#289 - Recent Ministry Events and Prayer Requests

Vol. #289

 Good morning from a coffee shop here near the riverside in Phnom Penh! 

There is construction going on in front of my place and it is my day off. Thankfully the noise is NOT that bad but the power went out a couple of times, so I decided to come and pay my P.O. Box bill and have my coffee time with Jesus in an air-conditioned location! 

**Prayer Request: Before I give you an update on the events in the past month here ministry-wise, I would like to ask for your prayers for my big brother who was given a cancer diagnosis recently. I will not divulge details to protect his privacy, but I ask for your prayers as we go to Abba Father, the Healer, on his behalf, for His healing, for His grace and His peace. Thank you for joining me in prayer on his behalf.** 

PHOTO#1: ME WITH KIDS FROM MALL FOR 1&½ HRS. ON SUNDAY MORNING

The first photo shown here are of 3 kids who come from the mall that you can see from the background. They wanted to come to the Sunday school class but needed to be registered by a parent or guardian. Their parents work in the mall and in the local market nearby so they cannot do it. So that morning after we tried to stop them from running upstairs to the classes knowing that they could not get into the class, I asked if it was possible to be the guardian for the time needed for the class. After I got permission from Lokru Samdy, we went over instructions with the kids, about obeying the teacher etc. and they were allowed to attend. For the second service, Donnie (another Canadian married to a Khmer and adopted a Khmer daughter) became the guardian for that second service. They were happy to show me their arts and crafts from the Sunday school afterwards!

Prayer Request: Please pray that whatever nuggets these kids learn from the class would be seeds of His love that would grow in their souls and that their parents would see that they are accepted and loved by the church.

PHOTO#2: OUN DAVIN STARTING OWN CLEANING BUSINESS

The second photo is Oun Davin. She was one of a group of cleaners who would come to my house but her work hours were horrendous and it took a toll on her physical and mental health. So through conversations and encouragement with Lauren (another of my friends and expat here), she made the big decision to step out and start out on her own! It was a very bold decision as she does not have the backing of a company with their cleaning machines, but she works hard and does a wonderful job and is trustworthy. And yes, she is a young Christian! I decided to follow Lauren’s lead and became her second client! 
Prayer Request: Please pray that she will get other clients who will treat her with respect as His daughter, and also pay her the wages that she deserves!

 

PHOTO#3: PASTORS FROM PROVINCE: THE COUNTRYSIDE

The third photo: We just finished hosting the ‘Strong Ministry' mini-conference at our church. The local pastors from our church plants from the provinces (countryside) came in with some of their leaders to learn more about worship and how to lead and maintain relationships within the church, to be refreshed, and to be healed before going back out into their work in their churches. Their church buildings may be small with no A/C, with multi-functional use as classrooms, community-meeting room as well as for worship! Most times the pastors there and their leaders and spouses do all of the work themselves, not having different leaders for other ministries. So the burnout rate is high amongst them! I was walking by these leaders who came in early for the first session and just felt that I needed to get them tea/coffee! I had just spoken to my parents via video and I remembered all of the hard work they put in when they worked in Trinidad in church planting and leading in churches that were small and not well equipped! I had spoken to Mom and Dad about them and they graciously gave towards getting Bibles (with commentaries etc. in Khmer language!) for these precious pastors. We have many resources in English but not that much in Khmer language YET. However, the best Khmer Bible commentary that we have here is going to be gifted to them as a surprise on behalf of my parents! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

 

PHOTO#4: SHOES OFF, HOLY GROUND, HONEST WORSHIP

Fourth photo: I had to take this one. One of the pastors there just took off his shoes. The Presence of the Holy Spirit was so strong that we all had to either take off our shoes or just kneel before our Holy God, for it was Holy ground. It was so humbling to see such innocence of worship, such utter adoration before Our Lord, Our God.

GRANDMOTHER GETTING BAPTIZED WITH THE HELP OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION!

Fifth photo: Yesterday we put up the baptismal pool inside of the church (no major leaks!) and 32 precious souls were baptized! The oldest baptismal member was a grandmother who became a Christian from another organization and was asked to be baptized. Their doctrine was to sprinkle her with water, but she felt within her spirit that she needed to be submerged, so she came to ask for special permission from Lokru Samdy to be baptized alongside the other young people here, even though she is not a member of our church! He gave his permission and you should have heard the shouts of encouragement as the younger generation group was helping her to climb into the baptismal pool. Then she went under the water and then came back up with the help of Sister Navy (Lokru Samdy’s wife) and Oun Dina, a young leader with the men’s group! Yes, I was on my feet shouting (I am a bit hoarse this morning!). 
Prayer Request: Please pray for the rest of her family and those in her community, as they will listen to an elder as she shares her story of the love of Jesus! That is her younger sister in the pic walking alongside her!

 
Thank you all for your continued prayers and sacrifice of finance and time to read this and to pray with me. I am ever so blessed! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vedya