Education in Cambodia

Public School in Cambodia is Different than in the USA
While there are many things that are different between going to public school in the US and Cambodia, there are a couple things that really caught our attention. I'll write about those in a second, but I have to mention that I am constantly learning new information, typically from people who don't speak English fluently, so sometimes the info has to be adjusted as we go along.
First, the school schedule is different. Here, there are two sessions per day, and children attend one of the two - either 7am-11am or 1pm-5pm. Classes are held 6 days per week, Monday thru Saturday. During the time of the day a child is not in school, they sometimes attend tutoring classes with a teacher, or they might be working. That includes small children who might be working. Sometimes children attend supplemental classes, for example to learn English. The school we are supporting provides supplemental classes in English, computers, art and dance.
The second difference has to do with cost. Though public schools in Cambodia are "free" to attend, it actually is required that children pay to attend. This is required because the teacher’s salaries are abysmal so the only way they can survive is to collect additional money. It might cost 12.5-25 cents per class for younger kids and more for older kids. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for a poor family living on $50 per month. 25 cents per day times 6 days per week for four weeks is $6. If you have three kids that's $18. A big chunk of your take home pay.
Considering the reason for the extra charge it wouldn't seem so bad except for what the consequences are of not paying this daily "tuition" fee. The typical teacher, from what I've been told, will treat the non-paying students differently in class; ignored basically. And even worse, if a child has not paid, any tests they take result in bad grades, even if they are the smartest person in the class.
The director of the school we support told us a story today from his childhood. He was told by his teacher that when they have the next big test, it will be necessary for each student to bring in a present. His family was poor, and could not afford anything more for school, so for a couple months he saved up what he could. He knew he didn't have enough money to buy the kind of gift his teacher would want, so he bought a less expensive present. When the time came to give the present to the teacher, he handed it her, she looked at it, and then pushed it back at him and told him to bring it home. This was a situation he has not forgotten about.
The whole "paying off" the teacher thing does well in educating the students about bribery, which is really unfortunate.

Please keep pray for Cambodia...

        

         By the grace of God:

I will no longer turn a blind eye to the harsh brutalities and injustices inflicted on the most vulnerable of humans.

I will not allow another poor, desperate, lonely,

orphaned child live and die not knowing that there

is a God who loves them.

I will not stand idly by while another child is taken from her mother, sold into slavery, trafficked on the streets, or abused in a sweat shop.

I will show my love to these precious children in tangible, practical ways;

I WILL GIVE!

I WILL GO!

I WILL TELL THE WORLD!

Three lesson about love

Lesson: 1
Bonjour,
         Don't be negative like. I have many things to teach you about love and life. Actually you know what you know but you ignore what you don't know. Of course !
About first love, it is the best of love because it gives to discover the part of yourself and the part of the other one. It could be dangerous as a fire. Love is fire. The best and the worst. Do you understand the danger? When you control the fire, as for cooking or for spacial cabin, it is the fantastic mean to arrive to use the most powerful instrument. If you loose control, it could be the fire of the hous or the forest, the worst.
Have a good day!
By: Mr.Jean

 

 

Lesson: 2

Good start for French Student,
           Yes, the word "coup de foudre" give you similarity with the fire. The coup de foudre with the thunder and the lights in the sky, all are fire !
L'amour is the same.
How to get is not the best question. How to keep it, is better, for love. To be happy one day is almost easy. More ? - more is more difficult.
If you want to get it, take time to find harmony. Two creatures are "not same", they need to evolute on the same direction, or on the same way, to approach themselves, so near than the Harmony could born and give happiness to them.
If you want to keep it, don't become a problem for who you love. Try to understand and to be patient, try to live in the shadow before to get sometime a ray of sun ,and one day, the full sun. But, you know as me, The sun is also fire. Be careful. Don't run with discordance, not too far, not to near, not to fast, not to slow...
As you cook...
And cook for what ? And love for what ? Yes, what do need . What do dream ? What do you want ? And the partner ? What ?

Don't forget also : to cook goal is to enjoy to eat. When you finish to eat, you become hungry again. As a sickness. Need again. Never satisfy. You love and love again, between are the doubts, the resignation, the efforts, as a battle, some steps of happiness, for the success. Nothing is never completely done.

Do you believe your special teacher of love - second lesson ?

By: Mr.Jean

 

 

Lesson: 3  
Take care about the first love.
Love is fantastic but it is a sweet cake can give sickness to the heart. As the cake you eat too much. and if the cake is hot, old, not kept safe in the tutako, it is lore dangerous. More the cream is sweet, more is dangerous for health if hot, and if ... waiting too long time to satisfy your "penchant" !   (good for you !)
Love is a little as a cake.
Speciallly first love when you are so hungry of love.
First love of course is new, pure, young, hopeful, strong and à nice tender.
First love could be the best love in the life and in any cas you remmeber always the first But what is rare is also fragil. The battle between "strong" and "fragil" is both the problem and the solution of the first love. Take care of it. Strong against fragil. look where is strong and where is fragil. And walk sure between them.
Youngness is a best way to create. and create the first love is waiting short time or long time... About that way, is the quality of the chances to win to find harmony with some one.                                                                                                           Mr.Jean
Be confident.
First love is always accomplished.

