The good life

Okay. So we’ve been in Thailand for almost two weeks and I haven’t written a single big post. 

Sorry-not-sorry, we’ve been living the good life. Most mornings, we’ve gotten up and had breakfast by 8, and aside from a short mid-afternoon catnap, we’ve been hanging out with staff and kids — fishing, dancing, playing volleyball or pétanque, making meals, eating, visiting markets or playing music — until we crash into bed around 10. 

And that’s pretty much what I “do” on these trips. Sure, I’m taking lots of photos and video, and I have some important business meetings. But the real purpose of my time here is to connect with the kids we serve, the staff with whom we work, and the communities our projects bless. 

And it’s as tiring as it is rewarding. But it’s these connections that make us effective. By investing in these friendships — one meal at a time — we’re creating and reinforcing the mutual trust that allows us to run an organization that serves more than 800 kids without having to employ even one “foreigner” on the ground in Asia. 

Cambodian staff run the whole show in Cambodia. From cook to country director, Thai hill tribe staff comprise our staff in Thailand. And in India’s Himalayas, all of our workers are from the local area, and speak the local language. 

All of this adds up to better care for our kids. The people they look up to on a daily basis understand their culture because it’s theirs too. 

So as we wrap up our time here in Thailand and prepare to return home, we do so with full hearts and bellies, confident that we’re leaving our projects in good hands, because those hands belong to our dear friends. 

John McCollumComment
Wrapping up our time in India

Our time in Kalimpong is over, and we’ve moved on to Seoul, for an extended layover. We’re taking the opportunity to hang out with our 25-year old son, Pak, who is working here as an English teacher. 

As I look back at our time in India I’m struck with a sense of gratitude for all God has done through and for the staff and kids of Asia’s Hope in Kalimpong. They’ve been through so much over the past few months, but they’re holding together well. In fact, I haven’t felt so much warmth and camaraderie – especially among the older girls – for quite some time. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but I know we’re on the right track.

We hosted all the girls from our Kalimpong 2 and 3 homes at the house we were renting, and spent the whole day dancing, laughing and making momos – Nepali/Tibeten dumplings. These girls are smart, talented and funny. And they quite obviously love each other.

On another day, we spent probably six hours with the boys from the Kalimpong 1 and 4 homes playing carrom, an Indian game similar to billiards played with checker-sized discs on a wooden board. I’ve gotten pretty good at the games over the years, and at one point, my young partner and I went on a six game winning streak! I think I earned some credibility, especially with some of the new kids I hadn’t met before.

We also had a number of really productive, open and heartfelt meetings with our staff, all of whom have faced incredible pressures over the past few months. We prayed fervently for the health of our work here in India, and emerged feeling united and energized for the year ahead.

And we ate. Lots and lots. I’m sure I had more than 200 momos during my time in Kalimpong, and I certainly drank at least a couple gallons of masala chai. And despite on 24-hour period where both Kori and I were stuck in bed due to food poisoning that we got on our last day in Mumbai, our trip was an unalloyed success. Lots of work remains to be done, but I sure feel a lot better about where we are than where I thought we’d be a few months ago.

I hope to return soon. I can’t imagine being able to stay away for a year. So it’s possible you’ll be seeing more pictures and hearing more stories from a trip to Kalimpong, sooner rather than later.

John McCollum Comment
"To Be Continued..."
"To Be Continued..."

Well, I said it was going to be a whirlwind.

Two weeks after arriving in Cambodia it’s just about time to leave. Last night, while thinking about writing this post, I asked Kori, “How on earth can I wrap up a trip like this?” She said, “To Be Continued…” That sounds about right ot me.

We’ve crammed a lot into our days here: we visited three cities, played games at 19 of our children’s homes, attended two churches, officiated two school commencements, been in one minor traffic accident, received hundreds of hugs – and consumed countless calories. 

We really have been making up for lost time. Thanks to Covid and complicated school schedules, it’s been almost five years since Kori and I traveled to Asia together, and almost a decade since we have come here without any of our kids. And while we miss being here as a family, we’re ready to embark on this new stage of our life as (mostly) empty nesters.

John Reed, our travel companion for the first leg of our journey, returns home tomorrow as we head off to our next destination. We’re going to miss him – he’s been an absolute joy: curious, kind, and eager to take whatever we’ve thrown at him. I love coming here with first-timers, especially ones like John. 

