Dear Friends and Family—
Greetings from the WARM country of Cambodia. I guess most of you are probably just starting to warm up from winter a bit, but here in Cambodia, we have moved into our hottest season of the year already. And it feels very WARM. Along with the rise in been overstressed the last couple of years, because the new building has happened faster than the system could be expanded. So when it gets hot and everyone starts turning on fans and air conditioners, etc., there is not enough electricity to go around. They compensate by systematically turning off sections of town for 4-5 hour segments. So every day, our electricity goes off for about this period of time. It is a bit of a challenge, but not something we can’t deal with. =) The mandate students have probably been tested a bit, though, as they are already in temperatures above what they are used to. It’s amazing how much difference a simple fan makes!!!
But despite the challenges and inconveniences, we continue to move forward and good things are happening! We would like to share with you a testimony of a man who showed up at our church about a month ago. One Sunday morning, as he shares, he was awaken at 2:00 in the morning, by a voice telling him to find a church of Jesus Christ. He recognized that the voice must be from God. He had never been to a church. The only place that he knew that was associated with the religion of Jesus, was a Bible school in the neighboring village. He couldn’t sleep and so waited until a reasonable hour and then set out to find the followers of Jesus. He arrived at the Bible school at 6:00 in the morning. Everything was still closed up at that hour, but he met the guard. The guard told him that there was no worship service at the Bible school, but that there was a church just down the road that met on Sunday mornings. So the man came to our church.
He arrived here at church around 6:30. He sat through some cleaning, the music team’s practice session, the prayer meeting, some Sunday morning discipleship classes, and then the morning worship service. As he sat through the service, he noticed everyone had a Bible, and that they followed along with the teaching. He felt a bit awkward, not having a Bible like everyone else. He told himself, that if someone would give him a Bible, he would feel much more comfortable to continue to seek after this Jesus. That same service, the Lord laid it on Sophea’s heart while he was worshipping, that he should give his Bible to this man. At first, Sophea wanted to reject this thought. His Bible is a more expensive one, with a cover that can zip closed, and he had been using his Bible and marking important thoughts and cross-references, etc., for a number of years. It would be much easier just to buy a new, simple Bible for this man. But finally, God won, and Sophea surrendered and gave his Bible to the man at the end of the service. The timing was what was important. This was a sign to the man, that he had been accepted, and that he was on the right track.
As we began to talk with this man, whose name is Chandol Phlong, he told us his story. He heads up an association that helps handicap people try to find ways of finding vocational training, and becoming self-sufficient. His organization has a house where many handicap families live together, pitching in to share the expenses of rent and utilities. He expressed a desire to bring these people to the church, to hear the good news of Jesus as well. This was amazing timing, as God had just blessed our church with a new van! So the next Sunday, we sent our van to the community where many of the handicap people stay, and brought about 30 people to our church! (Our van is a 12-passenger van, but in Cambodia that doesn’t mean anything!) They have now been to our church for the last 4 weeks.
We have sent one young man from our church to start a cell group in the slum community where his organization is located, where a concentration older, handicapped, and poor live. And Chandol Phlong is asking us to start another group at his office location as well! Please pray with us that God will continue to be with us as we respond to His leading and that there will be a harvest brought forth. We know that God has led us to these people, and them to us. We know that He has a plan in this! We know that these people are close to the heart of God and that he sees their needs and it touches His heart. We want to be an effective expression of His love and concern to them!
God bless you and thanks for your continued care and support as, together, we reach the nations for Him!
In Christ’s love,
Sophea and Jenny Sem
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