By: Mr.Jean

At lest 349 people killed in stampede and over 520 people got injured.

                                  Happy will become sad someday

(CNN) Copy to Richard -- A stampede that occurred during a festival in Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh has killed 339 people, officials said Monday.
Another 329 people were injured in the crush, said Philip Bader, a news editor with the Phnom Penh Post, citing information given by Prime Minister Hun Sen in a televised address.


              Visalsok Nou, a Cambodian Embassy official in Washington, said more than 4 million people were attending the Water Festival when the stampede occurred. But other reports put the number at 2 million., said Steve Finch, a journalist with the Phnom Penh Post.
              The municipal police chief said that the stampede, which began around 10 p.m. (10 a.m. ET), likely occurred because a suspension bridge packed with people began to sway, creating panic, said Bader, who cited reports of people jumping from the bridge into the river below.


          Finch said police began firing water cannon onto a bridge to an island in the center of a river in an effort to get them to continue moving across the bridge.
"That just caused complete and utter panic," he told CNN in a telephone interview. He said a number of people lost consciousness and fell into the water; some may have been electrocuted, he said. Finch cited witnesses as saying that the bridge was festooned with electric lights, which may have played a role in the electrocutions.
The government denied anyone was electrocuted.


        But a doctor who declined to be identified publicly said the main cause of death was suffocation and electrocution. Police were among the dead, Finch said.

Officers with the prime minister's security unit stood outside a hospital trying to help those arriving with injured people and to control the scene of chaos.
In one case at a hospital, relatives of a woman who had been confirmed dead discovered she still had a pulse and she was taken into the emergency room. It was not clear whether she survived,


Finch said.
Video of the scene showed hundreds of shoes, clothing and other personal items littering the streets, the bridge and the underlying water near where the festival took place.
Ambulances dropped off the injured at area hospitals and then sped away, video on Bayon Television showed.
Outside one hospital, doctors stood trying to direct traffic so that ambulances and vehicles carrying injured were able to get through.
Dozens of people could be seen laying on what appeared to be the waiting-room floor of a hospital. They were attached to intravenous lines connected to bags strung along wires suspended in the air.
The prime minister ordered an inquiry into the cause of the day's events and declared Wednesday a day of mourning.

The three-day festival, which began Saturday, is held each November near the palace to honor a victory by Cambodian naval forces during the 12th century reign of King Jayvarman VII, according to the country's tourism website.

During the festival, which includes boat races, participants pray for a good rice harvest, enough rain and to celebrate the full moon, the site says.

@@Four people of my classmate now stay at the hospital.
I and the boy who I helped is okay cos I put the boy on my shoulder and run very fast. But I feel bad cos I can not help my classmate..
Bad day..

Thank for reading. Good luck,

Richard

"In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love"

Why did God create human being and what is the purpose of life?

A friend asked this question a few days ago. It’s a big question, let’s discuss it together. I know I don’t have all the answers for it. I will just write out what I understand so far. 

Simply put, God created human beings out His love. And we are created to know God and to love God through loving each other.

This is the short version of the answer. Let’s elaborate a little more.

To understand the purpose of life, we first have to know the definition of human reality.

There may be many versions of the definition of human being. Here is the one I learned and also the one seems making sense to me:

“Having created the world and all that live and move therein, He…chose to confer upon man the unique distinction and capacity to know Him and to love Him -- a capacity that must needs be regarded as the generating impulse and the primary purpose underlying the whole of creation.... Upon the inmost reality of each and every created thing He hath shed the light of one of His names, and made it a recipient of the glory of one of His attributes. Upon the reality of man, however, He hath focused the radiance of all of His names and attributes, and made it a mirror of His own Self. Alone of all created things man hath been singled out for so great a favor, so enduring a bounty.”

So human beings and only human beings are endowed with this unique capacity to reflect all the attributes (virtues) of God. The development of this capacity not only constitutes the purpose of our own existence, but also is the purpose of the whole universe.

Yet, this development is not automatic.

“All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of your own volition.”

Effort is required from us in our development. Yet God didn’t just create us, throw us in this wilderness and let us do our own job. In order to help us to develop, God not only has formulated this physical world in a way that is best suitable for our development, but also has periodically sent His messengers in different ages and to different places to guide us. The only thing that we are required to do is to recognize God’s messenger for our time and follow the instructions He brought to us.

Simple, isn’t it? Really, it’s not that much if only the physical world does not present to us these many temptations!

"In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love"

