Davis Wieler

2007-04-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

My host family - the Tiths. From left to right - Visna, Monika, Vandy, Saroun, Kalyan, Vandeth, Sophana, and myself. There's a lot of things I'll miss about Cambodia, like eating rice, driving moto, and always wearing sandals, but most of all I'll miss the many friends I have in Battambang. To the Tiths - thanks for everything, the time was too short, and I hope to be back again sometime! God bless all of you!

2007-04-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

This is the computer from which I posted my blogs. However, that's not the reason I posted this picture. My camera, which can be seen on the right hand corner of the desk, was lost to two guys on a moto in Phnom Penh when they pulled a drive-by theft. And on it were my last few days of pictures, and so I think this may be my best picture of Khmer New Year. Cambodians celebrate Khmer New Year on April 14-16, which was my last weekend in Battambang, and it's quite an event. It's more or less a three day national waterfight, and it's really something to see. People line the streets armed with water filled plastic bags, pails of ice water, and bottles of baby powder. And if you're riding a moto, very likely you'll be bombarded by all of the above in short order! It's crazy, but it's a lot of fun cruising around town, which is what I was doing shortly before this picture was taken. Why baby powder? I don't have a clue.

2007-04-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

Not long before I left Battambang, the pastors and leaders of each camp came together to bring in their reports, and to discuss and evaluate the happenings of camp. Overall, the feedback was very positive, and many of them expressed to me that they hope to have a camp again next year! They also asked for prayer throughout the year as they implement followup programs for kids. When I totaled up the reports, nearly 2000 children attended camp, and 1045 decided to follow Christ! Praise God!

2007-04-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

I've already had the privilege of cruising around and dropping in on most of our 33 camps. It's amazing to see so many children enthusiastically enjoying the activities of camp, and also belting out praise songs and memory verses. There are a few camps who have struggled to attract 50 children due to parents holding their children back from attending, but the majority of the churches have extra children coming, some with up to 80 or 90 taking part! And I just heard today that in one of the churches that is running two camps, between the two 46 children received Christ this week! I've been impressed at the sacrifices of the pastors and counselors to make these camps happen, and my hope is that their churches will grow as a result.

2007-04-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is the Canadian portion of the CCI team in Camb0dia - myself, Darryl Klassen, and Kalyan. Darryl is spending about two weeks in Battambang as a member of the Glencross Church mission board to experience first hand what is happening in the camping ministry. I've been enjoying cruising around on a moto, and I'm experienced enough now that I'm fairly relaxed in Cambodian traffic. And just so you know, Mom, we do wear helmets on trips out of town!

2007-04-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

There are 33 churches involved this season, with each church sending their pastor and five counselors to our seminar, which meant that people were spilling out the back door of the church! After the first session, we moved out all the chairs and sat on the floor so that the nearly 200 people could fit inside. As you can see, the CEF staff instilled a lot of enthusiasm in the youth, and the counselors gained a lot of knowledge in preparation for camp.

2007-04-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is the part of Cambodia that made me the most nervous - speaking at our seminar! But a lot of you must have been praying, because I felt hardly any nerves at all, though I was on stage for about an hour! Kalyan translated for me, and she also spoke to the counselors from her experience at Winkler Bible Camp. Her knowledge of Cambodia as well as her familiarity with camp has been a real asset to the program this season. As well, Sophana made a valuable connection with Child Evangelism Fellowship of Cambodia. Our Bible lesson material is purchased from them, and they regularly train youth to run VBS programs in Cambodia. Because their program is similar to CCI's day camp program, we partnered with them to teach the majority of our counselor training, and they did fabulous job! I've been amazed at what God has brought together for this season's camps!

2007-04-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

I had some spare time before the counselor training event, and I was glad for the opportunity to help Saroun Tith (Kalyans father) do some plumbing in the washrooms of their new house. This was really familiar territory for me, even though construction techniques differ from Canada, and I enjoyed it!

2007-04-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

Back in Cambodia! It's great to be back, both to be a part of the work of Children's Camps International, and to reconnect with my friends here in Battambang. In a way, it feels like I never left, it feels familiar this time around. It's dry season, so the weather varies between hot and smokin' hot, but it's not bad as long as you drink water by the case! This is Sophana Tith (our Cambodian staff member) and myself during the days prior to our counselor training seminar, meeting along with Kalyan Tith to make plans regarding the seminar.

2006-09-27T02:11:00.001-07:00

This is me in a Cambodian hospital with typhoid fever. It put me in the hospital for three days, and I couldn't do very much for pretty much two weeks. I think I took in more IV fluid and needles than I've ever seen before in my life! The towels wrapped around me were soaked in ice water and it was an attempt to reduce my body temperature. It did actually work, but there was nothing enjoyable about it! I've since recovered and I feel pretty much normal now. Thanks to all who prayed for me!

2006-09-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

Children's Camps International is committed to ongoing ministry among the children that attend a week of camp. This consists of meeting with the kids once a week to continue building relationships and to continue to teach children about the love of Jesus. This was the first village followup event I attended. This particular location is a village leaders house, and though he is not a believer he provided a place and chairs, and he gathered the kids from the village. It was encouraging to see, however, subsequent weeks have not been so successful. It seems to be a challenge to attract children to come, especially if they live some distance away. Our hope is to establish central locations where children can meet consistently each week and continue to understand more about who Jesus is.

2006-09-04T00:49:00.000-07:00

There were some interesting combinations of architecture and nature at this site. However, I don't think this is quite what the designers had in mind when the temple was built!

