Dear Pastors, Partners, and Leaders!

Greetings to all of you from our church 

 Thank you for your help and support. With your help and support, the Good News is being taken to a place where it has not reached before. Neither have outsiders seen it, but now, with your prayers and help, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is reaching there. People are believing and devoting their lives to the Lord! 

 Because of her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, she was first beaten. Then her Bible was taken away and she was put under house arrest. 

 Hello dear friends, like I often do, I want to share with you the life testimony of a believer of my church. My heart starts crying after listening to her testimony. Eight years ago, a woman named P* came to our church. In the beginning, she came only to pray, but slowly after she heard the Gospel of the Lord and she started believing. She got baptized about 6 years ago. She started bringing her husband to church as well and made great strides in her faith and in the Word of God. 

But her husband was threatened by the people of his village. They said “You have converted. You will be thrown out of the village.” Her husband got scared and started trying to prevent his wife from attending church. But she still went to church and took much of God’s Word to heart by attending Bible studies. She also started telling people the Good News of Jesus Christ. Then, her husband started always beating her and preventing her from reading the Bible at home. Even then she did not stop reading the Bible. Her husband took her Bible and left it at someone else’s relative’s house. Still the poor thing didn’t stop coming to church. Then her husband began locking her in the house on the day when there was a church. So she would talk to us on her cell phone and we prayed together. In the end, her husband also took her phone from her. 

Please pray for her. We have had no contact with this lady for almost 1 month. May God take care of her and save her life and soul. Right now I do not have photo of this sister. As soon as she comes to church I will take her picture and share it with you.

We had a very good time of fasting and prayer all day!

Thanks be to God and thank you all for your prayers for my family and the church! Our churches are making great strides in the Word of God and in prayer. In our church on Friday August 4th, we had a day-long fast. It was a time of prayer and listening to the Word. Together we prayed for the whole world. We especially prayed for the places where the Gospel has not reached, that peace can be established in the whole world, and for God to give protection to the pastors, etc. 

It was very nice and exciting to hear from V* Aunty. The women in our church listened very carefully and thanked God as she shared through online video. For the first time, they got a chance to learn many new things by listening to the Word from her.  And in the end, we bid everyone farewell after having dinner.  

Prayer Requests:

1. Please pray For P*. May God help her come back to church. 
2. Please pray R*. He has been a believer for about 10 years. He has been handicapped since childhood. May God heal him. He is now 22 years old. 
3. Pray for S*. He is suffering from a very strange disease. May God heal him also. 
4. Pray for a widow woman who always comes to church. Her son is 22 years old. He is insane. 
5. Please pray that the believers in our church can grow deeper in the Word of God and to spread the Gospel even more. 
6. Please pray for rain in our area. Due to lack of rain, the hand pumps are drying up. There is also extreme heat. There are signs that there will be famine in the coming days. 
7. Please pray that God keeps peace all over our country. Lately there have been riots and fighting between Hindus and Muslims. 
8. Pray that God will keep our church safe from all kinds of problems. 

Thank you for your prayers, for your love for Christ, and for sharing in the work of the Gospel. 

God bless you!

Pastor & Mrs. 11*

*Names and faces have been changed or omitted for security reasons.

Hello friends and family!

We wrote to you last when we had just landed in Trujillo at the end of June. Since then, we’ve moved into a new place! We live in a nice neighborhood with a small park, a few small grocery stores, and pharmacies all within walking distance. And we’re not too far from the church and Bible institute. 

In the short time that we’ve been here, we’ve been acclimating to the city and trying to learn as much as we can. We’re like babies in a world we’re not really used to. It’s been six years since Racquell and I have been in Peru! We have a lot to learn and relearn. 

In this area, God has been speaking to me (Shilo) His words to Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had just died on the cross, resurrected, and appeared to His disciples afterward. This instance specifically, He came to restore Peter and give him direct instruction on what he was to do after Jesus’ ascent. Before Jesus could even walk away, Peter was already asking about other people’s responsibilities. To this Jesus responded: “…what is that to you? You follow Me!” (John 21:22). 

