gotta get back into the groove… March 31, 2007
Posted by jeffcannell in Friends, church.7 comments
I’m back, I’m better, I’m catching up.
Lotsa stuff swirling around- so I’m trying to catch my breath.
One cool thing: Patrick Crawford has a blog now! Check it- he may even keep posting if enough of us chuckleheads start reading it. Good stuff so far.
BTW- Morrissey is coming to town, Adrienne and I are going with Grant and Rocki! There goes our dating budget.
I’m back… March 17, 2007
Posted by jeffcannell in Cambodia, Family, Friends, church.3 comments
**quick note- I’m avoiding people right now until my immune system bounces back and I get some more energy**
Hey guys- I hope you have been able to keep abreast of our trip on John and Jordan’s blogs.
I got a little sick when I was over there. I was so fatigued I was sleeping day and night- with about 1 or two hours of energy. I started getting really sick on Sunday while I was preaching at Narin’s church. John says I looked ready to keel over during the second service. I eventually went to the SOS clinic (closest thing to a western hospital). They gave me 4 bags of saline and gave me a blood test. My white blood cel count was at 2,000 (should be bw 7,000 and 10,000). The next day my white blood cel count was down to 1,600. The doc reccommended I wait another two weeks before flying back- but I wanted to get home quickly to my family (and western medicine). According to JMC this little Drama was my intitiation into doing work in Cambodia 
Meeting the kids in our orphanage and catching more vision was definitly worth all the other drama.
The flight was amazingly without drama (thanks to the prayers of all the kids in our orphanage) Jordan’s a great guy to travel with. Special thanks to Tim and Beth Koruna for making some special arrangments for us during our LA layover, and for helping Adrienne with the logistics of pickin me up.
Spent the morning at an OSU health clinic for sme blood work- praying that my blood is one the way back to normall.
I have so much blogs bouncing around in my head about the trip that I hope make it out one of these days.
Wandering and Preaching… March 9, 2007
Posted by jeffcannell in Cambodia.2 comments
Check out My Cousen Jordan’s Blog for his perspective on this trip– Good stuff!
John’s stuff is here.
I am not a very good tourist. I hate to be driven around site to site. I’m the kind of guy who wants to enjoy the stuff in between sites. When I visit a place I want to feel like I know the neighborhood. Yesterday I spent an hour or so trying to make sense of my Phnom Penh map. I grew more and more frustrated. Today I walked for 3 hours, found our orphanage, and was able to gather enough information to make my own map. I now feel like I have added a new neighborhood to my collection of neighborhoods I call home.
(I found a chinese medicine shop that sold huge jars containing cobras suspended in some strange fluid with a scorpion in their mouth!, apparently it is a kidney remedy- I migh try yo bring one back –Snakes on a Plane!)
I showed up unannounced at our orphanage and was greeted with the site of 1/2 our kids taking noontime naps in the front lobby. What a bunch of cuties. I also got to ride on the back of a few Motos (Honda C-90’s aka Super-Cubs) Words cannot describe the traffic chaos, but everyone is used to it- so I feel safe, but it looks insane.
I am NOT an itinerant Preacher. I love teaching at Central VIneyard because It feels like family. In the US I turn down most invitations to speak outside our church. It’s probably a mix between insecurity and a desire to know WHO I’m talking to so I can craft my talk accordingly. I hatye flying blind. I l;ike routines, maybe that’s why I rarely leave my neighborhood (43202). So I was completely stressed out being a speaker at a key outreach led by Gospel Commission Fellowship. My friend Narin Chey is the Pastor of this Church. Central Vineyard began to pay his salary last year as he began planting this church. The church is now up to 160 and has moved to two services. Narin had the idea to have us rent out one of the primo restaurants in Pnomh Penh and hold an outreach. He planned for 70 to attend and 85 people showed up. It was an interesting mix of people form students to some ranking Govt. Officials. I sat next to a Generals wife for the meal. If any of you are familiar with the Cambodian GOvt. you will know just how interesting a scenario this is. Narin is working hard to change his country by bringing those in charge to Jesus. The Outreach began with John and Jordan playing worship songs together. This was Jordan’s first time playing guitar in front of people. They did a great Job!! Jordan is one of the best people to travel with. He is willing to try and do ANYTHING. He is a low key guy- but that is not to be confused with timmidity. His more introverted- subversive way of connecting with people really helps to balance John and me with our more aggressive form of connecting. We get to be a well-rounded team of not so well rounded individuals!
John shared a short testimony about the Gospel’s ability to help you overcome fear.
I followed on the theme of fear by making everyone laugh about my fear of flying- sharing some anecdotes, including the drama involved in getting to Cambodia. The only humor that really translates is self effacement in the culture- so they got to laugh at the funny looking white guy 
My talk was about the Resurrection of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ’s followers in the future- and specifically how that inspired early Christians to abandon their fear of world powers (i.e. Rome etc) and proclaim the gospel- not fearing the death that they would inevitably face. (I Love to plagarize NT Wright) I talked about how because of the Death and ressurection of Jesus, poor and rich, powerful and powerless- can be made one community in Christ. After I spoke Narin said some words and led people in a prayer of commitment to Christ. Attendees filled out comment cards and 17 indicated they mad decisions to follow Jesus whgile 30 indicated they would like to get together with one of the leaders to find out more about Jesus. wow!
