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To anyone who has been following this blog or is interested in reading posts from other mission teams, we've created a dedicated blog for every mission team.

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Thanks!

Hope Center Orphanage Dedication Battambang Cambodia

This music video was filmed on Saturday during the Dedication of Hope Center in Battambang Cambodia. Special thanks to the people of Celebration Church whose contributions make projects like this possible!

Some final thoughts from the team

As our last post, the team would like to share some of the highlights from the trip. Each team member answered the following questions.

1. Describe the funniest moment of the trip.
2. What was the most impacting experience for you?
3. How were you challenged during the trip?
4. What is the one piece of advice you would give to future mission teams?

Brooks Decker

1. At the restaurant we ate most of our meals at, anytime you asked for something, they told you yes, went to get it, and never came back.
2. Seeing a country of people so different than us worship and praise the same God we do with just as much passion and conviction.
3. I was challenged by God more than circumstances. I came expecting certain things from Him, but learned quickly my expectations weren't what God planned for me in Cambodia.
4. Don't go expecting anything in particular from God or anyone else. Have an open heart and mind and a willingness to except and be blessed by whatever comes your way.

Tracy Litzer

1. Watching everyone inhale their McDonald's food as if they hadn't had real food in a week or so. Also listening to the translators attempt to use slang. ;)
2. Worship with the Khmer band and spending time at the orphanage and Rapha House.
   
3. The challenge for me was to do what I could for God to bless the Cambodian people without feeling like there was "so much more" that I could be or should be doing. Also sweating all the time.
   
4. Be open to God, flexible, work as a family and watch God move.

Jenny Huang

1. Having our entire team be asked to sing our worship songs to attendees at a local Cambodian church we visited. Never thought I'd be part of the choir!
2. Gazing into the eyes of a four year old girl at the Rapha House, a program for victims of sex trafficking and sexual abuse. If you saw the joy and innocence in her eyes, you would never know how much pain she has experienced.
3. Syncing up completely with the time zone difference, especially during daytime hours.
4. Pray for revelation of God's heart for the country's people and sensitivity to His presence.

Terry Turner

1. Rooming with John Brooks.
2. It took Vatanak (one of our translators) half a weeks pay to eat with us at Burger Place. A 4 year old at Rapha House. Praying over Cambodians in English.
3. Rooming with John Brooks. Wanting to help everyone but only being able to help a few.
4. Practice trying to make your heart bigger before you go, you'll need it.

Samantha Ziesk

1. Teaching the translators American slang. "We tight!"
   
2. The second night of the festival when everything went perfectly!
3. It was hard to get the courage to sing in front of 3000-5000 people.
   
4. Always wear your passport.

Dean Gilliland

1. "If it isn't big enough to kill you, it is probably on the menu." This was a quote from Sopoan (one of our interpreters) describing Cambodian cuisine.
   
2. Getting to know the interpreters. Oops, actually God broke my heart at the orphanage. I have several. Can I have another sheet?
3. Changing gears. Changing my mode of operation in order to maximize the impact of the ministry.
4. Pray for the leaders and those in authority in the nations you visit.

Trevor Olesiak

1. Walking by the nail parlor and seeing John Brooks getting a manicure.
   
2. Being a part of worship on the last day of the festival.
3. Patience and flexibility.
   
4. If you don't physically put your bag on the bus, it's not there. A lesson I had to learn the hard way.
   

Chelsey Jones

1. Seeing a girl on a moped with an IV in her arm.
2. Getting to pray for people at the festival.
3. Being flexible with the hotels. Some were better than others. ;)
   
4. Take lots of clothes and be prepared to change during the day.

Robert O'Gorman

1. For four days in a row, we ate chicken fried rice and pizza for both lunch and dinner.
   
2. Seeing the girls at the Rapha House and getting a feel for where they've been and where they are now.
   
3. Trying to stay focused and have fun.
4. Don't think, just do it (no matter what Pastor Mike says).
   

Jay Callicott

1. Watching Lance (from Healing Place Church) eat a cricket. Also "chicken fried rice and pizza anyone?"
2. Looking out from the drum cage and seeing smiling faces and the hope in their eyes during worship.
3. Definitely patience and endurance.
4. Be flexible, prepared, and stay focused on the main reason you are there . . . God!

