Bill & Jennifer Hale - Blog

Important Ministry Update

2011-04-04T21:31:00.005+07:00

Supporters and Friends,

Greetings in the Lord Jesus! I hope this letter finds you doing well and that you are happy in the Lord. I’m writing to let you know about a change related to our work with the Church of Mercy in Cambodia. After almost four years of working in Cambodia, the Lord has called us home to work in the United States.

In June 2010, we returned to the United States on a 6-month furlough. Our desire was to see family and raise additional funding for our work in Cambodia. In July, our home church, the First Baptist Church of Parker, Texas, had its pastor of 22 years resign his position. At that point, the church put in place an interim pastor, Bro. Edward Cook, who the church had recently voted to ordain as one of her pastors. It also organized a pastoral committee and began searching for someone to serve alongside Edward, and this is where I became involved.

During my time here, I had been planning to ask FBCP to ordain me as a pastor before going back to Cambodia. After much prayer, I spoke with Pastor Chheng and discussed at length if I should consider working with Edward and FBCP stateside. He felt, as I did, that the greater need was for me to stay in Texas and work with FBCP while still supporting the Cambodian work. In November, I offered to stay stateside and help shepherd the church. The church voted unanimously and joyfully to have me and Bro. Edward become the new pastors of FBCP and yesterday we were ordained and set apart for this ministry.

So, with our move back over to the USA, the question is, should you and your church continue to support the Cambodian mission? Absolutely! As you know, the Church of Mercy is a sound ministry led by faithful national Cambodians. During the last couple of years, Pastor Chheng and I have been working with men, both former students and outside of our church, to provide for future leadership in church-plants across Cambodia as well as the school in Prek Ambel. Since Jennifer, the children and I left on furlough, several men have stepped into both full and part-time roles to assist Pastor Chheng. The PATC started a new school year and continues to shine. The churches in Prek Ambel, Sre Trang as well as church-planting work in Battambang and Khoh Thom continue to be of vital importance and have been blessed greatly by your support. I, personally, will continue to provide support to the Cambodian churches on several fronts. First, by helping to raise awareness and support for the work here in the USA. Second, by continuing to help and encourage the translation of tracts, books and other documents to assist them in spreading the word. Third, by working with Cambodian churches here in the US.

FBCP’s commitment to Cambodia remains strong; however, we need your help in continuing to provide support for this work. Jennifer, the children and I have been so thankful for the prayers and financial support you have offered up to God to help us work in Cambodia. We hope that you will remain a partner with our church by continuing to help the work in Cambodia. Your future gifts will be redirected to support Pastor Chheng, the school, and special projects as they come up.

God willing, I will be going back to Cambodia tomorrow (April 5th) and working there for about a month. We will be working to complete the translation of a couple books and transferring my remaining responsibilities over to able workers. Please pray for us to have a smooth transition. Please contact me as you have questions or comments. My email address is hale.bill@live.com & my cell number is 972.977.8261.

May God bless and keep you,

Bill Hale

October Newsletter

2010-10-02T08:07:00.002+07:00

Hey everybody. Here is a link to the October newsletter. Enjoy!

http://www.thechurchofmercy.org/uploads/3/0/6/2/3062824/thehalesupdateoct2010.pdf

Bill

A conference, a round of golf, and a sermon

2010-09-28T11:33:00.005+07:00

Calloway Gardens Golf Course

Last week I went to a F.I.R.E. conference in Atlanta, GA. It was a good time of fellowship and instruction. I met lots of good folks and left thankful for all the good churches throughout the South. If you have never heard of the group before here is a link to the website:

http://firefellowship.org/index.shtml

After the conference, a few of us played at a really nice golf course called Calloway Gardens. It was a fun time and great Christian fellowship. Also, the dean of my seminary was at the conference. He wrote up a review of the coference which you might be interested to read:

http://blog.rbseminary.org/2010/09/report-on-southeast-regional-f-i-r-e-conference/

Finally, I was blessed to preach at our home church last Sunday. The people were very gracious and gave me much liberty to speak. Here is the link to that sermon titled "Worry:"

http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=926101259175

God bless you all,

Bill

Back from the North

2010-09-19T10:55:00.003+07:00

Living Word Bible Church

We have been blessed to visit many places in the last three weeks. First we were near Akron, Ohio visiting my 87 year old grandparents as well as my great aunt, aunt & uncle, and two cousins. It took us over 20 hours of driving to get there. We had a great time and it was so good to see them.

From there we drove to Lapeer, Michigan which was about 5 hours away. We spoke about Cambodia in a church called Thornville Baptist Church. The church building was very old and had beautiful stained glass windows from the mid 1800's. We spoke in the Sunday school hour and I had the chance to preach during the worship hour. I enjoyed it a great deal and we were encouraged by their faith and their kindness.

After visiting a city in north Michigan for fun (Mackinaw City), we drove on to visit a church in Morris, Illinois called Living Word Bible Church. Pastor Timothy Greene is a fellow seminary student of mine at Reformed Baptist Seminary. And there we also spoke in the Sunday school hour about the ministry in Cambodia and after I again had the chance to preach. Their church building was also quite old (mid 1800's too) and we enjoyed much freedom and encouragement to speak of Cambodia and the Word.

We then made the trip back to Texas from Illinois, which was a little bit shorter but not much. We made it in about 17 hours.

In both churches, I preached from the same passage of scripture. 1 Corinthians 15:1-58. Living Word Bible Church recorded the message and posted it on their website. Here is the link:

http://www.livingwordbible.org/Sermons/BillHale_12Sept2010_1Corinth15.mp3

I recommend you all go and listen to this important message from God's word. And may you be as blessed and encouraged as I was while studying and preaching it.

Take Care

Bill

Our Plane Landed - Into Busyness

2010-08-26T03:45:00.005+07:00

As most of you know our plane did bring us safely to Dallas. It was a great flight and the kids did great. Since our arrival we have been going to and fro often. Here are some of the places we have been.

Houston, TX for 10 days

Lake Charles, LA for 3 days

Tyler, TX 3 days

Greenville, TX 3 days

Lewisville, TX 10 days

Houston, TX 2 days

Sugar Land, TX 4 days

Bastrop, TX 1 day

Greenville, SC 7 days

We have spent some good time visiting with family, friends, and churches. In the near future, God willing, we will be traveling to Ohio, Michigan, New York, Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama. Please pray for us as we travel and present the Cambodia ministry to new churches.

Also, here is a link to the recent newsletter from Cambodia. The Lord is working among the Cambodian people, to the praise of His glorious grace.

http://www.firstbaptistparker.org/Documents/ChhengNewsletterAug2010.pdf

The Lord reigns

Bill

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2010-06-08T13:07:00.003+07:00

Katherine & Isaac (ages two and a half & six months)

We are all set to leave for Texas tomorrow evening. Things have been pretty busy here in preparation for being gone on furlough but the Lord has been our help. Vanak and Sopheak, who are newly weds, will stay in our home while we are gone and they will be a huge help. We leave Phnom Penh at 11:00 PM tomorrow evening (11:00 am Dallas time) and arrive at DFW airport at 9:45 AM on the 10th. Please pray for all our traveling.

We have been receiving invitations from various folks and churches around the country to come and present the Cambodian mission work, which is something we are eager to do. Please pray for the Lord to establish the work of our hands.

Hope to see you all shortly, God willing!

The Lord reigns,

Bill, Jennifer, Katherine, & Isaac

PATC Graduates

2010-06-07T16:14:00.006+07:00

A couple weeks ago we had the graduation ceremony for the 2010 senior class. They were presented with certificates for their completion of the TEEac Bible program as well as English and Computer training. Most of them want to work in evangelism, some full-time and some part-time. Please pray for these seven students as they go out into the harvest fields.

God bless,

Bill

Bill Preaching in Khmer

2010-05-17T08:52:00.001+07:00

I have finally reached the point where I can preach in Khmer. I’m not saying I am fluent but if I can prepare before hand I am able to speak pretty well. We went to the Sre Trang Church of Mercy on Thursday and I preached a message on Galatians 2:16 titled, “saved by Faith.” This is one of the biggest obstacles to overcome while working with the Khmers. They believe a person is justified by their good works.

We had a good meeting and I was encouraged to see some growth in the church. There were probably 60 people or more and they listened well and had reverent attitudes. Thank you for praying for them. Pastor Ngan asked that we continue to pray God would give them wisdom to do the work of the Lord.

If you have time and want to hear a french dude speaking Khmer with a Texas twang go here:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=5131060233

The Lord reigns,

Bill

The Khmer 1689 Revision is Done!!!

2010-05-11T22:28:00.002+07:00

In addition to teaching in the PATC Center, part of my work here in Cambodia is working to translate good Christian books into Khmer. The Khmer church is in great need of these books and currently have very little access to them. The process is difficult and costly. Each book takes about 6 months to translate and edit (two people – myself and my fellow worker Akpirin). The cost for the translation is about $1000 per book plus about $1600 to print 1000 copies. By God’s grace we have just revised and reprinted the 1689 Baptist Confession. Here is a link to see the book in PDF format:

http://www.thechurchofmercy.org/uploads/3/0/6/2/3062824/1689lbc_khmer.pdf

Several Christian classics are already in Khmer in abridged form including:

Abraham Booth - Reign of Grace
Jeremiah Burroughs - The Mystery of Divine Contentment
John Flavel - Mystery of Providence
John Calvin - Institutes of the Christian Religion(first three books)

We are currently about 50% finished with The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen. After this we want to start on Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will. We are currently raising funds for these two works. Please consider partnering with us to help complete these exciting projects. Pray the Lord will bless the work of our hands and use these books for his glory

Grace and peace,
Bill

http://www.thechurchofmercy.org/

A'run Soo-ah S'day (Good Morning in Khmer)

2010-05-06T07:26:00.007+07:00

In September last year I started a Masters Degree in Theological Studies (Systematic Theology)at Reformed Baptist Seminary. (http://www.rbseminary.org/) The last few months I have been taking a course on Apologetics (via distance learning). It has been good for me. Being here in Cambodia has been a great blessing to me but sometimes I have felt dry spiritually. I was teaching, teaching, teaching but my learning was lagging behind. Thanks be to God for this learning opportunity! Please pray for me as I study. I hope to finish in about two years, God willing.

Also, a few months ago I submitted an article to the RB Seminary's blog. They posted the article but I forgot to post a link to the article on this blog. So if you have time, follow the link and spend a couple of minutes being reminded of God's great love for sinners! I would welcome any feedback you might have.

http://blog.rbseminary.org/2009/08/gods-great-unconditional-love/

Peace,
Bill

March Newsletter

2010-03-14T14:44:00.001+07:00

Hello to all. We are glad to report that things are going well here. Please take a few minutes to read our March newsletter. And may God bless you as you read.

http://www.thechurchofmercy.org/uploads/3/0/6/2/3062824/the_halesupdatemar2010.pdf

Bill

Hello From the Regions Beyond

2010-02-07T13:23:00.000+07:00

Those of you who only get updates about our lives through this blog probably are wondering, "what happened? Did they make it back ok?" Yes, we made it back safely to Cambodia. It was a long trip but we made it safely. Upon our arrival we met up with some dear friends from our home church; the Pate family. Kris and Julie, Anna, David, Thomas, and Daniel. They stayed with us for about three weeks. They came in from Texas to help us by substitute teaching some of our classes. Julie also helped out in our home while Jennifer and I adjusted to the new addition to our family. Kris and I worked on some computer lab stuff and he proved to be a skilled and tireless worker. And their kids helped to make sure Katherine never had a dull moment! They were such a blessing! Here is a link to their blog site which describes their trip.

http://joylogblog.blogspot.com

Life has returned to a more normal routine the past few weeks. I have been working with Daniel, my Translation Teammate, to finish translating some reformed literature. These are the books we have been working on:

1689 Confession (95% done) - 3rd edition - added proof texts, revised wording, added study questions (Public Domain)
Life by His Death - John Owen (35%) done - A book about what Christ accomplished on the cross (With Permission)
Christian Beliefs - Wayne Grudem (15% done) -

Going Home & The December 2009 Newsletter

2009-12-14T11:49:00.001+07:00

We are planning to take the 4:30 PM train back to Bangkok tomorrow. After arriving we will take a taxi to the Cambodia border which is a five hour drive. If the family travels well, God willing, we will pickup our car and drive back home (another 5 hour drive). Please pray we will arrive safely and enjoy returning to our work in Cambodia.

