Archive for the ‘News Updates’ Category

Into the Fall Season

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Hi friends and family! Hope everyone had a great end to their summer season. Just wanted to give you a snapshot of what’s been going on in our community here in Battambang:

National Staff Conference 2011 in Phnom Penh:

Every fall, our organization has a national staff conference for all of our staff working in Cambodia, that are working in all the different locations and provinces. This year, there were about 150 staff, and 65% of them are local Cambodians. It’s been incredible to see the influx of young Cambodians being on staff with YWAM and being discipled to be able to rise up and influence their own country. This year’s theme was “Rise Up: Going Deeper with God and with Others.”  It was a refreshing and encouraging time to seek God together as a whole family and also to be able to share about how God has been using our various locations to impact Cambodia and reach out to our communities. Through teaching sessions, fun game times, delicious food and fellowship, and intimate times of worship, this was a great way to kick off our fall season with unity to empower to love and impact Cambodia for Jesus.

 

University of the Nations, Cambodia staff(YWAM)

Battambang Re-Engage 2011

During the summer months, many of our staff are away on outreach and to visit family. So each fall, we have a day event called “Battambang Re-Engage” to be able to bring all our staff together and get us on the same page to be able to be informed of big things going on with our ministry as a whole and also to connect together as a family. We started the morning off with worship, thanking Jesus for all that He has done in the past year and how He has continued to expand our areas of influence. After a time of thanksgiving and gratitude, there were many information pieces of exciting new projects and ministries that are about to launch in the next few months. Some of these new opportunities include a Women-At-Risk ministry, many of our local and international staff being invited to teach at a brand new local bible school, and the exploration of a long-term land purchase to have a permanent location. As we started to pray for the many things that God has been releasing to us, we as family felt a surge of faith to believe God for these things to happen and be utilized so that we can effectively influence our community for His glory. After a morning of announcements, worship and prayer, we topped it off with a BBQ for lunch and fellowship, as it was a time to celebrate and reconnect with staff. It’s been amazing to see how God is continuing to knit our family together, as we all come from such different backgrounds, and yet our hearts desire is to see this nation impacted by Jesus.

Our Battambang Family- What an amazing group of people we are privileged to live life with everyday!

 

School of Biblical Studies 2011-2012

We have officially entered into the third year of running Inductive Bible School (SBS), with a whopping 18 students and 26 staff and representing 7 different countries! These countries include Cambodia, USA, Vietnam, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain. There are 8 International students and 10 local Cambodians and also one staff that is from Vietnam! This is our biggest school yet, so please pray for grace for the staff as well as for the students to be able to be transformed by the power of the Truth of God.

Phase 2 School 2011

This year’s Phase 2 School focus is on Evangelism and Church Planting. As there is a group of 18 (11 new interns and 7 experienced staff) they have already been a huge blessing to our ministry, helping out in various ways but also reaching out to our local slums and villages by going and sharing about Jesus as well as starting cell-groups and discipling young believers. As we continue to run this school each fall, we see how effective it is for graduated DTS students that want to come on staff, to be able to serve for several months and get more intensive discipleship and also be exposed to different ministries we run, so that they can catch the vision as well to be a part of our YWAM family.

Phase 2 2011 Staff and Interns

October in Bangkok

We are now in Bangkok, awaiting the arrival of our first child, a baby girl that is to be born in the next few weeks! We are so excited and thankful for God’s timing, blessing and provision throughout this pregnancy, and look forward to meeting her, as the newest addition to our family. A few days ago, we went for a check-up with Caroline’s doctor and everything looks good and ready for baby to come out.  Please pray for Caroline’s labor and delivery and that we can transition into this new territory of parenthood with God’s grace.

Making FUN MEMORIES before Baby G arrives! Caroline at 37 weeks pregnant!

 

The Realities of Life

Saturday, July 30th, 2011

Hello to our friends and family around the world! Summer is flying right before our eyes and we can’t believe it’s almost August. As we share with you through our updates on what happens in our daily life here in Battambang, most of the time it is really positive and encouraging reports, especially because Jesus continues to use us to  bring His kingdom here in Cambodia. However, as we pause and reflect on even the last month, there are the hard realities of life which we would like to share with you, as your prayers are so important to what we do here.

