Hey ya'll! Ya I just used the word "ya'll". I hang out with a lot of southerners here and they would be very proud.
Well, it has been 2 months since I have updated you guys. I'm sorry about that. It's life in the fast lane here, but not a fast lane I have ever experienced before. For example, I am usually pretty on it, ESPECIALLY when it comes to work. I love being on time and on schedule, but here I frequently forget what day it is and you can just forget about asking me the month or date. Time does not have as much relevance here and honestly, I'm totally fine with it.
Anyway, let me tell you about our month of August. It was awesome. We had our 3rd session at the bible college and oh man was it fruitful. We did lose one student due to an infection in his ear. He has been getting treatment in Thailand so please pray for him and his healing. He is one our most dedicated students. That being the case, we still had our core 12 men back studying like crazy and they loved every minute of it. It was a big month of retaining information. We covered IBS (inductive bible study), New Testament Survey, Joshua and Judges. We were graced by some really great teachers that semester. We had Tom Worthington from Indiana, Mark Gomez from Utah, Jeff Henneforth from Poipet, Cambodia and my lovely husband Curtis :). Curtis and I love the variety of pastors that come and teach for the school. We learn so much from them and we have the opportunity to show them Cambodia. Since the school system in Cambodia does not teach or encourage critical thinking the IBS class was pretty challenging for them. What kept us going though was their questions. They were actually using their critical thinking skills to ask some really great questions regarding IBS and through that they made it through the semester with confidence.
We shook it up a little with our Svay Rieng ministry this month. I was not able to go this time, but instead we thought it would be better to bring Pastor Mark. Mark landed at midnight the night before and we shoved him on a bus the next morning at 7a.m.. Talk about a whirlwind of culture. He was a real trooper. I love when the US pastors can go out to the village with us because its the best part about Cambodia and it helps put in perspective where the students are coming from. One of our students, Sokun, invited us to the conference at his church this month and it was so refreshing! Sokun's church is about 30 minutes away from the other church we were going to every month and it is a little easier to get to (thank you, Jesus!). Adam, our translator, is especially excited about the smoother road because he doesn't get as car sick. haha. Curtis is used to teaching around 15 to 20 people, but this month we had around 40 church leaders attend! Just wow. God is so good. Curtis and I are still just blown away how the Lord just blew that door right open. We look forward to these monthly trips and it's really great to know we are not the only ones. Something else that just gave us an overwhelming amount of encouragement is the fact that Sokun has a solid group of church elders that share all responsibilities and are always in communication about every church matter. That kind of organization is new for us to witness out there. So encouraging! Not only do these men and women want to dig deeper into the Word to become better leaders, but they are acting out biblical principles within their churches. Insane. I know that may not sound like such a big deal, but basically everything they are doing is completely against their culture. For example, strong wise leadership, organized church services, and women learning with the men (and men being taught that that is ok!). Honestly it was the first time we really felt like guest speakers and it was a great feeling. Our goal is not to build the churches out here, but to equip them. The fact that the pastors decided they wanted to go through the book of Acts was just the cherry on top. I'm telling you guys… God is good always. So many times Curtis and I felt discouraged that the Khmer people did not share our vision of equipping the church and then BAM! God shows us that He has them right where He wants them and us.
I have a lot of good stories to tell you so I am not going to waste any time writing the next blog. Stay tuned! I will be writing this week about our September adventures.
We love you guys. We are constantly praying for you guys at home. We are all missionaries where we are and the battle is not any easier here or there, but the Lord's glory is equally bright everywhere. Keeping looking up for direction and hope. God bless!