Don't forget tomorrow

Cambodia Independence Cambodia's situation at the end of the war was chaotic. The Free French, under General Charles de Gaulle, were determined to recover Indochina, though they offered Cambodia and the other Inchochinese protectorates a carefully circumscribed measure of self-government. Convinced that they had a "civilizing mission," they envisioned Indochina's participation in a French Union of former colonies that shared the common experience of French culture. Neither the urban professional elites nor the common people, however, were attracted by this arrangement. For Cambodians of practically all walks of life, the brief period of independence, from March to October of 1945, was an invigorating breath of fresh air. The lassitude of the Khmer was a thing of the past.  In Phnom Penh, Sihanouk, acting as head of state, was placed in the extremely delicate position of negotiating with the French for full independence while trying to neutralize party politicians and supporters of the Khmer Issarak and Viet Minh who considered him a French collaborator. During the tumultuous period between 1946 and 1953, Sihanouk displayed the remarkable aptitude for political survival that sustained him before and after his fall from power in March 1970. The Khmer Issarak was an extremely heterogeneous guerrilla movement, operating in the border areas. The group included indigenous leftists, Vietnamese leftists, antimonarchical nationalists loyal to Son Ngoc Thanh, and plain bandits taking advantage of the chaos to terrorize villagers. Though their fortunes rose and fell during the immediate postwar period (a major blow was the overthrow of a friendly leftist government in Bangkok in 1947), by 1954 the Khmer Issarak operating with the Viet Minh by some estimates controlled as much as 50 percent of Cambodia's territory.  In 1946 the French allowed the Cambodians to form political parties and to hold elections for a Consultative Assembly that would advise the monarch on drafting the country's constitution. The two major parties were both headed by royal princes. The Democratic Party, led by Prince Sisowath Yuthevong, espoused immediate independence, democratic reforms, and parliamentary government. Its supporters were teachers, civil servants, politically active members of the Buddhist priesthood, and others whose opinions had been greatly influenced by the nationalistic appeals of Nagaravatta before it was closed down by the French in 1942. Many Democrats sympathized with the violent methods of the Khmer Issarak. The Liberal Party, led by Prince Norodom Norindeth, represented the interests of the old rural elites, including large landowners. They preferred continuing some form of the colonial relationship with France, and advocated gradual democratic reform. In the Consultative Assembly election held in September 1946, the Democrats won fifty out of sixty-seven seats. With a solid majority in the assembly, the Democrats drafted a constitution modeled on that of the French Fourth Republic. Power was concentrated in the hands of a popularly elected National Assembly. The king reluctantly proclaimed the new constitution on May 6, 1947. While it recognized him as the "spiritual head of the state," it reduced him to the status of a constitutional monarch, and it left unclear the extent to which he could play an active role in the politics of the nation. Sihanouk would turn this ambiguity to his advantage in later years, however.  In the December 1947 elections for the National Assembly, the Democrats again won a large majority. Despite this, dissension within the party was rampant. Its founder, Prince Yuthevong, had died and no clear leader had emerged to succeed him. During the period 1948 to 1949, the Democrats appeared united only in their opposition to legislation sponsored by the king or his appointees. A major issue was the king's receptivity to independence within the French Union, proposed in a draft treaty offered by the French in late 1948. Following dissolution of the National Assembly in September 1949, agreement on the pact was reached through an exchange of letters between King Sihanouk and the French government. It went into effect two months later, though National Assembly ratification of the treaty was never secured.  The treaty granted Cambodia what Sihanouk called "fifty percent independence": by it, the colonial relationship was formally ended, and the Cambodians were given control of most administrative functions. Cambodian armed forces were granted freedom of action within a self-governing autonomous zone comprising Batdambang and Siemreab provinces, which had been recovered from Thailand after World War II, but which the French, hard-pressed elsewhere, did not have the resources to control. Cambodia was still required to coordinate foreign policy matters with the High Council of the French Union, however, and France retained a significant measure of control over the judicial system, finances, and customs. Control of wartime military operations outside the autonomous zone remained in French hands. France was also permitted to maintain military bases on Cambodian territory. In 1950 Cambodia was accorded diplomatic recognition by the United States and by most noncommunist powers, but in Asia only Thailand and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) extended recognition. The Democrats won a majority in the second National Assembly election in September 1951, and they continued their policy of opposing the king on practically all fronts. In an effort to win greater popular approval, Sihanouk asked the French to release nationalist Son Ngoc Thanh from exile and to allow him to return to his country. He made a triumphant entry into Phnom Penh on October 29, 1951. It was not long, however, before he began demanding withdrawal of French troops from Cambodia. He reiterated this demand in early 1952 in Khmer Krok (Khmer Awake!) a weekly newspaper that he had founded. The newspaper was forced to cease publication in March, and Son Ngoc Thanh fled the capital with a few armed followers to join the Khmer Issarak. Branded alternately a communist and an agent of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by Sihanouk, he remained in exile until Lon Nol established the Khmer Republic in 1970. In June 1952, Sihanouk announced the dismissal of his cabinet, suspended the constitution, and assumed control of the government as prime minister. Then, without clear constitutional sanction, he dissolved the National Assembly and proclaimed martial law in January 1953. Sihanouk exercised direct rule for almost three years, from June 1952 until February 1955. After dissolution of the assembly, he created an Advisory Council to supplant the legislature and appointed his father, Norodom Suramarit, as regent. In March 1953, Sihanouk went to France. Ostensibly, he was traveling for his health; actually, he was mounting an intensive campaign to persuade the French to grant complete independence. The climate of opinion in Cambodia at the time was such that if he did not achieve full independence quickly, the people were likely to turn to Son Ngoc Thanh and the Khmer Issarak, who were fully committed to attaining that goal. At meetings with the French president and with other high officials, the French suggested that Sihanouk was unduly "alarmist" about internal political conditions. The French also made the thinly veiled threat that, if he continued to be uncooperative, they might replace him. The trip appeared to be a failure, but on his way home by way of the United States, Canada, and Japan, Sihanouk publicized Cambodia's plight in the media. To further dramatize his "royal crusade for independence," Sihanouk, declaring that he would not return until the French gave assurances that full independence would be granted, left Phnom Penh in June to go into self-imposed exile in Thailand. Unwelcome in Bangkok, he moved to his royal villa near the ruins of Angkor in Siemreab Province. Siemreab, part of the autonomous military zone established in 1949, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lon Nol, formerly a right-wing politician who was becoming a prominent, and in time would be an indispensable, Sihanouk ally within the military. From his Siemreab base, the king and Lon Nol contemplated plans for resistance if the French did not meet their terms. Sihanouk was making a high-stakes gamble, for the French could easily have replaced him with a more pliable monarch; however, the military situation was deteriorating throughout Indochina, and the French government, on July 3, 1953, declared itself ready to grant full independence to the three states of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. Sihanouk insisted on his own terms, which included full control of national defense, the police, the courts, and financial matters. The French yielded: the police and the judiciary were transferred to Cambodian control at the end of August, and in October the country assumed full command of its military forces. King Sihanouk, now a hero in the eyes of his people, returned to Phnom Penh in triumph, and independence day was celebrated on November 9, 1953. Control of residual matters affecting sovereignty, such as financial and budgetary affairs, passed to the new Cambodian state in 1954.

