Watch Your Step

I spent the last week with 3 men from our headquarters office in Denver. We took a whirlwind tour of our work in Thailand and Cambodia.

It was very encouraging to be with them and have them see first hand the work that is going on here. Our officers shared their testimonies and and gave reports on the impact the Lord is having in these countries.

One of the men wrote me an email and expressed the impact it had on him:

 “It was absolutely life changing for me as I think you could tell by my tears.  I will never be the same.”

As you all know, we have built phase one of a hospitality retreat center in Cambodia on the site of cleared minefield.

Pictures below show the progress. We spent the night out there with Sareth and 3 of our Unit leaders. This was the first weekend training done at the center and the guys really enjoyed it.

There is still a lot of work to be done, like a water and electrical source, but it is now functional.

Minefield warning sign with skull and cross bones

We spent the night with 3 of our key military camp leaders

I am hold the son of the woman in red pictured here. She lost her 10 year old son about 2 years ago to a viper bite. I had the honor of praying for after this happened even though she was not a believer at the time. The Lord has given her a new son and she has become a Christian.

Young girl skipping through the minefield.

Minefield Hospitality House

We have started “The Minefield Hospitality House” just 4km inside Cambodia from the Thailand border crossing.

Called such because it is literally in an abandoned wasteland of former mine fields. Area was a traditional stronghold for the Khmer Rouge. 

Scene of dozens upon dozens of battles in our generation....

Purpose: overnight discipleship trainings for growing Cambodian christian officers from surrounding camps. “Ultra rustic adventure touring” would be a good way to describe the area.... This place could make a Lonley Planet list, I think.

The specific place where Sareth bought a football field sized piece of land (for $900) is declared “ cleared” by an international mine clearing group, but we had it swept again by friends in the Cambodian Army because a small girl was recently injured by an old mortar shell she found that partially exploded when she picked it up. Tank mines, buried deeper, are not included in the “cleared” category.... So the area is only “safe” to foot traffic.

little girl in the background was nearly killed by an old mortar round she found.

No running water or electricity and only accessible by horse or on foot in rainy season....  And there might never be any in our lives...... Though promises abound...... But it is close to the 3 key camps where we work in the area....

Now finished is a small, 2 room Old West looking cabin. Sareth’s “Little House on the Prairie.”  Current investment around $3500. Would be hoping to expand to about 5 football fields of land for a demonstration farm and a sports field. And in the future would hope to dig a well, get some solar panel system, and build a couple more rooms. End product might be $20,000 or less.

The land is about a kilometer in from this sign....... And the dirt road stops here.  Even if it was possible to drive further, with the possibility of tank mines, driving further is a bad idea.

Phase II and Phase III should cost a total of approx. $16,000 more

Phase II

Utilities and a bit more land.

$2500 - water well

$1500 - solar power system

$1,000 - sanitary outhouse

$3,500 - 4 more football fields of land for demonstration farming

Phase III

Expanded buildings and a bit more land

$5,000 - 1 meeting room, 1 kitchen, 2 more bunk rooms

$1,500 – for chickens and pigs

$1,000 – barns and shelters for animal raising... And for a horse

$1,000 – 1 more football field of land... For football!

Still seeking donors...

Cambodia-December

Ron Wilson and I just returned last night from Cambodia.

Unit 51 officer
We had a wonderful time encouraging the believers and teaching leaders.
I was also able to help with the next steps of the water supply project at Unit 14 and the community center at Unit 51.

Leadership training
Ron and I had some crucial discussions with Sareth (our national leader) about getting some help for him in-country. The ministry has grown so large that it is impossible to do all the follow-up needed.

We are now brain storming ways to accelerate leadership development with a few men and to develop a way to track all the small groups that are going. At this point we feel like many are not growing as deep as they should, especially at Unit 51.

I think I am most encouraged at the moment with what I see at Unit 14. The Lord had given us great favor with the new commanding General and Captain Savorn’s house church is growing well.

Captain Savorn’s home
Praying all your holidays will be wonderful.
Paul

Just for Fun

Dusty roads

Ouch!

Haulin’ chicken

Civil War?

WORLD AFFAIRS
Thailand Slides Toward Civil War

The public siege of its airports may be over, but the country's political crisis is just heating up.

By George Wehrfritz and Jaimie Seaton | NEWSWEEK
Published Dec 6, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Dec 15, 2008

Government supporters during a Bangkok protest last week

 MPCF Conference 2008

Our Thai friends tell us that never before have the Thai people used the words “civil war” to describe the potential political situation in their country.
Many are very concerned about this situation and rightly so.

