The Longest Day

Well, for the next couple of weeks, I may have to depart from the one-word titles & accompanying definitions format.  I will just have to resort to "reporting".

The alarm rang at 0445h on Tuesday, March 2 and I slowly got out of bed, got ready and threw those last minute items into my suitcase before getting into the limousine and heading off to Pearson after picking up Bonny, my travel companion/fellow worker.  We really only experienced one minor glitch, which was getting some of the suitcases retagged after they were checked in, so they would be moved from the Air Canada flight to the Dragon Air flight in Hong Kong.

Nearly sixteen hours & 13 time zones later, we landed in Hong Kong and literally raced to catch our next flight with the help of Nick, a Dragon Air employee who greeted us when we disembarked from the Air Canada flight.  He rushed us to the front of check-in counters, took us down Employee-only aisles in security and ran to gate 69 to make sure they didn't leave without us.  The only hiccup here is that our bags didn't get on the plane to Phnom Penh, but I had been warned that that would happen so had tucked away a few necessities into my hand luggage.

We arrived in Phnom Penh at 1700h local time (0500h EST), exactly 24 hours after climbing out of bed.  Visas were obtained, customs was cleared and we exited the building to be greeted by Beth, who arrived on Monday.  It is so good to be greeted by a familiar face in an unfamiliar place, especially when you don't expect it!  We then got in the hotel van and surrendered ourselves to Phnom Penh traffic.

Impressions at that point included...

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  lots of tourists from lots of countries--Germany, Australia, China, Singapore, Japan, Canada
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  hot, hazy, humid...it was 35C when we arrived
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  mama breast-feeding on a motorbike behind dad
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  three people on a motorbike
• 
  
  motorbike driver talking on a cell phone
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  motorbike drivers & passengers without helmets
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  traffic is an intricate ballet and the painted lines are relatively meaningless
• 
  
  lots of old buildings, many in decay
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  lots of new construction, mostly funded by foreigners
• 
  
  everybody sells something

We are in a hotel frequented by Westerners.  Not the Holiday Inn, but for $30USD/night, you get a clean room, laundry every day & breakfast.  Once we were settled, we walked down the street to find somewhere to eat.  Lots of restaurants (the smells were divine!), lots of tuk-tuks (motorbike taxis), lots of people.  At the restaurant we ate in, we had probably the best curry I'ved ever tasted!  Children came to our table wanting to sell us bouquets of jasmine.  Beth made note of the scars across their chests and commented that while they aren't being trafficked sexually, they are still being trafficked; they see none of the proceeds from the sale of their flowers.  When we declined, they just moved to the next table, and then to the next restaurant.

A good conversation was had with Beth about the plans for the next two weeks.  The original idea was to do a business assessment at Daughters of Cambodia.  This is probably going to change.  They are opening up a cafe/gallery and are hard-pressed to get everything done on time for their targetted opening date.  They need someone to manage the completion of the storefront (me) and someone else to train the managers & staff (Bonny).  The key here is for us to be flexible.  It may change again.  The bottom line is that we are here to accomplish God's purposes, not our own.

Brian McConaghy came & joined us during dinner and filled us in on a few things going on.  I can't say too much here without first vetting it through Beth, but please pray.  These endeavours are under forceful satanic attack.

After dinner, we went on a tuk-tuk ride.  This city is alive with people and activity.  Children everywhere, dirty and needy.  One little boy came asking for my bottle of water, which I gave him.  Brian told us that these children have no access to clean drinking water, something we take for granted.  People walking up the streets with pushcarts containing the artifacts of their lives made me wonder if they have a place to go, or do they find a new place each night.  Barbeque "restaurants" on every corner, bursting with people sitting at tables on the sidewalks.  In other areas, there are groups of people hunkered down in tight, dark circles.  In contrast, there are many, many new vehicles.  We watched one that was double-parked just being pushed out of the way (we think that they park them in neutral), so that a car that was blocked in could get out--that was quite the manouevre!  If you look up, there are balconies everywhere, many crowded with people either busy with their own activities or observing the sights below.

There was much, much more but I am tired and need to sleep.  Check back....there'll be more!

Adventure

Definition:  An undertaking of a questionable nature, especially one involving intervention in another state's affairs

A week ago Sunday I had the immense priviledge of sharing about my upcoming trip to Cambodia during the service at my church.  I was asked by someone who wasn't there to post  what I had shared.  Here's the meat of it, with a few additional details...

The Challenge

So, you may ask, how did a forty-something widow with two children find herself going to Cambodia?

A little less than a year ago, while in Vancouver on business, I attended a medical students Bible Study with my brother, a lawyer. Also attending the evening was a doctor, about my age, who spends 9 months of the year in providing medical care in Africa.

My brother said to me, “You should go talk to ******.  You’ve been to Africa and I hear he’s looking for a wife.”

My immediate response was “I’m not looking for a husband and I can’t go to Africa because I have responsibilities.”

