To
our Dear PASTORS, Friends, and Partners in Missions,
Choice greetings in Christ’s most
precious Name. We are writing to you today with so much joy in our hearts
thanking you for your commitment,
passion, love and the support you have given for the cause of the gospel. We
are so grateful for our partnership with you in winning Rattanakiri to Christ.
We count it as a great privileged to be ambassadors of the good news to our
generation.
Last April 14-16 marks the celebration of the Khmer New Year or “Chaul Chnam Thmey” in the Khmer language, literally "Enter New
Year". Phnom Penh city during that time was
so quiet and no traffic at all because most of the people went to their “Srok” or provinces to be
with their love ones and families. It is very common to most Khmer people to
celebrate this holiday in their own provinces. And this is the only time for
them to go to the “Wat” or pagoda. People will dress up and light candles and burn incense
sticks at shrines, where the members of each family pay homage to offer thanks
for the Buddha's teachings by bowing, kneeling and prostrating themselves three
times before his image. Then, after the homage, adults and children will do
their traditional games. The Khmer New Year is also a time to prepare special
dishes. One of these is a "kralan", a cake made from steamed rice mixed with beans or peas, grated coconut and coconut milk.
The mixture is stuffed inside a bamboo stick and slowly roasted.
But here in Rattanakiri especially in our church, God
has been so good as He continued to prosper the ministry here. Souls continued
to get saved and baptized and added to the church. In spite of the Khmer New
Year, we had so many people come from far villages with some visitors that
Sunday. Bethany outreaches from the two villages keeps growing not only in
quantity but most especially in quality as people continue to attend and listen
to God’s Word.
MAY has been a busy but a blessed month to all of us
here. First, God added another two souls and He keeps on bringing and
saving people in our ministries. One of this soul was the elder sister of the
two young ladies that I baptized last February. So, it’s a blessing to have the
whole family in our church. Secondly, God gave me the opportunity and privilege to officiate the
wedding of one of our newest members, Rotha and Vee. It was a simple but very blessed wedding held in the
garden. Actually, it’s my first time since I became a missionary to solemnize
the very first wedding in our church. Thirdly, surprised birthday celebration for me last May 18 (Saturday)
from our Sunday school teachers and home boys in our church. They came to our
house early in the morning serenading me with Christian songs and warm
greetings. Then, the next day (May 19) after the service,
thru the leadership of my wife Janeth, they surprised me again with a cake and
delicious noodles and even bread that my mother in law prepared and cook for
everyone who came to church that Sunday. It was indeed a blessed and
unforgettable Sunday because not only did we received spiritual food thru our
guest speaker, Bro. Noun Rotha but also physical food that we enjoyed that day. Bro. Noun Rotha was a graduate of
our Bible School from the Philippines who will be going to continue serving the
Lord in his home province in Battambang, Cambodia. Also, we had our 1st Lord’s supper in the afternoon for
this year. Lastly, we celebrated our successful and blessed 6th mission-church
anniversary last May 26, with the theme “Growing in Grace
Together”. Our Dean and one of our deacons, Mario De Ocampo from our church in
the Philippines was our guest speaker. He spoke boldly about growing in grace
even when we fail both in our lives and in our ministries. It was very
encouraging and challenging to all of us to keep on keeping on serving the
Lord, in spite of our failures and problems in our lives. The young people gave
some inspiring songs and the choir sang “Grace Greater Than
Our Sins”. God blessed us with 154 people with about 30 visitors came that Sunday. Also, it was a blessing
to see the Muslim family of one of our faithful member and Sunday school
teacher, Sunny. During the invitation, many of our members came forward
for commitment in serving God faithfully and to grow spiritually and 3 young
men came forward as well for salvation and 1 for baptism. Praise the Lord for the success and
outcome of our 6th mission-church anniversary. To God Be The Glory!
We thank you so much for your continuous partnership with
our ministry here. I heartily acknowledged that everything we have accomplished
was made possible through your prayers and faithful support of our ministry
here. Heaven will reveal someday how much you have done for His name and for
His glory. Thank You...
Yours
For The Harvest Of Souls,
KIT and JANETH
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