Equipping Students For Evangelism

Darryl taught a two week, intensive Apologetics class at Cambodia Bible Institute between October 21 and November 1. The purpose of the class is to help students to gain complete confidence in the Truth of God’s so that they will grow spiritually and evangelize non-believers and equip believers so that they too will love God with their minds in addition to their hearts. 

The class received very good feedback. One student now hopes to become an Apologetics teacher in the future. Another student has started using information from the class to evangelize and equip the university students who live in his dormitory. Other students gained confidence to share their faith with non-believers. Instead of a final exam, the students made short evangelistic/apologetics videos which Darryl will soon be sharing on social media. 

Two New Videos In October

Darryl also produced two videos in the beginning of October: 1. God’s Cameras: Ears 2. God’s Motors: Bacteria Motors. Different videos achieve different levels of views. Some videos have been viewed by more than 37,000 Cambodians (Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?). Cambodians continue to be very active on social media and are probably more willing to learn more about the truth of Christianity through social media than they may be through other methods of communication. 

Franklin Graham’s Love Phnom Penh Festival Choir

In addition to her regular ministries (Precious Women Ministry and International Church Worship Team etc.), Kayo has been part of the team which is training the choir for the Love Phnom Penh Festival in early December at which Franklin Graham will speak. Please pray for this outreach that many will come to know Christ personally.

Prayer Requests

Please continue to pray for our financial needs, the most urgent is for Benjamin’s education. 

Please pray for more Cambodian ministry partners for Darryl’s apologetics ministries. 

Please pray for Kayo as she juggles multiple ministries especially between now and the end of the year.

Please continue to pray for “Shadrach” and his family from Pakistan. He has been able to get a visa but is still looking for a full-time job. His wife has a job and he has a part-time job for now. 

In Christ’s Love,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin

Romans 10:15 (NKJV)

“And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Greetings to our Senders from California!

Our family will be in the Los Angeles/Orange County area most of the time until August 6 when we return to Cambodia.  We are looking forward to reconnecting with current senders and connecting with new senders during this time.  We are available to meet with individuals, families, small groups, and larger groups as God opens the doors.  Our temporary phone number  (until August 6 is (562) 479-8631 or you can e-mail us at darryl@sgwm.com.

Please mark your calendars for July 10!  We are happy to invite all of our friends in the vicinity of La Mirada area to a Dessert Gathering (we will eat desserts together, give our latest mission update, and help people get signed up to receive our e-mail updates and partner with us.  The Dessert Gathering will be held a Calvary Chapel La Mirada immediately after the Wednesday night service (service starts at 7pm dessert gathering starts around 8pm).  The address is 15144 Leffingwell Rd. La Mirada, CA 90638.   

We still need to raise more than $900 monthly to cover our rent, utilities, and Benjamin’s tuition this fall.  We are thankful for the one-time donations that are covering this gap in the meantime.  Please continue to pray that God will raise up new/increased monthly financial partners so that we can continue our mission work over the long term.

Ministries wrapped up very well in Cambodia.  When look forward to sharing these updates when we visit with you in person, online, or on the phone. 

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These photos are from behind the scenes of a video called, “Love is Patient,” that Darryl helped a team of Cambodian Christians and French and Indian missionaries make. You can see the finished video at https://www.facebook.com/mediais4god/videos/651713955271058/.

I (Darryl) really want to thank all of our faithful senders for your sacrifices.  Please read this poem(ish) writing that I wrote a couple of months ago as an expression of my gratitude for those who stay in our home countries, work, and share their resources to make it possible for us to continue to mission work which began nearly 19 years ago now. https://www.internationalfishers.com/eternal-impact/we-stayed-so-that-others-could-go-a-missionarys-tribute-to-those-who-stay-behind  

In Christ’s Love,
Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin

^“Peter said to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”  Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farms for me and for the Good News will get more than they left. Here in this world they will have a hundred times more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields. And with those things, they will also suffer for their belief. But in this age they will have life forever. Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.” (Mark 30:28-31 NCV)

Since stepping out of the boat (the USA, a stable career, comfort, and safety) in faith to follow Christ on a journey that would lead me (Darryl) on the path to becoming a long-term faith missionary in Cambodia, most of the time since 2000, this passage has comforted me.  I could also give more than 100 examples of this passage coming true in my life and with Kayo since our marriage in 2004 and arrival in Cambodia on September 11, 2007 with one suitcase and one computer case each.

We are only where we are today because of God’s faithful provision and the sacrificial sharing of resources and comforts which we have received on both sides of the globe.  For example, a couple of years ago when I was sick and needed to return to the USA for treatment, a beloved Christian couple hosted my family and I for three months in their two bedroom condo.  During those three months, they insisted that we sleep in the king-sized bed in their master bedroom, while they slept on air mattresses in the home-office.  They sacrificed their comfort to bless us so cheerfully that when we announced that there was another Christian house we could stay at, we almost got into an argument with them, because they wanted us to stay longer.  If I could remember all of the blessings in detail, I could probably write a book by now.

