Missionary, Cambodia trip 2013
e3 Legacy
Have you
ever been a witness to a miracle? Have you ever been used by God to be a
miracle to others? Well if you haven't, you will see you have been
used to be a miracle to others this past two weeks. You count the
number of miracles and know there were many others which happened but may have
not been captured. I would be interested in hearing from each of you how
God blessed you in your own life as a result of playing a part in this mission.
As I had
shared at the beginning of this process it was driven my Delaney (11) and
McKenna (13) wanting to go first, and I am so grateful for their ability to
hear God's voice in the noisy and busy world we live in America and their
for their obedience to God by challenging me with going. You all helped
us to be 100%, FULLY FUNDED. Two weeks out, we were thousands of dollars
short and we trusted He would come through. Thousands rolled in leading
up to that final Sunday (before we left) and on that Sunday we had a donor pay
the remaining balance in full. PRAISE GOD!!!!
There are
so many stories to share, and hope you were able to keep up with the updates
being sent while in-country. I look forward to having a discussion with each
one of you about the trip but wanted to touch on a few stories now. Keep
in mind it will take me a little time to connect with all of you as there
almost 100 families involved in supporting us on this trip.
1. Many
of you read about little Hong who had gotten his leg caught in a
motorbike, and his leg became severely infected and appeared gangrene.
The mother had spent all her money on the local witch doctor to tell her
what evil spirits she had to appease for him to get well. We connected
them to the local church who was able to facilitate some medicines for him and
you can see a picture of his miraculous recovered leg on www.facebook.com/e3legacy (timeline photo).
2.
Delaney, my youngest, was determine all trip to prove to me, her mom, team
leaders and to herself; she was capable, responsible and able to be used by God
on her own. Wow did she ever! The first day of the trip she
grabbed her Evangacube and took every opportunity to share the "Story of
God's Love" with anyone possible; from the Indian Hindu motorbike merchant
selling shirts at the chief's house to a neighbor women. She laid hands
on the sick and allowed herself to be used by God to heal them. Delaney
pushed to go to a couple houses on her own, only to return with a huge smile
saying she "did it" and a women and daughter came to Christ.
She awoke willing every morning at 6am and stood by my side supporting me
when she so wanted to step forward. There are many Cambodian's who we
will reunite with in Heaven because of her initiative and obedience.
Delaney led the children's ministry every day, directing McKenna and I
with what part we were to play in each day's activities. Over 50 kids
came to know of Jesus and the God on High, neither of which they had EVER
heard. I am so humbled by who she is becoming in Christ.
3. McKenna,
my oldest, simply exposed her heart to the Cambodian people as she so
naturally does and they could not deny the "pure love"
that emanates, rooted in her relationship with the Most High.
She was out on her own all week as she had in Peru and I never had to
wonder what was happening, as villagers would come to me to tell how special
she was and that they would be reflecting the Love of Christ themselves because
they came to know the Truth through her. We came to know the villagers of
Pum Veal in a very intimate way as we returned to the homes daily to connect
with them and answer questions which came to them about God during the prior
night. McKenna was so drawn to one man who was a devout Buddhist, yet he
had seeker questions. She remained committed to him all week and even
when she could not come to him on Friday and her heart was in agony as he had
not accepted Jesus into his heart, God brought him to her. She answered
many of his questions and the Chief of the village who accepted Christ on the
first day, shared his testimony and the man accepted Christ. McKenna was
also a conduit of healing, something us Americans can have a hard time comprehending
but when we witness it first hand, we believe in the healing power of Jesus'
name and Word of God. She has truly glorified God and I am humbled by her
example.
4. I was
given the privilege of leading the site and building up the local church
member's for what was to come. I was truly overwhelmed with the healing
power of God's Word, as many sick were healed. The chief of the village,
Song, said "I felt an energy flow from my tumorous region out of the back
of my head" feeling immediate relief. We checked in with him daily
and he reported he had improved breathing and no more dizziness. PRAISE
THE LORD! We were confronted with questions like "do I have to pass
on my generational curse to my children now that I have been saved?"
"How did God create everything?" - and after we read Gen 1
(from a Khmer bible) together their faces lit up as the mystery was finally
revealed.
The
testament of what happened can be best seen from the response of the local
pastor I was working with. Pastor Ros (Ru) was like many Cambodians,
questioning the impact of what God would accomplish. They have witnessed
so much oppression and tragedy, it was hard to see the "possibility."
He was a survivor of the Khmer Rouge, hidden in the forest and fed by
local villagers after his entire family had been slaughtered. Upon the
fall of the regime, he was determined to have revenge with those he knew had
killed his family. But then he accepted Christ after his wife, Suk Khang
had accepted Christ and he chose different path. He turned his back on
his practices of black magic and cursings; to become a true follower of Christ,
even coming to forgive those who had slaughter his "entire" family.
I told him it was God who fed him in the forest and it was God who walked
along his side during his tragedies because God had a bigger plan. His
wife had been praying for years that their ministry would have a greater reach
in their village and that her sisters/cousins would come to know Christ.
This mission (you supported and prayed for) was an answer to her prayers,
they are believers now and so are close to 20% of their village. God's
bigger plan was for Pastor Ros to minister a transformation in rural Cambodia
beginning with his own village. Although the Cambodian culture does not
really allow for touching others, Pastor Ros embraced me on Friday night so
tightly and literally would not let go, he was sobbing
uncontrollably and weeping in my shoulder so humbled by the MIRACLE he had
witnessed and the love God had filled his heart.
YOUR
PRESENCE WAS FELT AS PART OF THE SENDING TEAM, THE CULMINATION OF ALL THAT GOD
HAD BEGUN.
This is
just the beginning and want to ask that you keep Pastor Ros, Suk Khang, the
village of Pum Veal and the Cambodian peoples in your regular prayers. It
is a vulnerable time as the enemy will be doing much to reverse what God had
begun. The new believers will be shunned by family members and
villagers, evil spirit encounters will deter them but we know our God has
supremacy. The local church needs prayers to develop a system to support
those baby Christians, those still seeking based on what they learned about
this "God" and those still living in darkness.
GOD IS
TRANSFORMING A PEOPLE HAUNTED BY GENOCIDE AND DARKNESS, TO BECOME A BEACON TO
OTHER COUNTRIES IN INDOCHINA.
If
this was a handwritten letter you would have witnessed that the paper was
rippled with dried tears of joy, gratitude and humility. It was so
emotional for me to look back in summary with what God had done and how he used
your and my families to share the Good News with the villagers of Pum Veal, who
had never heard the words God or Jesus.
Thank
you, thank you and thank you. Please share with everyone you know what
God has done with you and the Cambodian people, as this was not done in secret
but to be known by all.
Matt 28:18-20 "Then Jesus came to them and
said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Your
missionary family,
David,
McKenna and Delaney
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