Also, Jennifer’s mom left to go back to Texas this morning. We were so happy to have her help and her company for the three weeks that she was with us. She was a blessing.

The Hales! Katherine, Me, Jennifer, and Isaac.

Finally, Pastor Chheng sent out a newsletter to give an update on the ministry. It has lots of information that will help inform your prayers for the work. Here it is:

December 2009 Newsletter

Peace,

Bill

It’s in the DNA

2009-11-28T21:29:00.001+07:00

We have been looking at Isaac and talking about who he looks like, me or Jennifer? Then we opened up some pictures of Katherine when she was a newborn to see if there were any similarities. Here is what we saw:

They look almost exactly the same! Same chin, mouth, nose, eyes. So we concluded that they must have the same mommy and daddy! 8-)

Things are going well here. We are enjoying the cool weather here in Chiang Mai. Last night it was 61 degrees at night which felt downright cold to us. In Cambodia it feels cool if it gets to 75 at night.

Isaac is still learning how to play during the day and sleep at night! We hope he learns quickly so we can sleep at night too.

Take Care,

Bill

The Man Cub!

2009-11-25T19:13:00.001+07:00

It is with great joy and thankfulness to God that I tell you, "Isaac has been safely born into the world." Jennifer went into labor this morning at 4:00 am. We went to the hospital and little Isaac was born at 8:30 AM on his due date. He weighs 7lbs 13oz and is 19" tall. He is healthy and doing well. Jennifer did great too and she is also doing well. We left the hospital the next afternoon and are now resting in our guest house. Thanks for all your prayers...the delivery went very smoothly.

The next step is to get his birth certificate translated into English, establish his USA citizenship, then apply for his passport. We are hoping to get all this done by Dec 15th so that we can return to Cambodia ASAP. Please pray that all the required steps would get completed, according to the will of God. We are so thankful for your interest and prayers, both for our family and the ministry in Cambodia. May God bless you and keep you!

Bill

We’re All Here!

2009-11-19T09:57:00.001+07:00

We arrived safely on the 12th and Jennifer’s mom, Martha, arrived yesterday, safe and sound as well. We are enjoying the reunion and the comfortable setting. We have met with our doctor and seen the hospital and both are going to work out well. Isaac is officially due to come on the 24th and it is an exciting time. Thank you for your prayers!

I told the ladies that we need to have a man child around here to help out with the hormonal imbalance of our apartment. 8-)

Here are a couple pictures of the Juniper Tree:

The Lord Jesus Reigns,

Bill

Traveling Across Asia

2009-11-11T12:19:00.001+07:00

Hello again! We are making our way across Asia and have one more leg to go in our trip. We successfully drove from Prek Ambel to Koh Kong on the edge of the Cambodia – Thailand border. It was some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen in Cambodia.

We arrived in Koh Kong around 5:00 PM. We stayed in the home of some missionaries who are currently on furlough in the USA. Here are a few pictures of their home.

We had a restful night of sleep and in the morning we headed out to cross the border into Thailand. The border paperwork was very easy and we had crossed the border which is right next to the Gulf of Thailand by 9:00 am.

Here are some pictures of the border crossing:

Next we headed on to Bangkok to drop of our friend Kara and her son Noah. She is planning to have her baby in Bangkok two days after Jennifer. Our taxi driver was great and we stopped two or three times over the course of the trip to get snacks and use the bathroom which made the women happy! We arrived in Bangkok at 3:00 PM and had a few hours to rest before our train left for Chiang Mai.

Here is Kara and Noah along with Jennifer and Katherine at her service apartment.

When we arrived at the train station to board the train which we thought was leaving at 7:00 PM we found out that it actually left at 6:00 PM and that we were too late to take it. So we stayed the night in Bangkok and are planning to take today’s 6:00 PM train. So we will be arriving a day later than we expected but that’s just fine. We were a bit wiped out from travelling and the extra rest was good. Our hotel is right next door to the train station and is very convenient. Neither one of us has ever ridden on a train before and we both think the train station is a cool place.

Please pray for us to successfully complete the last leg of our trip and arrive safely in Chiang Mai. The train ride is 14 hours.

God bless,

Bill

We're Going to Thailand!!!

2009-11-08T04:38:00.009+07:00

Hello you guys! We are doing well here. Things are good in the church and we are at peace which is a good thing. Katherine recently celebrated her birthday and she is now two years old. It's hard to believe possible. Here are a couple pictures of her little party.

We are leaving for Thailand tomorrow morning for the birth of our second child, Isaac. We are going to a city called Chiang Mai. Last time we went to Bangkok but it was too big and busy for our tastes. Chiang Mai is supposed to be more quiet.

Please pray for our travel and the delivery to go smoothly according to God's will. The trip will be in three parts. The first part I will drive our car to a town called Koh Kong which is on the Thai border (approx 5 hours). We will stay the night there at a team of missionaries' home. They are working with Mission to the World. We will leave our car with them and cross the border on foot the next morning. The next part will be a taxi ride from the border to Bangkok (5 hours). Then the third part is a train ride. The train is a sleeper train. It leaves Bangkok at 7:00 PM and you travel while you sleep. This part of the trip is like 11 hours! The train goes pretty slowly I think. And God willing we will reverse the order on the way home.

In case you are wondering, we didn't fly because 1)The cost and 2)The airlines have changed their rules regarding pregnant women flying. They have to be earlier than 34 weeks to fly. That was just too early for us. We both teach at the PATC and have many responsibilities around here and we didn't want to be gone for over two months. So we decided to go over land.

Also, please pray for the Thai Government to process the paperwork needed for Isaac to come back with us to Cambodia quickly. This can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to get his birth certificate and citizenship processed. We are hoping for the 2 week version. 8-)

Finally, please pray for things in Cambodia to go smoothly in our absence. We have many people setup to help out and we are thankful. Please pray for, Daniel, my substitute for the first two weeks. He is a PATC student who is ready to graduate in 6 months. Pray for Soda and Allison Chheng. Soda is pastor Chheng's son and he and his wife are coming for a visit from November 20th to December 10th. Pray for the Kris Pate family. The whole family is coming for a visit; Kris, his wife Julie, and their four kids. They plan to stay a month from December 10th to January 10th. Pray they would be effective and enjoy their stays!

Peace,
Bill

Ministry Update - Part 1

2009-08-29T21:00:00.001+07:00

Over the last several months we have seen a season of harvest in the ministry. I suppose this should not come as a surprise because Jesus said that problem is that there are not enough workers to reap the harvest, not that the harvest is too small.

Katherine helping me make a cabinet

While Chheng was visiting in the USA, we started a new effort to share the gospel in the Prek Ambel area. We decided to follow a road headed west out of Prek Ambel. The plan was to follow it for about 8 km until we had shared with most every house. The evangelist’s were consisted of the PATC students who decided to stay for the summer, church members, and two days a week me (I was and still am working to correct and revise the 1689 Baptist Confession that was translated a few years ago). This went on six days a week in the morning from 8:00 to 10:30 for around four months.

A further word about the church members that joined with us. All of them are busy everyday. Many of them have cows and to feed one cow they have to go and cut grass for 1.5 hours. This is per cow. Some of them have 2, 3, 4, or even 5 cows. If you do the math you will see it’s not a quick job. Also, they are busy doing things by hand that you would normally use a machine for. A Washing machine, a stove, a shower, a toilet. All these things take much longer for the average Cambodian. They wash clothes by hand, make fires for cooking (and chop down wood), walk to the river to bath, and look for a quiet spot for a bathroom. Yet, week after week, I watched these folks coming to the church to participate in the work of the gospel. They didn’t come everyday but nearly every time we went out we had someone from the lay membership join us. Many of them are not good speakers. Many of them weren’t sure how they would start conversations. But they stepped out in faith. It really encouraged me to see them taking the gospel to their neighbors and families and friends. And I hope you know that often times these folks are the hardest folks to share with. Please follow their example! Share with those around you! If they can find time so can we.

So back to the evangelism. For the first few weeks we didn’t see much response. Some people said they would come to visit the church but didn’t. Many people just plain rejected the idea that Jesus could be a substitute for the sins of his people. But by God’s grace we pushed on. Then we started to see fruit. A man openly repented of his sin and wanted to follow Christ. Then he brought his wife and kids. Then several children started attending that we met while on the road. Then two women started coming to the church and every week more and more new faces were joining our services. Many of theses faces we had never shared with but the Lord brought them. We had so many new visitors that we decided to buy a church van to make a pickup run on Sunday mornings before church. I became the driver (though two church members are in the process of learning to drive) and on my first trip I had 31 people in a 12 passenger van.

Since then, the Lord has continued to bless. My young adult Sunday school class has grown from 25 to 45 students in the last few months. The children’s class has been separated into four different groups because it had grown too large. And the Church service has gone from 70 people to around 100. Several times we ran out of chairs and had to borrow chairs from the PATC center. What a blessing!

to be continued…

Bill

A New Car!

2009-08-29T18:47:00.001+07:00

Well, it’s new to us. It’s actually a 1996 Toyota 4Runner.

It has like 11 inches of ground clearance and a 4x4 on the fly system. We’re ready to go beyond the regions beyond now! We are very thankful to the Lord for his provision and to the First Baptist Church of Parker, Texas. We are thankful for our old car too! It was a 1987 Camry and it served us well.

I’ll post a bigger update on the ministry soon. The Lord has been blessing and there is much news to share. God bless you all.

Bill

How to Burn Corn

2009-07-17T21:55:00.001+07:00

A couple of weeks ago Sopheak’s family invited everyone over to eat the first fruits of their corn crop. Sometimes direct translation from Khmer doesn’t carry the same idea in English. I was hoping this would be the case when she invited us to eat “burnt corn.” It wasn’t. The description is accurate in both languages, but the golden/blackened ears drizzled with a green onion sauce made good eatin’. More importantly, it was a good time.

You know, they cooked A LOT of corn, all of which could have been sold. But they love the Lord. They love the brethren. Their priority was to be a blessing.

God bless,

Jennifer

Sometimes We Let Ourselves Down

2009-07-04T16:40:00.001+07:00

So, about, I don’t know, a month ago maybe, Bill asked me to post something on the blog because it had been a while since we’d posted anything. And I said, “Sure.” So, here I am, putting away my bon-bons and doing just what I said I’d do…

Since that time, we met up with Joseph and Rachel Weyel and their 4 children at the airport. They have moved to Cambodia to work with an orphanage in Kompong Tom, and we followed their taxi-van up to Siem Reap to help them get settled. They have met with one trial after another since arriving, and are currently in Thailand where their eldest daughter, 8 year-old Beth, is in the hospital with very serious and (to my knowledge) still not-completely-diagnosed health problems. Please pray for them.

Our lives have been pretty low-key. Bill and Daniel continue to work on translating 4 days per week. They’ve put one book on hold to revise the 1689 London Baptist Confession that was previously translated. They hope to make the wording more clear, and therefore, the book more widely useful. Then on Friday and Saturday mornings he joins the students and other church members in evangelism.

