March, 2024
Dear Prayer and Mission Co-Workers,
We greet you all in the precious Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the last Praise and Prayer, we mentioned the reason we were able to start to repair the Gospel BP Church roof was through the kindness of Pastor Hyun Choi and the Glory BP Church in Seoul.
During the rainy season here, the noise hitting the tin roof was so loud that you could not hear the sermon bring preached. And because the rain was so heavy, it was not able to drain properly from the building causing the water to fill the broadcasting room on the second floor! And during the dry season it was difficult to conduct worship in the building because of the heat from the tin roof. It definitely needed some extensive repairs.
Since last October, Pastor Choi and his church members in Seoul have been praying hard for this situation, and have been receiving donations since then. So, starting in February of this year, repair work began on the first and second floors of the church. Each classroom and kindergarten on the first floor of the lodging house will be repaired and painted. All the repairs will take approximately two months to complete.
The roof and lighting on the 2nd floor of the church will be completed before Easter on March 31st. The worship location on the 1st floor will also be moved to the 2nd floor of the church. Floor tiles will be replaced in the Lord’s Day Children’s Chapel and study classrooms. The Gospel Kindergarten will run two classes next year and the number of supplementary English classes for local students will increase. The number of teachers will also increase. All this work is accomplished by the grace of God alone.
Brother Sitat will finish his fourth year of studies and graduate from the Cambodia Presbyterian Theological Seminary in July. He will be able to serve the church and teach English to elementary and secondary school students. Through teamwork with Sister Siev Chien, brother Sitat will mainly handle the Children’s and Sunday School ministry, and Sister Siev Chien will work with the youth and adults. She will be in charge of the adult nurturing ministry.
This coming Easter we will baptize three new believers, and two deacons will be installed.
Please pray that the Lord will raise up more believers, who will serve the church faithfully. Also pray that the three teachers, graduating from the university this year, will be directed by the Lord and that they will not leave the church.
From mid-May to early July this year we will be visiting Korea and Canada. We will visit Korea by the invitation of Pastor Choi in Seoul, and we will also receive a comprehensive health checkup that is done once every two years. They will also check the condition of Lydia’s liver, so please pray for her body’s recovery.
Since our daughter’s family moved to Canada two years ago, they have had difficulties raising their two children. But it is by the grace of the Lord that they have settled down well, and we are very thankful to the Lord. Pastor Timothy Ki of Hope B-P Church in Australia provided funds as a love gift to cover the travel expenses. We thank the Lord for such.
We hold a children’s service every Sunday at 2:30 pm at the Living Water BP Church in Takeo Province. The Gospel Church teachers travel 50 minutes in the church van to lead this service during the hottest part of the day. We preach the Word of God, sing praises to Him, memorize the Bible, and have some fun activities with the children there. We are not sure when or how the Lord will establish His church in this village, but we are praying and doing what we can.
As you remember, Glory Church is completely independent from the Gospel Church and is experiencing revival in the grace of the Lord. Since October of last year, Glory Church and Gospel Church were separated, and so we looked after the Gospel Church and the Living Water Church only.
Brethren, we have many weaknesses, so please always pray for our spiritual and physical strength. It is appreciated. May God bless you richly. Thank you.
In Christ,
Stephen and Lydia CHOI