3 Days Until Christmas

Christmas greetings from Cambodia! The weather is actually quite cool and nice here, dipping into the high 60's now for overnight lows. For Cambodia, "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!" We did get one Christmas "surprise" today. We took the van to the garage today for repairs. The front end is all messed up: shocks need replacing, tie rods, and clutch needs work. All in all, the damage is about $500.

We are gearing up for a big Christmas service this Sunday with a Christmas play and dinner after the service. We'd appreciate your prayers for our service on Christmas morning. We are expecting over 100 people for the service, Lord willing. We're giving out Christmas presents to the orphans and also to the poorer kids around the church. This is a great blessing to us! God uses this to open the hearts of the parents to listen to the gospel.

Please do continue to pray about helping with the many needs! We are still needing monthly support for the orphanage. We still lack about five thousand dollars to finish the church building. And, we are trying to raise funds to purchase two motorcycles. This is God's work and we trust that He will touch hearts to provide for every need.

We Need Motorcycles!

We just added a new link on the right, along with our other links. The new one is called "Needs." I can't remember how many times people have said, "If I only knew about a need, I could've helped with it." Missionaries ALWAYS have needs. We seem to always need another bicycle for a young church planter to use to go here and there. Our need for motorcycles became even more urgent tonight. The only one the church has is really on its last leg. It's really old, has reached its life expectancy, and we really need to replace it. Please have a look at our Needs page. Click on the link to the right where you see the other links. Thank you and God bless you!

What An Amazing Change!

This is one of our orphans. His name is Tut. But this picture was taken a little over a year ago. This picture was taken on his first day in the orphanage. He was sick. He was hungry. He was scared. Here is his story. Tut's mother died of HIV/AIDS-related illness. We are told that she may have been a prostitute. When she died, another woman with two sons took him in off the street. Soon after, this mother died also. Now three boys were left without a mother. There wasn't a father in any of these situations. So, with no one to care for them, they headed out into the streets of Phnom Penh. We learned of their plight as they trudged down the street in front of the church. Dragging burlap bags behind them, they scavenged the sides of the street for cans and bottles. This was their way of finding something of value to sell so that they would have something to eat that day. We began to talk to them and find out where they came from. Then we went to that area and began to ask around. We finally found an aged grandmother and some neighbors who knew them. We did the necessary paperwork and brought them into our care. Pray for these boys: Sut (the oldest), Pov, and Tut (pictured in this post).

Now, here's the change! Here is Tut in a photo taken yesterday. What an amazing change! To God be the glory!

Kayla the English Teacher

Last night I opened Kayla's bedroom door and found a mini-classroom set-up. In this photo, she's teaching English to our newest orphan, Sopheak. At various times last night and the night before, she has had up to four people sitting there learning English. Go Kayla!

Engaging the Enemy

It is always wonderful when we can tell you of great blessings and victories. In our experiences here in Cambodia, we have had plenty of blessings. But life here on this revolving globe is a spiritual battle, and there are casualties. I learned today of the spiritual downfall of one of our Bible College students. He is a kid about whom you would never expect to hear such bad news. He has left the fellowship of our church, is drinking heavily, and has moved in with a young woman who is divorced and has children of her own. Please pray for Vannak. We are praying that he'll repent.

One of our orphans, the oldest, has left our care and responsibility. We did all we could to help him, but in the end, he was not willing to follow the rules. He was endangering himself and the other children. He is already in "the far country" and drinking, gambling, and involved in a gang. Pray for Sina. He is 15 years old.

Today's service at the church was simply a continuation of this ongoing spiritual battle. I was preaching on the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. It was as if the powers of darkness moved into the room as I tried to preach. While preaching about how the Holy Spirit's work is to bring conviction of sin, it seemed as though the demons showed up at the church. Unsaved visitors began to talk loudly and chatter. An evil atmosphere descended upon the room. I was able to pray and preach my way through the episode in spite of the spiritual opposition, by the grace of God.

