Cambodia

TIC’s Mission Effort in Cambodia

New Hope Children’s Homes

Opportunity to be in the Mission Field.

TIC is full of many different opportunities to meet and serve people both here locally and throughout Asia.

One of my favorite annual events is the annual Cambodia Mission Trip. What started off as a youth trip evolved into a church wide trip. Friends, family, and acquaintances are all invited to join us when we go to Cambodia to experience ministry at the ground level.

This booklet is an quick overview of what we have done in the past. This years projects will similar. No special skills are needed, just a big heart and a willingness to move outside your comfort zone to reach out to children who need a little bit of attention.

May God direct you in your thoughts and decisions as you consider joining us.

History: The Beginnings In the summer of 2004, Taipei International Church (TIC) youth went to Cambodia to for a mission trip. While there, we helped construct homes for families in need and spent some time at two different orphanages. God blessed us with two days of doing ministry and being ministered to by the orphans and by introducing us to Pastor Sinai and Somalay. The experience at the orphanages prompted us to want to go back to Cambodia again to work with New Hope for Orphans, Pastor Sinai and Somalay. The team went to Cambodia with the purpose to build housing for those in need, little did we know God had a greater purpose.

After much prayer, and a exploratory trip by former TIC members from the USA, Mike & Beverly Gilliam.

After hearing the report on their exploratory trip, everyone agreed God wanted TIC to partner with Pastor Sinai in Cambodia. TIC’s Paradyme Youth Ministry decided to return to Cambodia in 2005 to work with Pastor Sinai and New Hope for Orphans.

Mike Gilliam (center with cap on), Pastor Sinai, Somalay (both to the right of Mike), Beverly Gilliam (far right)

History: 2005 In March of 2005, former TIC members from South Africa, Hennie & Madelein Prinsloo and Pastor Doug went for a planning trip. In a one week whirlwind trip we traveled all over Cambodia with Pastor Sinai visiting people, churches and orphanages.

A few days into the trip we arrived at a village in Northwest Cambodia near the Thailand border. In this orphanage we found that the boys needed to sleep outside in the former chicken coup which stood over a fish pond (see pictures next page). Pastor Sinai shared with us his

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Hennie & his new friend

Left: Kwanele and Sam who spent a month in Cambodia in 2005.

Below: Chicken coup were boys in the orphanage slept.

Above: New dorm building (turned out so nice the girls moved into it) Right: Plaque recognizing what God provided through TIC.

To this day the contractor we worked with wants us to bring more youth to work. Not only is the labor free, but they are hard workers. (Left - foreground: tying off rebar, background: digging the

foundation; Right - digging ditch for drainage pipe)

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wish to have a simple building for the boys. Conversations helped us discover his long term vision for the orphanage, we found his true desire was for a two story concrete building, with a dorm on top, room for house parents, and an open

Read about God’s amazing provision for the projects in The Work, Question , Need & God's Provision at the end.

community space below.

Before and After

For 2005, we decided to take on the task of building the fore mentioned building and several other small projects in the area, including replacing a grass hut with a building for a village church about ten kilometers away. God provided funds and a building was raised which is now used as a girls dormitory. Additional funds raised went to the purchase generators, school clothing, land, and other smaller buildings, sponsorships for seventeen children and other needs of the New Hope For Orphans. Two separate teams went for ten day trips, three youth spent seventeen days and three spent a month in Cambodia.

The work and the living conditions where hard. There was not electricity, running water or showers and it was hot and humid day and night. We slept either on the floor of the church building or outside under mosquito nets and in close proximity. However, the youth and adults (and one child) mustarded strength from God and not only survived but thrived. Within a week the first team had laid the foundation an by the time the second team left construction had began on the second floor. The building was finished and dedicated a few months later.

Team members found themselves challenged as they usually spend several nights sleeping on the floor of the orphanages.

