Our Week of Firsts

What an amazing week we have had here in Siem Reap!!

Friday night saw us launch our first Youth Night. There were games, songs, stories and snacks, lots of fun and laughter and a huge thank you to our wonderful team that helped us with this very successful event. We have such a fantastic team! 20 young people came out and were excited about coming next week talking about bringing their friends - so can't wait to see how many come next Friday night. Please pray for this event as it is a great outreach and the kids love coming.


Fun with musical chairs

Due to the increasing number of people coming to church we have decided to run a Kids Church at 7am followed by our regular service at 8.30am. Last Sunday saw our first Kids Church with 15 children coming, but because it was our first one, a few of the children forgot and came later. So next week we are looking forward to even bigger things. God is good, growing our church weekly and all bringing friends with them.



Monday saw our first children's English Class with Teacher Mao. 20 children sat around tables chanting out the days of the week, greetings and asking people their name in English. What a joy it was to see them having so much fun learning a new language. A huge thanks to Mao who was able to control these 20 excited young people and keep the lesson under control - you are a legend and a champion. xxxxx


We have changed our Leadership training to Monday nights, so we bolt home straight after University and teach leadership skills to our team. They are so hungry to learn and grow and want something to bring their friends to. So now we also have a connect group on Tuesday night and prayer nights every second Wednesday (they wanted every Wednesday, but unfortunately we don't have their endless energy)!!!!!

Adult English Classes are also booming and people are coming that we have met in the restaurants, travel agencies and the markets and they are bringing their friends. There are 25 students that come now (but not all at the same time)!!



Sim, Sanh, Mao, Voan,

Last Monday was the first day of a new school for 4 of our guys. They were attending the public high school where classes are 75 or more students in one class. The teacher had no control and most of the time they couldn't hear what he was saying and there were not enough tables and chairs for all students, so some had to stand through the lessons. Then because of the lack of learning they paid the teacher for extra classes in the afternoon, but if you don't have the money to pay then you just learn the little you can pick up in the morning. We saw this as crazy and enrolled them at the New York International School. Now they learn in small classes of less than 25 and can help us to plan programs in the afternoon.

We are now running classes for English, youth group, church, and training every day and so we are quickly running out of room!!!! We have negotiated with the builder and owner of the house to completely cover the area at the front of our house, so we can facilitate these programs when we are here and also continue to run programs when we are teaching at the university. It will also enable us to accommodate around 250 people in our church services.This will provide an area that is protected from the sun and rain.
As you well know, school fees, undercover areas and great programs like these cost money. For 4 students at school we need $120 per term each (4x12 or 14 week terms) and the total cost for the undercover area is $2400.  So if you feel that you would like to be a part of this great move forward in a financial way, then please contact C3 Rockingham on +61 8 9524 5055 and let them know you are kindly donating to the C3 Siem Reap projects. We pray 2nd Corinthians 9:11 on you for your generosity.

It is such a blessing to us to know that we have many friends and family praying for us and supporting us. God is definately building his church and now that we are rapidly gaining momentum we need your prayers and support even more. We know that we can never outgive God and so we are looking forward to hearing great testimonies of how God has blessed you through your generosity.

Live your best life now

Pastor Mark and Marian xxxxxxxxxx




TEAM Camp Sihanoukville 2012

What an awesome camp we have just finished in Sihanoukville!!

We left Siem Reap on the night bus on Thursday 4th October with 6 of our leaders for the 12 hour trip to Sihanoukville for the TEAM Camp of a lifetime. Some of the boys had never seen the ocean before and one of the boys had never been on a bus before!! The journey was long but comfortable and we were all able to get a fairly decent night sleep.

We arrived in Sihanoukville early Friday morning, booked into the Beach Road Hotel and took a well earned shower and rest. They didn't rest much because they were too excited to get into the program and look around. The aim of the camp was to instill growth qualities, get them to reflect on their gifts and where they fit in the Kingdom of God and C3 church. The theme of the Camp was TEAM - Together Everyone Achieves More.
Friday morning was 3 sessions of leadership, which they eagerly engaged in and then free time in the afternoon to swim in the hotel pool or explore the beach and town.