Jonathan shot back, “That sounds like an excuse. Have you ever considered that you have a responsibility to model Christian compassion for the concerns of the world to your children?”

I took that remark and pondered it. Then, I turned it into a prayer. I asked the Lord, that if He wanted me to go overseas in some capacity, to do the following:


Item #1: 

Provide somewhere for my children to go while I am gone

Jared attends high school in Vancouver and before he had even started there, the 2010 Winter Olympiad had been awarded to the city.  This resulted in a postponement of his winter break until April 2010.  God specializes in advanced planning and can even use VANOC as one of His instruments.  And what boy who loves things like snowboarding & hockey wouldn't love the adventure of an Olympic Games?

While attending a different school last year, my daughter had befriended an exchange student from Germany. She kept telling me that Sandra wanted her to come and visit but until I received an invitation from Sandra's mother, it wasn't something I was going to consider. Well, in September I got an email from her mother inviting Ashley to come and visit during the March Break. I had enough airmiles to book the ticket and Ashley wasn't too concerned at the prospect of changing planes in Munich and Heathrow.  That in itself could prove to be an adventure!

The prospect of some free time made me contemplate having an adventure of my own, something I haven't had for a very long time.  The first destination to be considered was London, England, one of my favourite cities, but I have been there many times.  Not much of an adventure.

I began to ponder where else I'd like to go and came up with Rome, a place I missed during my sprint through Italy a couple of decades ago.  So, given that Rome is my brother's favourite city, I consulted him on where to stay, where to eat, etc., and before you knew it, it was all coming together, including a travel partner.  But the partner had to pull out and I decided to go by myself anyways and, having yet more points, booked the flight, secured lodging and contacted the Vatican Department of Excavations to reserve my tour of the crypt suspected to be that of the Apostle Peter.

My adventure was just around the corner!  I hadn't really started to consider that God was beginning to work here.

Item #2:
Provide the opportunity without me looking for it
When my travel partner pulled out, it was because of a work commitment...she had to travel to Southeast Asia, and more specifically, to Cambodia. She had, at the time, said "why don't you come with me?" but I wasn't really so sure about that. Then, I heard Brian McConaghey, of Ratanak Foundation speak. In a word, I was moved. In a way I have never been moved before. But not moved so much to go.  I had a different kind of adventure in mind...I had bought the walking tour guide books, was learning a few handy Italian phrases...art & culture awaited!

 

When I booked my ticket to Rome, my friend was a bit quizzical. For me the big issue here was that I didn't really know what I would be doing if I went with her.  Maybe I wasn't as adventurous as I had thought.

She emailed me in the late fall. "I want you to come..."

It was like a thunderous echo from heaven "...not that adventure...this one..."

I started to wonder...

Item #3:
Provide something outside the scope of my abilities
"...and do a business analysis..."  was the next part of the sentence.  Now, my scope of experience is healthcare and software development.  I have done many needs analyses over the years in terms of clinical documentation; I have created voluminous project plans and complex design specifications.  But never have I done anything with retail business requirements.

And yet, nagging in the back of my mind was the comment made by Brian McConaghey that God doesn't always use what we bring to the table in terms of our skills, gifts & abilities but rather chooses to work through our weaknesses for the purpose of His greater glory.

Helplessness and terror began to set in.  But I couldn't ignore it--this was exactly what I had prayed for.  So,  I changed my ticket.  For a different kind of adventure, one that involves the unknown, but has been planned before the mists of time by He Who Knows All.

Now What?

I have gotten a new passport & started my vaccinations; initiated a police check; saved my money; discussed the trip with the leadership at church.  In three weeks, I will get on a plane and fly to Hong Kong, where I will connect to Phnom Penh.  I will then embark on what I can only imagine to be life-changing, and in ways I can't even begin to fathom.

While I am there, I will be working with another business woman from Cambridge to review processes at an NGO associated with Ratanak, Daughters of Cambodia, that provides employment and restorative services to young women who have been freed from the brothels, those dark pits of depravity that destroy the souls of both patrons and slaves.  I will be participating in Kingdom-building in both the national & spiritual senses...assisting (in a very small way) to restore Cambodian society and being the servant of the King of Kings as He goes about introducing Himself to those He has chosen to be citizens of Heaven.

So, pray for me in the following areas:

• spiritual protection & growth
  
• a lessening of self & increasing dependence on Him
  
• emotional well-being
  
• safety in travelling for both me & Ashley, as we go to our separate destinations
  

Rome is the Eternal City.  It will always be there and if I choose it over this, I will always wonder about the "road less travelled".  But more importantly, God will accomplish His purposes without me.  And that's not a place I want to be.

Let His adventure begin...

Way Marker

Definition:  symbol or signpost marking a route

I love history.  I especially love how, in the Old Testament, God has the Israelites set up way markers at sites where He exhibited His faithfulness and provision with the command to tell the story to their children whenever they saw the marker.  By following the markers, the story of God and His relationship with Israel unfolded.