A great old camp meeting phrase is "shoutin' time." It means "a time of rejoicing." We have our "shoutin' times" but we want to let you know about the time in the trenches as well. There isn't much "shoutin' time" in the trenches of spiritual warfare. The Bible tells us to "endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." This we will do, by God's grace, and with your prayers.

Giving Thanks

The Bible says, "Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving..." Today is Thanksgiving Day. We have already finished our time of thanks, fellowship, and food with family and brethren. Right now, many of you are up and cooking, getting things ready for a big day. We are so thankful for all of you! We are thankful that you pray for us, support us, and remember this ministry. As Colossians 1:3 says, "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you." God bless you all!

P.S. Go Cowboys!

Cindy's Biopsy

Just a quick update. Cindy's report came to us by email tonight. Her tumor was benign. Praise the Lord! Thank you all for praying!

Medical Trip to Bangkok

Well, we got back from Thailand today. Our flight back to Cambodia was an early flight and our wake up call was at 3:30 this morning. So, as you can imagine, we're tired. Cindy's dermatologist found another suspicious looking mole and did another biopsy. We will have the results sometime in the middle of next week. My checkup went good, however I received the expected warnings about cholesterol and high blood pressure. The doctor said that I need to lose some weight, exercise more, and change my diet. I'll update you next week when we hear from the hospital on Cindy's biopsy.

In the meantime, please don't forget to read our previous post on some special needs we are facing. The school teacher for one of our orphans said that we need to get his eyes checked. Actually, all of the orphans need to see the dentist and the eye doctor.

Some Current Needs

We have some very important needs in our ministry right now. Some churches take up Christmas offerings for missions, so we want to let you know about these things. Since the beginning of our ministry to the orphans, we have been always in need of support for them. We are in desperate need of regular monthly support for the orphans. This will help us house, feed, educate and take care of our orphans. Even though we are tremendously short of needed funds, the Lord is bringing us three more children. Another orphanage in Phnom Penh has had some leadership problems. As a result, we are taking three of their children temporarily, perhaps permanently. We know and love these children already and our hearts are open to follow God's will in this. We need to raise an additional $1,000 per month support for the orphan ministry. Would you please pray about supporting our orphanage monthly? James 1:27 tells us that "pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Psalm 82:3 tells us, "Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy."

We are still trying to raise about $5000 to $6000 more to finish our building. That's the "big ticket" item. We are so close to being done with this building, but just need that extra little boost at the end. We want to finish off the roof by putting a sloped roof and screening it all in. We need to finish all the bathrooms in the church and get the plumbing finished.

We are also trying to buy a motorcycle. There's a man selling a good, used Honda 250 cc dirt bike for $1,200. We'd like to buy it if the Lord provides. My wife would use the van we have for the family and the orphans, while I would use the dirt bike.

Please pray about helping us with these needs. We do appreciate it very much!

Baptism Photos from Prey Veng

"Former Buddhist Monk Rheeum Gets Baptized"


I got some photos scanned from our baptismal in Prey Veng. 26 have been baptized in the month of October in our two churches. In Prey Veng, we baptize in the muddy and dirty water of the Mekong River. Every time I baptize in the Mekong, I itch for months afterwards. The first photo is of myself and Rheeum. He is a young man who was a monk a few years, following in the path of Buddha. Seeing that Buddhism does not give the answers for which he was seeking, he opened his heart to other things. The Holy Spirit was able to reach his heart with conviction and he trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as His Saviour. He is now a new creature in Christ and studying the Bible. We praise the Lord for Rheeum and all the others there in Prey Veng who are learning more about the Saviour and studying the Bible.



The four young men pictured in this photo all trusted Christ during the week while I was down there teaching the Book of Proverbs. Pray for all of these young men as they learn to walk with Christ.

The Cobra

Well, as promised, the story of the cobra. A few weeks ago, it was early afternoon at the church, maybe 1:30 or 2:00. One of the ladies who cooks for the Manna children's feeding ministry got up from her siesta and walked from the back to the front door. When she stepped out the front door and onto the tile, lo, and behold, before her was a five foot long black cobra, hood fanned out and hissing at her. She screamed and called for one of the Bible College students to help. A student came and tried to kill it with a stick. Then the Vietnamese neighbor from next door came and he finally killed the cobra. That night our neighbors had cobra for supper. Mmmm mmmm good!

