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2008 Miracle Offering Report from Cambodia

Dear Bishop Ough and West Ohio Conference,

Greetings in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ.

We bring you greetings from your brothers and sisters in Cambodia and thank you for your love and prayers. We thank you for all the support that continues to flow our way from West Ohio conference as we journey together in fulfilling the great Commission of going into all the world and making disciples for Christ. It is through the unfailing love of Christ that we bear witness of the Gospel and share his rich blessings of various gifts and talents with His people in Cambodia. We celebrate and thank God for the gift of His diversity.

Thank you so much for helping make it possible for us to continue bringing Christ’s love to our brothers and sisters  in Cambodia through the “Love First Miracle Offering” that was raised in 2008 Annual conference.  I believe that our ability to consistently provide these programs for our PASTORS and LAY demonstrates for the community here in Cambodia God’s unconditional love for all His People. By caring for our Pastor’s concerns and development, as well as by simply fellowshipping with them, Christ’s love crosses language, cultural, and generational boundaries and floods these growing communities. Every donation, big or small, helps make this continually possible.

DISCIPLESHIP and TRAINING for Pastors and Lay Nov 22-25, 2008

This is the Khmer- led program for Pastors and Lay in the Emerging Church of Cambodia. As Church here is very young, many of the pastors have never experienced leadership within an organized mature Church. Many of them became pastors after congregations grew in their homes as a result of having Bible Studies or prayer meetings, thus many of them do not have practical skills to do the Church Ministry.

A gift of $ 8,500 from the ‘Love First Miracle Offering’ was used to bring together 150 pastors from each of our local churches for a three day training and fellowship. The main objectives of the training were:

By providing our Pastors and Lay with opportunities to participate in training like this, we hope to help the individuals to acquire and sharpen the tools needed to be leaders in their own Churches and communities. As the people from different provinces of Cambodia come together to share their stories, challenges, and ideas for action, several possibilities arise for teaching and learning with and among each other. The richness that evolves when varying spiritual and cultural practices come together promises to bring an immeasurable amount of learning and spiritual formation, specifically through workshops, worship, and peripherally through working relationships, planning and personal growth.

YOUTH CAMP Dec 2-6, 2008

I am so excited to see what the Youth of Cambodia have been able to experience through the Youth Camp that was financially supported by your gift ($ 6,500). Your financial resources were able to provide an awesome experience for our young people in Cambodia to gather and fellowship together. The young people were literally in tears when they received the news that enough funding had been raised to support them to attend the Youth Camp. This is the first time that we were able to gather the youth from 11 provinces of Cambodia to get together, fellowship, play, network and appreciate each other at a national event. Some of them have never had the opportunity to experience anything beyond their local church. This was demonstrated by the Spirit at work throughout the Youth Camp. To spend four days with 239 young people, to be apart of their worship and see how much enthusiasm and how they are excited for the Lord, I have to say it was contagious!! The Faith Walk to the cross was one of the most spiritual/ emotional events I have ever been a part. This youth Camp went beyond our expectations.

One youth who was given hope through her involvement in the youth programs is Daneth. She became involved with her local youth event even though her parents were not interested in the Church since they are Buddhists. With larger youth event in the district, Daneth displayed courage and ambition by practicing her weak English speaking skills with Missionaries at the program and showing an interest in further leadership roles. By attending more local and district events and taking advantage of opportunities to improve her English, she emerged as a confident, well spoken leader among her peers. Daneth now coordinates youth events and continues her education with a scholarship from United Methodist Women Giving. She knows that the Lord has blessed her life and given her tremendous opportunities. Her Parents (who are Buddhists) are so grateful for the Church’s role in creating a chance for their daughter to succeed. Daneth shares her faith with other peers and passes on the gift of hope that God will provide for His people in Cambodia. These are the testimonies we hear every day. Your gifts will be empowering many more young people in Cambodia who continuously faces the challenges of persecution due to their faith in a predominantly Buddhist nation.
 
We feel that this Youth Camp will bring about further leadership in our young people and opportunity for them to bring back want they have learned to their Churches and Communities in Cambodia.

BIBLE STUDY LEADERS TRAINING Jan 22-25, 2009 

We were blessed to host a VIM team of eight who helped in Bible Study Leaders Training for our Pastor and Lay. A gift of $ 3,500 was used to bring together 75 pastors and Lay leaders for this training.
For an emerging Church in a Buddhist Country, there is great need for Christian literature, such as the Holy Bible and development of resources that help new Christians understand their basic faith, develop their Christian faith maturity and guide them in their ministry for church growth.  The main objectives for the training were:

To partner with the local congregations in strengthening their teaching ministries that will assist in their faith development and maturity leading in church growth and ministry of service. It has always been my joy to look at the faces of our Khmer brothers and sisters when somebody is teaching. You can see in their eyes the hunger to learn more about the Bible, or skills on how to make their teaching better. They would grab their pens and start to scribble for any idea that is shared. Also, several times I was amazed at their dramatization and the charisma when they sing. They do not worry whether they are singing the right tunes or out-of-tunes…you could just feel how they hunger for the Lord. They are so gifted and only need some trainings and workshops to enable their efficiency. The inputs from the VIM team were much appreciated as the Cambodians are always eager to learn especially from foreigners.

We have been reflecting on the many ways that West Ohio Conference has been supportive of all our ministries here in Cambodia Mission especially as regards leadership development for our leaders.   We are completely awed at the magnitude of God’s goodness and work. The number of people we are connected to with chords of love and prayer, who continue to lean their candles our way, and who love us and those we serve in a multitude of ways has grown considerably and have blessed our lives and many others in countless ways. We know we could not have achieved so much without your presence, your financial and prayer support.   We have learned to trust God in ALL situations and have seen over and over again, God’s goodness, love and mercy. Thank you for all that has been.

Thank you all for being God’s hands, feet, arms, and heart all around the world and for helping in strengthening the astounding work that God has began in Cambodia.
 
God Bless you mightily as you remain faithful to His call to missions.

In Christ’s Amazing Love!
Esther Gitobu,
Your Missionary serving in Cambodia

Read more about the Gitobu Family and the Southeast Asia Partnership