I am awake and I am here listening to the sounds of the city waking up...I am an early riser and its about 5 am ...the motorbikes sound louder early in the morning ..the steel gates are being opened to the guest houses....it is very quiet though ...the odd sound seems to be that much more noticeable in the silence...the dog barking ....the cat meowing.....maybe this is why we need to find that quiet place like Jesus does to go and pray to our Father......to hear that still small voice......His voice is heard loudest in the silence.
Where do the people find that quiet spot in this city....How can they hear God above the noises of there stomachs rumbling from hunger?How can they hear his voice above the cacophony of sounds, motorbikes,vendors hawking there wares,whistles,trucks blasting there horns,the beep beep of the scooters ,kids laughing and playing,construction and the population.
Maybe the quiet of the pre-dawn????.....or is that the only time that sheer exhaustion of barely surviving another day takes it toll and a few moments of sleep happen....Does God only have dreams to speak to His children in poverty.
Is it our gift from God to help His children realize their dreams...their potential ....their plan and purpose?
Are we supposed to come alongside those He puts in our path and help them take those dreams and turn them into reality?Are we supposed to help them see the gifts God has provided them.
I know in the DTES most people have lost their dreams,their hope ,for some they might never have had it.What does a life growing up barely surviving whether here in Cambodia or the DTES offer for hope?
How can you lose hope when you might not have even had it?
God help me see the visions you have planted in their heads .
God help me see your plan for their lives.God help me come alongside them in encouragement.
God help me see beyond their poverty.
God help me have the same perseverence of the poverty stricken.
God help me break through cultural and language barriers
,God help me share your love.
God help me share You.
God help me
God help us
God .......thank-you for realizing my vision ,my dreams.
Thank-you for giving me hope in a hopeless situation.
Thank-you for letting me see my potential in You.
Thank-you for giving me this heart.
God help me
Amen
Monday, June 13, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
May Newsletter
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| Labour march - Phnom Pehn, May 1, 2011 |
Well another month has quickly passed but it was filled with with experiences and opportunities to in engaging with the people God has called me to serve.
The first of the month was International Labour Day and having heard one of the union leaders speak at our Christian Justice Group of the hardships of the garment workers and the conditions and miserable wages they endure it was my honour to stand alongside them as they marched in Phnom Penh. Click here to see photos.
I have been in many labour day marches as I was a union member in Canada as a member of the pipe and steamfitters union in Toronto but standing alongside these workers as I knew the risks they were taking in speaking up against the injustices in their workplace was definitely moving. Over 5000 workers turned out and they marched down the waterfront to the ministers building seeking an end to an ngo law coming into affect to stifle the voice of the people and for fair wages in the workplace.
The response to last months newsletter was awesome….it is titled “Shelter in the rain” on my blog at kevinincambodia.blogspot.com….what started out as a request for 70 tarps for the eviction community at Oudong village turned out to be 110 tarps that were installed before the heavy rain the weekend after.
God provided many people for this outreach approx 60 people as you can see by the pictures attached and it was a moving day for all involved. Many of the youth were Cambodian about 90% of them with the rest being a multi-cultural crew from Logos a local Christian school. The majority of the people involved were unaware of the plight of their fellow countrymen and the atrocities that had been perpetrated to them. The education of the workers turned into sympathy then empathy and then to love for the the community as they worked together with the community side by side to alleviate a small amount of the suffering in this community.
We were also able to share about God’s upside down Kingdom and that they were first in the eyes of God and that he loved there community and this was just a small way to show that love by the relationships being built by these students with the community.
I would be remiss if I didn’t thank all of you who supported this endeavour in prayer and by financial commitment. Rest assured you have helped many families this rainy season and I pray that that will help them in less illness also this season.
Leakena and I are praying about moving out to this community after we are married jan 28th 2012 so if you could keep this in your prayers it would be appreciated.
Some of you who supported this outreach were wondering what more we could do or if tin roofs were an option. Some of the structures could not support tin roofs and would need more structural work before that is possible and some of the huts would have to be totally ripped down and rebuilt. I am in a process this month of doing a proper survey of the community and rating the needs and priorities of this community. There is a major amount of work involved in housing needed and I am working with other NGO’s in determining who is doing what out there and when and trying to co-ordinate our efforts.I am in a group of approx 13 other groups administering help to this community in different aspects such as health,education,gender training,sewage, water etc.
At the end of July with the help of my friend Dennis a builder from Australia we will be building 6 homes for the most needy with the labour being supplied by the community. These homes are approximately $400 dollars per home. Dennis will be supplying the funds for the first 6 homes and will then go home and raise funds for more homes. I will keep you updated on opportunities to help in future updates.
I am now in Thailand again for another operation and appreciate all your prayers and well wishes. I had my surgery yesterday and am feeling fine. I should be back home in Cambodia next Thursday or Friday.
It has been a busy month and I look forward to our continued journey together in sharing Christ with the poor here in Cambodia.
God bless
Kevin Knight
P.s. Looking forward to meeting up with Tenth Avenue team when they are her e in July
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