"The Harvest is Plentiful but the workers are few"

 

Four weeks ago, one of our staff couples, who have been serving with us faithfully for the last 4 years, lost their baby. She was just 3 weeks behind Caroline and it was a shock to all of us, as she had been healthy throughout her 5 months of pregnancy. As we have been walking alongside them through the process, they have amazed us in their strength and faith in Jesus that can’t be shaken. Sure, they are still grieving their loss, but they are trusting Jesus in the midst of this difficult season. Please continue to pray for them, that they can come out of this season with more passion for Jesus, hope for their future and God’s HUGE calling in their lives.

A few weeks after this couple lost their baby, a girl from the slum area in town that our staff work with lost her baby in a similar way. Our staff were able to help her go into the local clinic to help her in this situation and continue to help her recuperate and checking in on her. She is not a Christian yet, however she is very interested and we hope that we can continue to show her more of the love of Jesus in this situation. One of our staff is a Midwife and walked through both of these situations with these mothers. Another staff does ministry consistently on the streets and has seen 5 people from one slum die in the last 4 months. Please pray for them as we walk alongside them that Jesus would help them process and stay healthy in the midst of an intense season.

This past week, one of our former students came over to our house because his girlfriend just broke up with him and he desperately wanted to talk to someone. Garth was able to talk to him and share with him past experiences. His heart is especially vulnerable and we found out that he tried to commit suicide that night and and went missing. Thankfully he showed up at our house again the next day and Garth has been able to love on him and counsel him in this hard time. Please pray that God would meet him during this difficult situation and cover him with His abundant love.

We both view our lives here in Cambodia as a privilege to serve Jesus and the Cambodian people, as He has given us a desire to see this nation transformed by the Love and Truth of Jesus.We both agree that we just can’t picture ourselves doing anything else but what we do now.  We just wanted to share with all of you that there are amazing things that continue to happen here and interwoven into that are the difficult situations that cause us to run to our loving God who never changes. He alone is our ROCK and SUSTAINER in this journey of life, guiding us through all the uncertainties in life. Our prayer is that we would embrace all that God has for us, the good and the difficult circumstances, knowing that He is in control and sovereign. Blessed be His name.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28

Third Trimester

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Just wanted to put some updated pictures of Caroline as she is now officially in the final stretch of her pregnancy!

Week 28 and 5 days! Officially into the third trimester now and continuing to grow and grow!

Caroline's wonderful, amazing friend and midwife, Joanna on her wedding day earlier this year. So thankful to have Joanna here in Battambang on staff with us and a HUGE help to Caroline during her pregnancy!

Our two Cambodian staff, Thera and Sokawn got married on July 6th! Both have served with our ministries for 3+ years, as she serves in our Children-At-Risk department and he is on staff with our Biblical Studies school.

 

As you can see, there is a lot of multiplication going on in Battambang, Cambodia, with babies on the way and weddings galore! God continues to be faithful in our ministry with the growth of our family and community here and we are so privileged to be a part of it. Thank you for being a platform for us to be able to do what we love here in Battambang, not only for just us, but also for our dear friends that we live life with here!

Discipling our Neighbors

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Last week, we both had an opportunity to travel to a nearby closed country to teach in a Discipleship Training School. As a ministry here in Battambang we have felt God call us to be reaching out to the 4 closed countries surrounding Cambodia which include Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and China. The week’s teaching topic was on “Missions” as we love challenging this generation in Asia to reach their nations.  It was such a very encouraging week to see our brothers and sisters in this country take some radical steps away from the worldly norm and not only beleive in Jesus but commit to follow Jesus by committing their whole lives to a Missional life for Him. Garth has built relationships with many of these key leaders since he first moved out to Asia 6 years ago and has been partnering and serving them for many years. But this was Caroline’s first time to meet a lot of them so that was special and a great opportunity for us to invest in key leaders that are young indigenous couples committed to reaching their nation for Jesus. As we continue to grow in Battambang, we really want to be a platform to our friends in these countries and to be a stepping stone for them to move forward to bringing the Gospel to their country.

 

"WHAT IS JESUS' WORTH TO YOU?"

Enjoying the cool weather and taking in the sights

Time is going by so fast! Caroline at week 24 of pregnancy

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support in all that we are doing here in Cambodia, SE Asia and the nations! Thank you especially for praying for Garth’s arm, as it has been healing up well and continues to be restored! We are so BLESSED to have you in our lives.
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO ALL OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

Moving Right Along

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Here are some pictures for your viewing enjoyment of Caroline’s progress through her pregnancy…

 

Caroline at her week 14 mark

 

Caroline with her friend at week 19 and almost mid point of her pregnancy!

Week 20-At last at the half way point of this pregnancy!

