Finally! Back in Cambodia!

TEN weeks is a long time to be away from family and ministry in Cambodia. And yet as hard as some of those moments were, God has helped us rely on Him in new and much needed ways.

This update is a very brief summary of some of the amazing things that took place during those 10 weeks. Our prayer is that this update is a fresh encouragement to each of you as you see the many ways God is moving in our lives, through the ministry, and all over the world.

Missionary on Campus at Ozark Christian College

The main reason I was in the US was to be the missionary on campus at OCC and although our family was unable to come, it was still a great experience. It was truly a blessing to be able to teach some seminars/lectures, help out with some of the classes, and build relationships with the students on campus to help them catch a greater vision for God's mission in this world.

One outcome we weren't expecting but are extremely excited about is having the chance to become a resource for OCC's internship program. We will be able to start hosting interns from the college which will be a huge encouragement to our students here in Cambodia and help to train the next generation of missionaries coming out of the US.

Connecting With People

Another great opportunity the past 10 weeks gave us was the chance to truly connect with supporters, churches, friends, and family.

We are incredibly thankful for the life that God has given us here in Cambodia. We wouldn't trade it for anything.

And yet, there is real loss we experience haven chosen a life outside of our home culture. We miss out on the big and little moments in our family and friends' lives. We don't have those deep community ties that everyone around us seems to have. Our children don't grow up with their cousins or get to go to their grandparents house for a playdate. There is genuine loss we often feel.

So having both the space and time to sit and reconnect with people in meaningful ways helps us to stay connected to the people we dearly love, but rarely get to see. That enables us to remain on the field for the long haul.

Not only are we encouraged in those moments, but we also get to be an encouragement by sharing the stories of God's faithfulness here in Cambodia. During those 10 weeks (besides the work at the college) I was able to preach 7 times, host 4 Cambodia workshops, and have countless conversations about the ministry.

Funding For a New Book Translation

One of the prayer requests we had as I headed to the US was to be able to find funding for a new translation project. When we first came to the field, we had no idea how important it would be to find/create quality Christian materials for our students to have available to them.

What started off as a side project has now become more prominent in our ministry. By God's grace the construction company Schuber Mitchell (in Joplin, MO) decided to fully fund the translation of our newest discipleship material "Rose Guide to Discipleship."

This guide to discipleship covers everything from basic doctrine, through spiritual disciplines, to even how to begin making disciples. It is a simple, yet profound study from scripture that teaches the basics of the Christian faith. We are very excited to see this book translated into the Khmer language.

Monday Night Live

One need that became apparent when talking to different supporters and churches was to somehow connect on a deeper more consistent level. To truly share what our life and ministry looks like here in Cambodia.

I realized, people love us, support us, and even pray for us but don't always clearly understand what it is we do here in Cambodia! That's a problem.

One of the ways we are trying to remedy this problem is by going live on Facebook every Monday evening at 7pm. It will be an unscripted time of sharing about life, family, Cambodia, and the ministry.

Click on the picture above to be directed to our Facebook Ministry page, click for notifications, and join us each Monday evening (central time).

Coming Back to Some Big Needs

First of all let me say how amazing the students in our ministry did while I was gone. The older students were in charge of mentoring and discipleship. The younger students (under the guidance of the older ones) were encouraged to participate and help facilitate the nightly Bible studies.

Truly, it is awesome to see the way that they led in my absence... this is EXACTLY what it means for disciples to make disciples!

But, the absence also gives us good insight into areas that we need to begin working on. Please be in prayer with us about the following things as we consider how to start meeting/planning for these needs this year.

Needs:

Finding/hiring a local Khmer staff: The nature of our ministry is a high turn over every 4 years. While students are attending university they live with us, are trained, mentored, discipled and they become passionate, qualified, godly leaders who impact their world in countless ways. But with that turnover comes a need for a constant to be in the dormitories and community center. As we consider how to pass this ministry on to the local people, we believe it is time to find a Cambodian who shares a similar heart as ourselves. This will be a slow and prayerful process. So we would covet your prayers over this.
Scholarship for Students: Since arriving in Cambodia, finding funding for students in need has been a part of what we do. Sometimes that need is for school fees, other times it's for basic needs like food and transportation. God has always provided for the needs that we have, often even when we haven't asked anyone for it. But recently the needs have exceeded our resources and we are having to turn students away because of it. We feel it's important to share this need with the people around us and see what God will do. Please be in prayer about this with us. We'll be sharing more specifics soon.
Needs for our family: There are 2 big needs we have and no resources yet to meet these needs.
- Air Conditioner - our office room's air conditioner recently went out. With temperatures that reach over 100 almost every day, a good air conditioner is necessary. The cost is around $300 for the unit and $25 for installation.
- Computer for Liz - Liz teaches at an international school and does a considerable amount of work on a laptop. Unfortunately her laptop has seen better days and is quickly dying. We're praying for the resources to be able to get a good machine for her to use well into the future.

In the end, we are thankful for the time God gave me in the USA. Thankful for the connections we made, for the lessons we learned, and the people who have stood beside us and the ministry for so long! We love you all and are deeply thankful for each and everyone of you.

We are thankful.... BUT it's good to be home!

We pray this update is as much an encouragement to you as the time in the USA has been to us. To God be the glory!