These words are actually painted on a wall here at church now. And I’m reminded when I look at them, yes, we are new here. Yes, I could be doing this thing, or that thing, instead of what I am doing. But rather than comparing myself to others, or questioning my own ministry and responsibilities, the words from Jesus to me are: “Shilo, You follow Me!” Friends I encourage you, God is calling you to the same thing, before anything else, Jesus says to YOU, “You follow Me!” 

Racquell and I have gotten a lot of opportunities right away to serve here with Calvary Trujillo and Calvary Bible Institute Peru. They are both growing ministries, with great teams of leaders and helpers. And there is a lot of work to be done. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would send more laborers!

A main responsibility Racquell and I have here is hosting and planning for visiting teams and pastors. Since moving, we’ve had three teams of short term mission trips from the USA come to Calvary Trujillo. The first was from our sending church, Calvary Chapel Lihue, then a team from Calvary Chapel Modesto, California, and most recently a team from Calvary Chapel Dothan, Alabama. During their visits we got to serve together with kids festivals/outreaches, street-witnessing, a medical clinic, and construction projects here on campus. Each team was so special and we were blessed by their hard work, their encouragement, and their like-mindedness – they all came to serve, with the goal of obeying the Great Commission and seeing the name of Jesus lifted up in this city and all over the world.

In other news, our semester has started! Most of our students have arrived, and classes have begun. This is exciting as Racquell and I start our first semester with CBI Peru. We have students from the US, Italy, Columbia, Chile, Mexico, Honduras, Bolivia, Peru and Germany. Please pray as we work together this semester! That we would be of the same mind, and that we would walk in the Spirit. The theme this semester at CBI is “Commissioned.”

Our prayer also is for the students to realize their calling to Jesus’ commission (Matthew 28:18-20), not just here in Trujillo, but all over the world. We would love to see Calvary Chapels and Calvary Bible Institutes planted all over South America, and beyond. 

Something a bit more personal that the Lord has encouraged us with recently is these words of Jesus to His disciples: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭29‬). 

We’ve left a lot of these things to serve Jesus here in Perú. But we were reflecting as a couple recently, how many people have loved and cared for Amalia at the Bible College and church. Between students, staff and other new friends, our little girl is well loved. 

The day after this conversation, another staff member from CBI was talking about what a blessing Amalia is to her. She has nieces around Amalia’s age who she misses, and she feels that as she’s given up time with them to serve the Lord, He has blessed her with a niece in Amalia. It brought tears to Racquell’s eyes as she got to share how much we already feel like family with everyone here, and know that Amalia is going to grow up so loved by the people around her these “tios” and “tias” in the faith. On top of her family in the States, who also love her so much!

Again, it costs to follow Jesus. But just yesterday we heard Pastor Drew McIntyre say, “It costs you today to follow Jesus. But it will cost you more later, if you choose not to follow Him.” Rather than thinking about other people’s responsibilities or circumstances…what’s it to ya? Jesus is simply calling us to follow Him.

Thank you for taking the time to read some of the things we’ve been doing since moving! It has been an adjustment, and it is tough at times, but friends, it is worth it to follow Jesus.

It is truly a joy to be here. We love the people, especially the family in Christ we have gained in living here. There’s a lot more to share than could fit on this short newsletter, but we can always be reached if you respond to this email, a phone call, through iMessage, Messenger or WhatsApp.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for our taxi drivers. We take at least two, sometimes up to five or six taxi rides a day between all of us. The drivers almost always ask us where we are from, and why we are here. Probably because Shilo has light skin and blue eyes. Plus we’re still awkward and new in terms of cultural stuff…and our Spanish isn’t great. But pray for their salvation! We share the gospel with or invite almost every single driver we’ve had to church. Some have really been interested. Eduardo is one who you can specifically pray for. 
• Pray for the people of Trujillo, and South America in general. 
• Pray for CBI and Calvary Trujillo! God is doing amazing things with the students and church. We could write a whole newsletter just on all the specific things going on here. You’ve just gotten a taste. 
• Pray for our family’s health! Racquell and I have each gotten sick in one way or another about 4 times in the 8 weeks we’ve been here. Amalia has, too. Our bodies are adjusting, but the flu, strep throat, fevers, colds –  can and have been just another thing that slows us down and distracts us. 
• Pray for our visas – we are applying for a change from “Tourist” to “Religious.” It is a process, as you can imagine. 
• Pray for our pastors, Cory, Jaime, and Joaquin, and the rest of the leadership here. 

