Well, what a blessing it is to have our youngest daughter Joy join us here in Phnom Penh. She will be such an asset to the work here, especially with the children, the teens, and college age girls. Joy has a great love for the Lord; she loves people, especially children, teens, and college age young ladies. Here at Pacific Baptist Church of Phnom Penh, as well in the city here, we have a boatload of children and young ladies, so the harvest is definitely plenteous. Joy will be going with Srey Nech and a few others from our team to one of the villages weekly, she will be assisting with the children and teen ministries here, and Lord willing, her, my wife, and possibly, my niece Susanna, will be teaching teen and college age young ladies English. Lord willing, our niece Sue will be joining us in just a few weeks. Our once “empty nest” is filling up real quick!

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God has been so good to my wife and me in these early days back in Southeast Asia in general and Cambodia more specifically. We are grateful for all of our faithful praying and supporting friends who have enabled us to be here. Without God, and without you, we would not have the blessing of serving in this needy part of the world.

Thank you for your sacrifice of your time and treasures for the furtherance of the Gospel around the world!

This past week has been both a busy and blessed one to say the least. On Saturday, we had a small “baby shower”, actually, it was more of a nice meal and passing out of gifts. They don’t really have baby showers here in Cambodia.  The party was for Srey-Jae, I have mentioned her in previous updates. She was saved, and at one time very faithful in the ministry here until her parents pulled her out of church at the age of 13 or 14 years old, so she could work and help support the family. This is a common problem here. After being out of church, she eventually married an unsaved man. She recently had a baby. It was good to have Srey-Jae, Nak, her husband, and the little baby, Ravy, come to our place and enjoy themselves. I am grateful for Man, Vannak, and their wives Kanha and Samantha helping to make the party happen.

Please pray for Nak to get saved and for Nak and Srey-Jae to get in church!

On Sunday, I continued my series “If God is greater, He deserves our Greatest Love and Devotion.” The responses to the messages have been great. It was exciting to see Meanghuan, who I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with six weeks ago and see her trust Christ, earn her first Bible by completing a 56-page workbook that we gave her. Praise the Lord!

On Sunday afternoon Kosal and I went by to visit Sambath. We have been working on building a relationship with him for the past few weeks, taking over for Brother Board after he left for the states. When we showed up his head was shaved, his grandmother had just died. I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with him.

Please pray for Sambath’s salvation!

On Monday, we had the chance to start discipling four Cham (former Muslims) men at my house. It is amazing how hungry these men are. They take notes, they ask questions–tough ones at that–and they are so grateful for the opportunity to learn the Bible. I am so grateful for Man’s willingness to interpret for me, I’d be lost without him. Immediately after spending and hour with these four men and Man, we all went next door for Bible Institute. It is such a blessing to be able to teach “The Beatitudes” every Monday to a group of men and women who desire to know the Word and be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

Please pray for Man, San, Chanty, Sen, and Sin that God will use them mightily to reach the Cham and Khmer people!

On Wednesday morning, I had the privilege to preach in our English chapel. Later that evening, it was a joy to see Paul show up for our midweek service. He is one of the university students who we have been requesting prayer about. It was so exciting to see him show up. Over the last few weeks we have been meeting many university students at their dormitories and Paul was the first one to come to a service. We are presently in the process to get approval to start an informal English class at the dorms.  This would be a huge step to seeing a harvest at the dormitories!

Please pray for God to open up the door for us to reach many of these university students!

On Thursday, as always, I had the blessing to spend time discipling two of our men. And we had four different young ladies come to our place, primarily for relationship building and discipleship. One of the young ladies is Narin. Narin is not saved; she is a manager at Coffee Bean here in the city, and we have been getting to know her since arriving in the country. Narin has come to our place a few times, and on this past Thursday we shared a little bit more about Jesus with her. Narin is 28-years old, but when we opened up a Bible in her presence, she said it was the first time she had ever seen a Bible. In fact, she claims to have never heard of the Bible. Can you imagine? On Thursday evening, it was a blessing to go upstairs and spend a few minutes with Brother Adrian and his new students. He has just started a new English class. I asked the boys if they would like pizza next week. What do you think they said? 🙂

Please pray for Narin’s salvation and for the English class to be used for the good of these young men and for God’s glory!

