Yesterday, at 7:45am, Jenny & I hopped into the back of a large truck with two Cambodians, and headed over to Tent City to see how many (if any) kids were waiting for us. The day before we handed out flyers describing a church service we would be putting on. There were at least 20 at the gate waiting for us, and after two truckloads, there was about 90 of the little critters, at New Life in Christ Church.
We played games, sang songs, had a hip-hop dance competition, and had opportunity to accept Jesus as a part of their lives. At least half of them responded to this opportunity! It was sweet. We played another game, and then tried to organize the return trip home.
Luke (a Cambodian youth) and I were in the back with the kids while we drove, and after we had dropped of the first batch of kids, some of them started throwing rocks at us, yelling, "We received nothing." They have the mindset that equates whities with things, gifts, money, etc. They had thought that because white people were involved, that they would get money, or gifts or something. Jenny & I are trying to build relationships that run deeper than superficial materialism. We are trying to tear down stereotypes that have been erected by past Westerners. Perseverance, and Divine love is an attribute that is desperately needed.
We will return to Tent City whether they stone us or not. We go not because they love us, but because God loves them, and gave His Son for them.
The next thing we do is pray, and then after that, we return.

Here is my preach from last sunday, Dec 7. The scriptures I used were:
Psalm 16:11 In His presence is fullness of joy
Isaiah 12:3 With joy we shall draw water from the wells of salvation

There were 100+ people in attendance. The translator is Pastor Keat Kove, and I am preaching at New Life in Christ Church. Hope you enjoy!

Jenny & I have both started Bible studies on Mon-Wed-and Fri after english class in the evening. Last night was my first class. Two men stayed for it, which is pretty good considering we are in Cambodia. These two new believers had been Christians for 2.5mths and 1 month. I asked them why they decided to follow Jesus rather than Buddha (whom they have previously followed). One said that he used to always be stressed about things and never had peace. When he believed on Jesus, he had peace. The other said that with Buddhism, there was an awareness of sin, but with Jesus, there was the forgiveness of sin. How simple, yet how powerful.
So I started teaching them the basics, starting with Genesis. But, when they were a little confused about the origen of Satan, I went back a few (million, maybe billion) years to the creation of Lucifer and the angels, etc.
These new believers are so in need of good discipleship. As all are here in Cambodia. It is not uncommon to see someone who has been a Christian for 2 or 3 years, not reading the Bible or professing any real Biblical knowledge. Teachers (and Lovers) are in high need here.
So, pray for Jenny & I; that God's hand and anointing would be upon these classes. We would love to see increase beyond what we can imagine, but, even if our numbers are small, we would love to see abundant fruit in the life of even one. Our ministry (our very lives) are in His hand.

Yesterday, Jenny & I took 3 other people to Tent City to play with the kids we had visited last sunday. The kids more-than remembered us, and were all very eager to play. The 3 guys we took and I played with the older crowd, while Jenny had the young ones. They seemed to be enraptured with her.
The people of Tent City do not have much. They have been dealt a blow that we cannot imagine. The only thing Jenny and I can do for them is love them, and communicate a value to their lives.
Jesus came and died for nothing less.