(As I write this blog john and Jordan are playing live music by the riverfront along the main drag of Mao Tse Toung Blvd. )
BTW- I found out that Cambodians love to mock those that drive Vespa’s. Vespa’’s are big in Thailand and Viet Nam- But the Cambodians think they are crap– That having been said- I found a 100 dollar side saddle seat for my Vespa Super for 10 bucks at the market!
Too Much To write… (no spell check- in a hurry) March 6, 2007
Posted by jeffcannell in Cambodia, church.6 comments
Yesterday was a day where I was able to linger on the two extremes of the human story.
Spending several hours at Tual Sleng, the elementary school turned concentration camp. Lingering over the countless pictures of people waiting to be tortured and executed by the Khmer Rouge. I spent about twenty minutes in a room with cases of human skulls, where you could see the evidence of blunt head trauma or gunshot wounds. I walked into the cells were the prisioners were kept- looked at the leg irons that gnawed through skin and ligament to bone as prisoners were strapped to beds and electrocuted. All of this in the name of NO God. People talk of the attrocities committed in the name of religion, but perhaps they should linger on the atrocities committed in the name of no religion other than the religion on self.
Contrast that with hours of hugging and singing, wrestling and playing with the children who live in our orphan home. Guys this place is a patch of heaven. IN a place where so much darkness abounds (human trafficing, child sex slaves, government corruption, etc) in this small house the kingdom of Jesus Christ reigns supreme. These kids are treated as God intended. Every day they learn of the Love of Jesus at school, over home cooked meals, games, in \the new families they have found. On the way to the orphanage we see children picking through dumpsters for scraps of food. When I look at the smiling healthy faces of our children, It is hard to grasp that they used to be the ones looking for food in the garbage!
I spent a lot of time talking with Narun, the director of our orphanage- dreaming of opportunities for our Church to start another one.
Satan has tried to destroy this country- but we are seeing evidences of Jesus taking it back. We will just need anothe 40 people to sacrifice 40.00 a month in order to start another orphanage. My dream is to bring my whole family out here. I’m sure the kids would love to stay with the kids at our orphan house.
We spent the day driving to Siem Riep. On the way we passed a 4 square Gospel Orphanage. We stopped, met the directors and were able to pray with them and leave them with a financial blessing.
I have so much more to right- but I know JMC is probably doing a much better job at it two internet kiosks over.
Please Pray for me as I prepare for sharing an evangelistic talk on Saturday, and for my preaching at Narin Chey’s church two times on Sunday!
Getting ready to leave March 6, 2007
Posted by jeffcannell in Cambodia, Family.add a comment
Did anyone else take a fall while walking on ice today? It figures that I would mess my neck up before going to Cambodia. Tuesday night JMC, Jordy, Brooksy, and myself got together to hash out Trip details, now I’m just trying to hash out health details. Between vertigo, lower back, neck, etc problems I think I’m going to be bringing some pills with me! Your prayers would be appreciated.
I’m probably going to post a buncha videos of my family so I can watch them when I’m out of town. (I need to figure out my frame-rate issues on youtube.
Here is the best place for my Cambodia Trip Updates March 4, 2007
Posted by jeffcannell in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
John’s Other Side of Dawn Blog
Waiting in Tapei! March 4, 2007
Posted by jeffcannell in Cambodia, Friends.3 comments
As some may know if you check JMC’s Blog, we got off to a rather lackluster start. On the way to Pittsburgh through much medication, prayer, and concentration– I was able to forstall throwing up till I was out of the plain. I had enough wherewithall to not vomit against the wind- thus preserving my trravel attire. One valium and two meclizene pills later (not to mention a two hour nap) I was ready to Go. The rest of the flights were rather uneventful. Can I just say that I love Eva airlines. I wish American air-carriers could take a cue from their asian counterparts in the arena of customer care.
We had an amazing breakfast of dumplings and Perrier, and we shall depart Tapei for Pnomh Penh in an hour or so.
Adrienne, Ian, and Kathleen- I miss you guys. I hope you are checking my blog. Keep checking JMC’s for photo updates etc!
Off to Cambodia!! March 2, 2007
Posted by jeffcannell in Cambodia, Family, Friends, church.6 comments
I’ve been crazy the past week getting ready for my Flight to Cambodia. John has a blog that he keeps updated- I hope to follow his example- but probably won’t.
I look forward to meeting the children and staff of our orphanage for the first time.
I look forward to getting back to my ALPHA roots by preaching at a restaurant (an perhaps a church or two)
I look forward to seeing the beginning of Asia’s Hope’s (And Central Vineyard’s) first foray into the wacky world of micro-enterprise development (in the form of Coffee Shops around Cambodia, the family business for the fatherless!
I also look forward to hanging with John, Allison, and my cousin Jordan.
Pray for us!
