misguided

On Sunday I ran my last race for the year in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Officially, it was my slowest ever 21.1k (umm....2:16 anyone?!). Unofficially, I ran the longest half marathon in the world!

With a cool 5am start, the route took us around the Old City and up towards the airport. Then, after a turn-around at about 13km, we came back to the Three Kings Monument in the centre of the city to finish. At the turning-point I was the third placed female. I felt good; running at a relaxed, steady pace. I checked my watch after an hour and twenty minutes and figured I'd run another ten minutes before increasing my speed for the last short stretch. At 1:40 I was still waiting for the final turn to signal the 'home stretch' I'd remembered from the race map. By 1:50 I was curious. By 2 hours I realised that something had gone wrong.

I was lost, misguided and misdirected. And I wasn't the only one.

The woman from the UK who led from the start of the race usually runs a 1:30 half. She clocked 2:05. Huh?! Yeah.... it seems the race assistants were still a bit bleary-eyed early in the morning and did not distinguish between our half-marathon coded bibs and the full marathon bibs. So a bunch of us were sent off on the full marathon course to finish and ran something like 27.6km instead of the usual 21.1km.

I might have felt a bit better at the finish line if I didn't have to see the old geezer who admitted before the race that he wasn't sure how he'd do coz his achilles was 'givin im a bit o bother' standing there grinning. It might have been some comfort if the German backpacker I spoke with at the starting line but ditched at about the seven metre mark wasn't smiling with a place card in her hand getting ready to receive her prize by the time I finished the 'race'! I guess a person just has to enjoy running to do a 27.6km 'half-marathon' and finish behind the oldies who probably walked through every other drink stop. Hmm... bring on 2011!

Why I am a coach

It's easy enough to count the number of players on a field at a tournament or to photograph the smiles on their faces. It is more difficult to evaluate how the relationships built through sports programs change people.

Last night we met with the soccer coaches and referees. I wanted to say thank you for volunteering and to encourage them before we start a busy season. It was also great to get a glimpse of the heart the coaches are developing for the players in their team. Their passion gives me hope that players will be changed through this football league!

HENG
This is how I formed one team: I was riding my bike to the tournament on Human Rights Day (December 10). I saw three kids. Two of them were collecting cans and one was riding his bike alongside them. I stopped and talked to them for a while, then asked, "Do you want to play football?" They said they did so I invited them to start training the following Saturday. Then I talked to another kid that I see herding cows back and forth from his house to the field. I asked him some questions and invited him to join the team. He also said yes.

These children are poor, may not got to school and don't have much in the way of leadership or direction. I think that most people don't value the kids who collect rubbish or wander around after the cows. For example, I heard the bosses at the recycling center speak harshly to a couple of kids when they brought their stuff to sell. People look down on them and don't know how to relate to them. Football is a way to relate to them.

I think that sometimes God gives us just one opportunity to meet with people and begin a relationship with them. If we don't seize the opportunity, it's gone. So I hope that if I see other kids in similar situations I will talk with them. Now the 'problem' is that there are about 30 guys who come to practice every Saturday and Sunday afternoons! It's too many! However, I am discovering that the more you know these guys, the more you love them and the more you want to help them.

TARITH (Pic)

I want the people in my team to know God more. Whether they are Christians or not, my goal for them is that they would know more of God. I want them to know more about soccer. I want them to know more about themselves; to value themselves. I want them to see that rich or poor, experienced or inexperienced, athletically gifted or otherwise, they have value as people and they are received & valued in their soccer team. This is why I am a coach.

thanks to my crew

Last night I spent some time with B&P before they leave Poipet on Friday morning. One comment stood out. They said, "It was your team that made the trip." I wouldn't argue with that!

Our team is (from L): Sim, Chanthy, Phoeurn, Chanty & Heng (seated).

hey friends

Yesterday the question was asked again. I've had it maybe three times in the past couple of months. The question is usually asked shyly, with a slight pause before the words spill out apologetically, "Ummm....Pip...do you have friends?"

