Stories

I apologize for the huge gap in our blogging. Originally it was my intention to spotlight certain people and tell their stories so that you could better understand these amazingly beautiful people we have come to love so very much. But after actually learning all of their stories, I can no longer slap them up on the Internet where anyone could read them. I know that most of you who read this are very close to us, but the reason for having a blog in the first place was not only to inform those we know well, but also to reach out to others who might happen upon this page and come to hear about Jesus in a way that may not have otherwise happened. Add to this the real-life drama of our friends’ stories, people that we have come to see as our brothers and sisters here, and the private nature of the Khmer people and I just can’t post such important words on a screen for anyone to read.

This may seem strange, but I think that ten weeks in a country changes you. I find myself taking less and less pictures of strangers we pass by because my snapshots are their life. It occurred to me that if tourists walked around our home towns with cameras and took pictures of our children, our modes of transportation, our everyday life…well I actually think there might be some legal action taken, ha ha ha. Yet this is what we do here. While part of this city is completely built for tourism, so much of it is the home of people who may never leave this city. So much of what we have come to know here is the real life of people who don’t have shoes, who strap pigs to their motos because it is their only form of transportation and way of income, people who smile and wave at the foreign white people because they are told we are rich and more attractive than they are, and people who really do live down dirt roads in grass huts. Suddenly my camera feels so invasive and my words more powerful than ever before as I put words in someone else’s mouth and blast someone else’s feelings out into the world.

I want you to know the stories that we know because they have changed us and I believe they will change you too if you let them. Here we have friends who were forced to be child soldiers for the Khmer Rouge, forced to do terrible things. We have friends who were beaten as children by alcoholic fathers and live a different life now due to bold determination and the oh-so amazing, all-powerful grace of our loving Father. There are children here who watched one parent kill another and yet are resilient enough to open up their hearts to us and to love. I can tell you every one of the 27 stories of the kids at the children’s home, where they have come from and what they have overcome through the transformative love of Christ. And we will be thrilled to be able to share with any of you once we are home and can give these stories to those who will cherish them and keep them safe. But we cannot do that from across the world and I actually think that it would deeply hurt our relationships here if they ever found out that we put their lives online.

So please be patient and know that God has done SO MUCH, and that we will have so much to tell you when we get home. For now accept our apology for being lousy bloggers and know that we have been working hard, experiencing so much and trying to take it all in before we leave. Its hard to blog in the midst of life…well hard for us anyway :-).

To anyone who is reading this, thank you for traveling with us in heart. And thank you for taking the time to open yourself up to a different world and for supporting us as we walk this out across the world. We really do love you all and say THANK YOU for everything. Please pray for us as we come to the end of our 10 weeks here…it is not going to be easy to leave.

<3 MattNCatie

Tonle Sap

Catie and I are sorry it has been several weeks since the last post. Sometimes it is hard to put thoughts into the written word. Since the last post, I was able to spend a couple of nights on the Tonle Sap Lake, which is the largest lake in Cambodia. This lake isn't any lake Burton, or even Allatoona lake. No, about the only way to describe the Tonle Sap is to picture one of the great lakes and imagine all of the water is brown. Now this lake changes size from 2,700 sq. Km in the dry season to 16,000 sq. Km in the wet season. Water depth goes from 9 feet to 27 feet deep. All this is to say that people do not desire to live on the lake like in the states but instead, many people live on floating shacks that have either empty gasoline barrels or wooden boats under their shacks in order to keep their lives floating. When the water levels rise, their shacks begin to float with the shifting of the waters making it very hard to have any sort of permanence in their lives. Sometimes they will be near a floating school for their children, but sometimes they will not be close enough. Everyone fishes. Some people fish at night, some in the day time. Everyone who lives on the lake eats, drinks, bathes, washes, and survives from this lake. Unfortunately, they lake has become very polluted with trash and body waste that many diseases are spread through this water.

PCL, the organization we are working with, has a houseboat on the lake and has setup a durable and productive water purification system that they give to the people who desire fresh drinking water. During my time on the boat, I sat down with several older men who needed this water in order to survive because of the damage the lake water does to their bodies. PCL is also able to teach the children near their boat English, Khmer (Cambodian written and spoken language), and Bible classes.

It was a surreal several days talking and sharing life with people who have never touched a white man's hair or skin. There are many many people who have never heard of Jesus, and he is opening doors for more people to come to know about his grace and forgiveness. Continue praying for strong Cambodian Leadership from PCL on the lake. Here are some photos.

