July/August 2012 Prayer Letter/Update

 The Benefield Family is Back!

We are so thankful to God that He brought the Benefield family safely back to Cambodia from their furlough. We, along with four men from the church, picked the Benefields up from the airport on July 16. We are looking forward to learning from this faithful family over the next year as I finish my preparations for the new church plant that will take place at the beginning of our second term- most likely June of 2014, after our 7 month furlough which will begin November of 2013. I thank God for the many blessings I received as a result of working in this ministry during the months that Bro. Benefield and his family were on furlough. Because of so many preaching and teaching opportunities, my language ability has definitely increased. I also count it a great blessing to have worked with so many wonderful people in the ministry here- people who just a few years ago did not know God, but now are people who know Him and are serving Him with all of their hearts. We are anticipating great things in the upcoming months as we continue to work with the Benefields.

They Don't Want Him to Preach

Loak Crew To (lit. "Pastor To") has become a friend of mine. He has been working with my friend, missionary Ray Shull, for over five years at their church here in Cambodia. He was led to the Lord by the missionary I am currently working with, Stephen Benefield, several years ago after Ray had already befriended him and showed him the love of Christ. Since Ray was the one whom God used to bring Loak Crew To to church for the first time, they naturally developed a close friendship. A couple of years later, after Ray returned to Cambodia from his first furlough, God led Loak Crew To to become Ray's co-laborer at a brand new church plant. God has used Loak Crew To in an amazing way...so amazing, in fact, that the Buddhist leaders in his home village are vehemently opposed to his freedom to preach Christ in that village. Here's why.

May/June 2012 Prayer Letter/Update

                                                New Christians Growing in Grace

Rhanny, a lady in her early thirties, was invited by Bro. Benefield to come to Good News Baptist Church over a year ago; but she wasn’t interested in the least. But a few months later, one of her friends invited her to a church, and she reluctantly went; but God began doing a work in her heart. About seven months ago she decided to start searching for Good News Baptist Church because of its closeness to her house (the church she was attending with her friend was quite a distance from her house). She remembered the description of the location that Bro. Benefield had given her initially, and she found the church on one Monday morning. I happened to be home that day (we live right next to the church), so I was able to talk to her and answer some questions. She began attending church the following Sunday, and I could see that she was having some serious spiritual struggles. Namely, she was constantly plagued by an intense fear of ghosts and demons, a common struggle for the average Khmer (Cambodian) person. God gave me the opportunity to counsel with her and use her struggle as an opportunity to teach her the Gospel. After many weeks of faithfully coming to the services and listening to the Gospel taught by me and Karona (one of the faithful ladies in the church), she finally received Jesus Christ as her Savior. And she hasn’t missed a beat since!

In Memory of Our Friend, Jana Pham

Dear Jana,

It is still hard for us to wrap our minds around the fact that you are in Heaven at this very moment. It seems like yesterday that we were sitting with you at a Khmer restaurant in Long Beach, California, talking about your dreams of serving the Lord with your life. Linda and I vividly remember observing your life as you made the decision to not just be a nominal Christian, but a committed disciple of Christ. Everyone the Lord brought across your path could tell that you were a person who was not willing to allow this culture to define you or dictate the decisions you made in your life. It was apparent that you were being led by the Good Shepherd; and you were not following Him reluctantly, but willingly and submissively. Although it breaks our hearts to see you leave us, we are confident that your dreams of being used by God are being fulfilled even in your death. We are praying that those in your life who have grown cold spiritually, or have never known the Saviour, will be brought to a place of sweet fellowship with the One Who loved us and gave Himself for us all. We love you, Jana.

In Christ,
Chad and Linda

Jana's Home-going Service will be held Friday, June 8th, at 10:00 a.m. PST at the First Baptist Church of Long Beach, California- her home church in which she faithfully served Her Saviour.

Update About Village Ministry

Hello everyone, I just wanted to give a quick update about what God is doing in the village ministry in Kompong Speu Province. (For those who may not know, this is a ministry that Stephen Benefield, the missionary we are working with, started several years ago. I am currently filling in for him while he is on furlough. He should be back in about two months.)

March/April 2012 Prayer Letter/Update

Dear Pastors and Praying Friends,                                                                                                                         

God is Answering Prayer

You may remember from my last prayer letter that I mentioned a situation that took place in the village where we hold a children’s service every Saturday. The situation I mentioned dealt with the drowning of one of our faithful girls named Srey Bpoe- she drowned in a pond right next to the church. As a result of that tragedy, we lost over half of the faithful children because many parents were afraid to send their children to the church because of its close proximity to the pond where Srey Bpoe drowned. Another reason is because one of the mothers in the village had a dream that the pond was going to take the lives of three more children. I could sense that some of our faithful helpers in the children’s service- all members of Good News Baptist Church- were getting a little bit discouraged after weeks of driving an hour out to the village and only seeing only about 18 children come to the service (we were having almost 40 every Saturday before the death of Srey Bpoe). So I had a prayer meeting with them one Saturday after the service was over; and I also began urging the church in Phnom Penh to pray for this matter fervently. Well, praise the Lord that He is answering our prayers in this situation. For the past month we have seen an increase almost every week- not a drastic increase, but little by little some of the children are starting to return. This past Saturday, April 28, we had a wonderful service with the most children we have had in months. The spirit was great, and the children listened intently as I taught about the events leading to the crucifixion of Christ. Please pray for the parents of Srey Bpoe. This past Saturday I finally had a chance to talk with them about the hope that we have that Srey Bpoe is in Heaven. I asked them, “Do you have any hope for her soul?” The answered plainly, “No, we do not know where she is.” Pray that God will use this to soften their hearts to the Gospel.

January/February 2012 Prayer Letter/Update

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.