Mak Sou Olbrich travels the countryside visiting churches
“Curiosity killed the cat.” It’s an old maxim but I have a feeling the writer had more on his mind than dead cats. Human minds were the subject. If we have a knowledge vacuum, our natural tendency is to fill it with whatever fits our fancy. Rumors and gossip become the by-products. This human weakness was used to defeat the Khmer Rouge. Cambodians lacked any kind of normal weapon, so they relied upon the power of the rumor. At the end of the Khmer Rouge reign, more Khmer Rouge were being killed by the Khmer Rouge than Khmer Rouge killing civilians for suspected disloyalty.
My point? Do you want to ruin someone? Start a rumor. My boss and friend, Jim Scott, puts it this way, “Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.” That’s why communication is so important in Cambodia, and probably the whole world. Our church leaders absolutely have to know what’s going on or we all become casualties. Last fall a rumor was started that we were going to close our church homes. Sou and I will die here before that happens! But, that fib caught us off guard. People who wanted us to fail were behind that juicy tidbit. But, it was not until after prevailing against the attempt to close us, that this rumor finally came to the surface.
The moral? Communicate, communicate, communicate! We bend over backwards to let people know the truth. We’ve done daily staff meetings and frequent board meetings, but our leaders in Phnom Penh were not in regular contact with our local pastors. Mak Sou decided to visit all 26 Provinces in Cambodia. It keeps rumors from getting out of control. She really worked on re-establishing a personal connection with each pastor.
On her journey, Sou saw the stress and strain, and the wear and tear on homes that have been housing 30+ kids for up to 12 years. We went to work rehabbing; and even with our own crews purchasing the supplies wholesale, we spent over $100,000 on 32 homes just getting them back in shape. Ouch!
Sou also found, to her pleasant surprise, chapters of “Young Lions” opening up all over the country. She was thrilled to find that we were much healthier outside of headquarters than inside. It is a sobering little fact that is causing changes. Go Lions and Tigers!
