Sunday, Oct. 21, 6 am

We had a great day yesterday at a conference center near Sisophone. Dave and Shelley did an excellent job of presenting a Biblical perspective on marriage to over 50 pastor/wife and elder/wife couples from over a large area of NW Cambodia. Many traveled 2-3 hours to get there. We traveled in three pickup trucks brim full of people, for nearly two hours. There was a sense of joy and anticipation as we arrived.

There were many opportunities to chat with the men who came that spoke some English. It was interesting that we could experience a form of communication with some of the women during the seminar as they reacted by sharing their laughter and giggles with us to some of the humor in the presentation. Both Dave and Shelley did excellent jobs of laying the groundwork and then presenting a very compelling picture of how God desires submission to one another and true love in marriages of believers in every culture.

Each of us consumed an average of 5-6 bottles of water during the seminar  as we sat and prayed in the hot, humid conference room. We ate lunch with the seminar attendees and played with the many young children who came along because there was no care for them at home with both mother and father at the meetings.

After a long, hot day, we crammed into the trucks and traveled the same bumpy roads to return to the home of Soeuth and Syna. There, after many conversations with those who had ridden back with us, we had a traditional Khmer supper and returned to our hotel.

At that point most of us were ready to drop due to exhaustion, but we met to make plans for a children's program that we will be directing this afternoon. This planning time was necessary because additional details were revealed by one of the leaders who oversees this program that made us realize that we had to change our original plans. This meeting was followed by most of us just collapsing into bed for a night of rest.

Today will be another tiring day. After being picked up for breakfast at 7 am, we head out to a house church of about 15 people. Rich will preach there and Joan will share a testimony. From there we go to the "mother church" where Dave will preach and Veronica will share a testimony. Soeuth has really gotten excited about the Gospel illusions that Rich has been presenting at each of the meetings we've participated in so I'm sure those will happen in the two services this morning. The rest of our team will be interceding for the presenters and the listeners during these messages. This in an invaluable assistance in this area of darkness where satan has set up strongholds of lies and rejection of God's love for centuries.

After returning for lunch at the home of S & S, we will come back to the hotel for about an hour to rest and meditate on our presentations at the children's ministry center mentioned earlier. At 3 pm we'll be picked up by Seyha, a church elder, in two tuk tuks (small carts attached to motor scooters) for a ride to a place we haven't been to yet.  There, Marla, Jim, Robin, Veronica and Joan will present a Bible story and direct games for thirty to thirty-five  3 - 6 year olds. Anna, Dave, Shelly and Rich will do the same for a group of about fifty 7 - 13 year olds.

After a late supper at the home of S & S (who will have left for NE Thailand by this time), we'll come back to the hotel in tuk tuks for a debrief of the day, Bible meditation, and then needed sleep.

Please lift us up in your prayers. Due to the fourteen hour time difference, most of you will be sleeping during the afternoon ministry, but can pray even as we are involved for the morning services.We are excited about all of the ministry opportunities but are getting weary.  Monday afternoon will be a needed time of rest, and then Tuesday morning we leave (seven of us) for ministry and cultural experiences in Siem Reap. Dave and Shelley will be departing by tuk tuk to the border, then taxi from the border in Thailand to Bangkok. There they will connect and stay with missionary friends and fly out the next day to return home. Please pray for their travel.