News From the Battlefront

The Bible tells us that we war a spiritual warfare. We are all fighting on our own battlefront. Ours happens to be in the former French Indochinese colony of Cambodia. Another soul came to God, trusting the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from sin this past Sunday. Her name is Srey Thom and she's about 19 or 20 years old. Satan does everything that he can to blind the minds of the people so that they will not see the truth. Acts 26:18 says that we are turning them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God.

We still lack the needed funds for our building's completion. Please pray for this urgent need. We lack about $5,000 to $6,000 in order to complete the new building for Capitol City Baptist Church, Phnom Penh. We would like to see, God willing, all of this need met in the next 30 days. Please, would you all pray together with us, that God would raise this money from among the brethren so we can finish this building. We need to finish the bathrooms, the wall around the building, the front gate, the iron railings, and the roof. Presently we have no toilets or sinks in the church because the money is just not there to finish the project.

Prey Veng Church Update

Sorry for the long delay since posting last, but I've been out in the "boonies." For those readers unfamiliar with American slang, that's "a remote location." About two hours east of here, towards the border with Vietnam, we have a church. They invited me to come out and teach all week from the book of Proverbs. I was also able to teach English to the youth during the week. Driving out there is a wild experience. We had to wait on the road while a large herd of water buffalos crossed the bridge in front of us.

We had a great day at our Prey Veng church today. Thirteen brave young new believers submitted to believers' baptism. Some of them were wavering this week, fearing persecution from the community and their own families. But in the end, everyone stood firm for Christ. We all gathered on the banks of the mighty Mekong River. After all were baptized, we loaded up the pickup we rented and some rode bicycles and motorcycles. We drove back through town, the young believers singing "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." What a joy! I'll get some photos posted for you soon.

Oh Rats!

I hope you're sitting down for this one! About two hours ago, Cindy needed to go buy bread. She went out to the van with a few of the boys. I was getting supper ready in the kitchen and all of a sudden I heard doors slamming and Cindy screaming. Before I could stop what I was doing, Cindy came tearing into the kitchen like a woman on fire! "Rat! Rat! Rat in the van!" She had opened the driver's side door and there to greet her was Willard the rat. So, we all went on the search for the rat. We checked up under the seats, the glovebox, the area behind the radio, the airconditioning ducts and vents, and the engine compartment. No rat. Four people saw the rat. But no one saw the rat escape. So, Cindy bravely boarded the van and drove the ten minutes to the place to buy bread.

Taking Turns Being Sick

Well, I'm here, but that's about all. Wow, what a week. For about a week we've been sick with the flu with just about everyone getting it. Kayla got it. Then a few of the boys got it. Then Cindy. Now me. Today two more of our orphans got it. Kayla, Petro, Pov, and Sina have missed school because of this flu. I just need to rest. We're taking the medicine and trying to just take it easy. We sure would appreciate your prayers at this time.

Believers' Baptism

This morning in our Phnom Penh church, I had the privilege of baptizing about 20 people. Some of our orphans have trusted Christ and were ready to be baptized. A number of teens and adults also came to be baptized. One man, Vuthy, has received Christ in recent weeks. His life was filled with sin, as he drank and abused his wife. Now there is a soul saved and a home restored. Tears of joy were shed by all, but especially by his wife and two little girls as they watched daddy being baptized. To God be the glory!

