Another Rainy Hour in Cambodia

I'm again (once again) escaping to an internet cafe during a dounpour after a meeting I had near the Russian Market (Psaar Toul Tom Poung- for those of you who know Phnom Penh).

I can't believe that I've now just reached the mid point of my time here, it seems to be flying by far too quickly. I've been really encouraged though over the last week with some really useful meetings for my project and already talking to people here who can see the value of the work I'm doing so that really helps to keep me motivated.

I've been struck more this time about the larger picture issues facing Cambodia. Injustice is a massive problem. Many of the prisons are full of those who are inocent, but too poor to buy themselves out. When they are inside, if their families can't provide for them, they face terrible cramped conditions and malnutrition. Another issue is that so many are facing evictions in the countryside where their land is being sold from underneath them with little if any compensation. The land is mainly going to many foreign companies and individuals who are playing the speculation game. You hear from some of these farmers that they would rather die now than lose their land, because by taking their land you kill them slowly. Many totalitarian ways remain outside the city of Phnom Penh, and in many places you need to receive the permission of your village chief to have any sort of gathering, or if you wish to leave the area for any reason you also require permission from the authorities. I can't imagine living like that.

I was trying to imagine what it would be like as a struggling rural farmer to lose your land. As a suburban guy for my whole life, that sort of life-style is so removed from me, but I wonder if it wouldn't be akin to something like this, let me know what you think:

For a poor farmer, all he has ever done is farm the land. They know land and they know their crops. They know especially the land and crops that grow in their area. They might not be able to read, or might not have any other 'marketable skills,' but the land has sustained them. I think of me, I've never owned any land, and I think helping my mother when I was forced to in the back garden doesn't really count as farming. But what economically sustains or will sustain me are my education and my experiences. The fact that I've been to university, already ups the possible pay that I might get, further training as a doctor will undoubtedly provide financially for a time for me and my family in the future. So perhaps evicting a farmer from his land might be a little bit like someone wiping my mind of my education.

Perhaps, if you feel in a similar boat as me, think of what it would be like to wake up tomorrow morning and not be able to read, or not remember how to work a computer, speak technical words in your language, write a report. What would it be like to not know how to put together your thoughts in a logical order on a piece of paper in a way that other people can understand? Of course I don't know, but I imagine if it might be a little bit like that- taking away the capital that a farmer has (his land) and the capital that you have (your education). How scary would it be to live in constant fear that all you know about life and how to provide for your loved ones could be ripped away from you at a moments notice.
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We are confronted by massive issues here and as I got around and meet many different organisations working here in Phnom Penh, I see even larger parts of the jigsaw that all fit together. We had a meeting for the Servants workers today, and a friend shared a passage that she has been dwelling on recently. It's in Luke and it's the story of the goats and the lambs. There's a whole lot of stories that Jesus tells leading up to this one that helps shed even more light on this, but to keep it brief I'll just focus on this part. What are the reasons why God seperates the goats from the lambs? Was it that their churches were too small, was it that their worship music wasn't moving enough, was it that their youth programmes weren't big enough and didn't run smoothly enough (not saying that all these things aren't worthwhile perhaps) but those aren't the reasons god separates these two groups. In the story, the goats are separated because they didn't invite the stranger into their home (I probably have never really done this), they didn't clothe the naked (I have never done this), they didn't visit or take care of the prisoner (I have only very rarely done this), and they didn't feed the hungry. Okay so it's not about these exact activities per se but we get the picture.

This story is immediately preceeded by the story of the Talents. I know a lot of us feel like, 'what on earth can I do?'I was struck today, that perhaps the one in the story who was given just one talent may have felt that same way, and so he was afraid to even use that one talent. I so often feel COMPLETELY INEPT, especially when I come across people with stories and situations that are so foreign to me. I feel completely unable to do anything.

But why is it..... that when I truly believe that the way God works is to use the weakest things in the world, the things and people that the world believes are useless and inept, I don't apply that to myself? Perhaps God wants to use me in my UNBELIEVABLE ineptness; this lazy, overweight, uncoordinated, not very street-smart, suburban man to make a difference. I just need to be open to it, give up the fear- and let him.