PRAISE REPORTS: 

• Jesus is building His Church all over the world. Lives are being changed right here in Trujillo.
• We are learning things daily about Peruvian culture.
• God is working on our hearts. We’ve heard the call from Jesus to “Follow Me.” And by the grace of God, we are doing that.

We love you all so much and thank you for partnering with us. Through your prayers and generous financial support, you have made this ministry possible for us and we want to let you know that this is the fruit of your labor as well. If the Lord leads you to partner with us financially, or increase your already generous support, you can do so by clicking on the financial button below or mailing your support check to:

Saving Grace World Missions

17451 Bastanchury Rd., Ste.203 

Yorba Linda, CA 62886

*Note “Stratton” in memo*

To check out the ministry we are serving with, please click the link:

Calvaryperu.com

By the grace of Jesus and for His glory,

The Stratton Family

Here in northwest Montana, summer is starting to fade and fall is fast approaching. I wanted to take some time and update you on what our summer was like and what we have planned for the fall.

After spending January through April in Japan, May in California, and June in Montana, July was spent with Daphne at my parents’ farm in Nebraska. We always enjoy our time there; the pace of life is slow and we get to have experiences unique to rural America. While the cliché of the dimwitted, more harm than help, farm hand is proven true by my efforts; I look forward to the opportunity to do farm-work every time we’re there. We were able to experience county fairs, summer storms, hay harvest, and livestock wrangling. The time went by quicker than I would have liked, but it was sweet while it lasted.

We extended our time there by a week when my grandmother passed away at the start of August. While we will miss her and the prayers she faithfully lifted up for us, we are thankful to have spent an afternoon with her a few weeks prior to her passing. She was ready to be with her Lord and it wasn’t so much a time of sadness as a time of thankfulness for her and her life. It gave us an opportunity to see the entire family, some we wouldn’t have gotten to see otherwise so we were very thankful for that.

We are now back in Montana and have a busy fall ahead of us. At the end of September, I’ll be going to Peru with a team to help facilitate a missions conference. I have also been given the opportunity to teach at our church here in Whitefish. We are also praying about attending a conference in November, as well as continuing to build our prayer and support team. Please keep us in your prayers for all of these events.

Our departure date for Japan is January 29, 2024. This will be our long-term move and we’ll have a lot of preparation ahead of us to get ready. We’ll be getting our visa and housing sorted out in the next few months as well as deciding what to take with us and what to ship over later. It will also be a short-term trip for several other people that feel called to Japan as well. Alishia has been working hard planning that trip and we are excited to see what kind of team the Lord is building. We are also working on getting Alishia’s US citizenship, please pray that it goes smoothly.

If you’d like to hear more about our calling to Japan, have any questions for us, or would like to become part of our sending team, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Please consider joining us in what God is doing in Japan, there is a link at the bottom that will take you to our giving page.

Prayer requests:

• For Jeff’s trip to Peru in September.
• For provision and guidance as we plan our move to Japan.
• For Alishia’s citizenship process to go quickly and smoothly.
• Praise for a wonderful summer with Daphne and all the family that we were able to see.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

John 14:27 (ESV)

