Homegoing Service

Dear Precious Handfuls:

Recently this past week, a friend same age as me had succumbed to his illness. His mom invited us to his funeral. I learned that it’s African American tradition to call funerals as “Homegoing service”, to rejoice together as a loved one went home to be with the Lord. We could all remember the time when his car broke down, rather than calling in and miss work, he showed up riding his bicycle. He was remembered as very gentle, helpful, and a promise keeper. I can’t remember hearing him complain about anything. May he rest “home” where there is no more tears and pain.

(Welcome the new supporters who have started receiving my biweekly updates until I am in the field. This is my own personal updates during the preparation phase.)

Ok. Currently, we have a team of 6. Of course, if Lord willing. I know, I shared several team pictures before, but life is constantly changing. We learn to be resilient and grateful in all circumstances.

• Rainy Season/Hurricane Season: It’ll be rainy season in Cambodia in September. There will be traveling between student dorm and our hotel daily, we will prepare as best as we can. Also for us Houstonians, September is not out of the woods for Hurricane season yet. The world’s been really hot, and the warm waters in the Gulf has potential for lots of tropical disturbances. Will need travel mercies and good health (again, all if Lord willing), and for Him to provide us the strength to face whatever may come. To Him be all the glory.

• Cambodia STM Breakfast and Bake Sale at HCC: Sundays 8/27 and 9/10 10:30-11:30 & 12:15-1:00. Come after the services to support the ministries of Cambodia. Cash and Venmo among options to pay.

• I’ll be at church this Sunday if you want to find me. (Was working the past two weekends.)

Personal Prayer Requests:

• Praise God for His people being role models who did their best in their ordinary lives to be solid followers of Jesus Christ.
  Jaime’s voice still rang loudly in my ears as he said, “The baton (gospel/evangelism/Great Commission) that’s handed off to locals should never be returned back to the foreigners!” He was describing how a foreign country with local converts was asking him to head up their ministry’s leadership position. We want to empower local believers to head up leading their own faith communities to worship, but in newly reached communities that’s doesn’t have many examples of indigenous faith leaders, every community is only one generation from dying out. It requires wisdom, discernment, and patience from cross-culture workers to make sure we are good steward of Christ’s gospel, to know when to stay and equip and when to step back.

  In Cambodia, many in the generation of Khmer Rouge survivors grew up in struggling single-parent or blended families, without the guidance of higher education intellectuals like college professors and leaders in society who were the first to have met their demise during the genocide. Mental health support for PTSD has only been a recent modern concept. Also, like any other country, Cambodia was forced to upgrade its technology to online education during the pandemic, and the next younger generation (our students) become more in touch with the outside world. There is a lot of potential for discipleship and possible openness to new ideas than any time before.

• Praise, another friend is in process to be launched into the field! 
  God is good! Though the prep work and trainings seem overwhelming, but as William Carey said, “I’m not afraid of failure; I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.” I’m excited to follow her journey in the coming months!

• Pray with me to distinguish less between “us” and “them”.
  When submerging into a foreign culture, it’s easy to make comparisons between the differences and make judgments when others’ unexpected behaviors confuse us. When we seek equality in friendship (not as “us” on a higher ground to be there to help “them”), we cease to be visitors, tourists, foreigners, outsiders. Instead, we aim to become brothers and sisters in Christ and partners in the Great Commission. We will seek to understand and respect our differences while maintaining our own uniqueness to bring forth to the table of co-laboring together.
  The calling to serve as Christ’s ambassador isn’t about fully integrating/melting into another culture to become “them” and lose our own identity, but in adapting to another culture respectfully as not to cause our friends to feel uncomfortable around us, as we seek to connect as human beings with same physical needs, emotional needs, our fears and hope, and same spiritual need— we all need forgiveness of sins and a Savior. Remember, one day we’ll all stand together, unity in diversity, to worship the same God!

• Pray Cambodians will be able to “see” Christians receive our strength from the Spirit and from God’s love.
  Cambodia is about 95% Buddhist, practicing Theravada Buddhism. The aim for this type of Buddhism is to attain nirvana (perfectly transcendent state free from all travails and desires) and achieve the status of an arhat (a perfect saint escaped from cycles of rebirth and karma through their own merit and enlightenment). Hope is but a man-made ideal. There’s no clear indication anyone did it the right way, and there is no guarantee everyone can reach nirvana.
  As for us, the Spirit guides us to pray and know God better. We experienced God saving us for we can never save ourselves, and rather than obeying the format of religion, we derive love from God’s love and not from our own doing. May they be curious and want to be saved by the God who love us with His perfect love.

• Pray for me, how to love and support my aunt who has rapidly progressive dementia.
  My aunt (in her 70s) has been deteriorating mentally rapidly this year. She failed the 3 word memory test, has gotten in three car accidents already, and she’s already unable to perform various basic life skills (like charging credit cards, paying bills). I’ve signed the medical power of attorney papers for her, but it’s a suffocating weight knowing I’ll eventually need to make difficult decisions on her behalf. I wish she would indicate her wishes while she’s still aware, but it’s the Asian-ness in her that refuses to discuss or think about the taboo topic of death.

A Blurb about gourmet almonds:

Often times I’d stuff in my luggage various gifts and treats to share with students on short term trips. I’m there to love on them, I’m there for them, and I’m there to bring them the love of Jesus Christ. One time, I thought it was a good idea to bring unique snacks from the US: Trader Joe’s gourmet almonds flavored with rosemary. My teammates sure appreciated them. But when I passed it around the students, the first guy wrinkled his nose as he took a whiff and immediately exclaimed: “Ugh! What is this???” Thankfully many of the personalities in that class is quite straightforward so I don’t have to guess what they really think. Those gourmet almonds didn’t gain much popularity with the rest of the class either as a few polite ones warily placed a symbolic piece in their mouth and handed the bag off to the next person like passing off a dead rat.
During lunch break, I walked with the students downstairs to a shopping center below the school to look for things to eat. Students joyfully ran to the mountains of displays of local snacks and each bought handfuls of varieties of them. Then a student offered a piece to me. As I accepted the packet trying to guess what kind of food it contained, she smiled and said, “Now, Teacher Lily, THAT’s what we call a GREAT snack!”
I wouldn’t know if my students will appreciate what I bring. And sometimes, allowing them a chance to share with me something they enjoy seems to also bring them joy as well. I’m just as thankful for the interactions!