September 13, 2015

September 13, 2015

Dear friends,

Our update this week will be very short. There are many things to report but my time is very short this morning. However, I wanted to give you a brief report of some of the blessings from this weekend.

After only being saved for less than three weeks, Srey Mohm completed the study booklet on the Gospel of Mark and answered around 140 questions in order to receive a new Bible. She was so excited that she couldn’t wait for Sunday morning to arrive! We are blessed by her spirit.

It was a blessing to have Heng and the entire family, except for grandma Pheap, in church on Sunday morning. Grandma was planning to come as well but was having issues with her health that prevented her from attending. It is always a blessing to see an entire family come to Christ at once! Please continue to pray for Heng, Bopha, Grandma Pheap, and the children to grow in the Lord. We pray that they might be instrumental in seeing many Vietnamese families here in Cambodia come to Christ in the future. This family was reached as a result of the Children’s ministry.

We were also blessed to have Dara and his entire family in church, with the exception of their 21 year old son, Tan LayHout. Dara accepted Christ as his personal Saviour less than a week ago. He shared a testimony during our Sunday evening service that touched each of our hearts in regard to his long search for the true God. Again, it is a blessing to see an entire family come to Christ at once. Please pray for Dara, Srey Mohm, and the children to grow in the Lord. Likewise, pray that Tan LayHout will be saved soon. This family was reached as a result of one of the teen age boys in the church sharing the gospel with them. Though they did not accept Christ right away, a seed was planted that opened the door later on for Children’s Ministry workers to connect with this family and lead them to Christ.

BunSeang and Srey Iem began attending the church a couple of months ago. They initially thought they were Christians but later realized that they never understood what it means to be saved. They both accepted Christ as their personal Saviour and are eager to grow in the Lord. They have a difficult life in many regards and it is a particular blessing to see their willingness to obey the Lord in spite of the obstacles they face. Again, it is a blessing to see an entire family come to Christ at once! This family was reached as a result of Children’s Ministry workers going door-to-door and sharing the gospel. Please pray for BunSeang and his family to be faithful to the Lord.

It was such a blessing to step into our 11:00 teen service and see about 60 teens enjoying being at church! (This service only includes teens. Younger children meet downstairs and meet in two separate groups according to their respective ages.) Brother Vannak, Kosal, and their workers are doing a great job of reaching out to the teen young people. As you will recall, one of the objectives of the Phnom Penh Children’s Ministry is to see teen young people reached with the gospel and then make the transition from the Children’s Ministry to the “main stream” of the church. Many of the teens in our regular church services were reached through the Children’s Ministry and now serve the Lord in various ministries of the church. Some help lead in the Phnom Penh Children’s Ministry. Others travel to remote villages on Sunday afternoons and during the week to share the gospel as well as to lead small groups in the countryside. The small groups normally range in size from 10-50 people. Without a doubt, the Phnom Penh Children’s Ministry is a worthwhile investment of our time and resources! Please continue to pray for our workers to be faithful in their own walk with the Lord.

It was a particular blessing to be able to witness Jason teaching the Bible verse for the teen service. When I was 14 years old there was no way that I could have stood before that many people and taught anything! Let alone do it in another language. As parents we are so pleased to see our sons involved in the Lord’s work!

Buth did a great job Sunday evening as he continued teaching short lessons dealing with the deception of Evolution. His lesson this week pointed to the direct correlation between Evolutionary beliefs and many of the holocausts that have taken place in recent history. Next week he hopes to show the glory of God in Creation as he shows planet earth in relation to the solar system in which we live. Lord willing, he will provide a Biblical prospective that is new to many Cambodian people and one that will help to further equip our new believers to “give an answer of the hope that is within them.”

Brother Sinath gave a great ministry report Sunday evening on the church in Prey Bang village as well as the outreaches to Poom VeathearSua and Poom Dall. It is always a blessing for the church to hear reports on our satellite ministries. Thank God for faithful Christian workers who are willing to serve in remote areas for the cause of Christ.

It was a blessing to once again see Chamrun in church eager to learn more of God’s Word. This week she brought her daughter (in the yellow shirt on the right hand side) and her daughter’s friend (in the white shirt on the right hand side). Chamrun is disabled and not capable of walking up the stairs to church. Thank God for Brother Vong’s great spirit in helping to carry her on his back all the way up the stairs and then back down after church. Pray a hedge of protection around his back! It doesn’t look easy!

Because of God’s grace,

Dave, Debbie, Joshua, Jeremy, and Jason