Maybe for those who are new to Cambodia's wild west there doesn't seem to be much to attract and sustain a white chick. It's not a thriving hub of arts & cultural expression. We're not blessed with an abundance of natural wonders. It's easy to see what isn't here. At the same time, most people notice that there are people who look to me for guidance, direction, advice.... or a salary. People wonder if I can have friendship when I'm mostly acting as employer, leader, mentor, counselor, sponsor? Let me answer this question as honestly as I can, "Yes. I have friends."

I have a few friends who live here. There's the tall, crazy story-telling Canadian who is always up for a coffee or a Pad Thai (so long as nothing is planned more than a few hours in advance!) He's the guy I call when I've had a crap day. He's the one to talk to when I need a second opinion. He will recruit a short-term team to sing Happy Birthday from the back of his truck right on the main street outside my house so that everyone can hear it... There is also the wonderful American missionary who is everything I'm not: methodical, disciplined, realistic & polite. The only two things we have in common are that we love Jesus and love Poipet yet this is more than enough to make us friends!

I don't have many friends who live in my postcode (hmmm... don't have a postcode). However, I have friends in many cities around the world. So, here's a tribute to some of the kinds of friends I appreciate:

1. Friends to do stuff with. I'm thankful for friends who will meet me in Pursat, Siem Reap, Bangkok, Canberra, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, the US or Hong Kong to go for a run. Most of these crazy people will also pay to pin a number to their shirt and run somewhere between 10 and 42k. Some will drive for hours to take photos and cheer at the finish line. I appreciate those who will fly to Bangkok to surprise me at the airport, drive for 8 hours to go snowboarding for a day, give me spare opera tickets, buy another theatre ticket so that I'm included, take me to a gig, invite me on a road trip or travel to Cambodia because they're on the same continent so why not?

2. Friends to do nothing with. It's a gift to visit friends who are happy to do nothing. There are those who just happen to have baked three cakes in the 24 hours prior to my visit and insist on me trying a piece of every one of them. Awesome. There's the family who invites me for a long lunch even though they know that all they have in the house is leftover lentil soup, ingredients for grilled cheese sandwiches and one tin of baked beans. Whether we share cake or baked beans I don't mind... all food tastes good with friends who are happy to simply share it.

3. Friends to connect with other friends. You know these friends? Catching up with these friends is like connecting with the whole tribe. These connectors can rustle up a dozen people for lunch wherever you meet. There are always interesting conversations and I love these friends!

4. Friends who remember. I also love spending time with friends when conversations start with, "Hey, do you remember the time when....?" These mates help me relive primary school, the horrors of grade 9, the weddings, birthday parties and shared celebrations, the adventures of leading short-term teams overseas or the things that stood out to them in the moments we shared as part of routine work, bible study, church, life.

5. Friends who know me. Yes, I do have "know friends". I'm so thankful to have a few people who know my best and worst. I can do dumb things and they're not surprised because they've heard it before. They're honest with me, wanting the best for me. They are also encouraging and supportive when things are going well. My know friends don't live close but they are close.

6. Friends I haven't met yet. So maybe now you're thinking I'm being a little over-optimistic here. Someone asks if I have friends and I reply that I have many friends... just haven't met them yet? What's with that? Well, the truth is that I love meeting new people. When I walk into a room I don't see a group of strangers, I see potential friends. Many of these relationships are flimsy and fleeting but I don't mind. Having just a few friends in my non-existent postcode opens me up to meeting so many random people as I travel through life. It does mean that there are many goodbyes but that's a part of the package.

So friends? Yes. (Phew! No need for this to be an awkward question..)

1, 100 or both...

On Saturday morning one of our housemates (Cambodian) got up early. From 6am she was sweeping, mopping, dusting, chasing cobwebs and washing motos. At 9am I suggested she take a break. Sit down. Put your feet up. Read a book. She asked, "In that case, would you mind if I invite the neighbour in to watch a DVD about the message of Jesus?" (Sure. I can think of a hundred useless ways to spend your time but that sounds like a productive idea...) So the neighbour came, watched the DVD, talked about it and wants to know more about this amazing story of salvation in Jesus that she's just heard about for the first time in her life.

