Thailand Update!

Sorry this update is long overdue. I have been here at "Banpong" in the hills of Thailand near where the Lisu and Lahu hill tribes people live. Mr. and Mrs. Kho are missionaries who run a dorm complex ( I guess that's what I'll call it ). It has bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, grass, offices, computers, guest rooms, etc. There are about 40-45 kids that live here in order to go to Thai school. Most of them are not legal Thai citizens and therefore have little access to good education.
I have been able to teach English along with two other English speakers :). It has been awesome so far! Just living here has taught me so much. Please pray for these kids. My prayer is that they would not only learn a lot through school and hopefully become Thai citizens, but that they would become genuine lovers and worshippers of Jesus Christ. Please pray that my teaching would reflect the compassion of Christ. Pray that I could be an encouragement to the Thai workers here too, despite the language barrier. Thank you! I have pictures on facebook too, if you want to "see" what it's like here!

Gods word- Sobering Psalm.

Hear this everyone! Listen, all people everywhere, great and small alike, rich and poor together. My thoughts will be clear; I will speak words of wisdom. I will turn my attention to proverbs and explain thier meaning as I play the harp. I am not afraid in times of danger when I am surrounded by enemies, by evil men who trust in their riches and boast of their great wealth. A person can never redeem himself; he cannot pay God the price for his life, because the payment for a human life is too great. What he could pay would never be enough to keep him from the grave, to let him live forever.

Anyone can see that even wise men die, as well as foolish and stupid men. They all leave their riches to their descendants. Their graves are their homes forever; there they stay for all time, though they once had lands of their own.
A man's greatness cannot keep him from death; he will still die like the animals. See what happens to those who trust in themselves, the fate of those who are satisfied with their wealth- they are doomed to die like sheep, and Death will be their shepherd. . . but God will rescue me, He will save me from the power of death.

Dont be upset when a man becomes rich, when his wealth grows even greater, he cannot take it wiht him when he dies; his wealth will not go with him to the grave.
-Psalm 49: Good News Translation

Sawadeeka

I said thank you instead of hello in Thai to my new friends the other day at Payap University in Chiang Mai. For the last week I have been immersed in Korean and Thai and my brain is being stretched! It has been really fun though. Sorry for not updating this blog more, my sister scolded me the other day for that. :)
Thailand is very different from Cambodia! It's much more developed, I can see why there are tons of refugees coming in from all the other southeast asian countries. It is beautiful too, green and rainy.
I havent been super busy this past week, which has been so nice. Mr. and Mrs. Kim and Jonghyeon are so nice to let me stay at their house! I practice Korean and Thai at home and then go out to the universities where Mr. Kim has a music club. I started to learn how to play drums a little from Jong. Lots of new experiences, and tomorrow I will go up where Mr. and Mrs. Kho are ministering and teach some English! Please pray for that. God bless you!

Chom Reap Leah Cambodia

So today begins my last 24 hours in Cambodia. We had our team defbrief time last night, which went really well. We talked about the good things, the hard things, but most importantly, how God worked through them both to change us. We pray that we made His name grander in even a small way here in Cambodia. We pray that God will call more laborers to THIS harvest field. It is hard when people ask "When will you come back?". I hope soon! I will miss this country. Cambodia is a country with great difficulties, needs, but these create opportunity for the gospel to do what it does: change and transform people into worshippers of the one true God. 1 Corinthians 9:16: "For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to mei f I do not preach the gospel!"

Thank you for your prayers. Now it is on to Thailand!

