-- guerrilla warfare noun
irregular warfare, conflicts in which a small group of combatants uses military tactics, like ambushes and raids, to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army.
irregular warfare, conflicts in which a small group of combatants uses military tactics, like ambushes and raids, to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army.
When we started this trip six days ago (already), we came armed to the teeth with things that we thought we would need. Because of the unpredictable nature of the work we were doing this trip, we over-prepared and had contingency plans for almost every situation. General Victor said, this trip was like going to war, when going to war, we want as much weaponry as possible. We may not need the sniper rifle, but we want one on hand just in case we might need it.
Well, luckily for us, God pretty much dropped a bomb on all our plans and blew them to smithereens. What once was is pretty much no more, except for a few remnants.
Our vision for this trip was to teach the older orphans how to be missional. We wanted to teach them how to love and serve their community just the way they have been served and loved on by foreign missionaries. To do this we had prepared a series of bible studies and activities that taught them this vision. We expected to hold meetings with them each day and drill home this vision.
But that has changed. After the first few days of trying to execute our plan, we found out that it wasn't going to work. So like any good team, we had to make adjustments and we did.
-- guerrilla warfare noun
irregular warfare, conflicts in which a small group of combatants uses military tactics, like ambushes and raids, to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army.
We ran into two major problems trying to execute this vision.
The first major problem we ran into was the age of the students we were working with. We were working with university students. And we were trying to force them to fit into the schedule and itinerary we had planned for them... Well, college students in Cambodia are very much the same (in some aspects) as college students in America, they are unpredictable and busy and have lots of things going on in their lives.
The second major problem we ran into was that we knew very little about the students themselves. How can we teach students ANYTHING of depth if we know nothing about them? If we know nothing about their pains, their struggles, their happiness, their hardship?
Hence, birthed the new vision of our trip. Part one of the vision is to find out the orphans stories. To find out about their background, their dreams, their pains. And then from this, build relationships that are hopefully longer lasting than just this missions trip. And also from this, to find ways to encourage and support the orphans to finish their college educations, because one of the biggest problems orphans face is dropping out of university (physically and emotionally). That is the new two part vision.
We immediately found out that trying to have a hard schedule for this type of work would not suffice. Hence, we switched to (Victor's favorite phrase of the trip)... guerrilla warefare.
Instead of trying to fit the orphans into our schedule, we embedded ourselves into theirs. We used smaller groups for versatility and gave each group the freedom to be creative and imaginative. For the last couple of days, we pretty much fit ourselves into their lives. This gave us the ability to get to know the orphans more closely and just see what a normal everyday life of a Cambodia college student looks like.
And this has lead the team to some pretty wild adventures. Some of us guys went to school with a couple orphans today (we took motorbikes, such fun). Some of the girls went to a monkey zoo today to hangout with some female students. Tonight, we took a bunch of kids to the local arcade to play video games that are twenty years old (no joke, they are still on Time Crisis 3, when Time Crisis 10 probably exists in the US). We've been spending time each day tutoring, hanging out, eating with them and just shooting the breeze. In those moments, we have heard some pretty amazing stories, some heartbreaking, some so inspiring, some making me ask how God can be so cruel, and others showing me how good God can be.
At times, it does feel like we are not doing much except chilling with the Cambodian kids in cafes or restaurant. At times, as a working American, i want to do more. To be active, to work, to be busy. But that's not the Cambodian rhythm of life. The Cambodian rhythm of life is a much slower than the busy-ness that floods us in the States. Falling into this rhythm of life has been a challenge for me, but I'm slowly adjusting. But by falling into this rhythm of life, we can hopefully better start to relate to the Cambodians we are trying to serve.
There are so many stories to share, but no time right now (i'll probably save that for my personal blog)... The wait will be worth it, I promise.
For now, i just want to thank you all for your support and your prayers. Carrie is pretty much 100% (that girl ate like a whale today) and Eric is back from the dead. Continue to pray for our physical strength as this team seem more susceptible to sickness than the last couple of years teams.
