Weyel World

Varin Primitive Baptist Fellowship
Varin, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia

It has been our intention from the outset of our journey to Cambodia to coordinate efforts in providing humanitarian aid to the believers in this nation. We have intended to advance these efforts through the careful identification of needs and publication of those specific items in a forum which will provide opportunity for those whom God has impressed to give financially to give in an anonymous manner to fund specific projects with a degree of accountability and assurance that their funding is being used for the specified purpose. The precise method of these postings has not yet been finalized, however, the needs are already becoming apparent, so it is my intention to begin sharing some of the details of these needs/requests and to begin introducing you to the people and fellowships who have captured our hearts.

The congregation at Varin is comprised weekly of between 65 and 100 individuals who are largely a very poor people. They live and work in a very underpriviledged rural community in the North East corner of Siem Reap Province. Their leader is Brother David Phean who returned to Cambodia after many years as a refugee in the USA and has labored tirelessly to bring the gospel to his home community and family members. Brother David was a member of the Cambodian armed forces in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge overthrew the government. David was marked for death, and by God’s grace was enabled to escape to Thailand with his family. As a direct result of his escape, his extended family were punished severely and his hometown was dealt with in a particularly harsh manner. Having been brought to faith in Christ while living in America, David made the decision to sacrifice his life in the USA including leaving behind 4 grown children and their families to return to ministry in Cambodia.

David was able to purchase approximately 5 acres of land just outside of the town of Varin which he has dedicated to the church and the community of believers. He has specified that the land be utilized to provide training in agriculture and for the use of the church for a meeting place.

When Elder Jamey Tucker and I first visited Varin, January, 2008, the land was little developed and the church had only begun meeting a short while before. We have witnessed a continual growth of the congregation both in numbers and in understanding as well as a continued improvement to the land and facilities. Brother David has on several occassions made known to us his plans/desires for the work, but has never directly requested funding or assistance in the performance of the work. He has personally overseen (and funded) the construction of a pastor’s residence, meeting house, and restroom facilities on the land, as well as the digging of two tanks for farming fish and the drilling of a well to provide water for the community.

In September 2008, on our third visit to Cambodia, Brother Jamey and I were blessed to baptize 52 individuals from the Varin Fellowship upon profession of their faith in Christ and their belief in God’s sovereignty in salvation. The congregation has adopted the name, Varin Primitive Baptist Fellowship for their identity in their community.

With all of the above introduction out of the way, Brother David has provided to us at our request a list of projects/needs that he has identified for the fellowship at Varin. We are sharing these requests in hopes that you will prayerfully consider contributing to the completion of these tasks which will make a tremendous difference in the lives of the believers in Varin and in impacting the community in a positive way opening doors for further ministry and proclamation of God’s word.

In addition to the above list of financial needs, we desire your continual prayer for the people involved in the Varin Fellowship. As with any time that people begin to give themselves to the work of the ministry Satan stands waiting to attack and to discourage. The congregation at Varin has not been immune to these attacks. Men whom they have looked to as leaders have been revealed to be selfishly motivated and have departed from the faith. Financial and health crisis have struck at individual families in their number. Please pray that God will establish a sound and blameless ministry to preach His word in these communities and to lift up the hands of those who, like David, have labored to this point.

My amazing and wonderful wife Rachel, along with our children suprised me with an early birthday dinner this evening. I was treated to a wonderful meal of Southern Fried Chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, gravy, Caeser salad, and apple pie a la mode. Who knows what is in store for tomorrow when the big day actually arrives. I don’t think anything could top this evening. (though I am secretly hoping for permission to buy a motorbike).

Almost seems like home, sans air conditioning.

Monday, June 17, 2009, 2050 ICT
Siem Reap, Cambodia

The lack of internet and the constant work involved in just trying to keep everyone cool and well has made it difficult o keep up with blog updates as I would like to this past week. No, we still do not have the internet connection at our home, but we have great expectations for it to happen in the near future.

To begin, I want to solicit your continued prayers for Beth as she continues to not feel well (in fact, her condition seems to have worsened rather than improved.) We took her back to the Royal Angkor International Hospital last evening where they ran more blood work and labs. She still has an infection, and in some ways seems to be worse than she was last week. They have changed the anti-biotic prescription and also added some additional supplementary instructions. She is scheduled for a follow-up appointment on Sunday afternoon.