Two Keys to a Happy Marriage

       Almost every marriage starts out as a huge celebration. Together with their family and friends, each couple is full of hopes and dreams for their future life together. But the road to a happy marriage is far from easy. And as today’s divorce statistics demonstrate all too well, many couples opt not to complete the journey.

It would be easy to blame our high rate of marital failure on things like not spending enough quality time together, allowing bitterness and resentment to build in our hearts and failing to keep communication lines open. There’s no end to books, articles and seminars that tell you how to improve these and many other aspects of your relationship. But while quality time, forgiveness and communication are vitally important to creating a happy marriage, if such things aren’t happening, it’s usually a sign of a much deeper problem. And until this problem is addressed, no amount of external behavior modification will work.
To get a hint of what this deeper issue might be, let’s take a look at the following Scripture passage:



 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him [Jesus] with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:35-40)





I believe that virtually every marital problem can be traced back to one or both partners failing to abide by these two laws. The same is true of any relationship. The minute we begin to focus on our own wants and needs over those of God or our partner; we’re destined for trouble.
Experiencing communication problems in your marriage? How often do you really focus on listening to what your partner (or God) has to say instead of insisting on more airtime? Feeling bitterness and resentment growing toward your partner? When was the last time you brought him or her before the Lord in prayer and truly thanked God for your relationship? Struggling to find quality time together?

How about praying with your partner and asking God how he would like you to use your time?

As you begin to do these things, you’ll notice that your focus automatically starts to shift away from you and your desires and over to God and your partner. As a result, communication problems begin to improve, anger and resentment fade away and you naturally want to spend more time together. Of course, you can’t expect such changes to happen overnight. Your relationship is also bound to face financial pressures, childrearing issues and other problems that are beyond your control. But if you commit your relationship to God and make a conscious decision each day to put God and your partner first, your marriage will be able to weather any storm. Not only that; you’ll also have plenty of fun together along the way!
Have you struggled to find happiness in your marriage? Perhaps it’s time you and your spouse invited God to direct your relationship. If you would like to do so, we encourage you to pray the following:

 

"Dear God, thank you so much for bringing us together as a couple. We know that you have a plan and a purpose for our marriage, and we invite you to forgive the past self-centeredness, come into our lives and relationship and direct our steps from now on. Please give us the grace to put you and each other first every day. Make our relationship a blessing to others. But most of all; make it a blessing to you. Amen."

3 Ways to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse

I copy this lesson from http://jewishmoms.wordpress.com.

It's a good lesson for all the people. I love this lesson..  

Last week, a Nachlaot resident was arrested for molesting a large number of neighborhood boys over the course of several years. Like his young victims, this man was an Orthodox Jew. In the aftermath of this local nightmare, I decided to speak with our dear family friend Harabbanit Tami Samet, a senior psychologist in the Israeli school system, in order to learn what parents can do to protect their children from sexual predators.
The following are HaRabbanit Tami’s 3 main suggestions about how parents can keep their children safe:
Psychologist Tami Samet advises:

1. Do you know where your children are?
It is imperative that parents know where there children are every minute of the day. 
I know this isn’t easy. Many women have large families, and/or live in closed religious communities where the accepted norm is to let children play on their own. But from experience, I have seen again and again that the worst things can happen in the least expected places. Children have been molested in their front yard, in the lobby of their family’s building, in the playground next to their home, etc. And the people doing these terrible things are often the people you would least suspect.
Therefore, as a rule, young, pre-school-age children must never be allowed to play outside the home unsupervised. If your child is playing outside, and you need to go inside, you should appoint another trusted adult to be responsible for watching your child while you aren’t there
Careful adult supervision is especially important for young children since children under the age of 6 have notoriously poor judgment. A stranger could give a child candy, and then that child might think that she must do whatever the stranger tells her to do. We absolutely cannot trust such young children to make wise decisions in dangerous situations.
For children who are already school-age, while you don’t have to supervise them at all times, you must make sure that you know where they are at all times. Some children come home from school and inform their parents that they are leaving the house “To play with a friend until dinner.” As a parent, it is your responsibility to ask that child “Which friend are you visiting?” “Where will you be?” “Who else will be there?”
At times, living in a “safe” community such as a settlement or a religious neighborhood can in fact lead to a false sense of security and lack of supervision which could, G-d forbid, endanger our children. 

