From Cambodia (7 July)

Dear friends,

I am writing this message from Cambodia, where I have been meeting with representatives of a number of poor communities among whom my charity, Australian Collaboration Cambodia, works. Yesterday I visited a very poor village in Ratanaki Province where the people are from a minority group called the Jarai people, who have their own language and culture.

The village I visited has no toilets and no running water. The women of the village walk about 500 metres four or five times a day to collect water from holes in the ground that never run dry. They then carry the water back to their house on their back. As I reflected on the needs of these dear people it made me recall the words of Mother Teresa:

‘I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray that he will guide me to do whatever I’m supposed to do, what I can do. I used to pray for answers, but now I’m praying for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.’

Grace and peace to you all,

Chris