image

I saw this moto driver as I was on my own moto on my way to preach the Good Friday service at Christ Lutheran Church in Phnom Penh. Christians are a small minority in Cambodia, so it’s rare to see a shirt like this. But how wonderful to see it on Good Friday. The cross makes the way. The cross is the miracle. The cross is the promise fulfilled. The cross breaks the darkness.

We are getting excited for the upcoming CHE training of trainers in Cambodia, a June 4-7. This short video describes why CHE is so important, have a look!

Youtube

image

This week J.P. is sitting in on a seminar hosted by the Cambodia Lutheran Church. Dr. Harold Ristau of the Lutheran Church–Canada is teaching on the differences among different denominations. It’s a great chance to see church leaders from all over the country while learning from Scripture together. Please pray for the seminar, which runs through Friday.

image

A glimpse into our missionary home office… These are a few of the books we are reading and re-reading, my planner (because it’s a hard thing to go fully digital for creative thinkers!), with a smattering of Sunday school teaching resources thrown in. The life of a missionary is fundamentally a disposition of being a learner first, and then using the knowledge gained to teach others and strive toward doing our work more effectively!

image

The Holy Cross team’s time in Cambodia flew by! This was such a special group of people. They put up with strange food, changing VBS schedules, supplies that didn’t work the way they were supposed to, cross-cultural communication issues, and above all, the heat of Cambodia’s hot season. And they greeted it all without a single complaint, but rather worked tirelessly and happily to bless the children of Cambodia. We give thanks to God for their sacrifice of time, money, and effort to travel all the way to Cambodia to be part of what God is doing in this part of the world. Thanks for everything, friends from Holy Cross! It was a great time!

holycross2024

image
image
image
image

We were out the door at 5am to get to Angkor Wat in time for the sunrise. Unfortunately, the clouds covered the sun, but we still got a great picture of our crew in front of Angkor Wat with the reflection in the water. We spent the rest of the day exploring temples, many of which are 1000 or more years old! One cannot visit Cambodia and miss this UNESCO World Heritage site.

holycross2024

image
image
image
image

Immediately after the VBS at the Garuna Christan School in Siem Reap, the Holy Cross (HC) team hopped on a bus and scooted to another corner of town, arriving at Pastor Ravy’s home. There, he has has begun an English school for neighborhood children. Every evening, Pastor Ravy has some 30 kids in his home for English lessons.

This particular evening, the HC team was delighted to lead a Bible lesson (using the lesson on the parable of the mustard seed that they had used before) with the kids. They were an incredibly enthusiastic and well-behaved bunch.

The team was impressed with Pastor Ravy’s work in that community. He has been working tirelessly to reach out with the Gospel via these English classes. Just in the past couple of months, he has begun a worship service. The HC team was happy to come alongside these inspiring church-planting efforts.

holycross2024

These kids greeted us open our arrival!ALT
Making tie-dyed butterflies!ALT
Making tie-dyed butterflies!ALT
Pipe-cleaner turtles!ALT
Standing to salute the Cambodian flag at the end of the day.ALT

After a few days in Chhuk, the team from Holy Cross (HC) made the long trip to Siem Reap, in the northern part of Cambodia. There they visited the local Garuna Christian School. Principal Sanran was a gracious host, gathering the whole school to welcome the group with a boisterous song.

Since the HC team was only there for an afternoon, they only did one lesson–the parable of the mustard seed, along with the same crafts and games that they had done in Chhuk. Just like there, the VBS was well received by teachers and kids alike. The HC team was particularly impressed when, at the end of the day, the kids and teachers all went outside to salute the national flag of Cambodia.

What a joy to share the mustard seed of God’s word with some 80 kids in Siem Reap!

holycross2024

image

One of the most beautiful things to witness was how God brought together people from very different places and cultures for the sake of His Kingdom Work. The team from Holy Cross (HC) worked alongside a team of local church and school leaders to implement the two-day VBS. They taught together, played together, ate together, laughed together, sweat together (it was CRAZY HOT!), doing it all with bountiful grace and patience when cross-cultural communication was not easy. Many of the HC team members commented how quickly they built those relationships. When we left Chhuk, they noted how much they missed their Khmer team members. Likewise, when the HC departed, the local team was eager to know when they’d come back!

What a gift to celebrate our common membership in the body of Christ and our common participation in His mission!

holycross2024


Indy Theme by Safe As Milk