remarkable young people. Each day this week, I led them in a two-hour Bible Study. They are really sharp young men and women, who already have deep theological knowledge and a genuine hunger for God’s Word and a love for the LORD. The service they provide to Rahab’s House and the community of Svay Pak is phenomenal.

It has been a real honor and a blessing to spend time interacting with them. Over the course of the last four days, I took them through the creation accounts found in Scripture, such as Genesis 1, Genesis 2, Proverbs 8:22ff, Psalm 148, Psalm 104, Psalm 8, Psalm 33, Acts 17:15ff, John 1, and Job 38-39. I hoped that they would develop a comprehensive understanding of the creation accounts in Scripture and that they would see how these accounts interrelate to each other and how they provide the foundation for key doctrines of the Christian faith.

At times during the week, I wasn’t sure if the Bible study was having much of an impact on the Disciples. Even though I had a translator, the language barrier was a challenge. And cultural differences made it hard for me to “read my audience.” Each evening as I reviewed the material for the next day’s study, I would struggle with doubts, wondering if I should have chosen a different focus for the study.

On Thursday evening, we had a debrief time with the team from Rahab’s House. We shared with one another how we felt the week went. I was really touched by a number of the Disciples who expressed how meaningful the study was for them.  These were not just niceties, but sincere comments. They told me that I stretched them. They told me that they never realized how often the Genesis 1 creation account recurred throughout Scripture. They told me that they never realized how Adam related to Christ.  And they told me that they have a better idea how they can use these creation passages to share their faith.

One of the Disciples is getting an engineering degree. He was particularly excited to spend time with me. I left him with some materials so he could dig deeper into science-faith issues.

What a privilege it has been to make a small investment in the lives of these remarkable young people. I had the chance to spend 8 hours interacting with the future leaders of the Cambodian church. I am filled full of hope for what is to come. These young men and women have made a huge difference in Svay Pak. And they will be the ones who will plant churches in other communities bringing light into darkness. And the darkness will not over come it.

John 1:5

Day 4 at Rahab house

- Suzie Harris
God is really moving here in Cambodia. It is so delightful to see everyone working together for one purpose. Amy has worked really hard to put together puppet shows , games and crafts. Yesterday we made plastic Ningas with pipe cleaners. The biblical reference is the story in Genesis where Jacob wrestled with God.
The little children running and jumping in my lap or high fiving me will never get old!
Well time for me to clean my puppets . Love you all. thanks for all your prayers.