International Fishers really is International Now

October 1-November 13 Update:

In order to put this update in context, please go back and read our last month’s update regarding my mom’s graduation to heaven, not being able to attend the funeral on October 1 in the USA, and the video and social media conference, the end of September. https://sgwm.com/record/2018/10/01/my-moms-journey-to-eternal-life-and-cambodia-missions-update/

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  My new friend in P@k!$t@n is in the process of publishing this book in his country. Please pray for protection and provision for him.

  A P@k!$t@n! Pastor who is writing a Christian Apologetics book

in his language, contacted me on October 3rd.  He had already received some of my Christian Apologetics videos on a hard-drive, which he received from a mutual friend in the USA.  I sent him PDF English copies of my books, Christianity: Reasons for Faith and Christianity: Discerning Essential Doctrines and Preserving Unity.  He invited me to come teach at an Apologetics conference in his country at some point in the future.  We are in the prayer stage at this point but haven’t made any plans.  

As a result of this connection, I also have made many new wonderful Christian friends at our international church from P@k!$t@n.  They are living and working in Cambodia, in part because of the religious freedom here.  God arranged it that, leader of the group, Robin, and his wife would move into the same apartment building where we live.  On Saturday evening, Robin, arranged for P@k!st@n! food to be delivered to our apartment for supper, because Kayo had been busy in the worship team at a women’s conference and Christmas Choir practice at church all day.  P@k!st@n! food is delicious!  We had some flat bread called chapati left over, so I used it to make a breakfast burrito with eggs and Mexican salsa the next morning! 🙂  

• A Newlywed Christian Couple from Ch!n@,“Dwayne and Kara” came to Cambodia for their honeymoon.  On the last Sunday of their honeymoon, they came to the free English class (even though their English is excellent) at the international church.  I help teach this class the Ch!ne$e pastor at our international church.  During the 90-minute class before the service, we teach English, the Bible (verse by verse), and I include relevant Apologetics evidence. Most of the people are from Ch!n@, a few are from Cambodia, some are Christian some are not Christians…yet.  Pastor Samuel has evangelized and baptized many people from his home country who first came to the church because of these English classes.  Anyway, Dwayne and Kara attend a house church in their home country, which is pastored by Pastor Peter.  Kayo and I met Pastor Peter in California in 2017, at the home of the same mutual friend who gave my new Apologetics Pastor friend in P@k!$t@n the hard drive which included my International Fishers Apologetics/Evangelistic Videos.  It turned out that Pastor Peter was a longtime friend of Pastor Samuel in Cambodia!  
  

  Benjamin, Kayo, and Darryl at the English Corner (Class) at the international church.

   

  

  Dwayne, Kara, Darryl, and Pastor Samuel. Sunglasses due to the new social score program which punishes citizens for religious activities.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For about four years, Pastor Samuel and I have been talking about and trying to produce evangelistic/apologetics materials in the Ch!ne$e language based on some of the materials which I have already produced in English and Cambodian for International Fishers ministry.  So far, it has not worked out because Pastor Samuel and his team have been very busy with other ministries. Amazingly, Dwayne and Kara have an “underground” home studio and have been producing Christian audiobooks and music videos in their language for some time.  They were looking for more evangelistic/Bible teaching/apologetics materials to contextualize, adapt, translate, record, and distribute to their people.  Darryl sent them with his Reasons for Faith book, the English scripts for all of his Apologetics videos, and the English Scripts for the 26 ten-minute episodes of the apologetics/evangelistic, Anchors of Faith radio program which he wrote for Far East Broadcasting (FEBC) several years ago.  They also agreed to give Darryl and Pastor Samuel a copy of any materials that they produce so that we can distribute them both in Cambodia and via other organizations that minister in their country!

 

• A Motorcycle Taxi Driver Who Accepted Christ in 2001, The Rest of The Story!  When Darryl was growing up, his mom would always play the Paul Harvey program on the radio during lunch.  Paul Harvey’s famous line was, “and now you know the rest of the story!”  Many of you know the story about how when Darryl and his team of English teachers first came to Cambodia in 2000, that they met a motorcycle-taxi driver named Phany.  The team evangelized and discipled Phany.  Darryl and Phany are like brothers.  Phany went on to start an organization (completely on his own, in his bedroom in 2006) called Kone Kmeng, which now provides education, dormitories, evangelism, scholarships, wells, and small-business starting micro-loans to around 30,000-40,000 poor Cambodian children (who are at risk for being exploited as child-laborers or child-prostitutes) and their families. https://www.kone-kmeng.org  Lida, Phany’s wife, started Precious Women Ministry, which evangelizes and retrains Cambodian women who currently work in bars and nightclubs (and are vulnerable to exploitation and sexual abuse) so that they can have a new life in Christ and a better career.  Kayo works two days a week at the Precious Women office plus additional work from home. https://preciouswomen.org

