We are on our way! It is the morning of the 17th and in just a few hours we will board a plane and fly back to the United States for our 1st furlough. Our bags are packed and we are ready to go–ready to come see you.
Before we leave, we thought we would share yesterday with you.
This is MacKenzie, our new sister in Christ. Troy baptized her yesterday right after breakfast. She is Tabitha’s cousin on a summerr visit to help them. Seeing the work here, the Christians here and then Jesus more clearly, her life has been transformed. Praise God for His new child.
After the MacKenzie’s new birth, we journeyed to the countryside. We were rewarded with a beautiful day of cool breezes and lots of God’s beautiful little children.
Dennis with the recent graduates of the Cambodia Bible Institute.
See you soon!
Filed under: Cambodia
Last week was a holiday in Cambodia so we had a welcome break from our language studies. We took an exciting trip to Kirirom National Park with the students, translator and a few others. A couple of days in the park and a camp out over night! The park is absolutely beautiful. Our time was filled with blessings as we enjoyed God’s beautiful creation, prayed together, studied God’s word and sang songs of praise. Wish you could have been there.
We love you and are eagerly waiting our arrival to the States to see you.
Love & Blessings, Dennis & Sharon
"Baby Sam" loves to climb
Happy New Year,
That’s right…we are now celebrating our 3rd new year for 2009. First, just like you we celebrated January 1st, then in February “The Chinese New Year” (as many here in Cambodia are Chinese descendants or Chinese/Cambodian. Now, this week begins the Cambodian New Year. More regarding the Khmae New Year in next week’s report!
We pray you had a Happy Easter and a week filled with joy and blessings.
This past week was packed with much activity. On Monday, we took the day off and headed out to the province. The translator and his wife form CBI rode with us to Kampong Cham (approximately 3 hours away) for the wedding of a Khmae preacher. It was a festive affair deep in the countryside. We’re pretty sure they rarely see foreigners because we really drew attention. We pray Jesus was glorified! We really had a good time!
Two days we went with the students of CBI and instructor/translator Tawn to the countryside during “Evangelism Week”. This is something the school does the week following every class term as an additional form of training for the students and outreach to the people. We go to the countryside where we have existing works; such as church plants, or in the hometowns of the students. We are glad when we can share in these times and also see how the training the students are receiving is being used practically as they teach all day. It is with much joy we share with you that this week resulted in 6 new Christians. We are grateful the Lord is showing us how the hard work of the students is helping to grow the Kingdom!
Last week we also continued our language training. We added the last of the 33 consonants to our memory work. Yea, we have 33 of the 88 completed (well almost, we must continue to put them to memory). Our teacher forces us to converse with him in Khmae much of the time helping us to learn to listen carefully, learn street slang, and piece together our own response phrases and sentences.
Thursday evening we went to the home of Rich & Ronda Dolan (Rich is the dean at CBI) for our weekly missionary care group. There were several people absent due to travels, but we did have about 8 attending. Oh, BTW, if you have never had sweet sticky rice and sliced mangos you just haven’t lived, YUMMY!!! We did not know how much we liked mangos; you must come and try them. J
CBI students Pisey & Nika help children to sing
For the very first time since our arrival, we had all of the students and staff from CBI plus a number of their friends over for supper and singing. Sharon made 2 dishes and Ronda brought 2 so we had plenty of food. Then we sang about 25 songs (all Khmae) together sprinkled with prayers. What a special time of great food and sweet fellowship.
Saturday, Dennis had the two CBI students studying Galatians come over and spend most of the day with us helping to finish-off the leftovers from the night before.
On Sunday we worshipped in the countryside at PTT, PTC & TNT. CBI student Try taught a lesson at all three churches. At PTC, Sharon continues to receive several requests for help with their medical struggles. She expresses her wishes of having more training to serve them.
God is so busy here which fills our hearts and souls with joy. At the same time we see evidence of Satan’s evilness…daily. Please continue to lift up prayers for the people here that are lost and the struggles within the church body.
We miss you all so much and send our love. Although we are miles away, you are always near in heart!
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me."
Greetings to all,
Here we are and another week has gone by! We hope you are doing well. With the changing seasons comes vulnerability to illness so we hope you are protected from these maladies. We are doing well…enjoying the blessing of good health from the Lord.
This past week flew by with our normal routine of meeting for chapel at CBI each morning, followed by our morning session of Khmae lesson, lunch break, and then our afternoon language session. Language training brought us 4 more letters. We’re getting there, slow but steady. The training each week includes much review. With so much memory work, special effort is being made for additional study time.
