“Most of us want to have a meaningful life, but this time I want to say that we have a meaningful lesson of this Onyx Block with Personal Spiritual Formation”
We spent 4 weeks together in the Block called Personal Spiritual Formation where there was lot of shaping and learning from each other and God. Beginning on April 29th we started the block with a good exercise to help us reflect on our lives. In this game we arranged ourselves in a circle, held a string that connected us all, and we had one person stand in the middle. We now looked like a wheel. Our life is like a wheel that needs to move, but we must be connected to the hub of the wheel, which is Jesus Christ. So, this lesson reminded us, that as a community of Christ, we can only be closer to God to the extent that we are close to each other.
On the second week of Personal Spiritual Formation (May 6th) it was good to meet up with all the ONYX mentors, teachers and Onyx students. Around 30 people joined together for discussion, review, and great fellowship. We all had lunch together after the students finished the class in morning. They had learned how to understand and apply their spirituality with new practices that made them feel closer to God, and desirous to worship Him. The taste of Ya Hon, a great Khmer dish prepared by Vysal’s mother was amazing, and we really appreciated how God made a variety of foods for all of us to enjoy.
May 20th was the third week of Personal Spiritual Formation, and we found ourselves had us decorating a clay pots (representing our lives) only to smash them and re-assemble the pots into an even more beautiful expression. Brokenness leads to beauty if we allow it to. One of students, Mrs. Rattana was sharing her life story before decorating the pot. Her life was broken when she was divorced from her husband in 2015, shortly after she gave her life to God. Her problem was that her husband drank a lot, hung out until late night, and did not take care of the family. So, they decided to divorce when she realized she could not continue in this kind of abusive relationship with her husband. She was still responsible for raising and supporting her 3 sons. Her life was full of brokenness from this this relationship, but God comforted and restored her life, and gives her hope through her brothers and sisters at Church and the Onyx program as well. She told us that when she heard some of the Onyx student’s testimonies, they were really moving, she realized that some of them had more brokenness than she did, and she learned and was inspired through the students of the Onyx program (picture below first girl with black shirt at right side).
The last week of PSF was a field trip to a place called Silk Island about 45 minutes from Phnom Penh City. We needed to cross the ferry to get to the Island. On this trip, the students were to spend a quiet time with God in nature. They can use whatever practices they found helpful in class like meditating, reflecting and listening to God, rather than speaking to him. Before sending them out for a time of silence and solitude, we played a team building game in two groups. We first did a dry run and Group 1 was the winner but they could not complete the assignment in the allotted amount of time. After the first round, each group discussed a new strategy. Then we began the real competition. This time the Group 2 won, but still could not finish under one minute. Before the last round, each group evaluated and strategized again, and participants switched roles. This time Group 1 was the winner without a mistake and they did it within a minute. So, after they finished the game, the students shared what they learned from this game, and reflected that it is really important to have more discussion and sharing. The said they needed to listen well to each other, to understand each other clearly, and to know their gifts and responsibilities in the group. A bit of self-knowledge, spending time alone in solitude listening to God helps not only us, but contributes to the spiritual health of our community.
“The Unexamined Life is not a Life Worth Living.” Howard Hendrix.
This is one of the key underlying principles upon which the ONYX program was designed, taking our students on a journey of self-reflection and examination through the 5 Love Languages, Focused Living Time-Line, and Personal Spiritual Formation and continuing the journey as we examine the more corporate/social contexts that shape us in the Leadership, Missional Church, Social Justice and Khmer Church History blocks.
Dallas Willard liked to say: “You have already been shaped, now God intends to re-shape you.” This is what the ONYX program is about.
Most Christian training programs available here either ‘provide more of what never worked in the first place,’ or new, up-to-date information that can make one more effective in their profession or ministry. Neither focuses much on the hard work of personal transformation over the long haul- it appears to be a given if one attends church and reads the bible, transformation will automatically happen. With the ONYX program, we admit we cannot transform anyone, but we can try to prepare an environment where the Holy Spirit has permission and room to work. We like to start a conversation between God and our students and get the heck out of the way. Our intent is that when students finish, they will have ‘good news’ that runs deeper than personal piety and a new belief system to share with others, ‘good news’ of an examined life, a life where suffering and trauma is being transformed into a new consciousness. We have to put on our oxygen masks first.
I was recently introduced to another expat as the mastermind behind the ONYX program. Big word for a Cambodian! I have never been the mastermind of anything, only my own life crisis. I just pull the people, resources, and pieces together. When I reflected upon his statement, I realized that this year’s 5 Love Language, Time-Line, and Personal Spiritual Formation blocks were taught by women, wounded healers (ages 35–45), who had gone through deep trauma and suffering, and who have found true freedom and healing as they worked through their pain. The medium in these cases was truly the message. Our adventure retreat was largely planned and run by Mr. Lay (Vysal’s replacement). Those who facilitate each block have gone through our ONYX training and have been trained by a certified professional Facilitator in facilitation skills, Rev. Raju Sbagwat. It truly is a collective effort and I could walk away and be confident Mr. Lay (Dove Leadership Coordinator) will continue to lead and improvise the right context for personal and spiritual growth for our yearly community of pilgrims and sojourners.
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