Guest Preacher Series (Brother Waang)

Tonight's guest preacher was another of Bro. Ruppel's converts. Waang was born and raised in Vietnam, in an area that once belonged to Cambodia. The area is called Kampuchea Kroum (which means lower Cambodia), and the people from that area are also called Kampuchea Kroum. They typically speak, read, and write Vietnamese, although they are ethnically Khmer (Cambodian). Waang says that in the first 9 years of his life while living in Vietnam, he never one time heard about Jesus. The Ruppels arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia just a couple of years after Waang's family. A woman that Bro. Ruppel had led to Christ invited Waang's family to come to church with her. After Waang and his dad went the first time, Bro. Ruppel started going to their house to witness to them. Wang says that Bro. Ruppel went several weeks in a row, and although the dad had no interest at all in the Gospel, Waang (who was around 14 years old at the time) sat there soaking up the message of the Gospel.

You Are Invited...

November 9th will mark exactly 10 years since our family arrived in Cambodia!  We are excited about this milestone and will be having many special articles, interviews, pictures, and a few surprises on our blog throughout the month of November.  I encourage you to check in often.  I hope that you will read something that will make you smile, encourage your heart, or give you a fresh vision for the cause of world-wide missions.

Guest Preacher Series (Pastor Sakaun)

Tonight was the second night in our series of guest speakers for our midweek services, and we greatly enjoyed having Pastor Sakaun and his wife, Samaat, with us. This precious couple was led to Christ 11 years ago by Bro. Rodney Ruppel.  Sakaun was a soldier for 20 years (up until the time of his conversion) and Samaat has been a school teacher for 28 years. Before Bro. Ruppel met them, Samaat had heard a little bit about Christ from a cousin who was saved in the refugee camps in Thailand during the Khmer Rouge era. She had read small portions of the Bible, but knew virtually nothing about Christ. Then in 1999 Samaat's cousin invited them to watch a Christmas play at the New Hope Baptist Church (Bro. Ruppel's church), which at that time was just a couple of years old. They came and watched the play, and afterwards Bro. Ruppel asked if he could come to their house and tell them more about Jesus. They agreed, and shortly thereafter he was on his way.  The problem was...their house was a long way from Phnom Penh!  Samaat says, "I told him that he didn't have to go all the way out there...that our house was far away from town, but he said that compared to the trip from America, he was sure it wouldn't be too long." 

Guest Preacher Series (Kuonaro Keo)

This past Thursday in our mid-week Bible study we were privileged to listen to the preaching of Bro. Kuonaro Keo, a fellow missionary here in Cambodia. This was the first of 7 guest speakers who are scheduled to preach between now and Thanksgiving in our mid-week services. Lord willing, I will give a brief overview of each week's sermon and also take advantage of this opportunity to introduce you to some great men of God with whom I am honored to serve the Lord.

"Do You Know Anything About Parachutes?"

A Joke With A Point

A man parachuted out of an airplane, and when he pulled the cord, his chute failed to open.  As he continued falling through the air, he grabbed for his reserve ripcord, but again nothing happened.  He began to fret just a bit as you might imagine, and he said to himself,  "Oh man!  What am I gonna do now?  I'm a goner for sure!"

As he plummeted downward, suddenly he saw a surprising sight down below him.  A man was flying straight up towards him at a speed that was every bit as fast as his own, and it appeared that he would pass nearby.  "Hey, great!" he thought.  "Maybe this guy can help me."  As the man shot by him the parachutist yelled, "HEY!!!  YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PARACHUTES?"  To which the man replied, "NO!  YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT GAS STOVES?"

After I read that joke, the thought occurred to me that I am not the only person in the world with a problem.  The people I meet throughout the day, they all have problems too.  Some are worse than mine.  I had a couple of bad days last week.  Wednesday was one of the most discouraging days I've had in a long time.  Sunday started off really badly, although it did get better quickly.  But do you know what?  Compared to some of the other trials that I know some people are going through right now, I have nothing for which to complain.  I challenge you to keep this little joke in mind next time you are tempted to complain or feel sorry for yourself.  Look around.  Somebody else has a problem that is bigger than yours.  Instead of focusing on our own problems, we should lend a helping hand (or a prayer) to another person in need.