DC
Stories to Share.
While we are here in Cambodia we want and expect to have life-changing experiences. This is a page where we want to share stories where God has strengthened our faith and grown our compassion. We hope that as you read these stories you will catch a glimpse of the greatness of our Creator and Lord.
How Did We Decide to Go to Cambodia?
January 11, 2014
Purpose
“What are you most excited about for your year in Cambodia?” It was a great question. I had to pause to think about it for a moment before taking my next bite of the light dinner we were sharing with some friends a couple days ago. Now, less than 48 hours before takeoff, my answer remains the same: “I am most excited about being where I know God wants me to be.” I am excited about seeing the Holy Spirit work through me to connect people with God as well as experiencing the personal transformation that will result in the process.
Calling
God put this burden on both Caitlin and my heart even before we were together. Each of us has spent a year studying abroad and love experiencing new places, people and cultures. Some of the highlights of our lives are the short-term mission trips where we have had the opportunity to share Jesus and serve others.
Caitlin had always wanted to go as a student missionary, but we got married before she got the chance. At first she was disappointed at the lost opportunity, but when she told me about it I said, “I’ll go with you as a student missionary!” From that time on we began to watch and pray to see what God would do.
Open Doors and Answered Prayers
God opened many doors to make it clear to us that He wants to use us in Cambodia. Here are just a few of them:
-
PERMISSION TO GO: As sponsored seminary student of the Washington Conference, they had to approve it before we could even seriously consider going as missionaries. After months of praying about it, I finally called my boss to ask about the possibility of going for a semester and he said, “Send us two proposals: One for a semester and one for a year and we will take it to the executive committee.” We hadn’t even had the courage to consider asking to go for a whole year and God practically offered it to us. It was a major green light and answer to prayer.
-
WHERE TO GO: We began praying about and looking into where God wanted us to go. We were discouraged to find the mission websites unhelpful for our situation and the Andrews Student Missions Department even less helpful (I’ve heard that since then, there has been significant improvement in that department). Roadblock after roadblock, we couldn’t understand why it seemed so difficult to find a good fit. Though discouraged, we continued to pray about it. One day, during the prayer time of one of my missions classes at the seminary, the professor came over to pray with me. “What can I pray for?” he asked. “My wife and I feel God and calling us to go as missionaries, but have had trouble finding where He wants us to go,” I responded. “What are you interested in doing?” “Caitlin is interested in working at an orphanage and I would like teaching or anything ministry related.” “Come and talk to me,” he said. Within a few days, we were in email contact with Tim, the director of Salt Ministries in Cambodia that runs an orphanage of 150 kids, Adventist K-12 School of 350 students and organizes many evangelistic activities and training. He shared that they would love for us to come and work with them as self-funded missionary volunteers.
-
HOW TO PAY FOR IT: Right after making the decision to serve in Cambodia, God confirmed it by providing a potential source to help with our next biggest obstacle: Funding. This happened before we had even considered how we would raise the money, and we realized that we could trust that God would provide for us. Since then, we have been amazed and humbled by the generous support that has been given to help us go. At the time I am writing this just before leaving to Cambodia, we have already received $5,875 of the $10,000 we need for the year, and we are excited to see how God will provide for the rest.
-
HOW TO GET THERE: We looked into flights online but also wanted to check with a travel agent about our options. The agent said she would look into it and get back to us. Almost two weeks later she presented us with options significantly worse than what was available online. It was hard to contain my frustration when I saw that the online flights had risen by over $200 each in that timeframe. For the next few days I continued to check flights online only to see my prayers about it go unanswered and my frustration continue to build. Finally one day the Holy Spirit convicted me of the grudge that I was holding against the travel agent that I didn’t even know. I asked God to forgive me and to replace my anger with trust in Him. That weekend I asked friends for special prayer about the tickets and my mom to help me search for flights. I knew that God could provide the extra $400 but I would rather put that money toward God’s work than an airline company. The following week we found and purchased the plane tickets for a great price comparable to the ones I had found in the beginning. In the process I learned that it is much easier to ask God for help with something external than acknowledge that I need His help with something internal. But when I am willing to go through that humbling process with God, He deals with the source of the problem and transforms me to trust Him more.
Opportunity
This year I want to grow in faith, in my prayer life, in relating to different kinds of people, and in my witness of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for the opportunities that God will give me to grow in these areas and I pray that I will be a faithful and willing disciple in His service.
God needs faithful and willing disciples all over the world. He gives each of us 24 hours each day to pursue Him passionately and share love and hope with others. How do you want God to grow you this year? Will you join me on this journey with Him?
Safe Arrival
January 14, 2014
"You are just arriving now?!" The nearly panic-stricken Chinese lady working the airport gate counter exclaimed when we showed up and requested boarding passes for our flight from Vancouver B.C. to Shanghai, China 30 minutes before takeoff. We made it on the flight as the final people to board. Sadly enough, we couldn't say the same about our luggage.
