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May 2009 Visiting Worship / Drama Team
March 2007 Helping the Kids Get to ChurchMany thanks to those who have contributed to our Aid to Cambodian Churches fund. Here is a picture of a "tuk-tuk" that a faithful brother in our church was able to purchase with your help. The cost of this moto contraption was $1000, half of this money he has been saving on his own for the past few years on meager earnings from his wife selling vegetables at the market and from his work as a guard/watchman at the church. With it, he will be able to bring children from his village to church every Sunday morning. He also now has another means of income for his family, who have been faithful members of the church for many years. Praise the Lord for this tremendous blessing, and for God's faithfulness to us each and everyday! January 2007 First Ever Children's Camp Ends In TearsAfter just 2 years of struggling to begin a children's ministry, on January 14-17, we blasted forward with our first-ever Children's Camp in a nearby beach town, Kampong Saowm. Travelling 4 hours by bus with 30 children selected from city and provincial churches and with 5 Cambodian teachers and Mai and Sonya, God protected and directed us every step of the way. Our mornings started bright-and-early with exercises at 7am--Mai is thrilled to see how God is using her dance background in ministry! We then spent the rest of our mornings and evenings in "Warm Fellowship" (our theme), anointed worship and learning God's word together. We played games, went to the beach twice, and had a powerful time of ministry and prayer for each of the students on the last evening together.
The last evening, we asked the kids to write a letter to God confessing sins and asking Him to see others in a new light. They were then asked to bring their sealed letter to a teacher to receive prayer. It was evident that the Holy Spirit was with us powerfully as many were in tears weeping for an extended length of time as teachers prayed for each one individually. It was amazing to see how God can reveal the profound depths of His love even to children!
The children (mostly junior high age) took turns giving testimony to God's work after our last morning session together, bringing some to tears again, and then we boarded the bus heading back to Phnom Penh with a new outlook on how we should relate with others using a special pair of glasses given to us by our Father which allows us to see others with His love.
This upcoming Sunday we celebrate Living Hope in Christ Church's 12th anniversary. This young, dynamic and growing church is a testament of how God is "rebuilding the temple" here in Cambodia, where the church and people were near annihilation only 1 generation ago. In less than 2 years of ministry to children, we are experiencing an explosion of God's grace: 3 Kid's Clubs, a kid's worship service and Sunday school classes every Sunday, Christmas evangelistic programs 2 years in a row, and now, our first-ever Children's Camp! Hundreds of children are now following the Lord Jesus, dozens more have been baptized, and families & neighbors are seeing the expanse God's work throughout Cambodia!
Thank you for your vital part in all of this! January 2007 Starting The New Year With A Bang!There is much to write about our church Christmas celebration that we had on the 31st. Attached are a bunch of pictures for you. Firstly, the children had their event inside the church while the adults had their event outside. Mai was deeply involved with the kid's program and I took pictures, so neither of us saw the adult celebration. The kid's celebration was quite an event. It began with the debut of Mai's new worship dance set to the Khmer version of King of Majesty from the new CD (see photo) which was followed by several other dances, some of which also used music from the new CD. Everywhere I went I heard the new Tell The World CD playing. It was even being played outside by the adults and during the banquet. A huge crowd attended (see photo). There were several game stations around the church, all of which involved lots of baby powder (see photo). The program lasted nearly four hours, which included a banquet outside (see photo). In response to the message 46 children came forward to follow Christ (see photo). Pastor Barnabas said that 55 adults also gave their hearts to the Lord. I don't have a number, but the youth celebration a week earlier had nearly 500 in attendance and yielded much eternal fruit also. It was all a lot of fun as we had nearly 300 kids in attendance (see photo), more than double last year's attendance. One reason so many kids are able to attend is because of the transportation that we help to provide as part of our ministry. The church used to use a van, but that was too small. Now, they have a big, white truck that can easily hold 50 kids (see photo). We are pleased to help pay the costs for allowing the kids get to and from church every Sunday. The kids just love teacher Mai and love to come to church every week. Another happy note. In the photo of the Christmas Angel, you'll see a couple of sheep. One of the sheep is Srey Bic, the little girl with AIDS who was very sick a few months ago. She has improved dramatically and comes to church every week now. Her hair has grown back and she's quite happy these days. We understand that she is getting the regiment of AIDS medicine she needs at the orphanage she and her sister live