Chubby Bunny Winner!!!
 

Friday evening was youth night at C3 Sihanoukville. What a great time we had there!! Tribal War night with team games, lots of fun, lots of spent energy with tug o war, find the shoe, and a hilarious game of Chubby Bunnies!! We learnt about team spirit and helping eachother and laughing and celebrating even if we loose!!

Games and songs in the village

On Saturday we met the team from C3 Sihanoukville and together we visited a village, where our guys were able to help out with activities and evangelism. They played games, sang songs with the children and chatted with the people. It was amazing to see how they just picked up the guitar, sang the songs and engaged the children in games, they were amazing!!
In the afternoon Mark ran a workshop with the C3 Sihanoukville leaders on basic counselling skills. This was received with much enthusiasm and was seen as really helpful for them in dealing with people in the future.



Mark preaching about Abundant Life

Sunday was catch up time for us with Ben and Cherie in the morning and mentoring time for our guys with the experienced Sihanoukville staff. They were really encouraged and gleaned from fantastic teaching from guys with years of experience. The afternoon was church were Marian gave the offering message, Mark preached and 2 of our guys gave their testimony. It was great to see another C3 church in action and it was a blessing to be a part of what God is doing on the other side of Cambodia. Pray for Ben and Cherie McGonagle as they are doing an amazing job.

Beach cricket and volleyball

Monday and Tuesday were teaching and training for us but the afternoons were a great time of team games on the beach where we were able to involve some of the locals in games of soccer and volleyball. There was plenty of shell and crab collecting and trying to bring half the beach inhabitants back to the hotel in water bottles!!! The long bus ride ahead on Tuesday night meant that Tuesday arvo was rest, play and pack up.

C3SR TEAM

What a privilege to be a part of what God is doing here with these guys. They are going to be used mightily by God to do great things in Siem Reap. They are pumped, excited and rearing to go, to see C3 Siem Reap take off in the next few months. Pray for them and us as we take the next step on this amazing journey.

Siem Reap Update

Well, we have been back from our trip to Australia for nearly 2 weeks now and it seems like just a distant memory!!

Thank you to all our wonderful friends and family that made our trip so wonderful and memorable. It was a really busy time with birthday parties, weddings, dinners, lunches and many laughs and interesting conversations.

I thought the weather might be a problem because before we came everyone was saying how cold it was. God was kind to us because the weather was mild and we did not feel the cold as much as much as we were expecting.

Our welcome home was one that would make any pastor's heart melt with love for their congregation. The children  and adults literally ran to us, hugging us with exclamations of "I missed you" and 'I love you" and "so glad you are back". Then it was excitement plus as they helped unpack all our music equipment that was so generously donated by a special person whom I am sure God will richly bless for her generosity.

We brought back a Casio Keyboard, Electric drum kit, base guitar and 2 more guitars. We talk about the movie "Field of Dreams" where it was quoted "build it and they will come". That is our motto now, because as soon as we brought the music equipment back God brought 3 musical young men to us that could play drums and guitar (we are still praying for someone to play the keyboard). Our first church service after that was with live music - just like a real church!!!

Pastor Lisa giving her testimony



Pastor Bora preaching to the church

Last Sunday we had a visiting Khmer Pastor from Phnom Penh preach at the church. He was in Siem Reap with his wife on their way back from Thailand. We invited them to stay with us and then he preached in the morning. We had 42 out for that meeting, the place was packed!! We have been here 8 months now and are thinking of having 2 services in the morning - one for adults and then one for children. A nice problem to have for a pastor though!

The rain has been non stop for the last week and the river is nearly flooded. A little more rain in the next few days and the river will overflow. It seems that a lot of things go on hold during this time as some streets are flooded too and people find it very difficult to get around.

Keep praying for us, connecting with us and supporting us. We know we cannot do this without God and without you. Our verse for this church is Psalm 127:1 - unless God builds the house, we build in vain. God is building this house!!

Love Siem Reap

Only 3 more sleeps and we are getting on the plane and coming home for a short break.

