Marvelous…
Marvelous Blessing to Those Who Are Mourning
November 2020
Pleroma Home for Women is a place that provides a safe haven and holistic restoration to women. Our clients are women who are struggling with mental health symptoms, lack of soft skills, broken relationship/support systems, and poverty.
Adding to this kind of unfortunate life, 2020 is the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. People around the world are facing crises such as losing a loved one, financial hardship, and emotional tension. Similarly, our women are also facing deteriorating circumstances of life.
Fortunately, there are some blessings. As our friends and donors share their love through merit grants during this hardship, our women in the community have received a helping hand.
One of our women, Sunshine*, was living in bitterness and hopelessness. It seemed like darkness covered her without even the hope of seeing light. She was at a critical time in her life, facing the loss of her brother. At the same time, the main breadwinner of her family, her mother, also lost her job, leaving them penniless after the funeral. Sunshine also has mental disabilities, which is hard for her and her mother. She was in the community trial period before all these tragedies happened. Her mother was stable and claimed Sunshine back into her care, but after only a week, she sold everything she had in order to treat her suddenly ill son, but he died anyway. To the mother, Sunshine is the only one that she insists on keeping next to her even during this hard time. They are each other’s support system, so being in the community is needed.
“I had no money to even come back home for my son’s funeral in my hometown. All I have remaining is only debt. I went blank and numb. I could not even cry because it was too overwhelming. However, receiving a call from the PHW that there is a COVID-19 supportive fund makes me excited in the sadness,” Sunshine’s mother said.
Life in the city (Phnom Penh, Cambodia) after she came back was harsh. She had no job because most of the jobs were taken when she was away. The job market was so limited for her labor field because of COVID-19. There was a lot of dispute and fighting. Many times, she was wrestling with the days remaining in the month because there was nothing to eat and no money to pay her bills. She tried her very best every day to find a job, but at the same time, she needed to fill her stomach. Neighbors were helping but it was not enough. “I am so happy to receive a support fund even if it is not fully enough but it is helping me during my desperate and critical time – the money keeps me alive to fight for my living,” the mother said. She added, “That money so far keeps me being a mother to my daughter. Without it I am not even a mother to my child as I can’t even feed her when she is with me.”
At present, her situation is improving. We give thanks to God for the ability to offer support when she was in desperate need. She can now stand more on her own. She got a job and can earn monthly wages, and although it is not much, she can feed and take very good care of Sunshine. Sunshine is now very happy being with her mother in the community.
Your love offerings have played a big part in lifting our women downfall back to their feet.
* Sunshine is her false name to provide confidentiality to PHW’s client.
A Way Bac…
A Way Back Home
November 2020
Many women in Cambodia are suffering from domestic violence. The root cause varies from poverty to lack of education to trauma. The traumatic events in their life result in attachment injuries that make them have destructed behavior such as unhealthy decisions, low self-esteem, emotional disturbance, and self-blame and/or blaming others. Trauma that these women have suffered from are often violent and usually pass on cyclically from generation to generation.
These women usually do not know the proper way to express and protect themselves or leave the situation. There are a lot of emotions and challenges that they would face if they left the violence without preparation and help. These challenges include the feeling of helplessness, shame, stereotypes of widows, caring for children while trying to make a living, and fear of being found by their husband, so it is a very difficult decision to make.
Min* was one of our clients who used to live in a domestically violent family and when she grew up, she married a few times and had violent husbands. She had moved out from her hometown for more than 20 years, leaving all her memories and relationships with her relatives broken. She kept moving from one place to another to work in the labor field without a regular income. Her last marriage was also violent but she thought she should hold on to her kids and her unborn baby.
But at last, she used all of her courage to leave her husband and everything behind. She walked out of her home rural village in the middle of the night, through the wild bushes and trees. Min began her walk at midnight and arrived at the village before sunrise. She asked for help from the villagers to stay for a while until she came to the Pleroma Home for Women (PHW) in early 2019. She was emotionally and physically wounded. She had nothing apart from a small package of old tearing cloth for her farm work. She was 6 months pregnant at the time and had her two girls with her: a 9-year-old and 15-year-old. The 15-year-old girl was sent to Pleroma Home for Girls (PHG) to receive her care there.