Spiritual Darkness

This is the time of year when millions of Cambodians gather at the pagoda, bringing food offerings to the spirits of dead ancestors. Many believe that their ancestors return from the underworld to wander in search of food and offerings. Pchum Ben is probably the most important holiday to the average Cambodian. Ancestor worship is deeply ingrained into the mind and soul of the people. A very brave little girl, one of my wife's students, told my wife today that she stood up against the tide this past week. She was forced to attend the pagoda with her family. However, she refused to call on the spirits, pray, or make any offering. Her family was very angry with her. The parents planned a nice vacation at a five star hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia, but this sixth grader was forbidden to enjoy this because of her stand for Christ. Srey Nach, age 18, one of the new believers, also stood firm and refused to offer prayers or offerings to spirits. She was very happy that even though she was ridiculed and called names, that she stood for what she believes.

Sick Kids

I had made an appointment for Sophal (Paul), one of the orphans, to see the doctor today. He's been running a fever since last night, coughing, and throwing up. Now another one of the boys is sick. This time it's Sovanndara (Jacob), who is pictured above. He's got red spots on his chest and his face is all swollen and red. I'm not trying to be funny, but he looks like an elephant. We called the doctor and asked them if we could bring BOTH boys in and they said no. Cindy took them both anyway. We'll see what happens.

Update: The doctor took one look at Jacob and said, "Yes, bring him back!" Cindy's persistence paid off. Jacob has had an allergic reaction to Tylenol given to him for a fever. Paul has the flu and a cold. They are both on medication now. Pray for our health and for the health of our children.

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch...

It is a relief to be back in Cambodia after two weeks in Texas! Through the sacrifices of the Lord's people here in Cambodia, I was able to return to see my grandma again before she went home to be with the Lord. Our poor saints here in Cambodia gathered together an offering, a true sacrifice, in order that I might visit with her before she graduated on to Heaven. The Bible says that "all things work together for good," and while I was there, grandma passed away in her sleep at the age of 91. I was able to be there to help my mom and visit with her, family, and friends.

Things went well in my absence here. A young couple is joining the church. Pray for Pilot and Seila and their little boy. They are a good Christian couple and eager to serve the Lord in our church. He is praying about starting a small sewing business, sort of a mini-garment factory, and hire some of the young men and ladies in the church who are looking for work. Pray about this project. I want to try to help him do this because so many here have no jobs. It would be a blessing to the church to have more members working and able to contribute to the furtherance of the gospel. He needs to buy 20 sewing machines at $60 each. He would then hire 20 of the church members to work in the factory.

Construction has stopped on the new church building until we are able to acquire the rest of the funds needed to complete the project. We are still several thousand dollars short of being able to finish the building.

One more thing...I have changed the settings on the blog site now. I didn't know, until today, that you were required to have an account in order to post your comments. I have changed that and so feel free to send us a message. Also, to prevent spam comments, I have installed a "word verification" test on the comment page. That will cut down on spam. An actual person will have to type in the word in order to comment.

September 11 Anniversary

Today is September 11. It was 4 years ago that Islamic terrorists attacked our country. May we never forget.

My Grandma Closer to Heaven

My mom contacted me from Texas and told me that my grandma is sick and in critical condition. The doctors say that she won't last another week in this "vale of tears." This world is not our home, we're just a-passin' through. Our treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. I am leaving in the morning from Cambodia, headed to Texas for about two weeks. Please pray for our family during this time. I was very close to my grandma. She has both Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease. She has an infection spreading through her bloodstream now and is nearing Heaven's Door.

Thanks for all your prayers. I will use my mom's computer to check email from time to time.

Hurricane Katrina And The Aftermath

The horrible sights of the situation on the ground in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, are sad. It's sad to see old people dying in their wheelchairs and no loved ones nearby. It's sad to hear of people being murdered. It sickens me to hear of girls and women being raped and killed. When people help themselves to food and basic necessities for survival purpose, I hesitate to point a finger. But who ever needed a DVD player, 10 pairs of Nikes, a flat screen TV, and an iPod to survive?

I hope that these souls will look to God and to God's Book, the Holy Bible. I hope that there will be preachers who know the Book and will be there to show them the gospel. Instead of pointing fingers of blame and injecting politics into this, I suggest that we pray for the President, Mayor Nagin, Governor Blanco, General Honore, Governor Barbour, and all those in leadership.

