Meeting and mixing with Government Officials

We have had several opportunities to meet with government officials the last two weeks. We were invited to attend another meeting in regard to the results of the survey on violence against children. We went with Samnang to what we thought was a meeting with the minister about getting a permit signed. However when we arrived we discovered that it was a day long conference.  During the break we sat at a table with the minister and his daughter who is his assistant. She committed to getting the permit signed and that did happen. It is now legal to use the new chapel in Kampong Thom for a religious purpose. The minister had been holding that permit for months so mission accomplished!!  While there the minister invited us to another event the next week. We said we would come not understanding what it was but we always take advantage of any opportunity to be with them. As we approached the venue we realized that this was huge. There were flags up everywhere and the roads were blocked and there were many big black cars.  We drove up to the road block to ask to get through so we could get in.  We could see that people were showing a ticket which we did not have so we just tapped our missionary badge and they let us through!  When we walked through the door the minister was right there and asked someone to find us a seat. We ended up being right in the middle of a big group of monks. They made a whole row move to make room for us.  The main speaker was Heng Samrin who is the equivalent of the president of the congress. There was a beautiful dance presentation at the beginning and many huge baskets of flowers presented by different people at the end of the speech.  It seemed to be a commemoration of the end of the war here and the development of Cambodia. We didn't understand a word but that's ok as we have been in this situation before!!  The next event was at the ministry of religion and was a day of prayer event for the safety and well being of children in Cambodia.  There were many monks again as well as speeches from the Muslims and Christian groups too.  It was interesting and again we didn't understand much but made contact again with people who have become friends and that is our goal. We also were able to meet with the general who is part of the ministry of the interior and is responsible for implementing the new immigration laws which could impact the issuing of visas. He was very cordial and reassured us that all religions are welcome in Cambodia. He told us that his inlaws are are Christians. It has been a busy couple of weeks with government officials!!