We enjoy the opportunities we have to visit with the neighbors and those we meet while running errands and taking care of business. There are several guards and labor men working in our neighborhood whom Dennis continues to converse with and build relationships. Sharon continues to meet with a few Khmae ladies once every couple of weeks or so. She is trying to build enough relationship with them so that they know she cares and want to know “why” she cares. Please pray for Kuntia, Sophea, and for Pove.
Instead of the usual Sunday in the countryside, we stayed in Phnom Penh this weekend for the big gospel meeting at PPcoC. Two brothers came from Four Seas College of Bible and Missions in Singapore. They taught us the following eight lessons for the church:
· What does it mean to be “in Christ?”
· Church Leadership – Joshua
· Attitudes of Church Leaders
· Motivation to do the work
· Have I become your enemy? Gal 4:16
· God shows no partially…do we?
· God cares for all people
· How I can love the unlovable Rom 12:14-21
The meeting lasted from Friday evening, all day Saturday, until Sunday at lunch, with all meals provided for any who attended. Some of the brethren from the village churches came to join us too. We really enjoyed all the fellowship and some yummy traditional Khmae food.
This week’s schedule is filled with many exciting events, but that’s about it for the past week! Stay tuned for next week’s report.
We are in the process of planning a furlough trip during the summer. As details are confirmed we will certainly keep you posted.
Sending our love and blessings! We do remember who sent us and why we came. Please pray we maintain a good balance for the long distance race ahead.
- Small diameter wood is used for scaffolding
Children color Noah's Ark at TNT village church orphanage
Tradiation Khmae food served at a wedding
Morning chapel time at the Cambodia Bible Institute
Weekly Greetings with Love!
We pray the Lord has blessed you with a delightful first day of the week and the prospect for many new opportunities as this week unfolds. It is now Monday evening and we have been blessed with a great day.
Well we are now up to 25 consonants with only 8 more to go! Okay, actually we have another 23 vowels and 32 sub-consonants to complete the alphabet. The good news is we are getting closer 1 letter at a time. Much of our Khmae lessons this past week were spent practicing conversation. We welcome the opportunity to converse with our tutor. Although we are eager to learn the alphabet and be able to read and write, the ability to converse helps us now in our day-to-day activities. We praise God as we see our vocabulary growing. Yet, there is still so much to learn! Please pray that we can remember what we study and also that we might understand quickly the concepts we are taught.
Each week we start our morning with chapel at CBI. This is similar to what we did the 2 years we went to Sunset International Bible Institute. The big difference is we are in a different country and the lessons are taught in Khmae. The last few Monday mornings as we close chapel at CBI the dean of the school has the students give a recap of their Sunday “ministry missions.” It is great to hear these men and women tell of the “what and why” of the lessons they teach each week. This week two mentioned specific lessons tied to the upcoming Khmae New Year. One taught about not worshipping angels and spirits because this is a big element of the festival. The other taught about grace because Buddhism advocates works salvation and the pressure to do good deeds during the holiday goes up. We are thrilled to see their zeal as they continue their studies and serve in the community. We also heard of 3 more baptisms at the new church plant at Krang Trob (KT).
Our Sunday included worship with TTT and KSP. At KSP, a couple of days ago, a woman 4 months pregnant took a bad fall causing an instant miscarriage. She is recovering well now after her visit with the doctor, receiving the necessary care and meds. We were able to help a bit and pray for her as have several others. This family is among the poorest we know, but the Christians are pulling together to help! Once again we see evidence of the individual Christians and their churches growing and maturing. When we returned to the city, we assembled with the American, Khmae and one Romanian saints at UCC. It is such a blessing to see so many young Khmae seekers and Christians meeting together at PIP.
This past week included meeting with an American Cambodian who is striving to make disciples and plant churches on the far west side of the city. We had a wonderful traditional Khmae style meal together and time to share ideas. The Missionary Care Group joined for another special time of fellowship. We continue to have opportunities to meet with and build relationships with the Khmae people. Sharon spent time Saturday with a young lady she met while we were on our R&R trip and looks forward to sharing more time with her! Dennis had the opportunity to preach a good lesson on the need for telling about Jesus because many are dying in their sins. A couple of students were struggling with the God of grace who says we will die if we are not in Christ. We think they got HIS message! As you can see we always have plenty to do whether we are in the city or the countryside.
