Rivers Baptist Church - Christ alone - and Him crucified

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers. We have certainly felt carried by them through the last month and are grateful to God for His presence and peace.

Attached is our latest newsletter with some encouraging news and a couple more things to pray for.

Also, we have become aware that we have not been receiving a number of emails of late… so if you wrote and didn’t receive a reply, please resend it. And over the next while we will try to find out the cause.

Thank you and bless you,

Lisa and Steve

(The content from the PDF file is below, or you can view the actual news letter on the PDF attachment below this article).

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Four years on…
It is hard to believe that we have now lived in Cambodia for four years! To be honest, it has been “the best of times and the worst of times”, but we are finally seeing some real fruit.

A challenging time.
During the latest training course, one of the physios was killed in a motorbike accident, leaving behind his wife and three young children. We don’t know how they are coping at this stage, nor the impact of this tragedy on the physios, but Steve has found riding to work on the motorbike a faith experience. Despite this, the training has been continuing well. In the latest module focusing on the upper and lower limbs, the physios have been treating many members of the Cambodian National Soccer Team. It is remarkable that the top players of the most popular national sport are carrying injuries that should have been treated months ago.

An encouraging time.
Recently, two of the Singapore Five (Tokyo and Heap) took up Steve’s invitation to meet together regularly for a meal, Bible teaching and prayer. They have found it difficult to attend normal church services with their hectic work and study schedule. Their main desire is to understand more about the Bible, so Steve is preparing an overview to present at their fortnightly gatherings (while Lisa brushes up on her Khmer cooking skills).

Holiday time!
School holidays (the “summer break”) began in June with a two week family holiday in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was a relaxing start to the break, a time for catching up with good friends, and an excellent opportunity to refocus and recommit to the work here. Emma also learnt how to swim and Noah learnt how to drive (see photos).

Upon returning to Phnom Penh, our landlord informed us that he would like us to leave so he can renovate our townhouse. Fortunately, we found a suitable (albeit hotter) house only three doors down. It adjoins the landlord’s house which will be a good opportunity for our children to connect with Khmer kids in a safe environment. Maybe they will finally begin to learn the language… or teach the landlord’s children English! In mid-August, Joel will enter Grade 3 and Emma starts Grade 1 at “Big School”. Noah would love to join them but must be content to play there after school hours for a couple more years yet.

Prayer time
We are continuing to see the power and significance of prayer in our own lives and of those around us.
We can do NOTHING without Him.

• Our health continues to be great and since weaning Noah, sleep has been far more regular and peaceful. It has made all the difference for Lisa and the entire family.
• Give thanks for a great holiday – a time of rest, refreshment and refocus.
• Praise God that our friend Vutha is doing much better, meeting regularly with Steve and a mature Khmer Christian.
• Pray that through the fortnightly meetings with Heap, Tokyo and his family, each of them would grow in their understanding of the Bible and ultimately know God. And that this group may be an opportunity for many more physios to learn about Jesus.
• Pray that the current group of six physios in Singapore will successfully complete their studies in three months time and that they will be impacted by the local church that most are attending.
• Pray for Steve as he also considers his future work options once this current course ends early next year. Pray for very clear guidance.
• Pray for wisdom for Lisa in considering the many potential opportunities for part-time work once these holidays are over.
• Pray for us as we parent three extraordinary young people who we pray will grow to also know God and make Him known.
• Praise and Pray for the volunteer physios from Australia who will be helping Steve out in the next two modules (starting Sept and Dec).

Thank you for the many ways in which you remember us and support us. It is a team effort.

Steve, Lisa, Joel, Emma and Noah