It’s been awhile since I have mentioned this in an update, but I want to thank those of you who continue to pray for my brother, Pastor Joe,  his dear wife, and the rest of the family. I had the chance to FaceTime Pastor Joe and Mary the other night. While my brother has made much progress the past 21 months, he still needs a miracle. His wife Mary, the rest of the family, as well as the church family are very grateful for your prayers, your words of encouragement, and acts of kindness during this trial.

Please continue to pray for Pastor Joe’s recovery, for encouragement, and strength for his wife Mary, and the children!

My trip to the “Creative Access Nation” was blessed! All together, I spoke either for our team or a few national pastors well over 20 times. God really moved! It was a blessing to see the young people hungering to know the Lord and His Word. It was also a blessing to watch as God was breaking many hearts for their family and friends salvation. There were so many tears flowing in a few of the services, especially the special sessions on prayer. My wife and I, along with my daughter Joy and niece Sue, are looking forward to returning there once again and meeting up with Pastor Dwight Tomlinson in late July for about ten days!

Please pray that God will use these dear folks to do something special in the Capital city, as well as in other provinces in the country!

Upon arriving back in Phnom Penh on Monday and getting back to my regular routine, it was a joy to go soul winning in Steung Meanchey on Tuesday morning. We have often referred to Steung Meanchey in the past. While it is an extremely impoverished area, the folks are so open and we are watching God open the hearts of many as we share the gospel. It was a blessing to be able to share the gospel with a handful of people my first Tuesday back, but it was a real joy to be able to share the gospel for well over an hour with Thia and Thy’s husband Sun. If you will remember Thy is the young lady who a few weeks ago said, “I don’t want to go to hell.” While Vannak and I shared the gospel with Thia and Sun, my niece Sue kept a handful of playful children busy. While neither Thia nor Sun trusted Christ on this visit, you just sense that they are close to understanding the gospel and trusting Christ!

Please pray for Sun, Thy, and Thia to trust Christ!

On Thursday my discipleship sessions resumed. Every Thursday I meet with Both at 1:00 PM and Kosal at 5:30 PM. What a joy it was to meet with them and to hear that they had done their assigned Bible reading, outside reading, and to hear them quote their verses. It is exciting to see young men (Both is 16 and Kosal is 30) who have a desire to grow in Christ, to memorize and meditate upon scripture, and to see their lives used for God’s glory. Both of these men have so much potential. To be honest with you, their potential is unlimited and I count it a real privilege to spend a few hours a week with them.

Please pray for Both and Kosal to continue to grow in their faith in Christ and their commitment to the cause of Christ!

In a previous update, I mentioned a young lady named Sokchea who trusted Christ. It was great to see her in my first service since coming back to Cambodia. Without giving a lot of details, let me just say, Sokchea has her hands full and her life is very difficult right now. Just a week or so before leaving the country we had the Benefield family over for a meal and in the middle of the meal I was asked to come and intervene in what I was told was a life and death situation concerning Sokchea. Again, without going into details may I just say this is one young lady who needs a lot of prayer.

Please pray for Sokchea’s spiritual growth and for God to use the trials that she is going through now to draw her closer to Jesus!

As always Saturday visitation was a blessing. While Man and I made quite a few visits, it was our visit to Panya’s house that was most needful. Panya is a young man in his mid to early 20’s.  We have been working with him on and off for the past few months. When we first met him he gave us the impression that he was saved and had a desire to grow in Christ, but had been out of church for quite a while. We, along with our fellow-team member Bounna Has, had attempted to disciple him, but there was always a good excuse. Man and I spent well over an hour with Panya, at first treating him as a Christian who was struggling to make the right decisions, but before long we changed the tone of the conversation and started sharing the gospel. I don’t think Panya is saved. If he is, he’s definitely very confused!

Please pray for Panya’s salvation!

On Sunday morning, I had the privilege of preaching for our church here in Phnom Penh. I preached part one of a message called, “Praying Hard.” I will be preaching part two on Wednesday evening, and possibly (we shall see) part three two Sundays from now. The main passage that I am using, as a springboard, is the story of Hannah as found in 1 Samuel chapter one. In a country such as this, where so many need Christ, where the needs abound, and the laborers and resources are so few, there is a tremendous need for men and women who will pray like Hannah to a God who hears the desperate and fervent prayers of His people!

Please pray that God will use these messages to stir all of our hearts to be a people of prayer!

Thank you for praying!