Hey fam,

I pray that this update finds you well, and that your lives are being more and more measured in the peace that only He can provide. For many of us, this season has been turbulent and uncomfortable—to say the least. I pray this passage would be an encouragement to you in that season. My mind goes to a quote by C.H. Spurgeon, it goes something like this, “I have learned to kiss the wave that slams me into the Rock of Ages.” For me, this is a reminder to trust in His sovereignty in this season, and to recognize where He is drawing me closer to Him in the midst of my pain and sufferings. 1 Peter 4:19 says, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), His lovingkindness never fails, and we serve such an amazing God. He is trustworthy and worthy of my praise—even in the midst of my greatest trials and struggles. I pray that you would cast your every care on Him knowing that He cares for you, and that His love for you is beyond measure—it was displayed at Calvary, and His work for you upon that cross has brought a security of an everlasting kind. Peace He leaves with you…

Middle School:

As far as this last month has left me, there are a few things to report and update you about! Middle School has been going well. We have a solid core group of kids that are pretty amazing. I’m blessed by them constantly, and they’re pretty good about making me laugh too. This last month we had a lot go on, we had our Middle School Summer Camp where I took three of our middle school boys down to SoCal for a joint Calvary Summer Camp and it was a blast! The theme was “Living Water” out of John 8:37-38, and God was doing an amazing work in the hearts of the students and leaders who attended. Hearts were being set free and callings were made known—praise the Lord! Please pray for my boys that they would draw ever closer to Jesus and His heart for them, and that the truths they learned that week would only deepen and not fade. Lord willing, there will be an opportunity to do more camps like that in the future!

The week after camp we took our students for a joint trip to Hurricane Harbor (a six flags water park) and we had a blast! It was a great way to spend a hot day! Back at home we just said farewell to one of our leaders who is going off to college. We’re excited for her, but also bummed to not have her while she’s at school. Other than that, we’ve had an addition to our leader team and are still plugging away through the Gospel of John.

Prayer for MS:

Please pray for the Middle School group! 

• That the Lord would help me to delegate well to my leaders, and that we would pour into those kids with our utmost as we receive from the Lord. 

• That those kids would begin to seek the Lord for His calling on their lives (even at their age)! 

• That they would fall madly in love with Jesus, and that He would empower us by His Spirit to minister effectively and unapologetically according to His heart and Word.

What’s next?

Fantastic news: my tickets are purchased and I am all set to go to Peru for the South American church planting and missions conference! I am going down with an SGWM team to help work and prepare for the conference!

Prayer for Peru:

• Please pray for me, that my heart would be ready to receive from the Lord whatever He’s wanting to speak to me during that trip.

• That He would continue to hone and provide vision for what’s to come.

• That He would use me and the team to be a blessing and encouragement to the school and those at the conference while we’re there!

• That He would give clarity on timing for when I am to go (still hoping for January).

If you feel led to partner with me financially as I prepare for going out long term, there is a link below where you can do that.

Thank you so much for your partnership prayerfully and financially,

-Jordon

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 

Matthew 19:14

Dear Friends and Family,

This past month brought us to another season in Uganda.  Its not the rainy season or the dry season, it’s the soccer season!  In Uganda, soccer, or as it’s called here, football, is almost everyone’s favorite pastime. Schools have soccer teams, businesses have soccer teams, the police have soccer teams, churches of every faith have soccer teams and even the various market places here in Uganda have soccer teams. Whether they play it themselves or they watch it from the sidelines, football is a national pastime. This time of year is when the local teams are in their playoffs or tournaments. 

Arise Christian Fellowship has its own football team.  It is made up of young men, most of whom received salvation through the market ministry.  They are registered in the local area with the Kampala market teams. Our church is just a couple of streets above one of the largest markets in Kampala and one of the larger slum areas.  Right now our playoffs are happening every Wednesday.  Since soccer matches always draw large crowds, and the playoffs even larger crowds, we see this as a chance for outreach.  Church members attend the games to support our team and then during breaks or half time, they mingle with the crowds and find opportunity to share Christ with others.

The team themselves are not slacking when it comes to sharing their faith.  The pray and share devotions during practice and before games.  They also share Jesus with other teams they play against or practice with, always inviting them to join in their times of fellowship and prayer.  While many people respond positively to the Gospel message not everyone does.  Sometimes there is a tough resistance against our attempts at evangelism and some attitude given to our players for being Christian.  Despite any negative attention the team and church members might endure, they continue to love football and to love sharing their faith.  We pray for more opportunities like this and for those who hear the gospel to come to know Jesus personally as well as to go to a solid Bible teaching church.