People are asking a lot of questions about why it took so long to get help into these places. I'm not going to try to answer that because I don't know the answer. But I am also not going to take the bait from rabid reverends telling us that it's all about race. I don't believe that. That's race politics. America is the most generous contributor to aid projects all around the world. Most of the recipients of U.S. aid are not white people. Communications, or lack of it, is one very important factor that has made a bad situation worse. People cannot call the authorities and inform them of their whereabouts when the communication system is down. When streets are flooded, that limits mobility. I'm going to give our leaders the benefit of the doubt. Remember what the Bible says, "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." (Matthew 12:36)

Building Update and Losing Face

There is a cultural way of thinking in the Eastern world that is called "saving" or "losing" face. We have to be very careful here in Asia to not cause another person to "lose face." To "lose face" is to lose one's honor, be put to shame. It is difficult for people in the Western world to understand Eastern concepts. Our church and our Cambodian leaders are being watched by our neighbors and our community. The problems we are having in securing the needed funds to finish the church construction project are causing them to "lose face." They can still "save face" if we can get them the needed funds soon to complete the project. The Vietnamese Buddhists in Vietnam gave full and complete support to their mission nearby. They have already finished their building, two blocks away from our church. The Cambodian Buddhists have the funds to renovate their HUGE pagoda near our church. I keep telling them to trust the Lord and look to Him. I keep telling our Khmer brothers and sisters that the hearts of God's people will be touched and that help will come. I still believe that will happen.

Our Newest Orphan

Sopheak is this little darlin's name. It is pronounced like "So-pek." She is a little sweetie. She's eight years old and a gigglebox. Her father died of AIDS a few years back and her mom is near death now, also of AIDS. AIDS kills so many people in Cambodia! Sopheak is not HIV positive. Praise the Lord! She loves to play and go to school. She is in the 1st grade. All of our children, including Sopheak, need sponsors. You can email us for more information about sponsoring the care of one of these precious children. We desperately need partners to underwrite the cost of caring for these orphans. Last week I turned four more orphans away because we simply don't have the funds. It breaks my heart to turn anyone away, but it costs money to house them, feed them, clothe them, and educate them. Would you please help us with the support for these orphans? Please...email me if you would like more information. God bless you!

Latest Happenings

Just a quick addendum to my earlier post today. Two of our orphans trusted Christ as Saviour this past Sunday. They are Sith and Phanit. Pray for them as they grow in Christ.

Another church in the city, Bethany Baptist, is sponsoring a Leadership Training meeting for Khmer Christians. I would like to send 8-10 of our folks to this two day meeting. Pray that the Lord will supply the need so that we can do this. The meeting will be held during the first week of September.

Rats, Dogs, and Automobiles

In an earlier post, I mentioned how huge the rats are over here. Cats run from them. Our dog Kipper decided to tangle with one the other night during a monsoonal downpour. We heard nothing because the rain was coming down so hard, you couldn't hear anything. Well, Kipper came dragging in with flesh and hair gone. I have no idea what the rat looked like after this battle, but I hope he looked worse than our dog. I hate rats. I hope they all meet up with a really mean dog or a serious-minded, tough, stand-your-ground type of tomcat!

Driving here in Cambodia is sorta like being in a game of chicken or driving in a demolition derby. It's better experienced than explained. Those of you who've been here know what I mean. All the corrupt officials drive their Landcruisers and their Lexuses and flaunt all traffic laws. There is this pervasive attitude among the elite here that if they are "important" and drive a Landcruiser, that somehow that entitles them to ride your bumper, cut you off, drive on the wrong side of the road to get around traffic just because they are who they are, etc. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to pray for us for road safety.

Back Home Again

Well, we're back from Bangkok. First, let me recommend the Bangkok Christian Guesthouse. It's a nice, clean comfortable place to stay. It is close to the Bangkok Skytrain which gets you everywhere in the city quickly.

Cindy got good reports from all the doctors. Concerning the skin cancers, she seems to be doing good. There doesn't seem to be any more cancerous tumors. She still has a tumor in her left eye. She will have to go back to Thailand every three months to have it examined. Please continue to pray for Cindy's health.

