End of January 2025 Update

I’ll admit it; after enduring months of sweltering temperatures, we were skeptical the promised “Cambodian winter” would ever come. But on Tuesday, I almost put on a sweater…gasp!…and we even ventured to turn off the A/C for several hours! Finally, we’re not sweating through multiple changes of clothes and chugging electrolytes for hydration. Oh, that this would last!

At the end of the rainy season and the completion of our last disciple-making training in Kampot, we decided to see a little of the countryside. Frankly, up until now, we’ve been too busy, too hot, or too soaked by the rains even to consider looking at sites other than through the window of our bus. In Kampot, there are many limestone caves which, like the one in Thailand where the soccer boys were trapped, can only be accessed when the waters recede. In the month it’s been dry enough to enter, locals have hauled dozens of Buddha statues into every available atrium as the caves and dripping water pools are considered sacred. In the surrounding areas, they grow the finest pepper in the world (reputedly), which is used liberally, and deliciously, in ALL local dishes. Closer to Phnom Penh, we visited Silk Island, which is accessible only by ferry and is like stepping into the Cambodian past. The island supports dozens of multi-generational families earning their living by raising silkworms, processing the cocoons, spinning, dying, and weaving the silk just as they have for centuries. Producing silk is one of the most labor-intensive pursuits in the world if done, as it is here, completely by hand. Peter delighted one family as he knew all about the process because the Vaughans had raised silkworms in Rhodesia (ok, Zimbabwe) where mulberry trees flourish.

I know I’ve told you how God blessed us with a place with a garden, in which, to our great delight (and the joy of the children in the apartment) several small bunnies were discovered, likely abandoned by a previous tenant. Protected from predators and spoiled by carrots and rabbit food supplied by the fascinated kids, they soon became acclimatized to people. As the months progressed, they grew big and fat and…doing what rabbits do best …suddenly there were 18! This caused friction between the pro-rabbit faction (mostly children) and the anti-rabbitters (mostly adults, who are not so much anti-rabbit as they were pro-garden) as to what to do to avoid involving the landlord. A compromise was reached with several rabbits (reluctantly, one can only assume) relocated to a brother’s farm to experience “greater freedom.” The children, happily, have accepted this, too young to realize that almost everything in Cambodia eventually ends up in the stew pot!

Although the New Year has barely begun, our calendar for the next four months is full. The inevitable result of training church planters and establishing house churches is that the new leaders need pastoral training…immediately. We have six additional church planters who began this January joining those already in the field. Remember that rural pastors face multiple challenges; poor basic educational foundations, limited access to any training or resources because of cost and distance, the necessity for a full-time job to support themselves and their families, and pervasive transportation issues (at best, they have motorcycles, but often only bicycles.) And so we’re taking the training to them, heading into the provinces with a distilled and contextualized curriculum designed to help them face, with Biblical principles and practical applications, the rigors of rural pastoring. At the same time, we’re continuing disciple-making training, mentoring local Khmer pastors in Phnom Penh, and weekly training of a wonderfully enthusiastic group of young Khmer leaders working at Mercy Village Church. They supply enough boundless joy and energy to keep us going the rest of the week!

Reports of post-Christmas children's and adult outreaches are still arriving, as some outreaches were held after the 25th, too late for inclusion in our December newsletter. We are particularly excited about the increased attendance at children's churches and home church plants, which demonstrate the success of all the efforts, planning, and expense. However successful, I do believe everyone is relieved to have December’s frenzy behind them!

Across the border, in that beleaguered country that must-not-be-named, disciple-making teams continue evangelizing in the deep interior, bringing the Good News to a receptive audience, and baptizing as they go. Getting there is not for the faint of heart, but the fruit is ready for harvest. The obedience of these disciple-makers is astounding.

In the Dominican Republic, the indefatigable Pastor Jaime’s numbers are staggering. Two couples are helping him now, one Dominican and one from Columbia, with two Dominican church plants, seven Haitian churches planted, and an astonishing 42 Haitian pastors in training and attending his pastors’ conferences! Already, he’s hosted 6 mission teams in the mission house that was completed last year, all of which brought resources, labor, and expertise to various projects. They are back in business with Manna Packs, using them to support believers as well as evangelize from Haitian churches. We are so thrilled the customs issues have been resolved so that this essential source of food can be utilized once more.

In Cambodia, as in America, many believers are frustrated by their government. Here’s their joke about the corruption levels in Asia: “In Vietnam Nam, the bribes are under the table; in Thailand, they are on the table; and in Cambodia… they are the whole table.” We encourage them, as we encourage ourselves, with Paul’s instructions to Timothy:  “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) After all, we know how the story ends and we know who wins!

As is our habit in January, we joined with hundreds of churches worldwide for 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, giving thanks for our incredible blessings this year, for continued good health, for open doors for the Gospel, for dozens of answered prayers, for the incalculable gift of salvation, and for each of you, family and friends, who mean so much to us. We pray for you daily. A Khmer church we love dearly hosted 21 Days of Prayer with amazing results: there is little that unites a church like corporately seeking God’s guidance and direction. God never fails to answer His people when they humble themselves.

One of our favorite prayers this 21 Days has been the prayer of Jabez: “Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.”  (1 Chron. 4:10) And so we pray that prayer over you and your family for 2025: May God give you more than you need so you can bless others and may His presence and protection go with you.