How Great is Our God

Last Tuesday our team was driving out to the children's home village but it was raining and we were driving on dirt roads so we had to take a different route than we normally take. On our way we thought we left an item back at Common Grounds and turned around to go back and get it. As soon as we turned around we realized it was in the car with us, but we spent the next 15 minutes trying to get back on route for the children's home (because of mud and flooded roads). Once we were back on track we decided to take a back road to get there because the main dirt road would be too muddy to get through. We were driving in PCL's 13 passenger van (tank) and we made a wrong turn. As we were turning around one of the girls on our team mistakenly thought we were about to back into a ditch and told the driver to put the van into drive. This successfully launched the front two tires into about 6 inches of very, very soft mud and we were stuck. As we tried to put palm branches underneath the tires and push the van, some bystanders began to help. We didn't have to ask, but in this place of community this was a normal response. Before we knew it a moto (a 125cc motorcycle) had attached the trailer that he was pulling to the front of our van and was trying to help pull us out. Between the five or so Khmer that were helping with palm branches and pushing, the girls sitting in the trunk of the van to weigh it down and the man on the moto we eventually got un-stuck and were able to move on our way. Soon we would realize just how significant all of these little events were.

The next thing we know we see a man dragging a woman through the grass of someone's yard and beating her. Isaac immediately stopped the van and he and Matt quickly asked Julie if it was ok to get out and help. The woman was crying out for help in English. We all poured out of the van as fast as we could and Matt and Isaac tried to calm this man down so that he would move away from this woman. Some people that we know from this village tried to explain to us as best they could what they knew of this couple and we learned that he did not speak much English and that he and this woman were some sort of couple. The woman continued to cry out in English, afraid for her life...just as we were. However the man would not let go her and continued to say to us, "no, its ok" as he motioned for us to leave. Soon the man began to drag this woman down the road and Matt and Isaac walked with them still trying to calm the man down and help this woman. Julie told some of our team to run to the children's home to get some help and someone to translate. A few minutes later several men (there was a visiting team visiting from the states already at the children's home) came running down the road. We waited for a few minutes hoping to see some resolution but we learned that all of the men and this couple had gone into a house, so the rest of us went back to the children's home.

A big event was going on at the children's home involving the visiting team, so the girls from our team went into an office and we prayed and prayed and prayed. About 45 minutes later our men came back with the woman on the back of a police moto. They made sure that this woman could get to Phnom Penn with her child and gave her a way to contact them. We were glad for the immediate, but potentially temporary, solution. This was a difficult situation because so much of what we did is not easily accepted in Khmer culture and there were some very nasty rumors about this man and who he was. Fear erupted in regards to what measures might be taken by this man. Julie, as the director of PCL in Siem Reap, immediately stepped into action. The men had continued talking and discussing this event in relation to their differing cultures and the Bible. At the end of the night Julie sat down with everyone, kids, interns and PCL staff and explained that the actions that were taken were Biblical, and that sometimes we have to do what is right even if it is not easy, puts us at risk, or is not accepted by those around us. Our team went back that night and had a prayer meeting to cover this couple, their future, their salvation, the children's home and everyone involved in this in prayer.

The director of the children's home, they call him Papa Matt, decided that he needed to go to this man with a peace offering so as to restore dignity to this man that we had so publicly shamed. Even though his actions were entirely wrong, it was important to try to build a relationship with him and Papa Matt thought this would be the first step. Papa Matt sought this man out the next day unsuccessfully. However, a day or two later this man came to the children's home to talk. He and Papa Matt spent several hours together. Papa Matt let this man fix his moto and was able to share the Gospel with this man. He came to church at the children's home on Sunday.

Had all of those mishaps not occurred, we would not have passed this couple at exactly the right time...exactly the right time. Had we been a minute or two earlier or later we would not have seen them. Had the Lord not allowed us to see them, I do not know what would have happened to that woman. Now there is an open door where it was previously shut. The potential here is limitless. Please pray that this man would come to know the Lord, that if there is an issue of substance abuse that he would encounter Jesus and be victorious over these things. Please pray for safety and wisdom in the life of his girlfriend as we are unsure of some of her previous decisions. Pray that the Lord would redeem and restore these people, that this whole village would come to know the saving power of Jesus. Our God can do these things and more because this is who our God is, this is what He does. He is the redeemer, restorer, peacemaker. Pray with us and expect great things with us.

