NEWS FROM HQ

Presenting Christ to Cambodia

Dear Co-workers in Mission and Prayer,

We greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus, full of love, grace, and mercy.

First, we wish to summarize the goal of the New Year 2020 for our church in three ways. We always see evidence of faith here, yet we wanted that faith to grow more. In order to do so, it is most important for us to return to the basics of our faith. As we hold onto and profess our faith every day, we will grow in a faith that overcomes the world. This profession is necessary in our spiritual growth. In addition, each of us who are stronger in our relationship with the Lord must work together to build the church in faith. Here is the theme we are seeking to teach and apply this year at the church:

First, our vertical relationship with the Lord begins with a confession that we are sinners and that the Lord Jesus is Christ. According to Matthew 16:16, 18, when Peter made this confession of faith, the Lord promised to build His church upon the truth of this confession. Next, our faith cannot remain only in the vertical. We know that we are forgiven because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sin. But in addition to this, we are brought into the family of God and have been given a special relationship. In John 15:14, the Lord declares us to be friends, as we will want to obey Him. This means that our relationship with the Lord is horizontal also, as a friend. Thirdly, our relationship with the Lord has also brought us into a horizontal relationship with others who are in Christ. All who have this faith have entered the Lord’s church (the body of Christ). All members of the Church live forever in God’s house, and according to I Timothy 3:15, the church of God means the house of God. We have to love and serve each other in our home. We can do nothing apart from our church. Here is our church goal in English and Khmer.

Therefore, you can see that our church’s ministry plan is three-pronged.

We also want to share that five middle-high school students and two adult sisters of the Gospel Church and one brother of the Glory Church will be baptized on April 5th by Stephen. From the Gospel Church there is Sreyga (1st year high school Sister), Marty (1st year high school Brother), Chende (3rd year middle-school Sister), Sister Deep, and Sister Chenglm. Also on April 26, we will appoint four brethren as deacons; three deacons are from the Glory Church and one is from the Gospel Church. This is a real blessing.

As in previous years, this year the mission team from Glory Bible Presbyterian Church in Seoul will come to preach and teach in VBS at two churches and also the Dangdong Village. Now, we have a plan to build a chapel in Dangdong. The church bought land 10 years ago, but the chapel has not been built yet. The most necessary thing for this church is to send a worker (pastor). Currently Brother Samnang is studying at the Bible school. We will have to wait longer for him to graduate. But until he graduates, Stephen will have to do the preaching, and a stone wall will have to be built around the property.

We would like to introduce you to one of our brothers. His name was BUAT (58 years old), and he left behind his wife, a son and two daughters (who are not yet married). When we preached in the village of the Gospel Church, he became a Christian. He has given us an example of faith as an older adult who has helped us raise up the Gospel Church. Three years ago he had a chronic illness and was hospitalized and our church earnestly prayed to God. He was healed by the grace of God, and continued his hard work. Even though it went against the advice of the doctors, he left his home village to labor in the mountains in order to save money for the difficulties of his household. Eventually he got a serious illness and was diagnosed with four liver cancers in the hospital. After receiving chemo, he left the earth on January 27th, called by the Lord to his heavenly home. His last path on earth truly rings in our hearts. Although he had been in the hospital for a month, he was discharged to return to his home, only to return to the hospital again. On the way to the hospital this last time, he suddenly asked to go to the Gospel Church in order to pray to God. He wanted to pray under the pulpit of the Gospel Church, a place where he longed to be. No one knew that it would be his last prayer in the church. Now he has laid down all the heavy burdens of the world and is gone to the Lord’s Kingdom. He was a farmer without land, but always looked to the Lord.

Finally, last year, a brother from Seoul Glory BP Church organized a choir by teaching praise songs to middle and high school students. This choir always leads hymns on Lord’s Day worship services and Thursday prayer meetings every week. We are thankful for this ministry.

Thank you for praying and helping our ministry.

In Christ,
Stephen and Lydia CHOI

P.S. Lydia’s health update

Stephen writes: “We thank you for remembering Lydia in your prayers. Her doctor in Korea recommended that she come back in April of this year for a checkup. He also advised that if her pain was severe, to come to him before that time. Now her status is much better than before, but when she works hard she feels pain and is tired easily. We will probably not go in April, but instead continue to ask for God’s healing with prayer. This disease is an incurable one, so she will have to carry it with her during her lifetime. I believe you will pray for her for this. The other reason for this decision is the medical expenses are too high and our one-year-visa has to be extended in that period.”