And now for the rest of the story!  Soon after Phany accepted Christ back in 2001, he took the Gospel to his village in the countryside.  Many of his friends and family members got saved.  One of his friends, Phanet, accepted Christ and worked at Kone Kmeng Organization for a few years.  Now Phanet is married and is the pastor of a good sized church outside of the capital city.  Phany’s older sister, Sampoa also accepted Christ during that season.  When Kayo and I first arrived in Cambodia, Sampoa worked for us as a house-helper (going to the hot open-air market daily, cooking Cambodian food, helping with housework etc.) during our first two years in Cambodia, while Kayo was pregnant with Benjamin and when he was a baby.  Sampoa also became a special sister, especially to Kayo.  Sampoa’s husband hasn’t become a Christian (yet) but all four of her children attend church faithfully. The two oldest sons have mad strong professions of faith and been baptized.  The oldest son, Sok Heng, only 18 years old, a recent high school graduate, is now leading a 50 person cell group (divided into 4 sub-groups with 4-assistant leaders)!  This cell group is in the church where my old friend Phanet is pastoring.  Sok Heng came to us because he needs financial support to help him apply for a scholarship to study at a Bible School in Singapore.  After Bible School, he wants to continue to minister in local churches and then go to the university and study Political Science.  His vision is to be a bi-vocational church leader/pastor and also work in the government or in an embassy.  Since, Darryl considers Sok Heng as a Cambodian sister, “Uncle” Darryl is very proud of his “nephew” Sok Heng.”  Darryl earned a BA in Political Science before coming to Cambodia as a missionary.  When Phany was thinking about going into politics, Darryl and Phany had many long talks on the subject.  Now Phany is in the process to being appointed to a high ranking postion in the national government while continuing his ministry with Kone Kmeng.  Darryl shared a copy Christianity: Reasons for Faith and other videos and materials with Sok Heng to use in his cell group and future ministries.

 

• Divine Schedule Change Reconnects Darryl with Cambodian Friends Lost
  

  Darryl and Vice-Dean Kim Savun reconnect in a divinely arranged meeting after seven years.

  For Seven Years, When Darryl’s Phone Was Stolen.  Darryl usually attends the International (Christian) Men’s Breakfast which occurs the first Saturday morning of the month.  Before, the breakfast moved from house to house, but recently it is moved into its regular location in the apartment of John, an Indian-American missionary who also lives in our same apartment building.  The beginning of November, Matt, the missionary from Canada who usually organizes it, and other main helpers were all out of town. So Darryl, Garland (an American man, with a Cambodian wife, who Darryl met at church, who also lives in our same apartment building 😉 ) went to a local restaurant to meet Brandon, another American man who has recently come to Cambodia to be the country director for a Christian organization.  When Darryl and Garland walked into the restaurant, they met Mr. Kim Savun, who is now one of the Vice-Deans at the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), where Darryl taught English from 2000-2003 and 2007-2009.  Mr. Savun has been Darryl’s supervisor and good friend since the day in August, 2000 when Darryl and his team of English teachers arrived at the airport in Cambodia for the first time.  Savun and other administrators from the RULE met the team at the door of the airport and escorted them through the special VIP terminal (which the King etc. uses) and then made sure they got settled into Cambodia.

Darryl, Savun, and other administrators at RULE stayed in contact, even after Darryl stopped working there as an Advanced English Instructor in 2009.  One day about or eight years ago Darryl’s phone was stolen.  Since he did not have their e-mail addresses or other contact information, Darryl lost contact with them.  Because they worked at the big university, it would have been hard to find them, and life got in the way.  God apparently, wanted Darryl, Savun, and other non-Christian Cambodian friends from RULE to reconnect, so he arranged for them to meet at the restaurant.  Savun was there with his brother, a retired aircraft engineer.  Instead of having, their planned breakfast for foreign men living in Cambodia, Darryl, Brandon, and Garland had breakfast with Savun and his brother.  Darryl happened to have bilingual copy of his Christianity: Reasons for Faith Book which he intended to show to Brandon and Garland.  Instead, Darryl could talk about the evidence for the existence of God, Intelligent Design, Creation, the Archaeological Evidence for the Bible, and the Evidence for the Life, Death, and Resurrection, of Jesus Christ.  We all had a wonderful discussion in a very natural way.  Mr. Savun’s brother, as an engineer, was very interested in the Intelligent Design evidence which points to a Creator.  Darryl gave Mr. Savun the copy of the book that he had at the restaurant.

When Darryl and Garland returned to the apartment, Darryl gave another copy of the Reasons for Faith book to him, to study with his Cambodian wife. Garland texted Darryl, a couple of days ago, “Thank you Darryl for the lovely book filed with insight. My wife and I enjoy checking each other’s interpretations of what we are reading. I really appreciate you taking the time to involve me in some relation reading God’s Word. I was very fortunate to have met you.”