This will be an extra expense that we will face every three months, so pray for all our needs to be met. Our mandatory health insurance through the Missions Office is going up again. Our premiums are going up about 10%. The support never seems to keep up with the rising cost of living. Fuel prices are higher, food prices are up, medical costs are skyrocketing. We trust that God will keep on meeting the needs.

We'll Take the Airplane

Well, the continuing back and forth saga of the road to Thailand ends here. We were told it was still closed. Then we were told it was open again. We found out yesterday afternoon that the road is impassable. So, we are left with one choice: fly. So off we go on Monday to Thailand for medical appointments. We will return to Cambodia on Saturday, August 13th. Thanks for praying for us! Cindy's appointments are the most crucial as she goes for some skin cancer follow-up and have her skin checked. We will try to update you from Thailand as there are internet places near the Christian guesthouse.

Road Supposedly Reopened

Well, today we have heard that Highway 5 has reopened. This is the road that we mentioned yesterday that was closed. We'll try to verify that information and go buy the bus tickets to the border. From there we will walk across the border and then find a bus going to Bangkok. All of this depends on whether or not we get more torrential rains between now and Monday. Pray that it works out and we can make these medical appointments. One of the options we mentioned yesterday evaporated also. Highway 4 to the coast in now closed due to flooding.

In the meantime, please continue to pray for our new building construction. We are still $7,500 short of our goal to finish the project. Work has stopped. Pray that the needed funds will come in soon so that we can get this finished.

Road to Thailand Closed

Well, we have appointments at the doctor next week in Thailand. Here's the new problem: it's the monsoon season here and the road is impassable. We have received torrential rains in the past three or four days and now there are as many as 300-400 buses stuck in the mud. Wreckers have gone to tow them all and the wreckers are now stuck. That leaves us with two options: Go by way of land and boat and spend $400 for our roundtrip and it takes two days. Or option #2, spend $800 and fly and it takes 55 minutes. We're leaning to option #1 and saving the $400. We would go by bus to the coast, take a boat to Koh Kong, go through the Cambodia/Thai border. Head to the Thai town of Trat, spend the night, and go on to Bangkok the next day. Isn't it amazing that it takes so long to go a distance that only takes 55 minute to fly? But it's a whole lot cheaper.

Taking the road that got washed out would have only cost us $80 roundtrip for the whole family! But the road is impassable and looks to stay that way for awhile. Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom as to how to proceed. We need to make this trip for medical reasons.

Riding Water Buffaloes

This is my daughter, Kayla, riding a water buffalo, otherwise known as "Bubalus carabanesis." Even though they stink really bad, Kayla loves riding these creatures. They try to poke you with their horns and they swat you with their tails. These animals have been known to weigh as much as 2200 lbs. For those of you in "Metric Land" that is about a thousand kilograms.

Major League Baseball Comes to Cambodia

We returned yesterday from Baribo District, Kampong Chhnang Province. I took Kayla and 15 boys to participate in the first annual Major League Baseball International Clinic in Cambodia. It was great meeting the guys from MLB International. We talked about plans to start a youth baseball league here in Phnom Penh. MLB donated some bats, baseballs, gloves, batting helmets, and catcher's gear for us to start a league. In between training clinic sessions, our kids enjoyed fishing, catching frogs and freshwater crabs, going on walks, and riding water buffaloes. All in all, there were about 100 kids gathered together for the clinic.

The man who is the "catalyst" behind the Cambodia Baseball is Joe Cook. Joe is a Cambodian/American who lives in Dothan, Alabama. He is a great guy and loves the Lord, loves his native land, and loves baseball. The event was attended by dignitaries and press alike. Representatives from the U.S. Embassy were in attendance as well as reporters and photographers from AP, European Press Agency, CTN TV, and the Cambodia Daily.

It was a fun trip and I really enjoyed it. It was one of those no electricity, no running water, no flush toilet experiences, but it was well worth it.