2006-09-04T00:42:00.000-07:00

When Wolfgang and Anne Schaefer visited Battambang, I joined them and the family of Kalyan Tith on a tour of Cambodia's most famous attraction, Angkor Wat. This is the most impressive of the many ancient temples near Siem Reap.

2006-09-04T00:26:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but this is on a boat on the way to Siem Reap. In the picture you can see only a tiny bit of water ahead of the boat, that's because the channel was so narrow that the trees on each side were scraping against the boat, and sometimes the branches would hit us who were sitting on the roof. For $12, you get about a seven hour ride through ever changing terrain, and the you can enjoy the noise of the diesel engine for free!

2006-09-04T00:15:00.000-07:00

Check this out! It looks almost like a perogy, hey? No schmaunt faht though, nor did it taste like vereniki. This was a dessert made from rice and wrapped in a banana leaf, and inside was something that tasted like peanuts. It seems there is almost limitless ways to eat rice, most people eat rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and as you can see, sometimes for dessert too!

2006-09-01T01:57:00.000-07:00

This church construction site is almost as far from Canada as you can get, but I felt like I was stepping into familiar territory as I walked through it. It's more like the work I'm used to doing! With a few exceptions, however. They had a cement truck on site, but as you can see in the picture, they were pouring these concrete pillars by hand with a rope and small buckets. I was told in the future this will hold a congregation of 1000 people, and there will be an orphanage housed in the second floor.

2006-09-01T01:46:00.000-07:00

I wish this picture was clearer, it was one of the funniest things I've seen on the road yet. It's a trailer hooked to a motorcycle, which is common all over Cambodia, but this driver used an uncommon amount of space on the road. He was weaving back and forth and was off balance (you can see that his foot is not on the peg), and I thought surely if he didn't run into our car he would probably hit the ditch! The load is four concrete water storage jars, which pretty much every household has to catch rainwater.

2006-09-01T01:34:00.000-07:00

A view of the Cambodian countryside from Sailboat Mountain. Most of the land that I've seen very flat kind of like Manitoba, and is occupied mostly by rice fields and coconut trees (unlike Manitoba). Not a snowflake to be seen anywhere. Because it's so flat the mountains look strange, they look like God randomly dropped big shovelfuls of dirt in the middle of nowhere, and it looks kind of like they're lost and don't belong there. Strange, but beautiful nonetheless!

2006-08-27T00:35:00.000-07:00

At Sailboat Mountain. A group of counselors invited me to come for a picnic about a week after the camps finished. We hiked up a nearby mountain on which there are several temples, both Buddhist and Hindu. This photo was taken near the top of the mountain, and no, the Buddhist statue did not counsel at camp!

2006-08-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

A group of camp kids at one of the six different churches. They are holding the Bibles and lessons that they received at the camp. In the background is a banner stating the place (Battambang) and the camp sponsors. A big thank you to Glencross Church who sponsored all six camps run by Children's Camps International in Cambodia this year!

2006-08-27T00:17:00.000-07:00

This photo isn't very clear, but I included it because I think this guy had the biggest, brightest smile in all of Cambodia! Personally I don't like skipping, but he seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

2006-08-21T23:30:00.004-07:00

At the end of the camp, each child took home a New Testament in the Cambodian language. Here a counselor is teaching Bible stories to the campers. In the background with the video camera is Antony Samy.

2006-08-21T23:30:00.003-07:00

Singing praise to Jesus is a staple camp activity. And they sang loud! The camp staff were not shy about cranking up the PA system, and I think the kids were even louder than the system. My ears were ringing, and they definitely succeeded in making a joyful noise to God!

2006-08-21T23:30:00.002-07:00

Meal time at one of the camps. Good food is one of the highlights for these children, since for them it may not always be available. Here they are giving thanks for the food, and before they came to camp, many of them would not have known what prayer was.

2006-08-21T23:30:00.001-07:00

Volleyball! Along with football (soccer), it seems to be one of the most popular sports in Battambang.

2006-08-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

One of the toys purchased for camp was liquid for blowing bubbles. It made for a great time, especially when they could do it in front of a camera! They love to see themselves on my cameras LCD display, and they kept asking for just one more picture!

2006-08-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

The group of children at the very first camp I visited. It was at a small church in a village, and this was the first time a day camp was held there. Though they had no instruments, and most of the kids had never heard the songs before, they sang with enthusiasm! Antony spoke to the group briefly, and when he asked who had ever heard of Jesus, only a few children raised their hands. Pray that the new knowledge that these children have will result in changed lives.

2006-08-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

The training seminar for the camp counselors and pastors began with me introducing myself and Childrens Camps International. I managed to say a few things in the Khmer language, but mostly I spoke through a translator. Most of the sessions were taught by Pastor Phon Khiev, Sophana Tith, and Antony Samy. At the end of the three day session, I spoke a message of encouragement to the staff as they prepared to go out and run the day camps. I feel very under qualified for this sort of thing, it's nothing like what I'm used to doing!

2006-07-29T03:41:00.000-07:00

Me with some children at one of the orphanages that will run a day camp. People are often eager to practise their English with foreigners and the kids love to see themselves on camera, so it's easy to meet people.

2006-07-29T03:06:00.000-07:00

I had a 10 hour gap between flights in Hong Kong, so after I found my way through customs, I took a bus tour through Hong Kong. This is a view of the fourth tallest building in the world. I really didn't see any small buildings in Hong Kong at all, the whole city looks downtown!

2006-07-27T05:28:00.000-07:00

A view of the street from the rooftop of the house I stay at in Battambang. There is always activity and noise during the daytime starting at about 5:30 in the morning, and sometimes it's quiet by the time I go to sleep. This is a fairly typical street in the residential areas of the city.