We had a couple of questions this week! Jessica is curious what the exchange rate is here in Cambodia. The exchange rate is 4000 reels to the dollar. Cyndia has an inquiring mind and wants to know what a typical meal is here and if we are able to have Americanized food. Typical Khmae style meals consist of rice, a small amount of meat and some vegetables! However, as the county has had more and more foreigner it is relatively easy to get Americanized food. Thank you for your interest in our lives and the county of Cambodia. Keep the questions comings!
We appreciate you more than words can express. More to come next week!
Eternal Love & Blessings,
Dennis & Sharon/Pawpaw & Nana
Pine trees in Cambodia - Kirirom National Park has many!
- Children scrambling on the rocks in Kirirom N.P.
Dennis preaches at TNT village church
Greetings from Phnom Penh !
Spring is in the air here and we know it must be there too. We see evidence of the changing seasons all around us. We have had our first heavy rain and know the rainy season will be here soon. This beautiful place called planet Earth with which the Lord has blessed us is amazing and wonderful. Praise God!
We pray you have had an exceptional good week. This week was rather interesting as we experienced more adjustments to life in Cambodia . As the weather changes and the temperatures warm the stability of electricity lessons. Although we have had a few power outages none of these have been for a long period of time. Well this week they were, two days of 12 plus hours and 1 of maybe 4 hours. We didn’t melt (well maybe just a little) and are grateful our landlord worked extremely hard at contacting the right people and resolving the problem. Through this experience we have consider the many Khmae people who have never had the luxury of air conditioning or maybe a fan for circulation. Wow, God has indeed blessed us so richly!
This week we learned five more consonants bringing our total to 20. Our language teacher makes our work interesting and fun. Ok…maybe not fun, but certainly more pleasant. We see light at the end of this long dark tunnel. We also thank the Lord! With our desire to help the villages with their medical needs our Khmae tutor took time to give us some medical terminology. Lord willing, with these specialized words in our vocabulary, we will be able to communicate and understand the medical needs as request are being made. The Cambodian people have so many health issues, unfortunately, many we cannot help with. Please pray for wisdom as we serve these people in their medical needs and we continue to build relationships.
Saturday we joined together with many church children including the orphans from TNT for a trip to the Kirirom National Park . The vans were full and we calculate approximately 60 to 70 gathered for the trip! The first time we visited this park we thought we were in a different country. The typography was unlike any other areas we have seen in Cambodia , mountains, pine trees, forest, and lakes. It was a real treat to be involved in this event. The children as well as the adults had so much fun, from swimming in the stream, in a lake and playing in a small rapids/waterfall to hiking, romping and stomping. What a sweet blessing this was for all of us. We appreciate the hearts and love of all those that made this trip possible!
We continue to see the village churches grow and mature as they focus on knowing the Word and then living it day-by-day. On the Lord’s Day, including us, the Cambodia Bible Institute had 4 different teams of preachers in the countryside preaching at 7 locations with other staff/students serving in the city at both churches. A team of two students was sent to a new village we first became aware of 2 weeks ago when a man came to where we were teaching and asked for someone to come to his village to teach. We made an investigative trip out there last Sunday and now we share with much excitement this Sunday began the weekly sending of students to plant a church, the 3rd such new effort currently in motion since our arrival. We are grateful the Lord has allowed us to observe Him at work around us! Dennis continues to preach at TNT the fourth Sunday of each month, so we enjoyed a great lesson he presented. The Lord’s work has been productive and encouraging; we give thanks and ask you to do so also.
Well that concludes this past week. We are so glad we can share just a little piece of what life is like here. We love you and miss you more than ever and are so grateful for you.
Love & Blessings,
Dennis & Sharon/Pawpaw & Nana
Sharon enjoying the children at KSP village church
- Dennis worships in song at PTT village church
A Buddhist pagoda in the countryside
Greetings & blessings from the beautiful land of Cambodia,
We are doing very well and hope you are too. Sorry for the delay in this week report, unfortunately, we had a power outage that lasted approximately 14 hours. It’s hard to do much without electricity, especially at night. The good news is we once again have electricity…yea!!!
The Lord has been extra gracious to us recently as he has showed us some of the work He is doing here, a part of which is fruit of our efforts for Him. Thank You Lord!!! If we have calculated the numbers correctly in the last 4 or 5 weeks our group (CBI & PIP) has been blessed to witness 22 new Christians. We rejoice with all of heaven.