She has been with the PHW for almost 2 years and even had her baby delivered in its care. She has now acquired a job and since she is able to have regular income, she can manage living on her own. Min recalled, “I was working on the farm all day long, very tired, and I sometimes had to sleep in the farmland when I couldn’t go back home. The work was no rest but still I could not afford proper meals for my family. But now I got a job that not only can feed my family, but people respect me. I got a lot of love from all of the people who work with me. They support and help me out even in some part of my life apart from work.” Her daughters also enrolled in Pleroma School for Girls (PSG). “My girls got to learn in a good school which I can’t afford if I didn’t know of PHW. They enjoy their studies,” Min said.
It has been a long time since she left her hometown and escaped from her husband, which makes her feel there is nowhere to go or return to; She rents a room near her workplace. Although it is a rented room, she feels at home and she feels good to return there after work. “I was helpless and didn’t know what to do. I was pregnant and had no money even to eat. I have to take care of my girls. PHW helps me find my value and rescue me from my true reality. My baby girl is safe and now I can stand strong as a mother to my children although I don’t have a man with me,” Min said with a smile on her face.
We hope PHW can further reach out to many more women who need help and restoration. We pray to create a way for our clients to find a place they can call home. We want to work as a transition for the client to step away from their current dark situation towards a brighter future and towards a better version of themselves.
Groundbre…
Pleroma School for Girls
Groundbreaking Ceremony for Secondary School
By Chhourn Bun Hoeun
October 24, 2020
Chhourn Bun Hoeun (Philip) is one of the directors of the Pleroma School Board and a devoted Christian. He is the director of HRDI (Human Resource and Development Institute) in Phnom Penh. Philip received his Master of Education at the Royal University, Phnom Penh in 2010 and Doctor of Education at Assumption University, Thailand in 2019.
Good morning brothers and sisters!
On behalf of the school board of directors, I would like to give much appreciation for your presence in this ground-breaking ceremony for the Secondary Pleroma School for Girls (PSG). Thanks to God for answering our prayers and thank you very much to all of you, both missionary and local people, for taking part in praying to make this wonderful project happen. I would also like to give much appreciation for all of the PSG staff who have contributed greatly to the development of the PSG high school level.
Pleroma School for Girls has been established in order to contribute to the long-term development of the human resources in Cambodia. We learn that education can be the mechanism used to help girls live their lives violence-free and through it, girls can become better mothers to raise better children, and lead their families more effectively. The following rationales passionately contribute to the establishment of the PSG in Cambodia.
Educational Matters
We would like to see girls receive equal rights to quality and holistic education that they would better contribute to the development of the country of Cambodia and lead their lives more abundantly as promised by our Lord Jesus. According to the report issued by the Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia (2019), the school enrollment rate for both boys and girls has increased from 2011 to 2016 but there was a big inequality between boys and girls in school, especially in master and doctoral programs. Moreover, the dropout rate for all grades between 2007 and 2017 decreased but in high school, the dropout rate fluctuated. In the academic year 2007-2008, the dropout rate was 13.1% and decreased to 9.8% in 2011-2012 but increased to 24.4% in 2013-2014 and continued to decrease to 17% in 2016-2017. The statistics showed challenges for girls in pursuing their education. Moreover, a high dropout rate of females at the upper secondary school level put Cambodia at risk of having more women with lower education than other countries in ASEAN (Kem, et al., 2019).
The report states clearly the factors hindering gender equality in education in Cambodia:
• Social and gender norms: Cambodian women are still constrained by social and gender norms to continue their study at a higher level. This may be because of their parents’ lower level of education and their lack of the awareness of long-term benefits of education for their children.
• Poverty: Poor families could not send their children to school. Some families had to migrate from place to place and to other countries to earn their living that left their children with limited access to education.
• Parent and community engagement in children’s education are still limited: Parents’ involvement in education is very important, but their engagement in children’s education is still limited. The engagement does not mean to have them present physically but their belief system that values the importance of education for their children.
• Violence on Women
A report released by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in 2016 stated that more than 30% of Cambodian women have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence from their intimate partners. Intimate partner violence continues to be a significant public health problem for women in Cambodia. The report recommended that to reduce violence, it is necessary to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. This report and the report of a research on Women’s Health and Life Experiences (2015) conformed to the international evidence that where a woman has more resources available, she is less likely to have experienced violence. It is recommended that empowerment opportunities are needed for women including ensuring adequate education, and access to income generating employment and contraception.