"This planet is really bloody

Well it has been a while since I updated. . .and i only have a few minutes! So I will be quick. Team Cambodia has been road tripping through the rice paddies and mud trails that make up the provinces of Cambodia. We have been doing childrens VBS and at one military base, I got to teach English to Cambodian Army officers for 3 classes! It was a lot of fun and a blessing and a privilege to be able to do something like that. It is amazing how God is working here, how people desire to know Him, and how Christ changes a life. I asked Phanna, one of our translators, the other day, "Do you think its hard to kill someone in war, especially after a soldier becomes a Christian?" It's kind of a dumb question I know, I was just thinking about it. Phanna thinks a lot about Scripture and the Lord, and after being silent for a while, he said, "Yes, it is always hard. Maybe that person never heard about the good news of Jesus. But there is sin everywhere. This planet is really bloody". I thought it was kind of profound. I knew that and all, but just to sit among Cambodian soldiers, ready to go to the Thai border to deal with the conflict there, was impactful. How does Christ change a soldier? How does Christ change a life? These are just thoughts going through my head. Please pray for us as we are on the tail end of the trip! Pray for the kids, the parents, that we will be visiting and sharing with. Pray that above all, Christ may be put on display ever so brilliantly as He deserves. Thanks for reading and caring and praying!

Ahgun Yesu!

"Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him to her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. . . Luke 10:38"
This was the text of the sermon from NewBorn Church we visited today. It is a small church with all Cambodians. They were nice enough to translate the sermon for us! I was convicted by the message as I examine myself and our team on this trip. Jesus said that Mary chose the better thing by sitting at His feet and listening to His Word. How often I trade listening to the Word for work! Pray for us as we move out to the provinces early tomorrow morning. We have done preparation, but may we keep the teaching of Jesus as the focus and source of all we do.

After church, we went on to another church service in English held at the Beck's house. They are graduates of Masters and it was great to connect with 4 Masters alumni and see the work God is doing there. We visited Logos, the school they have for orphans, asians, americans, and anyone else! We also got to meet Bora's sister, who may come to Masters in the fall! It was a sweet time of communion, laughs, and pho! ^.^ Thanks for reading!

First VBS done!

So yesterday we finished our first 3 day VBS. It was good, and hot, and chaotic all at the same time. There were about 30-50 kids per day, all from a particular squatter community in a slum about 15 mins. from our hotel. That means the kids have literally nothing, they cant even go to school because their parents can't afford to buy them materials, etc. We played lots of games, did skits, sang songs, taught them Bible stories, and colored a lot! (Best craft to do with them :). In the afternoons we would teach them english, which was also quite chaotic. Different from my experience in Japan! But overall, it was a blessing to us and hopefully to them. The kids really grew on us and by the end we were sad to say goodbye. Please pray for these kids as we dont really know what the future holds for them. Pray for us as we continue to teach kids the most important news they will hear! Thank you for reading!

Day 1

So it has been almost 24 hours since we touched ground in Phnom Penh. The weather is humid, rainy, and kind of sticky. The streets are crowded and fruit stands are everywhere! It's hard to imagine that this city was a ghost town 30 years ago. Our first stop was our hotel, which is very nice. I was pleased to find out that we would be running our first VBS right here in Phnom Penh! We visited Tuol Sleng, a converted torture camp from a high school. I have some pictures to show, they say it all I think. Rarely has human depravity been so real and clear as yesterday for me. We also went to the killing fields, about 15 km outside the city. There is a huge tower filled with skulls and bones found from the mass graves. Although this part of Cambodia's history affects them today, it does not define them. They have a rich history that extends beyond the Khmer Rouge. Please pray that as we begin our ministry, the gospel of Christ would transform the hearts and lives of the Khmer people! It is a privilege to be here and see how God is moving.

Pre-Cambodia

I've never blogged before, this is my first one, so please be patient with it! ^.^ Several people have asked me to start a blog, so here it is! I will try my best to keep it as updated as possible, considering the little internet access I will have this summer. . thanks again for reading!

It is Sunday, I leave for Cambodia on Friday. Please be in prayer for our team as we prepare the Bible lessons, English lessons, and our hearts for the work to be done for God's kingdom this summer. We do not know what exactly to expect, but what I do know is this: Nothing significant will happen if God does not work in us and through us. Pastor Gary preached on Acts 21 this morning. The Apostle Paul only had an impact in Ephesus because God enabled him and a city was changed. This same God who has transformed lives from of old is doing the same today, but he must transform us first before we can be used to transform a community. This is my prayer for my team and for you. Wherever you are, know that if you are Christ's disciple, we as His people are called to bring transformation. May this summer be one of radical change in our hearts and through our hands and feet because of the favor and work of God.