We look forward to working with Major League Baseball in the future. This will work quite well with our sports ministry. Having sports activities has been a real plus in opening doors to talk to youth about the Lord. They have a natural curiosity for things from the U.S. So if we do something special like this, lots of kids come out of everywhere. Pray for us as we give kids the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Camp Results and a Trip to the Dentist

I just got an email from the Camp Director, Bro. Tabanao, and he said that 18 trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. In addition, 38 youth surrendered their lives to serving Christ and attending the Bible School! After our group returned back to the city, they rested and had something to eat. Before bedtime they all gathered together for devotions. Fifteen Khmer souls trusted the Lord Jesus as Saviour during devotion time! Praise the Lord!

One of our orphans, Peter, has had a toothache for a few days. We got him in to see the dentist today. He will have a root canal and also have eight cavities filled. These kids come to us with major health and dental problems. Tomorrow, Paul will go to the doctor. He vomited up blood today and has blood in his stool. Please pray for these two boys. We will update you on their situations as we learn more. Our orphans need sponsors to help with the cost of providing food, clothing, healthcare, education, and other basic needs. We lack about $1,500 per month in needed support for our orphanage!!! Would you help sponsor an orphan?

We will be taking in a new girl soon. Her name is Sopheak. She is 8 years old. Her father died of AIDS. Her mother is dying now of AIDS. Her older brother died of AIDS. She is desperately in need of someone to love her and care for her. Please pray for our orphan ministry. We have turned children away due to budget concerns, but just couldn't turn Sopheak away.

Camp and Rat Report

Hey everybody,
We just got back from camp in Sihanoukville. As I mentioned in the last post, the location for camp this summer had to be hastily changed at the last minute due to problems with the government of Cambodia. This morning I preached to about 450-500 youth at our 7th Annual Cambodia Baptist Youth Camp. I don't yet have anything to tell you about how many have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. We'll have to wait on that. The theme of the camp is Acts 15:7 about the Gentiles hearing the gospel and believing through our witness.

Last night I took some of the orphans out to eat in Sihanoukville. We took the younger ones who aren't old enough to go to camp. Here we are sitting in this restaurant near the beach. The cat that lives at the restaurant saw or smelled a rat over along the wall of the restaurant. We heard this "cat sound" (how do you type the sound a cat makes?) and thought "ah, he got the rat!" Wrong! The rat was huge and black and chased the cat through the restaurant! That's a Cambodian rat!

Satan Fights Youth Camp

Youth camp was supposed to start next week on Monday, but there's been a bit of a change. We are still having youth camp, but instead of beginning on Monday, we're starting on Tuesday. There's also been a change of venue. It seems that the governor of the province where the camp site is located has arbitrarily decided that no Christian activities will be permitted there. This is property that is owned by a Christian organization. There are no private property rights in Cambodia. The property is rural property, but you cannot conduct "religious" activities on property that you own unless you have permission to do so. We were told this morning that the governor has not and will not allow any Christian activity. If we were Buddhist, there would be no problem. And there's more. The people who run the property were told, "If you hold a camp there, we will confiscate all your land and arrest all the leaders (pastors and missionaries). Those in charge of the camp this year scrambled to find another place and were successful, but we won't start until Tuesday.

We are in the devil's territory and he doesn't like it. The most common statue in Cambodia besides Buddha is that of a seven-headed serpent. Does that tell you anything about Cambodia? Last year we had 400 kids in camp and about 25 kids got saved. Satan doesn't want that happening again. Please pray for next week's camp. Pray for the speakers and for all the kids. We are praying that God will work a great spiritual victory in spite of all the devil has thrown at us.

Stuck in the Mud

As I said the other day, monsoon season is here. That equals mud. Slimy, gooey, nasty, reddish-brown mud! We got a good hard rain shower during prayer and Bible study at Niroth last night. After we were finished, everyone loaded up and some were worried we wouldn't be able to get out of the mud. So, I, being a bit overconfident, told them "no problem, I'm no amateur, ya know!" Well, ten minutes later, and with Bible students and church members covered with mud, we headed off down the road! Needless to say, the van got a complete bath this morning. The thing was coated with mud, both inside and out. Welcome to the monsoon season! We have six months of this to look forward to. I'm beginning to think about getting a 4 x 4 now.

