May 12-19 Popcorn: Cambodian children, Answered prayer, Afghanistan, China Urgency, The Office, TV, Ship Pix, Da Vinci Code, Street Art, Sri Lanka...

Kids who don't play video games. Perhaps some of you know Paul Ooi from Greenwood Gospel Chapel. He is on a short-term missions trip in Cambodia right now. On Tuesday, he wrote:

Angkor wat was just crawling with tourists - way more than last year apparently. The stairs of the temple were SOOO steep, you wouldn't believe it! Very Hot. There were a lot of children that would try to sell us things. It is really hard for them to earn a living and they just swarm you and make you offers and deals, and if you're a softy, you'll probably just give in. They tell you a sad story so that you'd buy from them. Or they'll reason with you - tell you all they know about Canada and try to get you to buy from them because of that reason. They obviously learn business tactics at a very young age. It's like a skill to survive.

"The Office". Work a regular job? Listen to the last 15 minutes--the last quarter--of this 55-minute George Verwer message. You may be inspired and acquire a new love for your job. :)

Answered Prayer. One of the very first things I posted on this blog was a request to pray for two specific GTA teacher friends. Click here to see this post. Since then, God has done so much in these teachers' lives. Dave just got a teaching job right there in East York, and Heather just been accepted at the school in Ethiopia. Praise God. I wonder if our prayers here made a difference.

Visit Afghanistan for a minute. A missionary from Afghanistan sent me this picture. Click for full size. I feel like I'm sitting right there in the room when I look at it, so thought I'd share it with you. Maybe utter a prayer for Afghanistan as you look at this picture.

Time is running out for China. Reading about China in Operation World recently made me realize something I've taken for granted. That is, I've often thought that China doesn't need any more missions help. Yes, there are probably over 50 million Christians there now--there were almost none 100 years ago--and yes, there are about 50,000 Chinese coming to Christ each day--praise God!--but as Operation World points out, "there may only be a 10-year window" of such harvest left. This is because, as China becomes more capitalistic and materialistic, she will most likely revert her attention to money and success and "freedom" - and away from God. This happens because we naturally look to God less the less we feel we need him. Pray for China - that God would continue to send labourers into her harvest field.

Watch too much TV? Read this poem at Matt Wilks' website to help you reduce your tube-time.

Ship Pix. I recently wrote about two young men aboard the Logos II ship in my blog "I want to CARE." Check out recent pictures--like this one taken in Jamaica last month--of this ship's ministry and adventures at mvlogos2.org. (I know some of those people.) :) It may inspire you to pray for the ship, support the ministry, or even join the ship yourself.

"The Da Vinci Code" is... I am amazed that so many intelligent, educated Canadians and others actually buy into the Da Vinci code theories. It actually blows me away that people believe this stuff. But don't take my word for it. Here's what Peter Millar of the the very-secular London Times had to say about this extremely popular book:

"THIS is without doubt, the silliest, most inaccurate, ill-informed, stereotype-driven, cloth-eared, cardboard-cutout-populated piece of pulp fiction that I have read. And that’s saying something. It would be bad enough that Brown has gone into New Age overdrive by trying to draw together the Grail, Mary Magdalene, the Knights Templar, the Priory of Sion, Rosicrucianism, Fibonacci numbers, the Isis cult and the Age of Aquarius. But he’s done it so sloppily."

Let's not be suckers of the times.

Amazing Street Art. God made people creative--here's proof--so they could worship Him better.

Sri Lanka Christians Suffering. A couple of years ago, a missionary to Toronto from Sri Lanka named Benji Devadason came to the church I go to--Leaside Bible Chapel--and presented a Saturday-morning seminar on evangelism. I think that sparked something good in our church that has carried on to this day. .. This week I indirectly got an email from Benji citing extreme persecution against Christians in his home country. The violence is greater than usual because the government is trying to protect the Christians' right to religious freedom. Needless to say, many in Sri Lanka do not agree this is a right Christians there should have. Here's an excerpt from the letter about what's happening:

A Buddhist monk led a 100-strong mob to attack a Methodist church in Piliyandala, southeast of Colombo, during Sunday's worship service. Three police officers were present during the attack. ... The police could not control the mob, however, and asked the minister to stop the service and allow people to go home. By that stage, the mob had smashed the indshields of several vehicles and toppled motorbikes parked outside the church. ... On March 19, excrement and burnt oil were thrown at the house of neighbors who were sympathetic to the pastor and his family. On March 22, another neighbouring family who had provided drinking water to the pastor found that their well had been poisoned.

Christians are suffering more than ever today. Let us not be ignorant or, worse still, indifferent. We have been called to mourn with those who mourn, weep with those who weep, and suffer with those who suffer. Let's pray for Sri Lanka.

Big prayer in the GTA. Where will you be on the Global Day of Prayer (Sat, June 4)? If you live in Toronto, please seriously consider participating in the city-wide prayer even to be held in the Air Canada Center. Find out more at prayGTA.com. Also, my friend Trevor attends a church in Toronto called Castlefield. On May 26-27, this church will be hosting 24 hours of prayer. Find out more at Castlefield.ca. Why not go? If you're like me, you don't pray enough; so scheduling something might help. :)

This Spring week, enjoy the Son.