On November 12, Darryl was able to return to visit Mr. Savun, other Cambodian friends, and he could even meet some of the English teachers from his old organization and share some materials with them.  Darryl shared some copies of Light Times Magazine, the only Christian Magazine in Cambodia with Savun and others at RULE. Light Times Magazine is also an effective evangelism tool because it isn’t a tract.  Instead it is a bilingual (English/Cambodian) magazine with articles on how to be successful in your career, have a good family, be healthy, and other topics, written from a Cambodian-Christian perspective, but which are interesting for both Christian and non-Christian readers.  The magazine is complete with advertisements from major hotels, supermarkets, and banks.  In each issue Darryl includes an Apologetics/Evangelistic article such as, “Why Does God Allow Suffering?” “Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?” and in the most recent issue, “Scientific Facts in the Bible.”  Soksan, the founder prints and distributes 3,000 copies of Light Times quarterly.  Many are placed in businesses, banks, hospitals, schools, and supermarkets around the city.  They are also distributed to churches in the capital city and nation wide.  In the rural churches, usually 20 families share

one copy of the magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darryl plans to return to visit more friends at RULE on November 26.  Other opportunities to get together with former co-workers without the restrictions of workplace politics will follow. Now, Darryl has the freedom and opportunities to share his life, apologetics materials, and life with them on a whole new level.

Opportunities For Darryl to Share the Gospel with Non-Christian Cambodian Friends As Result of His Mom’s Death. Even though Darryl wasn’t able to go to his mom’s funeral in Missouri because there wasn’t time to purchase a plane ticket and fly there, Darryl still was able to connect with his family.  Darryl’s brother, Donald, read a message from Darryl and Darryl’s sister, Rachel, read a message from Kayo at the funeral.  Darryl also made a video tribute about his mom for his immediate family, and Darryl’s cousin sent him a few video clips from the funeral.  So, Darryl felt connected. Since then, Darryl has been able to have two good, long phone conversations with his Dad, who is doing very well.

 

 

Soksan, the Editor of Light Times Magazine, translated an evangelistic Facebook post for Darryl regarding the death of his mother and how as Christians, death is more like a graduation from a school.  We miss them, but we know that they do not want to return from heaven to return to the difficult school called life.  Many of Darryl’s non-Christian former colleagues and students responded to the post.  Sinath, one of the students in Darryl’s Advanced English Class at RULE from 2007-2009 (who also tutored Darryl in Khmer, visited us when we lived in Kampong Chhnang, and who now works for a company that insures aircraft) came to visit Darryl soon after his mom’s funeral.  Darryl was able to share his faith with Sinath on a new level because he could talk about how he missed his mom, but that he had hope to see her again.  Darryl also gave Sinath a couple of issues of Light Times Magazine.  There have been other wonderful opportunities to share his faith with our landlord, and the Cambodian husband, a professional musician, who is married to one of Kayo’s non-Christian Japanese friends as part of Darryl’s remembrance process of his mom’s life.

More Translators, Narrators, and Video Production Partners for International Fishers. More highly skilled translators are volunteering to translate Darryl’s Apologetics Video Scripts and Cambodian Language Blog Articles.  Mek, Darryl’s long time translator, has been very busy with much needed extra work.  His wife just had their second baby and so they need more income now.  Mek, has been recording all of Darryl’s Cambodian language video scripts in his house. However, now with the new baby and a 4 year old, he cannot find 10 minutes of silence necessary to make a good recording without a baby crying or some other noise :-).  So he has taken a break for a few months.  But, God provided a new partnership with Veasna and Mary, two young Cambodian Christians who have a Cambodian Language Video Ministry Called True Media.  They are willing to narrate Darryl’s videos and now, Darryl can have video narration instead of only audio.  Other projects are in the process.  Now the Cambodian language blog articles go out via Facebook and other social media platforms to more than 30,000 Cambodians.  The website, www.internationalfishers.com has increased its traffic from a little over 1,000 unique visitors per month to more than 1,600.

• Equipping Other Missionaries With Apologetics Materials.  Darryl has also been able to share his Christianity: Reasons for Faith book and other materials with other missionaries to help them integrate apologetics evidence into their regular ministries.  For Example:
  • Benjamin’s teacher, to help the Christian home children in the school to become confident in the truth of Christianity and the Bible so that they will not leave the church when they leave home to go to the university or start their careers.
  • A Japanese missionary couple who lead a children’s ministry in a Cambodian Baptist Church.
  • The Director of a multi-national university student ministry.
  • A counselor at Christian counseling center.
  • Others
• Kayo’s Ministry to Japanese Living In Cambodia.  Kayo’s Japanese Life Group ministry is increasingly active, even though it is only a monthly meeting.  One Japanese Christian family, who are not missionaries recently went through a major crises.  The husband, a manager at a factory in Cambodia had serious health and burn-out related problems and had to resign his job and return to Japan for treatment.  The wife and two young children could not close down their apartment, sell their belongings, wrap up the older boy’s education, and find a place to live, job, and new life back in Japan that fast. So, the wife and the two children have had to stay in Cambodia for a month or so before returning to Japan.  The company stopped subsidizing the family’s expensive apartment, so we helped the wife, kindergarten aged son, and two year old daughter to rent and move into a low priced studio apartment in our building.  The situation is quite complicated so Kayo has been helping to arranging counseling and therapy for the family both in  Cambodia and Japan.  Darryl has been giving the boy a ride to and from school along with Benjamin.

