Dear CCAM Partners and Friends,

An important event that occurred in August was the CANA-CCAM Christian Arts Seminar held at New Jerusalem Church, Phnom Penh. CCAM partnered with Steve Scott, Director of CANA (Christian Artists Networking Association) to plan and host it.

Thanks so much for your prayers! We knew that people were praying for us; because there was electrical power throughout the two days, there was no rain at all, and the entire planned schedule synched very smoothly. There were a couple of instances when we suspected that a spiritual attack was launched, but God protected us.

On the first day, for no apparent reason, the video camera just switched off during the first part of Sophun’s testimony, and then automatically resumed filming from the middle to the end. Fortunately, when Kelsey began editing the documentary video, she found that the remaining portion of his testimony contained the most meaningful message anyway!

On the second day, the van Kelsey had just loaded with dancers to travel to the final performance just wouldn’t start. After prayer, it finally did start, and they all arrived just in time to deliver a spectacular performance!

The seminar was blessed by an enthusiastic group of participants, who were also blessed by the opportunity to link with other people in the area and to plan new partnerships for the future. They also learned new things about the biblical basis for Christian arts ministry from Gioia’s presentation, “God the Creator’s Perspective on the Arts: Revealed in His Creation and in His Word.” Some participants even expressed their desire to get together again to review Gioia’s PowerPoint at a slower pace and have more time for discussion.

In closing, Steve explained about plans to host a bigger CANA Christian Arts Conference in Cambodia for 2015, asking for volunteers to help facilitate such an undertaking. Since then, Gioia has already completed a sequel to her first presentation in preparation for next year’s conference! It is entitled “Cleansed Vessels: Art and Artists Transformed by the Gospel.”

Noren was the translator of Gioia’s presentation, assisted by Tikhia and Sophun. Printed notes in Khmer and English were handed out to participants. Both Noren and Sophun served as live translators during the seminar.

Our documentary video featuring highlights of this event (filmed and edited by Kelsey) is now posted on YouTube. Click here to view it!

Our hope is that watching this video will help you to better understand the ministry of CCAM, as well as to enjoy some of the special moments of the seminar, as though you were there in person! It chronicles 18 hours over a span of two days in just 30 minutes! But to really enjoy it, you should wait until you actually have 30 minutes available for leisurely viewing!

Video Highlights:

- Welcome of Participants by CCAM Drummers
- Candid Shots of Leaders and Participants
- Worship led by Pastor David Bin of New Jerusalem Church
- PowerPoint Presentations:
   - “God’s the Creator’s Perspective on the Arts: Revealed in His Creation and in His Word” (Gioia)
   - “Creative Insights from the Gospel of John” (Steve)
   - “Conversation: Peace – Pictures that Preach,” Artwork by CCAM Students (Gioia)
- Testimonies:
   - Pastor David Bin – Pastor of New Jerusalem Church and Creative Partner with CCAM
   - Sophun Ty – CCAM Graduate Staff
   - Lina Pao – Transform Cambodia (former student and current creative partner with CCAM)
   - Chan Chao – Current CCAM student
- Dance Performances:
   - “Called to Be a Priest Forever” (CCAM)
   - “Song of the Bondservants” (CCAM)

To view complete PDFs of Gioia’s PowerPoints listed above, and other documents from the seminar, click here.

Please let us know what you think!

Many blessings,
Gioia and Noren (for the CCAMS Family)