Sunday, August 19, 2018

He Gracefully Uses Us In Our Weakness to Bring Him Glory

Hello everyone!  My name is Kayla and I am one of the five team members, here to tell you about the awesome things that God has been doing here in Cambodia.

Let me explain the situation/schedule before I tell you the story.

August 16 - Today was our last full day of teaching.

This weekend (Aug 17-19) was going to be very long days of ministry, we were going to hand out gift bags to those that came to hear God's Word.  So this Thursday, August 16 was our last full day of teaching.  Everyday consists of two session: morning and afternoon with half and hour breaks in between.  Most of the children attend both sessions, but some only attend one.  This week the school was opened in between the sessions to allow the students to sleep over. The plan today for the younger kids was to learn a few words in English, while the older kids (led by me and Henry) were going to learn about repentance and we were going to open the discussion of accepting Jesus as LORD and savior in the second half after the break.

However, after our first break we went straight into lunch.  After lunch we slept and went straight into second session.  Muc Su Hung told us that we were going to let the kids worship so that we could rest early in order to prepare for the weekend.  I felt a conviction to ask Muc Su Hung to let us have the open discussion so that the students could accept Christ and he said yes.

So we all gathered to worship. After, the younger children were dismissed while the older children stayed back.  Henry, Hong An (Muc Su Hung's daughter) and myself shared our testimonies.  It was my first time hearing Henry's testimony and I was really encouraged by Henry of how vulnerable he was about his life.  I told the students to pray on their own, asking God to lead them in their relationship with Him.  There were only two non-believers that the students pointed out.  One of them was Nhi.  Nhi decided to give her life to Christ that day.  Praise God.  We were going to have Pastor Hung pray with us, but he was really busy so Henry and I had to lead her in prayer by ourselves.  I was so nervous.  I remember my mind being so flustered, I wasn't sure if I should do the repeat after me prayer or just have her pray herself.  But I was comforted by Henry that the Holy Spirit will lead. We prayed separately and then I prayed over Nhi in Vietnamese.  Praise God.  

Now I have another student named Mi, who is a believer.  Now Mi is very talkative and a very encouraging spirit.  She's like a younger version of me but smarter, has a strong personality, and has better Vietnamese.  I noticed how Mi would always encourage Nhi and be the friend that would guide her along.  Even in the prayer circle, Mi would tell Nhi, "Go pray over there!  That's right you got this!"  She would also give Nhi a push and encourage her to accept Jesus.  This was when I realized how important our friendships are with non-believers.  We are called to love and pray for those around us and also share to them the good news.  Praise God!
Nhi (Left) who commited her life to Christ, while Mi (right) her BFF encouraged her.
That night, we decided that I was going to share a small message to the children the next day.  I didn't have much time to prepare so I was going to share about my reflections on the song "He Knows My Name."  

August 17 - Today we were going to share a message and then pass out vouchers to our neighbors/invite people to church.

So Friday comes and there are a lot of kids that come, both Khmer and Vietnamese.  Hong An lead everyone in worship and Lucy told me how proud she was of her because last year, her older sister Huong led, but now that her sister is in the US, she sees how much this young lady stepped up.  So cute! So after worship, I shared. Now normally, I'm really comfortable in front of a crowd, maybe kinda nervous here and there, but for the most part, I'm cool with it.  However, I was super nervous for this one because I was dealing with God's ministry.  I prayed a lot that God would give me the right words and that they would be ready to receive the Word.  The only thing that I could hear from God was three words: PROCLAIM MY GOODNESS.  So I prayed, "LORD, I'll do my best, may You guide me." So that's what I did. I shared in English and Daniel (Muc Su Hung's eldest son) translated to Khmer.  My message was like five minutes.  Muc Su Hung was like, "Why so short?" I also regretted speaking so short.  So after, I was like I could've done this, this, or this....man. But by God's grace, Muc Su Hung encouraged me to ask follow up questions and asked me to come up again.  I blanked out though.


Friday's event: There were over 100 kids gather to hear God's Word.

Right after the event, we had a huge family debrief for the first time.  We gave them feedback, they gave us feedback.  Co Trang actually rebuked us (me).  She shared that we need to be prepared with a story at ALL times, being ready to share questions because if we don't prepare ourselves before we enter the battle, we already lost.  I was so encouraged and empowered.  Another question was brought up: Who will share the message to the students in the boat village the next day? Again, I felt a tug and a big excitement to speak so I stepped up again.  I started to prepare with the remaining time that I had.  I was going to speak on Jonah.

So I took Hong An (AKA SoKun) to help me prep for the message I had. She told me to just share on Jonah 1-3. I also asked Muc Su Hung and Co Trang (his wife) for feedback.  I shared to Co Trang the reason for my nervousness.  I was scared because I'm speaking on God's Word.  If I mess up, I'm in trouble!  Also I didn't know how to feel about women preaching.  We looked up God's Word together and long story short, she affirms me that my thinking is correct and that I don't need to fear because I'm teaching children and God will guide me.  She shared that often times we will learn from God as we read so we just have to share what we learned.  Simple.  When I read Jonah, I actually learned a lot by reading Jonah 1-4 so I changed up the plan.

