Cambodia Update

Cambodia Update

Dear Redeemer Family,

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps (Proverbs 16:9).  Don’t you love when God’s Word proves itself so plainly true?!  Oh the stories we could all tell!  Let me briefly share one as it relates to our church’s plans for global missions.

As you probably know, last September, our church sent a team of fifteen people to rural Cambodia to spread the love and gospel of Jesus in the village of Sobhan and to encourage a small group of believers who live there.  Over the past year, we’ve continued praying and giving and doing our best to encourage the newborn church that began gathering shortly after our visit.  As we prayed and sought direction for what should be our next steps, it seemed good to us to send a second group in June 2020, composed primarily of educators, to help train teachers in the village, which has been identified as one of the most helpful things we can contribute along with further equipping and encouraging for the young church.  Well, it’s probably no surprise to you at this point that a trip next month is no longer possible.  Bummer.

We trust that the Lord has aligned our hearts with these particular people for good reason, so we are continuing to seek wisdom and direction from Him as to what that should look like in light of current circumstances.  We expect there will be a day when taking our next trip is possible, but in the meantime, here is what we know (or think we know!):

Jumpah School’s enrollment has grown to 440 students, but with mandated school closures through at least the summer months, will lose approximately $22,000 in tuition fees.  The primary concern is losing some of the teachers that have been so heavily invested in over the past several years.  The farm and woodshop continue functioning, but are still not significant sources of revenue.  Jumpah (led by our friends, Tim and Dar) will need to rely heavily on outside support to weather this storm.

We, as elders, are gathering info and praying for clarity about how we can step into this need in lieu of our plans to take a trip.  Please continue to pray for our friends in Cambodia, and if you feel led to contribute financially, please contact Tim Tatum (ttatum@redeemercom.org) for more information.  We trust that the Lord is at work for the good of all of His people, even when things don’t go according to (our) plan!