I know I talk about the youth at the church quite often but the truth is they make up the majority of our church. Actually, in Uganda the youth make up the majority of the whole population. 77% of the population are under 25 years old. When I think of this I think of Jesus telling His disciples to let the children come to Him and I always think about the verse that says to train children in the way they should go and when they are old they won’t depart from it. The world as a whole is trying to teach children a way they should go and in Uganda, culture and tradition is still so strong, teaching the children the way they want them to go. As a church we are trying to reach out as much as possible to the children, the teens, and the young adults to point them to Jesus so His way to go fills them and protects them from all these paths that lead to no where.

At church we have a very strong Sunday school. The Sunday school teachers don’t just teach on Sunday but they have meetings down in the slums where most the kids come from. The assistant pastor has a Bible club in the area where he lives. Our teen and young adult leader has Bible studies on Saturday. The youth group also meets during the week to play games and to watch a Christian movie. Luke enjoys it especially when they organize themselves to play basketball. He is hoping to get them to play more, mostly because he loves basketball but also because they get out into the community more like the soccer team. Through the youth ministry we recently had a couple of youth who had been coming for a while who expressed their interest in getting baptized.

Talking about youth, I have to share something very sad that happened recently, involving our family.  A couple of Sundays a go I noticed my brother in-law was not at church.  Brian told me that one of their cousins who lives near by lost their child. Their child was abducted walking home from school and he was found to have been sacrificed (beheaded). Yes, child sacrifice is still a thing here. My brother in-law had gone to help the family make arrangements and to talk with police since obviously the child’s family was overcome with grief.  My kids always think I’m being overprotective but I think this was a wake up call for them.  The incident was in the local paper.  They have caught the woman who was responsible.  Please keep the family in prayer and continue to pray for Uganda that these horrible traditions would end and the children of Uganda would be safe.

Dear Ministry Partners, 

Greetings to you all in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

This is monsoon season. Farmers are busy in their fields. People mostly cultivate rice here. Because of that our state is known as “the rice bowl of our country.” On the other hand, the heavy rain has caused havoc in many places. Many people have lost their lives in floods. Despite all this, God is so faithful to us. He provides for our needs and protects us under His mighty wings. We appreciate your valuable prayers and financial support. We remember you and your family in our daily thoughts and prayers. May the good God bless you with all resources and good health.

On June 3rd, after summer vacation, we reopened our CBI. Four more students have joined us. This semester, I am teaching the Gospel of Mark and translating for Church History class.

I got the privilege to lead the program for a birthday party. It was amazing.

In our local church services, I am still teaching from the Gospel of Matthew. By God’s grace, one of the Sundays we invited a new believer. (He is a colleague of my wife in school). He felt wonderful and blessed. We are hoping that he will join our church in the near future. In addition, we participated in all of our church activities. We also visited some families to testify for the Lord and prayed for them.

Prayer Requests:

• Mr. S* has asked us to pray for his wife to have good health. Also, pray that God may increase his faith.
• Please pray for all of our CBI students. Pray that God may give them wisdom and knowledge to understand the Word.
• Kindly pray for the growth of our church.
• Please pray that we may be able to get suitable land for our church.
• Kindly pray for me and my family. May Lord use us for the expansion of His kingdom.

Thank you very much for your prayers and support!

In Him,

Pastor 3* and Family

Hello Everyone!



Jai Christ! (Praise the Lord!)

May God bless you all! Thank you for your prayers and for your love that you have for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you also for helping us financially. God bless you all. We are all fine. We pray for you all.

Thank God! This month He has given me the opportunity to meet many people. As you know, we are doing ministry in the village area in the North. There are people of different castes living all around, and among them I am doing service.

This month, God gave me the opportunity to go to a new village. Before reaching that village with my friend, I prayed to God, “Dear God, when I reach this village today, give me a person to reach out to – so I can explain your promise; so I can tell your love.”