2. Bad People don’t Always Look Bad
In the religious community, we raise our children to respect adults. So if an adult looks religious, a child will generally assume that this is a good person that he or she can trust. We must teach our children that bad people don’t usually look like the evil characters in children’s books with a patch over one eye and a keffiyeh wrapped around their necks. In real life, we must teach our children that a bad person can also look like a good person or a religious person.
In general, we need to teach our children that dangerous things can happen, and that a bad person might try to seduce them G-d forbid, and that they need to be careful.
Parents must tell children explicitly that if another person asks them to do things that make them feel uncomfortable or that are forbidden, then they must say “No!” We need to teach our children that nobody is allowed to touch the private areas of their bodies, or any other area of their body without permission. 


 
3. Keep your Eyes Open
If your child is exhibiting unusual behavior, or comes home upset, you should check out what happened. There is no need to interrogate your child, but you should ask your child what happened or if something upsetting took place at school that day. And if your child tells you about something that sounds like sexually inappropriate behavior, you should definitely investigate the matter seriously.
May our increased awareness of the dangers of sexual abuse keep our children and all children everywhere safe!

Encouraging Our Children To Live Passionately

One of my hopes for my children is that they’ll live a passionate life, not settling for less just because they’re told they should or because the alternative seems too hard. But living passionately isn’t easy because it involves taking risks, putting yourself out there and being confident, even when you fail. I don’t think it’s something that can be taught or learned. Our best hope is to model and encourage it.
Although I’m not an expert in this area (and because my kids are young, I don’t have any proof that any of these methods work, just being honest), but here are the methods we’re using to inspire our girls to live passionate lives:

1. Let Them See Your Passion

A lot of “experts” talk about balance, which I think leaves many people discouraged and unhappy, to be honest. It’s okay for parents to have passions outside of our kids, and beyond being okay, I think it’s important that our kids see us excited and passionate about something other than them, even if it means sometimes they have to wait for our attention or help out around the house more.

2. Invite Them to Be Part of What Your Passionate About

In no way am I suggesting that you should force your children to share your interests, hobbies or passions, but let’s face it, kids like to be with their parents and would probably jump at the chance to participate with you in the things you’re excited about. Even if they don’t adopt those interests as their own, it’s still a good opportunity for them to see and participate in the things that get you excited.
For example, my husband loves to build and fly model airplanes, and even though our girls are too young to really participate, he invites them to watch, lets them “toss” his planes for him and answers all of their questions along the way.

3. Help Them Pursue Their Own Passions

Although I don’t have a ton of memories from my childhood, I distinctly remember being in elementary school and learning about animal classification. I decided then and there that I was going to be a zoologist, and I had a notebook filled with information about various animals. My parents indulged this love of animals and allowed me to hav e a variety of pets, including birds, an iguana, rabbits, a hamster who eventually had babies and so on.
Having a small pet store in your home isn’t the only way to engage your child’s love of animals, of course, and the important part is that you support their interests and help them find and outlet. You never know if one of your children might actually grow up to be a zoologist because of the foundation you laid during their childhood!

4. Give Them Lots of Opportunities to Try New Things

An important part of discovering what you’re passionate about is trying lots of new things. There could be a hobby, career or field of study out there that you don’t even know about that would capture your attention if you gave it a chance.

While lessons and hobbies can be expensive, trying new things doesn’t have to be. If you don’t have the money for your children to try a different hobby or sport every season, look for free opportunities. Visit the library and pick up all of the books they have on a single subject. Spend time video-hopping on YouTube for related videos. Scout thrift stores, Freecycle, Craigslist and yard sales for gently used equipment or supplies. And if you’re lucky enough to live near a metropolitan area like we do, take advantage of free museums and events.

How do you encourage your children to live passionately?

Post written by Zen Family Habits contributor Mandi from Life…Your Way.

 

I do not pray for success, I ask faithfulness.

New Life Fellowship Phnom Penh Thmey Churches, Cambodia

          

        Our church just baptized 41 new believers on the Sept. 18th. These believers have been added to cell groups for at least 3 months, gone through discipleship and membership classes and they got baptized by their cell group leaders. Praise and Glory be to God the Father.
By NLF: Pastor Sophea

Jesus said that his disciples would be baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) This means that a baptism candidate recognizes the authority of Jehovah God and of Jesus Christ. (Psalm 83:18; Matthew 28:18) He also recognizes the function and activity of God’s holy spirit, or active force.—Galatians 5:22, 23; 2 Peter 1:21.

           However, baptism is not a mere bath. It is a symbol of something very important. Going beneath the water symbolizes that you have died to your former life course. Being raised up out of the water indicates that you are now alive to do the will of God. Remember, too, that you have made a dedication to Jehovah God himself, not to a work, a cause, other humans, or an organization. Your dedication and baptism are the beginning of a very close friendship with God—an intimate relationship with him.—Psalm 25:14.

                   Baptism does not guarantee salvation. The apostle Paul wrote: “Keep working out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12)

 I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.