Katherine and I keep the home fires burning, as it were. I have returned to the Flylady’s method of housework management. I’m not as strict as I could be, but I try to embrace her advise to aim for “progress, not perfection.” Which is really kind of a big deal for me.

Katherine is making nice progress on learning to use the potty. (If you had to wash cloth diapers by hand, I think you would take your 20 month-old to the potty 15 times a day, too.) And we have just dealt with our first case of lice. As if I needed any more reasons not to want to drop what I’m doing and sit in the back yard to supervise Katherine playing with the neighborhood children whenever they drop by. I’m almost ready to insist on a washing machine.

Katherine taking life in stride

I actually feel rather guilty about the neighborhood children issue. Here they are: the dirty, neglected, third-world masses right on my doorstep (looking through my windows, actually). And do I greet them with smiles and cookies? No. I either resign myself to not having the diapers washed in time to dry before it rains and try to seem nice on the outside, or tell them Katherine can’t play.

So now I have to learn to love the children who have given Katherine lice (and will again; Bill said she can’t become the Bubble Girl), and be intentional about “making the most of every opportunity” with them. How useless would it be it to move to a third-world country, deal with third-world issues, and yet not “be ready in season and out of season”? And not proclaim Christ in exchange for every trial?

Jennifer

It’s a …

2009-07-02T18:34:00.001+07:00

After many weeks of anticipation and questions from our family, friends, and neighbors we finally know the sex of the new baby; it’s a little boy. Jennifer and I are both thrilled. But we honestly were just happy to have another child; we didn’t care whether she was a girl or he was a boy.

We have decided to name him Isaac Earl. We both just like the name Isaac and Earl was Jennifer’s grandpa’s name; he was a neat guy and we are pleased to carry on his name.

The doc says everything is going well and little Isaac is growing according to schedule which was good to hear. The due date is now set at November 25th. Many thanks for your prayers regarding the health of Jennifer and the baby.

Take care,

Bill

Ashamed of the Lord?

2009-06-15T11:37:00.001+07:00

This topic is not as relevant in the Unites States because the dominant religion in the culture in Christianity. But in Cambodia it is an issue that often needs addressing. The dominant religion is Buddhism and as such Christians are often thought foolish, strange, and even crazy. When they go to the market the people know they are Christians and stare at them and even laugh at them. Business owners are often afraid to let it be known publicly that they are Christians in fear they will be hated and their businesses will fail.

Often young men and women are afraid to be visible Christians because it will be hard to find a wife or husband. If 95% of all people are Buddhist then finding a spouse becomes difficult.

But the Bible is very clear that we should not be ashamed of the Lord Jesus. And why would we be ashamed? Our God is wonderful…gracious, kind, just, and powerful. There is no good reason to be ashamed of Him or His word (Mark 8:34-38).

Yesterday was the third and final time for me to preach, Lord willing, while Chheng is gone. I felt compelled to teach on this subject. Click the play button below if you want to listen.

As the Lord leads, please pray the believers in Cambodia would not be ashamed of Jesus or his words but that they would let the light of God in them shine for all to see.

Grace and peace,

Bill

How Beautiful Are the Feet

2009-05-25T22:31:00.001+07:00

Things are going well here. Brother Chheng has been in the United States now for almost one month. We have been working to share the Gospel in his absence. We have split into three groups and start in the morning at 8:00. Most houses will listen to us and we usually spend about 30 minutes with each family. We have heard many responses to the Gospel message but the most common by far is the denial of Justification by Faith. Cambodians believe that each person’s future state depends on their “good” works outweighing their bad works. They do not believe that someone else can justify them. It’s a sad situation to see so many people living in sin and refusing to repent and believe in the God who will save all who do. To many we are an aroma of death.

But thanks be to God, to others we are an aroma of life! By Gods grace alone! Since we started sharing two weeks ago we have had 6 visitors come to our Sunday services as a result of hearing the Gospel. It’s too early to tell if they truly believe but we have been encouraged greatly and have been praising God for these folks. Please pray for us to do this important work with a spirit of gentleness and in truth.

Also, as you know already, I have been sharing preaching responsibilities with Bro Chheng away and this week was my second turn. With all the discussion about good works and how they relate to our justification before God, it seemed good to teach on the subject. It’s available on-line if you wish to hear it. Just click the play button below.

Grace and peace,

Bill

www.thechurchofmercy.org

The Cost & Reward of Following

2009-05-04T22:30:00.001+07:00

Our pastor here in Cambodia, Bro Chheng, is visiting in the states right now. He asked me to fill in for him and preach the message this week. Maybe you would like to hear it.

I have a translator with me so it is a good chance to hear the Cambodian language and also to hear what it’s like to use a translator. My translator’s name is Daniel. He has translated for me over three hundred times and is becoming a very good translator. My Khmer has improved greatly but for preaching I still don’t feel proficient enough to go at it alone. Though, I did give the church announcement in Khmer!

Enjoy!

God Bless,
Bill

www.thechurchofmercy.org

A Long Trip and An Overdue Newsletter

2009-04-17T22:05:00.001+07:00

Greetings in the Lord! There is not too much to report this time. The PATC has been off for a week due to the Khmer new year (April 13-17). We decided to take a trip to Battambang Province, which is a six hour drive from Prek Ambel, to see the town and meet with some of our students’ families. Six of our students are from the area. We took only three with us because that’s all our car could hold. We stayed in the area four days. It was a blessed time.

We traveled along Road #5 out of Phnom Penh

Some interesting points along the way. On the second day, we visited Keng’s home (Keng is a PATC student) which is close to Pailin City (another two hours away!). His whole family was there, which was over twenty people including uncles, aunts, and cousins, and we shared a meal together. Keng really wanted me to meet his family and share the Gospel with them. He has shared with them in the past but he wanted me to throw some more seed and compel them to come to Christ for forgiveness. They all gathered round and I asked them if I could share my testimony with them. They consented and I began to tell them of my drunken ways and wicked heart before I believed upon Christ and the great work God has done in my soul and in my life since. I pleaded with them to think about their sin and their helpless and hopeless end before God without the Savior’s help. Afterward, the floor was opened for questions and Keng’s mother said, “I don’t have any questions…I am just a poor, foolish woman.” I encouraged her, “Jesus came to call the foolish, the poor, and the sick.” He came for someone like her. More on their reaction in a minute.

We then left Keng with his family and returned to Battambang. The road was a really bumpy, gravel road and we had to take it for two hours. We thought our little car was going to fall apart! But thank God it held up ok and we arrived safely.

Something happened next that has never happened to me. We went to a restaurant for dinner that was supposed to have great western style food. We walked in and the waiter, an Aussie, looked at us a bit funny and said, “Yes?” We said, “We want to eat.” So he took our order and then brought our drinks. He then started to ask us questions. “Where do you guys live?” We said we lived in Cambodia. “Oh, where in Cambodia?” We said in Kandal province. “What do you do there?” he asked. We said we were teachers at a small Bible school. He quizzed, “You are missionaries?” We answered, “yes, we are.” At this time he walked away from the table and said, “We don’t serve missionaries! You will have to leave.” I thought he was joking at first but he wasn’t kidding. He refused to serve us. We got up from our table and we told him, “no problem at all.” We left and for about two or three minutes I wanted to hate him in my heart. We had had a long day and Jennifer and Katherine were really hungry. But the Spirit within us both told us to be thankful for being persecuted. To repay good for evil. To pray for those who persecute you. I can say honestly that we prayed for his soul and that the Lord would forgive him for mistreating His people. We ended up eating hamburgers at a different place. It’s pretty funny that we come to a nation of Buddhists and get refused service by an expat.

Back to Keng’s family. There is not a happy ending to this story, at least not yet. When we met with Keng again, I asked him if his family had anything to say about what we shared. He said no one spoke about it again except that his sister was pretty upset that Keng didn’t participate in the idol ceremonies of the day. She even threatened to not allow him to study at our school anymore. She sends him money once a month and is in general a kind young lady. I shared with him that sometimes those who are in great opposition to the Gospel end up being saved and God is glorified greatly. He said in English, “I hope God choose her.” His grammar was off but his theology was on. Keng is only twenty years old but he has a good grasp of what it takes for a sinner to come to Christ. Thanks be to God!

Finally, here is a link to the April newsletter. Enjoy!

http://thechurchofmercy.org/newsletters/April2009Update.pdf

In Christ,

Bill

Is It a Boy? Is It a Girl?

2009-04-03T17:54:00.001+07:00

It is with a thrilled heart that I tell you Jennifer is pregnant with our second child. We were hoping and praying for another child so we are very thankful to God. She is almost 6 weeks along and the baby is due in early December. Please pray for God’s watch care over Jennifer and the baby, that they will both be healthy (according to God’s good pleasure) and that He would teach us how to care for our growing family.

(Katherine – 17 months)

Also, please pray for our school here in Cambodia. We are in need of additional teachers and now that situation will be exacerbated. We have a couple students who are nearing completion of the program that we are considering as candidates for teaching positions (low level English and Computer). We are also open to filling the positions from outside the school and even outside the country. Pray the Lord would lead us to the right path. If you want to learn more about our school, here is the web link.

http://thechurchofmercy.org/patc.html

God bless,

Bill

My Trip to Wat Kandal

2009-03-26T22:26:00.001+07:00

On Sunday afternoon Bill kindly stayed home with Katherine so I could accompany the students to Wat Kandal. Putee had told me that it was an hour away by moto, but it only took maybe 30 minutes. He must not find it an interesting ride.

This is what the traffic was like. You can see the edge of one of the cows on the right.

And here was my ride. I only knocked Srey Roat on the back of the head with my helmet twice.

Below are the PATC students and their respective classes. The children in attendance said many of their classmates were absent because they had to help their families with the rice harvest.

This is Saveuet (there’s really not a good way to write his name in English!)

Sopheak

Srey Roat (pronounced “roe-ought”)

and Vanak

The school has five classrooms with broken windows, a thick layer of dirt on the concrete floors, and piles of dirt, broken glass and a few wrappers swept into the corners. It is located beside the river on the grounds of the village wat. I actually asked where the wat was when we arrived, because typically even in poor areas the wat is large and extravagant. But this one was a small wooden building/covered porch more in keeping with the area.

Inside are idols representing Buddha.

This is where the monks live, across the grounds from the wat:

None of Savee’s students showed, so we went to talk to the monks. He helped me ask them some questions about Buddhism. I was asking them about how they know what will happen to them when they die; how they know if they’ve done enough good to earn a favorable reincarnation. The typical answer is, “you don’t.” And I was waiting for that answer so that I could reply with a resounding, “Then, have I got good news for you!”

But I learned something new. If you do good works AND, when you are dying, think about how you led a good life, then you will have a good reincarnation. But if you focus on your bad deeds, you will have an unfortunate new life.

After some discussion about that idea, we opened the floor for them to ask questions about Christianity. In general, I don’t think I handled the let-me-listen-to-your-ideas-and-then-I-can-tell- you-about-mine approach to evangelism very well. The discussion remained genial and respectful (with the exception of the one monk who snickered the whole time), I just think it was obvious that my primary purpose was not to learn about Buddhism, and they were humoring my questions.

Nevertheless, they asked some good questions about Christianity (though they, too, were not primarily interested in learning about Christianity, but were obviously seeking to leave us unable to answer or confirm the validity of our faith). For example, “How can you say Jesus created everything when he was only born 2000 years ago?” “If everyone is born with sin, how can you say Jesus was born without sin?” And “if God loved his people, why did He curse them and the world and animals with them?” Good questions.

So for over an hour, 10 monks continued to initiate questions, receive biblical answers and hear the clear message of God’s justice and mercy from our well-prepared students of Systematic Theology. (Saveuet and Vanak had joined us after their classes were over.)