How great is our God.

YOUTH CAMP!

We drove 9 hours to take the older kids from the children's home to youth camp to focus on discipleship. Here are some of the highlights:



The sermon the first night explaining the theme of the camp, "Reflect." Based in 1 John 4:19 we used the weekend to discuss how we are meant to be a reflection of Christ because He first loved us.



The Siem Reap worship team - such beautiful hearts!



Clearly the camp was gorgeous, here was our finish line for the "western games." Our team was in charge of the games this day and Matt and Isaac spent most of the day setting this up, we all had a blast.



Testimonies were shared during big group time and then we would discuss them in small groups later. This young man was from Phnom Penn and has an amazing story. He grew up in a violent home, not knowing the Lord. His mother greatly sacrificed to make sure that he could go to school. Because of her sacrifice he made it to Phnom Penn to finish his education and this is where he came to know Christ. Because of the change in his life, his mother has come to know the Lord as well. Please pray for this family and strength in their walk with Him.



Our small groups competed in different things every night. Friday night was the drama competition. This is Matt's group acting out Jesus Calms the Storm. Matt is under the blue sheet as a wave and yes, Jesus is wearing massive sunglasses.

D is for Darkness

(The light you see is from the camera's flash.) How do you ride a bike down a dirt road in the dark during rainy season in Cambodia? Don't sit down and don't stop pedaling.

I have actually become quite fond of riding our bikes here. This is on the way to the children's home for devotions.

Symptoms

One of our teammates decided to look up some of the symptoms that we have had since being in Cambodia. The results were humorous, here is the comparison:

Living in Cambodia
- fatigue
- muscle aches
- joint pain
- headaches
- skin rash
- nausea
- dark urine
- diarrhea

Hepatitis B
- Fatigue
- muscle aches
- joint pain
- headaches
- skin rash
- nausea
- dark urine
- diarrhea
-jaundice


We're all fine and loving it here, but our bodies are definitely going through adjustments and we thought this was funny :-)

Ministry Update

(A game/movie night with some of the Common Grounds staff. Common Grounds is a non-profit cafe that is owned by PCL and funds some of their projects and employs local people. This is where we spend much of our time and eat most of our meals.)


Our team has been here a little over 3 full weeks, and it has honestly gone by fairly quickly to me (Matt). I think this may partly be because of the new environment, and a set schedule that we have begun to live by.

I wanted to write you to give you an idea of the ministry that God is doing in Cambodia and that we have been able to join alongside. Catie and I, along with our team, have had many opportunities to do some fantastic forms of relational ministry to Cambodians in Siem Reap.

First, we have been able to disciple, encourage, and pray for the Cambodian Christians in the least evangelized part of Cambodia. Most of our Christian brothers and sisters are around our age or younger and it has been exciting share the Word of God through many devotions, Sunday worship services, and through our daily conversations. God has been faithful to give our team specific illustrations in which we can connect the life of Jesus to their own lives in specific and impactful ways.

Second, each week we have many times where we are sharing the truth of Jesus with Cambodians who have never heard of their heavenly father who is in love with them. In all our conversations, we are sharing the truth in their lives and continually praying that God would stir their hearts for their deep need for forgiveness from their Creator and Heavenly Father. With children, our approach is to share stories that depict the Character of Jesus one at a time, and with our lives live out the truths that we share with them. Piece by piece those who used to know nothing of Jesus will be drawn to their Heavenly Father’s love.

Thank you again for your prayers and supporting God’s heart for His Children.

Takam

Takam is a village about 45 minutes away that we go to once a week for church. We have church under a house and then drive down the road to the Village of the Lake where PCL has started a farm. Julie (the Siem Reap director of PCL and our supervisor while we're here) tells us that 80% of Cambodia is like what you'll see here, a network of dirt roads.


(Part of ) The drive to Takam





Caitlin preaching in Takam


PCL's Farm at the Village of the Lake


The Village of the Lake


This is at the Village of the Lake. We did a Bible lesson on creation with these children and then had them make some awesome pre-packaged animal hand puppets. Martha Stewart's craft idea, of course, not ours. Then we handed out some flip-flops. Most of these children have no shoes at all. This was my group of kids, we made piggy hand puppets and they were all so excited to receive some new shoes. Most of the people from this village never leave the village. This is one of our favorite parts of the week :-)

Broken Vessels

As a team we are on a rotation to do devotions at the children's home every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night. However Sundays are slightly longer and some children from the village come as well. Last Sunday night it was my turn to speak. To tell you a little about the children's home, it is in a village with a chief, in the middle of a dirt road, but it is technically still in city proper. This is a home started by PCL for orphans who had no where else to go. Currently there are around 25 children here who are well clothed, fed, and loved. Soon I will introduce you to some of them.