Looking at the next fruit of the spirit, we come to ‘faithfulness’, sometimes translated as simply faith, in the Message paraphrase it is listed as: “being involved in loyal commitments”.
Faith and faithfulness are qualities much admired throughout the Bible. Both Testaments are littered with stories of, and calls to demonstrate them:
Abraham faithfully follows God to a new land, making some pretty tricky decisions along the way; Moses discovers that faithfulness is one of God’s key characteristics; It is something rewarded; there are almost 50 references to it in the Psalms; Jesus tells parables to illustrate it’s importance, and criticises the religious leaders of his day for their failings in this area; John writes with almost childish excitement to Gaius, enthusing about his; and Paul commends Timothy to the Corinthians with praise of his faithfulness.
We asked ourselves what we consider the nature faithfulness to be, and here is a selection of our speculations:

• Faithfulness is demonstrated when we remain with something or someone we have made a commitment to.
• Some tenacity, discipline, commitment, and concious choice is needed for faithfulness to flourish.
• Faithfulness is something that grows, but in what way? Principally, it feels, faithfulness is something that grows by being put into practice, like the weight-lifters’ muscles, or the footballers’ silky skills.
• Faithfulness is something that has many facets to it.
• Loyalty and truthfulness are intimately connected with faithfulness.
• Rewards can motivate faithfulness, are maybe a key in many situations (Christians usually believe that they will receive a reward for faithfulness in some form or another).

God's Desire & Prayer & Difficulty & God Is Near

God Is Good All The Time

Every believer is called to live so in the power of the indwelling Spirit that he will not fulfill the lust of the flesh but will bear fruit to the glory of God.

God's Desire

1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service

I can see it is God's desire to enlarge my capacity for more spiritual understanding as I continue to endure greater amounts of suffering. I am not suppossed to be afraid. Yet through all of this I can also see that the Lord has a great amount of sympathy surrounding me to keep my heart soft, sensitive, tender, and true.

Prayer

We need to remember that our helper, our advocate, in our prayers is our Lord Jesus Christ. So if you feel you might be lacking the power of prayer, all you have to do is look to Christ.

And if you see the moment of victory approaching keep on fighting, keep on praying. Keep on trusting so the act of the Holy Spirit will bring blessings to you.

Difficulty

Genesis 18:14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD?

No nothing is too difficult when we believe in Him and go forward doing His will and letting Him do the impossible for us. Nothing is too impossible for our loving Father when we trust in Him.

God Is Near

The way that we are traveling, the path we are taking, how many of us have the feeling or the assurance that God is right there, right by our side, every step of the way.

Or is it that we are feeling that God is possibly the furthest away. We are being thrown into "the furnace that is heated to seven times more than it was usualy heated. (Dan. 3:19)

Maybe you can't feel it or you just don't know, but when you think and feel God could be the furthest away He is actually the closest to you.

Have the assurance that, yes, God is there with you walking down the path you are on. He lights your path. He directs your steps to where you need to go whether it's to the bitter taing waters of Marah or the sweet refreshing tasting waters of Elim. Wherever He leads you, Whatever he gives you or takes away remember to praise His name.

Hope in God. Trust in God. See God is in everything and near you always.

The Orphanages in Cambodia: No life without problems (About my real life)

The Orphanages in Cambodia: No life without problems (About my real life): " No life without problems A..."

No life without problems (About my real life)

No Life Without A Problem:

My Real Life

My name is Richard Orn and I am 17 years old. I am writing about my own life story. Even though I am only seventeen years old, for some people would think that I am thirty-nine years old because my facial appearance and my thoughts seem like a 39 years old man. I have a lot of sense of humors when it comes to making people laugh. Some think I am a funny boy and I often make people feel happy when I share about my experiences and my true life story with them. I was born in the center city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia and currently I still live there. On October 2010, I am a senior high school student and anticipating graduation year 2011. After high school, I really worry about going to a university.



Every night after school I commute to work on my beautiful bicycle at a small restaurant in Tolkok. I am a waiter. I often sleep there after I finish my work. Although I don’t have a home to go to and sleep, I have many places to stay such as the Orphanage dorm, work place, and my Uncle’s house. Sometimes I face many obstacles at my workplace, but I will try working hard to the best of my ability.



My mom lives far away from me and she got married to my so-called stepfather and together they have two children. My biological father left me when I was only twenty-days old. I was a lonely boy, but now I’m not any more because I have you near me and encourage me every time.



Well, the following will tell you some more about my lonely life and the truth of my life. I apologize in advance if my English is not grammatical. I am still learning and I don’t know how to write in good grammar. This story might not be interesting to you to read, but I hope it might help you to understand about my life which I experienced and face daily. Thank you so much for reading to the end. No life is free of problems.



Story start from 1992 till 2010



In 1992, my family had three people, including my mother, grandmother and uncle. They have lived in the same house located in the city of Phnom Penh. My grandfather and some of my other relatives had died during the Pol Pot’s regime. Nowadays some of my survival relatives live in Takeo province. They are farmers.