On Saturday afternoon Heng went to coach his Under 13 soccer teams. Fifteen guys and fifteen girls signed up from one of the local primary schools so Heng was heading down to lead their first training session. Ben and David went along too. I was hoping they wouldn't be bored. No need to worry. A hundred kids showed up for football training!

Sometimes it's a hundred kids. Sometimes it's one neighbour. Most of the time I just watch it happen.

December 10 Photos

Human Rights Day

We had a public holiday for Human Rights Day last Friday, December 10. It was the perfect excuse for a one day football tournament! There were 8 Under 17s teams and 6 Under 13s teams.

Riding down to the fields at around 6:30am I saw some of the first Under 13s players walking barefoot to the fields. They recognised me and broke into an excited run. I slowed down to check they were heading for the games? They were. I continued and the boys kept running behind me, yelling and laughing as they sprinted down the dusty lane.

A short-term volunteer commented on the enthusiasm of the players. In the midday heat while we were resting in the shade and enjoying a short lunch break, a couple of dozen teenagers were still out on the field practicing kicking goals. The same volunteer also noted the way that all the players showed respect for the referees and encouraged each other. There was no arguing, no fighting and no injuries! : )

One of the new teams to play in this tournament was the Bridge of Life team. This Under 13s formed just after the stampede on the bridge to Diamond Island in Phnom Penh over the Water Festival weekend. Their national ability and determination took them to the finals, at which point they conceded to the aptly named Strong Boy FC.

There were some interesting team names. Two chose Spider and there was one Spiderman team. Victory sounds like an appropriate name for the winning Under 17s team. However, it also seems to be a challenging name for Cambodians to pronounce in English. When Victory were engaged in penalty shoot-out battles in both their semi-final and grand final games, a hundred or so kids shouted what sounded like, "Victoria, Victoria, Victoria!". Yeah...suddenly not so manly!

Four referees from our partner organisation, SALT, came to assist. Den, Yan, Phearom and Rothanak were tireless and skilled in their service.

Our next event is a Girl's Football Festival on January 1. The following weekend we're into the 2011 league. I'm looking forward to more teams, more smiles and more great pics like these ones that Ben & Petra captured!

Zechariah 3:9-10

I like that this text suggests that one of the results of the removal of sins is the restoration of peaceful neighbourhood relationships. It's a simple promise that connects with how I want to live.

...and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day. And on that day, says the LORD Almighty, each of you will invite you neighbour:
into your home to share your peace and prosperity (NLT)
to sit under your vine and fig tree (NIV)
to visit across the fence...on one another's porches (The Message)

when you can only race on rice

There are many ways to complete the phrase "you know you've been in Asia too long when..."

This morning was the Angkor Wat Half Marathon & 10km. I signed up for the 10km. It's a flat, familiar, beautiful course. A contingent from Laos dominated the 10km events, with about seven out of the top eight females wearing the distinctive red singlets. It was great to see some strong Asian runners competing in an international event. (Local Cambodian Hem Bunting won the men's 21km half marathon.) As for my run... not so great! Without going into detail, I'll say that I now know eating "foreign food" and then attempting to race isn't a good combination. My next race is in Thailand. Note to self: rice, Pip.... rice.

more shopping...

Looks like it's cool to ride your new bike with the plastic still on... just to make sure everyone knows it's new.

Guest Blogger!

Hold onto your beanbags friends! Nat Lammas questions whether you should sign up for that international development degree or if there are other ways to trust God and take action on behalf of the poor?

So you want to be an overseas aid worker?

International development degrees are in high demand. The classes are full of Christians. But is more education what the world's poor really need? And what really happens to all these graduates at the other end?
By Natalie Lammas

Ever fancied a career with an international non-profit agency- working in ten different countries, providing humanitarian assistance in war zones, writing policy for the UN, or just working at the grass-roots to help some of the poorest people in the world? Chances are- if you are a Christian twenysomething- then you are one of the thousands of people in the church today who share the same burning desire to work in the aid sector.

A few months ago I ran a conference workshop on "vocation and justice". A group of 30 young adults showed up, all of them eager to find work with an NGO, most of them in the middle of an international development degree. When one earnest young man came to me afterwards to ask whether we had any jobs going for an "aid and development specialist", it made me wonder- when did so many Christian young adults decide they wanted to become overseas aid workers?

