Time surely flies. We've only 17 days remaining. Two teaching weeks to go; and this friday is a holiday, and 3 days the next week is holiday! So, not much time left at all.

We will be back on PEI on May 21st, and will be there for 10 days. If you wanna get together, give me a message and I will schedule it in. It is gonna go fast, and there are lots of people to visit.

What GLORY will the next couple weeks contain? There's only One who knows.

Indeed. I have a tremendous head cold. Terrible cough, headaches, and clogged sinuses! It started getting outta hand on Apr 6, and today, two weeks later, it rages on. I'm beginning to thin I need to see a doctor and maybe get some antibiotics or sumthin.

We are back in Phnom Penh after an amazing (but exhausting) 5 day tour of Ho Chi Minh City and Da lat, Vietnam. It was an amusing time seeing as though the 40 people on the tour were Chinese and Cambodian, and none of the tour was in English! Thank God for the few passengers who were able to translate enough English for us to know what was going on! Here's the wrap up:

Apr12 (sun)
- the bus leaves at 5am!! 12 hrs later we are in Ho Chi Minh City, the 24th largest city in the world, at over 6.6 million people!
- we visit some amusement park
- have some local cuisine for supper
- stay at a nice hotel (Caesar's)

Apr13 (mon)
- wake up call at 5:30am! Let's get a move-on!
- go to a huge theme park with a big crocodile area
- 6 or 7 hr drive through the mountains of southern Vietnam to Da Lat

Apr14 (tue)
- visit a couple of flower parks (boring!)
- visit a huge Buddha statue overlooking Da Lat. HUGE!
- visit the former King of Vietnam's palace
- visit a great waterfall which we had to take a manual roller coaster to get to the bottom of the valley where it was at
- took a cable car ride over Da Lat
- visit a market and I find Versace's latest cologne for cheap! (I've been looking for it for a good price since september.)

Apr15 (wed)
- leave Da Lat and head back through the mountains towards Ho Chi Minh
- visit another waterfall
- visit a mall in dowtown Ho Chi Minh City
- have supper on a big boat floating around the port

Apr16 (thu)
- return to Phnom Penh

For complete set of pictures of our Vietnam experience, click -->HERE<--.

Now we have the weekend to prepare for classes on monday, which will kick off our final four weeks in Cambodia.

Pretty crazy. Good Friday nearly escaped notice, and would have(!!), save for Facebook! I found out at around 8:30pm! How crazy is that?! Something we are so accustomed to in the West, is not even mentioned here, where we are, in the East.

Early sunday morning, Jenny & I will cruis'er outta Phnom Penh for a 5 day Vietnamese bus tour! We are really looking for it.

Today was a celebration for the Khmai New Yr. At New Hope School they distributed baby powder (and the like) to the children and we had a big powder war! After 30 minutes of bedlam, the water balloons were unleashed! It was pretty crazy, and no teacher (save for a couple) were left unscathed. Jenny did her best to refrain from the water fight, but sadly, was unable to escape. The kids had a great time, and we were all in desperate need of a shower afterwards.

The New Yr is offically from the 14-16th, and there will be no classes next week, which afforded Jenny & I the time to go to Vietnam. Enjoy the Khmai New Yr everyone!

And prayer would be appreciated for the documents that were sent to us today regarding our employment at Double H Ranch this summer. The mail system can be unreliable here. Thanks.

Phnom Penh is HOT! Jenny and I have been back to our New Hope School teaching schedule for a week now, and the temp has averaged around 32C/90F, but according to weather.com it feels like 36C/97F! The energy has been low in this heat, but the work has driven us forward.

There are no other foreigners here right now so we have been the only native english speakers teaching. This means a demanding schedule. I am now teaching with the preschool between 9-10:20am; then with the Grade 2's from 10:30-11am. I then teach an adult Intro class from 3:30-4:30pm; I alternate daily between a Level 1 and Intro class during 5:30-6:30pm; then a Level 3 adult class from 6:30-7:30pm.

I had to give up my Bible Study to teach the 6:30 Level 3 class simply because there is no other person here who can do it. Jenny is now teaching a combined Bible Study during the 6:30-7:30 time slot. I didn't want to give up my Bible Study when Keat originally rotched the idea, but my doing so permits more Cambodians to attend the services which are necessary for recieving their scholarships. Sometimes, you have to back off from the spotlight and work for the good of the whole, and not worry about who is leading people to Christ, just that people are being led.