The last 7 months of our journey in Siem Reap Cambodia have been filled with wonder at the goodness and faithfulness of God. We have learnt that without him we labour in vain.

God has given us a great bunch of people that are excited about the future and are willing to put effort into playing their part in making it happen.

We have established a bit of a name for ourselves in the city. People are becoming more and more aware of who we are and what we are doing. As we network around the place we come across people who already know who we are (they've heard from a friend). What a great testimony that is to how God can even make the small amount you feel you are doing, spread to the many.

We are making great connections in the university with both students and staff. The students in one class have been over for a party and now our connection with them has strengthened. The staff are inviting themselves over to our house and are reminding us everyday that they are coming (as if we would forget)!!!! Even our connection with the western teaching staff is getting stronger and stronger.


Lunch after church

Sunday 12th August was a huge service for us. We invited a Cambodian to come and speak to the church. He spoke to the people about doing the right thing, living right for God and helping each other. 48 people came to church and afterwards we all shared a meal together. There were a lot of people encouraged by the message and fellowship that day. 

Our village visits are getting more and more frequent as we establish relationships with the villagers. Last month we were able to visit Puok and Dom Dek a few times, eating, praying and just plain ol' socialising with everyone. Love that part of the journey, just getting down and talking real.

Visiting the children in their homes

English Classes have grown and grown and now I have 30 students registered. New ones are always showing up and just this week one of my new students came to me after class and thanked me for teaching him and said the class was such a lot of fun. Another student wrote me a lovely note and drew some flowers for me. They really appreciate it and are very responsive during class. I love to just watch how much they have grown in knowledge and relaxing more in their speech.

Marks Leadership Classes are also a huge success with students regularly coming each week. Just to get them to stop and look at thier lives and see what path they are on. To watch them as they discover those "ahah" moments when the light goes on. Very rewarding and exciting to see how we can just encourage them to think like they have never thought before.



C3 Siem Reap

Both of these avenues have been a great outreach for the church. Our church has now lots of English and Leadership students who have a heart for God and a huge desire to learn.

Please continue to pray for us. We value all kinds of support and encouragement as we do this journey with you.

Heaps of love on all of you xxx

Pastors Mark and Marian

C3 Siem Reap Update

Great News!!!! The lady we have been praying for with Hepatitis is reported to have started feeling better on Sunday night. We visited and prayed for her on Saturday while her family were preparing themselves for her death and then on Sunday evening she starts feeling better!! Praise God He IS working in her body,  please keep praying for a complete healing as we believe this is going to be a miracle from God. We praise God for her salvation but now we are believing for a miracle in her healing.

Selecting the seeds

We then visited another village where we had lunch together. This family are farmers and so we had the opportunity to show them vegetable seeds that were kindly donated from our Australian friend Ray. They were so excited to look through the seeds and to be told they could choose whatever seed they would like to plant in their village. They took a wonderful variety of seeds and asked us to return and see how they were growing - this will be a very exciting thing to see for us. We can see how a few seeds could feed a whole family or a whole village!!!

The father in this family is a faith healer and we talked to him about the bible and the things of God. We gave them a small story book and a bible and what a joy it was to see this family reading the books and reading the bible.

Kids Church Pioneers

Last Sunday we started our first Kids Church session. The numbers of our smaller people have been growing steadily and so we felt God call us to start something for them. 9 beautiful little  people sat around our dining room table listening to the story of creation taught through my interpreter Kim Eng. They learned about each day that God made the earth and then when quizzed later on could correctly answer every question (they are so hungry to learn)!! Then we coloured in a picture while talking about the beauty of creation. Keep praying for these as we believe they will be the future of C3 Siem Reap.

The English Class is still operating very successfully, with new students interested every week. We will continue until the end of term now (July 6th) as nobody wants to take a break. Next term we will have to look at maybe adding another class due to the interest of many eager students. Please pray that we can operate more classes, physically and financially as some of the students are coming to church and bringing their friends and family.