"At least we have a 2 and a half hour layover in Shanghai," I told Caitlin. 14.5 hours later we were sprinting through the Shanghai airport with only 10 minutes before our gate would close. Our flight had been delayed. As we ran up to clear our passports at the counter a woman was calling out, "Cambodia! Cambodia!" "That's us!" I said, raising my hand. Another passenger, Caitlin and I sprinted through the airport led by a kind yet urgently focused Chinese airport worker frequently murmuring into his walkie talkie to try to help us still make the plane. We did.
It was an adventure. We're here. Thank you so much for your prayers. Even though we arrived in the middle of the night, the whole group of volunteers came out to give us a warm welcome. We are excited that our trip is over, but our journey has begun.
Please keep us in prayer and that we can be reunited with our bags soon.
What Do You Need?
January 17, 2014
After 5 days of wearing the same set of clothes (Caitlin was smart enough to bring an extra set in her carry-on), I jubilantly celebrated the announcement that our luggage had arrived at the airport. Thank you for all those who prayed for this. I wish I could say that I was a giant in faith and knew the whole time that everything would work out, but I am realizing that I still have a lot of room to grow. I had spent the previous day worrying about all the possible scenarios that could have happened to cause us to never see our bags again. As I look back on the whole process, I am learning how little we really need. Even if our bags had not come, we still would have survived. Wendy graciously shared with us so we could have the basic essentials we really needed.
Yesterday afternoon Tim shared more with us about his journey of leading Salt Ministries. “How much does it cost just to operate everything you have here?” I asked, thinking about the 60 staff and volunteers that stay and work on the compound.
“It costs a little over $13,000 a month,” Tim responded.
My jaw almost dropped to the floor, “You are running this kind of program and you don’t ever ask for money or have a consistent source of funding?!”
“Some months are ‘Manna months’ where God gives us just what we need day by day and others are ‘Canaan months’ where God gives us even more than what we need so we can grow and do more.”
“So what kind of needs do you have right now?” I pressed.
“Well, aside from the day-to-day, each ministry that we run has other projects that will need to be funded. We need to buy a sound mixer for our audio recording studio that will cost about $3,000. The 11th and 12th graders are organizing a 3-week program of multi-faceted, holistic evangelism to hold in another province a few months from now. That will cost about $5,000. We are building and starting a satellite school for next year about 40 km from here. That will cost over $20,000. I have learned not to wait until you have the money to do something. Start working on it and God will always provide.”
We continue to be inspired by the Tim’s daily testimony for the last 20 years of the promise, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19.
Adventist Education
January 31, 2014
For years I have the dream of working alongside an Adventist school that seriously and holistically reclaimed the purpose of Adventist education: training up missionaries. I’m not talking about just having chaplains, Bible classes, worships, and constituent churches. All these things are good, but I have dreamt of seeing Jesus, Seventh-day Adventism and mission thoughtfully and intentionally integrated into every class, every curriculum, every relationship, and every activity. Now my dream has come true much sooner than I anticipated.
My first day teaching 12th grade English class, I asked each of the 13 students what they hope to do when they graduate in July. I was astounded when a third of the class said they wanted to be missionaries and had plans to get training at Light Medical Missionary School or Amazing Facts in the Philippines. The remaining majority of the class hoped to work here at Wat Preah Yesu as teachers or in the multimedia center. Tim told me that they plan to start a satellite school next year 40km away and staff it with this year’s graduates. I learned that the Light Medical Missionary School in the Philippines has started a satellite program here at Wat Preah Yesu to train the 11th and 12th graders to be missionaries as part of their curriculum. Classes let out early so they can spend a few hours each afternoon rotating through agriculture, sewing, auto mechanics, multimedia production, and evangelism in the village nearby. The idea is for the students to be able to support themselves as “tentmakers” while they go out to share the Gospel. Students get training and practice giving natural remedies to open hearts to Jesus. They also have a teacher-training program with classwork and practical student teaching experience in the elementary school. Students take classes about and participate in giving health expos, health lectures and cooking lessons to build bridges in the community. Even in conventional classes, teachers intentionally look for ways to integrate Christ into their teaching.
While I never thought that teaching English would be my first preference, I now am realizing it can be a great way of training young people how to understand and communicate the Gospel more effectively. I can open up a large segment of the world’s population to my students through empowering them to know how to share Jesus in the English language. In addition, a plethora of helpful Bible study resources and evangelism materials are available n English, and I want them to be able to access that throughout their lives. In my English classes, I am trying to not just teach them a new language, but how to discover and share the gospel in it. Each day, I have a student teach a new English vocab word at the beginning of class through sharing a Bible verse devotional thought (Caitlin’s brilliant idea). We have been talking in class about how to do an interview and ask good questions. I shared with them the power of a question and about how it was Jesus’ primary teaching method. Next week I plan to teach them how to witness in their conversations (FORT method). English class is more exciting than I ever thought it could be.