Heat, humidity, hard floors didn’t add up to good sleep, however all felt the sacrifices was worth it because they enjoyed the interaction and that developed by staying at the orphanages.

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History: 2006 & 2007 The stories continue, but by now I think you have a good foundation of TIC involvement in Cambodia, so I will just give a short overview of each year since 2006.

In 2006, we went to Kampong Chnang.

Funds were raised for land, and the construction of a church building, along with sponsorships.

While on location the youth worked on an completed the foundation. A second smaller team went to the Koh Kong orphanage to build a kitchen.

In previous years one of the best parts of the mission trip were the connections made with the children and adults in the orphanages and surrounding villages. Therefore, in 2007 we changed the focus of our mission trip from construction to the orphans themselves. Time was spent traveling to several different orphanages. While at the orphanage mission team members played games, preformed skits, taught a Bible lesson and crafts, spent time with, and shared a meal with the orphans and staff.

We helped for a few days doing construction.

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2008 marked the first year of the family mission trip.

In previous years the trips had been limited to teenagers and adult sponsors. In 2008 the trip was open to all TIC members, attendees and friends. A total of 48 people divided into three teams undertaking projects at four different orphanages. The projects ranged from light construction, painting, installation of water filtration and outreach.

In 2009 the main projects were a fence, installation of two playgrounds, water filtration, outreach and the building of a care takers house for an orphanage farm. Forty-six people divided into three teams and visited several locations.

The fence was a large project and was headed up

by Ray Heberer a TIC youth, who decided to build it for his Eagle Scout Project.

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Left: Ray working on the fence project.

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How Ministry Happens Ministry by happenstance:?

In 2007, we spent one day traveling to a village on an island on the Tonle Sap river. This was at the request of a house church pastor.

When we got to the village, a group was moving a house. A few of the boys jumped in and helped carry the structure. Later we learned that by participating in this it showed the people of the village we cared for them and was a loud witness for God.

Perhaps the greatest ministry is giving God’s love and feeling God’s love by the children. They (and we) love the extra attention they get when we stay with them. This is why we always try to spend at least a few days and nights at the orphanages. It will change your life.

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History: 2010 In 2010 we continued the family mission trip. Team members were divided into three teams, each with its specific goals or tasks. As in previous years teams stayed in the children’s’ home when possible and spent time with the children.

Chicken Farm Team: This team consisted of nine members and spent the week in Kampong Cham.

The primary task of this team was to start the building of a chicken coop designed for 2,000 chickens.

The chickens will be raised by the children’s’ home for food and to sell for income. This is part of long term vision to help each children’s’ home become self sufficient. The long range goal is for each children’s’ home to be able to raise pigs, fish, chickens, fruits, vegetables, and rice. These items will be used in the orphanage or sold to meet the needs of the children.

Playground Team: This ten member team traveled to two different children’s’ home (Rong Kor & Kampong Chhnang). The primary task of this team was to complete the installation of playground equipment and bunk beds. The bunk beds became a top priority after one child broke a leg when she fell off the top bunk after it had given out from under her.

Outreach Team: This team of seven men visited eight different locations in four days with a

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program of singing, skits, testimony and preaching by Lum Lim. Lum Lim is the director of Word of Life Fellowship Churches, New Hope for Orphans’ sister organization. The goal of this team was represent New Hope for Orphans and Fellowship Word of Life churches in a positive way and to encourage village pastors/churches. At the end of each outreach event, gift bags of toothbrushes, tooth paste, candy, shampoo, pencils, etc. were handed out. Around 950 bags were given away.

December 2010, Nicholas Wiest led a team of 9 volunteers to Cambodia to install a water filtration system at one of the Orphanages for his project for his Eagle Scout Badge.

April 2-9, 2011 In 2011 we continued the family mission trip.

