Weekend

I have been to three church services in the past 24 hours. Saturday evening I went to a Catholic mass, but with the international flair it didn't see all Catholic to me. Since it was a Marionols (I'm sure this is mispelled) service, it was also different from the mainstream church. Ben told me the Marionols are the Mennonites of the Catholic world. Apparently they stress the peace aspect of faith as well. The second service I attended was the Phnom Penh Mennonite Church that EMM started. This service was completely in Khmer, so I only understood the numbers when they were called. And this was the longest service, lasting just over 2 hours. Amy and I decided to give it a try and from what I understood, I enjoyed it. About 60 people attend the church regularly and about a third talked to either Amy or me after the service. We met two previous IVEPers and students from the Phnom Penh Bible College. The last service was this afternoon at the World Vision building, International Christian Fellowship. This service, which the majority of the MCCers attend, is probably the closest to a service in the States that I would attend. We sang praise and worship with a keyboard and a sermon on contentment based on Philippians 4.

After Catholic mass yesterday evening, Ben, Amy, Charles, and I went to a benefit concert for a Cambodian NGO that trains disabled persons to repair electrical equipment to earn a living. A very animated Canadian played several pieces on the piano-jazz, classical, spunky stuff- and talked. It's rather hard to explain this man; his name is Arnie and full of zany energy and spunk. In addition to him, several Cambodians played traditional instraments while a couple sang traditional wedding songs. It was a delightful experience. But I'm not sure I'll have the same opportunities for concerts and cultural events in Prey Veng as I have here in Phnom Penh. But who knows?