Highlight End Year 2016

Final Project

This year started off with graduation in all satellites, and Mr. Lay organized the final project for PP ONYX Cohort 3 to give their interactive presentations. The final project is organized to let us know just what and how much of program is internalized by our students. The topic was, “Create and Present your Idea of a Healthy Church.” From what you experienced in ONYX this year, show us what kind of church you would create if you were given the opportunity. The groups did well, letting us know that ONYX did indeed, model a form of church that could be reproduced in a Khmer setting, one that was safe, inclusive, nurturing and missional. Final Project

Graduation

13 out 15 graduated from ONYX Cohort 3. 4 men and 9 women graduated in January, a week before we launched our 4th Cohort (2017). 

ONYX in the Satellites

Our satellites had less of a hard time recruiting this year, and they all have the right amount of students. We like to have a bout 15, as the number is small enough where small group dynamics can still be used effectively. Kompong Cham will not run the Onyx Program in K. Cham city this year as Ms. Sarady is pioneering a modified version of ONYX in a remote area in Prey Veng that will be a pilot project to see how provincial emerging leaders respond to our program. 

ONYX Phnom Penh started off with a bang this year with 18 students. We settled in with 15 committed students. The demographics are different this year, whereas in the past we pulled in most our students from the margins of society. This year, the students are much older, more educated and hovering in middle class.

Ms. Choung Serey, DOVE Alongsider Program Director had designed and ONYX block based Chapman’s 5 Love Languages. Ms. Serey just finished the 4 week block and week 5 was a field trip to Tong Kiev (Kee-oh) where the students learned about forced eviction from Kevin Knight who helped re-settled Dey Krahom Community when it was evicted from valuable riverfront land in Phnom Penh, way out in the country. ONXY students applied the 5 love languages as went out to visit the people who living in the eviction site. Mr. Lay debriefed them afterwards 

Tang Kiev Eviction Resettlement Village Field Work Testimonies

Ms. Chenda is an Onyx student this year that went with this cohort to visit the resettlement community called Tang Kiev (Blue Tent). Kevin Knight, who is working with this group, showed us a film on the eviction in 2009. The Dey Krahom people were not just evicted once, but evicted twice. The second time was from their first resettlement village near the airport. Chenda shared, after watching the video of her experience earlier that day of visiting the people that live in the Tang Kiew community. Unlike most, Chenda was familiar with the difficulties one particular family that was living there, a widow and her kids.

“Through that moment God spoke to my heart, and I could see how the marvelous love that God gave to Mr. Kevin and his wife Leakhena, and all his staffs was working out in the village. I can now understand at a deeper level how and why the 5 love languages are very important, and I also know that some people’s need for love is different from another. Here is an example; ‘I went to visit one family and I met the mother and I was really trying to encourage her by my words but I knew that what she really needed were gifts (money or something that can help support her family), so my small group and I prayed for her, and her family after we finished as we finished our visit. 

Makara is an Onyx student from Takeo province and he comes to Phnom Penh every Friday, driving his motorbike 70km from his home to join Onyx class on Saturday morning. He was sharing his experience after fieldwork about what affected his heart in Tang Kiev. He shared how he saw the people trying to survive in order to feed their kids and take care their families. They don’t have much money, but they have love for their families and their love is shown by now they serve each other, help each other to earn money (7 years olds can even earn money to help support their families) and they never give up their lives even in the hardest situations. Through the 5 love languages I learned that we don’t need to have something big to give someone, and that just taking the time to talk with them, spend time with them, serving each other, and helping them with some of their needs is how to show real love and care. 

Kompong Thom

Kompong Thom is going great guns as Chumno and his wife have developed a drop in center for neighboring children and teens. Chumno’s wife has really jumped in and pushed this along, which causes to Chumno great joy when sees his wife rolling up her sleeves and jumping in. ONYX students in K.Thom are relatively younger than other areas as there is no work there and after high school, many students head for the Thai border to work construction, a very sad but unavoidable thing. If ASEAN unites the region using rail systems, then there will be more opportunities for service industries serving business and tourism needs. Chumno. through the drop in center is getting children and teens ready for this by teaching computer and language skills. 

DOVE Coffee House

Mr. Lay has perfected a coffee house ministry that has been rocking and rolling once a month. The participants are former and current ONYX students, DOVE Drop in Center kids, teens from the Center of Peace, Young life, and Vysal’s church. Lots of games, songs, snacks, and interactive lessons about how people of the Christian faith can identify and prioritize problems in society and have a part in their solution. About 50 -60 young people attend. The goal is encourage young people to be Christian voices for the poor and oppressed, and advocates for social justice. The can decide at what level of engagement they would like to be involved, whether it be posting information on FB, or something else. The Lion’s share of the church and its attendant missionaries do not want to offend the government by criticizing any policies or actions that might jeopardize their freedom to worship, no matter how wrong or oppressive. As Cambodia slides into darkness, the church shows little concern.

The Drop in Center

The Drop in Center will have its own report, but our coordinator, Mr. Virak and the leadership club teens don’t let the little opportunities slip by, even the sometimes seemingly inconsequential opportunities that can have a great impact. See below, comments made by a leadership club attendee.

Leadership Club Teen says, Thank You!

Happy birthday to you Phalla Chhem💚👌hehe first thanks to Ma mom for everything that you gave me and bring me to know the sun the moon and know this world 😊😍and thanks to my family that always care about me since I was born 😔😊💚hehe and then thanks to everyone in leadership club for surprise me hehe never think that can happen even if it's not yet arrived my birthday but I felt amazing 😉 and thanks again for all your wish everyone i want to say I love you all 💚and specially hope everything that your wish come true hehe 😂👌

#and sorry can't tag all 😊💚

Left is the card DOVE Leadership Club sent to Phalla who lives far away but attends club on Saturday.

Coming up in the next few weeks at DOVE: 

· Mentor’s training/meeting to encourage our PP ONYX mentors

· 2 Continued training on curriculum design for facilitation by Rev. Raju.

· ONYX adventure retreat with ONYX PP and ONYX Kompang Chhnang. 

I am proud of our staff as they work so hard with so little. Just about every source of our funding is late coming in this year and is causing Dove Staff to postpone programs and activities, and adjust things on a weekly basis to find ways to keep providing our quality ministries.