As for Sunday night, I spoke on Jonah. (I chose Jonah because everyone who is in the Christian Ministries department at Lee has to take a class that is essentially on the book of Jonah.) I spoke about the fact that everyone deserves the destruction that God had planned for Nineveh. I also talked about the fact that as believers we are all called, like Jonah, to preach the Good News to people who are difficult. Sometimes we even run from God, just like Jonah. Some commentaries even say that after everyone finds out that Jonah is the cause of the storm his jump overboard is not an act of mercy. Instead it is Jonah telling God that he would rather die than go and preach to his enemies in Nineveh. But God's plan is the same as when He called Jonah at the beginning of the book. So God saves Jonah from himself and eventually Jonah submits to the will of God. Because of his disobedience, God could have chosen another prophet. He could have raised up someone else, God did not need Jonah. But he chose and used Jonah anyway.

Jonah was a broken human and yet God made Jonah part of His plan. We are broken vessels and God knows this and He uses us anyway. We are here in Cambodia and we have no special talents, we are not particular assets to God's eternal team. But He uses us. He has called us here, knowing we will mess up, but He can still use us. There is nothing good in us apart from Him. Nothing. But God can and will use us for His precious, perfect, eternal will. God wants to use you too. Right now, right where you are. He has a purpose for you. Even though you are broken and stubborn and scared and sure that you have nothing to offer. He is so great that He can even use broken vessels.

<3 MattNCatie

Rainy Season Begins

Our Schedule

Here is our team schedule for each week:

Week 2: May 15-21
Sunday *Message to CG Fellowship(1)*SS Lesson w/Craft (~2) *Youth message *Games with Youth message *Village SS	Monday *Devotion @ Children's home *Tutor Julie's son in English *2-3:30 English with Julie at CH *English Class 4-5 *English Class 6-7	Tuesday *Message to Takam Village Church *Tutor Julie's son *English Class 4-5 *English Class 6-7	Wednesday*Devotion @ Children's home *Village English Lessons(2,3) *Tutor Julie's son *2-3:30 English with Julie at CH	Thursday *Community Day *Tutor Julie's son *English Class 4-5 *English Class 6-7	Friday *Devotion @ Children's home *Village English Lessons (2,3) *Tutor Julie's son *Possible Class 12:30-2	Saturday
							Other Activities: English camp in early July, working on the farm, health and hygene instruction
(- CG Fellowship: cell group / -Youth Group: non-speakers do games, 30-50 youth, at night / -Children's Home Message: Needs good illustrations / Community Day: we're in charge, 9-11 am, includes a feeding program, devo, song, craft, ~50 kids / -Takam Village Church: 7:30 am / -Village English Lessons & SS: 2:30-5:00 including travel, Sundays we rotate to teach lesson /Tutoring Julie's son will be 1 hr / -English with Julie: several will assist her / -English Classes: We will be provided with curriculum and we are to provide quality English training but also build relational bridges to share the Gospel )

B is for Bicycle

So we were warned ahead of time that we would be riding bikes here in Cambodia. One of the team members from last year even told us that she "was afraid to ride on those streets at first, but you get used to it." For some reason this did not resonate with me like it should have. One of our first full days here in Siem Reap we spent a solid 2 hours trying to buy bikes for our whole team. Maybe I should explain that our shortest team member is 5'7" and she is as tall as most Cambodian men. After about 45 minutes of trying different bikes and our feet repeatedly hitting the wheels when we turned I finally said to our translator, "Niroth, the problem is that there isn't enough room from the seat to the handlebars," to which he replied, "Ha ha ha! That's Cambodia!" Later he offered me a chair to sit in warning me to be careful because "it's a Cambodian chair..."Finally, after much bargaining and bike testing, the five females of the group found bikes big enough to ride comfortably. Unfortunately Matt and Isaac were anomalies to the world of Cambodian bicycles and so had to temporarily do without. As if this whole process wasn't strange enough, we had to RIDE home. Let me explain.