We are so blessed and looking forward to this new season of parenting! Thanks for all your prayers and please continue to pray for our family!

Multiplication in Battambang

Saturday, May 28th, 2011

Hi to our friends and family all around the world! It’s been quite some time since the last time we updated all of you, and for that we are sincerely sorry. The beginning part of the year has had quite some challenges due to Caroline’s health. But this has actually turned out to be excellent news and an answer to our prayers because we had just started trying to have a child. So the exciting news is… and reason why she was so sick… was because we are EXPECTING OUR FIRST CHILD IN OCTOBER!

 

Finding out we were pregnant in February!!!

The first trimester of her pregnancy was very difficult for Caroline to go about her normal routine because of excessive nausea and not being able to keep anything down. Almost daily, we were going to the local clinic to get I.V.’s in her to keep her hydrated and we even went to Bangkok a few times to get some real medical attention.  Overall, the first 15 weeks of this pregnancy was a big obstacle in which we learned more about perseverance and trusting more in God in the midst of hard struggles. Now at 20 weeks, Caroline is doing much better, being able to keep most foods down and having full days of her normal routine, which includes language studies, overseeing all the ministry finances, facilitating outreach teams we host, and connecting with different staff girls. It has been an answered prayer for Caroline to be able to bounce back more to her normal self and schedule. Thank you for all your prayers!

A lot of you are probably wondering where we are planning to give birth, and after much prayer and consideration, we decided to have our first child in Bangkok, Thailand, at the same hospital that we were visiting during Caroline’s first trimester. It’s such a blessing that there is such excellent healthcare, just six hours away from where we live in Cambodia. We are very much enjoying this season of just the two of us before the baby arrives and looking forward to a new season of parenting and all the adventures that it brings!

In the midst of all this, the ministry has continued to move forward and we will be sending some more updates soon to let you know what is happening n Battambang!

Introducing Our IMPROVED Facility!

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

As you know from our previous post, we have had a major transition as we’ve doubled in size for our campus facilities in the last several months. Our new building, as we call “Base 2”, is such an answered prayer as it has lots of space to use as a multi-purpose building. But it was in major need of a makeover, so in one week our Base 2 has had a dramatic change. The main reason we decided to change the “look” of our builidng was so that it would create an environment for students to want to come and learn at our Youth Center. Our Youth Center has been an amazing ministry the last five years that not only teaches students on the subjects of English, guitar, Bible, dance, and other skills, but we make it a point to share the Gospel that many of them haven’t heard before coming to our place.  The transformation speaks for itself and it is going to be the new hot spot for youth to come and study in our city of Battambang!!!

BEFORE:

Side view of the large Base 2

AFTER:

Extreme Makeover:Cambodia Edition

Base 2 with our name and logo

Throughout this week, we’ve had friends from all over the world come and help our staff with scrapping, cleaning, painting, and building four new classroom areas. Thank you Jesus for the funds to be able to make this happen and for keeping our staff all safe as they were high on scaffolding painting the high areas of the building.

O come let us adore Him…

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010

Happy Holidays to our friends and family! It has been two months since our last update and it has been a full time of weddings, teachings, celebrations, and ultimately, being in awe of the abundance of life that comes when we are simply obedient to Jesus.

As we have transitioned back into life in Cambodia, it has been amazing to see Caroline’s health continue to be sustained and also improve.  We try as best as we can to keep her on a schedule everyday, as it has helped her body tremendously the last four months to recuperate and get back into it’s normal pace. Although there are days that aren’t as good as others, we continue to trust Jesus in the midst.

The best way to summarize the last few months is to show you through pictures so you can live vicariously through them. As the title of this entry has been “o come let us adore Him,” it truly has been so amazing how we continue to be led to share simply about Jesus to Cambodia and to the ends of the earth.

Sharing some sweet moments with Madie before she got married-October 23rd

Garth and Rady at the Perth, Australia YWAM base and teaching in the DTS. It was a miracle in itself that Rady, one of our Cambodia leaders to get his visa to Australia, as it is quite difficult for Cambodians to get visas there. He helped Garth teach on "Lordship" and here he is on the far right with the students.

Rady, Garth, Bunsom, David(left-right) After teaching in the DTS, Garth and Rady flew across Australia to Brisbane, where two of our former staff, Bunsom(Cambodian) married Jessica(Australian) on November 27th. It was such a blessing for them to have their close friends there, including Rady, Garth and David(former staff with us). What made it even more special for Bunsom was the fact that two of the main people that have discipled him in the last several years, Rady and Garth, were there to celebrate his special day.

