mission trip highlight-cambodia 2
By Elizabeth
“...And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” - Acts 2:47
Before signing up for this mission trip, I didn’t know much about Cambodia. I heard Cambodia will be very hot in the summer and will rain a lot. That was the time we went. Turns out the weather was very bearable for our team, because God gave us strength. The main plan for the duration of the trip was to do Vacation Bible School (VBS) at villages and churches in the Phnom Penh area. I heard God said to me, “Go”, so I signed up without knowing what to expect. At the planning meeting, we added teaching English to the trip itinerary as requested by the local pastor, Pastor Lim. Later on we found out it is a huge ministry for the Phnom Penh church. The Education Program in Cambodia, sponsored by River of Life Foundation, attracts many local families who would otherwise not step into a church. By obeying God, what we did became a huge blessing to the local team as well as the children and their families in Cambodia! We thank God for the open door! Virginia took on the lead role for teaching English classes, and I signed up to be the VBS lead.
I had some general ideas on what to do for VBS. Every part of VBS would be tied to sharing the gospel (The Good News) with the children and youth. Since our church was doing the 14-Day Healing Conference in July, the same month we went to Cambodia, naturally I thought to use the same theme for VBS, which is “Jesus Loves You”. During the trip, one of the local staff had been sick for a couple of days. When I heard about it, I laid my hand on him and prayed for God’s healing. He got well immediately! Hallelujah! We brought the “Jesus Loves You” t-shirt (with the same 14-Day Healing Conference Spirit) to wear during ministry as well to show unity. It worked out really well. Praise God!
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
I love it when the children get to participate during the bible story time. When God first gave me the idea for the bible story to be “Jesus Feeds the 5000”, I really thought it would be too hard. Although there was no detailed plan for the bible story before going to Cambodia, I had to obey God and go for it. Our whole team was really supportive of telling the story “Jesus Feeds the 5000”. Amazingly and gradually, God provided all the details. We just had to trust and obey Him. Every day when I told the story of “Jesus Feeds the 5000” to the local kids, it came to life by breaking the real bread to give to the children. Miraculously, every day not only we had enough bread to give out during the bible story time, to demonstrate God’s love, there were also leftovers, just like what Jesus did and recorded in the bible. We did not buy a large amount of bread either. It was truly amazing! There were children receiving the salvation of God every day. Praise God! God had opened my eyes to see the hunger and thirst of the people while in Cambodia. When I asked the children and youth, if they’d like to become followers of Jesus, to love and obey Him, many raised their hands and gave their lives to Jesus! And they had received the Holy Spirit, too! Over 300 children and youth had received Salvation! Hallelujah!!!
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”
On Friday, we shared our life stories with the youth in our small groups. Afterwards, they were given the opportunity to ask me any questions they had. Some of the youth in my group accepted Christ that night! Hallelujah!! On Sunday, I was given the opportunity to share my testimony in the Phnom Penh River of Life Church Sunday Worship Service. It was a privilege and honor. Frances gave a powerful sermon. After the service, another 2 youths decided to give their lives to Jesus. Hallelujah!!!
I am so thankful that God had provided everything we needed for the VBS and English Teaching during this mission trip. From not knowing what to expect, to seeing children and youth willing to be followers of Christ daily, had truly touched all of our hearts.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support! Our team of 7 ladies went from not knowing each other to having great bonds. Without this wonderful, dedicated and humble group of sisters, no matter how well the program was planned, this mission trip would not have been the same. I am so thankful for God, for our supporters, for our leader Frances, and for Virginia, My, Yvonne, Amy, and Arianna. Everything worked out to the smallest detail, no one got sick, and we all worked in unity and love. When we allow God to be in charge, we just trust and obey, He will use us as His vessel to do miracles and bring salvation to His people! Glory to God!
