Thank you to everyone who gave to complete our housing goal. We sang Praise God From Whom all Blessings Flow every time we saw the bar graph jump ahead. If you still want to give, our recently arrived partners, Carly and Eric Tirado, have a fund that is just starting. We will live on the same property and are splitting the purchase cost with them.
Below is an update from David Skau, who got on a plane when he saw on Facebook that we needed help with construction. His help couldn’t have been timelier.
—Joshua Lewis
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Eccl. 3:1). A time to replace roofing. A time for bricks, mortar and plaster. A time for doors, windows, tile and wiring. A time for adding a loft for office and storage space. Each day’s tasks bring the old house on the land God provided for the Great River Project one step closer to usable condition. As we build, we are planning for the long term, anticipating how the property may be used in the future—not only as a home for one or more missionary families, but also as a meeting place for worship groups and a work space for creating discipleship resources. No matter how God uses the property in the future, a roof that doesn’t leak, screened windows to keep out mosquitoes and glass to keep out driving rain will be major improvements.
The work crew includes two young Adventist men from other parts of Cambodia, one recently baptized young Great River man, and two men from Muslim backgrounds who are starting to show interest in Christ. Each workday begins with worship—singing, listening to stories from the audio Bible and prayer. Our work time and lunch breaks provide opportunities for questions and conversation.
A young man named Yah, perhaps the hardest worker of the bunch, has shown particular spiritual interest. He has a joyful and diligent spirit, and we pray that God will continue to draw him. After a day of hard work plastering brick walls, Yah asked, “What do you do in the evenings? I want to learn to live and follow God like you do.”
Please join us in praying that God will use this time of building not only to construct physical structures but also to build up His spiritual house with living stones—the hearts of the Great River People (1 Pet. 2:5).
—David Skau