• Darryl’s Health Problems and Amazing Recovery.  By now, most of the readers, including the writer (Darryl) are thinking.  You guys really need a vacation! The ironic thing was that in the midst of all of this drama, we actually took about a week of a “staycation” (no work, relax, swim or bicycle with Benjamin) the week of October 7th.  We really needed the rest in order to prepare us for what was to come.  Kayo had several days on and off of exhaustion and various minor illnesses.  On October 13, Benjamin had to go to the hospital to be treated for a severe eye irritation.

 

Then the big one hit.  On October 25, Darryl started having stomach problems

 

and back pain.  He took a sick day and thought he would get better.  The next day he got worse from both conditions.  By Friday afternoon, he could barely drive the car without nearly screaming from the back pain every time the car went over the numerous bumps to and from Benjamin’s school.  He could only sleep 3-4 hours per night, rolling over or getting out of bed was agony and he could barely walk. Combined with the severe intestinal problems, he was miserable.  Of course Kayo got exhausted too because Darryl disturbed her sleep when he had to get up in the middle of the night and try to get a little more sleep propped up on the hobbit sized sofa.  Even though Darryl wasn’t able to help the Japanese family move to our apartment building, Kayo and two strong church men from Fiji stepped in and helped out.  Darryl still was able to watch the kids during the Japanese Life Group and even though he couldn’t teach English at the English class at church, he could still attend.

Because Darryl had such a terrible night, on Monday morning, Darryl decided to drive himself to a nearby hospital to get checked out. Benjamin had a holiday from school so Kayo had to stay home with him.  The car battery was dead.  So, Darryl took a tuk tuk taxi to the hospital and arranged for our long time friend and Christian mechanic to come to the apartment and replace the car’s battery. At the hospital, Darryl had complete lab work done, an abdominal ultrasound, and a back X-ray done.  One doctor couldn’t find any specific cause of the intestinal problem and wanted to do more tests but gave Darryl some medicine for the symptoms in the meantime.  The orthopedic doctor diagnosed Darryl with scoliosis (curved spine), prescribed some heavy duty pain medicine and a back brace.  When Darryl asked if there were any additional treatment options, the doctor said, “No.”  Darryl returned home by tuk tuk  around 3:30 pm, and despite the brace and the medicine his pain was only decreased by 10-20%.  The good thing is that a fellow missionary saw, Darryl’s prayer request on Facebook and recommended a Physiotherapist.  Darryl contacted them and was able to get an appointment for the very next day.

 

 

During supper, Benjamin suddenly felt nauseous and suddenly got, “sick” right in front of the bathroom door!  Benjamin couldn’t clean it up.  I couldn’t bend down to clean it up, because of the back pain and Kayo was too exhausted from caring for Benjamin, myself, and running the house and an intense ministry weekend that she couldn’t move quickly.  Just as she started to clean up the mess, the water pump in our apartment broke and we were without water for 18 hours.  Kayo could only clean a little bit with wet wipes.  Needless to say it was a miserable night.

Early the next morning, Darryl went across town in the car, leaving a sick Benjamin, an exhausted Kayo, and a smelly apartment behind.  It worked out the Physiotherapist clinic was located close to the Christian mechanic shop so Darryl took the car for repairs and them made his way over to the Physiotherapy clinic.  By God’s grace, the Physiotherapy worked!  After the first session about, 80% of the pain was gone!  After a few more sessions, nearly all the rest of the pain is gone. The intestinal problems also went away.  Exactly two weeks after the pain first started, Darryl was back to regular activities and was able to ride his bicycle again.  He continues to do stretching and strengthening exercises and will return for a follow up appointment on November 26.

• Banking and Financial Challenges and Praise Report. In our last month’supdate, we said that we were in a financial emergency situation.  We thank God that situations changed and new sources of funds came in and we are no longer in an immediate financial crisis.  However, we really need your prayers regarding our financial situation, because this is an area of great vulnerability, especially during a time of intense ministry.
  • Darryl’s Medical bills look like they will cost around $1,000.  Our health insurance has a $750 deductible and we are not sure how much/any of the physiotherapy treatment will be covered.
  • On October 16th, Kayo and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a nice lunch.  Afterwards, when I tried to withdraw money from the ATM machine, the ATM machine malfunctioned and refused to release the ATM card. This card was the only card we have for one of our two accounts (ministry and personal) that we have in Japan.) When I called the bank, they would not send anyone to help so we could not get the card back for two weeks.  As a result, Kayo had to report the card missing and so the bank in Japan deactivated it.  We probably cannot get a replacement card for this account until January when a pastor from Japan is scheduled to visit
    

    Celebrating 14 years of God’s faithfulness in our marriage and family.

