Christian Funeral

God graciously saved Klen about 5 years ago. Although confined to home due to being paraplegic and other health issues, he studied God’s Word, witnessed, and loved to sing songs of praise to God. For the past ten days he has been hospitalized. Today he was promoted to heaven. We thank God for the testimony he has had to his family. He was 32 years old.

The Buddhist Khmer cremate and have ceremonies with monks. Christian funerals are rare and much watched by the community. This is the first funeral for our church.  In our town there is a small cemetery for Christians that one church owns. We are working on getting permission to use that. We are also working on details of the visitation Khmer style, yet Christian. Please pray that the funeral service tomorrow will bring glory to God and be used of God to help people come to know Him.

Offer Praise to God

We praise the Lord for a safe trip to Phnom Penh. God helped us get a new printer. It is working well. Equipment for ministry is important. Thank you for praying.

God helped us in the pizza party we had last Saturday evening for students in Hubert’s English classes. They enjoyed helping make the pizzas and then playing games. Oh yes, they enjoyed eating the pizzas and hotdogs too. They came back on Sunday evening for the service. Please pray that they will soon understand the gospel and turn to Christ for salvation.

Praise God for the Resurrection! Please pray for our church’s preparations for Easter. We plan to have a meal together and special music. It is also a special time for witnessing to people about the atonement.

Please pray for M. who is studying the Bible with me again. Thank God that she is willing to study. She needs to be saved.

What a wonderful God we have, who is at work in hearts and lives, for His glory.

 “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me…” Psalm 50:23

 

Travels

Thank you for praying for Hubert and L's trip into the mountains. God blessed and there was a large crowd for the film showing. That town had never heard the gospel before. They discussed well afterward. The travel was smooth and the big river not too hard to ford.

The Christian medical conference in Thailand was great! It was a time of refreshing for me. The days were packed and the lectures were so informative. I got a couple hikes in with friends on the weekend. Now I am back to work at Koh Kong hospital. I pray God will help me use the knowledge gained.

Tomorrow Hubert and I plan to go to Phnom Penh for a day. We need to buy a new printer. Pray that God would guide as we search as well as help us in the other errands we need to accomplish there.

Hubert started an additional English class. It is going well. Pray for these four new high school students. They need the Lord.

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Plans

Today was a lot of fun showing A., a Christian Peace Corp volunteer, around the hospital. She works in health education and soon will be studying nursing so has a keen interest in medicine. She plans to be with me the 11^th, 12^th, and 13^th. Please pray for God’s leading in her life, and that I will be a blessing to her. God gave us a lot of interesting opportunities today to minister medically and spiritually.

The 16^th I plan to leave for a 10 day medical conference in Thailand. Pray for safety in travel, for a profitable time there, and for Hubert back here in Koh Kong. He will continue his English classes, translating his book, and preaching and teaching God’s Word. Pray for the Khmer Christians who will be teaching Sunday classes in my place.

Hubert and L. are planning an evangelization trip in the mountains the 19^th and 20^th. Pray for safety, for many people to hear and understand the gospel, and for people to accept Christ in those remote villages.

 

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul…” Ps 19:7

 

Lost

Yes, it has been a couple weeks since I have posted. A few days after the Weeks left, and I got over the flu, we headed to Bangkok. Our trip had two purposes. We helped another missionary family while they had medical work done, and we met two men arriving from the audio-visual department of Baptist Mid-Missions (BMM). Somewhere in our moving around in Bangkok, Hubert’s computer disappeared. A computer is replaceable, but much information was lost. He had several books he has been working on. Most were backed up on a flash drive that was in the computer case—so that was lost too. Some were backed up on other flash drives back at the house, but not all very recently. So he has a lot of work ahead to catch up and redo writing and translating. Pray for God’s enablement.

We saw God’s answers to prayer when the lost luggage of the visitors from the A-V department arrived the next night and they were able to arrive in Koh Kong in time to film the Sunday morning service at our church. God continued to guide as they worked here a couple days, and then in Phnom Penh. We parted in Phnom Penh and they went on to film God’s working in the two other provinces where BMM has missionaries. Please keep praying as they film in Bangkok this week, as they travel back to Cleveland, and as they put together the video presentation. Pray that it would clearly present God’s work in SE Asia and challenge people to be involved.

The cremation of King Sihanouk in Cambodia this week has opened doors to discuss with people about preparing for life after death. Pray that God would let us see more lost people find life in Christ.

“For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.” Ps 33:21

 

Petitions

Shawn and Michelle’s month with us is already drawing to a close. God has used them in the church, at the hospital, and in the community.  Please pray for them in their travel back to West Virginia January 17-19. Pray also for God’s guidance in their lives as they prepare to serve Him long term in medical missions.

Please continue to pray for the work on the theology book in Khmer. Hubert continues to work with two translators trying to get the Khmer accurate and the book ready to publish.

Please pray that attendance at church would grow. We thank God for Christians in the church who are witnessing. Pray that people would respond and come to know Christ.

“…The Lord fulfill all thy petitions.” Psalm 20:5

Mobile Medical Clinic

God was working in the details of the mobile medical clinic today at Koh Pao. The big fishing boat that was supposed to take us cancelled, but two men of the church used their small boats and took us to the island town. We got a late start due to seeing patients in Koh Kong before leaving. We thank God for a Cambodian doctor and pharmacist who went with us to help. Pray that they would come to know the Lord. Though many people of the town were gone to the sea working, L. preached, we did 30 consultations, and there were several good discussions with individuals about the Lord. Pray that God would work in hearts yet. We went back to Koh Kong just after noon. It rained most of the afternoon. It was nice we were not in the boat during the rain.

Please pray also for two young ladies from our Koh Kong church who are now working in Phnom Penh.  Pray that God would help them grow in Him and follow His will in their lives.

We are delighted that another one of our grandchildren accepted the Lord. She made her decision during children’s church, which our son teaches. It was just before Christmas and in Michigan. God answers prayer.

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy…” Psalm 16:11