We then left Wat Kandal and went to Stung, where Sopheak’s family lives and a she and Srey Roat each teach another group of children.

And play games with them.

This is Sopheak’s mom (standing), working in the field behind their house. She was thinning their patch of diakon radishes.

She has been a strong and faithful member for a long time.

Jenn

Thursday Fellowship

2009-03-20T16:17:00.001+07:00

We had our second “Thursday Fellowship” yesterday. We plan to get together once a month at a church member’s house for worship and a meal. We all had a really good time together, and it is already evident that spending this extra time together is strengthening the relationships between members.

Also, according to custom, this gathering is broadcast by loudspeaker over the surrounding village, so every month a different area gets to hear a few hymns and a message of salvation by grace through faith in the Only True and Living God, Jesus Christ.

Our hosts this month were Kim and Nyen:

Here are some ladies preparing the meal. I can’t remember the name of the dish, but it sounded ironically similar to “don’t eat.”

This is Sopheak, Chheng’s niece, whom I mentioned in the previous post.

This is how to cook rice for 50 people. The wood has already been removed from underneath, and most of the rice eaten, for that matter. I’m not sure about the banana leaf. Maybe a potholder?

These girls are playing a game called “catch the lice.” (Really, lice?) It’s basically jacks but with rocks. The girl in orange has them here. And in case you were wondering, Taylor Doyle sent Flat Susie for a visit!

You can see the local pool hall across the street.

These guys (the 6 in front) are students at the PATC.

We’re riding the ferry back across the river. The girl behind Chheng is Srey Leab, a student and faithful worker for almost 3 years.

The lady on the right is Sarun, Chheng’s sister. She was the first to believe, and the church—7 or 8 people—met in her home when Chheng began his ministry here in 1999.

Missionaries have laundry, too.

2009-03-18T16:54:00.001+07:00

Since I received enthusiastic fan mail in response to “Ordinary Life,” I am emboldened to offer—at least to that fan—a sequel. (Yes, it was just one piece of fan mail, but I couldn’t really say, “a fan mail,” now could I?)

So for you who are interested (singular or plural), I present our dryer:

It has become necessary to hang our clothes on the fence, rather than on the line:

because banana trees drop sap that dries to a deep (though not unpleasant) brown and scoffs at all stain removal techniques known to the modern world. Except bleach, which has obvious limitations.

This is not such an undesirable situation, though, seeing as how shirts which have been hung in half over the line turned out lighter on the south side, producing an effect that is undesirable. On the positive side, Katherine’s sun-dried diapers remain surprisingly white.

In the way of artistic outlets, about 6 weeks ago Bill asked me to make an enlargement of one of the maps in the back of his Bible so his Sunday school class could follow the movements of Jesus as they study through the book of Mark. So, several Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons later, we have a map:

My other (long-term) project is painting the black-and-white illustrations in one of several little Bible story books we picked up for some of our students to read to their students.

I was hoping this project would be a very fun and relaxing way to spend a couple of hours per week during a naptime. I was, to be honest, rather disappointed and irked that in reality it is turning out to be a frustrating chore. I have almost no experience with watercolor, and don’t really know what I’m doing. There are many pictures left. I might just use colored pencil.

What our students are doing with these Bible story books is a more interesting story, though. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons three students go to Sopheak’s family’s house, and five go beyond to Wat Kandal (Central Pagoda). Sopheak’s house is about 30 minutes away by bicycle, and the pagoda is an hour by moto. There are about 30 children at each location, and our students teach them English for an hour, then play games and read them a Bible story for another hour.

At Wat Kandal there were originally over 100 children, but after our students told them about Christ, most of the older ones quit coming. As one of our students put it, “They are afraid of the name of Jesus, and afraid to believe in Him.” Several teenagers and a group of monks actually hung around (on the fringes) to see and hear the first story that was read.

Sopheak said the children who continue to come love to hear the stories and see the pictures. Most of them, especially near Wat Kandal, are very poor (They don’t have pencils to study with, which cost 5-7 cents at the local markets.) so for them, having a story read to them—in terms of frequency, novelty and delight—is rather comparable to an American child going to Disney Land.

Which is why I want to color the pictures. If colorful pictures can make the books a little more interesting and enjoyable, I think there is some value in that. I mean, which would you rather look at?

But the truly wonderful thing about these books is not the color illustrations. It is that those Khmer characters spell out the story of Jesus, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Jenn

Ordinary Life

2009-03-16T17:12:00.001+07:00

I have nothing extraordinary to report, (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing) just some glimpses into everyday life of late.

We had a school holiday a while back, so Katherine and I worked on reclaiming the garden from the nutsedge. If you have ever tried your hand at nutsedge removal, it is rather like one of those trick birthday candles that keeps relighting itself. Though you huff and puff like the Big Bad Wolf, it WILL grow back. Judging by the depth and ubiquity of their tubers, I believe I dealt with not just the same species, but the same specimen in my garden in Allen, making nutsedge the second largest organism in the world.

After applying our homemade compost, we planted green bean seeds and some flowers from Sophorn’s garden. Unfortunately, now that vacation is over, I’ve hardly been out there since. There is always—for the willing—something to learn in the garden, though. For example, composted egg shells make a tasty, crunchy treat. Katherine tried some, and offered them to me as well. I was not willing.

Here is Bill (and his trusty sidekick, Leatherman) with the trellis he made for the blackberry bush. We hope to soon have a blackberry-covered screen for the burn barrel.

Here is Katherine ready to take a walk. Notice the “noom” in her pockets. (Animal crackers. Though here they’re shaped like shrimp.)

After my class time and her naptime, we made hand and foot prints. Fun times!

On the teaching front, I’m really happy with the progress my English students are making, especially in pronunciation. Khmer has almost no final consonant sounds. The last letter is there basically so you’ll know how to shape your mouth to stop the last vowel sound. So “six,” “sick,” “sit,” and “sip” all sound the same when issuing from a Khmer mouth. Words like “thanked” (/nkt/) and “costs” (/sts/) are particularly tricky. And you can just forget about plurals. But not so any longer! You’ll not find my students responsible for anything like, “Sin I wah a boy…” Oh, no. If you pass my classroom you’ll here things like, “Sinccce I wasss a boy…” Ahh, the sweet sound of sssuccsssesss!

Jenn

I Can’t Believe They Posted Again!

2009-01-24T21:35:00.001+07:00

Enjoy it while it lasts, I can’t promise to keep blogging this frequently. I wanted to give you a couple more things to pray about that I haven’t mentioned yet.

Daniel – 3rd Year PATC Student & Our Khmer Teacher

One of our PATC students, Daniel (pictured above), started an English school about 4 miles from the Vietnam border. That means the school is about 15 miles south of Prek Ambel. The school has been extremely successful so far as they teach some 400 plus students everyday, and he is doing a great job of managing everything. Two weeks ago he asked me if I would come on a Saturday morning to share the Gospel with his teachers. I happily agreed to his request and we set a date for January 18th.

When I arrived almost all of the teachers were present. There were 15 teachers, 2 of which are believers and the rest are Buddhists. We read the book of Acts chapter 10. We discussed how God taught Peter that the Gospel was for Gentiles too! And then I shared the Gospel with them following Peter’s words to Cornelious (Acts 10:34-43).

God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. Acts 10:34-35

Following the message we discussed the possibility of a weekly Bible study. They were eager to learn more and studying weekly sounded good (Praise God!). So this morning we met for the second time. I decided to go through the book of Mark with them. This morning we read Mark 1:1-28. It is quite a powerful chapter, I think. John says Jesus is so high he is not worthy to untie his sandals. God the Holy Spirit is with him. And God the Father is pleased with him. We are taught the worthiness of Christ; He is the best! And then we see he is immediately led to the wilderness to be tempted. “He’s so good huh? Let’s see what happens after I offer him the whole earth.” But the Devil was defeated because Jesus passed the test. Christ passed the test; he did not sin. We can trust him; we will not be disappointed or ashamed.

Please pray for me and for these teachers. For the next little while we will be meeting together weekly and reading about the life of Christ. Pray the Lord would open their eyes, ears, and hearts. And pray the Lord would help me to teach effectively and truthfully.

OK, update number two. Jennifer has been working with Katherine for many months now (and doing a wonderful job). Many times she receives comments about how she did this or that and their apparent disapproval of her methods. One lady tried to “tell on” Jennifer for spanking Katherine. She said, “Bill, I saw Jennifer spank Katherine,” thinking I would disapprove. I told her Jennifer did that because she wants Katherine to be a good little girl. 8-)

And Jennifer has just endeavored to do good and follow God’s word and hoped it would be a testimony to the people she comes in contact with. After being here for two years we are starting to see fruit in this area. Two of our female students have seen the benefits of starting child training at a young age and have said, “When we have children, we want to train them like you train Katherine.” Another student said that she didn’t know children could learn things at such a young age. She said, “It’s nice how you talk to Katherine and explain things to her, the Khmer people don’t really talk to children like that.” Jennifer, as you know, is not a perfect mommy, but thank God his light is shining through her. Please pray for her work with Katherine (and mine too). Pray we would obey God and raise her well. Pray the Lord would open Katherine’s eyes to her sin and to the forgiveness of God in Christ, in due time.

God bless you all,

Bill

Sre Trang Christmas Program

2009-01-09T16:59:00.000+07:00

The Sre Trang congregation had their Christmas program on Dec. 13th. We met in the new church building that had just been finished a few days before.

The new building. The old one is just to the left.

Several of the local police were there, as well as some area government leaders. One of the leaders got up and spoke, having highly favorable things to say about the church there and Christianity in general. What a blessing to have the support of the local leaders out there. We can't be naive. It wouldn’t be unheard of to, at the Christmas program, extol the church and affirm his most affectionate commitment to its prosperity, then shut it down the next day. But thus far local support has seemed genuine, so we thank God for this blessing and pray that it would continue.

Guests arriving on the road toward the church

All of our students and a few church members went to the program. (We left at 4:30 AM! Yikes!) Groups from both congregations presented songs and skits. I missed most of it. The crowd of children around Katherine (and I) was causing a significant distraction to the audience, so we went outside. There were over 100 children there; most without an adult counterpart, all without adult supervision. Some of our students played games under a tent with the ones who weren't interested in the program.

Some of the children checking out Katherine

On a side note, Sre Trang has actually had over 100 children attend their Sunday worship service consistently over the past few months. Please pray for them as they figure out how to wisely manage and effectively teach them about the One True and Living God. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." Matt 19:14

Children waiting for the program to begin

When the program was over we all ate curry soup together, then our students taught the Sre Trang youth a series of gestures/movements to go along with the song "God Will Make a Way." They really enjoy doing gestures along with songs.

The tent under which the children played and we ate lunch

Overall, it was a really nice time for the two congregations to worship and fellowship together.

Jennifer

End of the Year

2008-12-31T08:11:00.001+07:00

We’ve had a good year and are thankful for all of your prayers and interest in the Cambodian work. There is still much to do though, as there always will be; it is the proliferate nature of our great God to perform mighty works and lead His sheep to greener pastures. All praise and glory belongs to Him!

Here is a link to our latest newsletter:

http://thechurchofmercy.org/newsletters/Jan2009Update.pdf

Also, a recent picture of baby Katherine at 14 months.

She is growing up so fast. And btw so am I! The gray hair is coming in like a flood now. A crown of glory indeed. I used to do computer work for a construction company named Centex. One of the project managers had a sign in his office that I think about often. It said,

Experience is a hard teacher, she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.

