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CAMBODIA
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Update -- March 2007
Dear Friends and Family, I hate some things. I think I hate rats the most. That’s why I love Spud, (my dog) because he hates rats so much he’ll tear apart a sofa just to get at one. “If you’re my enemy’s enemy you are my friend!” Spud is my buddy. Spud and I had a banner month. I conservatively estimate we killed 1500 rats. They had invaded our training center, and we were expecting 3000 pastors, attending our annual convention, to sleep on the ground. I did not want our pastors to be rat bitten, so I put a bounty of 12 cents on every rat. The first night the orphan kids at the Chom Chao Center didn’t sleep. Knocking off up to 5 pound rats with sling shots they presented me with a large plastic bag containing some 200 rat tails in the morning. I paid. Spud was proud! I grew impatient; resorted to poison. What kind? Umm, it was a Chinese variety (don’t ask, don’t tell). They picked up dead rats by the hundreds for the next few days. We kept it up for over 10 days, until the food stopped disappearing. It stunk so bad we had to tamp sand down the rat holes. (Hey! I am smart enough to do that.) I haven’t seen a rat at the center for almost three weeks now. Our frequent fogging of the mosquitoes (little flying, blood sucking, rats), and my ‘rat vendetta’ assured that the pastors at our seventh annual conference slept in peace. Speaking of which, those “Good rats” (our pastors) did it to me again! Some people never learn! “El Stupido” (me) actually believed we could contain the crowd at 3000, no spousal attendance, only leaders, one per church, etc. I’m a real tough guy, right? Naret, our official registrar, came to me two days before the conference and assured me that registration was fixed and 2800 plus change. I was happy, we had enough food, adequate room, and all was well. One problem, Naret forgot a province. Another problem; my ‘good rats’ fib. When they reached their registration quota they stopped signing people up, but did not stop loading the taxis. It seems like they’ve learned my axiom, “It’s always better to ask for forgiveness than permission”. I need to repent! What was the final attendance? 3812. They, the ‘good rats’ ate 18,700 pounds of rice, six cows, about 20 pigs, tens of thousands of fish, and tons of vegetables. We had 25 large, wood fired, stoves going night and day. They slept on the ground where they met, under trucks, in the tractor factory, and every other inconceivable place. Our Vice President, Daniel, commandeered a bathroom, and slept in there. Many great, even miraculous, things happened and God was definitely in our midst. The best part was seeing the Cambodian Pastors take the lead in every area of ministry. I really didn’t have to do much. I could blab on, but pictures tell it better: http://www.missionreports.com/conference_2007 We thank our foreign guests, Sonny Weimer, Bill and David Norton, my boss George Butron, and the guests who accompanied him from Singapore, and the US, for making the week a cosmopolitan joy. Early in February we began to hear reports of special miracles in the northern province of Preh Vihea. The biggest, baddest rat of all, the devil, was getting his butt kicked. Stories came that doctors were actually bypassing the hospital to bring seriously ill patients to the church for prayer. Peter (our church president) went to check it out. It seems there had been a bus accident with several seriously injured passengers, the doctors gave up and brought them to the church. One man, with several broken bones, including his pelvis, was healed and walked away. He has x-rays, before and after, to show the healing. Others were healed of leprosy, typhus, tuberculosis and other maladies. The most interesting thing is that the Pastor never attended school. He can read his Bible but does not write. The orphans serve as prayer warriors, and they continue to beat up the “King rat”. http://www.missionreports.com/prey_vihear_healings We beat the rap! We successfully fought off the “Pirates” (with the pronunciation emphasis on “rats”) and secured our four acre island in the midst of an industrial sea. We prevailed, while thousands failed, many of them faithful church members, forced off land they held for generations, if not peacefully, at the end of a rifle barrel. They plod off hoping to find some work in one of the booming new factories, paying them $40 to $60 per month, while being choked by clouds of red dust churned up by scores of shinny Land Cruisers, bearing military or government plates, in search for new areas of conquest. You see, there is no enforceable land law, unless you have “Title deed”, and no one has title deed unless they have filed and paid the “fees” at every level of government, five layers deep, each requiring special remuneration, from the local village to the national registry. The maximum size you can register on one document, without “special consideration”, is about four acres, and the cost is an average of $700 per document, and rising. Since that is several times the annual income of most Cambodians, most land is un-registered. We paid the “fees”. Thank God! Who said it? “There’re lies, damn lies, and statistics!” Anyway, it sure is true in Cambodia. I just read a statistic in our local newspaper which claims that business investment was up 1500% last year. Sounds pretty good, huh? Now, that may be true; especially if you’re a “Fat rat”. You cannot travel anywhere in Cambodia, which is even slightly populated, and not see construction. Bricks are four times as expensive as they were two years ago, and you still have trouble hiring a brick layer because they are so busy. Why? Glowing reports of vast oil reserves found off the Cambodian coast, cheap labor, non-existent taxes, and “Anything for a price, Wild West capitalism” have brought droves of investors willing to pay as much as $600,000 for “Instant citizenship”. Who benefits? You got it! Fat Rats! Hundreds of the newly rich and powerful, proudly cruise the ever improving boulevards in their new Lexus SUV’s, on the way to their “Wedding cake” villas, all while drawing their $30-60 per month government salaries. How do they do it? By being very frugal?? Sorry! Guess again. For the vast majority it is, “Land grabbing”. It is definitely a rat’s game. We endured (survived) our course in “Land Grabbing 101” last month. Ly Heng, our staff member who spends most of his time keeping us (me) out of trouble, spent two days in court, gleaning the basics of this detestable, but highly lucrative practice. A Chinese investor “Bought” about 4000 acres engulfing some of our church owned property in a rural province. Since almost all land holdings are small, two to twenty acres, how do you get such a chunk? Easy, find a local official who wants to get rich, file a claim, pay the “fees”, and share the spoils with those powerful enough to enforce your “rights”. Then, sell, “Your land” to a wealthy foreign investor, who may no longer be a foreigner, thanks to his $600,000 contribution. Now, this particular Chinese entrepreneur has a 4000 acre block with a 4 acre hole in it. Why? We paid the fees, got the stamps, thumbprints, and signatures from all five layers of government, and Ly Heng fought like a tiger! PTL! Interesting times ahead! Rats! I’m out of space and out of time. But you need to see what is happening on the construction front. The Blake family and friends, (Anna’s clan) came and sacrificed their annual vacation time, for the fourth year in a row, by building a much needed fence http://www.missionreports.com/barkan_jan07 The “Garment Factory Worker’s Dorm” doesn’t look like much yet, but about 1/3 the price is under ground. We drove 360 concrete pilings 25 feet into the ground, poured 72 reinforced 5 x 5 foot square, one foot thick pads and then tied it all together with a reinforced beam. The tractor factory is about done and the Wentz Medical Clinic is ready for the second floor. We are finishing up the 14 church/homes. http://www.missionreports.com/building_progress_march07 Lots of stuff is happening, unfortunately everything is costing more than it should have, but what can I say? How about, “Rats!”? May God bless you richly! Have a great month!
Ted and Sou Olbrich, (Pa Thom and
Ma Thom)
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