In spite of the difficulties associated with daily life, we have made some progress in the past week, and I rejoiced to finally have an opportunity to preach and minister on Saturday.

Early Saturday morning I left our home and travelled via taxi south on National Road 6 to the church at Sduk Sdom about 25km south of Kampong Thom to participate in a meeting of ministers for fasting and prayer. The minister’s and church leaders present were: Brother Kahn; Brother Lee; Brother Huen; Brother Chaan; Brother Tee (a young man from Viet Nam whom Elder Tucker and I first met in HoChiMinh City); Brother Muen; Brother Sopai.

New Church Building at Sduk Sdom (donated by Korean Businessman)

They were studying Daniel chapter 6 together during the morning session, and after 45 min of singing, each of the ministers shared a short message on the chapter before I presented a closing message. Then we shared prayer requests and needs from each of our lives and congregations before spending an hour in prayer.

Top Right to Bottom Left: Dara, Kahn, Lee, Huen, Chaan, Tee, Muen, Sopai.

For the afternoon session, we began with another song service which was followed by prayer for healing for a number of sick among the congregations. Then I spoke on the importance of the holy scriptures in establishing our faith and strengthening our relationship with Christ. For my texts I had them read: John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”; Galatians 3:24, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Chris, that we might be justifed by faith.”; and Luke 24:25-27, “Then he said unto them, O fools, adn slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prohphets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” We then reviewed short examples from each book of the Old Testament where prophecy of Jesus Christ may be found and/or where God reveals what may be known of himself.

The response was very positive, and afterward, we agreed upon a plan for the men and their wives to come and visit me for more personal instruction on a one or two day at a time for either one or two men. God willing, beginning next month we will have them come to visit in our home.

After a closing prayer, I enjoyed a 30 km motorbike ride back to the bus station in Kampong Thom and from there returned by taxi to our home in Siem Reap. Sunday morning we once again held a worship service in our home with just our family in attendence.

For the past two days, we have been preoccupied a bit with Beth’s illness, and I must confess we have all been a bit discouraged. We are, as always, thankful for each of your prayers and encouraging notes.

We were finally able to track down our landlady and met with her yesterday. She has concocted a scheme for providing sufficient power to support both air conditioning units and has promised to have the solution in place by Friday of this week. I am sceptical to say the least.

Today, Rachel made her first solo trip to the market and purchased additional kitchen utensils and some basic bamboo furniture (shelves and hat rack).

Our friendship with Sokhom, the touk-touk driver, has continued to grow and we are steadily working together on language study. I am learning the Khmer alphabet, and Sokhom is building his English vocabulary and working on proper pronunciation. This morning, I did a small photo shoot with him in order to get a web site up and running for him. If you are ever in need of a touk-touk in which to visit the Angkor Wat area sites, please visit http://www.angkortours.biz. Who knows, if I am in a cash crunch I may ask Sokhom for a job.

Thank you all again for your prayers. God Bless.

Monday, June 8, 2009, 1638 ICT
Siem Reap, Cambodia

"Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee."
- Psalm 33:18-22

This afternoon, as I write this message, I am listening to an audio recording of the worship service in Luling yesterday morning. What a blessing our modern technology is to enable our family to be in touch with our home congregation, family, and friends on such a regular basis.

Psalm 33 is another comforting and inspiring selection from God’s word. In this Psalm we are reminded that God sees us wherever we are and even in the midst of our afflictions and difficulties. He is looking upon them that fear him and upon those who hope in his mercy. He delivers our souls from death and he keeps us alive even when he suffers famine to come upon us. He doesn’t promise that famine will not come, but in the midst of it, he sees our distress and provides that which we need. Therefore, our soul learns to depend upon him. Our souls wait upon him for deliverance in every trial. He is our help and our shield, our defense against every enemy. Our heart learns to rejoice in him because of our trust in his name and nature. So, with the Psalmist, our prayer is for his mercy to be continually upon us as we hope in him.

Thank you all again for your many prayers on our behalf as well as for the many personal messages you have each sent to us. Our Saturday evening was trying as Beth began to complain that her stomach ache was continuing to worsen. We considered a trip to the International hospital at that time, but decided to wait until Sunday morning to see if it worsened. Sunday morning, because of Beth’s illness, I did not attend the worship service with the area church congregation as I had intended too, so we woshipped in our home. We sung hymns from the Old School Hymnal and Primitive Baptist Hymnal and then I shared a message from the life and experience of Samson (our current study in our family devotions).

