This month has brought us reasons to rejoice in what the Lord is doing here in this remote area of Cambodia. We live in the floating villages on the Tonle Sap Lake as fishermen. There have also been plenty of challenges for us this month, too.
In our village of “The mouth of the Tiger” (Moat Klah), we were all blessed to see the power of God’s Gospel at work as one man who heard the Gospel being shared came to faith in Christ and prayed to ask Jesus to forgive his sins and to save him.
We were able to give a few solar-powered.MP3 players to new believers who cannot read well. They now can listen to the Bible in the evenings with their families, and also listen to solid biblical teaching on 60 different lessons. Out here on the lake, there is a lot of quiet time in the evening, so people are drawn to the sound of the Bible being read, or God’s Word being taught. Some of the believers even connect their phones to a loudspeaker and play God’s Word for every family around them to listen to!
Last year, I went to visit my cousins in two villages on the lake about two hours away by boat. After I preached the Gospel to them, both of them came to faith last year. My cousin Kret is now sharing the Gospel in his village, and holding Bible studies at his house, both on Sundays and also every evening. The Lord has been growing His church in this village of Paem Bang, and now two believers who came to faith in Jesus seven or eight months ago were baptized. We praise God with great joy watching as He works in His people!
Making our living as fishermen has been extremely tough this year. It seems that there are almost no fish in the lake, even though this is the largest lake in Southeast Asia. With our catch of fish being almost nothing most of the time, it has been frustrating to put in so much work with so little reward. This brings out another reason for us to praise God, though. Our monthly support from HeartCry does not stop, no matter what! Thank you, Jesus, for our faithful brothers and sisters.
Needless to say, when your way of making a living is giving you almost nothing, it is easy to worry and despair. But we don’t worry, and we don’t despair! We know in Whom we have trusted, and we know that He is our provider, not this world!
This is another benefit of waking up early and spending time in God’s Word and prayer: despite our circumstances, we desire to go out and share the Gospel with people, and to teach God’s Word. We trust in God, don’t focus on the things that we cannot control, and we observe God’s faithfulness in providing what we need.
We have found great encouragement this month in 1 Thessalonians 5:14. “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone”.
Whenever I feel weak or unsure or discouraged, I go back to this verse and speak it out loud to myself. I think this is one reason why some Christians get discouraged and battle with temptations: they don’t listen to God’s Word or obey it. I want them to know that without the power of the Word and prayer and depending on God, we cannot face the problems of this world. The Word of God is for teaching. It teaches us in every life situation. Without God’s Word, there is no discipline in us. God’s Word teaches me like a father teaches a son. So, as I am His son, I need to feed myself scriptures, so that I can discipline and encourage His children (the sheep that He has given me to shepherd).
It is true, what John said in John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I know that Jesus is the Word, and I pray to the one true God. When I share the Word of God, I believe that the power of the Word goes forth from my mouth and works in each person whom He has chosen. For this reason, this scripture reminds me to care for the faith of other believers, to urge and to warn them to be on track, to abide in the Word of God, and for us to be patient and bear with one another in love in times of sadness or happiness.
Please pray for:
- My time going out to share the Gospel, that the Lord will grant salvation to more people.
- For a faithful servant of the Lord to go out and share the Gospel with me.
- Pray for Tonle Sap lake, asking the Lord to raise more fish in the lake.
May the Lord Jesus be with you all,
Kien
