Dear loved ones,
First and foremost, I want to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season! I pray that you continue to live a successful Christian life honoring our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! For the month of November and December I am honored to express my thoughts concerning the work of Christ here in Cambodia. A few months back, I wrote a short note on Facebook entitled "3 Rules for Missionaries in a Third World Country to Live By..."
Rule #1
Missionaries must not drive a Lexus, Mercedes, Range Rover or any other luxurious vehicles of the sort. You've given up those things when you left America.
Rule #2
Missionaries must not own any land or buildings. Of all people, you know that we don’t have ownership of anything in this world, why tempt yourself and risk putting His work in jeopardy?
Rule #3
After 5 years of your ministry, missionaries must not be in full control of everything. You must learn to trust your work and see the growth of your fruit!
I want to focus on Rule #3 because this is my 6th year as a missionary in the land of Cambodia. Most of you probably know that I've spent the past month or so away from Cambodia competing in the SEA games in Myanmar in the sport of Basketball (which I love very much). It was an honor to represent Cambodia and I thank God for blessing me with this once in a lifetime opportunity! I had a wonderful experience. Not only did I have a chance to compete in the sport that I love on a high level, but more importantly, I was able to see the growth of my fruit!
When I was away, Darat, Piseth, Chann, my wife Chakriya, Hout, Ravy, Saran, and the rest of the local leaders stepped up and took care of everything. It was as if I hadn’t left! I realize that all my hard work in building trustworthy people to lead and not be dependent upon the missionary was a success! The school ran normally and the children's home went smoothly as well. I am wondering if God is telling me that my work here is nearly complete?
I love the work that I am doing here and believe that we still have a long ways to go before we have elders and be self supportive, but at the same time, I see that we are definitely taking steps in the right direction! This is an exciting time and what a way to end the year! I look forward to the 2014 year and see how much more we grow as a church and as a people of God individually! Please keep us in your prayers and keep supporting this wonderful work.
Phanat
To see Phanat’s report with a picture of the Cambodian National Basketball team, go here.