Cambodian Comrades for Christ

July 2009 Cambodia Mission Trip - Update #1

Greetings to our family, friends, Cambodian supporters and those praying for us.

As you probably know, we have a small mission team:  a high school senior (Elisa Eidson), sophomore (my daughter Morgan Hamrick), a 2009 high school graduate (Brooke Sinclair) and myself.  Although we are small in number and not officially trained or schooled in what we will be doing, I believe the Lord will use us in extraordinary ways to make a difference for His Kingdom like He did a couple centuries ago with a bunch of fishermen and ordinary people.  The idea of taking this team can only be explained by God working through the circumstances of each of our lives to draw us together at the right time, at the right place with the same passion for the lost, unloved, orphaned, abuse and mistreated people of Cambodia.  We are going to love the unloved, give hope to those without Christ, be a father and sister to orphans, provide for the physical needs of those hurting and find ways to join the war against those who are trafficking young women and men for slavery and sex.

Over the last several years, I have been returning to Cambodia to continue to build new relationships and strengthening old ones.  The relationships are very important and they are built as a result of the love we freely give by caring for the poor, sick, homeless, starving and those without the hope of Jesus Christ in a country that has been through genocide and worse. The Cambodian people are trying to climb out of poverty and regain hope of a better life for them and their children. They are spiritually bankrupt as 95% of the country worships statues of wood and tries to find hope, peace and inner harmony through Buddhism. It just is not working. One newly converted Cambodian I talked to said, “I became a Christian because I saw first-hand how Christians love, by the way they serve and give, give, give. The Buddhist religion in my country just knows how to take, take, take with no regard for my welfare or spiritual life. I now know that I have a hope that can never be taken away.”

  In order for you to pray more specifically and know where we will be at any given time, below I have listed our itinerary.  This is our current schedule but we are going to be totally open and willing to change if we feel the Holy Spirit moving us in a different direction.

The first four days are travel and physical and cultural acclimation:

Wed July  08:  Leave Denver, CO for Seattle, WA, 8:15 pm
Thu  July  09:  Leave Seattle for Taiwan, 2:10 am
Fri   July 10:    Leave  Taiwan for Phnom Penh, 9:10 am
Fri   July 10:   Arrive in Phnom Penh at 11:35 am
Fri   July 10:  Rest and Dinner

Sat  July 11:   Cultural sights of interest

Sunday July 12 will be spent at Open Gate Fellowship Christian Church in Phnom Penh.  I have partnered with this Church the last two years.  The evening will be spent meeting for dinner with a Lutheran Church mission team from North Carolina.

Mon July 13-15:  Battambang (NW Cambodia)

We will be visiting a special Christian ministry.  We would like very much to partner with them in their work.  Wed afternoon we will leave for the Child Rescue Orphanage 

Wed July 15-17:  Child Rescue in Krang Lovea  (near Kampong Chhnang on the map)

We will spend time loving the orphans and having fun with them.  We will cook them a few meals and incorporate Bible lessons with activities like a slide show of pictures from last year, Bible jeopardy, board games and a "girly" night where the girls will show them hairstyles, nail painting, etc.  We will also see if there are any other problems or needs to be taken that the kids have.

Fri July 17 we will say our goodbyes and head back to Phnom Penh.

Sat July 18-19 we will head down to Svay Rieng (SE corner of Cambodia on the map, 10 miles from Vietnam).  We will be visiting and delivering clothes, supplies and financial support to three orphan families that Child Rescue supports.  This area is very poor and considered third-world.  We help these families survive in their rough conditions.

Mon July 20:  Rest day and shopping

Tue July 21:  Visit and tour International Justice Mission (IJM) to see how we can possibly partner with them to stop all the injustices in Cambodia.

Wed July 22 - Say Good-Byes and leave Phnom Penh at 12:45 PM

Arrive home 10:45 pm on July 22.  We get to live the same day twice.

Thanks for checking in on our blog.  Most of the messages will not be this long when we are sending them out from Cambodia but more of a brief update of what the Lord is accomplishing through us.  Keep praying for us!

Humbled to be serving the Lord in Cambodia,

Joe Hamrick

July 2009 Cambodian Mission Trip - Update #3

    We all made it to Taiwan in one piece, safe and sound.  It is 6:20 am here on July 10th which means that it is about 5 pm on July 9th in Denver.  We are waiting for our flight to Phnom Penh.  Will update from Cambodia.  So far everything is on schedule.  Keep praying!

July 2009 Cambodia Mission Trip - Update #2

Greeting to all my Cambodian Comrades!

  We are only three days from leaving.  Our feet leave the ground for 18 hrs of flying at 8:15 pm this Wed, July 8th.  I have seen a definite parallel with our team and the group that God sent out under Gideon's leadership in Judges 7.  What we hold in common is that we are both a small group of ordinary people and, like them, we are determined to follow God's leading and humble enough to know that anything our small team accomplishes can only be credited to the Lord.  We know that we cannot boast in our own accomplishments because we have faith that God will be at work and we will just be the vessels he uses to fulfill His purposes.

 We will have a full schedule and a lot to do (see Update #1).  Of course we will be providing for the physical needs of the orphans and families we support as we always do.  However, with a smaller team I think we can be more effective in spreading the love of Jesus and pointing them to the Kingdom of God. We have a lot of donated flip-flops, shirts, shoes and toiletries and plan on meeting needs on the street as the Spirit leads us.

I just did some research last night and found that in 2009 there are 15 million souls without God and without hope in Cambodia.  95% are Buddhist, 2% are Muslim and only 1% know Jesus.  Why does this matter and why does this bother me?  Let me explain.  There are already many non-profits, NGO's and programs in Cambodia to help stop the injustice, corruption, and human trafficking in this country.  They are attacking the abuse and trade.  They are doing great work and I commend them.  However, I personally feel God is calling me to help change the Khmer spiritual culture; not their heritage, nor their historical culture which is distinct from mine and needs to be preserved, but their souls and spiritual roots which we share as adopted brothers/sisters of the same Father in heaven.

  At the most fundamental level, I believe if souls are changed for Jesus Christ in SE Asia the human trafficking, injustices and abuse will dramatically decrease and slowly disappear.  And, justice will flow more freely because a heart sincerely given over to Jesus will not rest until these atrocities are put to a stop,  repentance and restitution invoked and the perpetrators punished for their misdeeds.  So, in my thinking, the focus has to be on the spiritual transformation of Cambodian souls to Jesus and his Truth.  I see this as the only way. (1 John 5:18-19)

Please pray for our safety and health on this trip.  We want to minister to the people and do not want to waste precious time recovering from an illness.  Pray that we can exhibit wisdom and guidance in all we do and that we keep the LORD by our side and practice His presence at all times.  Pray that we can exude love from every gland of our body even when we are tired and exhausted in our busy schedule.

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support.  The next entry will be from Cambodia.

Humbled to be serving with these faithful and passionate young adults,

Joe Hamrick

Brooke Sinclair, Joe Hamrick, Morgan Hamrick, Elisa Eidson