Dear
Friends and Family,
I
received an epiphany, one of those inspired moments of
sudden insight. Hey! Come on! It can happen, even to a
beat–up pig farmer. I was commiserating over the sudden
turn of events through
the new
edict from the Cambodian government, basically banning
the expansion of Christianity. It came about through an
unwise attempt at mass public evangelism (Not us). As of
the past month, no evangelism is allowed outside Church
property, and every morning the TV programming begins
with anti-Christian “instruction”. All of a sudden,
Tada! The lights went on. I considered this thought,
“What would be the worst thing that could happen to the
Christian Faith in Cambodia ?” I had this revealing
answer: “Have the Prime Minister of Cambodia declare
Christianity to be the ‘State Religion’ of the country”.
That would be a real catastrophe! Imagine? We could wind
up like much of Europe , with state Christian religions
which include around 1% evangelical believers. Word of
mouth, friends inviting friends, growing disciples,
provision of safe drinking water, building playgrounds,
economic enhancement through agricultural development,
medical missions, disaster relief, WHEN DONE IN THE NAME
OF JESUS, are so much more effective than some mass
crusade. It seems as though they have opposite effects.
The crusade shuts down the church, while the meeting of
urgent needs, in Jesus name, brings people to the Lord
in droves. So??? Bring it on! Persecution has always
built up the church. It’s never fun; Always hard work,
but very fruitful. The main ingredients? Here’s my list:
a genuine love for the people, a greater love for the
Lord, a long term commitment, and a “do or die’
mentality, coupled with a very thick skin. That’ll do.
The care we give Cambodian orphans, and our respect for
all of the people, has given us great favor with the
government in what could be a hostile environment.
Here’s an
example: While in Phnom Penh , a failed attempt to bring
in two big concerts and a crusade was going on, F.C.O.P.
was quietly up north doing a medical mission with 38
foreign volunteers and about 200 Cambodians, which
treated 15,000 people in 8 days. The people treated
ranged from a new-born to a claimed 110 year old. The
logistics for providing facilities for the care of this
many people were staggering. They included construction
of 25 bathrooms, drilling of a deep well, sewage system,
electrical service, tent covers, a cafeteria for feeding
250 staff, etc. Treatment wasn’t just for tummy aches
and scratched fingers either. We had a lab for blood
work, surgery, wound care, scabies decontamination,
general medicine, dental care and even optometry.
Children with contaminated garments were given new
clothes. Several emergency cases were sent by ambulance
to Siem Reap about 100 miles away. Patients were triaged
and then allowed to experience about 30 to 60 minutes of
evangelistic programming, all done by Cambodians on
church property. Then they were treated at the adjacent
school, visited by a consulting pastor back on the
church property, to review the physician’s
recommendations, offer to pray with the patient for
their health, ask if they would like to invite Christ
into their heart, and receive some literature. We
estimate that over 10,000 responded to this.
Some
people came back and asked to just sit in on the
evangelism program for several days. One Buddhist Monk
tried to take his orange robe off because he said he’d
become a Christian. Pastor Peter had to plead with him
not to do that at the clinic as it would cause trouble.
And a new born orphan, whose mother had died giving
birth to him, was given to F.C.O.P. by his relatives as
he was considered ‘cursed’. It is still possible to do
evangelism effectively. A lot can be accomplished if
people just get over hype and glory. Done wrongly, a lot
of harm can occur. Foursquare Children Promise would
like to thank: Dr. Paul and Ruth Dearing, New Life
Foursquare Church, Everett WA, The Church On The Way,
Van Nuys, CA, Gillette Christian Center in WY, Pasadena
Foursquare Church in CA, and The Fountain Foursquare
Church, Moorpark, CA. Check it out!
http://www.missionreports.com/medical%5Foutreach%5Fchhuk07
If you
want to see a doctor’s perspective on the impact F.C.O.P
is having on the orphans of Cambodia you may want to
read the letter below. This is Dr. Dearing’s 6th
trip to Cambodia since year 2000. He wrote this to Craig
Muller, Director of Warm Blankets, at the end of the
clinic about what he’s seen. Very interesting!
