Mission Trip Duration: 28 May – 2 June 2024
This mission trip consists of seven members and none of us have ever set foot in Cambodia. So we were very thankful for Elder Kian Huat and sister Akiko’s invaluable guidance before the trip and during the trip.
In our preparation for the trip, we had several meetings to discuss all that we were tasked to do there as well as the skit we were to perform there as part of a gospel outreach program at Sangkhim Canaan School (Sangkhim means hope). Amidst all the busy preparations, we were reminded of how we ought not to neglect the spiritual aspect of prayer and worship. God’s word in Exodus 17:10-11 spoke to us and showed us how the battle is won not in the doing of the tasks but in the spiritual realm.
10 Joshua did as Moses had instructed him and fought against the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed.
In the holding up of Moses’ hands, one can make a strong connection to prayer and worship since the lifting of hands in worship and prayer is often spoken of in the Old Testament:
Nehemiah 8:6: “Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, amen,’ lifting up their hands.”
Psalm 28:2: “Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands.”
Psalm 63:4: “I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.”
Psalm 141:2: “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!”
This practice of lifting hands in worship and prayer is also carried over to the early church practice, so much so that when Paul exhorts on prayer in 1 Timothy, he basically just assumed that that is how the church prays.
1 Timothy 2:8: “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.”
Back to Exodus 17. Indeed, it is the Moses part that is truly making the difference between winning and losing, yet we are spending so much time at the Joshua level. So we made it a point to prioritize our daily devotion, prayer and worship sessions which we scheduled for among our own team members. We schedule it once in the morning before we start the day and once towards the end of the day when all tasks are completed. These sessions were held in the quarters where we stayed and twice it was held in the church premise itself as our skit rehearsal ended really late. In these times, we share how God is speaking to each and every one of the team members in their daily encounters and how we can uphold each other in prayer. Thanks to these sharing sessions, our team was able to foster greater unity and closer working relations. We are also thankful to the church for praying for us during the commissioning service and throughout the trip. That too, is very much part and parcel of the Moses portion.
All in all, the trip was an eye-opener to the vast opportunities for the gospel to flourish in Kampong Chhnang. Opportunities for the gospel that we don’t see in Singapore. We were all very awestruck by the respectfulness, obedience and warmth of the students in Sangkhim Canaan School. There is so much potential there. There is a godly principle in place to ensure the student’s spirituality is of top priority and there is the structure in place where Christian Education classes are embedded in the curriculum. There are also staff devotions and prayer meetings for school staff. These meetings are open to non-Christian staff as well.
Below is a breakdown of our formal and non-formal tasks:
NON-FORMAL TASKS:
Integral to our mission work are the various opportunities to have meal fellowships with the ministry workers there to get to know them better and have mutual encouragement and prayer. Besides having fellowship with the youth at Bethany House, we were also privileged to be able to have extended time of fellowship with Kelly’s household (Youth and Children ministry), Boret’s household (Church, School and Bible Center ministry) and Sambath’s household (Church and School ministry). Our church’s financial contribution to the Cambodian ministry goes into the support of these three Cambodian couples who are doing great work in the School, Church, and the soon-to-open Bible Center.
FORMAL TASKS:
In Sangkhim Canaan School, we conducted:
– 6 Christian Education (CE) classes (mix of Pri & Sec)
– 4 Kindergarten English classes
– 4 Primary 6 level English classes
(Average class size: 25 for Kindergarten level, 30 for Primary level, 20 for Secondary level)
– 2 Training sessions for all their CE teachers (12 pax)
– 2 Gospel Outreach events. (One for upper Primary levels, and one for Secondary levels)
In Sangkhim Church,
– we conducted a gospel outreach at the Saturday Youth program (30 pax with half of them being non-Christians)
– we preached at their Sunday service (40 pax)
What a fruitful and meaningful trip! Praise be to God! Amen!
If you wish to view one of our recordings of the gospel outreach to the P4 to P6 students, you may click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG4ZiRc3ihQ
Photos and video updates can also be found on our Church Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sghalls