No electricity

We spent the early part of this week without electricity in half of the house. We think that the hard rains somehow caused water to get into the wiring and cause a short. The electrician hired by the landlord is here again trying to repair the problem. There was no electric last night so for five of the orphans, there was no fan. So, we pulled a mattress out and put it in the middle of the floor in a room where we have power. They slept on the mattress on the floor with a fan and were happy as could be.

We have prayer and Bible study tonight in Niroth Commune. I am teaching a series of lessons based on John Piper's book "The Passion." He lists 50 purposes for Christ's suffering and death on the cross. The people are enjoying it and learning a lot. It is helping me also. Pray that our people will grow in their faith.

Youth camp starts next Monday. We have 55 youth attending from our church. The camp is expecting about 400 to attend. Pray for the campers and the speakers.

We are going to have to go to Thailand soon for Cindy's melanoma checkup. This will become a regular thing from now on. We will update you as we know more.

Monsoon Season

Noon, Tuesday, 12 July.

I can't speak for the rest of Cambodia, but I think the monsoon season is in full swing here. It has poured down rain for the past three days. We had a four hour long torrential downpour last night from 6 to 10 o'clock. The orphans saw the opportunity, seized it, and played soccer in the storm.

Getting to language classes is beginning to be a challenge, now that monsoons are upon us. We have only one car, it's a van, and Cindy needs it for taking the orphans back and forth to school. I am thinking it might be time to buy a motorcycle and a raincoat! The raincoat, no problem, $3 at the market. The motorcycle is about a grand for a good used 250cc dirt bike. I can't ride on these mopeds because I look like an elephant on a tricycle!

Studying Khmer AND Vietnamese is quite a challenge, but I want to be able to teach and preach in both languages. I am already preaching and teaching in Khmer. Khmer is easier to speak and harder to read and write. Vietnamese is easier to read and write and harder to speak. Vietnamese is a tonal language. Each syllable is like a musical note. If you don't hit the tone right, you change the word completely.

Construction has slowed at the new church and Manna center. We had the contractor and six workers at one point. He has sent five of the six home to the countryside. Now it's just him and one worker. We really need to finish this project. Don't forget to pray about this project. We are about 2/3 done. I will post new pictures soon on our website, so check from time to time.

Saturday

Good morning, everyone! It was a rather cool night in Cambodia last night. We had a nice breeze and temps in the 80s. We slept with the windows open (yes, we have screens). But we are having a bit of an electrical problem here at the house. I am thankful that we have electricity since there are some who don't. I think the monsoon rains are getting into the wiring and causing a short circuit somewhere.

Today is Saturday. Seyhar, a dear brother, is coming by to work with me on the language to make sure I'm ready to preach in Khmer tomorrow. Preaching in Khmer is quite challenging, to say the least.

My Vietnamese language class had to be cancelled yesterday. I couldn't get to class because of the torrential downpour. All the streets were flooded. I asked the teacher to change my study time to 7:30 a.m. instead of 2:30 p.m. The rain is usually worse in the afternoon.

Welcome

This is all brand new to me, but some other colleagues of mine told me about "blogging." So here goes! Basically, I am doing this to provide a way for us to communicate to our friends and supporters. Using the "weblog" method, we can even provide daily updates sometimes. We can do a lot more in the way of instant communication.

I wish I could start this blog by telling you that it was a great day in Cambodia today! It was "one of those days" I guess you could say. But God is so good! Even a day that started out bad and had some bumps along the way ended up really good. I taught Bible to the orphans tonight and they really responded well. I am telling them Bible stories and tonight I talked about Adam and Eve in the garden. We got as far as Cain and Abel, and they really enjoyed it. The exciting part is how they answered the questions I gave them.

Serving the Lord in Cambodia,
Billy Haas