This week was a pretty basic week for us. Our language training now includes learning the alphabet—fun stuff, but challenging memory work. Do you remember first grade as you were learning to write your letters? Well that’s exactly what we are doing, 15 down, 73 more consonants and vowel/vowel combinations to go!!! We are excited to share that we can actually write these letters and pronounce their sounds 
We once again had our Tuesday morning accountability meetings, Wednesday night Bible class, and Thursday evening small group. This week 12 of us gathered together, this time at the PIP house. We enjoyed a meal together, ice cream and cookies for dessert, a great devotional time and beautiful singing. The only thing that could make it better is if you could have been here.
Saturday morning, Dennis went to the countryside to assist a village church with their community assistance program. While being in the village there was a good down pour which shows us the rainy season is on the way. This will also usher in the new rice-growing season. We look forward to sharing some picture from the rice-growing season, the fields are absolutely beautiful.
Sunday, we accepted an invitation to join the translator and some of the students from CBI for a scouting visit to the new village. We met with 5 adults and about 55 children. As a result of our meeting we understand CBI will begin sending students to this village each week to teach there. The numbers continue to grow…this brings to a total of 11 locations where CBI students serve (8 in the countryside, 2 city churches, & CBI + other places they go occasionally during evangelism weeks). We are so excited about how God is using these brethren to ring out the good news. We also attended at KSP where CBI graduate Sothea is living and working.
We are excited Sharon has served more and more as a resource for the village women to bring her their illnesses. She recently saw an outbreak of Chicken Pox at KSP village and alerted the mothers it was contagious. When we returned, 3 more children were infected. As you can tell we have so much opportunity for medical education. Do you know of anyone with graphic arts training and a heart to serve by helping us design and produce some posters?
On the horizon is a trip to Kirirom National Park with other missionaries and all the TNT orphans plus a few others this Saturday. This will surly be a fun event for all. Watch for pictures. That’s it for now. May God bless each of you with a wonderful week.
Until next time…unless the Lord comes first…
Love & Blessings,
Dennis & Sharon/Pawpaw & Nana
Abbreviations
V CBI – Cambodia Bible Institute
V PPC – Phnom Penh Church of Christ
V UCC – University Church of Christ (also known as PiPcoC)
V PiP – Partners in Progress
V WEI – World English Institute
V TNT – Tum Nob Thom (village and church)
V PTT – Preah Tuk Tung
V PTC – Preah Tuk Chey
V TTT – Tuk Tung Thngay
V KSP – Kror Sang Peam
V KD – Krang Dong
V KT – Krang Trob
10 New Creations at PTC village church
Traditional Khmae Wedding and guests.
Children of the TNT village church orphanage
Greetings from Phnom Penh ,
Is the today’s date really Monday, March 10th, 2009? Oops, let’s try that again in Khmae “Thngai Chan (day Monday), tii pram pii (10th), khae mii-nea (month March), chnam pii poәn pram buen (year 2009).” Can you tell what we have been studying?
Don’t close your eyes or the month may be gone. We continue to be amazed how fast time flies by. We pray all is well with each of you. Have we told you this week we miss ya? WE DO…
Our week was spent with Dennis teaching at CBI and both of us continuing with our language lessons. Dennis has now completed teaching the Book of Acts and gave the final exam today! He loved teaching the students the record of the first Christians, the first missionaries and the first churches. It never fails as one prepares a lesson and teaches it, the teacher always learns so much more. This is truly one of the blessings of teaching! Language class was mostly review as tomorrow we are to begin learning the alphabet so we can read and write, not just converse. Thank you for allowing us to practice some of our language training with you, it will be fun when we can show you some of the Sanskrit writing it’s beautiful!
By now we hope you have received our long-overdue newsletter. It seemed to be packed with information. Guess that’s what happens when we miss a month. Our goal is to keep you more informed from week to week and we hope these weekly reports will help in doing that.
We are so encouraged when we receive emails, cards and packages from each of you. With the miles between us our spirits continue to be lifted as we hear from each of you. Please keep the contact coming, it is greatly appreciated! Another way we stay enriched and encouraged is our weekly meetings with the other missionaries. During the week we met with our accountability partners, attended the Phnom Penh church and had 14 of us gather for small group missionary care.
We had a special time on Saturday as we took some visiting missionaries out to the TNT orphanage we work with. The children really enjoyed some hamburgers, cokes, chips, cookies and playtime. We are pretty sure the old folks did too!