On Friday, more discipleship! Started the afternoon off with Brother Sinath (Man interpreting for me), while my wife was discipling his 19-year old daughter Srey-Nech. Immediately afterwards another two hours with Man and Vannak. All three of these men are good and godly men, they are national leaders in the ministry here. Well, the week’s not over. We have the weekend coming up, including our “Celebration Service” on Sunday.

Please continue to pray for the ministry here in Phnom Penh, as well as the various village ministries!

In closing, I am looking forward to my daughter Joy, my youngest, arriving here in Phnom Penh to assist us in the work. She will be arriving on Friday, February 20. We are so proud of Joy in taking this step of faith at this time in her life. She could still use some support. If you are interested please let us know!

We definitely covet your prayers for Joy as she says goodbye to family and friends, and all that is familiar to her and tries to adjust to a new culture!

For daily updates follow us on Instagram @johnny_espo!!!

As I mentioned in our last update, I recently began a five-week series called, “If God is Greater (our theme for the year is “God is Greater”), He Deserves Our Greatest Love and Devotion.” Our first two services have been fantastic. The folks have been extremely receptive and responsive to the messages so far. It has been a blessing to see many tears during the messages, to watch the great response to the messages, and to hear from folks afterwards how God is moving in their hearts towards a greater love for God.

Please continue to pray that God will use this series of messages to draw us all closer to Him and create within us the desire to serve Him by loving and serving others!

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It is unbelievable how much is going on here in Phnom Penh. The ministry here is busy about the Father’s business that’s for sure. Whether it’s the three church services in Phnom Penh every week, the various village ministries, the children’s ministries, the Monday evening Bible Institute, the various soul-winning times, the many different personal discipleship times, and the list could go on, this is a place that is hopping. My wife and I are thankful to be a part of a ministry that keeps expanding for the cause of Christ and yet, at the same time, understands the need to continue to build a more sure foundation.

Please pray that God will continue to use Pacific Baptist Church of Phnom Penh, her many outreach ministries, and the various village ministries to bring the love, life and light of our Lord Jesus Christ to a dark and dreary land!

One of the primary purposes for my being here is to assist in the mentoring of the future leaders here in Cambodia. I am presently meeting weekly with one of the missionaries, just a time of discipleship and mentoring, as we search the scriptures. I am also meeting with three of the national men, who are serving in various capacities of leadership here, and these are also times of discipleship. It is also a joy to rotate going out soul winning with these three nationals. In fact, this past Saturday, Vannak and I had the opportunity to lead a 14-year old to Christ. Meanghuan had been attending the Sunday afternoon Children’s Ministry services for the past five months. I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with her, Vannak interpreted for me, and she turned to and trusted Christ and Christ alone for her salvation. Then she showed up for the Sunday morning service the next day (first time ever)!

Please pray that God will use these various discipleship times with Touch, Vannak, Man, and Kasol to train up some men who will be greatly used to reach their people!

Over the past three weeks it has been heart breaking to see the extreme poverty in this city. Nowhere is this truer than when we make visits at “the sewer.” It is nearly impossible to describe the dire situation that these people live in. As you walk along the pathway along the sewer (the stench is terrible), talk to the people outside, and enter the homes (if that’s what you could call them), your heart is crushed. I can remember about four years ago, when I first visited Cambodia, and had the chance to see the plight of these people, it was one of the many things God used to get me to leave the comforts of America to come to this part of the world. In spite of their dire situation, in spite of their lost condition, the people are friendly and the children are so much fun to be with (especially if you have candy, which I always do). One thing I learned four years ago, and it still stands true today, love is a universal language. Whether or not you speak their language, it doesn’t take them long to see that you love and care for them. Whether it’s leading Meanghuan to Christ, encouraging and praying with an ill grandmother named Da, or encouraging a young lady named Srey Jae, who has been out of church for awhile, or just love on a bunch of poor children, it is an honor and a privilege to minister for Christ in “the sewers.”