At the end of last week when the new CFO at my son's school required a lump sum payment rather than the previous arrangement, a crisis ensued in my heart and I began to make plans to liquidate whatever assets I had--the TV, the treadmill, maybe even the house.  But something stopped the frantic whirring of my mind and I began to pray instead.

Last night I heard the answer to my prayer.  Someone unknown to me became aware of the need and wrote a cheque to cover the amount owing, with no obligation of repayment.  How humbling it is when God answers our prayers in such a way that the specifics of the request are not just met but exceeded.  Oh to be driven deeper into His grace so that I can be wholly trusting, like Abraham, in the promises of God.

So, in our family story, this is now a way marker.  I can point to this event, like the Israelites would point to those piles of stones, and recount the story of God's provision.  In our journey forward, God requires us to look back and remember that He truly is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides.

Thanks be to God.

Metrics

Definition:  a set of measurements that quantify results, performance, or progress

My brain is conflicted.  The right side hates metrics.  The left side of my brain , however, understands the necessity and given that my occupation is that of project manager, this is a good thing.  Even as I type, I have three major project charters & plans, along with design specifications that are awaiting my attention.  For my right brain, this is akin to waiting for the guillotine to fall.  The work is already done in my brain--I don't want to waste time writing it all down!

There are many things and places where metrics, as we understand them in the business sense, just don't work.  A friend of mine was very distressed this past weekend to have been privy to a conversation where a church's spiritual state was being being measured by the metric of attendance.  The fact that they have a large attendance, published weekly in the bulletin, is apparently indicative of God's blessing.  And they were proud of this. 

Another metric...get younger people into leadership, or rather, remove older people from it.  Older people (and for the crowd that was having this conversation that means those older than 60--they're not exactly young themselves anymore) only hold things back.  They aren't culturally aware.  And the times, they are a'changin'...wait, didn't Bob Dylan pen that line over 40 years ago??  He's pretty much a senior citizen these days.  It's odd that people, especially young ones, are still listening to him.

There is no problem with younger people, who are spiritually qualified, being in leadership, and being respected.  But Scripture doesn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.  It promotes mentoring, old with young, respect, young for the old, and mutual submission.  The nature of man hasn't changed since the Fall...who better to understand sin than someone who has spent a lifetime wrestling it?  Who better to spiritually lead than the one who has spent a lifetime following & growing in Christ?  It doesn't mean that they have to be in a position of leadership, because a wise elder recognizes when it is time to move over in order to not discourage those younger than them, but they should have the ear of leadership without the desire to control.

So, while the stated metrics were attendance and youth, it leaves one to wonder if the the actual metrics are peoples' responses to these things.  When we are not humbled by God's blessings and when we shut out the crowd of witnesses that have gone before us, it leaves many questions about the heart.

And that is the metric that God looks at.

Restoration

Definition:  bringing back into existence or use;bringing back to an original condition

I have spent the last three years restoring my house.  Not a huge restoration by most standards, mainly cosmetics with the usual structural requirements of a forty year old house--roof, furnace, water heater.  I love doing it but it is not without its frustrations.  You wonder if your house will ever be clean again; if that pile of lumber will ever diminish; will the garbage men take away everything in the pile.  And just when you think you're near the end, something else comes up or you get another idea and back on the merry-go-round you go, willingly, or not.  The real crazies finish up one house, sell it and purchase another house to do the same thing again.  I might be one of the crazies...

For the last five years, I have been under renovation but, unlike my house, it has been much more challenging.  There have been pride, pain, and loss in all their many forms.  At times, just when I felt that I couldn't endure one more thing, something was either added to the load or removed from the stockpile, which wasn't much to start with.  In short, I was dying in every sense of the word, except physically.

But the beauty of a renovation is that its ultimate goal is restoration.  My personal renovation, while at times more extensive than it probably needed to be because of my resistance, has started to turn a corner.  I have learned to submit myself to--well, not quite learned but certainly to be alot more trusting of--the Master Restorer.  He has a plan.  He wants me to refer Him to other people not just by word-of-mouth, but by demonstration of the quality of His work in me.  How do I know that the restoration is beginning to show?  Well, I have  let go of some things that I was hanging on to--people, attitudes, expectations.  Pride is still an on-going struggle--just another kind of self-sufficiency.

The bigger proof of this, though, was that the Restorer handed me a job the other day.  He told me I could help.  He hasn't told me how yet, and He hasn't shown me the tool He wants me to use, other than to say it's in His toolbox, not mine, and when the time is right He'll teach me what I need to know in order to use it. 

He did tell me where the job is, though, and I'm excited...and a little scared.  It's in Cambodia.  It's in March. For two weeks.  Or, it might be for a lifetime.  I don't really know.

Restoration, I am beginning to discover,  is a never-ending process!