August 3, 2015
Dear friends,
Last Sunday evening the Phnom Penh teens ran the entire service. They did a wonderful job! We are so blessed to see the spiritual, mental, and emotional growth that is taking place in the lives of these young people. After the service we all went out for donuts!
Bundith shared a testimony of how God has changed his life since he got saved. It has been a blessing to see the growth that has taken place in his life because of those whom God has used to help guide him spiritually. Bundith was saved here at the church about three years ago. BouKong opened the service in prayer. We have written in the past regarding the persecution that he has experienced at home because of his belief in Jesus Christ. BouKong accepted Christ this past year here at the church. Vannak led the song service. He and Jason practiced several times during the week to get it just right. Vannak accepted Christ about two months ago here at the church and we anticipate him receiving Believer’s Baptism this coming Sunday morning. All three of these young men were reached through the Phnom Penh Children’s Ministry.
Sron gave a report on one of the ministries here at the church. He accepted Christ as his personal Saviour here at the church this past year. A couple of weeks ago he was given an ultimatum by his family – Choose Jesus or choose your family…He chose to follow Christ and was physically kicked out of the house. He is presently living with someone who is a part of the church. Please pray for Sron as well as for his mother’s heart to be softened to the gospel. Lyma shared a wonderful testimony of how he came to Christ and of the growth that has taken place in his heart since he has been saved. He accepted Christ this past year here at the church. Both of these young men were reached through the Phnom Penh Children’s Ministry.
Alec was responsible for handling the time during our evening service when people from the congregation share blessings. He waited the entire week in anticipation for Sunday evening and took his responsibility very seriously. Praise God for the growth we have seen in Alec’s life despite the obstacles he faces on a daily basis. He came to Christ here at the church this past year. Nisa shared a testimony of salvation and the joy that she has serving the Lord. It has been an encouragement to see the spiritual growth that has taken place in her life over the past several months. Nisa was saved here at the church about three years ago. Both of these young people were reached through the Phnom Penh Children’s Ministry.
Borey played a beautiful special number on the piano. She has been taking lessons from Debbie for the past two years and has shown herself to be a diligent student. Borey and her mother were both reached about a little over two years ago through door-to-door soul-winning here at the church. Jason played for the congregational singing and did a great job! As his parents, we are blessed to see his heart for the Lord and his love for music. He truly gives it his very best every time he plays for one of the services.
Buth taught a short lesson dealing with the deception of Evolution as it is presented in the textbooks here in Cambodia. God has blessed him with a sharp mind that enjoys Science. He devotes hours and hours to researching books dealing with Creation and Science. To date, there is no real effective voice speaking in defense of the Genesis account of Creation here in Cambodia. We trust, as God leads in his life, that Buth will become an expert in defending his faith in the Word of God. He has a strong burden to see his people understand that the Bible can be trusted and that they are being taught lies when they are told that their lives are merely a product of nature. I have asked Buth to prepare perhaps 15 weeks worth of lessons that he will present during our Sunday evening services dealing with Creation and Evolution. Each lesson will last for 8 minutes. Joshua and Buth are working together to prepare sharp PowerPoint presentations in Khmer to go along with each lesson. Buth was reached with the gospel about two years ago while studying English in a private school. His professor is a member of our church and led him to Christ through personal soul-winning.
We were privileged to have two young men preach Sunday evening. Noi and Veasna both did a fantastic job of preaching the truths that God had placed upon their hearts. We are so blessed to see the growth that has taken place in the lives of both of these young men! They both were reached with the gospel here at the church about four years ago through the Phnom Penh Children’s Ministry. Thankfully, Veasna’s mother and father have both made a profession of faith recently. This is in part due to Veasna’s godly testimony at home. Please pray for their spiritual growth as Bro. Vong works on discipling them.
Somphas, one of the deaf ladies in our church, continues to be a blessing to each of us. Sunday evening the individual who normally picks her up for church was unable to do so. Despite the fact that it was pouring down rain, Somphas got on her bicycle and rode for perhaps 30 minutes or so in order to get to church! The Tuk Tuk was able to take her and her bike back home after the service. She has been experiencing serious persecution since she made some decisions to obey Christ in recent weeks. Her unsaved family tries their very best to keep her away from the church and any Christian influence. Please pray for Somphas to continue to trust the Lord and obey His will. Also, please pray for her mother to open her heart to the gospel.
Phnom Penh was deluged by rain this weekend. You can click on the video above to see what it was like directly in front of our house and the church. Many of our members homes were flooded with water up to their knees.
Please pray for Hang and Bopha to be saved. They live down the street from the Phnom Penh church. Both of their children have accepted Christ and are very faithful to church. Hang repairs electronics out of his home for a living and Bopha sells soft drinks on the street. They both work so many hours that it is difficult to actually find them at home. We recently had the opportunity to take them out for dinner and spend a few hours with them. I hope to meet with Hang very soon to discuss the evangelistic booklet we have asked him to read.
