Other than Khmer New Year (in April around Easter time), the biggest festival here is the Festival for the Dead held from the 16th to the 29th days of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. It is similar to the Chinese "Hungry Ghosts" festival; and just like the Chinese people, the Cambodians believe that the spirits of the dead can only return among the living during these days while the "ghost gate" is opened for a time. They believe that it is necessary to go to seven temples to present offerings to the monks and offer sacrifices to the spirits of the departed dead. Otherwise, the hungry ghosts will curse the living, causing them to become ill, have accidents or even die.

During these days the featured programs broadcast on the TV are all stories about the festival of the dead. I watched a series called "Weeping Ghost" about how a person who died was judged by the ruler of Hades and then received a torturous punishment. Despite all this, these are also happy days. The last three days are national holidays. Most shops close and everyone goes back to their hometowns to celebrate the festival and get together with their families. Rising early you will see women dressed in special festival clothing and carrying plates of food as they go to all the temples to worship. (The festival clothing is a white top, a sarong worn as a long skirt, and a white sash worn diagonally over one shoulder.) During these final days of the festival, the king also issues a proclamation blessing the people.

In church the messages from the pulpit are also built around this festival, reminding the Christian brothers and sisters that they may go to the temples to walk around and observe, but they are not to participate in any of the offering rituals. The reason for this is that there are a lot of singing concerts and dramatic productions given in the temple grounds; moreover the temples in both the cities and villages have the grandest buildings and the most spacious open squares. Last year the local pastors arranged a fellowship gathering for the whole church so that the brothers and sisters could participate at the church. This year I gave a short devotional at a children's and youth fellowship, using the opportunity to start them understanding how the Bible looks at the dead: that God's mighty power is victorious over all the forces of evil.

Prayer points:

1. I hope to have enough language ability to clearly express the message I want to communicate when preaching. I need to know how the people here think, so that the message will be suitable and relevant for them.
2. Pray for the old, outgoing staff from House of Love and House of Joy to be able to find new work. Pray for the new staff to do their work with honesty and faithfulness.
3. Pray for the November short term medical missions team, that the team members, local believers and missionaries can coordinate their efforts well.