June, 2023
Dear Prayer and Mission Co-workers,
We greet you in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Recently our Sunday School teachers held a Vacation Bible School at three churches, teaching the children the Word of God. The 32nd Southeast Asian Games, in which 10 countries participated, was held in the capital, Phnom Penh, from May 5-17. In line with the ASEAN Games schedule, the government had advanced the vacation of public schools across the country for one month in May. So we used this vacation period to prepare our teachers to run the VBS in the three churches.
In the past, our teachers were sent to teacher training classes organized by Children Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). Thankfully, teacher Siev Chien BAN was in charge of the Sunday School and prepared all the textbooks and messages and taught them to the teachers in advance after every Sunday service.
Thursday and Friday afternoons, (May 11th and 12th) it was held at Gospel Church; 100 children and six adults participated. Then on Saturday, May 13th, morning and afternoon sessions were at the Living Water; 45 children and 10 adults participated. Then on Monday and Tuesday afternoons (May 15th and 16th May), we had VBS at the Glory Church; 34 children participated.
For five days, many children from the three churches participated in learning the Word of God, and praising the Lord in song, teaching them through rhythmic movements and games. All the teachers, children, and parents were delighted. Then on May 18th we took all the teachers who served at VBS (12 all together) and had a blessed meeting at Kep Beach, eating seafood and relaxing.
Children are the hope of the future of the church in Cambodia, but many children do not come to church and worship. Still, we are very grateful that the high school and college students of the Gospel Church are dedicated to leading and serving our Sunday school worship services at three churches every Lord’s Day. Please pray for these students to remain strong in their faith and continue to serve the Lord as teachers.
On May 26th, Rev. and Mrs. Timothy Ki, pastor of Hope BP Church in Australia, visited with us.
Looking back at the ministry, we had a precious meeting together with them. Rev. Ki preached at both the Glory and Gospel Churches on the 28th. The members of both churches extended their hands and shared food for delicious meals. Rev. Ki also brought many enjoyable snacks for the Sunday School and kindergarten children. We saw the pastor’s visit as very meaningful. Ahead of us, they looked around to our neighbor church, that of Pastor Sonsoka. Pastor Ki helped our Glory Church and Pastor Sonsoka’s Faith Church become good brothers and cooperate together.
By June however, our energy was exhausted and we both caught severe colds, which was not easy to recover from; it took two weeks to do so. It is also the monsoon season, so the weather is very changeable. Some members of the church also caught those colds, and we are praying because their health is not good. It hurts our hearts to see a member who left the church, not because of illness, but due to a lack of faith. And so, our prayer topic has been to trust in God’s time, in God’s way, and according to God’s will – so this work will be built.
What has been most heartbreaking for us has been the suspension of the Living Water Church building. Yes, we are thankful that elementary school students are now growing in their faith through Sunday School worship. However, if the church sanctuary is not built when they enter middle school, they will probably no longer attend Sunday school services. Additionally, there must be a place to open a kindergarten and have a point of contact to communicate with the villagers. So,
restarting the halted church building construction is an urgent and important task. Please pray with us for that. Finally, pray that the church of the Lord and the saints in Cambodia will be firmly established in faith. Again, we are always praying for this.
Dear friends, we pray that the Lord’s blessings will overflow to the co-workers who pray together and help in the Cambodian ministry.
In Christ,
Stephen and Lydia CHOI