As we came near the village, we saw an old man sitting in the way, feeding his cow. We greeted the old man and asked about how he was doing. As we started talking to him, we could tell from his face he was very sad. So I said, “Uncle, is there something wrong?”

Then he told me about the situation that he is in. He said, “I live in the village that we are close to. No one listens to us. My house is about to collapse. What should I do, son?” He continued talking like this on and on.

I said “Uncle, I want to talk to you about something.” and I shared with him from the Word of God. I told him, “If no one in this world will listen to you, then there is only the One True God – The person who listens to you and loves you.”

We prayed for him. He then thanked us and took us to his home to have tea.

When we reached his house, the condition of his house was very bad. It was about to collapse. The wife had propped the house up with sticks so that it does not fall on her. We prayed for her.

Then I told my friends that if we can help people like them, it is a good thing. You also please pray for them. Here are some photos of them, so that you can pray for them to get saved.

Thank God that He has so many different ways of working. We all know that God has worked in different ways in my life from time to time.

A few months ago I prayed for a woman and she was healed. She used to go to a Catholic church that she did not like to go to. When I met her, I told her to read the Bible verse-by-verse according to the doctrine of Calvary Chapel. I told her how we teach and we learn this way at Calvary Chapel. She liked it.

When she was healed through prayer, she called 11 more women to her house so that we could pray for them and share the Word with them.

She invited me to her house and I prayed for many people and they started getting healed.

The next week she called about 25 to 30 women. Now we have started a fellowship at her house. Everyone meets once a week and we pray and share the Word with them.

I am praying for these families. That the Word of the Lord will grow in their hearts, and that the work of the Lord will be done in their midst.

I am thanking God for the different ways He is working!

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for the ministry here in the North. Please pray for the villages in this area that we visit. May more doors open like the ones I shared, and may doors open through the doors that God has already opened.
• Pray that I continue to be able to meet with the people that I shared about, so that I can continue to lead them forward in the Word of God.
• Pray for all of the villages in our area that speak our native language – pray that there will be a church in each village someday.
• Pray for the sister who has opened her house for the Word of God and to have fellowship. She wants to have fellowship their always. Also pray for the other women who are listening to the Word.

Thank you all for praying for us. God bless you.

 Pastor 13*

* Names have been changed or omitted for security reasons.

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

JOHN 16:13-14

The night before Jesus died on the cross He discussed the future with His disciples and one of the main topics in their conversation was the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus explained to them that the role of the Holy Spirit was to illuminate and glorify Himself. This is a very important message for Ugandan Christians to understand as many “funny” things are done through “the filling of the Spirit.” Recently I witnessed the Holy Spirit in action when four people stood up during the announcements at church and declared that they had come that day in order to accept Jesus and be born again!

In 2021 I became one of the pastors of Calvary Chapel Gulu, and it has been so exciting to see God moving in and through our church more. But it has been hard to be involved with the church family while we are living so far away. We are thankful for God’s blessing of placing our new home very close to the church, and with the time we will save from the commute we will be able to be more involved. Among other things, we are specifically looking forward to creating new believer classes that will help new converts become grounded in their faith.

Last month our team was blessed to be trained in a holistic approach to ministry called Community Health Evangelism or “CHE” for short. CHE is designed to help a community recognize their own physical and spiritual deficits/needs and work together to solve them using what resources they already have. This method is being employed in every continent of the world and is having tremendous impact in communities in areas of health and hygiene, how to raise families, business ventures, agriculture and animal husbandry, and many other things. It is even being used to plant thousands of churches. After finishing our training, a few of us had the privilege to tour Northern Uganda and even South Sudan to see other groups of people who were implementing CHE. We believe that we will incorporate this into our Bible college curriculum, and we are excited about how the Holy Spirit will use it to transform communities around us!

Please continue praying with us that:

• We will be able to fully adopt our daughter Apio Cynthia.
• God will bless our transition into a new home and community.
• Many people here will be touched by God’s Holy Spirit and will come to a saving belief in Jesus.
• God will give us boldness to preach and represent Him.