「…主每天都將得救的人加給教會。」 - 使徒行傳 2:47
在報名參加這次宣教旅行之前，我對柬埔寨了解不多。聽說柬埔寨夏天會很熱，而且會下很多雨。那是我們去的時候。事實證明，我們的團隊挺能忍受炎熱的天氣狀況，因為上帝給了我們力量。這次旅行的主要計劃是在金邊地區的村莊和教堂舉辦假期聖經學校（VBS）。我聽到上帝對我說：「去吧」，所以我報名了，但不知道會發生什麼事。在計畫會議上，我們按照當地Lim牧師的要求，在行程中增加了英語教學。後來我們才發現這對金邊教會來說是一個大型的事工。由生命河基金會贊助的柬埔寨教育計畫吸引了許多原本不會走進教會的當地家庭。透過順服神，我們所做的成為了當地團隊以及柬埔寨兒童和他們的家人的極大祝福！我們感謝上帝為我們敞開了大門！ Virginia 擔任英語課程的領導者，而我則報名擔任 VBS 的領導者。
我對如何處理 VBS 有一些基礎認知。 VBS 的每個部分都與兒童和青少年分享福音（好消息）緊密相關。由於我們教會在7月份舉辦了為期14天的醫治特會，同月我們去了柬埔寨，所以我自然想到了VBS使用相同的主題，那就是「耶穌愛你」。旅途中，一名當地工作人員已經病了幾天。當我聽到這件事時，我按手在他身上，祈求上帝醫治他。他立刻就好了！哈利路亞！我們帶來了「耶穌愛你」上衣（同樣帶有 14 天醫治特會的精神），供在事工期間穿著，以顯示團結。效果非常好。讚美神！
「清心的人有福了，因為他們必得見神。」 - 馬太 5:8
我喜歡孩子們參與聖經故事時間。當上帝第一次給我聖經故事「耶穌餵飽五千人」的想法時，我真的認為這太難了。雖然去柬埔寨之前並沒有具體的聖經故事計劃，但我必須順服神去做。我們整個團隊都非常支持講述「耶穌養活 5000 人」的故事。令人驚訝的是，上帝逐漸地提供了所有的細節。我們只需要相信並服從祂。每天當我給當地的孩子們講「耶穌餵飽五千人」的故事時，我都會把真正的麵包擘開，分給孩子們，故事就變得栩栩如生。神奇的是，我們每天不僅有足夠的麵包可以在聖經故事時間分發，以彰顯神的愛，而且還有剩菜，就像耶穌所做的和聖經中記錄的那樣。我們也沒有買大量的麵包。真是太神奇了！每天都有孩子接受神的救恩。讚美神！上帝打開了我的眼睛，讓我看見了柬埔寨人民的飢渴。當我問兒童和青少年，他們是否願意成為耶穌的跟隨者，愛他並服從他時，許多人舉起了手，將自己的生命獻給了耶穌！他們也領受了聖靈！超過 300 名兒童和青少年獲得了救恩！哈利路亞！
「但你們心裡尊基督為主。永遠準備好回答每個要求你給出希望理由的人。但要以溫柔和尊重的態度來做這件事。」 - 彼得前書 3:15
週五，我們與小組中的年輕人分享了我們的生活故事。之後，他們有機會向我詢問任何問題。那天晚上，我們小組中的一些年輕人接受了基督！哈利路亞！主日，我有機會在金邊生命河教會主日禮拜中分享我的見證。這是一種榮幸。Frances 做了一次強而有力的講道。儀式結束後，另外兩位年輕人決定將自己的生命獻給耶穌。哈利路亞！
我非常感謝上帝在這次短宣中為我們提供了VBS和英語教學所需的一切。從不知道會發生什麼，到看到兒童和青少年每天願意成為基督的追隨者，這確實觸動了我們所有人的心。非常感謝所有人的代禱和支持！我們的團隊由 7 位女性組成，從互不相識到建立了深厚的友誼。如果沒有這群優秀、專注、謙虛的姊妹，無論計劃策劃得多好，這次宣教之旅也不可能是一樣的。我非常感謝上帝，感謝我們的支持者，感謝我們的領袖Frances，感謝 Virginia、Amy、Arianna、My Truong 和 Yvonne 。一切都很順利，沒有人生病，我們都團結友愛地工作。當我們讓神掌管時，我們只要相信並順服，祂就會使用我們作為祂的器皿來創造奇蹟，為祂的子民帶來救恩！榮耀歸於神！