Satisfaction

Since we moved to Phnom Penh lots has happened and even though we miss our close friends and (what feels like) family in Sihanoukville we are enjoying doing life in the capital.

We have already sent a few mini updates out so I’m not going to talk in detail about all of the things that have happened, but some highlights can be seen in the photo’s directly below with a short description. (Press play and/or the arrow buttons below if you want to see it).

We have been working with children and families along the same railway track as in Sihanoukville just at the Phnom Penh end.

At the beginning of our time here our team said googdbye to someone very precious and instrumental in the setting up of Iris Cambodia.

Gracie enjoying life in Phnom Penh.

A wonderful outreach to an Island on the Mekong River Jesus healed many of the neighbours of a family we know and there was great breakthrough with people asking us to come to their house so they could receive prayer for healing too.

Many were healed by Jesus including this woman who couldn't move her arm.

I had the privilege of going to this beautiful bible school to share and encourage the staff there.

We were blessed to meet up as a number different NGO's and organisations and receive training from a visiting team from Singapore.

We got to have a party with the children in the Slum celebrating the fact that they are Princes and Princesses, children of a great King.

As a team we attended Asian Christian Conference in Phnom Penh and joined thousands of believers from around Cambodia and SE Asia. Our team were encouraged and I had a wonderful encounter with Father God.

We were invited to come to Kampong Cham to tell some locals more about Jesus.

We started by praying for some of the neighbours of one of our team members and sharing the love of Christ. We also encouraged the local believers, here having a time of worship in a local Khmer house.

Whilst praying for some of the neighbours we prayed for this man, he got healed and he said he felt Jesus.

He became a believer in Jesus and we gave him an audio bible in Khmer.

We then went on to a village about an hour from this which previously had no believers in Jesus in. We were invited back after her son (with the ball) had his crippled legs healed after prayer and he stood for the first time. They wanted us to tell them more about Jesus

They decided to follow him and were baptised as the first ever believers in Jesus in that village. This was the same spot where in May our team prayed for rain as these same fields were dry and cracked and had no rain. After prayer the rain came and now look at the fields where we got to do the baptisms.

These three beautiful grandmas had been through much including the Khmer rouge genocide and all of the events that followed. They were prayed for and Jesus healed them and they decided to follow him too. We gave them an audio bible to share between them so they could meet together to listen to God's word.

Grace being cute.

We thank God that all of the funds came in so we were able to send our first ever Cambodian national to the Harvest School of Missions in Mozambique to learn from Heidi and Roland Baker and others. She is having a life changing time and we are excited for all the things God is going to do through this.

We had the privilege of going to hospital to the critical care ward to pray for our team member's uncle who at one point her family thought was dead after multiple seizures. He couldn't remember his own family but as soon as we walked in he remembered us from a month before when we prayed for an infection and cyst on his skin at that time Jesus healed him.

This time we prayed for him and after a while he became more aware. After we left the hospital whenever he had a seizure his buddhist wife prayed for him in the name or Jesus and the seizure stopped straight away. A few weeks later our team member went to the island where he lives and saw him dressed in his smart clothes happily walking around visiting his neighbours. They all know it was Jesus who healed him.

We got to continue regular outreaches to the city centre slum and the beautiful kids by the railway in Phnom Penh.

Since moving to Phnom Penh we have hit the ground running. We seemed to join with the team just as they entered a season of increase and blessing and they have done an incredible job administering and enabling all that has been going on. In the midst of all this we have also had two trafficking cases in which we have had some involvement in and there have been some changes in our team personnel.

There has been lots happening, many encouraging things and lots to process. With so much going on and so many breakthroughs its easy to get lost in it all. In the midst of things going really well and some great testimonies happening (see photo's above) it is easy for it to become about just that.

It is easy to make the slight adjustment in priority in thinking in your heart that these things are the ultimate goal.

A few weeks ago I was having some time with God on the roof of our apartments and I found that somehow I had almost made that mistake. Like it was becoming only about what was being achieved for Him, what testimonies were coming out or what great things were getting done for Him.

These things are important and needed but only one thing is fulfilling or truly satisfying to me. Only one thing satisfies my heart and soul, I would trade all the great achievements in the world for that thing; That peace that gives you wholeness and that deep satisfaction. That only comes by having Him who is Peace close to me. Him who is Fulfilment nearby, Jesus himself.

I would trade anything just for that feeling of being close to him, truly whole, truly complete truly fulfilled, and that only comes from relationship, close relationship, not from any significant works that can be achieved. Somehow I had found I had lost that a bit.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Phil 3:7 (ESV)

Someone can be doing the most amazing world changing things and yet be truly unfulfilled in their heart. People can also be doing nothing and be completely unfulfilled. The majority of the satisfaction doesn’t come from the doing or the not doing but knowing Him closely in the midst of it all whether doing anything or nothing at all. True and full satisfaction is in Him.

In the last few months I have learnt that it is not wrong to want to do great things for Him and see lives changed and impacted and achieve wonderful things in His Kingdom but it is wrong to not continually seek close and meaningful relationship with Him in the midst of it all. So the main focus is not on the doing itself but in knowing Him more and more closely, being ever closer to him in the midst of the doing.

If anything takes higher priority in our life than our relationship with Jesus Christ it has become an idol. Jesus is so wonderful in every dimension of His being that there is nothing out there that is ever worthy of even coming close to that.

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
John 17:3 (ESV)

Family news;

One of the happiest bits of news to report out of them all is that we are expecting a second child, and little Gracie is going to be a big sister!

We went for a scan a few weeks ago mummy and baby are doing very well and we found out that the baby is due in May 2017! We are so excited!

While this has been some joyful news for our wider family we have in the last few weeks had my Grandma fall seriously ill to the point where she has nearly died numerous times. Last week I got a call saying she had a few days left so I went back for a week to be with family and hopefully see my Grandma again. Thankfully I got to see her and so did my brother who flew in from Australia. It was a precious time to be with her and family but also a very emotional time. Please pray for our family and my Grandma that everything would be in God's timing and in God's way!

We have been blessed to have some wonderful visitors

In the space of a week Grace was ill twice, once with sickness and here with chicken pox (although in my opinion still very cute).

During this time we were blessed to have Mollie's wonderful parents here though, they encouraged us and helped greatly, (Mollie's dad is also a retired GP!) We are so thankful to God for them.

As we look ahead please pray for;

My wider family that they would be comforted in this difficult time.
The health of Mollie and Baby and ongoing strength and energy.
Protection over our family including Grace.
Wisdom for us to lead the team here well and serve them well.
Breakthrough in the slum where we minister twice weekly that we would finally get to rent the property that we have been after so we can set up a base there.
Our Cambodian team members for prayer covering over them and the provision they need, and ongoing faith and trust in Jesus above all.
Ongoing favour in our relationship with the government.
Our Directors Jason and Kellie, for Jason as he continues to make progress in his recovery and for Kellie as she continues to lead incredibly well, whilst she is still a full time mum and a carer.
For the new believers from the last few months, that they would receive the mentoring and the encouragement they need and continue to stand strong in their faith.

Sunrise over Kampong Cham where many of the new believers live.

Thank you so much! Much love from Steve, Mollie, Gracie and baby Bump!

Family news;

Archives