Report of Missions Trip to Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Truth B-P Church Report of Missions Trip to Sihanoukville, Cambodia (29 to 31 Jan 2011) by Liang Zheqian 30th January marked the Inaugural Service of Lively Hope B-P Church, the second missions station in Cambodia fully supported by Truth B-P Church. Thank God for the happy occasion, and also for providing the opportunity for 8 of us from Singapore to make our way there to witness God’s goodness and also to encourage our brethren. The team members were Pastor Dennis (leader), John Loo (assistant leader), Paul Tan (treasurer), Anthony (videographer), Emerson (children’s speaker), Zheqian (musician and singspiration leader), Esther (musician and craft leader), and Jocelyn (photographer and craft leader). On the first day upon reaching Phnom Penh, first on the program was a 3-hour drive to Sihanoukville. The journey was a smooth one, with beautiful scenery on the way for us to enjoy. Thank God for safety. Upon arrival at our destination, the team met up with Pr John Saray for lunch at Ocheteaul Beach (Pr Sopheak’s parents owns a restaurant here). We were pleasantly surprised when Pr Sopheak and his family (including Pr Thaven, Pr Sopheak’s brother-in-law) arrived to join us. They came from Kampot to Sihanoukville for a match-making session for Pr Thaven. It seemed to be a fruitful session and so God willing we can look forward to good news by end of this year. Prs Sopheak and Thaven were unable to stay on for the inaugural service as they had to return to Kampot to serve at True Gospel B-P Church on Sunday.
After lunch, we checked into the guesthouse near the church and rested for about an hour. We then went to 2 homes for visitation (led by Pr Saray) and managed to share the gospel on 3 occasions. We first visited a place not far from the church, and had the opportunity to speak to two families. Thank God we were able to share the whole gospel with them, and we continue to pray that God would work in their hearts. After which, we visited the hostel near a garment factory. Esther, Jocelyn and Lydia (Pr Saray’s wife) spoke to the group of ladies, while our male team members waited outside and had a nice time of fellowship. Thank God for the visitation, and for leading us along the way. This marked the end of our first day. We spent the night preparing for the next day’s Inaugural Service and children’s program. On the Lord’s Day, we started with morning devotion led by brother John, and had a time of prayer to commit the day unto the Lord. On arrival at the church, we saw the children already gathered and waiting for the Sunday School to begin. As the Sunday School program was intended to be a gospel-oriented one, the songs that we chose, the art-and-crafts, and the message were all focused on bringing the gospel message to the
children. We started off with singing of some children’s English songs led by Zheqian. Then Emerson gave the gospel message. After that, Esther and Jocelyn took the children for a time of Art and Craft. For the crafts, the children were supposed to make a “Gospel Glove.” Wearing a latex glove, they would tape the 5 different colours of the wordless book onto each finger, with a verse on the palm area. We pray that this will help them to remember the gospel message easily, also emphasizing the importance of them sharing the gospel with their friends. Thank God for the Sunday School and good participation from the children.
Up next was the Inaugural Service itself. The attendance was higher than what we had expected, and among those present was a group of Christian ministers and their wives, from the USA (friends of Pr Saray and Lydia from another denomination), some of ladies from the garment factory that we visited the day before, the Sunday School children, and other Sihanoukville locals.
Because of the crowd, chairs had to be laid all the way out of the hall. It was a very special Inaugural Service, and definitely one to be remembered. It was also a very special day for Pr Saray and family, their daughter Melissa, turning 2 years old this year, was baptized. The worship service consisted the following: Scripture reading, song presentation by some of the children, a song presentation (“He Leadeth Me” in Khmer and in English) by the Singapore team, the Lord’s Supper, a sermon by Pastor Dennis, and of course hymns, offering, announcements and refreshments during which we had much fellowship. Thank God also for the opportunity to meet and catch up with Pr Rotha, and his family who represented True Gospel B-P Church (Kampot) to rejoice with our brethren in this Inaugural Service. All in all, it was a very blessed 2 days, both for the new church in Sihanoukville and the Singapore team. It is our prayer that God will continue to use Truth B-P Church to be a blessing to our brethren in Cambodia and to grant us a heart for missions, and passion for souls. May we also continue to keep praying for our brethren in Cambodia, and pray that the Lord will bless them and use them mightily. Amen.
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After lunch, we checked into the guesthouse near the church and rested for about an hour. We then went to 2 homes for visitation (led by Pr Saray) and managed to share the gospel on 3 occasions. We first visited a place not far from the church, and had the opportunity to speak to two families. Thank God we were able to share the whole gospel with them, and we continue to pray that God would work in their hearts. After which, we visited the hostel near a garment factory. Esther, Jocelyn and Lydia (Pr Saray’s wife) spoke to the group of ladies, while our male team members waited outside and had a nice time of fellowship. Thank God for the visitation, and for leading us along the way. This marked the end of our first day. We spent the night preparing for the next day’s Inaugural Service and children’s program. On the Lord’s Day, we started with morning devotion led by brother John, and had a time of prayer to commit the day unto the Lord. On arrival at the church, we saw the children already gathered and waiting for the Sunday School to begin. As the Sunday School program was intended to be a gospel-oriented one, the songs that we chose, the art-and-crafts, and the message were all focused on bringing the gospel message to the
children. We started off with singing of some children’s English songs led by Zheqian. Then Emerson gave the gospel message. After that, Esther and Jocelyn took the children for a time of Art and Craft. For the crafts, the children were supposed to make a “Gospel Glove.” Wearing a latex glove, they would tape the 5 different colours of the wordless book onto each finger, with a verse on the palm area. We pray that this will help them to remember the gospel message easily, also emphasizing the importance of them sharing the gospel with their friends. Thank God for the Sunday School and good participation from the children.
Up next was the Inaugural Service itself. The attendance was higher than what we had expected, and among those present was a group of Christian ministers and their wives, from the USA (friends of Pr Saray and Lydia from another denomination), some of ladies from the garment factory that we visited the day before, the Sunday School children, and other Sihanoukville locals.
Because of the crowd, chairs had to be laid all the way out of the hall. It was a very special Inaugural Service, and definitely one to be remembered. It was also a very special day for Pr Saray and family, their daughter Melissa, turning 2 years old this year, was baptized. The worship service consisted the following: Scripture reading, song presentation by some of the children, a song presentation (“He Leadeth Me” in Khmer and in English) by the Singapore team, the Lord’s Supper, a sermon by Pastor Dennis, and of course hymns, offering, announcements and refreshments during which we had much fellowship. Thank God also for the opportunity to meet and catch up with Pr Rotha, and his family who represented True Gospel B-P Church (Kampot) to rejoice with our brethren in this Inaugural Service. All in all, it was a very blessed 2 days, both for the new church in Sihanoukville and the Singapore team. It is our prayer that God will continue to use Truth B-P Church to be a blessing to our brethren in Cambodia and to grant us a heart for missions, and passion for souls. May we also continue to keep praying for our brethren in Cambodia, and pray that the Lord will bless them and use them mightily. Amen.
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