There are almost no rules here when it comes to driving. Cars, motos (small motorcycle/scooter), and bicycles come from all directions at all times. Flashing one's lights and honking one's horn both mean "get out of the way, I'm coming!" People ride in whatever lane, going whatever direction they please and rarely look before pulling out. Just image five white American females riding down a four lane highway like a bike brigade from the Buttercream Gang or Now and Then...only in Cambodia where we already stick out like sore thumbs on our most inconspicuous day. If I remember correctly there was a great deal of screaming, swerving, and praying that the Lord would spare our lives. The guys rode in a van just behind us, slowing down traffic and taking pictures, only mocking us slightly.



We have continued to ride bikes since then, much to my dismay. Soon they will actually be our primary mode of transportation and we will be riding miles and miles a day. Please pray for us. I'm half kidding, but only half. God is good, all the time, even when we are forced outside of our comfort zone. It's so funny what a person does when there is no other option. I'm just imagining some of you reading this and thinking how dangerous and crazy this sounds (and you would be right, but I also share this to share the humor of it all). However here there are no other options and so this is what we do. I'm sure by the end of it all we will see what and adventure it has been. I am so thankful that the Lord has adventures for our lives. So often we think that we want to know what is next, but think about what it would be like if we did. How boring and predictable life would be. As I try to learn the skills required to live in this new country I will have to continue to remind myself of that. It is so good to be stretched because then we are forced to depend on the Lord, because then we grow and can become more like Him.




We love you all and thank you for being a part of our lives as we walk out this journey.
MattNCatie

A Recent History of Cambodia

WARNING: Some of the following images are graphic in nature.

Many people are unaware of the genocide that took place in Cambodia from 1974-1979 under the Khmer Rouge. During these four years between 1.5-3 million people were executed in a country of only 7 million. The exact number of victims may never be known. The circumstances surrounding the Khmer Rouge's rise to power are complicated and I do not understand all of the details. What I do know is that prior to the Khmer Rouge there was political instability in
Cambodia and the communist ruler Pol Pot was able to rise to power.

Pol Pot studied in Paris where he learned of communism and China's Great Leap Forward, an attempt to achieve an agrarian utopia. Once he rose to power he attempted the same in Cambodia. Everyone was hurriedly marched out of the cities into the countryside and many people died in this march. Those who survived were forced to work up to 18 hours a day doing farm-related work, being fed very little.

Other people, anyone related to the West (doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.) or former government officials, were put into work/torture camps. We visited the Toul Sleng (S21) prison camp in Phnom Penh. This was a former highschool that was quickly restructured to hold and torture prisoners. From here (and other places) many were sent to what is called the Killing Fields where people were murdered and put into mass graves. We also visited this site to better understand the history of the people we would be ministering to.

Visiting these sites was sobering, to say the least. It was especially difficult when we realized that children were murdered without thought. People want to point to atrocities like this as proof against the existence of God. I say that every single human being has the potential to commit similar horrors without the trans-formative power of Jesus Christ in our lives. It is only by His power that we can become anything more, anything good. Mark 10:18 says that "No one is good except God alone." We cannot be so foolish as to think that we can please God without Christ. This is why we are here in Cambodia, to point to the only One who can lift us out of this difficult world we live in. He is our hope, in Christ alone.







One of the torture rooms.












A map of the plan to move everyone out of the cities into the country.


A picture of people working in the fields


Pol Pot


This is one of the cells that the prisoners were held in.






This explains the significance of Case 002, one of the cases against the leaders of the Khmer Rouge. This was supposed to take place at the end of 2010/beginning 2011 yet the crimes were committed in the 1970's.. The trials of those who are responsible for this genocide have been incredibly delayed.


The man on the left behind the table is one of the 7 who survived the Toul Sleng prison.





Ticket to the Killing Fields Museum


This is a temple to those who were killed here. The bones of those who have been unearthed are kept inside.









These massive impressions are mass graves.





Basically everywhere is a graveyard.



They call this tree the "Magic Tree," and from it speakers were hung to cover the noise of the victims.

As you can imagine this has impacted this country dramatically. 60% of the people are under 18 years old and the political/educational systems are far from acceptable. I know this was quite a "heavy" post, but it is the past of the people we will be working with. Please pray for/with us and for the people of Cambodia in our ten weeks here. We are so grateful for your prayers.

MattNCatie

Thank You

Thank You

This is a thank you to all of you who have supported us in this new journey:

To those of you who gave

Your time, your money, your love and your prayers, thank you.

