Prayer Postcard
Joelle's Monthly Prayer Letter
'When an egg has been smashed it cannot be put it back together again.'
Marya and Yuth are brother and sister [I have changed their names due to the sensitive nature of this story]. They became Christians at our Bible Study about 7 years ago. Right from the beginning Marya and Yuth showed great promise. They had an incredible grasp of Gods Word, would ask insightful questions and went on to share the gospel with the rest of their family - many of whom are now also Christians. Both Marya and Yuth continue to be strong Christians, but when I was back in the UK for three years, Marya fell out with the Khmer Church and also with her brother, Yuth. It is still unclear to me exactly what happened, but when I tried to have a conversation with Marya about it, she got upset and quoted an old Khmer proverb: 'When an egg has been smashed it cannot put it back together again'. Every culture has its stumbling block, but this is a particularly harmful one for the Khmer Church. Many Khmer Christians continue to live by this old proverb, refusing to forgive one another and work towards reconciliation when they have fallen out. Marya and Yuth are two of my most precious Khmer friends. With Gods help, this smashed egg can be put back together again. Please pray for us as I seek to mentor Marya and encourage reconciliation.
Language Study
I am now able to read simple Bible stories. The title of the story in this picture is 'The offering of a poor widow woman'. I can see good progress with my reading and writing and was delighted last weekend that I had been able to sing most of the hymns at youth group. But I still feel that I am not speaking as much Khmer as I should be. Please pray I work harder at putting into practice what I am learning inside the classroom.
Church Plant
Next weekend is our monthly trip to Kompong Cham province where our youth group is in the process of planting a church [the same province that has recently seen thousands flocking to see a 2 year old boy who is said to have the power to heal]. We will split into two groups (children and adults) and lead one Bible study before lunch and then one more after. Please pray for safe travel (3 hours each way!), good attendance from the villagers and faithful teaching from those are leading this week.
Busy Sundays
Sundays are a very long day for me. I teach Sunday School (part Khmer, part translated) in the morning, then go to Youth group, then have a quick lunch, then teach the Bible to the Pov family and then go to International Church in the evening with Marya. Please pray that I would have the energy to sail through my busy Sundays and that I be serving from a place of joy and rest in the Lord. Pray that Sundays would not be my hardest day of the week, but my best day of the week!