Poipet Dust

By Dan Griswold

Something I will never forget about Poipet Cambodia is its dust. Poipet dust is infamous. It’s in the air, its, in the street, its inside the buildings, its everywhere. When it rains, the Poipet dust becomes the Poipet mud…. and it’s everywhere!

Poipet dust reminds me of the brokenness of man… It’s in our cities, it’s in our countries, it’s in our lives, and it’s in our families. Just like Poipet dust, it’s everywhere….

Cambodia has its fair share of brokenness, and we were daily reminded of the dysfunction that brokenness brings. Romans 3:23 reminds us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, so before we saddle up our high horse(s), we need to remind ourselves that we share the same brokenness….

So why is God showing me this brokenness? 1 Peter 1:6-7 tells us “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of you faith more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. Now I know, God is using these experiences to shape me….

I also understand that my job is to encourage. You’ve heard me talk about capacity building. The great commission Matthew 28:16-20 tells us that we should make disciples. For me, capacity building is a way of disciple making – not only teaching, but also intentionally walking with our friends, accompanying them to a deeper place with Jesus…

So yes, this trip we saw some brokenness…. But we also saw incredible things that God is doing to heal this country. Here are some incredible things our team did working together with our friends:

Taught (and learned from) 84 village lay pastors (including sessions covering marriage counseling, church structure, spirit filled life of the believer and life in Christ)
Blessed by 84 pastors that washed each other’s feet
Completed architectural/design/drawings & renderings for remodel of the Destiny Café court yard and coffee shop (space used for CHO project income generation)
Completed architectural/design of the 5^th floor Destiny Center for language and skill training classrooms
Surveyed 37 village water systems including water wells and ponds
Reviewed/reported on flood control projects completed at Safe Haven School
Examined and treated 200 patients at medical clinic
Provided Health Education, disease prevent ion and treatment for 600-700 children (at Safe Haven School and School on a mat) including deworming, vitamin A supplementation, fluoride treatment and dental education
Provided heath exams and treatment for 60-80 CHO staff and families
Taught self-breast exams for 100+ women in villages
Examined and treated 40+ women from brothels in Poipet
Provided hands-on clinic training for Khmer medical staff (2 nurses, 1 medic/PA, and one doctor)

Lastly, I want to say how proud I am of this team. I’ve been doing mission trips for a while and I can’t remember a more perfect fit of people (with different skill sets) that came together to complete a specific mission. No gripes, no complaints, just joy & humor when the going was tough…. Thanks friends & family for helping support and send these folks…..

God Bless, see you on Tuesday!

Dan