After worship, we took Beth to the Royal Angkor International Hospital which is north of Siem Reap near the airport. It is in total about 5 mi from our home. We were pleased to find a very modern and suprisingly efficient facility and staff. The language barrier was still a hinderance, but after some blood work, urine tests, stool sample and a CT scan though they were unable to diagnose appendicitis (though they also could not rule it out) and decided that Beth was suffering from a gastro-intestinal bacterial infection and related dehydration and potassium deficiency. She was admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay for administration of antibiotics and fluids.

Rachel stayed with Beth at the hospital while I returned home and attempted to care for Emily, Jer, and William. We did make a stop along the way to purchase a dust mop and a vacuum cleaner. Hopefully, these two upgrades will make a big difference in the level of cleanliness at home.

Today we learned that the home internet connection for which we had hoped will not be possible through the company we had ordered it through (they don’t have a node in our neighborhood). I am now seeking other options to get us online. Your prayers in this matter will be appreciated.

Beth is back at home now and has a 7 day course of antibiotic as well as an anti-parisitic medication. Please continue your prayers for us.

God Bless you all!

Friday, June 5, 2009, 0445 ICT
Siem Reap, Cambodia

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." - Psalm 46

What a blessing this Psalm is to me this morning, as it has been to countless others throughout the centuries. How great is our God, that he inspired a mortal man centuries ago to pen such timeless and perfect words regarding the splendors of the unchangeable eternal God and then preserved them through the ages to deliver me time and again from discouragement and dispair. These same words thrilled the souls of the prophets, the apostles, the reformers (see Luther’s treatment of this Psalm in his great hymn), and the saints of the Baptist church throughout the ages.

It is indeed a blessing to be reminded that my hope and trust is not in man, but in God himself. The God who created me yet sustains me, He is my help and my strength. It is He of whom the Apostle Paul says, "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." There is assurance to be found in the fact that He has delivered in days past, knowing that He will yet deliver. This comfort is not mere idle hope, but possitive assurance wrapped up in knowledge of God’s purpose and grace.

We will not be afraid, though the earth be removed and the mountains be shaken to their core. It is Jesus who said but a little bit of faith will enable us to exert similar power through God’s enabling hand. There is a river which flows from the very presence of God. It makes glad the hearts of His people, and the church of God is sustained and strengthened by its streams. Again, the Saviour promised "a well of water springing up into everlasting life." Where is the strength of the Holy City? God is in the midst of her. Even in this dark land of idolatry and pagan rites, God is here among his people. Though the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things, yet God is in His Holy temple.

As the tumult abounds and uncertainty seems the only certain thing, what a blessing to rest in the promise, "the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." He is not only the God of Israel, but the God of Jacob. Jacob who wandered in the wilderness fleeing the anger of his kindred, not seeking after God, but only seeking his own timely deliverance. Jacob who was a deceiver, a supplanter, one who did not seek that which was pleasing to God. He is the God of Jacob who changes hearts and lives for His own purposes. Of whom it is said, "He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye." To be led about and instructed of the Lord is not an easy thing, but to be kept as the apple of His eye, secured by his own strength in His mighty hand is a blessing beyond measure. This is security to be kept by the mighty hand of God, to have Him engaged in our defense, to hear him say, "for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye."

"Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth." To God is attributed the desolation of portions of the earth. It is His power that makes wars and fightings to cease. He is the only one who can author true peace. Seeing the desolation of a land ravaged by genocide, by war, and by intellectual folly and pagan superstition only serves to heighten the reality of these verses in my consideration. In the midst of this desolation, these conflicts and seeming hopelessness, the Lord speaks through His word, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." What strange words these must have been to the Psalmist. What strange words to be sung by the Israelites. Not, exalted before, but among the heathen. God’s purpose even then was manifestly to be gloried in all the earth among every nation, kindred, tongue, people and nation. Our hope and assurance is found in a God of power and of purpose who is working even today according to His eternal purpose. He will be exalted among the heathen, and in all the earth.

It is this purpose that Paul exalted when he wrote to the Ephesians, "Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord"

The eternal purpose of God to make known His wisdom and glory in all the earth is that which has guided the proclamation of the gospel through the centuries and has established and sustained his church whose very existence is for his glory. It is with the assurance of His purpose and never failing strength that we can proclaim with the Psalmist, "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." Meditate on these things.

