Dear friends,

We have to thank the Lord for being renewed and strengthened when we attended the Mission congress in the Philippines. It was good to be there and share with them how God has worked in Cambodia. Though there have been a lot of struggles, through God's grace we are able to continue the ministry that God has entrusted to us. There are times that our decisions were not right with the Lord, but God gave us the wisdom to correct the mistakes that we had made.

In Psalms 18:30 it says, "As for God, His way is perfect; the word of God is flawless, He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him."

He has been our shield especially when we have been in danger. After coming back from the Philippines, we thought our truck was okay, but while Joel was driving, Grace asked him why the truck seemed to be falling apart. We just ignored it and went on to Takhmau so Grace could teach guitar and English that day. We'd already taken it to the repair shop the day we got back, because while Davis was using the truck during our absence, it had problems starting. We just kept ignoring the extra sounds. We were planning to take the truck to Kampot on Saturday, but again on Friday it wouldn't start. So we left it in Phnom Penh and borrowed Rebecca's truck to go to Kampot (even though Rebecca's truck needs more prayers while driving). Later we found out that the right chassis was broken! So, we really thank the Lord. Sometimes we ask "Why this happening to us?" but God has a purpose. I keep on memorizing the verse in Psalms 20:4, "May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed." I need to add that we must seek His will and deny ourselves in order to follow Him.

We thank the Lord that our daughter now is in her 4th year of nursing, and hopefully with God's grace, next year during our home assignment we can attend her graduation in April. It is still a struggle because her ICCM scholarship for tuition was cut by 50% and the aid from the Philippines General Conference for her travel has been cut off too. We weren't expecting to have to come up with the extra for these items. However, we still seek God's provision because we still have 5 months to go to come up with everything she needs. We know that God has a plan for this. After her graduation we also need to prepare a large amount for her Board Exam. We thank the Lord that last month when we attended the English worship service at the International Christian Fellowship, the pastor preached about how to receive God's blessings. When we came home we talked to each other about how the message was really for us. Sometimes when we think of blessings, we are only counting the good things. It was really a good message for us.

Takhmau

We praise the Lord for 14 souls who have accepted the Lord and were baptized last Sunday.

When we were teaching the lessons about baptism, a lot of questions were raised by these young people. After much prayer they indicated that they are ready to be baptized. We just want to thank the Lord for the parents who approved that these young people could become light and salt to this place in Cambodia. After two years of staying here in Takhmau ministering to the young people through guitar and English lessons, we are able to share the Gospel with them everyday. Now we will continue the Bible study every Tuesday through Friday for 30 minutes. God is really good because it is hard to gather the youth these days. This group has good relationships with the children of our leader, Barnabas.

Last week, Barnabas and his family moved to the place we rent for the Takhmau church so that they can focus on visitation and Bible studies within the community. One parent is happy that her son comes to our fellowship because before, this son always gave her a headache - he always went drinking with his friends and spent a lot of money. She said that now, she never hears that her son is drinking wine. He always says that he is going to the church. She said she is happy for the believers who really changed the life of her son. Actually God has changed this young person. The mother said that before he came home late, but now no more. She doesn't worry now because her son has changed a lot. PTL!

In the guitar lessons, we are happy they are playing Christian songs even though some of them don't know yet about our Savior. We still continue praying for some young people that they will acknowledge God as their Savior after learning these songs. We are thankful to the person who donated the guitars so all the students can play together now. Last Sunday, Grace asked them to play on the guitar the song "How Great Thou Art" as the congregation sang. We are so happy to see them playing some Christian songs.

Kampot

God is good cause it has really rained hard there. Now the problem is that the roads are very muddy. Our truck cannot go through the rice paddies because of big mud holes. The people are thankful to God for giving them the rain. 

This week our Takhmau youth are going there to have a VBS because the children keep on asking when will it start. They are so excited to have a VBS. The Kampot children were not able to attend the Children's Camp in Prek Thei because it was too far away. We decided to have a 3 day VBS during a Cambodian holiday called Pchum Bun.

A lot of women celebrate Pchum Bun by going to the Temple to offer some food so that they will not fall into hell. They wear white blouses with a white scarf over their shoulders. Last Saturday during the discipleship training, a lot of the questions were about Pchum Bun because it is also a family fellowship time. The tradition is for relatives to bring wine to the village in order to have fellowship with their family. One of the men, named Om Maow, asked, "If they bring wine, do I need to tell them not to come? They will get mad at us if they want to come to our house and we will not approve!" They have a lot of questions! It's good that Barnabas shared his experiences also.

A lot of our members in Kampot are sick because of the weather. But we are happy that it's not as hot this month.

One mother appreciated that her daughter was able to go to Phnom Penh for one week in order to attend a seminar on how to teach children. She said that she has seen a lot of changes in her daughter - although before she was very shy, now she keeps on practicing the Wordless Book with her younger sister and brothers. We also trained her and another girl to lead the praise and worship in Kampot. Pray for these young people. 

Next month we are going to start to build the church building in Kampot. There is one young person from Australia who came with Teen Missions International last year, and got excited about Kampot. He has recruited six young people to come and build the church in Kampot. Please pray for protection, and for strength, because at this time we also have the Takhmau ministry during weekdays.

Prayer requests:

• for God's provision for our daughter's nursing board exam.
• for the 14 young people in Takhmau who received baptism.
• for God's wisdom in leading the Bible study with the Takhmau youth.
• for more souls to come and join the English class and guitar lessons.
• for healing for the sick people in Kampot
• for God's protection for us as we travel every day, and especially on Saturdays to Kampot
• for the discipleship training in Kampot which will soon finish; next we will have TEE.
• for Barnabas' family as they adjust to their new living situation in Takhmau
• for Joel's mother who is not feeling well (dizziness). Her name is Herling
• for the construction of the church building in Kampot in Nov.
• for God's protection for Jarrod and his group as they come and build the church in Kampot
• for the medical team from Hong Kong that will come in Nov. - that more people will know more about Jesus
• for the spiritual growth of the Kampot and Takhmau members

Warmest blessings from the field of Cambodia,
Joel and Grace Margin