Hello all,

Today has been an (another) amazing opportunity to see ingenuity and compassion at work for/through/with the Khmer people. After a little glitch in the schedule from commmunication lapse with the bus driver, we spent the morning at CRWRC Cambodia HQ.

We heard from Barnabas Mom, leader of the Church in Cambodia, about the history of Christian Church here. (The highlights: Due to some cultural, association with the western colonial powers, and the tenacity of Buddhism here, the Church was slow to grow in Cambodia. Before the Khmer Rouge, there were about 10,000 believers in 1975....after the mass killings and other horrors, there were only 200 in 1979. Today, the Spirit is moving in many different ways--many of which we have seen glimpses--and there are about 300,000 Cambodian Christians!) I am excited to see that God can use the few and the broken to do amazing things, and I will be praying for new leaders as they rise up to lead the Church here.

Next, we were briefed on the mission and vision of CRWRC in Cambodia. Growing up in the CRC, I had been partially aware of the denomination's relief and development work. After hearing from the workers and leaders, (and probably even more so in the next few days as we visit CRWRC projects and partner organizations and communities) their work to bring 'Shalom to all corners of this Earth has become much more real. I am excited by the emphasis on empowering the people to identify the problems, find solutions, and build community cooperation, rather than coming in as The West with all the answers. (Teach a man/woman to fish...)

The most exciting part of the day (for me, at least) was our visit to RDI. As an environmental engineering student, I was especially geeked to see the water treatment design and filter production (using local materials and labor), water quality testing and reporting (employing skilled Khmers and encouraging their lab workers to pursue graduate degrees), sustainable agriculture experiments (raising goats and hogs, growing tilapia, composting, vegetable gardens, and MORE!). I was so excited to see the ingenuity at work to solve such integral problem as clean drinking water for the people. The surface water is extremely contaminated (trash, human and animal wastes, and pathogens), and ground water has problems with arsenic. I would love to be involved in a project like this...!

Thank you for your prayers!

Peace in Christ,

Val Horstman

Today we learned about what the CRWRC is doing here in cambodia. The church growth in the past few years is really amazing. Navy Chann -the CRWRC organizer- is quite adamant that all the work is alongside the people to enable them rather than make them dependent. I think they are doing a great job of working toward that vision. They are working with microloans, agricultural improvement and encouruaging people to become involved in the communities.

We went to a buffet in Phom Pehn *spelling?* for lunch and just tried bits of everything. I discovered I really like rice pudding, but not cabbage. Many of the foods here are becoming familiar and I think it will be wierd to coe home and now have a rice-based meal three times a day. I''ll definiately miss the amazing taste  of the fresh fruit here, you can tell that its much fresher and closert to the farm here--the pineapple is AMAZING!!

After lunch we went to an organization called RDI- theyre doing some amazing things too! They have a factory for clay pot water filters. They doing water quality testing a in a mini chemistry lab and have documented the water quality for the entire province- they want to do this documentationfor every province in the nation. They're also doing agricultural reseach and promoting new, more sustainable methods of raising goats and pigfs. Thers so much the're doing I can't do it justice here.   

Here we are in PP!

Today, we spent a lot of time at the CRWRC learning more about the programs that are being run by this organization.  In addition, we had the privilege to meet Navvy Chan, a Cambodian woman who lived through the Khmer Rouge regime and who has decided to devote her life to help empower the Cambodian people.  She is currently leads the CRWRC team in Cambodia.

After learning more about this organization, we enjoyed a full buffet of Pan-Asian cuisine and then continued on to visit RDI.  I'm not sure what the acronym stands for, but it produces an affordable water filter so that rain water can be collected as an alternative water source.  In addition to water purification, RDI conducted contaiminated water testing for the entire country, helped educate Cambodians on some sustainable farming alternatives, and many more innovative farming techniques that could easily be implemented by farmers in Cambodia.

Tomorrow, we're going to be splitting into two groups.  Half of us are staying in PP and touring farms and other NGOs, while the rest of us (including me) will be going on a Cambodian immersion adventure by spending two nights in a rural village.  I'm sure we'll all have lots of stories to tell afterwards!

Here is our next question.

Based on the blog entries so far, you should be able to browse the internet to find this answer.

"What do the people at RDI paint the insides of the water filters with?  Why does this work?

The first person to email us the correct answer at cambodia@calvin.edu will get a small gift from Cambodia. 

Regards,

Leonard 

Wow, this trip has been so amazing!  I've seen so many new things.  Phnom Penh is more scary than Siem Riep but we go everywhere in a group, so its fine.  Today I ran in a communist olympic stadium.  We went to the CRWRC and RDI both really cool organizations that are doing a lot of good.  I'm excited for tomorrow we are going to visit a rural farmer and see how he lives and runs his farm.  It's hard to know what to write here.  I'm going to learn about solar power in rural cambodia.  thats exciting.  gotta go now:)

-Elizabeth Smit