It was good to be back in Thor Piang Rosey again and
amongst the people I love so much. There were so many sick people and the
children were the ones really affected by this loads of rain. Would be good if
we have a couple of dry days just to dry out things again and drive the
illnesses away. My friend with his Bp is doing a little better but still far
away from normal. After a good dose of meds he was off again. We can just pray
that his high Bp will not affect him more than it did already. I was so happy
when Deng say that he wants to join us on our trip to Phnom Chi.
We missionaries are suffering here so badly. Before
I could drive away we had to eat two freshly slaughtered ducks. O my it was
good, knowing I had to eat again in Kabal Domrey, only an hour away. Arriving
there the food was already on the table and I had to suffer through another
beautiful dinner. What a hard life we have……… I was amazed by how fast they already
repair the church. Some donations from friends made it possible for us to help
them repair their church; it’s badly damage by termites. Sad to see a 10 year
old structure go to waste.
We were literally swimming our way down to the
mountain and into the jungle. Chea and Deng are such expert riders that we made
it in no time. The anti’s finger is looking good although it will still be a
while till it’s completely healed. Most of the people were already on holiday
as it’s the big holiday here in Cambodia. We felt like kings as they already
prepared some food for us. Out of nothing these people bless you out of your
socks. Pray with us that we can get more malaria drugs as they really suffer
with that here in the jungle and its not possible to go out this time of the
year.
Deon Botha is out of hospital and at home but still
very weak and need to rest a lot. Good news is that his Limfnodes that they
tested are negative for cancer. Praise the Lord.
We are in one of the biggest holiday/festivals in
Cambodia. So for the rest of the week most of the shops will be closed and lots
of people on the roads and it’s a real festive atmosphere around. Please pray
for the local Christians that make use of this time to spend with their
families and have to partake in festivities.
Pchum Ben (Khmer: បុណ្យភ្ជុំបិណ្ឌ;
"Ancestors' Day") is a 15-day Cambodian religious festival,
culminating in celebrations on the 15th day of the tenth month in the Khmer
calendar, at the end of the Buddhist lent, Vassa. In 2013, the national holiday
fell on 03, 04, 5 October in the Gregorian calendar, the 2015 season began on
23 September and ends on 12 October.
The day is a time when many Cambodians
pay their respects to deceased relatives of up to 7 generations. Monks chant
the suttas in Pali language overnight (continuously, without sleeping) in
prelude to the gates of hell opening, an event that is presumed to occur once a
year, and is linked to the cosmology of King Yama originating in the Pali
Canon. During this period, the gates of hell are opened and ghosts of the dead
(preta) are presumed to be especially active. In order to combat this,
food-offerings are made to benefit them, some of these ghosts having the
opportunity to end their period of purgation, whereas others are imagined to leave
hell temporarily, to then return to endure more suffering; without much
explanation, relatives who are not in hell (who are in heaven or otherwise
reincarnated) are also generally imagined to benefit from the ceremonies.
In temples adhering to canonical
protocol, the offering of food itself is made from the laypeople to the
(living) Buddhist monks, thus generating "merit" that indirectly
benefits the dead; however, in many temples, this is either accompanied by or
superseded by food offerings that are imagined to directly transfer from the
living to the dead, such as rice-balls thrown through the air, or rice thrown
into an empty field. Anthropologist Satoru Kobayashi observed that these two
models of merit-offering to the dead are in competition in rural Cambodia, with
some temples preferring the greater canonicity of the former model, and others
embracing the popular (if unorthodox) assumption that mortals can "feed"
ghosts with physical food.
Pchum Ben is considered unique to
Cambodia, however, there are merit-transference ceremonies that can be closely
compared to it in Sri Lanka (i.e., offering food to the ghosts of the dead),
and in its broad outlines, it even resembles the Taiwanese Ghost Festival
(i.e., especially in its links to the notion of a calendrical opening of the
gates of hell, King Yama, and so on).
We can really pray for Indonesia. Pray for relief to
come quick and effectively.
The disaster struck part of Sulawesi two
weeks ago, leaving at least 1,754 dead and another 2,549 injured. Officially,
683 people remain missing, though some put that figure far higher. No-one has
been found alive since the third day of the search.
The city of Palu has been hardest hit.
The
7.5 magnitude earthquake struck on 28 September, bringing down buildings and,
in some areas, turning the ground to liquid in a process called
"liquefaction" and moving entire neighbourhoods.
This was followed by a tsunami.
The 7.5-magnitude quake struck just off
the central island of Sulawesi at 18:03 (10:03) on Friday at a depth of 10km
(6.2 miles), setting off a tsunami that soon after engulfed Palu with waves of
up to 6m.
Scientists believe the tsunami may have
been set off by an underwater landslide. The waves built up height and speed as
they travelled down the long narrow bay towards Palu.
The Red Cross estimates that more than
1.6 million people have been affected.- BBC
There are so many disasters in the world today that
we can only pray for each other. I am not sure how people can make it without
knowing Jesus. Lets pray that people will see the Light and hear about our
loving FATHER.
Love
Rossouw-clan.
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