God’s Love for Girls
PSG is a Christian school which was established by missionaries from America and Hong Kong. They have received God’s grace, love, and blessings and want to share them with girls in Cambodia, particularly in the field of education. We want to empower girls through quality and holistic education that they would have an abundant life, which includes the eternal life God has promised to give to the girls. John 10:10 (b) states that “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” We would like our girls to know Jesus and expect them to receive Him so that they would have an abundant life.
These above-mentioned rationales moved our missionary people, including the local staff, to establish Pleroma School for Girls in Cambodia. We believe that our contribution to the long-term development for girls through quality and holistic education empower girls (women) with more resources that can be used to lead their lives wisely, healthily, and abundantly.
Today, this groundbreaking ceremony indicates that the construction of the PSG high school has already started. We need your continuous and persistent prayers for the construction to go smoothly and safely. Pray that everyone is sharing each part for the project to be completely done as planned.
Once again, thank you very much for your time and presence in this wonderful event this morning. May God bless you all with health, strength, and safety! Thank you
On behalf of the School Board of Directors,
Chhourn Bun Hoeun (Philip)
Prayer Le…
Prayer Letter
Esther Mok, Director of Pleroma Community Center
July 2020
May peace be with you all in times of the pandemic! Because of COVID-19, my colleagues and I have returned to Hong Kong and resumed normal life after self-quarantine. I was not too used to the humid and cold weather here in the beginning of quarantine and really missed the sunny and dry weather in Phnom Penh.
The Situation in Cambodia
After my return, a lot of you have asked, “what is going to happen to the children now?” It is true that schools and religious gatherings are suspended in Cambodia and the Pleroma School for Girls (PSG) and the Pleroma Community Center (PCC) are unable to operate. I have shared the detailed PCC prayer items in May and the present situation is similar. But we have started inviting youths back to talk to them about their mental state and family needs. They were very bored at home and wanted to go to school. Some of them were worried about their parents’ relationship as they were always arguing after losing their jobs. Some of the children have to work to help out at home. Our colleague, Bopha, regularly shares with me their situation and prays with them. I miss them very much, but I know I have to trust that God will provide for them and He cares about their needs more than we do. I would like to thank our brothers and sisters for their offering, so that we can buy food supplies for them and help them through this difficult time.
Aside from the children from the PCC gatherings, we have also met with the students from our community tutorial classes and children that received our school sponsorships. Originally, we were going to organize the PCC Tutorial Classes Graduation Ceremony in July and invite parents to see the cute performances of their children and to witness their growth. It would have also been a good opportunity to introduce the PSG to them. Sadly, the ceremony has to be cancelled now. But the most important thing is to maintain contact with the children and to give them worksheets for revision at home. The epidemic has put all ministries on hold and we can utilize the time to process our past experiences and pray to God about the situation of the children and place our hope in resuming our ministry and our work in the future.
I am very happy to start studying again after returning to Hong Kong, as it is not easy to find a suitable course as a missionary given the limitation on the mode of teaching, duration, and location; It is a real joy to study again. I have chosen a course about children’s holistic development at the Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary. Online classes commenced last month and it is very challenging and interesting to learn with students from other countries online and to experience foreign cultures again. I hope that I can develop a broader vision on children development and leadership and hope that I can focus more on children ministry. I am very grateful for the support of our organization, so that I can study without worrying about money or time.
Thanksgiving and Prayer Items
1. Although we returned to Hong Kong due to the epidemic, I am grateful to be able to spend more time with my mother. May God continue to bless her health.
2. Although we are not in Cambodia, my colleague Bopha and I are still planning ways to serve our community together. Her ability to work and execute duties independently and responsibly greatly reassures me – thanks be to God!
3. May God grant us wisdom so that we can help the low-income families in the community. We wish to set up a small workshop once we return to Cambodia, so that the women can earn more by processing garments.
4. Due to unemployment, many parents can no longer sustain living in Phnom Penh and have returned to the countryside to find work. May God protect the villagers and children and deliver them from evil, so that they will not encounter human traffickers and will be able to continue to study and go to church in the future.
