Dear Friends,

Psalm 40:4 says, 'Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud.' Everyday my prayer is to become humble and a servant of the people who have a different system and culture. Every step that we take, we acknowledge His presence and ask Him to protect us from the enemy so that we can live victoriously in God’s name. Though sometimes we feel so weak, God gives us the strength to continue the task everyday that He has given to us.

We often remember the message we heard from an American pastor this month that the reason why you are here because this place is your home place of Mission! We looked at each other and started asking God to fill us with that kind of love from Him. We feel sorry before the Lord that until now we haven't looked at this place as our home place - we are always thinking of our home in the Philippines.

Every day we truly trust God with what we can do during the day and we are not afraid to rely upon Him. We pray to God to block out certain disappointments and frustrations so that we can really move forward and deepen our relationship with Him every day.

House of Peace dedication
We want to thank the Lord for the 12 Chinese Christian friends who came to witness the dedication of House of Peace in December. This is a joint venture between the Free Methodist church and the Hong Kong Alliance Mission. We have enrolled 50 children already and feed them bread once a week. God has really a plan for everything. We just waited for God’s time to open a House of Peace in Treuyslaa. Pray for Joyce, who will be guiding the staff and working with the Manager in House of Peace.

Kampong Cham
We went to Kampong Cham twice this month because the Wilkins were on a month-long vacation in the US. We had different leaders preach for three Sundays, and the last Sunday is mine. We are so happy to see the family of Sarah Keo leading the worship and giving testimony. This week Wilkins are on their way back to Kampong Cham.

Phnom Penh FMC
It was a very smelly place since August when the rain started to pour down and the Phnom Penh church building we bought last year started flooding. The problem was getting worse and worse in December. I’m sure all the students and our Pastor were having a really big problem! We saw Pastor Daniel’s tired face because he could not sleep well, and always tried to think of what we could do.

We really thank the Lord that this month of January He sent a group of young people from Australia who were willing to work and bring their own money to invest in the building project for two weeks. They have accomplished a lot. Today when we went to Phnom Penh church, the areas in back already had new steel roofing being installed. A plumber from Australia volunteered his time and was able to work on the plumbing problem. The university students were happy working with the Australian team, and now the place is clean and wide and very favorable for worship, and to cook and to wash their dishes.

We do want to thank Jarrod for his initiative and energy to lead the youth to come and help with the renovation project. We are so excited to tell you that in only three weeks they have done a great job! We know that God prepared Jarrod’s team to work on Phnom Penh Church.

Kampot church
This month is harvest month, and some members in Kampot are busy harvesting their rice. We want to thank the Lord for the rain He sent, which was enough for the fields. Last year they were complaining about the drought, and this year they have more rain than they asked for. The church rice field is also ready for harvest.
PRAISE THE LORD!

Annual District Meeting
Every year we anticipate the Mission district meeting coming up in February. This year we are also having a Spiritual Enrichment time for the leaders, pastors, missionaries, and workersin the Free Methodist Church. Please pray for God’s leading, and may the Holy Spirit work in each and everyone’s heart. Rev. Derek Ho is our Chairman and Rev. Polly Ho is one of our lecturers. We hope you can pray for each leader everyday until Feb.17-18, 2006.

Prayer Requests:
1. The leaders:
 Joshua - Prek Thei FMC
 Samuel - Treuyslaa FMC
 Sophat - Kaoh Ksachtunlea West FMC
 Gideon - Kaoh Ksachtunlea East FMC
 Daniel - Phnom Penh City FMC
 Barnabas - Takhmau church planter
 Sarah Thy - Prek Ksev outreach
 Chris & Yuko Wilkins - Kampong Cham
 Khan - Kampot layleader
 Lim and Pauline - Phnom Penh Thmei church planters
 Nouk Kruy - Angkor Borei lay pastor
 Joseph - Svay Chur
2. Pray for God’s guidance among the leaders.
3. Pray for our daughter who is going to graduate this March
4. Pray for God’s provision for our air travel from Thailand to Manila
5. Pray for God’s protection for our travel by land going to Thailand in March.
6. Pray for our University students- spiritual wisdom and physical needs
7. Pray for the 3 Child Care Centers: House of Love, House of Joy, House of Peace
8. Pray for Annual Mission District Meeting February 17-18, 2006
9. Pray for a new office assistant for the mission office in Cambodia.
10. Pray for a VISA person who can replace Michele when she leaves.
11. Pray for the missionaries who are very much overloaded

Warmest Blessings,
Joel and Grace