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Challenge.02
Google Cambodia. Do some research on its history, politics, current events, religious and spiritual background.Write a note of encouragement and/or commit to praying daily for the GrX Cambodia team that will be serving at orphanage sites from June 20-30. Please submit these notes to your small group leaders or church staff by June 15th to pass on to the team.

Response.01 - Sanjay J.

As I read through some background material about Cambodia, I was really struck by the abject poverty and desolation that envelopes the country. Most of the country lives in abject poverty; injustice, oppression and disease abounds along with a variety of other social problems. The images of the country were also heart wrenching -- children scavenging the neighborhood dump and shacks that could barely pass for a place of residence. This is in such radical contrast to the place where I stay, work, and go through my daily life. The comparative comfort of my life has in some sense isolated and removed me from the reality that most people face in the rest of the world.

America is the land of opportunity where a person can work hard and be guaranteed of some level of success. Most of its residents don't have to worry about the basic elements of life including food, shelter, and clothing. Researching Cambodia reminded me that this is actually not the rule but an exception in today's world. I find it really unfair that children born into poverty in a third world nation like Cambodia, don't have much opportunity or hope for a better life.

Cambodia is currently one of the poorest third world nations in the world. However, I surprisingly found that this was not always the case. In fact, Cambodia used to be an advanced civilization in the first millennium. It still boasts such wonders and tourist attractions as the world famous temple Angkor Wat. The country in its current form is recovering from decades of warfare, violence and civil war starting around the 1970s. It wasn't until the early 1990s that a peace settlement was reached. I was shocked by the extent of violence inflicted upon the country during this period. The genocidal Khmer Rouge which ruled from 1975, abolished education, health-care, currency, and as a result, Cambodia regressed by at least a couple centuries compared to its neighbors. The Rouge also executed 2 million of the country's professionals, intellectuals and educated wiping out a generation of learning. This genocide was conducted mercilessly and some sites like the 'Killing Fields' still live on in notoriety. Though the Rouge were extinguished, their legacy lives on and Cambodia is still the most heavily land mined country in the world. The Rouge's backward practices have made Cambodia rife with HIV, AIDS and Tuberculosis.

I found it really surprising that these atrocities occurred so recently. I am angered by the fact that a country and its future can be affected so drastically by a rebel group -- their actions have resulted in the desolation of a country and its citizens and it will take many decades before some semblance of normalcy is restored.

However, amidst this background in a country which is less than 2% Christian, I'm really excited that GRX has the opportunity to be of some impact in helping its restoration. Just as the commitment of the Samaritan, it's pretty amazing that we've already sent multiple mission trips to the country over the past 2 years. The team from Fremont that is leaving for Cambodia in the next couple weeks will have the opportunity to help setup an orphanage funded by GRX. Since children are the future of any developing nation, I think it's really a God given opportunity to minister and to affect the lives of the children in the orphanage. Though the history of Cambodia is quite shocking, its encouraging that we can help with its restoration through prayer and support of the missions trip. I was also reminded of James 1:27 - "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress."

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