This Monday was a hard day at Shalom International School, the ministry my team is working at this month. Two pieces of sad news came our way. The first started on Sunday night when we heard a loud clang/crack. Our host went to check and see what it was but could not find anything. The next morning, we saw that the shelter where the play equipment was housed had started to fall into the water. This month is the rainy season in Cambodia and they have had record-high flooding this month and the school is situated beside a river. This flooding has actually been some 4 feet higher than it usually is and therefore has caused bad erosion problems all along the river we are on. The concrete in the back half of the shelter has slowly pulled away from the rest and sunk further and further down as the water recedes. As it has sunk it has pulled the roof down with it. It is now a good 3 feet lower than the rest of the structure.
From what our team understands, the school does not have the money to rebuild it or the land to do it. We have moved the play equipment, but they will most likely have to take down the shelter. They have not come up with a definite solution yet, but the shelter at this point can’t be saved.
The other piece of sad news came that afternoon. One of the teachers, as well as the secretary, have resigned due to family issues. The school has been growing, which is a blessing. They have gotten four new students since we have gotten here. Because of this growth, they were already looking for a new teacher. Now that the teacher and secretary are gone they are looking for two new teachers as well as a secretary to help them deal with their growing pains.
My teammates and I could just look at the faces of the teachers and tell that they were saddened by the shelter and the 2 resignations. It has kind of been a funk in the air all week. On Wednesday, we, along with the teachers, prayed together after classes for the school. We thanked God for the work He has already done through the school and the work that He will do. We also prayed for His guidance and provision when it came to what to do with the shelter and finding new teachers. After our prayer session, it felt like a little weight had been taken off the shoulders of some teachers.
My team and I do not think that it is a coincidence that we are here when both of these things have happened. We are the first World Race team that they have hosted since last fall. We don’t know how we can help the situation, but we are praying. It may be that we are here to simply add joy and encouragement to the situation. We are praying for a couple things that you can pray for, too:
- That God would give the school the resources to deal with the demolition of the shelter as well as fix the erosion problem.
- That God would provide teachers who are willing to take the somewhat low salary in order that the community can be reached for Christ. Their salary is about half or two-thirds of what a regular teacher is paid.
- Lastly, we are praying that the school will continue to have an impact in the community. They want to be a light in this community and are trying to find new ways to do that.
If you could join us in praying these things through the end of the month, that would be a huge blessing! We know God already has a plan and we can’t wait to see what it is!
Blessings from Cambodia,
Elise Swepston
