Cambodia is a country full of great hope and has such a bright future! This is very evident to me and I can truly see it in the younger generation. There are still lots of reviving happening here from the mass destruction in the 1970’s. Half of the population is under the age of 20 and this generation knows love but also is learning how to use this positively. Our ministry this month consists of going in the mornings to the 42 house village, this a place of refuges who have been placed here by the government. We have a time of rest of in the afternoon till 2pm when we go to the local prison to share Bible stories with the prisoners. When we do this we are in 2 teams, one team goes daily. The other stays back to give lessons to students, make cards for future teams, and have personal time. From 3 days of ministry, I can see our days are going to be busy but full of the Lord’s work. I am still adjusting to the atmosphere and have a bit of a head cold but the Lord is giving me adequate rest in Him. We are early to rise and early to bed this month.
We are taking "I Love You" to the nations, a child in the 42 house village.
Village ministry is similar to what we did in Thailand in the slums but also very different. The reality of poverty has hit me the last 3 days and to truly witness it has been heart breaking. Through my broken heart I am encouraged to love God’s people even more, and that’s what each of the villagers are, His children. They are dirty, hungry, lost, but most importantly in need of our Lord and I am the one to take this truth to them. This love has many different faces: prayers, holding hands, smiling, playing with the kids, house visits, and just our presence. I believe it is not I there, but the power of the Holy Spirit and it is He working through me. We have all seen the commercials on TV to sponsor children and the extreme poverty. Seeing this first hand puts a whole new love for these children of God. They get so excited to see us and I have literally become a jungle gym. I will be holding one, another jumps on my back, there is one between my feet, and surrounded by many more. They tire us our rather quickly but I want to take advantage of each moment we have with them.
My new friend Leeh, in the 42 house village. She has literally attached herself to me rather th on my hip, back, my front, playing hand games, or around my legs.
The hands of God's children, mine is on the bottom in the 42 house village.
In the village there is a lady who lives in a one-person hut and she is lame. Something happened a year in a half ago and she can no longer use the bottom half of her body. She lays there everyday without the help of any family. My heart completely broke for her and I believe I will see her healed this month and the Lord will redeem her legs. Today I had the opportunity with my team to pray over her and ask for healing for her. I had the privilege of holding this beautiful woman’s hand and to show her my love, if only for a few minutes. Lord I pray for her healing and Your Will be done in her life. Help her to understand who you are and all the greatness you have for her life. Rather this is lame or healed it be from our Lord. I was encouraged by my good friend Lindsay Dobner to hold the widows hand and each child, as long as I could. This has become a reality this month, as I am playing with children and praying over villagers.
The other ministry for the month is prison and going in Monday through Friday to give a Bible study to the men and women. There are 847 men there and 39 women, they are all there for various reasons. Mainly for stealing and trying to provide for themselves. Half the team goes every other day and we will have about 40 daily. They will rotate out and have different students daily. Tuesday we went for the first time and were able to go as a team, which was perfect for us to be together for our first day. There are no bars here and the guards have walkie-talkies, no guns or weapons. I was unsure what to expect the first day and how it was going to go. But the first day was wonderful and the Lord gave such a safe feeling. Not once did I feel threatened or in harms way, they were literally all around us. At first they were very shy but after breaking them into smaller groups, they were very open and wanted to share about themselves. They even offered for each of them to share why they were there, most for theft, drugs, alcohol, or fighting. I know this is going to be a great time with these men and women. My team is so pumped to share God’s love with them and to plant seeds.
Burengo is what the Cambodian people call us, meaning foreigner.
"And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp." Numbers 10:34
Ways to be praying for my team and me:
- Daily rest we need
- Boldness in the village and prison
- Ministering to the staff her at the Youth Development Center (YDC)
- To make everyday count
- Continual openness among the team
- Obedience to how the Lord is guiding us daily
- Open to every opportunity to share His love and truth
Currently I am about $900 from being fully funded, I need to be fully funded by December 31st but am praying to be fully funded long before then. I ask you to prayfully consider supporting me and allow me to continue sharing the love of Christ with the nations. Thanks for your continual prayers and support, they are felt and making this journey possible.