Praying for King and Country

In the midst of this however there is a momentum building like never before with the Military and Police Christian Fellowship (MPCF) here.
 

Myself, Ron and Belle Wilson

This past weekend Ron and Belle Wilson and myself attended the annual national conference for the MPCF of Thailand. We were asked to help them in developing a plan to accomplish their vision of reaching Thailand for the Lord. I have spoken with many veteran missionaries here about this movement and they are all very surprised that this kind of vision is coming from the military and police. One missionary told me that he has been here for more than 10 years, speaks Thai fluently, and is working with a local Thai pastor but in more than 10 years of ministry has only seen one new convert! This story is repeated in many place around the country and is why after 140 years of the gospel being preached here there is still only less than .50% evangelicals believers.

“Accomplishing your Vision” Workshop

The military and police have their own “culture within a culture” that is open to the gospel. And they have a vision as leaders in their country to show their fellow Thais the true God.

Christian Army General

What we are seeing among the MPCF is truly an amazing work of God and a real confirmation of our calling. We also feel that the timing of this movement could not be more strategic in light of the current political situation.
Please join us in praying for these men and women that the Lord is raising up to bring Thailand to Himself.

Cambodia 2

I wanted to share a couple more things with you all from my time in Cambodia a week ago.

Unit 51:
We broke ground on the community center for the village and I had the chance to see the progress the families were making with their chicken houses and organic gardens. I was very encouraged by these things. There are now fruit trees and vegetable gardens scattered throughout the village.

Prayer of dedication for the community center
As I met with the brigade commander there he expressed great encouragement about how the living conditions and attitudes of his military families was improving.

We also had a couple of teaching opportunities with our leadership families.

Unit 14:
In addition to the amazing story I shared with you already I am very encouraged about how organized the Christian leaders are at the brigade.

They have appointed a shepherd for each of the 12 military family subdivisions surrounding the unit. They meet regularly for prayer and training.

The shepherds of Unit 14
I met with the new incoming commander and shared with him our joy in helping them get clean water to the families in the brigade. He of course is elated that we are helping them this way as it shows his superiors that he is taking care of his men. The truly wonderful thing about this is that his Christian troops are initiating this project.

I can’t express enough how encouraged I am by the growth of these young believers.

Village Witch Doctor becomes a Christian

We were invited to the home of Captain Savorn, which is located at a small jungle village in northern Cambodia. Captain Savorn is our main contact at the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Unit 14. For almost 2 years now we have been training and discipling him as he leads the Christian officers in this area.

We gathered under Savorn’s home (typical Cambodian stilt house) with more than 30 of his neighbors to share with them our faith. Savorn has been speaking with them about Christ for some time now and has led several to the Lord.

Captain Savorn to the right of me.

One of the guys with me, an American from Oregon, spent a few minutes outlining what faith in Jesus looks like and then Sareth, our national leader who was translating, clarified further. When Sareth was finished speaking he asked if there were any questions regarding faith in Christ. One man stood up and said that he only had one question, “How do I become a Christian?”
While no “invitation” was given, it was clear that the Lord was moving in the hearts of these people as more than 20 responded that same way! Sareth spent another 30 minutes further explaining faith in Christ and then led them in prayer.

An older woman got up after this and said she wanted to share her story with us. She began by telling us she was the village witch doctor. Up until about 3 weeks ago she was the spiritual go-to person when people were ill or had demons that needed to be controlled. She would use idols, charms, incantations, and natural medicines to cure people and control bad spirits.
One evening she was called to a villager’s home to help someone who was having terrible stomach pains. She performed her usual routine of things but was not able to cure the person. As she returned home she contracted terrible stomach pains herself and began trying everything she knew to get rid of the pain but nothing was working.

Former witch doctor

After some time she called her son to come and pray over her. (Captain Savorn had led her son to the Lord some time ago and she was aware that he was now a Christian.) Her son prayed over her but still she was in great pain. Not knowing what else to do the son called on Savorn to come to the hut to help. (Savorn relates that as soon as he entered the hut he could tell that this woman was under spiritual attack.)

Both Savorn and the son then prayed over this woman and she was instantly healed! They related to her the gospel and she accepted Jesus as her Lord. They immediately began destroying the idols and charms that she had been using knowing now that they were evil.
As I pondered her story later it seemed obvious to me that this event had prepared the people in the village to hear the good news. When a spiritual guide destroys all her idols and charms and becomes a Christian it has a huge impact!
 

Just for Fun- That is a washing machine.