Hopefully my gray hair is proof of my increasing wisdom from life’s experiences. ;-)

God Bless,

Bill

Khmerry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T21:03:00.001+07:00

This was the headline in today's paper. Too funny. We went in to Phnom Penh this morning to have a nice American style Christmas breakfast. Eggs (over medium), bacon, sausage, pancakes, coffee, etc. We spent the remainder of the day just piddling around and enjoying each other's company. It was a quiet day but a nice one. Here is a picture of us after arriving back at home, safe and sound:

We want to say, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." We miss seeing you all, especially during the holidays. This season of our lives has us far from home but we try to keep the perspective that the USA is not our real home either. We long for that better country and heavenly city which the Lord Jesus has gone to prepare.

Hebrews 11:15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

John 14:1 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Thanks be to God and amen!

Bill, Jennifer, and Katherine

Siem Reap Vacation Pics

2008-12-21T15:14:00.001+07:00

Ok, I promised you guys some pictures from our vacation to Siem Reap so here they are. We have been asked many times in the last two years if we ever went to see the Angkor temples. We always answered, to their astonishment, "no, not yet." The locals think that every foreigner has been to see them. Well, now we can add ourselves to the list. We had a great time and the temples really are amazing. In the worldly sense they are quite beautiful however, knowing they were built as idols for Hindu and Buddhist gods they kinda lose some of their luster.

(Click to enlarge map)

Anyway, I have organized the pictures according to which particular temple we were visiting. The temples cover a seventy-five square mile area and there are many to see. We spent one whole day looking at them and we only saw six temples.

Enjoy!

Bill

Buenos Dias!

2008-12-15T21:30:00.001+07:00

This season is very beautiful as the fields are ready for harvest. Things are moving along here. We are nearing the end of the Fall semester for the 2008-09 school year. Our finals week will be DEC. 29-31. We are very thankful for God's help and for all your prayers.

I have been teaching through a series about death, resurrection, judgement, and heaven in my Sunday school class. I started the study after a local teenager fell walking up the stairs to her house at night, hit her head, and died soon after. It was very tragic. Many of our students knew her and she even studied English in our after-school program. They did not think she was a believer though.

Many people around here believe the souls of the departed wander around and are potentially dangerous. When a death happens in a certain area, the local monks will come perform some type of ritual and ask the evil spirit/spirits that caused the death to stay away as well as ask the soul/souls of the departed to not cause any mischief. Well, in this case, the deceased girl's mother went to see a medium who supposedly brought the girl's soul back and she had a conversation with her daughter. Many people in the area believe in these types of things and that the souls of the departed are all around everywhere. So it seemed to be a great time to study about death etc.

The beginning part of our discussion was that the Bible teaches people are made of two parts - body & soul - physical & spiritual. When we die our body will soon return to dust and our soul will return to God.

Ecc 12:7 then the dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.

When we die our souls immediately return to God, to paradise (Heaven) with Christ for the believer or to Hades (Hell) without Christ for the non-believer.

Luke 16:22 And it happened that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich one also died and was buried. 23 And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.

There is no reason to fear ghosts. All souls go back to God. Evil spirits, though, are in fact very real and we should stay away from any activity that would attempt to communicate with them.

I encouraged them again and again that we would all do well to fear God.

Psalm 27:1 ...The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Mat 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Amen!

Talk to you all again soon,

Bill

This is a test

2008-12-04T23:58:00.001+07:00

I saw on-line that Microsoft has a new program for adding blog updates so I thought I would download it and try it out. It’s kind of cool and it really makes posting easier I think. Windows Live Writer is the name of the program.

here is a link to the program if you want to check it out:

http://download.live.com/writer

Here is a picture, just for grins, as my earth science teacher used to say. The three girls sitting on one of the ruins of the Angkor Wat temple complex.

Take Care!

Bill

Hello again

2008-12-01T22:18:00.003+07:00

Well, we have been busy doing everything that we do and the blog updates have gotten left wanting. This year's school year has been going great. Things are just running smoothly; thank God for his kindness and grace. The students really seem to be growing in the Lord and we are ready to start 3 new cell groups on Saturdays. More on this coming soon!

We have had two sets of visitors from the states in recent months. First 5 men from our home church came and were a great encouragement to us. It was so good to see them! We were also so thankful for the cookies that were in their bags. 8-)

Next Jennifer's mom, Martha, came for a visit. She stayed for 3 weeks and we were able to go and see some cool stuff. She really enjoyed her visit with Katherine. And I guess we were ok too! We went to Sihanoukville to play at the beach and then we went to Siem Reap to see the angkor wat temple complexes. Both trips were great and we were thankful to get to see the different parts of Cambodia. Here are some pictures of our trip to the Beach. More pictures to follow from our Siem Reap trip later.

Take care,
Bill

Honoring the Season

2008-09-29T10:15:00.002+07:00

For a couple of weeks I had been gathering pictures and composing paragraphs in my mind for another post. They were all about Katherine's new tricks; the simple pleasure I derived from finding rich, finished compost at the bottom of my compost pile; the nice meals we enjoyed with the Northens who travel up and down the Mekong on a medical ship (http://mekongriverboatproject.blogspot.com/); and preparations for our new school year.

Then Hawk Sie drowned and I was stuck. How could I, on one day, describe the Cambodian funeral of a 9 year-old boy and the circumstances surrounding his death, and then a few days later say, "Here's a picture of Katherine doing something cute. And here's a picture of the cucumbers in my garden...." In other words, to state by my actions the cold and flippant cliche that I hate: "Life goes on."

I hate it because it seems to be delivered as an injunction to get over it, forget about it, and go on about your business. As if to say, "Life goes on, and it's the same as before." Or, "Life goes on, and I'm the same as before."

Obviously life does go on. The Holocost happened, the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides happened, the World Wars, civil wars... not to mention the evils individuals perpetrate on one another. And yet others survive to live and move, the sun rises, the rain falls, and the time comes for another season under heaven.

The problem I have about "going on with life" is that I don't want to be the same as before. My baby is still growing, I'm still teaching and cooking dinner and going to church and pulling weeds.... My life is the same, but I don't want my heart to be.

And what about sorrow? How can my heart be so painfully crushed one day, and so light and satisfied on another? It's as if being happy today invalidates the sorrow I felt yesterday. If I can "get over it" and be happy today, I should have been able to yesterday. Or, if my sorrow was truly impenetrable yesterday, it should stand equally firm today. But that is not the nature of life. It would be ridiculous to say that working with an arm today invalidates the pain of a break two months ago, therefore I'll no longer work with that arm.

While "whatever God does endures forever," my life is conducted in a seasonal realm; as God's eternal decrees are revealed to me in time, I must respond appropriately for the season. Just as it would be inappropriate for me to dress for battle during peacetime, it is perhaps even dishonoring to God for me to cling to sorrow during a season of His gifts of joy and pleasure.

So I'll tell you about Hawk Sie's funeral. And in the future, Lord willing, I'll tell you about our joys and trials, the mundane and the exceptional, as each in its season is revealed in our lives.

Jenn

Walls and Basketballs

2008-08-22T20:53:00.003+07:00

Last week heavy rains caused a retaining wall beside the church to fall and block this little road.

Bill spent a couple of days doing hard labor with some of the men from church to bust up the cement and shovel dirt back out of the road. Shoveling dirt is one thing. Shoveling pasty clay mud that won't let go of the shovel is quite another!

When we were buying water in Saang last week the coach of the Saang high school basketball team saw Bill and stopped to talk. Before we took our trip to the US, Bill had been going to their practices to help coach about twice a week. Then they had some out-of-town games and the coach stopped calling. Bill thought perhaps the coach didn't appreciate his openness about Christ and that this door had closed. But he seemed eager to have Bill join them again.

It took some effort and an offer to do the work himself, but Bill finally convinced the coach that their goals should be the standard 10 ft. high, rather than 10' 8". So yesterday Bill lowered the goals. The players seemed pleased with the results. Please pray the Lord would help Bill to build relationships with the coach and players and that he would be salt and light to them.

I finished removing grass and planting vegetable seeds along our wall yesterday. You can see the newly dug soil above K's head, and my lovely squash sprouts to the left! Katherine was too busy checking out the grass to look up and smile at the camera.

Ants have invaded our mango trees, so I made some orange oil and sprayed them. Post strike reconnaissance revealed they had moved back in, seemingly undaunted. I tried to console myself with the idea that a few survivors had reported the devastation to another battalion, which then moved in to take the place of their fallen comrades. I think in reality my solution was too weak. I think I'll try planting mint around the bases.

Jenn

Miscellaneous

2008-08-16T20:57:00.007+07:00

The water is rising now. This is the land neighboring ours, and it was dry the day before I took this picture. You can see a person wading through it on the far right.

And inside we are making stilted progress at organizing our home. This is the changing table I just set up with a basket to hold Katherine's cloth diapers, covers and soakers, and a place to hang used wool diaper covers to air out. No more changing diapers on the floor!

Organization is actually somewhat of a foreign language to me. I used to think it was just a matter of taking time to clean up after myself. Which is partly true, and difficult when there are so many more fun and rewarding things to do with my time than organize. But honestly, sometimes I just stare at things and not even begin to know where to put them. I even bought books about how to be organized. There are things more fun to do than read about being organized, as well.

One example of something more fun than organizing is taking a refreshing dip in a big inflatable duck.

But when I do need to be responsible and do my chores, it's good to be able to keep Katherine happy and away from bugs and other bite-sized objects on the ground.

Here's one of the wool soakers my mom knitted for K out of yarn kindly offered by some of her sweet friends at Quilt Country. Making fitted cloth diapers and wool diaper covers was my big project while in the states.

Yesterday Bill went to visit with our neighbor who was planting rice between his rows of Lamut trees (I don't know what they're called in English). Bill recently found some information on the System of Rice Intinsification (SRI), and has been eager to share it with the local farmers. Basically it can increase yield by 2 times or more, use a fraction of the seed due to increased plant spacing, and reduce costs by using less water. Our neighbor said he would try it on a 5 x 5 meter plot. This could be a valuable method for the members of the church at Sre Treng because they aren't near a river and lack of water can be a serious issue for them.

Jenn

The grass is always greener during the rainy season.

2008-08-10T20:40:00.008+07:00

We're back in Cambodia. I know we are because it's August and less than 100 degrees; we were awakened at 5:30 this morning to the resounding and incessant bass of dance music being broadcast across the village (a wedding, I suppose); and I was informed several times today at church that I'm fatter than before. Katherine has "good meat." But me? I'm fat. Life is so unfair.

We had a really nice and refreshing time in the States. Katherine got to meet our friends and family. Here are she and Dad swimming:

And we celebrated Bill's first Father's Day (notice the Aggies dress):

It's hard to leave loving friends and family, especially when we know we may never see some of them again. But we take comfort in the assurance that God is wise and good. He is our strength and will make us tread on high places.

At the same time we are glad to be back where we have other loving friends and family in the Lord. We're looking forward to starting a new school year. I'm planning to teach English again a couple of days a week, which I really enjoy. Though it will add to my challenge of joyfully and wisely managing a busy schedule, for which I would request your prayers.

We want to plant a garden, so efforts at cleaning and unpacking have been rewarded by episodes of digging up grass when it's not raining and drawing out plans when it is. Here's what I've gotten done so far:

And here is our blackberry bush, the procurement of which earned me the title of "Good Wife":

This project has made me realize that sometimes it's just better if you don't step back and look at the big picture. Anyhow, we hope to enjoy some organic fruit and vegetables in due season. Pesticides are seriously overused in Cambodia, and if we could demonstrate some credibility in organic gardening/farming methods, perhaps we could have some influence in the community. And with the current restrictions on evangelism, this might be a way to build relationships with more people. As you can see, however, it will be a while before this idea comes to... well... fruition.