Thank you for all your support and prayers and keep tuned for more of our adventures in God in Siem Reap. xxxxxxx

C3 Siem Reap Update

Last week we had a wonderful visit from my sister Cathy and her husband Mark. It was great catching up with family and showing them around the city of Siem Reap. Family are a blessing and I just want to encourage you not to take what you have for granted. God has put us in a family and we must cherish them with our time, our love, our support and definitely our prayers.

Some plant, others harvest!

We visited a village in Puok district about 18 kms from Siem Reap. When we arrived they were planting rice out in the rice fields. Mark decided to help them as rice planting is hard work and after all, we are here to support the people, build relationships and show the love of Jesus. They were really appreciative, I think, and Mark promised to come and help for another 10 minutes in the future, gosh we went away feeling like we had really made a difference!!!!!!


The English class are growing in numbers. We are still getting inquiries and people wanting to join our class. This is a great way to meet the locals and a few of them are interested in coming to church on Sundays. I am also learning about English as I am teaching. We are realising we can speak English but we do not know why we say it the way we do!!


Our Sunday meeting starts at 8.30am and by 8.50am only 1 person had arrived, after a short meeting we decided to go and have coffee. The kettle went on and the food came out and 11 people came through the door. They were late as Sunday was election day in Cambodia.


So we had church and Mark taught about God's love and the family relationships. For a Cambodian, love is not shown openly and to be told that God loves them no matter what is a real revelation and encouragement to them. That morning we saw 4 people give their lives to Jesus!! 


Then on Tuesday our young members had a day off school so they came over for a visit. What a great time we had eating, playing soccer, doing puzzles and just hanging out. What a joy to know we are making an impact as they want to come and see us. Language is still a barrier but Gods love seems to break those barriers down. Pray for these young people who will be the leaders of tomorrow.


Keep supporting us with your words of encouragement, your prayers and your finances. We are moving forward, taking this land and bit by bit impacting lives with the love of God wherever we go. Love you xxxxxxxxxxxx

C3 Siem Reap update

What a great week this has been!! How exciting to be a part of what is happening in Cambodia.

Our new little addition

Last Sunday one of our mums gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. We had the privilege of being invited to their home to see the new arrival. What a miracle! tiny hands and feet and a welcome playmate for brother Alex. Mother looking radiant and Dad all puffed up with pride. This is what it is all about - doing life together.


The English classes are pumping now.  I have 6 regulars and a few that come every now and then (which is something I will have to get used to here). My regulars are keen to learn, interactive and always asking questions - they aim to keep me on my toes. Sunday we saw 3 of them at church, which goes to show what a great outreach teaching English is.

Attentive ears and hearts

On Sunday we saw 20 people fill our front room, all here to be a part of the beginning of our soon to be massive church :)) Mark spoke about the love of God and how fear does not rule our actions because we know God has everything under control. A lot of people were touched and encouraged through this revelation as Cambodian culture is dominated by fear, rejection and loveless relationships.

Hepatitis gone in Jesus name

After church we went to Dom Dek (village about an hour from Siem Reap). We visited a couple who are the parents of one of our members. The mother has Hepatitis and was very sick. We laid our hands on her and prayed for her healing. Her skin and eyes are very yellow and she has no energy to do anything. We believe that God will heal her and we are looking forward to going back and seeing her skin and eyes a healthy colour and to see her moving around. Her son said that she is usually a very busy person so we want to see that happening again!!! Healed in Jesus name.


We also visited another family of one of our church members, as they lived close by in this village too. We were their first foreign visitors to that village. The father, who was very happy to see us, is the village faith healer and was performing a healing ritual on a patient when we arrived. This is very common in the outer villages as the doctor is very expensive and so people go to the faith healer instead. After we sat and talked a while he was interested in us coming out to his village and having some bible studies there and he would arrange for the people to come. Pray for favour in this village and that God can be the healer for them, for their lives and their bodies.


Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We value your contact and words of encouragement. God has his hand on everything we do and he blesses our path before we go down it - Psalm 32:8. When we put God first in everything we do, how can we not win!! That is not just a message for me but for you too - Matthew 6:33. Love ya heaps xxxxxxx