5. At last, please pray for all of our missionaries who have returned to Hong Kong that they can smoothly go back to Cambodia for work, as their return relies on flights and Cambodian entry policies. May God prepare a suitable time and way to return for the missionaries, so that they can continue their work in the country.
Thank you for remembering us!
Esther
Standing …
Standing with their Heads Held High – the Daughters of Pleroma and Cambodia
By Heather Hui, Missionary and Assistant Field Director
April 13, 2020
How can a woman in Cambodia hold fast to her faith in a family that does not believe in God and in a society where Christians make up only 1% of the population? How can a village girl find her place and find work in a society that is male-dominated and has always trampled on the dignity and basic rights of women? It is the hardest ministry to change lives; more often than not, disappointment outweighs satisfaction. How has a girl persevered with this ministry for nine years?
This is why I interviewed Kimsang, a social worker who joined the Pleroma Home for Girls (PHG) nine years ago, a wounded healer and the Director of PHG.
Her Family – Because He Walks with Me
Kimsang’s husband – like all Cambodian men – thought himself superior to his wife, could do whatever his heart desired and enjoyed, and did not think marriage should be exclusive or that he should apologize for his mistakes. In the early days of their marriage, Kimsang suffered greatly and often cried about this. But she prayed to God for wisdom and courage, as well as His guidance in their marriage.
Gradually, Kimsang started sharing her thoughts with her husband, and even confronted him. Bit by bit, her husband started to understand and respect her and even promised that he would not be with any other woman and she would be his only wife in this lifetime.
Even though her husband was not a Christian, she shared with him biblical teachings about family. Praise the Lord that her husband was willing to listen to her. She even told her husband, “If I did not do as the Bible has said, please remind me.” Sometimes, when Kimsang fell short, her husband would be the person to remind her of what the Bible said. In the process, her husband has gradually learned to express himself and started helping out with housework. He would give most of his time to his family, treat it as his priority and even apologize to Kimsang when he did something wrong.
Christians in Cambodia are lonely, and at times, they have to pay a heavy price for their faith. I once met a young family who were living with their parents and they were kicked out because of their faith. As none of the family members of Kimsang’s husband were Christians, she faced a lot of pressure every time she visited them. For example, during Pchum Ben in September, all families had to pay respect to their ancestors at temples. However, Kimsang insisted on following the teachings of the Bible. The stress and tension she faced were indescribable.
A few years after they got married, Kimsang had not been able to have a baby. Her husband’s family were worried because it was embarrassing in Cambodia to have no children after marriage. Her parents-in-law had offered many times to bring Kimsang to temples to ask for blessings for a child. But Kimsang did not listen to them, which made them very unhappy. Nevertheless, Kimsang stood firm and prayed to God, surrendering it all to Him. At last, God blessed the couple with a son so that he could be a proof of God’s grace for her in-laws and proclaim that “I have triumphed with the grace of God.” In remembrance of this, she named her son Victory.
After giving birth, Kimsang did not stay home to take care of her son as a traditional Cambodian woman would. In the beginning, she was worried that her husband’s family might not be happy with her decision. Besides psychological stress and the change in role, she was thoroughly exhausted as she also had to work. But she discovered that, through working, the couple could take better care of her in-laws and provide for them. At the same time, her in-laws began to see that, although Christians did not worship at temples, the couple still cared for them and stayed by their side. They have now changed a lot and are starting to agree with the couple; They even support their decisions and their lifestyle and have gradually accepted Kimsang’s Christian faith.
Her Work – Because He Motivates Me
How could she keep on doing life-changing work for 9 years? Kimsang said it was because of the passion and indignation from God. Every time she learns of a rape case, she is deeply saddened and angered. Her anger and pain can only be calmed and comforted through walking with the girls and getting them out of their predicament. When her friends learned that Kimsang was still working at our organization, they often joked and asked if she planned to work here for her lifetime. But Kimsang knows in her heart that this is a mission from God and this is where God wants her to be; She will stay until God leads her elsewhere. To her, it is the greatest satisfaction to be able to serve the girls in Cambodia. She said, “It is the same to serve in any organization. Also, Pleroma takes good care of me and my bosses are kind to me. Although the person-in-charge of Pleroma is mainly based in the United States, she is filled with love – love for Cambodia, love for the women and girls in Cambodia. With her vision and leadership, we have gradually turned such visions into concrete actions. I experience a deep sense of satisfaction in the process.”
