Post Mission Update, Reflection, Goals

Hi all,

I just wanted to take the time to thank each and every single one of you for your abundant love and support for allowing me to be a part of this year's missions in sharing the Gosepl in Sensok, Cambodia. I certainly had an amazing and blessed time teaching the children English, building a new playground, visiting the families in the nearby village, and hearing the remarkable testimonies of Pastor Hung and his wife Co Trang's ministry. 

As I am slowly adjusting to life back here in Southern California, I am constantly being reminded of what God is doing half a world away. Through these reminders, I am realizing just how much distractions are present in our first world nation (worldly possessions, career, money, etc). For some reason, I can't help but feel guilty when I seek to purchase things for myself and when materialistic ambitions arise. I believe that I am currently undergoing some spiritual warfare and Satan is placing doubts and worldly temptations in front of me to keep me away from God, so please continue to keep me in your prayers! It's not wrong to enjoy God's blessings but I believe there's a threshold to that enjoyment (to the point where it becomes an idol). As I have learned in Cambodia, idolatry is the root of many sins and I must make sure that I continue to reevaluate my intentions and walk with the Lord daily in order to stay attuned to his will for me. It has definitely been a bit harder acknowledging God's presence with all these distractions but I am encouraged to know that he will never fail me nor abandon me (Hebrews 13:5). Although I am weak... Christ has redeemed me and I pray he will continue to use me as a light to my family, friends, and co-workers. 

Coming back from Cambodia, I have been refreshed spiritually and God has placed some convictions in my heart to be faithful as a leader at AKPC. Although we are small in number, I believe God intends for our church to really persevere and develop character. Through suffering, we should continue to rely on Christ for strength. God desires for us to develop a strong foundation rooted in his word so that we may be able to bear fruit (not for ourselves but for him). Even though it may seem daunting and tough, I am determined to obey. I have learned that faith produces action but action without faith is nonsensical and ultimately destructive to the church. Thus, I know God is in control and I will not let my pride and feelings of inadequacy prevent him from moving our church. Please continue to pray for me as I go about my daily life here! 

With much love,

Jerry

 

TGC (The Gospel in Cambodia)

Chum reap suor, what a time to reflect on Cambodia! The time frame of returning back to Arizona has been 1 week. My body and mind is adjusting gradually but the Arizona heat is a doozy! I still think about the experience in Cambodia especially the gifts of blessings and struggles with my teammates and people. God is revealing himself to me daily and place a burden of a blessing to continuously pray for Cambodia, its people, and praying for my teammates as they are TOO adjusting to life and living radically for God.

 

Without God, the mission itself becomes impossible. I hope as the Spirit is leading me to share the running thoughts and revelations of this trip – may the Spirit who dwells in all of us, encourages you (the readers) to explore the challenges God has place you,, to prepare you spiritually and mentally, and to invest your precious time to consecrate for God's plans in state and out state missions. Whether the mission is short or long-term, amazingly, God has done the work, and we are his VESSELS and are called to be part of the GREAT COMMISSION. The victory of His work is and will be finish in His GLORIOUS name!

 

While I am meditating through the book of ACTS. The power of God is flourishing throughout wherever God sends the disciples and apostles. Through Peter's ministry, churches are established and expanding all over, while the torch is handed to Paul and the Gospel is progressing all over as he travels to various places. This faith is offering the hope of Jesus Christ to all humanity from the beginnings to Jerusalem to Rome and etc. The dynamic of Acts is growing and spreading the Gospel like a ripple effect/wildfire.

 

I start realizing the people in Acts are ordinary and decide to live boldly because they have the Holy Spirit and the resurrection of Christ revealing their purpose to share the Gospel. Confidence and boldness are two qualities they are gaining through Christ as their source of power. For myself, the experience of sharing the Gospel to the people was ineffective. Yet at times difficult because people's hearts are harden and stubborn to surrender change. Thankfully, I am glad God used our team by our actions and being the Christlikeness examples to live our faith by being a blessing to the people. If people are observing our actions, then, the evidence of God's presence will be a light to all the people in Cambodia and they will be known it is God's bidding!

