WORTH THE WAIT
Traditional North American methods of learning do not work well with Cambodians because they come from an oral society. By creating an oral pathway of training, Khmer leaders will be better equipped to minister and lead the church and believers.
I was recently asked about the progress of the education program that we have been working on in Cambodia. I answered, “We wait . . . and learn . . . and pray . . . and work . . . each and every day.” That was the answer that came.
The creation of the Oral Curriculum Project—a theological education initiative in Cambodia that is based upon oral learning methods, obedience-based assessments, and practical ministerial and Bible study skills— has been an experience of constant learning, hard work, and patience. When we dreamed of the program years ago, we did not anticipate the arduous work of adapting principles of spiritual growth to be contextualized and crafted into Khmer lessons and then moving from those lessons to live performances and well-produced videos. But we have learned. With the help of God, trial and error, and, of course, YouTube, the videos are rolling onto our own oral curriculum program channel.
When we began the video project one year ago, we anticipated that the videos would be produced quickly and without great difficulty. Today, remembering those moments of naïve ignorance make us laugh, and we appreciate all that God has done in our midst. He has brought together a team of individuals, both Khmer and international, with varying talents, quirks, and abilities, to be a cohesive team of servants and professionals. We prepare lessons that combine times of teaching, translated Bible project videos, listening to Scripture, and hearing testimonies and spiritual songs—then recording the lessons, doing the narration, and editing graphics, videos, and subtitles. In the midst of this, we always anticipate the future students in the villages around Cambodia, both from The Wesleyan Church and other organizations, who will learn to be obedient to God and study the Scriptures using the videos of the oral curriculum program.
Our prayer is that God continues to give us passion, defending us when the Enemy attempts to steal our hearts and perseverance as the moment of launch when students begin the program tarries. But even in the lingering interval, we know that what we do in the moments of waiting and working matter—that learning and praying matter—and we thank the Lord for providing us the ability to work on the oral curriculum program, for it truly is a blessing to be working on something that is worth the wait.