Friday, January 11, 2013

November/December 2012 Prayer Letter/Update


Before Our Furlough…
The month of November flew by so quickly! Since it was our last full month of ministry before coming to the States for this furlough, we asked God to give us a fruitful month in our soul winning efforts, as well as in our efforts to build relationships with the members of the church that I will be leading when we return to Cambodia. God gave me several opportunities to give the Gospel, both in preaching and in personal evangelism. While we did not see anyone saved during those times, it was a blessing to know that the seed of the Gospel was sown in the hearts of people who seemed to be open to Christ.

Another great blessing from November was having one of my best friends, Victor Huff, with us for a ten-day trip. Victor and I grew up in the youth group at Victory Baptist Church in Loganville, Georgia- my sending church. He came to help us film the video we will be showing to the churches we will visit on this furlough. What a blessing it was to have him with us as we went into the neighborhoods near our house to spread the Gospel, and to see him build friendships with the Cambodian Christians in the church. I believe Victor would testify to you that his visiting Cambodia was an experience that God used in his life to strengthen him spiritually and enhance his understanding of foreign missions.

Since returning to the States…
It was a bit surreal returning to the States for the first time after nearly two years of being in Cambodia. Linda’s parents picked us up from the airport in Los Angeles, and on the way to Bakersfield we stopped at a wonderful place called Wendy’s. What a blessing that was. A Frosty never tasted so good. In all seriousness, it was a great blessing to spend some time with Linda’s family in California. After spending some time with Linda’s family, we flew to Georgia to have Christmas with my family, and what a precious time that was. It has been great to be at our sending church and spend some time with our pastor, Derik Lawrence. Yesterday, I was able to go out with two young men from the church and invite folks from a nearby subdivision to church and talk to them about Christ. That subdivision is not only made up of people who are native to Georgia, but there are also people from all over the world literally within one mile of the church. I was reminded of the great need for the churches in the States to continue shining the light of the Gospel brightly.

I just read an encouraging report from Bro. Benefield, the missionary with whom we worked for the majority of our first term. He recently baptized 10 people, and one of them is a young lady named Srey Laek. I remember inviting Srey Laek to church over a year ago. She came faithfully for many months and listened to the Gospel, and recently a faithful lady in the church led her to Christ. What a blessing to see Srey Laek living a life of obedience in her new Christian life. Bro. Benefield also recently started two teen classes- one in the village and one at the church in Phnom Penh.  It is encouraging to know that Srey Laek will have this class in which she can be discipled and grow in grace under the sound teaching and preaching of His Word.

Starting Our Furlough Meetings
We are excited to see many of you in the near future as we come to your church and report about God’s work in Cambodia. We still have a few open dates that we hope to fill. If you would like to have us in to report, you can email me at chad@living-fields.com or call me at 661.336.8814. Also, if you have not yet seen it, check out our new website: www.living-fields.com.

We will be returning to Cambodia on May 27. Please pray that God will use us while we are in the States to lead others to Christ and encourage Christians concerning world evangelism. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support for our family.