 

I know the Gospel is being preach in Cambodia, in Vietnam, in America, and ALL nations. Time and patience is the key to open people's hearts. To LOVE people with empathy and relentlessly. But most importantly, I believe the church and the missionaries in Acts understand prayer was a huge part of sharing the Gospel because if prayer and preaching is not implement throughout the time of expansion, then the Gospel is literally dead. My meditating in Acts alone, God has place a gracious love and a heart of conviction to share the experiences to various people I meet daily and to plant the seeds for the Gospel to spurt out the ground. Just being able to witness how radical these disciples are with their faith to share and to understand they were chosen to be part of his plan to reach the world. He gives my brothers and sisters and I, the motivation, energy, and ability to get Gospel to the world. God is already victorious and we are victorious as well because of HIM. Thankfully we are saved in grace to give the same living hope to all the people we meet daily through the cross of Jesus Christ. Cambodia will know God, so please keep praying for all the men, women, and children. God is doing BIG things in Cambodia especially Love of Christ Church in Sen Sok 1!. God blessed everyone! 

 

- Jeremiah 

Goals

Hello for a second time from Peiran!  I wonder if people are still reading these… hopefully it is still encouraging and eye opening to those who are reading.  I write with no other purpose than to share what God has laid on my heart and I can only hope that it speaks to yours as well.  Missions to me has become not only a way of sharing our faith with new believers but also encouraging our brothers and sisters abroad and bridging the gap between churches across the globe much like Paul did in his missionary work. We can teach each other so much and learn from each other as well. 

But anyways, goals. So before we left for missions Pastor Tony had encouraged us to write down a goal that we would aim for.  We could try to remember all the kids names or serve our team in getting water for people every time or try to connect with the family… things like that.  My goal for myself was to make a connection with at least 3 of the local teachers so that I could continue to encourage them and support them even after I come home.  Especially because they will be the ones working with the children year round and making an even bigger impact, I really wanted to be there for them in that way.  But even as I penned that thought I was doubting in my heart.  I paused slightly after writing it out. How was this supposed to happen? I have no ability to communicate with them.  At most we would probably smile.  How will they see that I want to be there for them? How will they see my heart? And even when I am there I will be teaching the children… how will I spend time with the teachers? 

But God knows what He wants and what He lays on our hearts is always achievable.  Nothing is impossible with Him. Within the first day I found that one of the girls I shared a room with, also one of the pastor's daughters, was dreaming of being a teacher.  And her English was great! She even had the dream of going to college to learn more so she could teach more to these children.  What a beautiful and clear vision for her future.  It's funny because now that I think back she was the one I sat next to when they picked us up from the airport and the first one to truly try befriending me.  I appreciated that so much and was drawn to her right away. This is us on the first day! 

So in my heart during the first week I was really trying to find time to sit with her more but somehow our schedules did not always end up working out well. She is still in high school and had to go to class in the morning and I was so tired every night I ended up knocking out by 10.  That is still something that I wish I had been less selfish about. I wish I had sacrificed my sleep to talk to her more and if God allows for a next time I will definitely make that more of a priority. 

During the first week I also found out that one of my students was actually a teacher as well.  But she was young and was allowed to take advantage of the two weeks to learn for herself as well. My happiest moments with her, when we really felt a deeper connection, was most likely beach day. On the ride there she sat with me and Thia and fell asleep to me tapping her shoulder and humming worship songs. Then while at the beach I taught her a little bit of swimming and she was brave enough to try floating on her back by herself! It was so easy to get drawn in by the younger kids while teaching because they were never shy and always asked to be held or picked up or swung around but with Truc I honestly had to make more of a conscious effort to sit by her and encourage her more.  But to me it appeared that she was really used to taking care of the younger ones but it had been a while since she had been cared for and loved on and that is what drew me to her. 

