May 24

Letter To Caleb

Dear Friend,

As you can see from the title, this is a letter to my son. I'd like to have a little record for him when he gets older, to know what we were doing in Cambodia. I intended to make it a day in our life, but things, gongaip (bullfrogs) excluded, have been hoppin' around here. It was too difficult to choose one day so several are included.

Dear Caleb, my son,

Today is May 24th. I actually wrote this to you about three weeks ago and lost it in the computer. I thought you would like to know what goes on here while you are growing up, working hard flailing your arms and legs, eating every few hours, and enjoying singing lessons. I 'll begin our account at what would now be five weeks ago.
On Sunday I stopped at Marie's home to pick up her, her mom, and Bana. Marie is the girl who was going to be sent by her grandmother to the factory to work (we talked to the family about our development program and Marie was able to stay). Well, while I was waiting, parked on the river road, Marie's cousin, eight year old Gou, ran into the road behind the truck and was hit by a motorcycle. We put him in the truck bed and were off to the hospital. It took a couple of hours to get any help. I left Gou with Sarah and went to join the service in progress. As I had no translator, I gave my first, entirely in Khmer, sermon. I used some of the techniques from summer reruns, mentioning past material, reviewing, and adding commentary.

Well, the next week Sarah and I spent Saturday doing visitation. We went to Gou's house. His family was very grateful for our help. They, in turn, were treated with a look at a picture of you and your mom. Sarah and I then spent time with a woman and her mother who had just opened a little shop about the size of an American bathroom. Inside were such treasures as soap, candy, sugar, and two staples of Khmer cuisine, monosodium glutamate and oyster sauce. The woman had been working in Phnom Penh at a factory but quit when she got sick. She didn't tell what ailment. We invited her to work with us on a sewing project. She didn't show up when we had our meeting, but I was glad, because I learned she has hepatitis, at least I think that is what she has. We'll stop in and buy some candy from her in the future for the Sunday school, and see how she is. After this we went to Marie's house. Her Mom was just baptized on Easter, and the Development group voted her in as a leader of the committee. Her Grandfather asked the Wilkins family to stay in Kampong Cham. He even offered me some lunch, but I told him you and your mom were waiting for me.

It was a warm conclusion to a hot morning. In the afternoon we went over to the Bangkok market area. One of our ladies, Ming Aht who was so faithful, even taking sermon notes, is now working in Phnom Penh. We were able to meet her after months of trying. We also prayed for her daughter who has some illness, I don't know what. Another one of our ladies from this area, Ming Nearii, was baptized in October. When we visited she was going to host a wedding reception in a few days for her sister. Nearii lives in a leaf-thatched hut. Indirectly she
asked me, through Sarah, for some money to fix her roof. I suggested she use my canvas if she were worried about the rain. Right now it's dry season, no reason to worry anyway. Her request was really for funds to get a new house, without leaves. I said "No." I then realized what she was talking about and drove back to give her the $12.50 she requested. People in Asia, Christian too, speak in generalities and indirectly about things so as not to be rude. It takes a long time to get used to this; it has for me. I still do a bad job with it, thinking that people are lying or being deceptive, when to them it is more respectful or politic to do so. I went to the
reception and met a lot of neighbors. Ming Nearii's home still has its leaves intact.

Saturday, several weeks ago, we (I and the young people) went to Ahndang Svai. There were some patches of deep mud, but we skid, slithered, and slid our way through each time. The truck is a blessing. We did some visiting and met one girl who said she was interested but was worried about the family's reaction. Sarah was the first Christian in her family so she could share with the young lady from personal experience. We had about eighty children and adults gather. One fellow who had been drinking tried doing the songs and motions with us. It was distracting for some, but the children were unfazed. It was a good journey. We looked for Peroahp whom we met last month but he was not around.

This picture is Marie's Mom after being baptized on Easter. She was picked earlier this month as one of our two leaders of the Development Group. On the first Sunday of the month we have communion. This month we had one girl pray for the offering, her first prayer in public, and we had two special music numbers. In contrast to
months ago when communion was an opportunity for nervousness and joking, this month I heard various ones praying.

These are some of the types of fabric we will be using for our next project, Khmer style wallets. They have zippers and fold, much like wallets we use. We have an order from Hong Kong for a hundred. The group has started working on them. We are about a third of the way there, now.

Three weeks ago we started our Khmer Language School for the young people gathering recyclable materials. I made a map and a list of rules this past week for them. Between services, I stopped at the cafe for an ice tea, but my friend Isao from Japan, had already left. While I was there, I saw three young recycle boys sniffing glue as they walked. Please pray for these young ones. Glue makes one crazy so I haven't invited any known users. I don't want to overwhelm my young Khmer teacher. We always have a male with her for support and registration. We usually have twenty-five to thirty students. I'm getting to know some names, especially those of trouble-makers. Also this month, we had our first Theological Education Extension class at Suong and Kampong Cham. This is a leadership training course that is accepted here as a seminary course without the expense. We have several people that hope to be in ministry as a full time avocation.

That day I saw the youth sniffing glue, I was feeling a little overwhelmed. As they passed out of sight, four little children came by saying "Hello." One of them patted me on the face, giggled and was gone like a breeze leaving me totally refreshed.

I sat on the bed with you Caleb as I wrote this, originally several weeks ago. You don't like to be alone. You will go to sleep if one of us sits with you. Last week, your mom, you, and I were out on the veranda about six o'clock in the evening to enjoy a cool moment. Mikan, our dog, came to the top of the stairs where we were sitting. I said to you and your mom: "We are a family." At that moment, Mikan raised his paw and put it on my knee. We all agreed he was saying, "Me, too."

Well this wasn't one day. Thank you, Caleb, for letting me share it with our friends. By the way, you are now able to rest turned a little on one side. You weigh over six kilos and are over sixty centimeters in length. Twice you have had watermelon juice and apple juice, home squeezed. Great room service here. Oh, one last highlight.

I saw Gou yesterday walking on the river road. WALKING! He seemed just fine. I suspect he is walking more circumspectly, but his grin is just as big as ever, maybe even wider. He may have lost a tooth in the motorcycle ordeal. This past week I found a frog in the kitchen downstairs , a mouse in the kitchen upstairs, and Mikan and I helped each other kill a rat outside. You stopped eating today to look at your mother when you heard Mikan barking. We have some sad news, too. Vi, the brother whose home we have our meetings at in Suong, has left his family. He's been gone over a week now. The neighbors are all aware of the problem, so it will be difficult to restore his testimony in the future. This kind of account is not rare in Cambodia. We are going to see the family tonight and bring some material to be sewn. Vi's wife is Ti. We're asking all our friends to please pray for them.
Everyone here loves you, Caleb. You get passed around at the meetings. Your Mom and I worry about this and monitor the situation because a lot of people are ill. So far there have been no problems.

Your next letter will be just for you, okay?

Love, Dad