John Brooks

1. Rooming with Terry Turner. Period!
2. Being brought into the presence of God in another language.
3. Patience and serving others.
4. Be flexible. Bring extra clothes. Expect great things!

Dougie Fowler

1. Trying to do a sound check and not one person running sound spoke English, let alone knew how to run sound. It was ridiculous and hilarious.
2. Seeing all those children at the orphanage and bringing a smile to their face.
3. The food and our hotel rooms at first, but it turned out good thanks to the hospitality suite (aka John Brooks' and Terry Turner's room).
   
4. Just get ready to definitely not be in your "comfort zone."

Kassie Fowler

1. Watching our team look like hyper 5 year olds when we got a McDonald's breakfast during our last layover in Singapore. Never thought I'd be so happy to see a McDonald's.
   
2. Ministering in a country that has been through so much and continues to face challenges we never will was one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had. Their servant hearts and sweet faces are forever imprinted in my mind and heart.
   
3. Choosing to believe that God will use you even when you feel like you have nothing to offer.
   
4. GO FOR IT! Live BIG with Jesus and learn to love people and see them the way He does.
   

Alex Tran

1. Our tour guide in Singapore was a trip. Among the many funny things he said, one was "I was manufactured here" when we asked him where he was from.
   
2. Realizing and believing that God can change the country of Cambodia. This was after seeing thousands of Cambodians worshiping God in a Buddhist country and knowing hundred (if not thousands) of them experienced Him for the first time.
3. Not being able to communicate with people in their native language. There are only so many translators.
   
4. Journal during the trip and reflect on what God is doing both through you and in you. The experiences you have on the mission field are extremely precious and you don't want to forget them.
   

There is hope . . .

Thirty years ago, the Khmer Rouge wiped out an entire generation of Cambodians. Today, we see God raising up a new generation.

Below you will be able to meet and read the testimonies of some of the translators who helped us along the way. They are a generation who love God and want nothing more than to be used by him.

We feel privileged to be able to introduce you to . . .

Keo Sopoan (18)
Eight years ago I was taken to a Christian orphanage where I was brought to church and taught the Bible. I had a bad life as a kid and was very bitter. My mom was in the hospital and we couldn't pay the bill, so the hospital let my mom die. I stole a lot and people tried to kill me. They stole my land and my house and I became a street kid.

I thought all people did bad stuff to people, but God set me free. I began to understand God in bad situations. I prayed and read the Bible and learned God does good for those who love him.

Vatanak Vong
I studied English at a private high school and was very interested in learning more. A friend introduced me to a place that taught English for free. This was at New Life Fellowship.

One day while studying the Bible in English, the teachers shared their testimony and I saw their joy. I wanted to be like them, so I started coming to church. I received Christ and was baptized either in 2004 or 2005.

I saw many miracles. One of them was when I was translating for a guy from Texas. At the time, my faith was not strong.

There was a 60 year old who had been in the hospital for 20 years because of swollen feet. God led us to his room and we shared to him about God and told him that we believed God wanted him to be healed. We were going to come twice a week to pray for him, but it only took one week before the swelling went down and he was completely healed. Afterwards, he was able to leave the hospital and go to his homeland.

Bun Na (25)
I lived with my aunt in Phnom Penh while I tried to find a job. My aunt was a Christian and sent me to New Life Fellowship in Phnom Penh to study English. At New Life, I also heard about the Gospel and accepted Jesus six years ago.

Seng Ehud (18)
In 1999, an American missionary named Mary came to our home. I was an orphan at the time. After talking with my brother and aunt for three months, they allowed me to go to a Christian orphanage. That's where I learned about God and read the Bible. I didn't understand what I was reading until four years ago. Then a year later I accepted Jesus and was baptized.

Paneth Kim (20)
My cousin told me about Jesus in 2003. I didn't believe him, but two or three weeks later I became a Christian. My cousin did a small group in the village to make him strong, so I went to New Life to become stronger for Jesus. Eventually I became a worship, children's, and small group leader.

Dong Hang (19)
An American missionary came in 2003 to teach the Bible. Back then I was Buddhist, but I studied the Bible and understood it. I prayed Jesus into my heart and felt him. I knew it was different. I had joy. It's been 2.5 years since then.