                 

And as one week ended and our second week started and I was already at 2 out of 3. But God decided to overflow my cup.  The two assistant teachers we had also started to open up (one of them is now my girlfriend, Hau, on the left).  Despite their limited English and thanks to a few translations I found out that Em/Esther (on the right), who is now my younger sister, was apparently drawn to me from the beginning.  

                    

I had no idea because she had made no indication of it but this brought tears to my eyes.  My God was paving the way from the start, even before I met these girls. From the very beginning when the head pastor of TLC came to one of our group meetings and his wife shared about our need to be concerned for the teachers just as much as the students my heart was moved.  From the start God already planted the dream in my heart and of course He would bring it to fruition.  I did not need to know Vietnamese or Khmer and they did not need to know English.  I did not need to do anything but be present and obedient and God was going to use me as He willed. 

This is something I have continuously heard and learned and am slowly allowing to seep in.  God does not call me to be perfect and He does not require me to fix myself because I cannot. I am already a daughter of God and He has already planned the good works I am called to do and all I need to do is obey.  I just need to listen and obey.  One of the most simple to do yet simultaneously difficult to do.  May God complete the good work He has started in me and may I remember this lesson of obedience.  

For you as a supporter please continue to pray for these teachers/ future teachers. So many of them have difficult home situations.  Despite the smiles they wear on their faces there is so much brokenness in their lives and sometimes even opposition from family members to continue teaching at this school, yet they continue.  From them I have learned so much about faithfulness and obedience.  It is a day by day, step by step action.  My heart and prayers go out to them tonight. 

Gifts

I apologize to all supporters that I was not able to concentrate for a long enough time on blogging to get a full/satisfactory post up and want to thank Jeremiah from our team for taking care of so much of it! We don't say it enough but our team greatly appreciates the work that you did Jeremiah!

In this post as I start to reflect on all that has transpired in the past two weeks I wanted to talk about Gifts.  For once in a Christian context it's not about spiritual gifts but actually about tangible gifts.  Going to Cambodia was the first time since the age of 4 where I would be in a new environment where I would not know the language…at all.  Neither Vietnamese nor Khmer.  For some reason I was not too worried about it going in to this mission trip and knew that language was just one of many ways I could express love.  And it was true.  The first week went by swimmingly and I was all smiles.  But during some down time, chatting with some people, a team member asked me if I was lonely.  My initial reaction was "no, of course not".  I'm so surrounded by people 24/7, the more American/Western side of me felt almost suffocated at times… so how could I be lonely?  But when I really sat and thought about it some more tears started welling up in my eyes (for those who don't know me as well, don't worry, I cry a lot so it's typical).  I realized I indeed was lonely.  

Don't get me wrong, being on a team with all guys was great because I often felt like a princess and I felt like I gained 7 older brothers who included me in their jokes and fooling around.  I was very much cared for and included… but in that moment when the tears started coming I realized I really missed talking to girls.  There are just some things I didn't think about sharing with the guys that I did not even realize I was feeling or experiencing… and there were plenty of girls around but there was indeed a language barrier when it came to deeper issues.  I did feel lonely.  

And so that is how I entered the second week, feeling lonely.  But before I could wallow long in my own feelings God drowned me in gifts, tangible gifts of love.  It's funny because before this mission trip I would not have categorized gifts as one of my love languages but through an exercise we did during one of our team bonding events two weeks before leaving for Cambodia I learned that I indeed do appreciate good gifts.  So at least once a day for the next week I received gifts from people. I felt so undeserving too.  The girls brought me small boxes of used combs, used pens, hair clips, anklets that were missing jewels, freshly picked flowers, plastic princess jewelry… it was their best.  More than once I heard the girls had given me things they truly treasured.  Like Thia's favorite anklet or Bopha's shell of her beloved metallic green pet beetle that had died two years before.  Things that were not fancy or luxurious but that touched my heart more than any real diamonds or pearls could because of the genuine, innocently sweet, generous heart behind each gift.  

