Building up relationships

Psalm 133 brings us a beautiful picture of fellowship among brothers and sisters in God's family.  The kindness and goodness of relationships is what money cannot buy and power cannot impose.

Time really flies, and I have been attending Takhmau church for a year already.  In the beginning, I was a stranger there. I needed almost 4 months to get used to the environment, the church members and working together.  Takhmau church is one of our church planting projects, and the lay leader, Brother Barnabas, is the church planter who lives at the church with his family.  The church has had difficulty growing quickly due having to move the location 3 times in 3 years, added to the difficulty of outreach in an urban area as compared within the village.  However, most of the members are young people and they are energetic, enthusiastic and fervent to learn the Word of God. Three of them are studying at the Bible school, and they also help our outreach ministry on Sundays.  In January 2008, I organized an informal committee that consisted of 6 young people and Brother Barnabas to plan and make decisions for the church ministry.  Their participation and enthusiasm sparked a liveliness to reach out to the neighborhood.  During their vacation, Sophanny (son of Barnabas) and Sok Chan (another youth member) taught an English class at a nearby village from Monday to Friday.  In addition, they invited the children to join Sunday school and worship on Sundays.  I remember when I joined the church in 70's, children's ministry was a core activity to cultivate the faith of young people. 

Another characteristic of the young people is that they like to ‘stick' together for fun and work.  Sometimes, I will invite them to have lunch at my home after the Sunday service, and they all enjoy the ‘outdoor' activities together too.  We get to know each other more through the informal contacts, which are similar to the way that I grew up in my fellowship.  Actually, they are all different in character and personality, but one thing they have in common is that they treasure every opportunity to enjoy each other's presence.  In reality, it is not taken for granted that they are free and able to do so.  Some need to help their family after school or on holidays, some are so poor that they don't have money to travel (gasoline is very expensive).  Occasionally, some have called me to ask if I could take them to hospital when they feel terribly sick (of course, they expect me to help financially).  When I compare to my ‘young old days,' I did not need to worry about those issues even though my family was not rich.   It may also be the reason why they are so excited to enjoy the fellowship outdoors; even a simple meal to them is special when they share with each other.  Of course, it is not easy for me to invite them because I need to drive them to and from my home and prepare food for more than 15 people (usually I only need to take care of myself).  However, I feel happy because we can build up our friendship instead of a mere missionary-church member relationship inside the 4 walls of the church.

Prayer points

1.   The church needs to move in late September, but until now, we have not found any place suitable

2.  That Brother Barnabas can pastor the church with God's grace and wisdom so the church can grow in a healthy way

3.   Sophanny's (Brother Barnabas' son who will study at the 4th year of the Bible school) wedding in October

4. The outreach program (English class for children) in the nearby village.

5. The development projects in Kaoh Ksachtunlea East, Kampot and Prek Thei

Philippians 2:1-4

Davis Lam

Cambodia Mail Address: P.O Box 602, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Brother Barnabas and wife