Dear Pastors and Praying Friends,
Soul winning
Every Saturday, I take a group of 5-10 folks into different areas near our church to pass out tracts and talk to people about Christ. Several months ago Adam Wood, a missionary who was working with us temporarily while waiting for living arrangements to be finalized in another province, met a family on the other side of the main river that runs beside the city of Phnom Penh. Adam witnessed to the wife on at least 7 different occasions, but she did not seem understand the seriousness of her sinful condition. Adam has now moved to another province, and I have been meeting with this lady. This is really the first person that I have had a real chance to sit down and go through the plan of salvation in the Khmer language. Please pray for me, that God will give wisdom in dealing with her; and pray for this dear lady as well- I call her Ming, which means aunt. Pray that the Holy Spirit would open her spiritual eyes, and that she would trust in Christ alone to save her. Also, last Sunday we had two 17-year old young men who visited our services for the first time. One of them is the son of a lady who has been attending our church for 9 months or so. Please pray that I will have an opportunity to sit down with these young men and teach them about the glorious Gospel of Christ, and that they will receive Him as Saviour.
About a month ago, one of the most faithful children in our village ministry- a 7-year-old girl named Srey Bpoe- drowned in the pond next to the church. It was obviously a tough time for all of us who knew Srey Bpoe- she was such a sweet girl, and we believe she was saved. However, it seems as if Satan is using this situation to try and destroy the ministry in the village. One of the village ladies had a dream that the pond in which Srey Bpoe drowned is going to claim the lives of three more children. Very quickly the news of that dream spread to the other villagers; and since Khmer people- especially villagers- are extremely superstitious, we have lost over half of our faithful children. Some children are too scared to go near the place where Srey Bpoe died (about 10 meters from the church, on someone else’s property), and some have been forbidden by their parents to go back to the children’s service. Please pray that these people’s superstitious fears would be quenched and that the children who have stopped coming will be able to return. Most importantly, pray for the parents of Srey Bpoe, that they would come to know Christ as Saviour through this tragedy. I am hoping for an opportunity very soon to sit down with them and give them the Gospel. I want them to have the blessed hope that I have!
God Directs our Paths
Last Saturday morning, God did something amazing (I shouldn’t be surprised at that!). I was with Hawn, one of the faithful men in our church, and we were looking for a place to park the van so that we could go soul winning. That wasn’t happening. There was absolutely nowhere to park the van- so I felt led to go to another street about 5 minutes away. I pulled over to a nice open area on the side of the road and parked the van, and when I got out I looked up, and lo and behold He-ung was playing about 20 feet in front of me. He-ung is a boy that I met back in 2006 when I came to Cambodia for the first time. I also know his older cousins whom he lives with- Mung, Mae, and Ang (Ang actually passed away a couple of years ago because of cancer- she was 17). He-ung, Mung, and Mae were some of the most faithful folks in the church- especially Mae. When Linda and I came to Cambodia in 2008, Mung had moved away, but Mae- who was about 14 at the time- was coming super faithfully and was growing in the Lord. However, when we arrived to Cambodia last March, I learned that Mae and He-ung had moved away also, and had actually been away for a couple of years. So, last Saturday when I looked up and saw He-ung playing 20 feet in front of the place where I randomly parked the van, I was overjoyed! I immediately went to him and asked him if he remembered me, which he did. He took me to his house, and I talked with his grandfather. They just moved back to Phnom Penh a couple of months ago. Long story short, He-ung came to the children’s service the next day, and he was so excited to be back! And Mae came to church Sunday night. The people were so excited to see her. She is all grown up now, and she is working over 50 hours a week at a garment factory, making close to $70 a month. We don’t know what has been going on in her life since she left a couple of years ago. But I believe with all of my heart the God sent us to her because she is His child, and He cares for her. Pray that Mae and He-ung will get reconnected with the church and that they will continue to grow in the Lord.
Thank you for your love, prayers, and support!
Chad Phillips
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