Everyday my grandmother goes to work at a bread factory near my house and my mother goes to work at the Clothes Shop. She cleans everything and then she starts to sell clothes with her friends at the shop. In November 1992 my uncle got married with a woman and then he left my family to live with his wife. Now there are only my mother and grandmother living in the house. Every morning my mom always gets up early to ride a motor taxi to go to work. In the clothes shop she had many customers and soldiers that came from another countries to buy clothes, hates and shoes, etc. Between 1991 and 1993 there were many foreign soldiers coming to Phnom Penh to work as peacekeepers during the National Election Day for Prime Minister of Cambodia.



While my mom was working there, one soldier from the United States of America came to buy clothes and then met my mother. This U.S. soldier fell in love with my mother and he kept coming to the shop. When he finished his duty in the evening, he came to meet my mom everyday. He rented a house near my house because he loved my mom. Nonetheless, my mom did not love him because she could not speak any English. She considered herself as a good Khmer woman who would not, traditionally, choose a husband without her mother’s arrangement or approval. However he kept coming to visit my mom and spoke a little Khmer language to her everyday. He said, “I love you” in Khmer. (I heard this from my grandma). It’s really fun when he spoke Khmer. Eventually my mom fell in love with this man. He is my biological father. At that point and time, both my father and mother lived together without getting married because they were very busy with their jobs. Two years later, my mom gave birth to me on May 20, 1993 and my dad named me Richard. He bought many things for my birthday. Unfortunately when I was twenty days old, my father left my mother because he had finished his tour of duty in Cambodia. Before he left Cambodia, he talked with my mom a lot. He said he loved my mom and the child. He promised that he would come back to Cambodia again when his son was 6 years old. Then he finally left Cambodia. My mom was very sad and hopeless. She thought the address and photos of my father were not important for her and she did not want to meet my father again. Hence, she cut and burnt my father’s address and photos which he left for her to communicate in the future. (Oh God... I think that’s a crazy idea).



In 1993 there were only three people in my family: my grandma and my mom and me. We were a poor family in Phnom Penh city, but we tried working hard to make a living. My grandma quit her job because she had a responsibility to taking care of me while mom was very busy with her job. Everyday my mom tried to earn some money to spend for our basic needs. I really love my mom…



In 1999 when I was 6 years old, my mom hoped and waited to see my father coming back because my dad had promised that he would come back to Cambodia again. He did not return to meet me and my mother. Oh my God… Why would my dad not want to meet me? Why would he want to leave me? Maybe he had a new wife in America and forgot my family. I still want to know and meet my father before I die one day. My mom was sorry that she cut and burnt the address book and photos of my dad. So right now I am an orphan that has no father. In October 1999 I started to study grade one at Sonturmok Primary school in Phnom Penh.



In 2000 my mom got married with one man that I never knew or met before. He became my stepfather and he started living with my family. I was seven years old and I knew everything around me what’s true and what’s right. I thought to myself that when I had a stepfather, he would make me feel happy and that I could live under his warm love like my real father. Nevertheless everything was opposite. He often did something bad and spoke bad words to me. Sometimes I was sad and I asked myself why he did something like this to me? Now I knew the reason why he did not love me was that he was not my biological father.



In 2002 my mom had baby boy with my stepfather and this boy was my step brother. He was a cute boy and I really loved him. Everyday no one brought me to school because my grandma had to go to work in a bread factory again and my mom and my stepfather were busy protecting their kids. Thus, I walked alone to school located in far distance and scared to cross a road. I was trying to find some friends that I hadn’t met to walk with me. I loved my friends at school but I didn’t like some people near my house because they always called me, “Richard you are half foreigner and half Khmer.” I was shy and I rarely went out side. Oh man!!



In 2003 I was ten years old and I studied grade 5th at primary school and I knew clearly about everything around me what was right and what was wrong. One day my stepfather and my mom decided to take me to live with my uncle because my stepfather said, “I don’t have much money to support you and so you would be better living with your uncle and help him work. Then you would get money for your education.” In my heart, I thought to myself that stepfather did not love me and wanted to get rid of me. I was in shocked and sad. Eventually he took me to my uncle’s house. I felt hopeless and asked myself why my mom would do this to me? I loved my grandma and I didn’t want to leave her. Before I left my family, my grandma told me, “take care yourself and don’t worry I will go to visit you sometime” and then we both cried. Oh God...



In 2004 I have lived with my uncle and I always helped him selling food at his restaurant. I was a waiter there. I worked from 6 to 11 p.m. every night. I was very tired, but I must try to work hard. If I didn’t work and helped him, I would not receive $25 a month. This salary was not enough for me to spend for food, study, and clothes and everything else. But I still worked with him because I didn’t know how to find another job. If I didn’t work with him, I would not have a place to stay at night. Therefore, I was still working with him. When I worked with him at the restaurant, I often had problems with the customers. They didn’t want to pay for their food and drinks when they were heavily intoxicated. Sometimes they were fighting each other and wanted to kill their friends with a gun. My friends and I were really scared. But we still worked there even though we faced with difficulties. This was my first job at the restaurant.