Yesterday we spent a wonderful day in the countryside worshiping in 3 places with 3 churches. The Lord allowed us to see Him at work in many special ways as 1st a man came to one of the assemblies and ask if we could send someone to teach several people at his village every week; 2nd at PTT church, we witnessed 4 put their faith in Christ to save them; and 3rd we witnessed 10 more baptisms at PTC church. We feel so blessed God allowed us to join Him and all the hosts of heaven in rejoicing for family growth!! Fourteen new brothers and sisters who put their trust in Jesus to wash away their sins – Praise almighty God!!! What a blessing this day in the countryside was. We humbly ask you to give thanks to God for His kingdom growth and pray for these new Christians and their maturity and spiritual growth.
Once we returned to the city we rushed home, cleaned up and went to our 2nd Khmae wedding. We had the opportunity to attend the wedding with friends we met while attending KSL Language School . Sharon ’s teacher (Pov) had invited us; it was her brother whom was getting married. Traditional Khmae weddings are quite a memorable occasion. The wedding lasted about 6/7 hours (we only stayed 3 hours). The wedding had many events, a lot of yummy food, and a big party! We enjoyed ourselves and were able to learn more about the Cambodians traditions and culture.
We hope you are enjoying the updates. If you have any specific questions or things you would like to know about regarding Cambodia or our work, please feel free to email us and let us know. Don’t make them to difficultJ!
Our love and prayers are with you always. May God bless you with His peace, joy and love.
Eternal Love & Blessings,
Dennis & Sharon/Pawpaw & Nana
Abbreviations
· CBI – Cambodia Bible Institute
· PPC – Phnom Penh Church of Christ
· UCC – University Church of Christ (also known as PiPcoC)
· PIP – Partners in Progress
· WEI – World English Institute
· TNT – Tum Nob Thom (village and church)
· PTT – Preah Tuk Tung
· PTC – Preah Tuk Chey
· TTT – Tuk Tung Thngay
· KSP – Kror Sang Peam
Koh Ru guest houses on Koh Russei (Island)
Sharon teaching the children at TTT village church
Dearest Loved Ones,
We hope you have had a good week and we send our love to you. Although there may be many miles between us you are always near in thought and prayer and we thank God for you. We are having a blast!
The work here keeps us very busy. There are so many amazing opportunities. Like so many places Cambodia need more workers. Dennis and I took our first R & R break in mid February to a remote island. It was very primitive but we had a wonderful time of rest & relaxation. Of course we did have to venture off for a little excitement and went rock climbing (around the beach). The area was beautiful and peaceful!
Last week was kinda normal if life on the mission field is ever normal. As unusual as it sounds we actually have somewhat of a daily routine! Oh, in case you are interested in seeing a few words in Khmae “tum loab prαα cam thngai”…yep these words in English mean “daily routine”. Dennis and I continued with our language training every day this past weekday. Since Dennis is still teaching Acts at CBI, I did language class by myself in the AM and he joined in the afternoon. In another week we will start learning reading and writing, up till now we have been using phonetics to learn (see above). The language is done in a sanskirt, similar to Indian and Thai. Well I guess its back to kindergarten with the #2 pencils and Big Chief padsJ! We are excited to finally getting started.
Each Tuesday morning we are blessed with the opportunity to meet with a missionary couple and be encouraged with prayer, Bible study and some fellowship. The remainder of the weekdays consisted of Wednesday evening Bible study, Thursday night we enjoyed our small group meeting in the home of other local missionaries with 12 attending. Another great time together with some yummy dessert too fill our tummies.
Just because we are in a different country, we still have some responsibilities to the USA so part of Saturday was spent preparing our 2008 taxes. The remainder of the day Dennis worked on CBI lessons for the week ahead. I did the weekly trip to the grocery store. This is fun because you never know what the grocery store will have in stock. I certainly have a greater appreciation for Wal-Mart and stateside stores. Generally speaking we are able to find mostly all we need! I even splurge and sometimes buy ice cream…but not Häagen Dazs. Why, because it cost $12.85 a pint, not in our budget, so only the inexpensive local brands for us.
Sunday, we were back to the countryside where we worshipped at TTT (Tuk Tung Thngay) & KSP (Kor Sang Paem). We had 2 of the CBI students Nouen & Sophea join us. After assembling together we were treated to a wonderful Khmae style lunch. Then it was back to the city to meet with the University Church of Christ. What a sweet blessing it is for us to get out of the city and into the countryside to be with the Christians of Cambodia.
We are doing ok – of course we miss everyone – wish you could be here…
Eternal Love & Blessings,
Dennis & Sharon / Pawpaw & Nana
Turning loose of the things of this world can be hard. Each move we made on our journey from living the “good life” in Westlake until our departure for Cambodia resulted in divesting ourselves of many things the world tells each of us to hold as treasure. The Lord says store our treasures in heaven. We store up plenty on earth.