In one week, we head to Vietnam for a 5 day tour. It is the Khmai New Yr and all classes will be cancelled! Till then, we learn these Cambodians some English!

This is our last night in Sihanoukville. Tomorrow, the Holbeche's and us are on a 2.5 hr boat ride to the island of Koh Rong Saloem. There, we will stay for 2 days/3 nights at the Lazy Beach private tropical hideaway. This is a chance for us all to get away from internet, cell phones, tv, etc etc, and just spend some good ole quality time reading, reflecting, and spending time with God, without the everday distractions that hinder those events. It will be a time to process what we have seen and learned here. The more you delve into the Cambodian culture, the more depth you see which needs to be explored before any of it can be truly understood. It is a culture that is so far removed, or foreign, to what we are content with, that it is difficult to grasp even the simplest things about it. History has been the great ally, and worst enemy, of these people.

On the 24th we return to Phnom Penh, and on the 25th we attend a seminar on the sex trade and young boys. Then we will round off the week with the Holbeche's, and start our teaching schedule back up on the 30th.

We have been in Sihanoukville for almost a week, and the time spent here cannot be overstated! We've spent much time swimming in the Gulf of Thailand, and resting on Serendipity Beach, chatting with the scores of kids who try their best to sell you bracelets and such. There are also scores of ladies who want to sell you a back massage, or pedicure, or manicure, or etc etc etc. The distinction between 1st World and 3rd World is shocking. The kids, ladies, and beggars try in every way, to get the rich westerners to give them anything. Some things we see are disturbing.

We talk to many young girls, who testify that they've been approached by older western men, for sex. The temptation to be lured into this type of employment is great.

We try as much as possible, to befriend these innocents, and learn their stories. Complacence is destroyed by the stories we hear. On Serendipity Beach, ignorance and inaction go hand in hand. Many here do not want the responsibility of knowing the truth about what this place is notorious for. Ignorance seems the far better option. Last year over 2 million tourists visited cambodia, and it is estimated that 22% of these tourists came for the sex. !. That`s crazy.

So, we continue our time here with The Mission Worldwide. It is a time of rest, but also of advancement. We seek God's will for the future of this troubled place. Your prayers are welcomed.

Indeed! We picked up Jason & Kellie at the airport saturday evening. They will be in Cambodia for about 4 weeks, aquiring loads more information on the awful sex trade that is happening here. Their goal is to establish a long term ministry here that involves rescuing people from this awful reality. They have meetings with some groups who are doing similiar work, and then they hear from God as to how to proceed.

On saturday morning, we will relocate to Sihanoukville for 3 weeks or so, and have a time of information gathering, prayer, and relaxation!! Jenny & I have been quite tired lately. Our demanding work schedule, and the ridiculous heat, is a nasty combination. It will definitely be nice to get down to the coast and see how things are there.

Sihanoukville is the major area in Cambodia for child prostitution. The stories about this activity are shocking. Pray for us, even more intensely, as we push ahead into this area. Many, many children have had their innocence robbed of them, with little or no hope for their future. Jesus died for such as these.

Today, I was helping in the preschool class (like, every day), and the teacher (Sriung) was explaining to the kids about Holy Ghost descending upon Jesus like a dove. Then some arts and crafts supplies were brought out and the class got to color, and cut out, and put together their very own HOLY GHOST!!! Actually, it was a pigeon or something, but the Spiritual significance is more than obvious!

My job was to help the kids glue the tail and wings onto the body. I was engulfed by a multitude of whining kids when I head one of them crying uncontrollably. It was Contea (or Googles). She had been struggling to find an efficient way to use her scissors, when her classmate volunteered to help her. Contea was holding the paper while he used the scissors, and............SLICE! He hacked one of her fingers!! Poor Contea was bleeding and crying. Sriung took her to the office to get some first aid treatment and she returned a short while later with a new bandaid on her finger. In all the confusion, her Holy Ghost bird disappeared, forever.

The recess bell rang and I volunteered to make Contea a new bird, so Sriung got me the supplies and Contea picked out colors for me to use on the new bird. She sacrificed her recess to help me construct a new bird. Jenny landed and captured the moment on film.

Contea, is the best preschooler in the world. I will definitely miss her when Jenny & I cruise to Sihanoukville next week.