In Christ,

Matt & Noelle & Family

“For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:16-19

Reading the above passage with fresh eyes, I realize that it is actually an encouragement from Paul, a missionary, to his senders. Another way to say this is, “You all faithfully met my needs…Therefore the fruit that comes through my ministry will be credited to your heavenly account …..and God will supply all your needs!” This perfectly describes how Kayo, Benjamin and I feel about our senders and loved ones in the USA and Japan.

We just returned to Cambodia from the USA. Our time was so full and blessed that we were not able to visit everyone we wanted to in person. We were blessed and encouraged in so many ways! Now, we are back in Cambodia. We have pretty much overcome jet-lag, gotten our apartment etc. reopened and restocked, and are starting to serve in our various ministries here. For example, I will preach this Sunday at the international church and help with the Chinese ministry. Kayo and I will both soon resume our regular work with Precious Women Organization. Benjamin will start high school (year 9) at Hope International School. Looking ahead, I will teach a two-week intensive Apologetics class at a Cambodian Bible school the end of next month so I need to start preparing for that along with other ministries that will resume and start soon.

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for opportunities for me to evangelize and disciple a man from the Middle East who is here in Cambodia as an international student.

• Please pray for Light Times Magazine, the only Christian magazine in Cambodia, they had to delay the printing of their most recent issue because of lack of funding. This is a valuable ministry and also they provide the legal basis for my Cambodian visa renewal.

• Please pray for Benjamin as he starts school and for continued provision for his education.

• Please pray for wisdom and provision regarding our funding from Japan. The Japanese Yen has lost between 20-25% of its value over the past 2 years against the US dollar. Cambodia’s economy is based on the US dollar. This means the sacrificial donations of our Japanese senders have been greatly devalued. Meanwhile, our expenses, (mainly Benjamin’s education), continue to rise. We have already done everything we can to cut expenses and have already looked into part-time employment in Cambodia (but right now that door doesn’t look promising and it would reduce our ability to minister effectively here).

• Please pray for wisdom, peace, and grace as God has placed us in the unique position of ministering to and alongside so many Christians from so many cultures/nations (this is the easier part) and denominations (evangelicals with a broad range of perspectives on secondary doctrinal issues–this is the more challenging part). We are blessed that there is a beautiful unity of the Body of Christ in Cambodia and beyond. It seems that God has called us to work in the joints (between the bones = denominations) (Ephesians 4:16). Please pray that there won’t be any arthritis…:).

In Christ’s Love,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin

Greetings in the Name of Jesus,

First, I would like to thank God for His endless mercy and love which has rested upon us. Truly God is a faithful God! Every day we experience His goodness in our lives. Wow! How wonderful He is! 

  I thank God for the good family which He has given to me. We are devoted to serve God faithfully. For the past twenty-four years in my faith journey, He has never left me nor let me lack anything. During these past years, so many struggles came in my life, but my God was with me. 

I thank God because He has chosen me to be a minister of His holy Name. Today, God has given me a small congregation (above). All of the believers are doing well. Please always pray for them so that they may grow in the Lord. 

 It is really good for me when I teach the Word of God verse-by-verse in my church. I also do personal Bible study. From Monday through Saturday, I spend time preparing my message for the next Sunday. Right now, I am preaching from the Gospel of Mark. 

Every evening my family comes together for devotions. First, we have prayer and worship, then we read the Bible. At the end, we pray for different prayer requests. So please pray for my family so that we may continuously move further in the ministry. 

Special thanks to the hands who are helping me financially. May the Lord bless them abundantly.

Prayer Requests:

1. Please pray for brother G*. He heard the Word of God. He has a physical problem. May God deliver him soon. 
2. Please pray for brother T*. Sometimes he has trouble with an evil spirit and a paralysis problem. 
3. Pray for our church’s building (picture right).

In the Lord,

Your Brother,

Pastor 8* and Family

*Names and faces have been changed or omitted for security reasons.