at. Praise God! November 2006 Update on Srey BicMai is very glad that Srey Bic, the girl that has AIDS and was sick, is much better now and has been able to attend Sunday School regularly for the past several weeks. At this time, we are unsure if she is getting the special AIDS drugs, but we'll try to find out. It sure would be great if God healed this special little girl altogether. October 2006 New Transport for ChildrenWe want to send our thanks and praises because God has provided the money we were seeking to help buy the extra transportation for the children to get to church. The vehicle hasn't been purchased yet. When it is we'll be sure to get you a picture. We are also wondering what exactly it is they plan to buy. September 2006 Kids Can't Get to Church. Please Help.Picture this. Young children and toddlers left on their own in dirty clothes with unkempt hair and unwashed faces, or made to work because of the daily struggle to survive with barely enough food to sustain life. God wants these children to know that he exists and that he loves them. We have an incredible opportunity to reach out to these neglected children. The parents are usually thankful that someone takes an interest in their children so they don't have to. At this moment, our church has 3 Kids Clubs reaching out on a weekly basis to 3 different, very poor neighborhoods around Phnom Penh. Many of these children are so poor they cannot go to school because they have no money to give to the teacher everyday. Even those that do go to school, only go for 3 hours a day and the rest of the day are free to roam. For the lucky ones, their mothers have left some rice and soy sauce to eat before she goes to try to earn some money. Everyday, you can see these kids walking the blazing hot streets without any shoes searching for reusable trash. Our children's ministry has 3 compassionate teachers who each visit different neighborhood each week because they want these children to know the love of Christ. They teach Bible songs and about salvation. They use Kid's Club materials provided by Samaritan's Purse. Mothers are glad that anyone would take time to teach their children anything. Our desire is for these kids to be able join us for our Kids Worship Service every Sunday morning. The only thing holding us back is that the kids have no way to get to church. One specific way you can help right now is to help provide transportation. A longstanding member of our church, who also hosts a Kids club at his simple home, has faithfully brought his own children and a few other children to church every Sunday morning, sometimes making 2 trips there and back. He has expressed a desire to acquire a three-wheeled motorcycle cart gizmo that would be able to transport 20 or so children to church. Just imagine having a desire to go to church and fellowship with other believers and worship God, but not being able to do so. Cambodia does not have a church on every street corner. Already we have hired the church van to transport about 20+ kids crammed happily from another Kid's Club location. Because they have a way to get to church, they are able to learn how to worship God, learn the Bible, learn how to pray, and receive loving attention by caring teachers. Please pray and consider helping in this way. If you can please send your gift to our Aid to Cambodian Churches fund, account # 620801. The need is for about $550. The church member already has $200 saved toward this. $750 total. August 2006 Children's Ministry UpdateThree Sunday School classes will re-form soon to meet the needs of the different groups of kids we now have. One group is for little ones. Another is for kids that have been with us for sometime and the last group is kids that are new to the church. Many of the new kids are coming as a direct result of our awesome Christmas outreach last year when Pastor Barnabas lead almost 200 children to a confession of faith. Mai is planning to read through the New Testament with the group that has been around for a while. These classes meet after the early morning worship service. We now have three Kid's Clubs meeting weekly in poor, village-like settings near Phnom Penh. One of the three is also a direct result of the Christmas outreach. We also encourage the kids to join us on Sunday at the church for worship and Sunday School. Many come, but many have no transportation and live serveral miles away. One thing we are trying to do to help the kids get to the church is provide transportation for them. The is one of the things we do with money that is given to our Aid to Cambodian Churches Fund. Praise God for your contributions that help make it possible for children to go to church. We still have needs in this area. Mai meets regularly to encourage, plan, guide and pray with six children's teachers. August 2006 Mai Shares Message to ChildrenMai was well prepared yesterday to share a message on how Jesus never leaves us or forsakes us to about 50 children at our Sunday Children's Service. We can always trust him. This message is so crucial in a society filled with mistrust and fear. Did you know that most Cambodians won't tell you their birthday for fear that someone will put a curse on them? That is, if they know their birthday and many don't because of the difficult conditions that many were born into.
The attached photo shows Mai, with helper Noah, falling off a stool as an illustration to make her point. |
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