Please pray for Meanghuan to grow in her newfound faith, and that God will use our team here, and the nationals who have been reached in recent years, to share His love to these dear impoverished people, especially the children!

As I have mentioned in previous updates, the ministry here in Phnom Penh reminds me so much of the early days of Cambodian Baptist Church in Long Beach. Cambodian Baptist Church is now known as Pacific Baptist Church, which of course, is our sending church, and the church I served as an assistant pastor for 18 years. Along with the evangelistic zeal, and the willingness to be as creative as possible to reach people for Christ, the great emphasis on the youth is, for me, the most striking characteristic of the ministry here that reminds me of the old CBC. Our ministry here has learned much from my brother’s philosophy to reach and train up the next generation for Christ and the cause of Christ. Whether it is utilizing the young people in areas of ministry such as the Children’s Ministry, soul winning and tract distribution, or in the music program (my wife and I even sang a special with some of the teen girls), the young people here are very involved in ministry and for that we thank God.

Please pray that we will have the wisdom, the power, and the love to properly train up this next generation for Christ and the cause of Christ!

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! My wife and I would like to wish you a Happy New Year and we sincerely hope you had a wonderful Christmas, remembering that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. While there are some who may celebrate Christmas here in this part of the world, the vast majority do not know the Christ of Christmas, and a great many have never even heard His name. Thank you for prayerfully supporting us so we could do a small part in changing that sad fact. After returning back to Phnom Penh, Cambodia it was nice to be able to unpack the suitcases, and start, once again, to get to know the folks we will be laboring with in the coming months.  Looking forward to being a part of the work here in Phnom Penh and watching God move, while learning from some folks God is using to reach this needy nation for Christ.

Please pray that God will use my wife and me here in Cambodia to strengthen believers and to reach the lost for Christ!

It has been a blessing to start building relationships with some of the believers here in Phnom Penh, as well as with some lost folks, who, in due time, may get saved and become a part of the army of laborers for the harvest here in Southeast Asia. Christmas day was just one of many examples that can be given. On Christmas morning, a few of us went to visit Mora, one of the new believers here at her place of employment per her request. She wasn’t there (common problem here in this part of the world), but we were able to talk to another young lady Naren, who I mentioned in a previous update, and meet the owners of the coffee shop, who just so happen to be Christians from Korea who are praying for their employees to be saved. On Christmas afternoon, my wife and I had Sina over our place for lunch. Sina is a young lady who knows the Lord and is faithfully serving the Lord. On Christmas evening, we took a group of teens from the church to the Mall and my wife and I brought some candy canes to the employees of Coffee Bean.

Please pray for Naren and her co-workers to get saved!

On December 26 (our 33^rd anniversary), my wife and I brought a booklet by to a young man named, Mengtheara. We met this young man about a week ago. He’s a waiter at one of the local restaurants. After eating, we had given him a tip and a Gospel tract. He looked shocked when I gave him the tract and tip. It seemed a bit strange, but I thought nothing of it. A few minutes later, he flagged us down and asked if we were Christians, we replied, “Yes, we are.” I then asked him if he was, he said, “Yes,” and with tears in his eyes, he told us he had been out of church for quite some time now (because of work), and as soon as he read some of the words from the tract he began to cry.

Please pray for Mengtheara to get back in church!

Just today, while out soul winning, I was again heartbroken as I went from place to place and witnessed the poverty, both physical poverty and spiritual poverty. I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with a woman named Soka. She was very attentive, and while she did not get saved, we did have the opportunity to pray with her and give her some literature. We will continue to pray for her and visit her in coming days. I also had the privilege to share the love of Christ and the importance of being in church with a 17-year old young lady, who is saved, and at one time was faithful to the Lord. After a few years of faithful church attendance her parents forced her to get a job that took her out of church, and in due time, her parents apparently forced her to marry an unsaved man and she has been out of church since.

Please pray for Soka to be saved and for Srey Jae to return back to her first love and church!!

