Developing fully-devoted followers of Christ in Cambodia

Today, Wed Oct 25, I depart for Cambodia to share with our Cambodian Ministry Partners in Battambang who serve with CASA in partnership with Encompass World Partners. I will serve with Kent Good, Becky Sheffer Good, and Jill Kane. Below is a photo of the CMP (Cambodian Ministry Partners) of CASA.

I will serve with Kent & Becky Good, Faline Jones, and Jill Kane (Grace too).  

 
On this short trip, I will also get to visit our Orphan Homes in Battambang as well. On a later trip, I will visit our Orphan Homes in Thailand too. 

Please pray for me as I go to develop fully devoted followers for Christ in Cambodia. I praise God that Grace Church sends me to develop leaders for Christ. #savedpeopleservepeople

Getting ready to impact Cambodia for Chirst

Pray for Kevin and Jill Kane

Kevin Kane reports from Battambang, Cambodia: 

"It took about 10 workers six days to prepare for the pouring of the cement for the 2nd floor.  It took about 1 hour for them to complete the pour!" Grace Church is excited for what God is doing to prepare the Battambang Ministry Training Center for the future. 

To equip godly Christian leaders is daunting. But God has empowered Kevin and Jill Kane to facilitate the next phase of ministry in Cambodia. 

As Kevin and Jill Kane share, "Thanks again for your support and prayers!" You can scroll down to view the pictures of the work to date. 

Finishing the rebar for the 2nd floor

Pouring the cement

Pouring more cement

Cement pouring finished and drying

Progress on creating more space to develop fully devoted followers of Christ in Cambodia

Grace Church praises God for the ministry of Kevin and Jill Kane!

Kevin shares how progress is moving forward on the new addition for dorm rooms at the Battambang Ministry Training Center (BMTC).  Pray that workers stay safe, construction is successful, and opportunities to minister to the work crew opens doors for people to come to Christ. 

Following each picture, Kevin provides an explanation of what is going on.  

Note that after the floor was cemented, the ground floor walls were started.  Only part of area will be walled in completely, and the rest will be enclosed with the metal that is opened air.  The ground floor will still be used for parking.

The picture above shows the start of framing in the beams for the ceiling of the ground floor/the floor for the first floor.

The last picture reveals the bracing being installed to support the pouring of the cement floor/ceiling.  There will be a few hundred of these wood supports holding up the pour while it drys.

Hope you enjoy seeing the progress!

Thanks for your support and prayers,

Kevin and Jill

Creating more space to develop more fully devoted followers of Christ

We love Kevin & Jill!  They are from our church.  Exciting developments are happening where they serve in Battambang, Cambodia. (Crazy man photo bombing Kane's is me).

Kevin and Jill Kane serve with Encompass World Partners developing leaders at the Battambang Ministry Training Center (BMTC). Construction started this month on an addition to create more room to house students and develop them into fully devoted followers of Christ. 

Together with the Cambodian Ministry Partners, Kevin & Jill are helping to develop leadership training for Cambodians.  The BMTC offers training to improve English speaking skills, to learn computer skills, and to be equipped to share Christ with Child Evangelism Training Materials in the city and out in the villages.  

Rebar skeleton

Kevin Kane sent pictures of the progress of the construction.  As each part is built, the potential to train more fully devoted followers of Christ increases.  May God encourage the Kane's with our prayers and our notes of support. Write on Kevin's Facebook page a short sentence like, "We love you guys! Praying for you."  Praise God for His work in the world. 

Setting the concrete beams

Placing sewer tanks

Prep for brick laying

How do you share an adventure where God shows up each day

I ask your forgiveness as I share this post several days after being in Cambodia.  The privilege of traveling to be with our sponsored children and our missionary partners is overwhelming.  

I praise God that I am on this journey with Melissa.  Together we are experiencing God's love for the peoples of the world in unique and deep ways.  

A quick recap of where we've been on this adventure:

• Departed Wooster OH at 4:15am on Monday morning for 30-hour plus journey to Siem Reap Cambodia. We flew through Atlanta; Seoul, South Korea; and to Siem Reap, Cambodia. 
• We landed in Siem Reap at 10:30pm on Tuesday night where we were greeted by Kevin and Jill Kane. Our driver Sambo coordinated transportation and a hotel. We were exhausted!
• Next day the team slept in (as best they could). Part of the team toured Angkor Wat and the other part of the team toured Siem Reap while also visiting an NGO ministry.  Siem Reap is notorious for human trafficking for the sex trade. We traveled from Siem Reap to Battambanng (a 3-hour van ride where your prayers help avert a collision with a cow--a story for later).
• When we arrived in Battambang at the hotel, the sponsored orphan children from Asia's Hope greeted us. We were overwhelmed with love. 