However, when it comes to work that changes lives, passion does not guarantee success – there will always be disappointment, dejection and helplessness. How did Kimsang persist in it?
She said, “Prayer and reliance on God are my greatest sources of strength. Through prayer, I know that I am not alone in this work and God is with us. He is the lord of life, of all living beings. He loves the girls more than I do, He will be responsible for them till the end. Also, I believe that God has His own timing and I need to learn to wait. The girls may not listen to some of my teachings now, but one day they will understand. So, I know that I have to wait and I have to let the girls know that we will never give up on them; we will always welcome them with open arms whenever they decide to come back.”
Her Hope
It is Kimsang’s wish and hope that, one day, the girls and women in Cambodia can be free – free from the cage and exploitation of sexual crimes. She hopes that there will be chances for girls to receive education, to understand their worth, to have hope about the future, to have the ability to choose how they want to live their life. More importantly, she hopes that they will get to know God, and know that God also loves them. They will know that even though some people may hurt them and/or exploit them, God loves them and will never forsake them. They can live their life with their heads held high, triumphing over what happened in their past.
Joy and F…
Joy and Fulfillment in These Ten Years
by Debbie Choy, Field Director of Pleroma Missions in Cambodia
An important milestone for me – this is the year that I have served in Cambodia for 10 years. The International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, political, and cultural achievements of women. However, in Cambodia, that day also promotes and enhances women’s development and opportunities regardless of the hindering of society’s economic, social, and cultural issues.
During these past 10 years, there are two stories of the local co-workers that remind me of how grateful and fulfilled I am with this ministry:
I witnessed Kimsung, a social worker who joined early on, and her loyalty to her ministry in more than ten years of service. Due to the needs of the particular social service in this ministry, she learned counseling skills and also completed the Master of Social Work program. During these years, she was humble to serve and is now the director of our Pleroma Home for Girls. I deeply experienced how God built up a local co-worker through the Fellowship in Christ Fellowship (FiCF) ministry.
The other one is Philip, who is one of the board members of “Pleroma School for Girls”. Twenty years ago, he was just an ordinary young man who worked hard to fulfill his dream to become a teacher. I witnessed how he finished college, completed a master’s degree, and has earned a Doctor of Education degree recently. Yet, he is still humbly serving in Cambodia and is an experienced lecturer of the “HRDI.” He also spends time serving on our school board and sends his daughter to our Pleroma School for Girls.
I have experienced many hinderings and challenges in the past 10 years of ministry such as going through the work to find suitable co-workers to become our directors, hiring co-workers on a limited budget, figuring out ministry expenditures, participating in endless changes in the government legal systems and policies. However, in the end, I am grateful for having trusted co-workers walking with us and that we have not experienced financial problems or lack of supplies. When we walk boldly on the path of God’s ministry to understand and care for the girls we serve, God will comfort us and prepare everything for us. In all difficulties, God is our provider.
In my ministries, I need to make many decisions such as ministry development, setting up policies, etc. I am not experienced in these areas and I lack the confidence to do so, but God shows me His richness in my weakness. When I let God expand myself and walk alongside with me, I may feel pain and the incapability of accomplishing my duties but when the goal is clear with the mindset that “I don’t want to do but must do”, God is always my helper to support me. This process is surely painful because God has to break me to rebuild me; He encourages and comforts me when I am weak.
I received much over these 10 years – not in accomplishments or achievements – but in knowing God more through these ministries, understanding more of His heart, and seeing how much He loves the girls and women we minister to and all of us. He works through us to educate, counsel, and raise up these abused and ill-treated girls and women. They often experience various social injustice problems in Cambodian society such as child marriage, child labor, and sexual assault. In the past 10 years, we have built the social, cultural, educational, family, and economic values of local women. They gained self-esteem and self-respect, space to explore, and loosened their hard feelings. In the future, we hope that local people will carry on these missions and bring changes to the Cambodian society.