It is an art that we, as individuals who have so much no longer have access to.  When we have so much there is hardly anything that we hold to the same way they do any longer.  And things that we do hold on to in the same way we would never think about giving away because we have other things to offer.  The beetle to Bopha probably holds the same emotion that I have for my precious Teddy (a teddy bear I've had since I was 5).  I would never think about giving that away.

This reminds me of 2 things.  The gifts that we give to God, the things we have to offer are not necessarily always useful or luxurious to Him in any way but they please His heart like no other.  After all it is not the burnt offerings that He desires but our hearts.  Second it reminds me that my God is constantly watching over me and loves me despite myself.  He gives us gifts and woos our hearts even when we have nothing much to offer.  I could only smile and hug these girls and boys.  Even the words I wanted to say to bless them could not be given without the blurring of translations (not saying the translations were bad, just that sometimes the emotions are lost through translations).  

But praise be to the Lord that has such a love for all of us and holds us all in His hands. He cares for each of us beyond what we can imagine. 

-Peiran 

Cambodia 2015

Glory to Him! We all made it safely home from Cambodia around 3:30 pm at LAX on Saturday 27th, 2015. Thank you for all the love and praying for God's mission in Cambodia. WE are filled with the Spirit and lead by it to make a difference daily within the 2 week experience. The transition maybe not be easy, so please pray for all of us for God to heal us and use the time to reflect on what each teammate learned in Cambodia. Also, continue to pray for Love of Christ Church daily too. We as a team are praying for the people's hearts to be soften for the Gospel to transform lives and to know the seeds are planted too. The goal is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to ALL the nations, referencing the Great Commission. May ALL nations know Christ and may the Word prevail and proclaim in boldness of the Spirit! Praise God as HE is preparing our lives in His kingdom, and may these dry bones come alive in the living water of Christ! Goodnight and God bless everyone! :) 

- Jeremiah  

Typewriting

Typewriting is an important skill to have in a job career and life. Since Monday 15th 2015 around 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, we have been teaching students and people how to learn how to type on the 5 laptops we are donating to the church. Through the provision of God, we hope each person mastered the skill of typewriting and eventually disciplines the next generation in this skill. Plus typewriting will improve their English speaking, reading, and writing too. Pray for each student to mastered the skill, to be patience and be productive in their time typing and learning, and to see how typing will impact their lives in their jobs, school, and those around them. MAY the typing class blessed the students and its people in Cambodia. Thank you and God blessed!

- Jeremiah 

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Update

Just an update: 3-4 brothers are healthily from the sickness in Cambodia, another is recovering from a stomach issue and overall, we are all healing. Thank you for all the prayers and support during this time. Also, we are pushing ourselves to utilize the time God has given us for the mission and to be continuously stay focus on knowing in experiencing Him more. Praise the Lord, we are officially finished with the playground! Every morning we see the students playing, climbing, and being kids. Thank you for providing the financial need to purchase the materials for the vision Pastor Hung and his son have for the kids and as well the heart Co Trang has for the children in the community. 

Please pray for Pastor Hung and Heang Jackson as both are on a mission until the 30th of June. Pray for safe trip there and back and for God to give them the heart of boldness to share the Gospel and any will God has for them.

We are at the final end of our trip. Keep praying for us and we will update the blog as soon as possible. God bless you guys and all the provision God has blessed us and you guys as spiritual partners in the glory of God!

- Jeremiah 

Cambodi8 2015

Update (6/22/15)

Please understand, we haven't had the time to post up photos and write updates from the team. We are stronger and fighting through every physical, emotional, and spiritual battle there is in Cambodia. The battle is real and we must lose ourselves in Christ to understand our purpose and to serve wholeheartedly. Pray for one of our brothers and myself are resting from being sick. Please for wellness and healing, thank you!