    Cambodia.  This adds a little more stress and complication to our lives.

  • The ATM machines used to give us $800 at a time with out any additional charge.  Now they charge $5 and only allow us to withdraw $400 at a time.
  • In January the Cambodian government will begin charging a 10% tax on top of our $400 monthly rent.  We cannot really downsize too much more to save money because we currently live in a one-bedroom apartment and Benjamin sleeps in the living room.  Eventually, we probably need a two bedroom apartment, so this is a concern.
  • Due to the changes in the laws related to our visas and work permits we will need to pay nearly $900 for visas between December 2018 and June 2019.  We will also be required to pay another $600 for work permits for Kayo and myself.
  • We are concerned about the funding for Benjamin’s tuition which is more than $500 per month.
  • We are also need to start saving up some funds for Benjamin’s return to the US  to start college or a career in a few years.  We also need to start saving for retirement again.  We haven’t been able to save anything for several years.  But we praise God that we have remained completely debt free.

I do not share these things to pressure you to feel like you are required to meet these needs or solve these problems.  That is God’s responsibility.  Our responsibility is to pray, trust, and obey.  I just needed to write these needs down so that they can stop taking up space on the tired hard-drive of my mind and so that when God meets them, that we can join together and praise Him. He has always been faithful, even with bigger challenges than these.

Thanks for your faithful prayers, encouragement, and partnership.  May God continue to bless you!  There is more that I could share, but I am getting tired of typing!  Thanks for reading this long update!

In Christ’s Loving Hands,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin

^“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;  but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NASB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darryl’s mom’s funeral was held on October 1.  We couldn’t attend because we could not have found an airline ticket and flown to Missouri in time.  Since she was a committed Christian, Darryl thinks of her funeral as a graduation ceremony.  He misses her greatly but is proud of her accomplishments in life as a pastor’s wife, nurse, strong missionary sender, and mother of 7 (Darryl is the youngest).  Just as none of us would want to return to high school or college after graduation, Darryl is comforted in knowing that his mom is much happier in heaven than she would be if she had to continue living on earth.  Darryl’s sister-in-law requested that he make a video about his memories of her.  You can watch it here.

“When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Proverbs 16:7 NASB

“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” 1 Peter 3:15 NASB

Darryl’s International Fishers Christians Apologetics media ministry continues to grow.  Darryl has made so many evangelistic/apologetics videos in the Cambodian language that he has pretty much exhausted most of the topics covered in the book he co-authored with a Medical Doctor a few years ago entitled  Christianity: Reasons for Faith.  The only way to find new challenges against the truth of Christianity, for new topics, was to join a few apologetics and Christians debate Atheists Facebook groups.  Mostly Darryl just observes the debates for video ideas.  However, a few times Darryl has felt led to post or comment.  On at least three or four different occasions in the last month, belligerent atheists have come at him with a lot of prejudices and hostility but little evidence or logic.  In all cases, Darryl applied 1 Peter 3:15 in his responses (sanctify Christ+defense+gentleness and reverence (respect). After a few rounds, the conversation invariably led Darryl to post something along the lines of, “salvation is a free gift. It must be freely given and freely received.  I have no intention of forcing anything onto you. etc.”  In all these exchanges, the atheists’ anger was so blunted that they thanked Darryl for his kindness and told him that he was a rare example of the Christians that they usually encounter.  Usually, after that, the atheists would stop the conversation before they could be given the Gospel, but their minds had been opened a little bit, their hearts had been softened a little bit, and a few seeds had been planted.

In the past month, Darryl has been able to write a few video scripts on the following topics:  1. How to Know the Truth 2. Prophecies the Jesus Christ Fulfilled 3. Did the Tower of Babel Really Exist? 4. The inspiration of the Bible.  Darryl has found four Cambodian Christians who can volunteer to translate his scripts or translate them for only $5 per page (university students).  In addition, Darryl still has his partnership with his Khmer narrator and has made additional connections to other Cambodian Christians who can help with videography, acting, and post-production.  In other words, Darryl finally has the opportunity to make professional quality videos! However, in order to fully take advantage of these opportunities, Darryl will need more financial resources because some of these Cambodians can afford to volunteer and others will need a small stipend (poor college students etc.) and there is also a need for funding for props, locations, and equipment rentals/purchase.

Last week, Darryl attended a three-day video training course at our International Church.  Christian media experts (one was a Ph.D. professor who has made videos for Disney and the United Nations) came and trained around 70 Cambodians and Missionaries in video production and social media.

