C3 Siem Reap Stronger and Stronger

We have been residents of the Kingdom of Cambodia for nearly four months now and really feel that God knows what he was doing when he put us here.


We are in the hot season in Cambodia. The temperatures have been in the very high 30's and the nights in the high 20's with very high humidity. This weather is really good for my skin (no I am not vain, just appreciating all the benefits)!!


The beginnings of our church are taking shape every week. We have around 20 people on our records but not all of them attend every week. On an average we would see 10 - 12 regulars, but as we know, we will not despise the small beginnings.  It is not about the numbers, but about the hearts - and isn't that true! Our small congregation are hungry for God, hungry to learn more about the bible and living as a Christian and they love to fellowship with each other. We have some snacks and drinks after the meeting and everyone loves to stay behind and chat and get to know each other a little bit better. Funny when you are English speaking in a room of Khmer speakers - even though I can now pick up on some of the words, I still really have no idea what they are talking about but it is great to watch them communicate so freely with each other.


I have started advertising for free English classes that I can run in my home. So far I have got 5 interested  students who will meet daily from 7am - 8am in the morning. It is a great way of getting to know people and I am really looking forward to seeing them improve in the English Speaking - think we could throw a bit of Life Coaching in there somewhere too!! Pray that God will increase this group, so we can see 20 students in this class.


We are still teaching English at the university. We would like to start bible studies in the evenings and have some fellowship  over dinner, but currently we are teaching in the evenings. We are going to ask them to consider changing our scheduled work times so we both work similar hours in the afternoon. For us the best time is 2pm - 5pm Monday to Friday - please pray for us that those with the authority will grant our request.


Mark is teaching the teachers at a local primary school on Monday mornings. This is going really well and he has had some wonderful feedback from teachers and management. The school gets all the teachers from the two schools they have in Siem Reap together so that Mark can speak to them about improving their outlook on life, their relationship with their students, their future plans and relationships. We do this on a voluntary basis and are seeing some great results from the changes in the teachers and in building our own network.


We have started a Saturday night outreach at our house, open to anyone who wants to come. We had our first one last Saturday which saw 26 people come. It was a great time over food and fellowship, which saw kids watching movies, parents talking together, mini golf, table tennis and playing drums. The neighbours came, people we invited that we met in coffee shops and some church members. It was a great night of just getting to know each other and one person said it was the best Saturday night they had had for a long time. We will hold these every fortnight so pray that we get the opportunity to share the gospel because we want to have these as fun times with no pressure but still create a presence and atmosphere that will allow God to move.


Last Sunday morning saw a great move of God in our meeting. We had communion together and talked about how we are all part of the body of Christ, we are a family that shares, laughs, cries and eats together. We talked about prayer and how to  pray. After the meeting Mark called everyone up who wanted prayer - evereyone came forward!! They were hungry for more of God, their hearts were open and receptive. We layed hands on each of them and prayed for the awesome power of God to fill their worlds. Later they tried to explain a hot feeling they had in their body and how they felt the weight of their worries just lifting off. God really showed up and showed off, they were still beaming when they went home!!


Pray for continued good health (because it has been great, we are both really well). Pray for income generation which allows us freedom to do what God wants and also to reach out to the community. Pray that God will use us to extend his kingdom in this kingdom. We love you and miss you all but know that with the sacrifices comes great blessing. xxxx