Steve T
Well, luckily for us, God pretty much dropped a bomb on all our plans and blew them to smithereens. What once was is pretty much no more, except for a few remnants.
Our vision for this trip was to teach the older orphans how to be missional. We wanted to teach them how to love and serve their community just the way they have been served and loved on by foreign missionaries. To do this we had prepared a series of bible studies and activities that taught them this vision. We expected to hold meetings with them each day and drill home this vision.
But that has changed. After the first few days of trying to execute our plan, we found out that it wasn't going to work. So like any good team, we had to make adjustments and we did.
-- guerrilla warfare noun
irregular warfare, conflicts in which a small group of combatants uses military tactics, like ambushes and raids, to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army.
We ran into two major problems trying to execute this vision.
The first major problem we ran into was the age of the students we were working with. We were working with university students. And we were trying to force them to fit into the schedule and itinerary we had planned for them... Well, college students in Cambodia are very much the same (in some aspects) as college students in America, they are unpredictable and busy and have lots of things going on in their lives.
The second major problem we ran into was that we knew very little about the students themselves. How can we teach students ANYTHING of depth if we know nothing about them? If we know nothing about their pains, their struggles, their happiness, their hardship?
Hence, birthed the new vision of our trip. Part one of the vision is to find out the orphans stories. To find out about their background, their dreams, their pains. And then from this, build relationships that are hopefully longer lasting than just this missions trip. And also from this, to find ways to encourage and support the orphans to finish their college educations, because one of the biggest problems orphans face is dropping out of university (physically and emotionally). That is the new two part vision.
We immediately found out that trying to have a hard schedule for this type of work would not suffice. Hence, we switched to (Victor's favorite phrase of the trip)... guerrilla warefare.
Instead of trying to fit the orphans into our schedule, we embedded ourselves into theirs. We used smaller groups for versatility and gave each group the freedom to be creative and imaginative. For the last couple of days, we pretty much fit ourselves into their lives. This gave us the ability to get to know the orphans more closely and just see what a normal everyday life of a Cambodia college student looks like.
And this has lead the team to some pretty wild adventures. Some of us guys went to school with a couple orphans today (we took motorbikes, such fun). Some of the girls went to a monkey zoo today to hangout with some female students. Tonight, we took a bunch of kids to the local arcade to play video games that are twenty years old (no joke, they are still on Time Crisis 3, when Time Crisis 10 probably exists in the US). We've been spending time each day tutoring, hanging out, eating with them and just shooting the breeze. In those moments, we have heard some pretty amazing stories, some heartbreaking, some so inspiring, some making me ask how God can be so cruel, and others showing me how good God can be.
At times, it does feel like we are not doing much except chilling with the Cambodian kids in cafes or restaurant. At times, as a working American, i want to do more. To be active, to work, to be busy. But that's not the Cambodian rhythm of life. The Cambodian rhythm of life is a much slower than the busy-ness that floods us in the States. Falling into this rhythm of life has been a challenge for me, but I'm slowly adjusting. But by falling into this rhythm of life, we can hopefully better start to relate to the Cambodians we are trying to serve.
There are so many stories to share, but no time right now (i'll probably save that for my personal blog)... The wait will be worth it, I promise.
For now, i just want to thank you all for your support and your prayers. Carrie is pretty much 100% (that girl ate like a whale today) and Eric is back from the dead. Continue to pray for our physical strength as this team seem more susceptible to sickness than the last couple of years teams.
Steve T
is victor's favorite song of the trip still 'praise god from whom all blessings flow?' lol =D i miss you guys, thanks for sharing with so much detail, stevers! it's like we're right there with you. praying! <3
ReplyDeletevery awesome! i appreciate the details too! hope you guys have a great closing to the trip.
ReplyDeletesteve tang is hilarious
ReplyDelete