Hey Everyone!!
My friend Mordegai invited me to do a jungle trip with him. He has an awesome ministry out in a remote unreachable area that provides medical assistance to the locals. He has been going to several different villages over the last couple of years building a lot of cool friendships. From Phnom Penh I traveled 4-5 hours by bike with bibles and old khmer hymnal books strapped on the back of the bike. We met up in Kabal Domrai and stayed at a local church where we were welcomed in by the pastors family. The pastor, in who we call “Oum” which is translated as uncle, is a close friend to Mordegai. His testimony is intense. He fought in two wars, raised a christian family, and is now pastoring this church. His son John, is Mordegai’s right hand man and translator. He has a contagious passion for his people and has helped Mordegai build his ministry with these unreached people.
From this small village, which is located at the base of a small mountain, it took about 8 hours trekking through the bush. This ride was super difficult and I loved every minute of it. We sludged through 3 feet deep of the thickest mud you’ve ever seen in your life, crossing makeshift bridges, and forcing our way through the dense brush. Ive never had more fun in my life! I only crashed once, just right around the corner from the church. I was covered head to toe in mud and had a small battle wound on my knee ***flexes muscles***, but the bibles survived! Once we got out to the middle of nowhere we hung out with a few of the villagers who know Mordegai and got the gist of some their physical needs and an update on how the village was doing. To give you an idea about how unreached these people are, we travelled with a woman from New Zealand and she was the first foreign woman they had every seen. They were so excited to talk to her and touch her skin and hair. While Mordegai went from house to house diagnosing and treating the ill people, I spent most of my time talking to the men about their daily lives, listening to their struggles and shared about what I do here. The men are always curious why I stay in Cambodia which creates a great open door for the gospel.
We came to this village specifically for one man on his deathbed whom Mordegai has been treating for a long time and became good friends with. We actually weren’t sure if he was going to be alive when we got there, but we were relieved to see him still plugging away. He is suffering from kidney failure and there is no real cure for it in Cambodia (unless you have a lot of money and good connections). He asked me pray to with him despite his strong Buddhist background. After seeing me pray with him, a drunk man asked me to pray with him too. I have talked to him before and he struggles with heavy drinking and smoking causing him to have some serious health problems. He wanted me to pray with him even after he gave me a long lecture of how Buddhist he was. My heart is burdened for these people who are so hopeless. There is a huge alcoholism problem in this country and gets even worse in areas such as these. The father gets drunk midday due to laziness and the lack of convenient work and the children end up taking care of them since school is not an option out there. The family survives on very low living standards and receive little to no money for the hard labor job they have. There is an obvious spiritual darkness here so we pray that the Lord would use the local church to providing hope and motivation to the people, praying the church is empowered to grow and share the gospel with their neighbors. I was happy I brought the bibles. The pastor was ecstatic to receive them because it is so hard to get your own copy living where they are and not to mention the cost of purchasing one. All in all, it was a great trip. I fell deeper in love Cambodia and I hope to be able to keep going out there.
On another note: both pastor conferences are producing a lot of fruit. In Kien Svey we are starting to gain headway on how to study the Bible (IBS). They are getting really excited reading and being able to dissect the Word of God discovering spiritual truths. We are starting to get a consistent group coming which is really encouraging because we can start to really dig in to studying. In Svey Reang we are going through book of Genesis. After the most recent conference was finished and we were all talking, one of the pastors said to me “I want to tell you something truthfully; Ive never studied any book from the Old Testament. I always look to the New testament because thats what I understand, so thank you for going through this book with us it means a lot to me.” I was so encouraged! Right before I left to go out there I was thinking about if I was making any kind of impact or if I was wasting everyone’s time. The enemy really knows how to kick you in the weak spots, but the Lord is sovereign. Needless to say, I came home pumped. I can't wait for next month.
Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Matthew 25:34-36
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20
Please continue to keep us and all of these ministries in your prayers. Thank you for your continued support.
God Bless,
Curtis