August 18 - Today's mission was to go to the Muslim community and share God's Word and then to the boat village to share to the kids.

There was a big storm this morning and we prayed that the rain would go away.  We got in the car and shortly after, it did!  Praise the LORD!  So we get there to this land.  It was a land that was filled with a Muslim community.  We got permission though from the land owner to share.  Yet, a man started to cause trouble by saying that we couldn't share God's Word here.  The police got involved, so TLC missions team huddled up and started praying.  At last, everything was settled!  We were going to continue!  So Pastor Hung preached and we gave out food to the crowd.  Praise God!  After, Muc Su Hung shared that this land was going to be purchased and he is going to build a school there.  He is currently praying for a family to come and serve there as missionaries.
Co Trang & I preparing the rice and ramen bags to give to the need.

Muc Su Hung sharing the Gospel to the Khmer Muslin people at Kampong Chhnang. 

The family and team passing out the ramen and food seasonings to the people of both Khmer and Vietnamese.
We headed to the boat village.  It was soon my turn to share.  I was praying a lot once again, but this time, I was filled with an abundant joy and excitement to share God's Word.  So I had Hong An read Jonah 1-4.  Poor girl she just read and read and read.  At chapter 3 she looked over to me so I spared her. (I had Co Trang read chapter 4 later) After the reading of God's Word, I prayed. Everything was in God's perfect timing though because right after, the next group of students come on board.  So the transition went really well.  Filled with the Spirit I spoke in Vietnamese, I struggled here and there, but God held me tight.  My message talked about how Jonah fled Nineveh and disobeyed God, yet by God's grace, he received a second chance.  God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah for 3 days and 3 nights.  Jonah prayed in that belly and came to God in this dark time.  God heard his prayer and allowed the fish to spit Jonah out.  The second time God called Jonah, He also gave Jonah the exact words to say.  When Jonah spoke, the Ninevites believed and repented, causing Jonah to be very displeased.  Sometimes we are like Jonah.  We come to God in our times of darkness, yet when things don't go our way, we get angry at God so easily.  However, the story doesn't end there.  God sends Jonah a plant that made Jonah happy, but ends up being chewed up by a worm after which made Jonah sad.  

God then replies to Jonah, But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.  And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh,in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?" (Jonah 4:10-11). God was giving Jonah yet another chance.  This shows us how gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love God is, relenting from sending calamity.  Let's not see God as a distant God that we come to whenever we're in trouble, but as a God who is personal, who we are to pray to everyday in every part of our live.  How great is our God?  Praise God!

I was very encouraged by my team both days.  They continually prayed over me and gave me plenty of encouraging words.  So blessed for each and every one of them.
Traveling by boat to the school on the water villages.

A group photo of the children and their little goodie bags; the Vietnamese children were attentive to the story of Jonah!

August 19 - Today, we were going to share the Word to those we invited to our church: Love of Christ Church Sensok (LOCC)/Celebrate Lucy's Birthday

Jeremiah shared about Jesus Feeding Five Thousand (John 6:1-15.  It was really a blessing for me to see my fellow brother up there relying on God.  Jeremiah prayed three times when he shared.  We constantly prayed over our brother as he spoke. Daniel was the translator once again!  After Jeremiah shared, Muc Su Hung came up to preach on the same Bible passage in Khmer.  Muc Su Hung also lead the alter call and I believed two men came up.  Praise God!

Jeremiah preaches the Gospel as Daniel translates in Khmer for Love of Christ Church and the attendees
Muc Su Hung talking to a local lady after the service ended. 
The team passed out the rice bags. Over 100 people received the rice and ramen to share people in their community.
A few students from Love of Christ Church also received rice and food seasoning. 
We celebrated Lucy's birthday after at this bomb pizza place.  We are super close to this family, literally every member in this house.  We laughed together, cried together, yelled at each other, it's quite amazing how close we are in such a short period of time.  Not going to lie, it's not always sunny and kumbaya under this roof, but our bond is tighter than super glue because it's the Holy Spirit that binds us together.
Our sister Lucy (Co Thanh) turns up 24 years old; the birthday was BOMB!
Please continue to pray for us on this mission, that is to bless this family and share the love of God wherever we are.  We have two more days with the school. They are just two days where we will just play with them and fellowship with them.  After, we will head to Siem Reap to go learn about Cambodian history and spent time with the family.  Please pray that our trip will be safe and that we will continue to be a blessing to them.  Let's end strong everyone!!

Thank you so much for reading!  There are so many stories to share and details I left out, so please ask me more when I get back!!

In Him,

Kayla