As I lay awake this early morning reflecting upon the events of the past week and indeed the past two years in my life and that of my family, these verses came as the answer to bring peace to my troubled soul. Things are difficult for us here as a pampered 21st century American family. We are used to and indeed expect the "comforts of home" and in many ways depend upon our modern "conveniences" to even survive. Yet our Lord has led us through an amazing path to this day and this place where we are called upon to make what in reality are very small sacrifices, yet which in the moment seem great indeed, for His purpose and for His glory. It is so easy to lose focus, to get caught up in the moment and to forget the reason that we are here. I don’t mean here in Cambodia, but in existence. We are here to bring honor and glory to God: the One who created us, gives us breath, salvation, and all things.

My purpose in this place ought to be focused.

• I am here for the near or long term to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to a waiting people prepared afore by His Holy Spirit.
• I am here to teach to faithful men those things which have been committed to me by those who God placed in my life as my mentors and fathers in the ministry and those things which I have learned from the very word of God as I have been led by the Holy Spirit.
• I am here to confirm the faith of those who have been established in the present truth, and to preach liberty to those who are captive to the darkness of this world, turning them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God.
• I am here to "do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."
• I am here to provide a godly example of obedience to the faith before my wife and children while leading them in accordance to God’s word and bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
• We are here to "make known His deeds among the people" by the testimony and witness of lives changed by His mighty hand.

Thanks be to God for His blessings and mercy in saving me from so great a death that I might live for His glory.

Thank you all for your continued prayers for us as we learn together lessons of contentment and of trust.

A fortress firm, and steadfast rock,
Is God in time of danger;
A shield and sword in every shock,
From foe well known or stranger.

- C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, unattributed

A sure stronghold our God is He,
A timely shield and weapon;
Our help he will be, and set us free
From every ill can happen.

And were the world with devils filed,
All eager to devour us,
Our souls to fear shal little yield,
They cannot overpower us.

- Martin Luther
translation from S. W. Christopher’s, Hymn Writers and Their Hymns, 1866
(quoted in Spurgeon’s Treasury of David)

Siem Reap, Cambodia
3:30 PM ICT

We are nearing the end of day 5 in our family’s experience in Cambodia. I can’t get over how slow things seem to be here. I suppose that we will get used to it eventually, but everything seems to take a long time to accomplish. Most time is spent waiting on people, and nothing and no one seems to be on time (I know, those of you who know me best are thinking that sounds just like me).

I was able to identify and diagnose the electrical problems that we were experiencing. The voltage at our home fluctuates between 165VAC and 215VAC. The operating voltage for equipment and appliances over here is 220V - 240V. The cause of the low voltage is a significantly undersized electrical service wire. We are waiting for the power company and the house owner to work out the details on fixing the problem. Please pray that it will be resolved soon.

We originally purchased two electric burners for cooking, but because of the voltage problems, we had to instead purchase a gas cooktop. It is working well, and to date we have eaten scrambled eggs and rice, chicken stir fry and rice, chicken and rice, and spaghetti. Ah, yes, rice, Brother Zack, can’t you just taste it?

Today’s great accomplishment was the acquisition of a local telephone number for my phone and an order for internet service to our house. When it is connected, we should be able to have a regular telephone line with which to communicate back home. Also, I will be able to do a better job of updating our website and facebook accounts, and the children will be able to access the school related resources upon which we have come to depend so much.

Last evening we were able to get one of the laptops and the projector working so we were able to enjoy a family movie night with VeggieTales Moe and the Big Exit. It was a refreshing touch of home for all of us. The children were very excited and went to sleep peacefully afterwards.

I spent a good bit of the night afterward working on the water tank and well only to determine that the well was dry. I am a bit concerned that it may not be able to keep up with our demand. It ran for a short while this morning, and we are getting about 6 inches of depth in the tank for each time that I run the pump. It is a new experience for me and certainly will increase my awareness of water usage/conservation.

I spoke with Dara this morning, and God willing, we are scheduled to visit with him at the orphanage on Saturday morning, June 6. Tomorrow we will try to visit with David here in Siem Reap and begin to discuss the work at Varin and other related congregations.

I have not yet experimented with loading pictures on the blog page. Meanwhile, those of you who are on Facebook can see a number of photos that were uploaded this morning.

Please pray that God will direct us through the next few weeks as we continue to explore the realities of life here and seek His will for us in the work that is ahead.