One of many testimonies of this team was our team unity. It was strong and God really taught us what it meant to be one body; so diverse yet one. We shared laughter, stories, tears, late nights and flu bugs. His anointing is all over this team. For those who interceded, thank you, the Lord heard and answered your prayers.
We arrived safely with an extraordinarily smooth touch down.
Sorry for the lack of updates while on the missions field but rest assured, you’ll be getting more updates on what happened through pictures and videos soon, once we get everything put in order and have really taken time to reflect on what happened and truly give Him all the Glory.
Do keep praying for us though. Physically, we all have gotten a little sick; stomach aches, sore throats etc. Pray that as we reflect and praise Him, He will bestow unto us true rest in Him.
Once again, we deeply appreciate you partnering with us through prayer and intercession!
with love,
Team Cambo!
Soli Deo Gloria!
We have learnt that God uses everyone and everything. The past 3 days of VBS was truly a learning experience and we know we’ve got so much more to learn in the two days ahead.
Day 1: We talked about how God is good and Satan is bad. It was physically challenging because it was the first time we actually did a whole VBS but(!) by God’s grace, we made it through day 1. We tried playing games with the children but it backfired a little bit when we realized the children were a lot younger and following instruction was really not their forte, we had to simplify the game; which, thank God, turned out ok.
Day 2: We talked about the blood of Christ today and that was the price that was payed for the children. For the skit, we showed how the enemy comes and puts different identities on us; thief(sinner), ugly and unloved. Jesus then comes out, fights off the demons and then goes on to replace the identities. So, during the message, P. Joel actually asked the children to line up behind the false identity that the identify with and almost half the children walked towards unloved and it just broke our hearts. But the Lord did great things that day. We got to witness a glimpse the power of His restoration.
Thank you for your continuous prayers. Day 3 and Day 4 updates will be coming up soon c:
God bless you!
Today, again, God blew us away by His mightiness. As it is Sunday today, we got to go to church here! We visited the church that is affiliated Agape International Missions and worshiped our Jesus with the local people of Svay Pak.
We believe, all of us tasted a little bit of Heaven today, as it says in Revelations how we will be worshiping with people from every nation and every tongue. Although physically, we did not understand each other’s language, but we know, all of us connected at a spiritual level where there was not a single doubt that they were our brothers and sisters and we truly are a family in Christ.
The Holy Spirit’s presence in the room was undeniable. When you walk into a church, in the middle of a town where you know is number one for trafficking young children, you cannot help but be blasted by God’s love for His people and His power of redemption and restoration.
We got to spend time with one of the disciples who brought us around and showed us Rahab’s house and the Lord’s gym. He started sharing testimonies with us of how the church that chooses to love is changing the lives of the local people there. We couldn’t help but praise God for the lives that He redeemed and restored. From the local people to the pimps that help the johns get what they were there for.
The Lord has been VERY graceful through the past 2 days of ministry that we did and we continue to pray that we will be kept in a place of humility and COMPLETE dependence on the Lord for every work that He has set out for us to finish here before we head back.
Thank you once again, your prayers has been sustaining us, especially physically! Keep praying that His JOY will be our STRENGTH and that we will constantly be filled by the Spirit to the point of overflow!
Greetings, warriors,
Today, we had the privilege of visiting the Agape Restoration Center. Initially, we were expecting an older crowd but it turns out that the average age of these children is 12 years old; the youngest being 2 years old.
This was hard a reality that simply jumped up at us. Little children to 18 year old girls; all were children who have been trafficked either by their parents, relatives or traffickers.
God revealed different things to different people. Some of us got hit hard by the reality of the situation. As much as we wanted to just have fun with the girls there, it was heart-breaking when we remembered the reason why they were there.
The girls were amazing. They opened up to us immediately after the ice-breakers and were very welcoming. Every one was so excited to meet us. We had the privilege to serve them and get to know them more.
For some of us, God revealed the power of His restoration and hope. Hope of the day when they get completely restored by Jesus. He highlighted some girls and how He gifted them in such a unique way that He is going to raise them up to change this nation of Cambodia.
God increased our capacity to really be able to love and open up to these children. In a short span of 4 hours, we didn’t want to leave the place and saying goodbye was hard.
When we reflected upon the day, God’s hand was definitely upon us and everything that we had planned out for them; from the skits to the games to the gifts. He is crazy in love with these girls and He desires nothing more but to pour out His love on them.
Indeed, He made each and everyone of us so beautiful and no matter how hard the enemy tries to steal, kill and destroy the power of God to restore the days that the locust had eaten, as we witnessed today, is WAY greater!
Hello partners,
Today, we visited the Tuel Sleng Genocide Museum in the afternoon. It was an experience for all of us. Everyone caught a glimpse of the evil that took place on in this country that broke our hearts and made us want to cry out more for this nation.
God has really just revealed how Satan stole a whole generation from this nation but at the same time how His heart just cried out and broke for His people. Today, we caught a glimpse of the weeping room that Jesus was in as this tragedy took place.
We also met a little girl, named Pon. Pon sold bracelets at the entrance of the musuem. One of our team members asked for her age and her immediate answer was “You buy, I tell you”. We were so taken aback yet at the same time, it broke our hearts to see the walls that this little girl had to put up in order to earn a living for her family. She was not the only one. If you have been to Cambodia, you’ll know; there are uncountable number of little children who are street vendors especially in this area that our hotel is located in; there is just this sense that these children never got the opportunity to be children.
It was just a day of scouting out the land; physically and spiritually.
On a brighter note, we learnt when you cross the road in Cambodia, the vehicles DO NOT STOP for you. If you’re not careful, they will run you over. Elisa had a very close shave today. But thank God, all’s good.
The hand of the Lord is definitely upon this team as we continue to grow in love and understanding of one another. Keep praying that our love for each other will keep growing as we grow closer to our Jesus in this trip.
Thank you for partnering with us!
Team Cambo
January 5th - 14th
top from left: Pastor Joel; Jason; Julie; Il Young; Jamie
bottom from left: Abigail; Amy; Elisa; Johan; Jocelyn
OEM Cambodia Winter Missions 2012 