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