Leaving on a jet plane . . .

Hi everyone! The team finds itself in Singapore today. We've got a little bit of time to kill before we head off to the airport, so we're about to take a little tour of the island.

This will probably be the last post until we return to Jacksonville, but be sure you check back this weekend. We'd like to introduce you to some people and give you some final thoughts on the trip.

In the meantime, we'd like to share a bunch of pictures from Phnom Penh. Some from around the city, the Genocide Museum, and a tour of the Killing Fields.

Note: There are some graphic images from the Genocide Museum.

On a brighter note, the team is coming home and God totally accomplished His purpose with this first leg of Hope Cambodia (our team was the first of three).

Romans 8:21 (NLT)
But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will
join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.

The team looks forward to the day when we will join generations of Cambodian's with Jesus in Heaven.

God is Good!

That is the word of encouragement that I gave the girls at the home for the sex slave trade victims yesterday morning in church. I told them that with God all things are possible, the healing, the love that they are recieving from their pastor and the foundations that are helping them and their future.

It was a God thing that I was even in the church with them. The night before at the festival, the pastor came up to me along with a psychologist from California and invited me to come to their church. When the pastor told me about the work they are doing with the girls I knew I had to go. Tracy went with me and we were so blessed to see the transformation that God has done in the lives of the girls. You look at them and their eyes sparkle and you receive a big smile.

The pastor shared with me that when they first receive the girls that it takes months to get the girls to have any trust in them because of all of the abuse they have received.

The girls range in age from 4 years old! Yes, 4 (as hard as it is to believe) to 18 years old. It is a long process to get the girls legally, but God is working because they are getting them in a Buddhist run country to come into a Christian run organization.

You can feel the love of Christ working in these girls. The girls are not forced to go to church but about 80% of them do get saved!

The home is a total transformation center for the girls. They work on the heart first to repair scars with the love of Christ! They start them in sewing classes, move them to hand sewing machines and then into other skills so they can get jobs when they leave the center.

God is doing a wonderful work at this center!

I have so many encounters on this trip meeting people that have put me in places that I feel God wants me to be! God is alive and working in Cambodia! We need to continue to pray and share his work. All hopped up for Jesus.

Bwana John Bryan

Team Celebration

What an incredible privilege I have been given to lead this team of ambassadors for Jesus. This group has been the definition of the word team in every sense of the word. Travelling with a group of nearly 50 people in a provincial town of Cambodia can present (shall we say) some "challenges." The simple act of eating lunch can sometimes turn into quite an order. Patience and flexibility are the order of the day in everything we do while still maintaining a smile, a handshake or a hug for everyone we see. Of course there is also perfecting the ability to return the traditional Cambodian greeting we get from everyone - palms together in front of the chest and under the chin accompanied with a slight bow towards the other person.

Oh and did I mention the heat? This time of year is considered the rainy season, cooler than what they call their "hot season!" One would think that a team coming from Florida in July should be ready for anything. Nope, not a chance. Seems like from the time you arrive in Cambodia one begins to sweat and from there on out it is a fact of life. A/C is not a common thing and just because you find it doesn't mean it works well, if at all. The hotel is air conditioned, however, they actually shut off the power to your room when you are not there. You are required to stop at the front desk to have the power turned back on upon your return. Welcome to the mission field!!

In spite of these difficulties our team has shown that none of these creature comforts really matter. What really matters is that we are here to offer hope to these precious people who are still reeling from the atrocities inflicted upon them nearly 30 years ago. Hope Cambodia - the name says it all. We are all incredibly blessed by God to be able to partner with Him in bringing the hope that is in the love of Jesus. The Celebration Team has exemplified that love in every step of the way on this journey. I am honored to lead this team on their way to discovering that God can and will show up in incredible ways when we are willing to say "yes Lord, send me." I am so proud of each and every one of them who have given up their time, their finances and family time to put their life on hold and step out of their comfort zone to bring Jesus to the people of Cambodia. We are truly God's hands and feet while we are on this earth.

Thank you Team Celebration. I am truly blessed by God to be your leader.

Mike Pier