Dear brethren, it is with joy that I write to inform you of what's going on with the work of Jesus Christ in Siem Reap, Cambodia! As some of you may know, we are approaching our final quarter for our 2nd year students. We are already starting to make plans for the graduates as to where they will serve upon graduation and also for future students to enroll in IBISR.
One very exciting bit of news is that we are taking small steps to becoming autonomous. The local church has plans to fully support one of the graduates who is going to go back home to preach and grow the congregation there. His name is Lon and he will be going back to Takam village to be the point man there. I am very excited and impressed that he is willing to go back home and work with the brethren there. It's impressive because most village students who've come to Siem Reap want to stay in Siem Reap and work in the city because there's more opportunities here.
It's just like the church in America who sponsors a foreign student to learn the Bible, but instead of going back to his country, he stays in America because of the benefits thereof. That is why it's impressive to me and that's why the church will do whatever is necessary to support such a one.
I am also excited because the church has shown her stewardship and spiritual growth by taking the initiative and responsibility of supporting one of her own instead of relying on American funding to pick it up. It may not be a big deal to some, but if you take into consideration the fact that 5 or 6 years ago, in this area, people didn’t even know what the Bible was, we had to start from the ground up to where we are now. It truly is incredible what God has done in these past few years! We serve a wonderful and powerful God and he deserves all the glory and honor and praise!
Phanat
To see Phanat’s report with a picture of Lon, click here.