From Westlake to Lubbock, our house size shrank from 2400sqft plus 2000sqft of workshop to 1400sqft of living space. Seeing so many of our possessions go away was challenging at first. Then it began to feel good. We saw the blessing others received from our circumstance. We saw their faces and felt their appreciation. We heard an elder once pray, “Give until it hurts…and then keep giving until it feels good.” That became our reality.
Preparing to move from Lubbock brought new challenges. We would be houseless for over two months. Because of the long-term nature of our commitment, storing much of anything would be impractical. So, once again, our classmates, friends and relatives benefited. Just because I finally trashed a trophy from winning the big race, didn’t mean I didn’t win it. Giving away a special quilt mom had made for me didn’t mean I loved her any less. And we always have our memories.
What to take to Cambodia? Shipping is so expensive. The electricity is different. In the end, we packed up 27 boxes, 1 suitcase and 2 backpacks filled with mostly clothes and books. Virtually everything else had to go away. Was it a struggle? Yes, in the beginning it was hard. Yet, looking back, did we really need all that stuff?
Every single time! With every struggle, the Lord of heaven and earth has gifted us with blessing upon blessing. He has helped us continue to grow. He has been our beacon in the darkness. He has walked with us through the valleys. He is our refuge and constant companion. About moving? I am so glad He has freed us from the domain of darkness and “moved” us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. All praise and glory to our God!
Saying goodbye is rarely easy. It’s all the more difficult when it involves loved ones. Over the years, so many of you have become treasured friends. What a sweet, sweet blessing from the Lord to have so many delightful people in our lives who genuinely care for our well-being. You have made our journey all the more blessed.
The goodbyes began with careers and co-workers. Sharon hung-up her Real Estate license in December ’05, even before our first survey trip to Cambodia. That’s an indication of the commitment we had made to the Lord, yet to see the land in which we would serve. She has many friends from nearly ten years as an agent in the DFW area. Several have an active part in our service to the Lord.
Dennis worked as an Air Traffic Controller at DFW airport until July ‘06. Although each controller has specific responsibilities, they must all work as a team. Over the twenty-nine years Dennis worked with some delightful folks who remain a part of our lives to this day. Saying goodbye was not easy.
Before moving to Lubbock we said temporary goodbyes to friends and family. Leaving our neighbors and friends from our hobbies such as racing and caving brought extra tears. Even now, when we reflect on the precious souls who have been a part of our lives, we are inspired all the more in our mission.
Then there was Sunset! Both the church and the school made a huge impact on our lives. They’re made up of some of the finest people Jesus ever sanctified. May God bless you all the more for what you have poured-out on us! Our class was a delightfully interesting mix of God’s children. The struggles and burdens we bore together sharpened each of us all the more. Please hear our hearts that it was truly hard to say goodbye to everyone from Sunset.
Finally came the time to get on the airplane and fly away. The summer of ’08 saw us visit family and churches all over the USA. Each parting flowed with tears and “hope to see you again soon” or “see you soon on Skype.” Anticipation of being left with only photos and memories tugged at our hearts. And yet, each of you is a part of us and all we do for our King. Keller gave us a grand send-off complete with surprises, gifts, hugs and more tears. We are so honored to call you our partners and sponsor.
We can’t put into words how hard it was to say goodbye to Michael, Ethan and Autumn…well, maybe you can imagine.
Often, one must leave all behind to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus. We pray our tear-stained footprints leaving you miles distant are walking toward the marvelous light of our Savior.
The next gift we would like to share with you is the blessing of school. We truly believe struggling through two years at the Sunset International Bible Institute was the hardest challenge we have ever endured. Each class usually involved lots of homework resulting in late nights and early mornings in the books and on the computers. SIBI is reported to be quite demanding when it comes to memory work and the number of papers that must be written. We can testify to this fact. John Sproul had told us to expect not milk, but steak and potatoes at Sunset – and expect to be fed with a fire hose. It wasn’t quite that bad. And we sure did enjoy the spiritual food. We are convinced we have grown from the experience. Thanks for sending us!
Now, we face a new challenge – language and culture – in a distant land. The Khmae language of the Cambodians and their culture are hurdles we are excited to embrace. It will take some time before we can converse openly and even longer before we can teach in language – all very frustrating for two fired-up, zealous missionaries eager to get on with the mission to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ to a people we have come to love. Pray for us old folks!
