It is hard to believe, but a couple weeks ago was already the second Christmas that I have celebrated in Cambodia.  I took the final exam for my language right before Christmas, so I have now completed the year long Khmer for foreigners program at the Institute of Foreign Languages. I am thankful that God gave me endurance to finish the program. I am encouraged by the progress in learning Khmer that I have made in my time here so far, and I hopefully can continue to progress in my ability to communicate.

The New Year began with my next step in ministry here. I moved from Phnom Penh to a village in Kampot province. Missionary Esther and some of her students have been teaching English and Bible stories to a group of elementary and high school students at the village for the past several months on Saturdays and Sundays. The attached picture is of my new house. My roommate compared staying in the village to a never ending camping trip. With no running water and electricity, I think that it is a good comparison. But we do have a generator that we can run for a couple hours per day to recharge electronics and during the evening, we can use lights powered from a battery. It seems every time we use a computer or throw a football outside, a group of curious villagers gather to watch us.

I’ll be spending my time in several different ways: I’ll be continuing to study Khmer, preaching a few times per month at a church plant 7 km away in Missionary Esther’s village, gathering information about the village where I am living, and teaching English to Khmer grade school students.

Please pray for the following:

-adjusting to life in the village.

-that God would use my preaching at the church plant to convert and conform His people.

-that I would be able to form relationships with my neighbors and students.

-that God would give me a heart of compassion for the villagers that Ilive around that have no hope without the gospel.