Pleroma M…
Pleroma School for Girls
1. Please pray for the school inspection by the government on 19 November and that they visit only
for educational purposes, without other agenda.
2. Please pray for the fundraising effort for the construction of the secondary school building.
3. Please pray for the construction needed for the two terraced house that we recently bought.
Buildings in Cambodia are of very poor quality; May the Lord grant us wisdom to know what to do.
4. Please pray for the school life and health of our teachers and students.
Pleroma Home for Girls
1. Two girls arrived at the Home last week. Please pray for them, as they need counseling as well as vocational training. May the Lord grant us wisdom, so that we can assist them as they adjust to the new environment and help them find hope in life once again.
2. We are arranging for two of the girls to reintegrate back into their communities. Please pray for their relationship with their family members and their studies.
3. After Pchum Ben Day, one of the girls decided not to come back but to find a job to help sustain her family. May the Lord grant her wisdom to face the challenges in life.
4. Please pray for three of the girls receiving outside vocational training and one studying at a secondary school. May the Lord keep them safe when they are on the road and guide their studies.
5. Please pray for the recruitment of a cook, an administrative staff and a social worker.
6. Please continue to pray for the renewal of our MOU with the government.
Pleroma Home for Women
1. Please pray for the handover of duties after Chandra’s resignation. Please also pray for our new Project Manager and our social worker (Clinical Manager) Sokheng, who is in charge of the cases, that they can complement each other at work. Please also pray that the staff can adjust well and work well together.
2. Please pray for the vocational training of the women and that more people will be willing to walk with us and provide the women with different internship opportunities.
3. Please pray for Sreyra, who will continue to receive service in another organization. Please also continue to pray for the women who have already returned home.
4. The medical team of Chab Dai Coalition will provide training for our organization, so that our staff can better handle cases of suspected bacterial infection among the women.