As a security precaution, I’ll probably post a little less frequently over the next couple of weeks, but I’ll be sure to catch everyone up when we move on again. In the meantime, enjoy these photos from the last couple weeks of our trip.

 

Our friend, John, tries balut — fertilized duck egg — on the streets of Phnom Penh.

 
John McCollumComment
What you'll remember most...

If you travel with me to Cambodia — especially if you’re a first time visitor — you’re going to experience the very best and the very worst that this world has to offer.

In a single day, we might visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum — a former primary school that the murderous Khmer Rouge regime transformed into a horrifying torture and interrogation site — and then we’ll enjoy dinner and a dance party with some of the world’s most adorable kids and their parents at Asia’s Hope.

We’ll drive past slums where street kids sniff glue to kill their hunger while Chinese billionaires and local oligarchs sweep by in their $750,000 Bentleys.

But what you’ll remember most from a visit to Asia’s Hope in Cambodia is the love. These kids, they love each other. And their parents know them, protect them and give their hearts to them every day. And that’s what will change you — if you let it.

Here are some pictures from our last few days.

John McCollumComment
Behold what manner...

I’ll remember this meal — especially its preparation — for a long, long, time. Honestly one of the best meals of my life…

Despite our short time in Phnom Penh, we’ve been loading on with memorable experiences with the staff and kids at Asia’s Hope in Prek Eng.

At church, I preached on 1 John 3:1 — “See what kind of love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” Or, as the King James Version I remember from my childhood rendered it, “Behold what manner of love the father has given unto us…”

Taking inspiration from my friend and pastor Jared Boyd, I asked the congregation, “Try to picture in your mind: identify with specificity the last time you truly experienced God’s love, when you knew not just intellectually, but knew with all your body and soul as well that you are truly safe and fully loved by God.”

To paraphrase something Jared had said recently, “Our deepest wounds will never be healed until we fully experience the love of God.” It’s not his omnipotence that makes the orphan whole. It’s not his omniscience that binds the broken places in the heart of a child who has been sexually abused. It’s his tender, intimate love that brings new life the dry and broken places in our hearts and in our world.

I don’t know if my words were effective or even well understood. I hope that at the very least, I’ve watered a seed, a seed that was planted when each of these kids first came to Asia’s Hope.

After church, I had one of the best meals of my life.

The meal was a masterpiece of traditional Khmer home cooking. We made (I kind of helped, so I think I can get away with using the first person here) three classic Cambodian dishes — samlor kako (sour pork soup with mixed traditional vegetables), kreung machu ktis sach chrouk (Khmer curry with pork) and amok trei (river fish steamed in banana leaves with coconut milk).

Each bite was a unique joy — intoxicating flavors of lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal, prahok, coconut and chili swirling effortlessly, receding and asserting themselves in an ecstatic… okay. You get the picture. It was amazing.

Taken along with the enjoyment of preparing this food with my dear friends, I’ll remember this as one of the best meals ever.

Eventually I’ll edit down some of the iPhone video my friend John Reed took of me and the staff cooking this lunch. I hope it’ll convey the familial love that makes Asia’s Hope a uniquely wonderful place for orphaned and vulnerable kids to grow up. The home parents really do adore each other. They love spending time together. They provide each other the friendship and support they need to do the nearly impossible job of rebuilding the lives of kids who have been beaten up and thrown out by the world.

And they cook a mean fish amok.

John McCollumComment
Jetlagged and whirlwinded

It’s 5:30 in the morning. And I really wish I was asleep. But jet lag doesn’t work that way. So I thought I’d take a couple minutes to write a quick journal entry.

Since hitting the ground in Phnom Penh less than 48 hours ago, Kori and I have been on the go almost nonstop. This trip is, we acknowledge, going to be a whirlwind. Even though we have seven weeks total, we don’t really a lot of time to spend at each home, each project.

On previous visits, we’d take a day or so to relax upon arrival, to get over jet lag before digging in to our time with Asia’s Hope staff and kids. But this year, we’re jumping right in, and as I lie in bed contemplating the day, it occurs to me that we might have overscheduled. 