Darryl’s team produced a two-minute video to minister to women who have had abortions before they received Christ but still feel guilty.  The script idea came from a Kenyan Christian lady.  She had never used video editing software before. Darryl showed her the basics and she did 95% of the editing.  You can watch it here. 

Darryl was invited to give his testimony about growing up in a Christian home and nearly leaving the faith in college (88% of Christian home kids do).  He also shared about his books, radio program, teaching, videos, website, and social media.  Several missionaries and Cambodian Christians are interested in partnering with him in the future.  Please pray that God will open and close the doors for these partnerships.

Kayo continues to be more and more involved with Precious Women ministry which evangelizes and re-trains women who work in bars and nightclubs who are at risk of sexual exploitation.  She also is planning a large outreach/fundraising concert for Food for Hungry Japan and Kone Kmeng Children’s ministry (evangelizes and educates children who are at risk for child-labor and child-prostitution) in June 2019.  A Christian, world-class flute player, will come from Japan for the concert.

Benjamin is doing well in school and is making friends.  He enjoys frisbee club and is learning some unusual throws.  2 1/2 years ago, we had to sell his bicycle before he was ready to take off the training wheels.  We finally got him a new bicycle last week.  Within a day, he was riding on his own like a boss!

Please pray for our finances both in the short term and in the long term.  Many of our most generous and faithful financial sponsors are either close to the end of their lives or are retiring.  As a result, their financial donations will either end or decrease soon.  We need to replace between $400-600 monthly ASAP just to break even in the short-term (more is needed over the long-term). Please pray that God will raise up new/younger senders and churches as well as give wisdom about alternative funding streams.

In Christ’s Love,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Daniel 1:8

We spent from June 20 to August 8 traveling around Japan reconnecting with our friends, family, and senders there after being away for four years.  We spoke at around 20 church services and meetings and were able to reconnect with many but not all of our friends there as well.

We shared updates about what God is doing in Cambodia as well as encouraging and equipping the Japanese and international Christians there with apologetics based messages on topics such as the “Evidence for the Resurrection,” “Evidence for the Exodus,” and “Evidence from Prophecy.”  Japan’s national and church demographics are both getting older so it was also important to help them to be aware of some of the different perspectives and needs between first generation Christians and Christians who come from Christian families.  We also talked about the importance of equipping young people with apologetics evidence so that their faith will not be shaken by challenges that they encounter in school, media, and social groups.  In Daniel 1:8, we see that Daniel and his friends must have had their faith based on a firm foundation so that they could continue to stand for their faith even though they were in a foreign land.  Sadly, we see in modern times many young people who grow up in church leave their faith when they go away for college or careers.

This pattern is not something that happens only in the USA but we met Japanese Christian young people who also struggled in the same way.  As Cambodia develops both as a nation and in the church, this pattern is beginning to happen here as well.  This is why Darryl has been developing (in many cases the only) apologetics materials in the Cambodian language to equip church leaders and parents so that when their young people have doubts about their faith that they will be able to point them to reasonable answers.  Unlike older generations that would primarily seek answers to their faith-challenges from their families or the church, many young Cambodians are seeking answers on the Internet and other media.  We are encouraged to continue developing apologetics materials for distribution via the Internet and social media.  Darryl’s Cambodian ministry partner recently reported that one of the videos that they produced together in the Cambodian language had received more than 18,000 views.  Darryl also shared 26 scripts with another Cambodian ministry to produce into short video dramas for Internet distribution. This ministry, made up of Cambodian young people, has produced high-quality videos in the Cambodian language that have received more than 22,000 views.  The International Fishers website is regularly visited by around a thousand people each month and many of Light Times Magazine’s 3,000 copies are read by twenty people each, especially in the rural areas and in businesses.

As we return to our regular work/life pattern in Cambodia, Kayo will continue to serve with Precious Women Ministry to help them evangelize and transform the lives of young Cambodian women who are working in high-risk jobs in bars and night-clubs and give them a new life in Christ and the opportunities they need to pursue more sustainable careers and take care of their families.

Benjamin will continue into the 4th grade at Hope International School.

As we continue to reach out to Cambodia’s next generation, we are reminded that many of our Senders in the US and Japan are from an older generation.  Some of our largest financial sponsors are getting to an age where they won’t be able to continue their financial support for mission work for much longer.  Please pray that God will raise up a new generation of senders who will be willing and able to regularly invest in mission work to help Cambodia’s Body of Christ to not just grow and make an impact for one generation but for the future as well.

Thanks for your faithful prayers, encouragement, and support.  We are always encouraged to hear from people at home so don’t be shy about e-mailing us.

In Christ’s Hands,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin.

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7:9 NIV

The verse above is encouraging. There will be so many people in heaven that we cannot count them.  Sometimes we minister to people and share the Gospel with them and we do not know whether someday the seeds that were planted in their lives or not. We may never know how our lives have impacted others until heaven.  When we find out in heaven, it will make heaven sweeter.