 

 

On a more personal note, while we were in the “restricted” nation one of our granddaughters, Hannah Aquino, was rushed to the hospital. Hannah is our four-year old autistic princess. We are glad to know that she is now all right, and we want to thank many of you for your prayers. Also, some have asked how her little brother Sammy is doing, and, thank you for asking. Sammy is our three-year old grandson, who has two cysts on his brain. As of right now, Sammy is doing fairly well. They continue to test him, occasionally changing his meds, and monitoring his progress regularly. While he is surely not out of the dark, he does seem to be improving.

Please continue to pray for Sammy, Hannah, and their parents!

Our last two days in the “restricted” nation were blessed beyond measure. On Saturday morning I went out to “the farm” where one of the national pastors that we are working with, and have been since our days leading the team here, has been in the process of building a church/college/dorms for the past couple of years. They have run out of money, so the building has stopped for now. If you are interested in helping them please do let me know. Below you will see pictures of the small hut where the college students spend 16 hours per week learning the Bible, a picture of the college “dorm” room, and a picture of the building itself.

Please pray for the necessary funds to come in for these men to complete the project and that God will continue to use them as they train men for the work of the ministry!

On Saturday morning, we had a great time of fellowship with Koumaly and Darath Thongdy. Now that we are out of the country they are heading up our team sent out of Pacific Baptist Church. They are doing a good job, and we thank God for their faithfulness to our Lord. On Saturday evening we had a wonderful time with two missionary couples and two national pastors.

Please pray that God will use these pastors, missionaries, and their wives to make a spiritual dent in this country!

On Sunday morning, I had the opportunity to once again preach for Pastor Aaron and the Filipino congregation, and this time it was for their 12^th anniversary. Praise God for faithful servants of God. I preached from Philippians chapter one a message, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”  We had people from nine different nations [Laos, Cambodia, Australia, New Zealand, China, Romania, Switzerland, South Africa, and the United States] in this service.

On Sunday evening, we went out of the city limits and I had the privilege to preach for three different and distinct churches, including our team, in one location. Over forty people showed up. I preached a message on “Hindrances to Following Christ.” It was great! We had a wonderful time of fellowship before and after the service, and a great meal afterwards.  My wife and I love these folks dearly and are going to miss them much. We are hoping to get back to the country in a few months.

Please pray for all of the men and women in this “restricted” nation who are faithfully serving Christ and others, in spite of the many restrictions and difficulties!

On a more personal note, while we were in the “restricted” nation one of our granddaughters, Hannah Aquino, was rushed to the hospital. Hannah is our four-year old autistic princess. We are glad to know that she is now all right, and we want to thank many of you for your prayers. Also, some have asked how her little brother Sammy is doing and, thank you for asking. Sammy is our three-year old grandson who has two cysts on his brain. As of right now, Sammy is doing fairly well. They continue to test him, occasionally changing his meds, and monitoring his progress regularly. While he is surely not out of the dark, he does seem to be improving.

Please continue to pray for Sammy, Hannah, and their parents!

My wife and I want to wish all of our family, friends and faithful supporters and prayer warriors a very Merry Christmas!!!

After returning from a busy few days in Thailand, things really started moving for us in the “restricted” nation. I had, or will have, the opportunity to preach and/or teach 23 different times in four different churches, a small Bible college, as well as teach for another seven young men (not the college students). At least five of these men are preparing for the ministry, future pastors every one of them.

On Sunday morning, December 7, it was a privilege to preach for a Filipino congregation that I had the opportunity to preach for every Sunday morning when I was here in the country for 15 months. I opened a four-day meeting preaching from 2 Corinthians 11:1-3 and Philippians 3:7-14 on “A Simple Devotion to Christ.” On Monday and Tuesday PM I preached parts two and three.

Please pray for Pastor Aaron and the Filipino congregation that God will continue to use them to lovingly serve alongside the nationals in this country!