1Timothy 5:20
Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest will also be fearful of sinning. (NASB)

Yesterday, I taught on 1Timothy5 at one of my Bible studies. I am taking a couple of church members through the Pastoral Letters (1&2Timothy, Titus), learning them about leadership roles in the church. Invariably, we have touched upon some controversial subjects, such as women preachers (2:9-15), drinking alcohol (5:23), and openly rebuking persistent sinners (5:20).

I really started thinking about this verse (5:20), about how less and less of true apostolic Christianity we see in our churches today. On the surface, this verse sounds incredibly legalistic, devoid of grace, and full of condemnation. Churches in the past have seemed to take the faith a bit more seriously than we do though.

Imagine if we reinstated 1Tim5:20 in nominal Christianity today. It would actually benefit us much more than it would hurt us. Christians might actually take sin seriously!! What a concept! Persistent sinners would be openly rebuked, and if they were truly repentant, they would seek help to clear their problem up. If they were not repentant, they would leave the church and likely not return until such a time as they were ready to make Jesus both "Lord" and "Savior" of their lives. The early church had no problem with this; there were too many heretics floating around risking the purity of what Christianity was founded upon. It would (and should) require a great deal of humility to remain in a church such as this. Throughout church history, holiness was thought of more seriously than just "Jesus is our Holiness; we are holy because He is", which is absolutely true, but often abused, especially by adherents of the "hyper-grace" doctrine.

Another benefit to this idea is: members of the church who are struggling with sin may seek the leadership to deal with the problem, instead of trying to cover it up lest it be exposed and dealt with the way Paul intended it to be. The former is much more preferable to the latter. Members of the church could be entrusted with the 'radical' concept of accountability!

Many scholars believe this verse is talking about elders only, which is likely true. The underlying principle is clearly understood though, "that the rest will also be fearful of sinning". A huge problem in Christianity is a complacency towards the seriousness of sin. We should be inwardly afraid to sin. Not because of the consequences of man, but from the effects that sin has on our lives and on the lives of others around us. Our sin not only destroys our life, but it can affect those around us. A great example of this is Adam (Romans 5:19).

The Apostle Paul lived out this verse. He openly rebuked Peter in the "presence of all" in Galatians 2:11-21. Peter, who apparently, did not get offended and call Paul a "legalist" or some foolishness, humbled himself, and it appears he and Paul's relationship was not severed (2Peter 3:15-16).

A lesser man (one who professes to be a Christian, but is genuinely not) will be offended and reject the truth of the Gospel and forsake the institution of God, until such a time as he is ready to regard the salvation of God seriously.

As Leonard Ravenhill says, "We need some good hellfire preaching on repentance" nowadays. The church looks like the world, which is even worse, since we profess to be the 'light of the world'. What a tragedy, that Christians would be "dead to Christ, but alive to sin". Is this the evidence of such people who claim to be "born again"? Devoid of holiness, repentance, conviction, responsibility, accountability? Are we content to say "Jesus is our holiness" while we are still ensnared by sin? Does Jesus currently have His eyes closed while repeating, "They're holy, they're holy, they're holy", trying to convince Himself, while the visible evidence testifies against us? Is that a witness to unbelievers?! "We are holy, we just don't look like it." "Jesus defeated sin for us, now we cannot overcome it in our lives". What a dead testimony. The quality of converted lives attest to this fact.

I'm not talking about screaming, "You're all going to hell, you heathen", to the unbelievers. We are commanded (and compelled) to preach the Gospel of God's love. But, as Christians, who profess to know the truth, we should not shy away from subjects like hell, or judgment. If the conversation goes there, we should not try to make excuses for God and His lovingkindness.

The real preaching of hell should be done to the church, so that they are aware that such a place does exist, and that those who reject Christ, will indeed, end up there. This is terrible, but Christians are more concerned with comfort than conviction. The Gospel is a story about salvation! So why is the Good News so good? (At this point, the "hyper-grace"ist will jump up and shout, "We're saved from trusting in ourselves!".) We have been saved from hell. We are saved to eternal life with a loving God! And we don't even come close to deserving it!! THAT, is Good News.

Without Martin Luther, we do not know what the Christian Church would look like today. We owe this man a huge amount of respect and honor. With that, the 1st of his 95 Theses' states:
Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.

Are you fearful of the effects of sin in your life? in the lives of others? in the church as a whole? If we're not, we should be. If not for our own sake, then at least for the sake of Jesus' body.