About twenty years ago, the career du jour for the average passionate younger Christian was to become a local pastor. Now, while every other church seems to be begging for people to come and work as youth pastors, many idealistic and energetic young adults are instead going on overseas internships and trawling job vacancies on the ACFID [1] website.

As one of our workers asked me recently, "Is it about 'making a difference', doing something 'significant', 'saving' the poor, exploring the world, having an adventure...and earning 60K a year at the same time?" I asked two friends who work for aid agencies for their thoughts on the topic.

Jessica, 25, from Sydney, worked in marketing for a large corporation before giving it all up to spend six months doing Global Discipleship Training. That experience changed her outlook and career aspirations for good. Why did she opt to take a pay cut, start work for Compassion and enrol in a Masters of International Development? "The idea of being able to work in an area that I was passionate about was my greatest drive, which sounds kind of selfish, but I wanted the place where I spent most of my time to be a place where I could leave a positive mark on the world."

Working for an international organisation might be an appealing career path, but it is also very hard to get a foot in the door. Ask anyone trying to break into the sector and they'll tell you that the few jobs on offer are highly competitive, leaving many job hunters disappointed. Steve, 27, from Melbourne, works for World Vision and knows the reality all too well. "Aid agencies now know the massive pool of candidates they have for even entry-level jobs. Half the job descriptions ask for minimum three years experience in an NGO, two years overseas, and tertiary education in a related discipline. So for project work overseas, you might be 30 with your first kid on the way before you have enough experience to apply for that job that pays $38k a year!"

If this is what graduates can expect from the job market, where will a development degree leave them at graduation? Unemployed? As more people enrol in tertiary courses, go to conferences, read the latest books, it leaves cynics asking whether these young people are just gorging on learning that may never actually benefit the poor or marginalised. Or else, whether enrolling in a post-graduate degree is simply another delay tactic when young adults can't make up their mind what to do with their lives. Is further training really helping people to follow Christ in a more radical way?

A few years ago, a Global Interaction research survey asked young adults what the main motivator would be for going overseas to work in missions. The number one response was- "a call from God". Now when I probe about the issue of calling, young people overwhelmingly report that "vocation" is one of the most pressing spiritual issues they face.

While a God-given passion for justice has swept the church in a big way, perhaps the reason so many young people want to become aid workers has more to do with a hunger to find their calling. For this reason, humanitarian work- like the many other helping professions (such as nursing, teaching, social work)- is an enticing option for many Christians.

There is no doubt we need more people working among the poor, and that many will find their vocation in development work. But maybe there is a greater lesson here about calling itself- about how what you do each day aligns with your passions and beliefs about what God is calling you to be.

So how about this for an idea. Why not try something other than a development degree? Roll up your sleeves and help at the grassroots. Serve at home. Work in a nursing home. Hang out with the mentally ill or homeless in your community. And if you decide that working with the poor is for you, maybe enrolling in a course of study can help you work out your next steps.

Then go ahead, enrol. It could be chemical engineering, medicine, business, ophthalmology, social work, education, linguistics, IT, or even plumbing. Anything you study could be used to contribute in an overseas context. Just ask yourself, "What am I interested in? How might this be used to fulfil God's call for my life?"

So, is doing an International Development degree a waste of time? Actually, education can be very useful. "Especially where it helps the Australian church understand what effective aid is and helps it move away from welfare models of development," Steve says. And without training, many people who go overseas fail to understand their contexts and end up doing bad development- something we must surely try to prevent. But be clear on what you're hoping to get. In the quest to discover your calling, think hard about whether a development degree is the first path you should take.

Jesus calls us to look after the widows and the orphans, to be a voice for the voiceless. Everyone does not need to become an aid worker, but we all need to understand injustice and think about how we- using our vocations- can help change it. A piece of pater does not necessarily make a difference to your call. "The last thing we need is more experts," says Jessica. Too true. What we need are more people who are willing to trust God and take action.

[1] The Australian Council for International Development