Besides the fun experiences, what will we do, and what makes it worth doing?

This is similar to the "Why are we going?" post from earlier.

Evening Bible Studies

The most familiar task is going to be the Bible studies.  This continues from what Andy has been doing for over a year and a half.  We will continue to study the book of Acts on Wednesdays until we finish.  It should not be a long time more, though I'm told many of the students will go home for a while soon.  Maybe we will take a break then.  The above picture is from last Wednesday, when we tried a smaller room with air conditioning.  The students were hopeful, but it had trouble keeping up with heat outside and 25 students inside.

We are considering doing the book of Genesis after that.  As I (Andy) taught Sunday School to children in Massachusetts, I enjoyed seeing truth about God and the good news about Jesus demonstrated from the very beginning.  The story of Jesus is rooted in the stories of Abraham and his relatives.

Andy will take over the Thursday study from someone else who had also been teaching remotely.  Last week we introduced 4 ideas that had shaped our thinking about coming to Cambodia, with Bible verses associated.  These were:

• Do Everything for Jesus (Colossians 3:23)
• Treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21)
• Relationships (Acts 20:36-38)
• Rejoicing (Luke 10:17-20)

We got to tell how these fit into our lives and our decision to come here.  Next week, Andy will give his testimony, the story of how, despite Andy himself, Jesus rescued him and taught him to love God.  Pha will do that the following week, though she will be able to do most of the translation herself.  After that, the subject of the Thursday studies has yet to be decided.

Encouraging the Staff

There are 4 staff members at the dorm, plus a few students who pitch in and do some work.  We will meet with them weekly, pray for them, help them, and learn from them.  We already let them know that we are aware that they know more about running this dormitory than we do!  They have been very helpful and kind in taking us shopping, bringing us food, and fixing things for us.

Helping the staff grow in faith and be good examples to the students will be valuable to this ministry.  We are thankful for the staff God has brought here.

Pha is gifted in serving and helping others to serve, and we hope she will be a blessing in working with the staff.

Besides running the dorm, a couple of the staff run a ministry for poor children in the area.  Three days a week they bring them in a van, wash them and their clothes, feed them, and teach them.  One of the days is Sunday, when they join us for church.  We were told that the children must be home by 5:00 pm to help sell something, though we are not sure what.  These children have been involved for a long time, because we are familiar with some of the faces from previous trips.

Church

On Sunday we got to attend church here.  The attendees are the same students from the dorm, plus the children from the ministry.  Pastor Timothy comes twice a month to preach.  He is in his 70s, and engaged his listeners well.  He spoke about fear, and how knowing Jesus can help us understand why we don't need to fear.  We spent some time with him after the service, and Andy let him know that while he (Andy) is not a pastor, he will help out with preaching.  There are two people from the Philippines who we have not yet met, and they help on the weeks when Timothy does not come.

This is an area where we will have to grow.  Andy has been involved with church leadership, but has not been a pastor.  After we have gotten into the swing of things here at the dorm, we would like to invite neighboring families to come visit.  There is a lot that needs to be ready first.

Conversations with Students

We have had some time with some students, but mostly fun: playing games, going for a walk, talking about English and Khmer.  We need to start scheduling time to get to know each student.  These will be exploratory at first, as we know them as people instead of faces on a Zoom screen.  But sharing Jesus with them at whatever step they are at is our goal.

Here is a panorama from along the Sangkae River, as we took a walk with three students and the daughter of one of the staff.

Prayer Requests

• Learning Khmer: Andy can pick out words as people talk, but is not ready to have conversations beyond names, family members, and similar.  Pha speaks Khmer well enough to get along, but needs to improve her vocabulary.  This is another way we can spend time with students.
• Health: We have been well once we got rested, but are very aware of the strong sun (Andy's kryptonite), the need to filter and boil water, and the amount of ash floating in the air from burning trash in our compound and all around us.
• Boldness and love as we interact with students.
• Wisdom and discernment as we interact between cultures, between both the American and Cambodian cultures, and "the Kingdom of God" and "the world".