Yesterday we were joined by a friend from our home church – John Reed – and I really wanted to take him to see Angkor Wat. I mean, what first-time visit to Cambodia is complete without a day at the country’s most important cultural and historical site? So that’s going to take a day or so out of the middle of our time here as well. It’ll be worth it, but we’re not building in much margin for any mishaps, missed connections or minor illnesses.

Before we picked up John Reed from the airport – we got up early, grabbed a quick plate of pork and rice at the little streetside restaurant across the street from our hotel and headed out to our campus to participate in a commencement ceremony for our Prek Eng Elementary School. It was quite an impressive little shindig, attended by dignitaries from the Ministry of Education, and our keynote speakers, the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Cults and Religions.

I’m thankful for the way Savorn, our national director, has forged excellent working relationships with the government here, and I’m grateful to the government of the Kingdom of Cambodia for providing us the support and latitude we’ve needed to build a world-class orphan care ministry in this country.

After breakfast this morning and a quick tour of our neighborhood for my buddy John, we’ll be heading back out to Prek Eng for an evening with the kids. I’ll be sure to post photos from that time in the next few days.

John McCollumComment
From Somewhere Over America

From the San Francisco Airport. 30-some hours to go…

Our flight out of Columbus was delayed for a half hour or so, due to something the captain called a “cosmetic external mechanical issue.” Yesterday, in an unrelated incident, an Alaska Airline flight was abruptly re-routed when a door separated from the cabin, sucking a young lad’s shirt clean off his torso, but leaving him otherwise unscathed. Our plane was cleared for takeoff, and we’ve been chasing a fiery sunset for the past two hours as we race toward San Francisco. All the doors — and shirts — seem to be intact. 

It feels like forever since Kori has traveled with me to Asia, and we’ve never gone to Cambodia or Thailand together without any kids, at least as far as I can recall. Our two boys are grown, 25 and 26, so their days of joining us on Asia’s Hope business are long past. Xiudan, our 18 year old daughter was supposed to come with a few more times, but Covid pretty much ruined the last few years’ travel plans…and now she’s in college, too busy with Physics, Stats and something called Linear Algebra to get away for long. 

So this trip feels pretty different. 

Also, last year was pretty rough. Some of it was just run-of-the-mill, everyone-deals-with-tough-stuff sorts of rough. But some of it has been catastrophic. And, I suspect, some of those catastrophes have nasty little tentacles intent on wriggling their way into 2024. 

But you know, God is good. As I told Kori last night, there are a lot of things I don’t know. But I do know for sure that we are supposed to be on this seven-week trip, and that we’re supposed to enjoy it. So, guess what? I’m ready to do this thing. 

Two nearly-empty-nesters who just celebrated 30 years of marriage, heading out over the horizon for a whirlwind visit to four countries, 35 children’s homes, a bunch of churches, a couple schools and a handful of student centers. I hope our presence will be an encouragement to the 800+ kids and 200+ staff of Asia’s Hope. And I pray that Kori and I will get filled up as well. 

Looks like we’ll be landing in San Fran in about a half hour. Then a long, long haul to Taipei. And then we should hit Phnom Penh something like 30 hours from now, just in time for lunch. And just like that, we’ll be off and running. 

I hope you’ll follow along both here and on the socials. I promise to post pics, stories and videos of people, places and meals that will make you smile. 

Cheers. 

John McCollum Comments
In loving memory of Steve and Kathy Cannell
 
 

I’ve known Jeff Cannell since I was in 8th grade.

Jeff and I have traveled to Cambodia together to visit Asia’s Hope throughout the years, but this was the first year I was able to travel with both him and his wife Adrienne.

We attended the same middle school, and although we weren’t close as kids, we reconnected as adults and I now consider him one of my dearest friends. When Jeff and Adrienne announced that they were planting a church in our Columbus neighborhood, Kori and I were among the first in line to join the team.

As Central Vineyard Church took shape, we became close not only to Jeff, but to Adrienne, his kids Ian and Kathleen, and to his dad Steve, who was something of a financial guru/strategic advisor to our little congregation. I never really knew Jeff’s mom Kathy — she died when Jeff was in his early 20s — but so many people around me have stories of her kindness, humility and commitment to others.