In 2006 I was fourteen years old. Everyday I went to high school and I never quit my study. In that time I didn’t know the English language but my friends who learnt with me knew English well. I wanted to be like them. I started studying English at a private English school and I paid $5 every month. I had studied at the English school for six months and then I stopped because I did not have money to pay for books. It was expensive. I told my uncle about my English school, but he told me that “you are so young so you can not study English.” I thought I was not young, but he didn’t want me to learn. Hence, I had to stop studying there. Every morning I rode my bicycle to high school (about four kilometer from my uncle’s house) and I studied grade 8 at high school. In my class I had one good friend, he was always encourages me and helped me when I didn’t understand questions. One day he told me that, “Richard I know one school that is free. Do you want to study there?” I said yes I wanted to. It’s a church. I started studying there until today and I found one thing good for my life. I became a Christian. I believed in God. I knew that some people in the world they didn’t like Christians, but I never hated them. I loved them the same. I knew that I was an ugly and poor boy, but I was trying to be a good person and I never did anything bad in my life. I kept my name clean because this was my way and my choice.



In January 2010 my Uncle asked me, “Are you a Christian?” I said, “yes I am.” Then he said, “if you are a Christian go to live with your God and don’t live with me again. You should go to bring your clothes and books and you must leave my house tomorrow.” He continued, “If you want to live here and work here, you should not go to study at the church and stop believe in God. Then you can live and work with me.” I thought I was a Christian I never did anything wrongs to him and I always tried to work hard. Why didn’t he want me go to church? Oh my God why? So I told him “I am sorry, Uncle. I can’t stop going to church because God give me a new life with hope and showed me how to love all the people in the world.” Then he became very angry with me and hit me in face and he said, “Today you must prepare your clothes and books and tomorrow you must go to live with your God.” Then I went to the bathroom and cried. I asked God “Why did you do this to me? What can I do?” Oh God why….? Tomorrow was coming and I already prepared my clothes putting in my bag. Then I went to say good bye to my Uncle and then to all my friends who worked with me. My friends asked me, “Where are you going? You are so young and you can’t go anywhere yet. I worry about you and remember you. If you need any help, tell me and I can help you a little.” Before I left, my Uncle gave me $70 and told me to take care. I was really excited, but I didn’t know where to go. I asked myself where I was going. One thought came into my mind and I decided to go to visit my students at the Orphanage. When I arrived there, the children said, “Hello Brother we miss you and we want you to come teaching us every week like before.” I didn’t know how to tell them; I was sad. Reluctantly I told them just a little bit about my situation and my tears started dripping down my cheeks. The children always made me feel happy. I loved them very much. In the afternoon I left the Orphanage and then I went to Sovanna Mall. I sat on the top stairs and I thought about where I would go next. If I went home, I could not live there long time. If I went to live with my Uncle, I must stop going to church forever. Then I sent messages to my Pastor and my Bible teacher at church. I hoped they could help me and prayed for me at least. My Bible teacher replied to me, “Can you come to live with me a few days and I will talk with our Pastor about your situation and you can live in the dorm.” I was really happy about that. But I thought if I lived in the dorm maybe I didn’t have money to study at high school and paid for my daily foods I needed. I thought I could not live there. I must look for a new job and it sure was very difficult to find a job because my English was very bad and my education was low. I called to my friends and told them about my problems, and he came to meet me and brought me to work with him in a restaurant at Tolkok which was not near my old restaurant. I was a waiter again in a new restaurant. I was happy when I got a new job and I started working there until now. When I finished my work, I often slept there because my boss trusted in me. I tried to work hard even though my salary was not as much as my friend. Sometimes I went to sleep at the Orphanage with my kids and at my grandma’s house when I missed her. Now she’s 73 years old and she was sick, I did worry about her health and kept praying to God for her everyday.





In December 2009 Christmas Day was approaching. I was very busy making post cards for my teachers at Harvest’s class, my classmates and some friends at church. While I tried to find the old post cards to read, I found one old book in which it had one letter written by my biological father. I was really excited in my heart, but it did not show the address of my father. However, it stated about why did he leave me? The letter explained that he could not live in Cambodia because it was a different country, religion, food, tradition, and everything else. “But I will take our family to live in my country soon... So don’t worry, I love you and the child and God will bless my son.” All these words showed me that he loves me and my mom. It’s enough for my life. Although I have never met him, I love you dad.

The End



Summary

Nowadays I live in Phnom Penh and I am 12th grade student at Samduch HunSen Phnom Penh Thmey high school. Every night I work in a small restaurant at Tolkok. I am tired but I am happy with my job sometime. I study English one hour everyday in church with my Bible teacher. Also I am a teacher for Children on Sunday at the church. I never study grammar because I don’t have free time to study in the evening. I often study by myself after I have done my work. In the morning I go to study Khmer at high school and in the afternoon I stay at my friend’s house or dorm. In the evening I go to work from 6pm till 11pm at night. Every Sunday evening I go to teach my students at Orphanage about ABC and the History of loving and play puzzles and eat food and drink orange juice with them. I love them so much, but the kids don’t like me because I sometime angry with them when they don’t listen to me while I am teaching. +_+ Goal for my life is I want to be a good person for my country and I want to be a good leader. I love Business management and Missionary.

Thanks for spending time reading my true life story. I am really excited when you have read. Please comment me about how to write good grammar and give me some experience of your life…..



Welcome all the time about your correcting my grammar in this letter and helping me to be a good person like you… This letter I just summarize it… It does not telling you all but I will write about my current life in the near future.

I am sorry that I make you tired to read my Bio...


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