Jenn

Ohio Visit

2008-07-17T22:35:00.003+07:00

Aunt Mari, Me, Cousin Amy

We are having a nice visit with my Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle in Akron, Ohio. The chair Katherine is riding was made by my grandfather for my dad in 1953. She has had a great time riding it. Our trip is coming to an end very quickly and in a short time we will return to Cambodia. We are looking forward to our return but are sad to be saying our goodbyes. Please pray that we would make the most of our time in the USA and return to Cambodia refreshed and eager to continue on in the Work.

God Bless,
Bill

2008-04-10T19:00:00.004+07:00

Here's Katherine in the Easter dress her Moms and Paw Paw sent her. Actually, the postal workers were less than energetic about delivering the package, so we just got it last week. It can be her Khmer New Year dress, I suppose. She's sitting up on her own now, scooting around her mat like a little soldier, and eating cereal and yams from a spoon. One of her more amusing developments is the motorcycle noise she makes, complete with shifting to higher and lower gears. Aww, mama's little Super Cub...

On a more grown up note, I have recently applied a Chhengism to my understanding of maintaining a happy marriage: good credit. The idea, to be sure, is not missing from any marriage manual Dr. Phil would endorse, but this metaphor, well, I like it. Chheng originally used it in reference to a student who, as a result of overt disobedience, had earned "bad credit." But it occurred to me how important it is to continually build up good credit with Bill and not just avoid transactions against my account.

Not only this, but I also need to be quick to recognize his efforts toward good credit, and apply said efforts to his account. How frustrating is it to make a payment, only to have it lost in the mail?!

There you have it. Deep thoughts from a girl who knows how to use a credit card.

-Jenn

It's Warren Moon Everybody

2008-04-02T19:42:00.006+07:00

When I think about it I am still sad that the Houston Oilers are no more. Glad Warren got in on the first ballot though.

Things are still going well for us here. We are nearing the end of the third year of the school's existence. The Lord has been helping us a great deal and for that we are grateful. Also, the churches are moving along in the Lord and we have seen an increase in visitors recently. We continue to preach the Gospel as we can and we pray the Lord would give the increase.

The Family and I are planning to visit the U.S. in June of this year and stay until the beginning of August. We plan to visit with family and our church friends and we also plan to visit with many of those who are partnering with us in the work of the Lord.

May God Bless You and Keep You,

Bill

Dad and his little girl!!

2008-02-24T20:44:00.000+07:00

(Katherine and Dad by the morning glories)

(Possibly the cutest baby picture of all time)

I realize that I am biased but... I'm a firm believer in absolute truth. 8-)

Things are going great here. Jennifer is enjoying motherhood and I am enjoying fatherhood too! Everyday she seems to do something new. This week she has learned to roll over. At first we would lay her down on her back, leave the room for a minute, and upon returning she would be on her belly. And Jennifer would say, "Bill, look she can role over" but then she wouldn't do it. She was like the singing frog cartoon, "hello my baby, hello my sweetheart." We had to leave the room for her to perform. She is now trying to learn how to get back.

The churches and school are doing well. March first is Spring break for the students so I'll have a little more flex time for a week or so. I must say that things here are going almost exactly the way we thought they would. Jennifer and I really enjoy the school, the students, the church members, and the opportunity to share the grace of God to save sinners. Thanks be to God for helping us to find a sweet spot in the ministry here!

In my Systematic Theology class we are discussing the omnipresence of God. He is everywhere, his whole being, not just a small piece. There is nowhere we can go to escape his presence. As I taught the students the lesson I was reminded of the fear of God we should have. Fear of sinning and offending him. If He with a wrathful eye was to look my direction, with me still covered with crimson stained garments, where could I run to escape the horrible danger? Where could I hide from his anger? There is no place I could go (Psalm 139:7-10). As someone has said, "Do not flee from Him, flee unto Him!" Oh blessed is the Lord and gracious to remove our sins and place them as far as the East is from the West.

Bill

Psalm 103:10-12

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Pictures!

2008-01-10T21:59:00.000+07:00

Surfs Up!

2008-01-10T20:40:00.000+07:00

We had a couple weeks of vacation heading into the new year so we decided to go to the beach. The town is called Compung Saum or Sihanukville depending on who you ask. It's about a 5 hour drive from Prek Ambel though the road is actually quite good for most of the way. The town felt different than other places we've been to in Cambodia. Sort of a small town feel. The water was nice and blue, the sand clean and white, and we really enjoyed our stay (1 day 1night).

Chheng and Sophorn introduced us to eating grilled squid. The idea didn't sound good to us at all. After we saw them it sounded like an even worse idea. But actually they taste good, though I only ate a couple and Jennifer could only bring herself to eat one. She was a good sport!

Things are going well here. The weather has been cool and mild for the most part. Katherine is growing all the time and is a good girl. Jennifer is the mom I always thought she would be. The ministry is in sort of a comfort zone right now. We have our classes, our outreach programs, and worship on Sunday. Things are sort of calm...which is good...we want to be at peace as much as it depends on us.

We are starting to feel the amount of time we have been away from the states. It seems like a long time. The holidays were tough...the first time we were completely away from family ever. Some days the weight of the culture over here can be a burden. It is just a fallen society. People say and do things that are just rude and sinful. But we knew it would be hard when we decided to come. We are not backing away...just confessing that it is as hard as we thought it might be.

Our new home continues to be a blessing for us. Its position close to the rice fields often brings a nice breeze. In my spare time I have been building a few shelves for storage. It is a slow, slow endeavor. No power tools...

More pictures of Katherine and us will be coming soon. God Bless you all. Please continue to pray the Lord would establish the work of our hands as we live and work in the Cambodian countryside.

Bill

More Photos

2007-11-09T17:32:00.002+07:00

Here are some more photos of Katherine and us. Enjoy!

Bill

Heading Back to the Bodia

2007-11-09T17:23:00.000+07:00

Our time in Thailand is coming to a close. We have completed all the paperwork and are set to fly back to Cambodia on Friday, November 16. The Lord has been an ever present help to us during our stay. Katherine had her last checkup in Thailand before we return and the doctor said she is doing great. She has gained weight back to her birth weight and some extra. We thank God for helping Katherine to grow. We know he is the Lord of the harvest! We can feed and take care of her but God gives the increase!

We are looking forward to returning to Cambodia in about a week.

God Bless,
Bill

Short Video of Katherine

2007-10-30T19:03:00.000+07:00

Hello everybody! We took a short 2.5 minute video so you guys could see her in action. She really moves more than we thought she would at this age.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7166788722846765545&hl=en

This link will take you to the video.

God Bless,
Bill

Baby Katherine is here!!!!

2007-10-28T05:55:00.000+07:00

It is with great joy that we anounce the birth our our first child Katherine Elaine Hale. She was born Thursday, October 25th at 6:34 PM. She weighs 7 lbs and is 19.7 inches long. She is beautiful…she takes after her mother. Jennifer did an amazing job with the labor pains and both she and Katherine are doing well. We couldn’t believe how quickly it all took place.

On behalf of Jennifer and our families, let me say how grateful we are and thankful for all of your prayers and interest in our lives. May God bless you and keep you!

Waiting...

2007-10-14T18:40:00.000+07:00

We've almost completed our second week in Thailand. It has been a nice break from the fury of activity and preparation we left in Cambodia, though I might have preferred not swinging so far to the other extreme!

We've been occupying ourselves with walks and taxi rides to malls and markets around Bangkok. (I had determined that Asians don't turn their thermostats down as low as Americans, but Billy assures me it's my thermostat that's been adjusted.) Billy has recorded a few songs and sent them to a band friend, and we have studied Khmer a few times. Applying discipline to a completely unstructured life is actually quite a challenge.

Bangkok (at least where we are) is quite modern and caters to wealthy shoppers, though on the other side of the posh shops and malls are aged buildings bordered by narrow, crowded, and sometimes smelly sidewalks. One could visit a different massage parlor and custom tailor everyday for a month and still not have to look very hard tomorrow.

This is a beautiful nook in a nice city park we walked through on the way to a museum.

I think I've been anticipating, thinking and reading about the birth for long enough that I'm past being nervous and ready to get on with it! So I suppose we'll see what we can do to try to walk her out again tomorrow...

Jenn

House Pictures - Inside

2007-09-28T20:42:00.000+07:00

Here are some pictures of our new home. We have been living in it now for almost 4 weeks. It is really a nice place to live. Many thanks to FBC Parker and many others who helped with gifts to complete the construction.

Enjoy!

Kitchen Table

Front Porch

Kitchen Stove

Living Room

Bedroom Fan and Ceiling

Bathroom

Update from the Hales...Finally!

2007-09-13T08:30:00.000+07:00

Here is a picture of our almost completed house and a current photo of us. It's hard to explain why it has been so long since an update. Probably a little bit of sloth and a lot of just working from sun up until sun down for many days.

We are both doing well. Jennifer has been feeling great for the most part. Lately though, she does get tired much faster than before. We are both sure that this is par for the course. We plan to go to Thailand in about 3 weeks, Lord willing, to prepare for the delivery. Please be in prayer for us as we travel, learn a new country, and for Jennifer and baby Katherine. We plan to stay there about 6 weeks.

God Bless,
Bill

Working on in the Community

2007-07-31T08:30:00.000+07:00

The recent "no evangelism" ban has been a real reminder that the door is open today but could be closed at any time.

But we continue to witness everyday in other ways. Our home has become a make shift clinic for some local kids. When they get injured they come to our house to get fixed up. It has been a priviledge to care for them. This boy burned his leg while riding a moto. It was starting to get infected when he came to our house. He came by a few days later to show us how well it was healing!

I continue to teach the book of John 3 days a week. About 75% of the students are not believers yet, though I see signs of repentence and fruit in some.

Please pray for us as we teach and care for the Cambodians. Pray for our students as they hear the Gospel call.

God Bless,
Bill

Evangelism Banned in Cambodia

2007-07-16T10:41:00.000+07:00

I am sad to report the Ministry of Cults and Religion has made a new directive banning all public evangelism. Including door to door witnessing, passing of tracks, and open air broadcasts. We are still free to worship and preach inside the church property.

They have released numerous radio and TV broadcasts in the last week to make the public aware. If churches continue to evangelize they will first be warned. The second time the church in violation could be closed.

Here is a bit of the news;

"All public proselytizing activities are prohibited. Christians are not allowed to proselytize citizens' houses by knocking on doors or waiting for them, saying "the Lord is coming" which is an interruption to daily life or may intrude on privacy in the community."And then: "Teachings of religions must respect other religions and avoid insulting and degrading each other, especially Buddhism, the state religion.

"Minister of Cults and Religion Chea Savoeun said last week that the new directive is a prudent move. "People have complained a lot to the Ministry of Cults and Religion over this issue," he said, adding that some Christian groups have been accused of "looking down" on other religions and disturbing people in their homes.

Chheng and I though saddened by this are encouraged by God's providence. Our afterschool teaching program draws in about 150 students per day. We preach the gospel to them daily. The Lord lead us to start this program before any of this happened with the government and we are thankful for His provision. Here is a link to the whole article that summarizes the ministry's position. Please continue to pray for Cambodia.

http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/selected_features/enva.htm

Bill

House Construction Photos

2007-06-26T07:22:00.001+07:00

Here are some current photos. The house will be about 1100 Sq/ft total. God Bless!

Bill

It's a baby girl!!!

2007-06-24T15:43:00.000+07:00

We wanted to let you guys know that we are having a little baby girl. We have decided to name her Katherine Elaine after my grandma and Jennifer's mom. Thank the Lord for his kindness to give us a little girl.

God Bless,
Bill

We almost have a house now!

2007-06-11T09:31:00.000+07:00

Hello all! Here are some recent photos of our home construction. The workers are doing a great job. Please continue to pray the Lord will provide for the building. We have had some cost overruns. I'm sure this happens to many people that build a home. And this too we know is providential.

