Ripe for the Harvest!

View from one of the slums we ministered in with the outreach team.

Wow, what a few months it has been. Sometimes I (Mollie) look back and am overwhelmed by Gods goodness! 

Sometimes things about living in Cambodia are extremely hard; recently roads have been like rivers, we have had invasions of all kinds of rodents and creepy crawlies in our house and some days you hear so many heartbreaking stories you just want to cry; but its so worth it!! What an honour is it to be here and serve our amazing God and the beautiful Cambodian people.

This last month we have been fairly busy having a team of Harvest School graduates here on extended outreach, but they were such a blessing. My highlight of that time was going out and doing street ministry and watching as people encountered the love of God through healings, prophetic words and dream interpretation; with many giving their lives to Jesus. One man who came up to us for dream interpretation had a recurring dream of himself fishing into the map of the world and then two nights before we met him he had another dream where Jesus came to him and told him to follow Him! He was confused by it all; so it was awesome when some of our team told him what it all meant! It’s in times like this I see how Cambodia is so ripe for the harvest! 

People are desperate and hurting and living in fear, they need Gods love and the hope which is found only in Jesus.  Other highlights were slum ministry by the railway tracks and also having communion in the some of the worst bars in Phnom Penh which was extremely powerful! 

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Wat Phnom

I have also had the privilege of getting involved with a ministry working with the prostitutes around Wat Phnom (the most famous temple here). It’s been amazing! It’s a ministry started by a very inspirational and passionate Cambodian women who loves Jesus. This ministry reaches out to women who are broken, abused and often feel completely hopeless. Many of these ladies have addictions to drugs, which is often because their “boyfriends” or pimps forced them to take drugs. The majority of these women also have HIV. This ministry invites all the ladies working in this area for a meal, fellowship, worship and a short message. Most importantly it’s inviting them into relationship and family as they show love to these women. I have been a few times now and have had the privilege of sharing my testimony and also about the father heart of God. It’s been an honour to get to know these women and pray for them and see them encounter God’s unconditional love. God is doing great things and many women I have spoken to have been healed! During worship many of the women looked totally different, their faces radiant and big smiles and tears falling down their cheeks. Every time I have joined this ministry the presence of God has been incredibly strong. Last week several ladies gave their lives to Jesus. I learnt from one of the volunteers there that many of the women working there are having babies (because customers refuse to use contraception and the women cannot afford to buy other contraceptive methods). The women are then selling their babies for as little as $25! Which is another reason this ministry is so important, to help prevent this kind of thing from happening again! 

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A highlight of this last month was being part of a princess party with Hard Places NGO. They have recently opened their girls centre and last week they invited all the little girls to a princess party .This girls centre is aimed at reaching the children who live in poverty/on the streets who are either being sexually abused or who are at high risk. It was such a ball; the girls could get a shower (which to some of them was the most exciting thing), a new princess dress, their hair done, nails done and then lot of fun games, made crowns then were told how precious, valuable there were. The transformation was truly amazing! At one point I felt tears role down my face as I just felt such joy; these girls were being taught about their true identity! It’s going to be exciting to see what God does in these girl’s lives. 

One of the red light areas of Phnom Penh

Last week we went out to do bar ministry. For a while I have found it hard as we have not been seeing much fruit; but there have been victories which I will share. I have recently made a friend who I have been visiting several times a week and forming close relationship with. She has come out of the bars and has now enrolled in English classes; she even brought a friend with her to enrol – praise God! Also last week when visiting the bars I went with Wendy, a friend of mine who works with the MESSAGE parlour, and we had an amazing time. We were speaking to the girls and having a laugh with them and we asked if any of them wanted to learn English; they all shrieked and called for their manager. Initially I was worried as usually this means we need to leave, but this manager was amazing. She loves all the girls in the bar and wants them all to have better lives and jobs; she is so keen for them all to learn English and even suggested we have a class in the bar! She understands that all the girls in the bar, like herself, were brought up in poverty and feel like they have no choice but to work there. She was only 23 and had dreams herself of helping people and working as an air-hostess. We spoke to her about her dreams and really encouraged her; by the end we felt like sisters ...so I am VERY excited to see where this relationship will go. We are hoping to set up English lessons very soon and see how they go.

We have been recently looking for property for our night centre; and God has told us the road we are to be on. We are excited that we have received a donation which covers the first year of running the centre! We have been spending lots of time in the area and regularly seeing what’s available. Please be praying we find the perfect place which will be a home for the boys who are currently living on the streets or with paedophiles. 

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Some of the family visiting church on a Sunday.

One of the families Steve has been working with were doing well but have had some recent setbacks. They are extremely poor but have until recently been coming to church every week.  Steve had managed to get 2 of the young adult members into a 6 months vocational training course for free, which would have been another way to help the family out of poverty – sadly they both quit just before the training started! One was influenced by a jealous spouse the other left for short term work of 3 dollars a day on a local building site. In this same family a young mother who we know very well one day just got up and left her children with their grandparents and moved somewhere else in the city. The whole family in total has 12 mouths to feed on an income made by selling a few vegetables in the local market. Pray for wisdom on how to help empower them to break out of poverty with long term solutions and for repaired relationships within the family. Please also pray for continued breakthrough for them, they are gradually learning more about Jesus and recently 2 members of the family gave their lives to Him.

The harvest is ripe in this country and we are seeing it every day. People getting saved, given new hope and new joy. When they thought they had nothing, in Jesus they are realising they have so much more. Thank you for continuing to be a part of the journey with us and thank you so much for your continued prayers.

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Prayer Requests:

Please pray for our team especially our leaders. We have had lots of sickness, some have had difficulty sleeping and generally had struggles. We know that as we advance Gods kingdom we are on the frontlines of battle; your prayer makes such a difference!!! 

Please be praying for more of Gods glory to be manifest in the women and children’s lives. We are so hungry for people to experience God in a tangible way. The people here believe in the spiritual world and commonly go to witch doctors, fortune tellers etc and we need to show Jesus is so much more powerful! 

Please be praying for peace here; today was a day where thousands showed up to protest about the result of the general elections here. There is so much corruption and frustration and people are desperate for a change to come.

Please pray for clear direction and open doors. Next week there is a big meeting when many of the Non Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) will be getting together to talk about how we can work together more – this is so important! Please pray for good connections and a united vision with other NGO’s.

Please pray for the women who are choosing to leave the sex –industry – this last month two of the girls I know very well are wanting new jobs and a new future. Please be praying for open doors for them. I have been meeting one girl this week to write her CV and try prepare her for interview; which made me realise how much a of challenge it will be to find them jobs – but God is good and He has a plan! 

Here is a beautiful intercessory prayer song by a very good friend of mine who helped to co found The Sanctuary Centre house of prayer and worship. The song is is a song of lament and intercession over trafficking and what’s going on in Cambodia and across the world.