This is a quick post to get you to Battambang.  I will post later to share my visit with Kevin and JIll Kane and our first day with the sponsored kids. Indeed, tonight (Friday night) we will witness our sponsored orphan children helping with worship at a crusade in Battambang.  They also value outreach.  The believe as we do, "Life change is an invitation away!" 

Please pray for God's strength for our team. We are weary but buoyed by your prayers.  Ask God to give comfort to Jeana and myself upon learning tragic news of loved ones who passed away.Ask God to heal Traci who is taking Z-pac to avert a potential cold. 

For pictures, please follow me or anyone from our team on Facebook.

Saved People Serve People--Praying for the Persecuted Church

Why Pray for the Persecuted Church

You and I are part of a global group of believers who seek to develop into fully devoted followers of Christ. Millions of fellow believers are living under persecution. We can support them in prayer!  We can pray on their behalf to stand strong, to persevere, and to honor God with their testimony. 

Prayer is taking action.  When you pray, you discover how hard a spiritual endeavor prayer can be.  The time that you spend in prayer has an eternal impact on the lives of men and women throughout our world. Through prayer our world is changed, closed doors are opened, resistant people are made receptive, leaders are put down and raised up, and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is extended.

Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as - being yourselves also in the body.” 

The first request of persecuted Christians is always the same:

 

"Pray for us"

How to Pray for the Persecuted Church

The Word of God remains our best guide for knowing how to pray for our persecuted sisters and brothers worldwide.

One prayer that you can pray follows Ephesians 6:19-20.  Ask God to give the persecuted believers the right words to speak and that they would fearlessly make Christ known.

Paul tells believers in the Church of Ephesus how to pray for him when he was suffering for Christ in jail.  Note Paul's prayer request. He did not ask for release. 

Ephesians 6:19-20

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." 

You could pray something like this,

"Heaven Father, I pray for the persecuted followers of Christ. Lord, help them know what to say and have the wisdom to know when to speak up and when to be quiet. I pray that you give them courage to share their story of life change with everyone they meet. Make me also fearless as I share how God has changed my life too. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen."  

Please comment below what country you are praying for--Syria? North Korea? Saudi Arabia? Iran? I am praying for North Korea today.

Helpful link  
Visit Open Doors USA to get more resources to pray with purpose and focus.   

What the Greatest Gift Christmas Offering will do to impact the world

For decades Grace Church has been known for its generosity. Each year we participate in The Greatest Gift Christmas Offering as a way of encouraging and supporting ministries that are among “the last, the least, and the lost” of the world. 

Give now to help us impact the world!

This year we have a goal of $175,000 to serve people in Wayne County and around the world. The projects we will help include:

• Orphan Care: $50,000 for SE Asia Orphan Home projects including the purchase of a van, motor scooters for our university students, college scholarships, equipment/appliance replacement and start-up costs associated with the construction of a school for our kids. Learn more here. 

• Refugee Relief: $25,000 for emergency relief for Christians who have fled from Syria into Jordan because of the threat of ISIS. As we partner with Grace Brethren pastor, Dr. Randy Smith and Global Vision Outreach, funds will be used to purchase blankets, heaters, sweaters, & coats, etc. for families during the coming winter. You can view a video here. 
• #ForWayneCounty Food Drive: $20,000 for the completion of the #forWayneCounty food drive. We’ve already received several thank you notes from area agencies for the support we have provided coming from this emphasis at the Wayne County Fair. These funds will help complete the project to provide 1 million meals for those in need in the coming months. Hear from those in our community here.
  
• Local Housing Project with Wayne Metro Housing Authority: $15,000 for the purchase of special building materials to help construct a home for a disabled couple funded through Metro housing.  Learn more here.
• Leadership Development: $40,000 – These funds will provide internships for young adults in our church who are considering ministry and/or missions involvement in the future. 
• Church Planting: Grace would love to see new churches started. We will give $25,000 to help Josh and Andrea Kuck who are staring a new church in the community of Chelsea, MI. Several years ago Josh served as Middle School Director at Grace Church in Wooster, so it’s our privilege to partner with his family in this venture of faith. See his video here. 

Give now to help us impact the world!