By Lee Bun Chuan & Siew Sim
I have gone on mission trips before but Cambodia was never in my mind. Since I retired about a year and six months ago, I am seeking the Lord on the areas that I can contribute to the Kingdom of God. I am open to share my experience and training which the Lord had richly blessed me. I received a phone call in the middle of May from Rosalind Oh, informing me that someone wanted to speak to me and whether I could meet up at her home. I met Miss Gan Chui Peng, former principal of MGS in Rosalind’s home and she shared with me about a Christian school in Cambodia and its needs. Later I met Dr. Chong and Goldie, and we had a long chat about my experience as a school administrator and the needs of the school and in areas which I can help the school in Cambodia. I was open to the idea of going to have a look.
By June, I had two emails, one from Dr. Chong and another from Mr. Richard Toh from the school, concerning this trip. These emails were important to me as they were confirmation from the Lord that I should be aboard this trip. I shared with my wife Siew Sim and she was also quite keen to go. We met up with the Chongs again one week before our journey which gave me a deeper insight of the school and other relevant details.
(above Top Left) Siew Sim and Lee teaching in GTIS (blue shirt)
On the 30th August our team met up at the Airasia departure lounge where we were introduced to one another. It was truly wonderful when brothers and sisters gather together in unity and we quickly felt comfortable in one another’s presence. Although we had just met, we felt a bond with one another. We stayed in a hotel in the city the first night and there was a session of getting to know each other and the usual briefing about the trip. The next morning after breakfast we met up with a remarkable lady Esther Ding. I was truly impressed with her work in Baray as the Lord has used her mightily. We hope to visit her and have a look at her ministry sometime in the near future. We also met a Cambodian couple Soksan and Linat who shared about their magazine ministry Light Times. What inspiring testimonies.
We reached GTIS in Kampong Speu at about 5.00 pm, dropped our luggage at the teachers’ quarters and then proceeded to the Full Gospel Assembly Care Centre. My first impression was the orphanage is very well managed and the children were happy, bright and cheerful. The surroundings are well maintained. We met Sonny Foo, the administrator who showed us around. Sonny has been managing the orphanage for 12 years. This orphanage was started by FGA KL with the vision of rescuing street children in the city capital. It was quite a witness, seeing the love of God in the lives of those involved in this ministry and through them, God’s love and light shone on the children. We had dinner together with the children and I was truly amazed at their discipline -they lined up to give thanks and read scripture verses before the meal. There was laughter and joy during meal time. What a privilege to be with these kids- they brought joy and gladness to our heart and soul.
I woke up rather early the next morning, not being able to sleep well in the night although I was quite tired from the journey. We had our breakfast and off we went to the school, having our first session at 8.00 am – devotion taken by Dr. Chong. Glad Tidings International School was set up by Glad Tidings Church in Singapore with the purpose of replicating the mission schools in Malaysia and Singapore. Mission schools have raised generations of students who have contributed meaningfully to both countries and continue with their role as Christian witnesses. I believe that GTIS will be able to play a similar role.
I conducted the topic “The calling of a Teacher”. I was very impressed by the young teachers, the oldest among them is just 35 years old and the rest are mainly between their teens to about 30 years old. They showed great enthusiasm in learning, although for most of them English is not their first language. Those who could understand would give a running translation to the one next to him/her who could not understand. Such was their level of cooperation with each other. I believe the future of Cambodia lies in such teachers. We spent 4 days training the teachers in GTIS. It has been such a joy helping these teachers. There is much hope for Cambodia.
I was truly blessed by this trip, having such a great team, working together. The level of commitment and love among team members was really awesome. Each one contributed according to their level of expertise. We were also encouraged by the warm reception given by the teachers we taught. I was also amazed by the love shown by the Chongs for the Lord’s Kingdom. Despite their age, they showed untiring effort to network and encourage those in the field. Through them, we managed to meet quite a number of people each one of them sharing their calling and the vision the Lord had put in their heart. I was encouraged by their faith in serving God in Cambodia. The Lord has used them as His instrument to bless Cambodia. END
