Technology Today

Many centuries ago, when missionaries would leave their home countries and travel to the mission field, they would do so with a heart of dedication and commitment. They would board steamer ships and sail weeks or even months to get to their destination. Popular stories tell of missionaries who would board these ships with all of their belongings packed in caskets because they didn't expect that they would be coming back. This was due to medical conditions and the cost of travel. But in spite of all this, they  left with an unwavering spirit and a heart of commitment to their Savior and Lord.

It is said that the Church in Africa and other countries around the world was literally built on the bones of countless missionaries and martyrs."

Also, in demonstrating his commitment to the work of the Gospel, C.T. Studd said, "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him."

We are deeply indebted to these missionaries who have paved the way for missionaries today and it is their example that inspires us in our ministry in Cambodia.

Today, however, technology has changed the method of missions. Through things like radio, television and cell phones, the Good News can be communicated across restrictive government lines. E-mail and internet makes communication next to instantaneous. And vehicles such as airliners speed up the travel from one continent to another so much so that now the trip can be made in a matter of hours rather than weeks or months.

One technology that we have used recently has been an internet-based computer program called Skype. Skype is a program in which we can view live video and audio of each other through the internet. This is great for communication, but since we've been here, we've been able to maintain our relationships with our friends back in Cambodia. We have even set up times where we can study together with our interns. Once, we had a devotional time together, and another time, we studied a lesson together - with them using their computer in Cambodia and us using our computer in Canada.

The devotional time was amazing, we prayed together, spent time studying Psalm 24 and sharing each other's prayer needs all through the computers! The second time we studied, I had a terrible headache and I figured that it was going to be difficult to teach. So, at the beginning, I asked all of the interns to pray for me. Obviously, they couldn't put their hands on me, but I really felt God touch my body while they prayed. After they prayed for me, I felt dramatically better and I was able to teach for the rest of the time with very little pain!

This time is a great time to be a missionary and we are blessed to be able to take advantage of all of the advances in technology that we have in this day and age.