Most of the group spent the week in Battambang. One team visited many children’s homes and small churches to encourage and share a program. The other team spent the week working at a New Hope Children’s Home and started building a fence around the property. The highlight of both

Kampong Cham Team: This special small team consisted of three members who spent the week teaching both children and adults English lesions. The highlight of the trip was taking the entire children’s’ home to Siem Reep for a road trip. This was the first time many of the children have ever seen Angkor Wat.

teams was the relationships developed with people and especially the children in the home.

Interested in sponsoring a child?

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Contact TIC missions Committee

Our involvement in New Hope for Orphans has five main purposes.

1.

To follow up from previous mission trips to encourage Pastor Sinai and Somalay (see picture right) and their staff, and let them know that TIC wants to continue to partner with them on the ministry in Cambodia.

2.

Raise funds for capital improvement projects.

3.

Minister to the children of New Hope for Orphans by spending time with them.

4.

Develop vision and possible plan for a future missions trips.

5.

Deliver donated items from TIC members, friends and community organizations.

New Hope for Orphans (NHO) is a registered non-prophet agency in Cambodia with eight orphanages and growing with nearly three hundred children. NHO together with Fellowship Word of Life Churches are led by Pastor Sinai and Somalay.

There vision is to bring to the Cambodian people the hope they have found in Christ. Visit NHO’s website at http://www.nhoasia.org

Together we have raised funds to buy land for orphanages, rice fields to grow rice to feed the orphans, multiple construction projects (from water wells to large buildings) and to sponsor orphans. We have even had the opportunity to bring Pastor Sinai and Somalay to Taipei to share about their work with TIC. However TIC mission work in Cambodia is not about sending money. It is about involvement.

Going and spending time with the Orphans, staff and pastors can one of the best ways we can encourage and support God’s work in Cambodia. It is about learning about another culture and becoming friends.

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The Work, Question , Need & God's Provision After the Gilliams returned in the fall of 2004, TIC’s youth group and others went to work to raise money for the Cambodia Mission trip. By March 2005, after six months of fund raising, a little over US$7,000 had been raised. When combined with a TIC special offering a we raised a total of near US$13,000. During Pastor Doug’s pre-trip visit Hennie, Madelein, and Pastor Doug agreed that TIC was to raise the two story concrete dorm building in Rong Kor and several additional smaller projects. Hennie then asked how much did more did we need to raise? The answer was US$20,000 USD in six-eight weeks time. That evening the decision and the problem was shared with Pastor Sinai and Somaly. We shared that we did not know how we could raise US$20,000 in six weeks but did believe this is what God wanted to do. We also were convicted the money needed to be raised first and that God would provide.

Early the next morning before going to the airport Pastor Doug decided to send an email ahead to Taipei to ask people to meet him that evening for the purpose of prayer and strategizing fund raising. He wanted to do this because people in Taipei did not know about the projects and the need for a lot more funds. Before he wrote the email he read incoming email. The first email was in regards to a donation that had been promised several days earlier. The amount of the donation: US$20,000. God was at work, not only did He ask TIC to do something that seemed impossible, He provided the funds before He made the request.

Needless to say there was great joy and thanking of God as this news was shared with Pastor Sinai and Somalay.

The best part of the story is that it didn’t stop there. In the following year (2006) TIC set out to build a church building in the village of Kampong Chnang as the main project. When the special offering was collected at TIC a person came forward and spoke to the chairman of the mission committee. This person felt convicted by God to match whatever the special offering for Cambodia mission was. The financial need was US$15,000 for the church building. The mission offering: US$7500, the matching gift US$7500. God was at work again!

The story continues even to this day as God continues to pour out resources through TIC to Cambodia, India and elsewhere. TIC members, attendees, friends and acquaintances continue to give abundantly of their resources for projects, orphans and pastor support, and to go on or send others on mission trips. It is good to be part of a community that freely gives of their money, time, wisdom and prayer to others without hesitation. It just goes to show that when we seek out what God wants to do and commit to do it, He will provide all that we need.

It seems appropriate to end this with to be continued…

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