Prayer Request for Paul’s Mom – updates

Feb 18, 2012

As of yesterday, Paul’s mom is now recovering at her home.

We are so thankful for all your prayers.

Thank you for being with us through this.

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Feb 15, 2012

Paul’s mom is now stable and the bleeding has stopped.

Thank you for your prayers.

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Feb 13, 2012

Thank you. Thank you for all the prayers and encouraging words.

Please continue to pray. The doctors attempted to close the artery in the duodenum the first time but there was continued bleeding yesterday. They conducted another angiogram and blocked a second artery. We are hoping this will stop the bleeding completely. In addition she has pneumonia. She is in the ICU and being monitored another day.

* * * * *

Thank you for all your comments and your emails. We are genuinely comforted by your prayers and your willingness to come alongside us. We are amazed at your love and support.

We wanted to give you the latest news. Paul’s mom is now stable and her blood count is normal. They have finally identified to source of the bleeding in the duodenum. They are prepping her radiology. The doctors believe an angiogram will take care of this.

Please continue to pray for her and the family as well as the doctors. Thankfully Paul’s brother flew out from London and is now by her side.

* * * * *

Feb 9, 2012

Dear Family & Friends,

We recently learned that Paul’s mom was emitted at the White Plains Hospital in New York. After a week or two of being ill, followed by fainting, headaches and inability to walk, she called for an ambulance on Tuesday night. She has a low blood count but are unable to find the cause of the internal bleeding. She will be undergoing further blood transfusions and tests and is currently in the ICU.

We are thankful that she is being well cared for there by friends who are staff at the hospital and one of Paul’s cousin who is a doctor and drove down from Boston to look after her.

Please pray for Paul’s mom – for healing, for comfort, for peace. Please pray that the doctors would be able to find the cause of her internal bleeding.

Please pray for Paul’s dad, Paul and Chris. Both Paul and Chris live overseas. Pray for physical and emotional strength for their dad. Please pray that Paul and Chris would have peace knowing God is in control and there are loved ones caring for her.

Humbly yours in Cambodia,  the Lees

Celebrations

Belated Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! It’s been a busy time of celebrations.

On Tuesday, we celebrated Nate’s 4th Birthday! A morning full of watching Hero Factory movies (very age appropriate!), playing with his new hot wheels, and a hot dog lunch with his big brother and their friend. Afterwards we headed over to the Knutsons’ where the boys made their own pizzas for dinner and Nate received more gifts from Christina and Nancy.

Caleb, Christian & Nate watching Lego Hero Factory: Savage Planet

Nate kneading his pizza dough w Nancy

Nate and his culinary masterpiece

December has been packed full of events. The boys’ homeschooling Christmas Showcase where Nate recited the Khmer alphabet and Caleb recited Psalm 23. A team retreat. Caleb’s piano recital debut. A team worship and Christmas potluck at Luke & Sokha’s in Angkjeay Village. Then Christmas.

Caleb next to our art collaboration sculpture

Caleb’s debut at the Inter-Continental Hotel

Setting up the tent for our team worship & lunch

Paul and a teammate preparing breakfast (we slept over the night before)

Alex getting ready to start worship and lead praise

Caterers cooking our curry

A White Elephant Challenge: Who can eat the cookie first?

Christmas here is just typical day. For one, the weather is off. No snow, not even a chill. No snowmen on the front lawn. No falling flat on your back to make beautiful angels. No waddling back inside with runny noses to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. Christmas trees and decorations are just another expat merchandise.

Christmas here provides an opportunity to organize outreach events.  Between the two church planting projects, we had a handful of events where testimonies were given by a Khmer Christian, the Gospel was preached, and people got to know each other over yummy food.

The Toul Sangke Church Plant, The Khmer Christian Church
On Christmas Eve, there was a Christmas party where about 70-80 young adults showed up. Members of GCF (our former church and a supporting church of this church plant), including Pastor Narin, attended and gave their testimonies or blessing. Pastor Samath gave a great sermon, followed by a delicious dinner. Last Sunday’s opening service of the church plant, now named Khmer Christian Church, was a little disappointing. Only the main core attended and we faced technical difficulties, hindering some of our worship. We know this is just the beginning and we face much spiritual opposition. We are still encouraged and excited to see what GOD will do. We are learning to wait and trust upon the Spirit’s working while remaining steadfast in our responsibilities. What has also been exciting is Paul has been working with Pastor Samath in writing up bible studies, evangelistic and discipleship materials, and church membership documents. After writing the first draft, Pastor Samath has been contextualizing them for the Khmer culture.

