Breaking Ground

When I was in the training phase of the Ignite internship we were assigned the task of digging a giant hole. The giant hole would later be filled with concrete and serve as the foundation for the church’s sanctuary. A foundation we would never see. A church we would never see. A church building that has now become too small for the congregation at Calvary Chapel Antigua, Guatemala. I believe this is a visual representation of the work God is doing here in Cambodia through our team. We are the first set of “hands and feet” Potter’s Field has sent to Cambodia and we have our trowels in hand as we have begun overturning the soil.

We did not see the finished work of the church in Guatemala. We have never worshiped the Lord on the foundation that we dug. Similar to Guatemala we may not see the completed work here in Cambodia.  On this side of heaven we may never understand what is taking place. But as we are faithful with the things God sets before us each day, God is setting the foundation for the influence that Potter’s Field will have in Cambodia for the future.

We are in the midst of creating a long-term partnership with the churches here in Cambodia, specifically the church in Kraing Tnong, our current village of residence. Our days are filled with teaching English at various levels, learning Khmer, children’s ministry, various church programs and other projects, all focusing on creating relationships with the people. We must go deep in our relationships with the people in order to effectively go wide.

God has already been providing opportunities for us to share the gospel. Every evening the church hosts the “Salt and Light School”. The school provides English classes for students ages 4-18 and the nearly 100 students who come are split into eight different classes. Through these nightly English classes many students have come to know the Lord. In fact, the young man, Chantha, who overseas the school came to know Christ through English classes at another church location. Chantha now carries the vision of using the physical need of learning English to bring his students to their true spiritual need for Jesus.

One day, Chantha asked me to teach his class about a topic of my choosing and I saw it as an opportunity to share the Gospel by teaching them “How to say the Gospel in English.”  Another English teacher asked me to share the same lesson with his class. I started the class by asking how many students had heard the story of Jesus.  I felt a mix of emotions as I saw only one student raise their hand out of a class of 15. Realizing that God was beginning to bring to fruition a dream of mine. While I was in Africa, months ago, God placed a desire on my heart; a desire to share the Gospel with an unreached people group. I did not know how He would bring that desire about or what role I would play. And here on

our church compound in the class of 15 I find myself looking into the eyes of an unreached people group; a group of children that do not know the name of Jesus. They do not know God the creator or Jesus the Savior. Our prayer here is that all of the children that attend the Salt and Light School would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Pray for our team as the Lord provides more opportunities for us to spread the Gospel. May the name of Jesus (Preayesu in Khmer) be known throughout the village of Kraing Tnong and the Kingdom of Cambodia!