To those of you who gave out of your abundance and were obedient with what you have, thank you.

To those of you who gave without being asked, thank you.

To those of you who gave and will give and give again, thank you.

To those of you who gave not out of abundance, but out of your need,

Yours was a sacrifice of worship, thank you.

To those of you who have spent so much time on your knees,

Interceding on our behalf, covering our way, thank you.

To those of you who have loved us with your whole hearts and in so doing have taught us more about the Father, thank you.

To those of you who have gone before, paving the way, sowing seeds, which we will water, thank you.

To those of you who have discipled, mentored and led us,

To those of you who teach that the heart of God is for all people in all places to know His Son,

You have taught us more than we can say and you have led us to this place of going, thank you.

To those of you who have walked with us this far, bearing and sharing burdens,

You have been the body of Christ to us and have influenced us greatly, thank you.

To those of you whose names I do not know but who will nonetheless pray and give,

You bless the Lord with your quiet obedience, thank you.

To those of you who sweat and toil for the harvest right where you are,

You are great teachers, leaders and senders,

You are irreplaceable and invaluable and have taught us the beauty in living a humble and quiet life that draws other to our Lord, thank you.

To those of you whose shoulders we stand upon,

The great multitude of saints, the great cloud of witnesses,

We tread after you, thank you.

To anyone whose heartbeat is for Jesus but whose plans are still unclear,

Your strong and patient waiting is an example of faithfulness, thank you.

To those of you who celebrate the Risen Lord with your life, thank you.

To those of you who live in difficult circumstances by choice,

Because you understand that eternity is worth it, thank you.

To those of you who point to Him in all these things,

To all of you, thank you. Thank you.

Our Team

A few weeks ago we spent some quality team-time together on our internship retreat. At 11:00 p.m. we all thought it would be a good idea to all share our testimonies and as 4:00 a.m. came around we were finally wrapping up. After that weekend I think I told Matt that I wanted to put all of our team in my pocket and keep them forever! What truly precious saints we will be privileged to work with for what I'm sure will be a life-changing 10 weeks. I think that we have all learned so much about each other and in better understanding where we each come from we can better love one another when we are in difficult situations. We also thought it would be a good idea if we did a little bio of everyone on our team so that you all know who you're praying for. Now let me introduce you to our AWESOME team:


Lauren
What's to love: Lauren is full of energy, super kind and loads of fun. Her positivity is contagious and her heart for the Lord simply shines. Growing up as a pastor's kid she is able to bring a perspective that I don't always see but can most certainly learn from.






Caitlin
What's to love: Caitlin is our team leader and has been great at dealing with our crazy schedules and patiently letting us get all of the work finished that we need to take to Cambodia. Her laid-back leadership style has been such a blessing and encouragement. She has done a SUPER job so far and we all look forward to what's to come.




Lindsey
What's to love: Lindsey is one of the sweetest people I know and we continue to find out that we have more and more in common. Our unruly hair and insatiable appetites bonded us from the start and the similarities just keep coming. Her gentle spirit is so beautiful and her laugh is contagious and I think 10 weeks in Cambodia will only reveal more wonderful things!












Emily
What's to love: Emily has a PHENOMENAL voice that will bless our ears for the next 1o weeks! She is one who has so much to offer but is very humble so it took me a while to find out about her voice and sense of humor. I think she is an invaluable asset to our team and has the ability to work hard but also break the tension. She's also from the Atlanta area which makes us like her even more :-)





Isaac
What's to love: I was so excited to meet the only other male on our team who would be the one escape for Matt when things got too crazy. Isaac is a man of God who can't help but share about his relationship with the Lord. Hearing him share about what God teaches him makes me excited for how the Lord will use him in Cambodia. He and Matt relate on many levels and I am so thankful to have such a great guy on our team.






This semester our team has spent time each week in prayer together. We all have very similar hearts for what we want to see in Cambodia and know that we can do nothing in our own strength. I have been praying especially that the Lord would keep us humble and broken before Him so that only He would be seen and only He would receive glory. I have also been praying John 17:20-23 which says,
"²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
I think it is amazing that God will show the world who Jesus is by how we believers love one another. I ask that you all would pray these things with us.

There is a missionary that I know of who always says that "eternity is at stake." Let that be all of our mindsets as we live day to day.Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for all of your prayers.

MattNCatie