September 7, 2014

September 7, 2014

Dear friends,

Last month we began a 4 month scripture memory competition for the teens in the Phnom Penh church. Each month, the teens who desire to participate are challenged to memorize an entire chapter of the book of Philippians. It was a blessing this afternoon to have 25 or so teens test on Philippians chapter 1. We are so blessed to have the privilege to help influence and direct young people who love the Lord and desire to live for Him. Please help pray a hedge of protection around the teens here in Phnom Penh as well as the other church plants as there are many forces seeking to destroy their lives.

We are so happy that LyLy has been to church for the past three weeks. You may remember that we met LyLy while going door-to-door in Toul Kork this past month. She is not saved yet but I believe that God is working in her heart. Please help pray that LyLy will be saved very soon. While we were visiting with her in her home yesterday we had the opportunity to meet her older sister, Seang. Seang is visiting from a village far away from Phnom Penh and will only be here for one week. She told us that she had never one time heard of a God named Jesus. She had never one time heard that God created her and everything around her. She knew that there is a Heaven and a Hell but she had no idea that she did not have to try and earn her way to Heaven. We were so happy that she visited our morning service today. This was the first time she had ever been in a Christian church. Please pray that our words with her on Saturday, the message this morning, and the literature she was given will find a place in her heart and will be used to bring about conviction, and that she will eventually accept the free gift of salvation.

Each Sunday morning for the past three weeks myself and three of our teen girls go to Toul Kork to pick up LyLy for the morning service. Today when I went to pick her up she was not quite ready yet. This gave me 30 minutes to speak to two of her employees who Debbie and I had a chance to meet yesterday while we were visiting LyLy. These two ladies just recently moved to Phnom Penh from a province far away from Phnom Penh. Just like Seang, they told me this morning that they had never heard of Jesus nor the truth that, according to the Word of God, He is the only way to Heaven. So rather than worrying about being late to the morning service because I had to wait an extra 30 minutes for LyLy to get dressed, I had the opportunity to explain more of the message of the gospel to these two ladies. Please pray that Srey Leak  and her sister (I can’t remember her name) will remain open to the gospel and that we will have the opportunity to meet with her very soon.

This evening it was a blessing to have Ming visit our service. She has visited another church in Kampong Cham province in the past but she is not yet saved. She is friends with Moni and we are happy to see that Moni has influence in her life. Ming works as a Chinese language translator at a company here in Phnom Penh. We know that no one ever makes it through the doors of the church by accident. It is always God’s will for them to hear truth and respond to truth. Please pray that Ming will read the materials we gave her and that Moni and some of the young adult ladies in the church will be able to lead her to faith in Christ.

We will sometimes introduce you to various members of the church here in Cambodia so that you might be able to more intelligently pray for the ministries here. I had the opportunity to meet Nigah and lead her to Christ several years ago. She has had her spiritual ups and downs as we all have. As the only Christian in her family she has no one at home to encourage her in her walk with the Lord. In fact, most of her family thinks that she is absolutely crazy for being a Christian and trying to stand for the Lord. Nigah has been blind since the age of two. She speaks nearly fluent English and owns and operates her own business with several employees here in Phnom Penh. Debbie has the opportunity to meet with her for one-on-one discipleship and encouragement every Wednesday afternoon. Please pray that Nigah will be a bold witness for the Lord at work and that she will be continue to give her best effort to be at every church service.

Please pray for the following items:

1) The salvation of Sarom and his wife, SokunThea.

2) For the salvation of Ally.

3) For God to open the door for us to pursue a closer relationship with a new friend, Mark, whom we met this past week.

4) The spiritual stability of those involved with the church plant in Brey Bang village.

5) The future church plant in Trabang Tma village.

4) The future church plant in Toul Kork district.

Because of God’s grace,

Dave, Debbie, Joshua, Jeremy, and Jason