When Steve Cannell passed away in 2021, Jeff and Adrienne Cannell wanted to honor him and his late wife Kathy by blessing Asia’s Hope with a significant gift from their estate. They decided that purchasing a permanent home for our Battambang student center would be a fitting tribute to Steve and Kathy’s lifetime of generosity to underprivileged students, and in line with Steve’s longstanding respect for our organization’s work.

In fact, when Jeff was a small child, his mom taught English to Khmer refugees at their Christian Missionary Alliance church. So before I’d even heard of the country, Jeff attended a youth group that was primarily composed of kids from my now-beloved Cambodia.

It was at Central Vineyard under Jeff’s leadership that I was ordained as a pastor. And Central Vineyard, despite being a tiny church with limited financial resources, was the first congregation to fully sponsor a children’s home, thus pioneering our whole-home partnership model, which allowed us to grow Asia’s Hope from three homes to 35 over the following decade and a half.

In recent years, Central Vineyard transitioned its sponsorship from the Prek Eng 2 home to the Battambang student center, which had since its founding resided in a series of rented properties, and which today houses 90 university students who grew up at Asia’s Hope.

If you’d like to honor a loved one with a special gift to Asia’s Hope, please contact Roxi Larsen, our Director of Strategic Partnerships: roxi@asiashope.org.

When Steve passed away in 2021, Jeff and Adrienne wanted to honor him and Kathy by blessing Asia’s Hope with a significant gift from his estate. They decided that purchasing a permanent home for our Battambang student center would be a fitting tribute to Steve and Kathy’s lifetime of generosity to underprivileged students, and in line with Steve’s longstanding respect for our organization’s work.

Both Jeff and Adrienne have traveled to Cambodia before — on Asia’s Hope trips and as representatives of their denomination’s Cambodian church planting teams. But I’ve never traveled with both them together, and I really wanted to be there when our Cambodian leaders celebrated the purchase of the new facility with official dedication ceremonies and celebrations.

So about two weeks ago, I and Benjamin Hiltner — our Director of Media — met Jeff and Adrienne in Phnom Penh. We spent a few days with the kids at our Prek Eng campus, where they reconnected with staff and kids they’d loved and supported for years. We had a joyous reunion party, and saw a lot of the young adults who had previously grown up at Prek Eng 2.

Kathy Cannell teaching English to a Cambodian refugee child in Columbus, Ohio in 1981.

We then traveled the five hours away to Battambang for a week of celebrations, officially dedicating the student center to the memory of Jeff’s parents. The two main events were on Saturday and Sunday night. On Saturday, we threw a huge pizza party for the 90+ kids who call the center home. We rented a stage, and had live music, karaoke and a dance party. On Sunday night, we had a grand gala event on our Asia’s Hope campus, home to 13 children’s homes and our middle and high schools. 

We invited all of the university students, all of our staff, the kids currently living at our Battambang homes and a raft of government ministers and officials from local and national ministries and departments. We had a band, our kids performed skits and songs, and we even hired acrobats and clowns from the local circus! 

We roasted two cows and three pigs, and had endless soft drinks, fruit and side dishes. No one went hungry; in fact, we ate leftover pork and beef at the homes for the next two days! As the sun set, the temperatures cooled and we danced for what seemed like hours. Half a week later, my feet still hurt!

At one point in the evening, Jeff and I took a break from the mayhem and watched about 100 formerly-orphaned kids dance, jump and shout with complete abandon — well-fed, well-loved, completely safe. He leaned over and said, “It’s like heaven here.”

Amen to that.

As I write this, Jeff and Adrienne are now on their way home; their plane is somewhere over the Pacific. And tomorrow morning, Benjamin and I will return to Phnom Penh where we’ll spend a couple more days with the kids and staff there. 

But the work here remains. And at the Battambang student center, where 90 kids who grew up at Asia’s Hope and are enrolled in college, the work can go on for generation after generation. I’m proud of what we’ve done here, and I think Steve and Kathy, watching from heaven, are delighted as well.

We had a band, our kids performed skits and songs, and we even hired acrobats and clowns from the local circus! 

We roasted two cows and three pigs, and had endless soft drinks, fruit and side dishes. No one went hungry; in fact, we’ve ate leftover pork and beef at the homes for the next two days!

 
John McCollumComment