Please pray that Christ is communicated through my teaching and that my students are equipped by the Holy Spirit to become reproducing disciples in the Cambodian mission field.
Neighbors
February 2, 2014
“…remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” -Acts 20:35
Our house is located on the southernmost side of the compound. The only house next to us belongs to a sweet Cambodian family. Both husband and wife are teachers at the school, but the wife has taken this year off from teaching because of health challenges. They have three adorable little girls no older than 10. Although they speak only a little English, the warm, genuine smiles they frequently give us speak more than words. A few days after we arrived, the wife came over with something for us that she had cooked. It was delicious. Last Sabbath morning, one of the girls appeared at our door to deliver another gift of homemade food. We have been so amazed and humbled at the constant kindness and generosity from people who have very little to give.
Today as I was organizing my things, I came across a few trinkets and toys I brought. A couple months ago I had almost thrown them away, but Caitlin convinced me to find some kids to give them to. As soon as my eyes spotted three brightly colored parachute men and our neighbors’ second story window, a thrill of childlike excitement rushed through me. After I had assembled the neon pink plastic man’s parachute, I opened our second story window. Calling to the neighbor girls who were sitting on their porch, I tossed it out the window. Racing downstairs and outside, I picked up the parachute man and gave it to one of the beaming girls. A few minutes later I could hear squeals of delight as the girls took turns dropping and catching the parachute men from their window. I could feel my heart bubbling over with pure joy and wasn’t sure who was having more fun: them or me.
Just Guitarists or Worship Leaders?
February 4, 2014
“Can you teach the 10th grade guitar class. They are getting ‘too good’ for me to teach?” The music director asked me a few days after getting here. I was stoked to begin teaching praise and worship guitar to five talented teenagers. In two weeks they rapidly picked up several new techniques and are eager to learn more.
I had wanted to share some meaningful, personal stories with my students to help them grow spiritually. Unfortunately, due to the unfamiliarity of a new place and circumstances, I couldn’t remember any. I began praying that God would bring a story to my mind that would make an impact on my students.
I noticed that at the beginning of class, my students would try to secretly practice some secular love song in their local language. When I asked what the words said, they did not want to tell me. I knew that they were all talented that they would ultimately have to make the decision of whether they wanted to use their musical gifts to glorify God or themselves. Then in answer to my prayers, the Holy Spirit impressed on my mind to share my own experiences playing shows in a band and how I ultimately chose to leave the band instead of compromise with some of my beliefs. I could tell that it the story struck a chord with them and continue to pray that God will work on their hearts to use them as great, passionate worship leaders for Him.
Holy Spirit in the Classroom
February 11, 2014
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies…’” (John 11:26) My student Vireak shared from the front of the classroom. It was his turn to present the “Word of the Day” from a Bible verse for our 10th grade English class, and he had selected the word resurrection. He continued to explain the definition and correct grammatical usage of the word as well as what the Bible verse meant to him.
After he was finished, I went to the front of class and began the lesson I had prepared for the day. All of a sudden, I felt a strong impression to share a true story I heard in one of my seminary classes about a Cambodian whose daughter had been miraculously resurrected about 15 years ago.
“But I have just started the lesson for the day,” I argued with the Holy Spirit. Thankfully He won. I had the students put the books aside for a couple minutes and I shared with them about a Cambodian church planter who went to a village to share Jesus with the people but struggled to have any success. One day, something happened to his young daughter while she was out playing with the other kids and she collapsed. Previously trained as a health professional, the church planter raced to her and checked for signs of life. She was dead.
Next to his dead daughter, the man began to pray, “God, I have come to this village to try to reach them for You and had a very difficult time. Now that my daughter has died, all the Buddhists will see it as bad karma and never listen to another word I say. Please bring my daughter back to life. For your sake and for their sake God, bring her back to life. The villagers looked on as the man continued to pour out his heart to God in prayer. After 10 minutes, nothing happened. After 20 minutes, still nothing. After 30 minutes of praying next to his dead daughter, the father felt a faint pulse. Within 15 minutes she was up running around and playing with the village kids. God had worked resurrection! The villagers came to the church planter and said, “We want to know more about your God.” If there was a God powerful enough to bring a little girl back to life maybe He could work in their lives also.
I shared how God doesn’t always choose to resurrect people before the 2nd coming, but in unique cases, He may work a mighty miracle to reveal Himself to people who do not yet know Him. I shared how there is power in prayer and that same God is available and willing to work through them in incredible ways also. I told them that I am praying that some of them will become church planters and missionaries to go reach people who desperately need Jesus.
By the expressions on my students’ faces, I could tell that the story had hit close to home for them. The Holy Spirit had taken over my class. I praise God for when He starts teaching in place of me. Please give me more of those moments, Lord Jesus, for Your sake and for the sake of your students, Amen.