在恩典中擴展——P…
文/許英黎宣教士 (工塲副主任)|2018年7月7日
因著主的恩典與帶領,今天我們得以再與大家分享神給我們的新異象——Project20/20。每次神給予新任務,我們總是矛盾的,因爲清楚知道這不是一件容易的事,但更清楚越難越見恩典。
2011年,「豐榮女兒之家」在金邊成立,為一些被販賣、被性侵的未成年女孩提供院舍式基督教全人服務。經過七年發展,我們已經找到在相關非政府組織中的定位,團隊也趨成熟。但我們並沒有就此停步,相反,我們努力回應柬埔寨社會發展的需要。
過去幾年,雖然未成年受害者有所減少,但被欺哄到中國強迫成婚的受害者卻增多了。同時,全球化也令人口販運的情況加劇。因此,我們在今年5月展開了「豐榮婦女中心」事工,為成年婦女提供院舍式服務。
另一方面,作為柬埔寨唯一為被販賣、被性侵婦女提供服務的華人基督教團體,我們也喜見柬埔寨政府致力整頓一些魚目混珠的非政府組織。但現在,政府不但不再發允許證給新的非政府組織(NGO)經營院舍的非政府組織,也立了不同條例來規範已有的非政府組織(NGO),比如,我們被要求院舍的土地面積不能少於2,000m2。政府這個要求是合理的,我們的院舍確實太小了。過去,曾有不少女孩子要求外出散步,對於這些心靈與身體飽受捆綁與壓制的女孩,空間是重要的。
過去兩年,因爲中國「一帶一路」政策的緣故,金邊的土地被中國人大量購入,地價不斷騰升,租金也不斷上漲。如果我們不擁有自己的土地與物業,租金將成爲重擔。而現在是購地的時機,因爲7月底大選造成地價稍微回落,據預測,大選後金邊地價將再次大幅度攀升。
基於上述情況,我們必須進入一個新階段——購置物業,作長遠規劃,讓事工發展不再被動地被屋主通過終止租約或大幅加租來左右;也希望提供的服務不受制於租屋的客觀環境,能發展一些針對需要的服務設施,例如運動治療、園藝治療等;還盼望提供足夠的空間讓服侍對象釋放身心靈的枷鎖;同時,也讓「女兒之家」與「婦女中心」共享各樣資源。
自本年初,我們一直在尋找用地,最近經過朋友介紹,有地主急需周轉資金,願意以低於市價的價錢賣給我們,土地面積為3,500m2,價格為US$159,250,地點距離現時「女兒之家」約45分鐘車程,那裏已經有水電供應,附近也有小學,而且該區仍屬於一直與我們合作的政府機關。這是我們看過最好的地段,但條件是:我們必須於6月25號支付地價的50%,另外50%於三個月後(即十月中)付清。我們期望在2020年底前完成建設,把「豐榮女兒之家」與「豐榮婦女中心」一并遷入。
求主預備,幫助我們在9月15號前完成籌款,金額為US$159,250。「豐榮女兒之家」與「豐榮婦女之家」的「成本」是昂貴的,但那些女性的生命與靈魂不是比那會朽壞的金錢更重要嗎?籌款雖然不容易,但我們一次又一次看見:在我們父神眼中,這些孩子,這些婦女,是天父所愛的,是祂所寶貴的。
願您能繼續在禱告上守望,在經濟上支持。讓我們一同領受父神給我們在福音事工裏的份,一同經歷祂的奇妙作爲。
謙卑順服,擁抱挑戰…
謙卑順服,擁抱挑戰——八年宣教感言
文/蔡婉玲宣教士 Debbie Choy,柬埔寨事工工塲主任|2018年7月7日
回望這八年豐榮團契在柬埔寨的事工,全都是神的恩典,是祂奇妙的作為。多謝主讓我經歷祂的豐盛,體驗祂無盡的愛。
在金邊服事的日子,深深體會到神自有祂的時間,人只要放膽跟隨,默默相信。這亦是我自己很大的學習功課。很多時候人會以自己的智慧、能力處理問題,但這幾年神卻讓我學習「凡事相信、凡事盼望、凡事忍耐」,各樣工作需按部就班,神自有祂的時間表。
豐榮團契在柬埔寨的事工不斷擴展,除了「豐榮女子學校」及「豐榮女兒之家」外,最近半年開始托展「豐榮婦女中心」及「豐榮社區中心」,因此本地同工隨事工一同增多,需兼顧的事情也有增無減,面對很多新的挑戰和功課。感謝主,亦有不同的短宣隊作各樣的支援,這是主的恩典及美意,亦是前線和海外各教會同心合意興旺福音的機會。
回看這三四年,柬埔寨政府逐漸與中國友好,外界環境亦不斷改變,這也提醒我們要與時並進,重新審視宣教工場所面對的新挑戰:
第一個新挑戰:機構與柬埔寨政府的關係。
因政治氣候不一樣,政府不再像十年前一樣歡迎外來非牟利機構的服務,而是以不同方法進行監管:
- 稅制方面,要交VAT(消費稅)10%。例如機構租巴士,巴士公司不交稅,機構就得負責。
- 要與不同政府部門「打交道」,包括內政部、財政部、稅務局、土地管理局及勞工部, 因此增加行政工作及成本。
- 申請辦學和庇護所的要求已收緊,對員工的醫療保險、宣教士簽證亦不斷調整。正面看,柬埔寨政府監管非牟利機構是一件很負責的行為。但這也為我們增加了挑戰,個人及工作上亦需要不斷調整及配合。另外受中國「一帶一路」的影響,很多外資在柬埔寨買地、投資建設等,這改變了柬埔寨的經濟狀況,金邊發展加速,地價及物價亦不斷上升。當地人對學習國語的需求亦不斷上升,我自己有時亦對要去適應這些環境的改變而感到疲累;但必需不斷去適應,而且需要抓緊機會,因為這些變化正影響我們在柬埔寨的服事。
第二個新挑戰:與同工合作的心態。
我們一向被灌輸的是任務導向(task oriented),求主賜我忍耐,調整個人的心態,不是著重事工的成就, 而是同工的個人福祉。感謝主讓我在這些事上有所磨練,願意去發展一些以前不覺得有能耐做的服侍,亦學習如何把職責有效地委派出去,繼續靠主的恩典學習「愛裡沒有懼怕」的功課。感謝主給我這些體會和託付。
雖然不斷面對不同的發展及挑戰,但很感恩,神藉著豐榮團契在柬埔寨事工的開拓和扎根,讓我看見祂的憐憫和公義,並學習耶稣有謙卑的心。