God Bless,
Bill

Hello from good ole Cambodia

2007-05-28T19:53:00.000+07:00

Hello to everyone! We have been really swamped lately and have not had much time for blogging. But just in case you thought something was wrong we have included a few recent pictures of us as proof that we are doing well. Enjoy!

God Bless,
Bill and Jennifer

Our 1987 Toyota Camry

2007-05-12T09:13:00.000+07:00

We are happy to tell you that we have successfully acquired a car to drive around in. The best feature is the air conditioner! It is an old car but it still runs good and will be much better for Jennifer and the baby than the moto. Thank the Lord and those who have helped with gifts.

The rains have really started coming down now. For the past week it has rained everyday. The roads are getting really messy. But we are glad to see some cooler days. Jennifer and I are doing well. Jennifer had a checkup the other day at the SOS clinic in Phnom Penh. The Doc says she is doing well and we were able to listen again to the baby's tiny heart beat. It is truly an amazing thing! Please continue to pray for Jennifer and the baby.

God Bless,
Bill

The Baby Begins To Show Itself

2007-05-07T09:09:00.000+07:00

Jennifer is now entering her 16th week of pregnancy. Everyone has been clamoring for a picture of her growing belly. So here it is… enjoy. She is doing really well.

We both continue to feel the Lord’s blessing upon us. No doubt we also sense your prayers for us. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.

We press on to that great destination of Holiness and Godliness. This is our goal in Cambodia… to discipline ourselves for the purpose of Godliness (1 Timothy 4:7) and to teach others to do the same. To read the Word of God daily, to pray without ceasing, to be faithful in attending public worship, to receive communion, to share the Gospel in the community. It is a most difficult task but one that in the end will yield its good fruit.

God Bless You All,
Bill

“I must take care above all that I cultivate communion with Christ, for though that can never be the basis of my peace—mark that—yet it will be the channel of it.” – Spurgeon

Laying the Foundation

2007-04-30T10:12:00.000+07:00

Last week was very busy on the building front. We finished what we needed to finish on the wall so we began adding the dirt. At present we have added 282 trucks of dirt at $3 each. We estimate we will need about 100 more before we are through. This area is a bit low so we needed to raise it up. This morning the foundation crew started hammering in the concrete piers that will be the beginning of the foundation. Each pier will be hammered into the ground 4 meters deep.

After these guys get finished up with their work (later today hopefully) the builders will start on the foundation work. After that they will start laying the bricks. The materials needed for such a small project is tremendous.

Some of the materials used so far:

100 pounds of 1mm steel ties
770 pounds of 6mm steel
100 pieces of 10mm steel at 12 meters each
18 pieces of 12 mm steel at 12 meters each
4 tons of concrete
6 tons of sand
2 tons of small rock
22000 bricks

Please continue to pray for the work on our home. Jennifer and I feel it will firm up our presence in the area to have our own place. And it also put us in a better position to raise our family. May the Lord bless this home to be a home that will serve Him.

Peace,
Bill

1Co 3:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The Internet is up and running!

2007-04-27T18:43:00.000+07:00

I am glad to say that the Internet was successfully installed at the church today. We went with a company called camshin which offers a satellite option. The price was less than we had thought it was going to be...$59 per month with no equipment charges or deposits. We got the 128 k version. We still have a power limitation because the power is not on until 6:00 PM but as the Cambodias say, "step by step."

Many thanks to FBC Parker for providing the funds for the internet. This is a real blessing for us out in the country side.

God Bless you all,
Bill

Vacation Photos

2007-04-23T09:25:00.000+07:00

This is what our room looked like. The best feature is not shown (the air conditioner).

Some photos of Wat Phnom which is a temple in the heart of Phnom Penh. Some of the structures are beautiful though they all are tainted by sin and idolatry.

Jennifer and I enjoying some American food. I had a club sandwich and Jenn had a ceasar salad with a pineapple smoothie.

Hello again

2007-04-23T09:11:00.000+07:00

Well long time no talk. We have been busy for a while. The heat continues to just blast us with all its furry. The thought of the rainy season approaching makes us glad.

We were able to take a little 3 day vacation last week. We went to Phnom Penh, rented a hotel room, and mostly just sat in the air conditioning. The room was nice and we were so thankful for the relief. Though, when the trip was over and we returned to Prek Ambel we both thought that the time in the air con made it feel even hotter. The work continues on our home. The workers are doing well but moving slower than we had hoped. The heat has been wearing them out too.

I plan to post some pictures from our vacation and others soon.

God Bless you all,
Bill

Kilograms are Heavy

2007-04-09T12:32:00.000+07:00

We continue to mix concrete for the wall. The majority of the work is almost done. We just have to put up the last half meter of a two meter wall. The bucket I’m holding weights about 30 kilograms (66 pounds). We carried them over and over and over. When I work on projects like this I am reminded of how small I am. The Earth is amazingly huge. Our God truly is mighty in his creation. He holds everything together.

Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Amen!

Bill

2007-04-02T10:23:00.000+07:00

Thursday, March 22, 2007

On Sunday afternoon we were desirous of a change of scenery. In the States we would often take a Sunday afternoon drive in the country; enjoy the trees and farmland, look at old buildings in old towns, and talk. A drive to Phnom Penh isn’t so relaxing. Chheng said he also wanted to go, so he drove us to the mall in Phnom Penh. Bill said, “They sell everything that’s wrong with the United States here!” More specifically: ’80’s fashion. After an hour and a half there and an hour and a half back in bumpy, swerving, stop-and-go Cambodian traffic, we decided the thought of going to Phnom Penh is better than actually going! I did thoroughly enjoy the pizza and salad we had for dinner there, though. Especially the salad.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

I was thinking about the discrepancy between the ideas associated with the title, “Missionary to Cambodia,” and my actual daily life, and I have come to two conclusions: the generally-held, nebulous impression of the super-spiritual life of a missionary is wrong; and the generally-coddled, notion of the ordinary (sub-spiritual) life of the “ordinary Christian” is also wrong.

Life is life, no matter what country it is lived in. When we’re hungry, I don’t break off a piece of bread from a never-ending loaf. I spend a considerable amount of my day in the kitchen. And when I want to grill pork, I don’t douse the charcoal with water and call down fire from heaven. I just use a lighter and a wad of paper. When our tank runs out of water, rather than tapping on a rock, we call the guy who pumps it from the river. We haven’t even healed anyone or cast out any demons.

What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. If mopping isn’t glorious in the US, it’s not glorious in Cambodia. If loving and serving my husband doesn’t honor God in the US, it doesn’t honor Him in Cambodia, either. There I was a wife, a housekeeper, a church member, a Sunday School teacher, a friend, a neighbor, a customer. I’m all those things here, too.

Do you look to God to supply your needs? Do you delight in His attributes? Do you seek to display His character in your own? Does the thought of His kindness to you stir up the least bit of gratitude and affection? Do you love His people and His house? Is His word on your mind? Is His praise on your lips? Is His peace in your heart?

This is why you were created.

So do you have a husband? Love him! Do you have a neighbor? Talk to her! Do you have children? Train them! Do you have a trial? Seek the Lord’s peace and trust Him! Can you rejoice? Then rejoice in the Lord!

Our calling and purpose and responsibility are not contingent upon our address. Do you need a title to set your life in perspective? How about “Child of the Most High God.”

Jenn

March 19, 2007

2007-03-19T10:12:00.000+07:00

Hello again from Cambodia! Jennifer and I are doing well in the Lord!

We recently purchased a small parcel of land close to the church for $1,930. It measures 10 meters (32 ft) wide by 50 meters long (165 ft). We have begun work on a wall around the property which is the common practice in Cambodia. They have about 10 days of work left.

After the wall is finished we plan to add about 2 meters deep of dirt to the whole property. The area is a bit low lying so we need to raise it up. After that we hope to begin construction of a small house. Please pray the Lord would provide for all our needs.

The work continues on in the church and the school. The students seem to have adjusted to their new teachers (me and Jenn) and are doing well. Jennifer is sorting through the market place like a pro and cooking up some tasty dishes. One of them is a stir fry dish with pineapple, tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, pork, salt and sugar. It tastes really good!

I am doing well too. The Lord has been helping me as usual to see myself as weak and Him as the mighty God that he is. What a wonderful savior is Jesus my Lord! Chheng and I are really working well together and I’m truly happy in my daily tasks. Please Pray the blessing of God will be upon me, that I might be fruitful.

We had a doctor checkup the other day for Jennifer’s precious cargo. We were able to see the tiny flicker of the baby’s heart and actually we heard it too all via ultra sound. Oh the marvels of modern technology! They said Jennifer and the baby are doing great!

Grace and Peace to you all,
Bill

March 12, 2007

2007-03-12T14:23:00.000+07:00

Hello everyone! We are doing well in the Lord. Jennifer is doing well so far with the pregnancy. She has had some mild nausea when she has an empty stomach but for the most part is feeling well. She has a doctors appointment on Thursday morning. I am also feeling good, though I will need to buy some new pants soon. I have lost about 12 pounds since we have moved here. Don't worry though, I still have about 10 pounds of reserves. But in the words of my brother, I'll be lean and mean very soon.

The work here is difficult in many ways. There is the constant sound of monks praying over the loud speaker, bugs that have infiltrated every part of our house, idols on every corner, dust which coats everythings we own, and the ever present heat. Not to mention the difficult work of sharing the Gospel in a country which is entrenched in "Justification by works." Additionally, recently I have had some mild rumors of threats against my person. Apparently it's some youngsters who think they are tough to breathe threats against the "Big" American. None of these have been face to face, just hearsay. Nevertheless we have decided to stay indoors after dark for a while. We are not overly worried but we have not taken it lightly either. We have filed a police report with the local authorities and they said they would keep an eye on us. We prayed for the boys and we committed ourselves to the Lord's protection.

All these things we knew would happen and would be part of working in Cambodia. This country is difficult to work in. But they need the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We want them to repent, worship and give thanks to the Lord of Glory. We are not deterred in the least from our mission to bring Him to the people. We are happy! We know that the Lord's blessing is upon us and this fills us with the joy of the Lord!

The Lord has been working among the people. We have been sharing the Gospel around the villages every Saturday afternoon and we have had five steady visitors as a result of these efforts, two of which I think are close to repentance if not already. Thank the Lord for his mercy as we know it's not the man who wills or runs but God who has mercy.

Please continue to pray for us, the churches, and for the people of Cambodia.

God Bless,
Bill

March 2, 2007

2007-03-02T16:46:00.000+07:00

I have had some opportunities to keep up on my laptop repair skills lately. This laptop had a problem with the mouse and touch pad. I am glad to have had the time learning to repair computers, setting up networks, and troubleshooting problems. In fact I'm glad to have worked in pavement repair and placement as well.

Actually, I have worked in many different jobs for different seasons of my life. Most of the time I moved on to a new job because I physically moved to a new city, although some of the time I changed because the new job was an upgrade from the old job. Here is a list of my various jobs in order:

Spoonemore's Office Supply - delivery
Kmart - Electronics
Chevron Gas Station
Famous Footwear
Holograms Inc.
Pizza Hut - delivery
Ryder Moving Truck Reservations
Lawn Maintenance
Youth Minister
Home Depot - Paint
Vail Construction - Pavement Repair
Logos Consulting - Network Engineer

and my current role as a missionary to Cambodia. At various times I wondered why the Lord had me in a certain job because I could not see how it fit in with the big picture. With some of them I am still unsure of the role they played. Some I thought to be "important" and others just a "job."

But we must not grumble against the Lord's good providence in our employment lest we believe that we are better equiped to be calling the shots. We know that He is the potter and we are the clay. We know from the scriptures that God is at work in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

That is an encouraging thought.