Garth with the newlyweds, Jessica and Bunsom

Darlene Cunningham, co-founder of YWAM, speaking at YWAM's 50th Anniversary in Kona, HI. To be a part of this week-long celebration with thousands of other YWAM staff and former YWAMers was such a incredible blessing. During this week at the 50th, we had the privilege of sharing of what God is doing in Battambang, Cambodia.

Garth teaching in the Justice DTS in Kona, HI during December 6-10th. He taught on "Biblical Worldview" and was able to challenge the students to really live a life with Jesus on the throne and leaving room for nothing else but simply Jesus.

During our time in Kona, we were able to stay with our close friends, Sean and Jill Murphy. Sean actually married us and it was such a treat to be able to connect with old friends.

Thank you so much for your continual prayers and support in what we do here in Battambang. It is truly mind-boggling how Jesus continues to lead us and our Cambodian friends here to the fullness of His plans for this nation. Thank you for being a part of what He is doing in Cambodia and to the ends of the earth!

We are so enriched and BLESSED by all of you! Much love, Garth & Caroline

Our New Facility!

Sunday, December 19th, 2010

Three months ago, we have expanded our facility to another building, which we call “Base Two.” “Base One” was our original building we started to rent in 2005, when this ministry started. As we continue to grow and the Lord brings people to serve alongside us and growing ministries, we recently started to rent out another building which is kitty-corner of our older property. This building is a multi-purpose place, as it houses some of our staff, hosts outreach teams that come to work with us, creates classrooms for our Youth Center ministry, an area where we have our ministry office,  as well as it is the main meeting place for our ministry. Just like we said earlier, it is truly MULTI-PURPOSE!!!

It has been an answered prayer to have this building to rent, as we have noticed this past year that we were bursting at the seams with the older building and we started to look into a new place to start renting. Not only do we now have a new place to rent, but it is right next door which makes it convenient for everything to be close as well as create an environment of it being similar to  a campus. Here are a few pictures to get a peek at where a lot of our ministry happens:

Largest classroom in our new facility

Dorm-style housing at our new facility for our staff as well as outreach teams

Side view of the large Base 2

A glimpse of our office in Base 2

Our Cambodian Staff have been diligent to use their skills to make these shirts, key chains, bags to earn money that supports them monthly

Training to Train

Sunday, October 10th, 2010

Hi friends! About five years ago when we birthed our ministry in Battambang, we felt one significant piece of our ministry would be that we would be a training base for our region, as it is surrounded by several nations that are closed to the Gospel. As we continue to grow, we are seeing the abundance of God bringing missionaries and students that are hungry to be trained to be more effective in there places of ministry and service. Right now there are three training programs being run in Battambang, Cambodia and we would like to highlight them for you here:

DTS Equip: The Misson Statement to the DTS Equip is this: To provide a resource-rich environment where DTS staff and leaders are equipped in character, skills and Spirit, so that DTS students and programs worldwide may benefit and develop according to their individual and corporate callings.

Right now in Battambang, we are currently hosting the first DTS Equip for our region, with 27 students from 7  different countries in our region. Most of these are leaders of leaders, people that train up future leaders in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and other nations. It is a 6 week intensive training school, where students learn a variety of topics on leadership. It also a practical outreach portion where the students go on a local outreach in Cambodia and learn how to lead a team in an effective way.

We look forward to seeing the fruit of this training program being multiplied in Cambodia and our region as more disciples of Jesus are made.

PHASE 2: Another training program that is currently running is Phase 2, which began on September 6th. This is our yearly staff internship program, which we focus on different areas of the community such as healthcare, women-at-risk, children-at-risk, fundraising, agriculture, hospitality, and worship. During the four month school, the participants find the area in which they are passionate about and learn how to serve the community and ultimately bring glory to God.

Phase 2 Crew

SBS: Lastly, after pioneering the first SBS last fall, the second SBS started in September. The School of Biblical Studies(SBS for short) is a nine month school which trains students in Inductive Bible Study, equipping them to study God’s Word for themselves while challenging them out to give it out to others. Currently we have 12 students, mostly from Cambodia but others from the States and the Philippines.

2010-2011 SBS Students and Staff

As we have an abundance of trainings going on simultaneously, please continue to pray that we as a community may draw closer to Jesus as well as drawing others to know Him as their personal Saviour.

Thank you so much for your continuous and consistent prayers and support, as it keeps us moving forward for all that God has for the country of Cambodia.