Fishers of Men in Phnom Penh

The Savior who Bridged the Gap “While we were sinners and lost You walked among us While we were too weak to stand You bore our cross And now your vic’try songs raised It’s echoing age to age That through darkness There came a light” There Came a Light by Chris Renzema I love this song because it’s so true! God is so good! He is so generous! He is so kind! He is our rescuer! He BROKE the chasm that laid between us and God! He has broken every chain! He has set us FREE! While we were sinners and walking in darkness, He LOVED us a tremendously large amount that He sent a Savior to pay the debt for our sins. He has FREELY given us the gift of forgiveness and eternal life with Him. Jesus bridged the gap between us and God. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore, there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of ...

Today was crazy good. Like, pineapple dole whip good. Splashing in the pool on a hot day good. A sunset on the horizon kinda good. It was refreshing and full of pure joy. God showed up in huge ways. First, we were blessed yet again by Korean Grandpa’s joyful presence. We’re sad because he’s leaving real soon. Second, we found the laundry place fairly quickly after the persistence of going one more block. Next, we hosted our first LST party for our readers with ‘Christmas in July’ as our theme. We had one party in the morning and one in the afternoon. We entertained them with musical chairs, crafting paper snowflakes, a skit based on the birth of Jesus which we asked readers to be volunteers for, pin the carrot on the snowman, and telephone, all the while playing Christmas tunes in the background. I cherish these moments when their faces light up with laughter and not a care in the world is had. And I found that I was truly enjoying myself, as others were enjoying themselves, and ...

Let me tell you about a God moment. Or rather someone sent by God to remind us that He is with us. Not only are we reminded of the comfort Jesus brings, but the joy we have in him. Our first day in Cambodia started with breakfast in our hotel. The hotel serves a continental breakfast every morning. After breakfast we waited outside of our hotel for someone from the Learn2Work center to come meet us and show us around the city. As we stood waiting for Odam, this elderly man came up to us. He was wearing a smile that stretched across his face. He asked us where we were from. He told us he was from Korea. He told us he teaches at a near by university. We told him we were here because we are teaching English. He teaches Korean at the university. He spends a month in Cambodia and a month in Korea. He was so happy to see us, he asked if we could take a selfie. We couldn’t say no to such a kind man. Little did we know that this would only be one of the many encounters we would have with “Kore...

                                             Under Construction “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God” Acts 3:4. It is Friday morning as I write this post. Though we are still getting used to the new culture that we are living in, we are beginning to know our way in the streets nearest our hotel. As we’ll probably tell you many times, the streets are crazy. Imagine dozens of motorcycles and a few tuk tuk coming toward you and  swerving around as you quickly cross, holding up your hand to make sure they see you (as if it would actually stop one coming 35mph at you). In the words of Connie, “We have now beaten level 7 of Frogger.”  Besides the traffic, the other thing I’ve noticed about Phnom Penh is that there is a lot of construction. Our hotel is right next to a store that sells metal roofing, gutters, a...

If you haven’t seen the posts on Facebook, our team arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia 5 days ago! We had a wonderful couple of flights and have an incredible host that is so hospitable and willing to help. He told us several times not to hesitate if we have any questions. Such a relief to have someone so hospitable while we are in a foreign country! Many funny stories will be shared later, and of course there is an adventure (usually something quite shocking/crazy) around every corner! More to come on that. God has put something on my heart, though. I want to share with you something he is teaching me. One of the hosts that is showing us the ropes around the city was taking us to the center we are teaching at. He was showing us the various alley ways that we should take to get there, and of course, we didn’t exactly get the route down...at least not enough for us to get there again by ourselves. However, the first time he showed us the route, he pointed out a p...

We leave in 3 days. We don't really know quite what to expect. This is exciting, but also requires something from us, something that God calls us to do. TRUST. It is such a simple yet deep word. It is certainly easy to say but often harder to do, like a lot of things in life. "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track." Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG. This verse holds so much truth. In GOD alone we need to trust, and rely on Him in confidence in ALL things. Trust requires walking by faith and not by sight, keeping our eyes fixed on the Ultimate Supplier. His wisdom, strength and grace is sufficient for us. We cannot do anything in our own strength well; we need Him. No matter where we go or what we are doing, God is WITH us and we need to listen to His direction. This verse definitely speaks to me, especially as ...

Running to Tarshish? Our journey to Cambodia takes flight next Monday, July 16 th . It’s hard to believe that the dream God laid on our hearts last September is coming to fruition so quickly! Our team is a mixture of excitement and nervousness, since for many of us it is our first trip over seas. Our current concerns include air travel, health, culture shock, safety, and dietary changes. Even though there are many new changes coming, we trust in our God, who has us in the palm of his hand and is leading us according to his perfect will. As I was reflecting on the trip this past week, I found a message that I heard particularly challenging and applicable. My husband Chad and I attended a summer camp specifically for adults with special needs. At this camp, the chaplain talked to us about Jonah. The story of Jonah and the Whale is a well-known one. No one forgets about the man who ran away from God and ended up inside the belly of a whale…talk about natural consequenc...