Also, on Sunday morning I had the wonderful privilege to preach for another church of nationals. This is a church that we worked very closely with while we were in the country before. I preached from Philippians 3:10 on the topic of  “Having a Passion for Jesus and Jesus Alone.” Monday-Wednesday morning from 8:30 – 12:00 I taught three national pastors and 4 future pastors in a small Bible college run by the same church.

Please pray for this pastor, his church, the college, and the unlimited potential of these men in reaching their people!

On Sunday evening, I attended the service (for security purposes we chose not to have me preach) of one of the young men we worked with prior to leaving the country. His church is about 30-40 minutes outside of the city and is doing very well. We are grateful for the support he is receiving from barnabas1040.com, a new ministry of Liberty Baptist Church (Pastor Dwight Tomlinson).

Please pray for this pastor, the church, and for their future outreach, not only in their village, but also to the surrounding villages!

One Wednesday evening we had a “packed house” (literally). I believe there were missionaries, pastors, and members representing seven or eight churches in attendance. I think there were at least seven different people groups in attendance. My wife and I were the only non-Asians there. I taught from many different passages in a message called, “As the Father hath sent me, so send I you” (JN 20:21; MATT 4:18-22; 28:18-20; 2 TIM 2:2). In a nutshell, the message was primarily an encouragement to follow in our Lord’s (and Paul’s) footsteps and to disciple others.

Please pray that God will inspire many who sat in this service to give their lives to Christ, the cause of Christ, and discipling others! 

On Thursday and Friday morning I spent three hours each day teaching 7 young men; one is 35 years old, but that’s young to me. Five of these young men are preparing for the ministry. These five young men were reached by the “apostle Paul” in this country, who God has used to reach many people for Christ and plant 27 churches in his province. He was the first believer among his people group in his province. He was saved 14 years ago, and today there are somewhere between 1,000 to 2,000 believers and 27 churches. Not bad for 14 years of journeying with Jesus!

Please pray that God will use these five men greatly to reach the Khmu people in this country and throughout Southeast Asia!

One of the most difficult aspects of being in this part of the world, especially this time of the year, is that we sure do miss our grandchildren. We miss them so very much. We are grateful to God for the many “adopted” grandchildren we have in this country. Here’s a few of them. Every time these girls see us coming they start jumping up and down. They know grandpa and grandma will have some snacks for them. Isn’t that what grandparents are for? 🙂

On Tuesday evening, December 2, my wife and I arrived in the “restricted” nation in which we served for 15 months. What a joy and blessing it was to be back in the country we love dearly and to be around folks that our hearts had been bonded to during that 15 months. On Wednesday evening, Denise and I sat in on a few of the English classes. For those of you who may have forgot, or did not know, the purpose for our starting the school was two-fold: (1) to give us a legitimate reason for being in a country where no missionaries are allowed, (2) to build relationships with folks enabling us to eventually lead them to Christ.

Please pray for our team’s attempt to get the school registered and future opportunities for the school to grow!

Immediately after sitting in the classes, I had the wonderful privilege to teach the mid-week Bible study. Oh, what a joy it was to hear them sing unto the Lord in their language and to witness two different specials prior to my teaching. I taught a lesson “Following the Call of Jesus, Part One” from Matthew 4:18-22 & 9:9-10. The primary emphasis was simply that Jesus is still looking for some men and women who are willing to leave their father, their family, their friends, their future ambitions, their financial security, and all that is familiar to them to follow Jesus wherever he leads. It was a special joy to see a young man named Jui, who was saved about two weeks before we left the country, not only in the service, interpreting for me, and closing in prayer, but growing in his faith.

Please pray for Jui, Lune and Lillee to continue to grow in their faith!

On Thursday, our team, and my wife and I crossed the border into Thailand. On Thursday and Friday I had the privilege to preach twice for a Men’s Meeting. There were six different churches from two different countries in attendance. I had the opportunity to preach two messages from JN 14:11-18 (theme verse of the Men’s Meeting was JN 14:12). My messages were, “Doing the Works of Jesus” and “Greater Works than these Shall You Do.” Seems to have been a good response for both messages!

Please pray for the seeds that were planted, during this meeting, and that God will use all of us to do “Greater Works” for His glory!