Darryl went to the countryside for an overnight ministry trip with his Cambodian/Filipino ministry partners.  He spoke at a house church on the countryside.  He spoke about the Biblical view of respecting the elderly and parents.  The church held a foot washing service for their senior citizens. We also helped with a children’s program at a local Christian school. The trip was during the Cambodian New Year. Cambodians believe that there is a new angel that comes to the country each year.  Darryl taught the children about angels and demons and that they should not worship angels or be afraid of demons because Jesus Christ, the Creator is greater.

Darryl also continues to teach Christian Apologetics at the Cambodia Presbyterian Theological Institute.  His students are preparing to video record their Apologetics skits at the end of this month.  These videos will be uploaded to social media. Some of his students are sharing Darryl’s videos on social media to encourage their Christian friends and evangelize their non-Christian friends.  Some of these videos have received more than 6,500 views.  The International Fishers website consistently receives around one thousand visitors per month.

 

Kayo is working more with Precious Women Ministry because their other foreign staff member has returned to their own country.  Her ministry to Japanese people in Cambodia continues to grow and more Japanese are expected to come in the fall.  She also is ministering through the international church’s worship team.

Please pray for our coming trip to Japan this summer.  It has been more than four years since we were able to go there and connect with and encourage our senders there.

In Christ’s Hands,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; He suspends the earth over nothing. Job 26:7 NIV

 

Darryl is developing a new video entitled “Scientific Facts in the Bible,” in the Cambodian language.  The video focuses on just a few of many scientific facts in the Bible that scientists did not discover for thousands of years.  For example, the book of Job was written at a time when many cultures wrongly believed that the earth was sitting on the back of a large animal or some god but the Bible correctly teaches that the earth is suspended on nothing. His videos on the topics of “Why does God Allow Suffering?” and “God and the Value of Human Life,” will be released soon.

 

Darryl also continues to teach Christian Apologetics at the Cambodia Presbyterian Theological Institute.  He has around 20 students from all over Cambodia. One of his students, a local government official in his sixties has planted four churches.  In May, his students will make Apologetics videos which Darryl will post on social media.

 

An exciting new ministry opportunity has opened up for Darryl in rural Cambodia.  Recently, Darryl has partnered with a veteran Filipino-Cambodian missionary couple to help a church and children’s ministry program.  In March, Darryl spoke at the church and taught the Bible and English at the children’s ministry.  He is scheduled to return to the province with this couple the middle of April.  Please pray for the development of this ministry especially for the development of sports and anti-drug programs.

 

 

Darryl continues to write articles for Light Times Magazine.  In March they distributed 3,000 copies across Cambodia. In rural areas, each copy may be read by more than 20 people.  They also distributed copies to the largest Cambodian Christian school.  Teachers there used Darryl’s article, “Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?” to teach their students about Easter.

Kayo continues to serve with Precious Women, a local ministry that reaches out to Cambodian women working in bars.  Her ministry to Japanese living in Cambodia is going well.  She has also been leading worship at the local international church.

Our work permits are still in process. Our Christian mechanic and his wife went out of their way to help us with the process.  Please pray for financial provision to cover this extra expense.

Please pray for our upcoming trip to Japan to reconnect with our Japanese senders.  It has been four years since we were in Japan. Please pray for favor and good fellowship with the churches across Japan.

In Christ’s Hands,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your hearts be.” (Matthew 6:19:21)

Thieves attempted to break in to the Light Times Magazine office. The founder and his family used to live in the building but after they moved out, the building became more vulnerable to thieves. We thank God that the thieves were not able to break into the office where the computers and cameras were stored. Since then, the office has been in the process of moving. However, it has taken a long time to get the Internet set up so it wasn’t possible for Darryl to work there for a couple of weeks. Darryl continues to edit articles and writes one article per issue. He also wrote an article on the evidence for the resurrection for the upcoming Easter issue.

Darryl was invited to teach Christian Apologetics at the Cambodia Presbyterian Theological Institute from March 8 to May 24th. Please pray for this class that God will use it to equip the students to answer difficult questions about Christianity.

Darryl continues to develop apologetics videos with the help of his intern. The video, “Why Does God Allow Suffering?” is almost finished and ready to release. Darryl is also working on another video, “God and the Value of Human Life.” Please continue to pray for these and other videos to come.

Kayo continues to mentor Cambodian women at the organization for at-risk women. Her ministry to Japanese living in Cambodia continues to grow. She continues to be part of the worship team at the international church.  In March, she will join the worship team for a Christian conference.

Benjamin continues to do well in school. He is also part of an after-school basketball club at his international school.

Please pray for our work permit application. It is a new and expensive requirement for foreigners in Cambodia. Pray for favor and a smooth process.

In Christ’s Hands,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin Record

Phnom Penh, Cambodia