December 1, 2014

This past week was a busy one. On Wednesday I had the privilege to preach in chapel for the missionary children and teens. Missionaries (Steven Benefield, Kounnaro Keo, and Rodney Ruppell) from three different churches in Phnom Penh, and the surrounding area, in addition to the missionaries from our team, have their young people in the chapel service every Wednesday. Some of the church members of Pacific Baptist Phnom Penh, who speak English, also attend the chapel service. We also had a great service Wednesday evening. The place was packed and it was good to see our newfound friend Mora, who works at Coffee Bean, show up for the service.

Mora

Please Pray for Mora’s spiritual growth and for the salvation of her co-workers, including Naren.

On Thanksgiving Day, Denise and I had the opportunity to have a nice meal with Brother Dave Board and his family. Mrs. Board made a wonderful meal and we had a great time of fellowship. My wife and I have so much to be thankful for, so very much. While, for the most part, they don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving here in Cambodia, there are those who have been influenced by the missionaries, and do so. Below you will see a picture of two of the good young men of Pacific Baptist Church here in Phnom Penh getting their turkey ready. Being a city boy from the USA, I had no idea turkey’s had feathers! 🙂

Mr. Turkey

On Saturday, my wife and I had a chance to go out soul winning with the church family. It is always such an eye-opener for those of us from America to walk the streets of Phnom Penh and to enter the “homes” of the folks who call this home. They are dear people. They are hospitable people. They are fun people. Yet, they are a people who live in dire poverty-both physical and spiritual. I had the opportunity to go out with Man (pronounced Mon) and Veasna, while my wife had the chance to go out with Samantha. Of course, not knowing the language, I was the silent partner. We met a young lady (20 years old) named Lote. She was very interested in knowing more about Jesus and the Bible. Man’s wife later went by and spent about two hours with her. From what I hear, she had lots of questions. Saturday afternoon also included a men’s and teen boy’s prayer meeting, just like back home. Good crowd of men and teens there to share blessings and pray for God’s intervention in their lives, the lives of others, and for the ministry. Below are a few pictures I took while visiting.

Please pray for Lote’s salvation!

Out Soulwinning

Sunday was a very busy and blessed day. The day started with the morning service (8:00 – 10:00 AM), then the Children’s Ministry (10:45- 12:00 PM). It was good to see Mora, from Coffee Bean, show up for the service again on Sunday. A short break and then out to another village for a time of canvassing and soul winning (1:00 – 2:30 PM). I even had the opportunity to share the Gospel with an adult man named Sok-Lee. Oh, yes, someone interpreted for me. While Sok-Lee did not get saved, he listened very attentively and also took two different Gospel tracts from us. There was a great crowd and a great spirit in the evening service (5:30 – 7:30 PM). As I have mentioned previously, the ministry here so much reminds me of our old days in Long Beach when Pacific Baptist Church was known as Cambodian Baptist Church. We have so many young people here who have a love for the Lord, for His Word, and for His work. It appears that many of them are adopting us at their grandparents. I guess that’s what happens when you are our age. This is the next generation!

Please pray for these young people to continue to grow in their faith and their commitment to Christ!