One of my favorite things to do (in the world) is meet and hang out with random street kids, and the like. Most 'whities' refrain and avoid ones such as these, but they are missing out on meeting some of the most interesting people the world has to offer.
Every time we go out, there is a great opportunity to meet someone whom the rest of society has seem to forgotten. These precious ones are so dear to God, that He constantly beckons His children to go out and show love to them.
On sunday afternoon, Jenny and I went out on our weekly 'date' to Friend's ( a non-profit restaurant that works at getting teens off the street, and training them for employment, etc). Afterwards, we walked down by the river and met a 15 yr old girl (who looked more like 9 yrs old), her 6 yr old brother, and her 2 yr old naked baby brother. Her story (so she said), was that she was selling bottled water for $1, and the proceeds were going towards her education, which cost $10/mth. This girl was pretty much fluent in english, so I have no reason to doubt that she does indeed go to school. Her mother, and 2 brothers were close by, also selling water. Her little 2 yr old brother was the funniest little critter I've seen in awhile, and had some crazy big alien eyes goin on! She said that her father had lost a leg under the Pol Pot days, and now the family struggles to get by day-to-day.
Jenny & I have NO extra money for contributing to a 'beggar mentality' but we had to give this girl $1 anyway. It's not much, but to us, right now, it's more than you think. It is not usually money, the poor are seeking; it is love and acceptance, and time. This means more to the forgotten that throwing a bill their way and passing by and ignoring them. People are robbing themselves of the greatest experiences they will ever have, by not going to the people Jesus went to.
My most favoritest people I have ever been around are those whom the world goes out of their way to avoid.
Let's learn a lesson from Jesus, shall we.

Today was a highlight of our first month in Cambodia. Jenny & I lead a cell group, comprised of believers and non-believers that is a branch off of our evening english classes. To promote fellowship, these groups were created to be a time of fun and getting to know each other. There are 4 groups and jenny & I have a far bigger group than any other; 40 people, compared to about 20 in the other groups!! All the students got to select which group they wanted to join; we must be fairly popular!
Today, we took our group (named: Team Compassion) and walked fifteen minutes down the street to a field that is currently housing about 500 families that were displaced in april due to a big fire which destroyed their homes. They now live in make-shift shacks, waiting for the govt to provide other housing for them. % mths later, and noone knows when that reality will happen.
Anyways, we thought it would be a good idea to start an outreach to this area we have named: Tent City. After Church today, 15 members of our group (which is an amazing percentage for Cambodia) expressed interest in playing soccer with the kids of Tent City. Our group does not speak english well, and as we walked, we tried to explain to them about what exactly we were trying to do. Everyone nodded and said, "Yes, yes." When we got to the field and seen the poverty and filth, the looks on our team's faces said it all LOL!!!! Half of them just abondoned the outreach and left, leaving us with 8 people.
We gathered some children together (which was easy) and started playing 'monkey in the middle' with them. The group that stayed for the game had a great time. We played for 40 minutes or so (in the blazing heat 30C/86F) and then wrapped it up, telling the kids we would be back to play again.
We hope to do this once or twice a week; building relationships with the kids and families there. It seemed that the moms and dads there were so grateful and happy that we came to play with their children!
It's funny how we can show the world Jesus in the most practical ways. It's so easy.

Pastor Keat graciously let me deliver a message to his congregation yesterday. He sprung this opportunity to me on friday eve, so I had not much time to prepare. He is a great man, who is humble enough to surrender his pulpit to others. I am grateful to be part of his vision and ministry.
Enjoy!!

A while ago, we (Jenny, I, and the 5 other missionaries here right now) were having supper and discussing a dilemma that was currently surfacing in the evening classes of New Hope School. (The school is teaching english at a VERY discounted rate to locals here in Phnom Penh, with the goal of exposing them to people who truly love Jesus and give that love out in servanthood. Right now we have about 100 people in 5 different classes ranging from Introduction to Level 3.) There is a lack of quality Christian english teachers available. Because of the need, a decision was made to let a girl (Muoy, by name) teach an introductory class with a westerner serving as her translator. To the missionaries at the table, this seemed like it could've been a compromise to the vision of New Hope School, which is to have a 100% Christian witness as staff. Muoy was not a Christian. Amidst the conversation, in true charismatic form, I blurted out (in all seriousness), "Well, then, I guess we'll just have to get her saved, and that will end the problem." There was unenthusiastic agreement with my statement.
If the students enrolled in these english classes are not able to afford the $5/month tuition, then they can recieve a scholarship, which means they have to attend 5 programs/mth at New Life in Christ Church. By doing that, the $5 fee is waived and learning english is free. One of the program options is a saturday evening youth meeting that starts around 5:15pm and lasts till 6:30pm. I was to speak at the youth meeting on Nov1/08. I decided to give my testimony (because in this culture, with no Biblical knowledge, testimonies are more powerful than back home) and speak a bit about how God's Spirit constantly calls out to our spirits, to know us more intimately. At the end I decided to give an opportunity for people to acknowledge their need for Jesus. In Cambodia, this is a sign  of weakness, and pride usually prohibits people from responding to "altar calls". I encouraged people to raise their hands as a sign of belief, and the only hand to go up, was Muoy's! I didn't know it was her at the time, but found out later. After that, because of the cultural reluctance, I explained that Jesus doesn't care about raised hands, or a rehearsed prayer, but He cares about the quality of one's heart. I led those who might be interested,  in a private prayer of repentance.
It is an honor to be working in a nation that is Buddhist in name only, much like those in the West work in nations that are Christian in name only. It don't matter if you are Hindu, or if you are Buddhist, or if you are Muslim, or if you are Christian; you must be born again!

Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3 nasb)

Jenny & I have settled somewhat into a routine with New Hope School here in Phnom Penh. We help teach between 30-35 hours a week, aside from the church activities which constitute the weekend. It is a constant schedule, but a good one, although we both would like to limit our church activity to try and get working with a couple other ministries we have been in contact with here (YWAM and Prey Sar Prison Fellowship, most notably).
Cambodia enjoys more holidays than I have ever thought possible. So far, in the 2 short weeks we've been here, there has been 3 holidays. And in the next week, there is a big holiday which runs from friday-->thursday!!! A benefit to these 'days off' is that the teachers who work here at the school get some time off; they work awfully hard. But that's life in Cambodia.
The weather right now is consistently 30 C, and HUMID!!!! I take 2 or 3 short showers a day. It is hard to not feel gross and sweaty.
We are coming out of the rainy season, but there is still quite a bit of rain falling day to day. The sewage system is all but non-existent here in Phnom Penh, so when it rains, the sewage backs up and flows out onto the streets, and it's a big ole open sewer in the city. When the sun comes out, the sewage dries and ends up becoming blowing dust that is inhaled by the residents. Thank God for typhoid vaccinations! Many people here wear masks when they go out so they won't inhale the filthy dust that is ever constant in Phnom Penh.
We are loving being here though, and seek to make the most of every day. Continue praying for us here; it's almost like acknowledging the need for a Savior is a sign of weakness in this culture. Pride has risen almost to the status of an idol here.

Jenny & I are settling into a schedule here at the New Hope School in Phnom Penh:
8-10am I help teach the preschoolers. (Really though I try to learn as much as possible myself, cause the class is in Khmer, and the only english taught is when I speak. So far, I have learned the first 5 numbers { ១២៣៤៥​ }.
10-11am I help teach english to a combined grade 2/3 class.
3-4pm I help teach computer class.
4-5pm I help teach english to the combined grade 2/3 class again.
5:30-6:30pm I help teach english to college age students.

The importance of education in a country like Cambodia cannot be understated. People who have studied Cambodia much more than you and I have said that there is no hope for anyone who is living in this country. Hope is for the unborn. The total situation here looks hopeless indeed. By teaching english, and computer skills, etc, you set in motion something that will build upon each successive generation, which could turn the tide of this country and make it into what it has the potential to be. I really do applaud Pastor Keat & Sally's vision and efforts here. The school they oversee is amazing. They provide education at a cost that is little or none. They incorporate teaching Jesus along with teaching english, etc.
Along with our duties at the school, Jenny & I will also get to teach at New Life in Christ Church and disciple believers who are in desperate need of credible Christian witness. I actually get to speak at a youth meeting tomorrow night and am so exicted and grateful for the opportunity. I pray that hearts are changed and generations of bondage are completely destroyed.
It is amazing to back on the foreign field. My heart never leaves here.

Behold, the Lamb of God, that beareth the sin of the world. ( John 1:29 Murdock)