In Christ,
Bill

February 26, 2007

2007-02-26T10:25:00.000+07:00

It is with great joy that we tell you that Jennifer is pregnant, confirmed Saturday morning via ultrasound.
She had been having some weird feelings inside so I told her to take a pregnancy test, which came back positive. We then made an appointment with a doctor at the SOS clinic to confirm. She is 5 weeks 6 days along as of today.

A word of encouragement... We had wondered why she had not gotten pregnant before and we had the thought that maybe God was waiting for us to get to Cambodia first so that nothing would be in the way of our starting to work there. She must have gotten pregnant about a week after we arrived. Thank the Lord for his goodness. Please pray for God's continued blessings to be upon us and for Jennifer and the baby to be healthy. and that I would be a good dad.

Also, please pray for our work in Cambodia, that the Lord would establish the work of our hands.

Bill

Psalms 90:17
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

February 17, 2007

2007-02-18T01:15:00.000+07:00

Today is the first time I've ridden into Phnom Penh on the back of the motorbike. I'm getting used to this mode of travel; I no longer keep wads of Bill's shirt clenched so tightly in my fists! On the way one will see marshy ponds thick with water lilies and trash, bare-bottomed boys wielding bamboo swords with all the vigor of King Arthur, pool tables under palm-leaf shades, and illustrated billboards indicating that one ought not fish in certain areas nor beat one's wife.

As we drive through dusty markets and past gates, trees and tarped "front porches," all with the same dirt coating; naked children; houses with big cement water jars rather than plumbing; farmers with oxen rather than tractors... I wonder if social and technological advancement really matters. Does it honor God, I mean. Would God be glorified if they had grass rather than dirt yards, and if they had carpet and air conditioning, and if they dug ditches with back hoes rather than shovels, and if they had trash pick-up rather than throwing it, well, everywhere?

It seems that "Christian" societies historically have progressed technologically, taken a deep breath of religious reform and fervor, then continued to "progress" from self-righteousness based on tradition, to an idolotrous perversion of Christianity which conforms to the adherant's taste, until religion is viewed as a superstition for the uneducated. Would improving the quality and ease of life in Cambodia improve its spiritual condition? It doesn't seem to be helping the US.

So while I am inclined to concern myself with physical needs (like Martha?) I am reminded that only one thing is necessary. These Cambodians have a place to lay their heads, which is more than Jesus had. But when they lead their oxen into the fields at dawn, they should rejoice that God's mercies are new every morning. When they take a cool bath from jars of rain water, they should worship Christ who refreshes our souls with living water springing up unto eternal life.

When Bill and some students spoke with our neighbor about offering sacrifices to their ancestors, she said she doesn't know if it's good or bad, she just blindly follows the traditions of her parents. Please pray that God would give them eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that understand; that they will turn and He will heal them. Please also pray that we won't be destracted by the busy-ness of life; that we will rejoice that God's mercies are new every morning, and we will worship Christ who refreshes our souls with living water springing up unto eternal life.

February 14, 2007

2007-02-15T00:50:00.000+07:00

view from our upstairs balcony.

The neighbors from “Home Depot” continue to go out of their way to be kind and hospitable. Their little girl (maybe 12 yrs?) who speaks a little English has been coming over to talk to me, watch me cook and tell me how to say things. She’s even more animated, marker in hand, in front of our white board. And I am beginning to enjoy and appreciate her more. At first, to be honest, when I heard her cheerful “Hello!!” echoing in the house to announce her presence (there is no knocking in Cambodia), I would groan a little inside. I didn’t have much endurance for struggling to understand and be understood. And it takes a certain mindset to happily stop whatever I'm in the middle of to visit with those who drop by. But how can I resist her friendliness when she--and her older sisters--will patiently repeat the same thing, word by word, at least five times, letting me look up words in the dictionary until I finally understand? And she looks so pleased when I finally do!

Her family is always telling us to come and visit with them even though we can hardly understand one another. And when we do, they always bring out some food for us to try. A few days ago the dad sent over a tray of ban chow, sort of like crepes with pork and bean sprouts inside, from a noodle stand in the market. The mom went to the market with me this morning so I could buy all the ingredients for a certain soup (she sent me home with a big bowl of it the day before), then she came over and spent the morning showing me how to make it. They even brought over some bread for us to eat with it.

Today I helped one of the women sew beads and sequins on a lace shawl. They drape the lace over a frame (maybe 18” X 36”) on short legs with little nails sticking up around the top that poke through the lace to hold it on. Then they sew on the beads and sequins for a few weeks; usually a few friends will help. It’s the Khmer equivalent of a quilting bee. Whoever brought it to them will pay them $5 for their work. I don’t know how much that person then sells it for. While we were sewing she gave me what seemed to be a bean pop cycle (not as bad as it sounds) from a vender who came by, and a soft boiled duck egg from a different traveling vender. The egg came with seasoning folded up in a little square of used note paper. It was quite good.

February 11, 2007

2007-02-12T15:19:00.000+07:00

This morning we had a good time of worship. The members sang heartily as usual and Jenn & I were able to follow along slowly in the Khmer hymnal with the help of To-La. Yesterday, we were successfully able to renew our visas for one year - due to expire Feb. 13, 2008. We are so grateful to the Lord for his overwelming love and help in taking care of all the details. The weather has taken a turn for the worse as far as we are concerned. The unseasonably cool weather has been replaced by the normal hot temperatures. The balmy weather makes outside work in the afternoon difficult.

The Lord allowed me another opportuntiy to share the word with the local English class students. We discussed Mark 4:1-20. Afterward two students and I had an in depth conversation about what makes Christianity different than the other religions. The crux was basically... almost all religions recognize the need to atone for sin. And they try the best thing they think will please/appease the gods. They bring the best sacrifice they can afford. Bananas, beef, gold, silver, prayers, and their so called "good" works.

The problem is that we all, all of humanity, owe a debt to God because of sin. And the payment is death. Our feeble attempts to reconcile with God are useless. It's all just rotten fruit, spoiled meat, metal filled with dross. We need a perfect sacrifice, one unspoiled by sin. One tested in all ways and yet without fault. Thanks be to the Father for his great love for us (Romans 5:6). In Christ alone is there reconciliation and forgiveness of sin (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

Bill

January 24, 2007

2007-02-01T11:21:00.000+07:00

I have a backlog of journal entries, so to get my curious friends up to speed this post will have to be in the form of a digest.

Sunday January 14
We arrived safely yesterday around noon with luggage present and intact. My blood pressure was slightly elevated as we drove from Phnom Penh to Prek Ambel. It seemed we would collect motorbike drivers on the windshield like one collects bugs on a drive through the country.

Our house is nice, but isn't ready to move in. The landlady still has belongings to remove. The village is celebrating a wedding (a long orange awning covers half the street through the market) so the shops are closed and our landlady is too busy to deal with the house.

We woke up this morning to the sounds of roosters (which have no respect for time nor for those still sleeping before dawn) and Sophorn's geese, whose cries resemble the moving parts of old metal playground equipment. It was nice.

Church was a blessing. Kayleen translated for me when some ladies gathered around us. I need to make church member flashcards to learn their names. It was sweet to hear them sing to the Lord, filling the room and my heart with robust praise.

Three groups sang songs for the congregation. Some looked cleaned up, well fed and relatively well dressed, but others are so thin, wearing pajama pants and worn shirts. I remembered in a book I read, possibly Stepping Heavenward, someone asked the mother which child she loved most. She replied, "The one who needs me most." Meaning, the one who is sick or hurt or hungry at the moment. I wondered if perhaps the Lord is a bit that way Himself. How precious these children of God are to their Father.

Monday January 15
We moved into the house today. There is running water, and water in a tank in the bathroom and in a huge jar by the kitchen sink. I was trying to use up the tank water because it has been stagnant for so long; I wanted to get rid of it. But after the landlady, Bong Srey Muey, told us the running water is from the river, stagnant rain water didn't seem so bad. We went to the market to buy some household items today. A flock of children followed us, but when we tried to talk to them, they ran away! We wandered around looking for a bed sheet until we came to Bong Srey Muey's shop. She walked around with us and helped us find the remaining items on the list. When I unpacked the tea kettle is when it really struck me that we aren't just visiting.

Tuesday January 16
We had our first dinner tonight that Sopeak didn't deliver. When I went back to the counter to wash dishes, I found it densely populated by bugs that had fallen from the openings above. I was significantly dismayed, but decided an interminable supply of bugs is something I am going to have to accept.

Thursday January 18
I went to the market by myself this morning. Though one of Chheng's nieces saw me and helped me find what I wanted. I'm getting a little bit used to being a novel item of interest as I wander around. I try not to be too entertaining by acting as naturally as possible when fish jump out of shallow bowls as I walk past. I hand washed and hung out some clothes today, and cooked some vegetables I can't pronounce. The Lord's kindness and care has been very evident to me in even the "small" ways he provides friendly faces to help me do my shopping.

Sunday January 21
We are doing our part to keep the village ants well fed. I was aggitated to discover them in the rice bucket and bag of garlic this evening. Not to mention the wooden cutting stump had sprouted an impressive specimine of mold since last night. Scooping ants out of a bucket of rice is surprisingly cathartic.

Monday January 22
I was trying to put away my purchases this morning when my typical audience of about 5 children appeared outside the kitchen door shouting, "Hello! Hello! Hello!" Every activity was met with a high-pitched chorus stating--in Khmer--what I was doing, and I was expected to repeat. They are very patient teachers. And very persistent. The Lord is reminding me to keep my sense of humor.

Tuesday January 23

Lunch. What else can I say?

I gave the English students written and spoken evaluations today. It's fun to be back in my element. Please pray I will do a good job and honor the Lord with a wise balance of language teaching, learning, and housekeeping.

Jenn

Bill & Jennifer Hale - Blog

Important Ministry Update

October Newsletter

A conference, a round of golf, and a sermon

Back from the North

Our Plane Landed - Into Busyness

Leaving on a Jet Plane

PATC Graduates

Bill Preaching in Khmer

The Khmer 1689 Revision is Done!!!

A'run Soo-ah S'day (Good Morning in Khmer)

March Newsletter

Hello From the Regions Beyond

Going Home & The December 2009 Newsletter

It’s in the DNA

The Man Cub!

We’re All Here!

Traveling Across Asia

We're Going to Thailand!!!

Ministry Update - Part 1

A New Car!

How to Burn Corn

Sometimes We Let Ourselves Down

It’s a …

Ashamed of the Lord?

How Beautiful Are the Feet

The Cost & Reward of Following

A Long Trip and An Overdue Newsletter

Is It a Boy? Is It a Girl?

My Trip to Wat Kandal

Thursday Fellowship

Missionaries have laundry, too.

Ordinary Life

I Can’t Believe They Posted Again!

More Basketball Stories

Sre Trang Christmas Program

End of the Year

Khmerry Christmas!!!

Siem Reap Vacation Pics

Buenos Dias!

This is a test

Hello again

Honoring the Season

Walls and Basketballs

Miscellaneous

The grass is always greener during the rainy season.

Ohio Visit

It's Warren Moon Everybody

Dad and his little girl!!

Pictures!

Surfs Up!

More Photos

Heading Back to the Bodia

Short Video of Katherine

Baby Katherine is here!!!!

Waiting...

House Pictures - Inside

Update from the Hales...Finally!

Working on in the Community

Evangelism Banned in Cambodia

House Construction Photos

It's a baby girl!!!

We almost have a house now!

Hello from good ole Cambodia

Our 1987 Toyota Camry

The Baby Begins To Show Itself

Laying the Foundation

The Internet is up and running!

Vacation Photos

Hello again

Kilograms are Heavy

March 19, 2007

March 12, 2007

March 2, 2007

February 26, 2007

February 17, 2007

February 14, 2007

February 11, 2007

January 24, 2007