While we were home, David�s parents both celebrated milestone birthdays, Jon turned three, and Tracy (David�s sister with breast cancer) sported a very short hairdo, doing well after her chemotherapy. The boys thoroughly enjoyed being home receiving so much attention!!!
You may have heard about the hostage situation at the International School of Siem Reap� a Canadian boy was tragically killed before the day ended. Ben and Jon will enter this school in the fall. While we believe this incident was quite out of the ordinary, it does emphasize one of our concerns and prayer requests � security. The protection our families is one of our most basic desires. We certainly will do everything we can to ensure our well-being, but ultimately, our lives are in His hands. Honestly, we need His peace and wisdom as we move forward.
David will be speaking at a Khmer leadership seminar Aug 26-27th in Siem Reap with men from the churches where we�ll be ministering. He�ll also start looking for a suitable house for our family. Eventually, we�ll need to find someone to watch the boys during the day. As before, we�re expecting this will take some time but do seek His direction to the right person.
Some other prayer points: Communication might pose a bit of a problem at first in Siem Reap. Although we do know Khmer fairly well, Siem Reap-ians have an accent. We also need to make some decisions regarding our use of time. After some period of settling in, we�ll have a betteridea of how much time to spend with the church & community and how much time we could commit to medical things. There�s a possibility we�ll get involved with a local pediatric hospital but our involvement there will depend on our time commitments to the churches.
We�ll also be having our first church retreat Aug 29-31st�about forty-five are set to attend. Pray for spiritual growth and deeper understanding, for safety and for fun.
As we move up to Siem Reap, we leave behind several people:
Samol has done an excellent job at Bethel Church. He�s learned how to be a leader in the church - give a Bible message, take initiative in people�s lives, and lead the children�s program and worship time. He�s grown in his faith, exhibiting maturity and discernment. Pray for Samol. Pray against discouragement in his life to which he�s prone. Pray for his physical strength. He�s been taking medication for tuberculosis for the past four months which makes him tired. Pray that he will continue to lead through God�s grace and bear much fruit for Him.
Our landlord�s family will be missed by all of us! The boys are at their house constantly. They�ve been a tremendous blessing to us! We�re thankful that Bic, who was baptized in April, may be able to join us in Siem Reap as our language teacher. And San, their nephew, will be moving to Siem Reap in October to start a branch of his father�s business selling tractors. We�re sure we�ll keep in touch with our good friends!
Udt, Piset and Bopha have also been a huge blessing to us! Piset is Udt�s nine year old son who�s been a great friend to Ben & Jon. Udt and Bopha will both be working with other Christian expatriates when we leave Phnom Penh.
Our neighbors, especially the children Lin, Dop Dop, and Leung, who come to our house daily will be missed by the boys. We�re still praying about and looking for a family that can move into our house and continue reaching out to these families. We�re also hoping the new family could continue the Bible study which Lara�s been leading at our landlord�s home.
Our expatriate colleagues and friends�we couldn�t say enough about the support and encouragement we draw from this group. So it�ll be a bit of a goodbye and a time of new
introductions as we meet new people in Siem Reap.
I know this was a long and overdue letter, but I hope it answers some questions and fills in some gaps. Thank you as always for your love and prayers!
Blessings to you all,