PAUL D. DEARING, M.D.,
F.A.C.S.
August 30, 2007
Warm Blankets Orphan Care International
Craig Muller, President and Director,
5105 Tollview Dr., Suite 155
Rolling Meadows,
IL 60008
Dear Craig:
Ruth and I have recently
returned from a two week medical trip to Chhuk, in the
province of Odarmeanchey, Cambodia, where we served as
medical directors for a 38 member team from New Life
Center (Everett Foursquare Church) in Washington. The
Church on the Way ( Van Nuys , CA ) also partnered in
this venture, and 8 members were from Wyoming and Idaho
combined.
This was our fifth such trip
with a team, our 6th overall, to Cambodia –
we have gone to a different rural location each time. I
wanted to tell you how much positive impact the work of
Warm Blankets has in that nation, in particular the
partnership you have with Foursquare Children of Promise
in the children’s homes. Our trips have always been in
conjunction with one of the homes, and it is gratifying
to see the lives of the children being changed, almost
before our eyes. Certainly, over the years we have seen
several kids grow.
We are always struck by the
marked difference between the children of the
community/village at large as we see them come through
our clinics, and the children being cared for and
nurtured in the homes under the auspices of FCOP. It is
easy to “pick out” the FCOP kids – they are invariably
well kempt, neat in dress and appearance, have a
positive and hopeful demeanor – they smile so easily!
They are obviously well fed and are overall much
healthier, in every way, physical and emotional. They
are not ravaged by malnutrition, parasitic disease,
unmet dental needs, and unmet emotional needs in the
context of being orphaned as are their village
counterparts. Their emotional and physical healing and
nurture is obvious in the very personal attention given
them by their caretakers. In short, Craig, they are
living a separate reality compared to so many of their
peers in the general communities around them.
I want to thank and commend
you, and all those who are a part of Warm Blankets and
FCOP, for tirelessly applying yourselves to the myriad
issues that daily confront this ministry in order to see
raised up in this generation of Cambodians that most
precious of all gifts…HOPE.
Best regards,
Paul Dearing, M.D.
Oh, don’t
save this email address as something new. I’m sending
this from the States as I’m following doctor’s orders
and resting with my grandchildren. We, Ma Sou and I, go
back to Cambodia on the 9th. I’m slow to
recover from the surgery in May and have learned, like
Catharine Marshall said, “I’ve gotten a whole new
perspective on the verse in the 23rd Psalm,
“He maketh me to lie down…” I did manage to stop and
talk with my Dairy Farmer and Vineyard owner friends,
and they agreed to purchase another rice storage bin,
along with milled rice bag storage, and harvesting
equipment, through Warm Blankets. We will now be able to
raise, store, and process nearly 1000 tons of rice per
year. That should really help! Thanks guys! They’ve even
offered to come help erect the bin!
My
friends from Hong Kong visited and blessed us with
another donation for medical supplies. They traveled to
several homes and got firsthand looks at some of our pig
production and musical training in action. The medical
aid was just in time as the medical mission left us
pretty depleted. They are the same group that came up
with the funds for the training center five years ago;
$600,000 from a Buddhist woman I never met. That’s gotta
be God!
http://www.missionreports.com/hong%5Fkong%5Faug07
The
Foursquare Foundation is helping us train pastors,
develop micro-enterprises, build playgrounds, disciple
new believers, and provide medical care through several
generous grants. One of our favorite programs is the
training of musicians and worship leaders. Nothing seems
to help a church grow like great worship and music.
These kids make up the latest group that come to the
training center and study for s six month stint. When
they leave, they’re pretty good!
http://www.missionreports.com/music%5Ftraining2007
The Mali
orphan home was visited by one of our favorite teams,
The
Cornerstone team from Anaheim , CA .
They
built a new cafeteria building and are just now enjoying
some R&R. We’ll have pictures next month.
That’s
about it. God bless and have a great month! We know we
will!
Still
mov’in kind’a slow,
Pa Thom (Me, Ted)
Still do’in all the work,
Cambodian Staff
Ma Sou,
Anna Blake,
Jamie Gonzalez,
Emily Plater
Tabea Schaller
Josh Ferguson