Saturday June 20^th 2015

We had an off day to explore the markets to purchase support gifts for our supporters and prayer warriors! I am very thankful for God to put your heart and to invest in our team to be in Cambodia. Each of you are gaining a spiritual benefit with God to grow, to witness and see the progress of the short-term mission of how Love of Christ Church will move forth in the long-term vision God place in the hearts of Pastor Hung and his wife Co Trang. Furthermore, you will be able to listen to our testimony of the conviction and experience each member witness in God's bidding. So WE thank you and appreciate every single individual and prayers that God has lead you in this life-changing movement of Christ!

We also had an opportunity to visit S21, the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. In the history of this country, we witnessed a darkening, annihilation of lost souls and hopeless people. Our hearts were broken to see how many lives were killed, over 2 million people from all ages. Our hearts are still pondering how the cruelty of the act and the morality of human sin itself. Seeing the rooms where the people stay was devastating, seeing the photos of all the individuals before they were murder was profoundly sad and to see that the people did not have hope and finally, the interrogation and torture techniques were disturbing and painful to process. S21 felt heavy, and filled with emotions.
Other activities we had planned out throughout the whole day was visitation to the student's family. To use the chance to understand the student's living condition and to see how they live outside of school. Fairly, we all had a mixture of good and bad experience. But we all agreed, the Cambodian families are desperate in need for the Gospel, for a living hope of Christ to transform and unify from the tragic of the Khmer Rouge / Killing Fields and any stronghold and chains holding them to know Christ. Understanding their situation, helps us to understand the students and how we can pray for their families to be hopefully and to have the opportunity to love the people of Cambodia even more.

Sunday - June 21^st 2015

Sunday has been a fruitful day. The day is slow and productive. Right now, we are all outside finishing the playground we have built since last Monday and just hanging out. Other than that, praise God for using Pastor Tony to share a message on how God blessings us things or does miracles in order we first to use what He has blessed for His glory and kingdom, and then the blessing itself is a gift to enjoy for ourselves. The sermon came from Mark 1:40-45. Great job Tony for using your Vietnamese and using your gift to glorify God. The cool thing, we witnessed the sermon to be spoken in three languages, English, Vietnamese, and Khmer by Pastor Hung and his son Jackson! It's amazing to see the Spirit use those languages to reach the people there. Pure, loving worship. Please pray for the parents and the people to know and meet God in His timing too, thanks! We also gave a service to give the family's a 10 kg bag of rice with some goodies to bless the household and people. May the people use the blessing to glorify God and to blessed their family and others to.

Now (6/22/15)

Right now, just pray for us to finish this week strong, I have noticed some of the brothers and sister are physically tired and exhausted, yet we still push ourselves knowing the work of the LORD won't be in vain. We are so close to home but pray for us to be and stay kingdom minded for the people of Cambodia and for the Love of Christ Church. Pray for our minds to be more sharpen as we dive into the Word and implement the living water as our battle cry and sword and shield again whatever trials. Finally, to bond and be closer to the people too, each of us has built an relationship with each individual. It's difficult as the race is about to end and we are desperately desiring for God to give us the strength to follow through. "The Lord is our strength and my defense, he has become my salvation." He provide us what we need to finish the race strong and to follow through with obedience! Praise the LORD for the finally week, the joy and delight-fullness is through Him and only in Him!  

"God Is Most Glorified in Us When We Are Most Satisfied in Him." - John Piper 

- Jeremiah

Love Of Christ School

Dear loving supporters,

This will be my first attempt to describe the amazing things God is doing in Sensok. I will try my best to articulate what God have been opening my eyes to see and do.  This year I have the privilege of being part of the building team and you (loving contributors/supporters) all are part of making this vision come true. God gave the pastor oldest son Heang a vision to build a playground for the local kids who attend to play, but, I'm believe God has a grander purpose for this playground. As we worked on the structure, pastor Hung found a wooden cross and we nailed to the structure high as a beacon hope to this community.  Updates will follow soon. Stay tuned.

David