Dear Mission and Prayer Partners,
Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ who pours grace and mercy on us abundantly. Here are some prayer items.
Thanks be to the Lord who gave us the new field and the new church last year. There are a few villages around the Glory Bible Presbyterian Church, but the villages look like the walled city of Jericho. The villagers live according to the maternal line and there are two or three big Buddhist temples. Therefore these maternal lines and Buddhist temples are the core values in the Cambodian family and community. Consequently, because these build up their strong faith and traditional thought, the neighbors and villagers avoid the church and Christians. They think that Christianity comes from the west, so of course they keep their religion and hate us. They think that we seem like bad men who have come to exploit them and their children, so they are very afraid of having contact with us and they don’t let their children go to church. We know it is a spiritual battle. The powerful rulers of darkness are controlling their whole life. We labor against this thinking. Even though the enemy is strong, we continue to fight the good fight of faith as we go around to these villages. We will start language classes (by local teachers) in order to contact the children and youth first. It has not been easy to find a qualified teacher however. Please pray for the revival of Glory and Gospel churches, and let us win the fight with enemies on every battle field.
It was a difficult matter to meet such faithful Cambodian people and to disciple them. As you remember, there were two teachers in the Gospel Kindergarten. Last year one teacher left for Phnom Penh in order to take a job better than teaching children. And this year the other teacher doesn’t teach the children in the kindergarten, because she got married to a husband who does not believe in Jesus. So we request that you pray for the need of faithful teachers to teach in the kindergarten. We also need faithful teachers in the Glory and Gospel churches.
On the other side, what our Lord gives doesn’t cause us to despair. He gives us joy. He knows our weakness and incompetency, and He raises up a faithful helper in the church. Her name is Siev Chien. Now she is studying at the theological seminary school in her third year of the master of divinity. She will graduate from the seminary course in August this year. She drives her motor bike for about 50 minutes to go to the Gospel kindergarten teaching the children two hours every Thursday and Friday, and also studies at the seminary according to her school schedule. So she is very busy and tired. Pray for her that God will strengthen her physical and spiritual power to complete her work and study on. Please pray that the Lord will raise up the co-workers to love God and His church like this sister.
We pray for all of us in this field; the Lord forgives our weakness and failures every day. Our God is faithful; He has been preparing some faithful brethren and they are giving us unlimited joy and comfort.
This time of the year the climate of Cambodia is the dry season; it is very hot and full of dust. While we pass through this season, may God keep us and care for our health, especially our spiritual health. Every time we go outside, we always drive the motor bike, but there are many dangers on the road. We drive it in face of the risk; it is our way of life. Please pray that God will keep our lives from harm or injury.
Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. (Psalm 27:9-10)
May God our Father abundantly bless you.
In Christ,
Stephen and Lydia