Srey Mohm, 16 years old, attends our church in Psa Tricht village (about 2 hours from Phnom Penh). It is amazing to see the faith that this young lady has in the Lord. Her grandfather is the man standing to her right and he is blind. Srey Mohm came to Christ through his example. Her public school recently hosted a special event and required that each student come up on the platform, one by one, and sing a song for the entire student body to listen to. As could be expected, the students each sang popular worldly songs. Many of the songs were obviously dishonoring to Christ and would be totally inappropriate for a Christian to sing. When it was Srey Mohm’s turn to go up front she asked if it would be okay for her to sing any song she chose to sing. Her principal said that it was totally up to her. So, she went up to the platform and sang one of the songs that she had learned at church! I can only imagine the mocking and ridicule that she endured for taking that stand for the Lord. It’s humbling to even be around many of the folks here in Cambodia who have been forced to take a stronger stand for the Lord than most of us have ever thought about taking! Pray for SreyMohm and the folks who are a part of the outreach to Psa Tricht village and about 10 villages near Psa Tricht.
We recently began going back to Prak Pnou village (about 40 minutes from Phnom Penh). Myself, Bro. Vong, and Bro. Has have been going there each Tuesday now for several weeks. It has been a blessing to be able to renew fellowship with two folks the Lord allowed me to lead to Him some time ago, Grandma Souen and Oudom. I began discipling Oudom once again three weeks ago and Bro. Vong is working with Grandma Souen. Please pray for Oudom’s father, Pheap, to be saved. He is a high ranking military officer. Likewise, please pray for Grandma Souen’s husband, Chang, to be saved. We are also pursuing new prospects in Prak Pnou as well. Please pray for Chiev and her 20 year old daughter, Kim Houa, to be saved. I hope to meet with them in the morning and review the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16. Unfortunate circumstances in Prak Pnou forced us to step away from the work that was started there, but now after about a one-year break we believe that God is once again opening the door to begin reaching out to folks in that city. Prak Pnou is a city that has been heavily influenced by “fake churches” that are so prevalent in this part of the world and by NGO groups that are notorious for literally paying people to join their “church.” Pray that God will direct us to people whose hearts are already being softened by Him.
For the past two years soul-winners from the church have been going to Stung Mean Chey district. We have a decent group of children coming to Children’s Ministry from this district. In recent months it seems that several adults are opening up to the gospel as well. Chanruth was won to the Lord by one of the teen boys in the church. Each Saturday Bro. Adrian meets with her to teach her the basics of the Christian life and to encourage her in the Lord. It is very difficult for her to get out of the house due to the fact that she is handicapped. However, she is hoping to come to church this Sunday morning in order to receive Believer’s Baptism. Our hearts were touched this past week when, despite her severe poverty, she donated about $5 worth of cookies to the Children’s Ministry.
A few weeks ago Theary was encouraged by Chanruth to accept Christ as her personal Saviour. She called me on the phone and asked if I might go and explain to her how to be saved. Brother Man and I rode on the moped through pounding rain to get to Chanruth’s house in order to meet with her. We thank the Lord that we had the opportunity to explain the gospel to her and see her place her faith in Christ.
Bong Why is the daughter of Grandma Long whom we wrote about several weeks ago. Grandma Long is the former Buddhist nun who accepted Christ and is a part of our church in Prey Bang village (about two hours from Phnom Penh). Through Grandma’s infuence, Bong Why was willing to listen to the gospel and accept Christ. Brother Sinath led her to to the Lord. Each Wednesday morning after our English speaking Christian school chapel service, Sinath and I go to Stung Mean Chey to disciple Bong Why as well as make new contacts with the lost. Please pray for Bong Why to grow in the Lord. It is a bit challenging to teach her due to the fact that she is illiterate. It has been a blessing to be able to leave an mp3 player with her full of preaching in the Khmer language.
Saren is Bong Why’s landlord. Sinath and I have had the opportunity to spend many hours witnessing to her over the past several weeks. We have had the opportunity to teach her what God says in regard to reincarnation, spirit worship, ancestral worship, as well as the gospel. She told us last week that she totally understands the gospel but she is afraid to accept Christ for two reasons: 1) She knows that those living around her will hate her and accuse her of abandoning her national religion, 2) She fears retribution from her ancestors. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to convict her of her need of salvation and that she will yield to His calling and be saved.
Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday morning several folks from the church go to Stung Mean Chey to go soul-winning and meet with new prospects. We believe that the Lord would have us to start a new ministry in this district sometime after the first of the new year. Please pray that God will give us clear direction in regard to the starting of this new work. We look forward to sharing more with you in regard to Stung Mean Chey in the months to come.
Poverty is a very real part of many lives here in Cambodia. The video above shows the reality of poverty that we see day in and day out here in Cambodia. This lady will work from morning until evening with the hope that she can find enough recyclables to be able to buy food for her family for one day. Pray that our team will have wisdom as we serve among many folks just like her.
Because of God’s grace,
Dave, Debbie, Joshua, Jeremy, and Jason
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