The Toul Sangke Church Planting Project
On December 26, we had a party for Paul’s young students where they invited their parents. After Christina’s sharing and Hong’s preaching, ten women and one man showed interest in knowing more about Jesus. So far the follow up has been slow but we are hoping with Hong’s perseverance and the work of the Holy Spirit, the parents will meet with Hong for bible studies. We are continuing with weekday classes, with Hong teaching the Bible on Mondays, Samuel (one of Paul’s Khmer tutor) teaching English on Tuesdays through Thursdays, and Paul on Fridays.

Hong preaching to the kids and some parents

Then on January 1, Susan met with her students as usual but ended early to have a party of their own. After a short game of musical chairs, Sovanny gave his testimony, Hong did another great job preaching, and the students watched half of a movie about Jesus in Khmer. Afterwards, we all enjoyed rice and KFC. For almost all, if not all, it was their first time and they loved it! We are hoping students will be interested in remaining after Sunday classes to finish the movie and learn more about Jesus. We hope this will lead into a regular bible study.

Musical Chairs for the first time

KFC for the first time

Another encouragement was having Sok Leap come down from his province to attend the party. It took much effort as well as faith for him to come into the city. As a new believer, he is on fire! As he is contemplating where God is leading him, Paul will be meeting with him once a month to disciple him.

Earlier this month, after a typical Sunday class, one of Susan’s new students, Sothea, stayed behind to help her put away the computers, tables and chairs away. He ended up sharing how he and his older sister left their hometown a few hours away in hopes of a better life. His sister is a factory worker while he is jobless and struggles to help pay their shared rent of $13/month. Finding this free English class gave him something to do and some hope. As Susan expressed some empathy, he ended up getting a little emotional and asking about Susan’s reasons for leaving America to be in Cambodia. As she shared about God’s calling and the love of Jesus, he asked if he would be able to be a Christian too? He wanted to know more. Since then, Paul and Hong have been slowly meeting to begin a bible study. Please keep him in your prayers.

Sothea & Sovanny during our party

There is so much to pray about. Please pray for us and our different ministries. What we’re learning is we need the Holy Spirit.

• Please pray for wisdom as well endurance and perseverance.
• Please pray that the Holy Spirit will work in the hearts of the people who are being exposed to this radically new understanding and worldview of the Gospel.
• Please pray for more opportunities to build relationships and share the Gospel in different ways.
• Please pray for God to lead His people to the new church plant.
• Please pray for spiritual protection for our family as well as the different ministries.

Church Planting Projects: A Ministry Update

Hope you had a Blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends. We missed you guys! We were able to enjoy a potluck Thanksgiving lunch with our team but what made it even more special was having Susan’s mom here to celebrate with us.

Here’s the ministry update we promised. Thank you for being patient with us. Currently we have been working at two church planting sites, Toul Kork and Toul Sangke.

TOUL KORK

Toul Kork is a district in the northern section of Phnom Penh. It is a diverse area with many different stores, universities, residential areas, government buildings and factories. There is a diverse population as well, with students, professionals, expats, and government officials. It is in this area that Pastor Samath (Khmer pastor) has a burden to plant a church. For the past few months, Paul and Dr. Dale Knutson (MTW teammate) have been working together with a core group of Khmer Christians to see a church start and grow in the Toul Kork area. The prayer is that this church would be able to minister to many of the university students as well as the young professionals in the area.

The Toul Kork church plant has been a process of believers from different backgrounds praying together, submitting to one another and encouraging each other. There are individuals from different countries, different parts of the country, different ages, with different ideas of what a church ought to look like coming together to see one church being planted. Through this process, God has enabled the core group to see a vision for the new church focusing on worship and seeing that worship spread throughout Cambodia. The hope is that the opening worship service will be on the first Sunday of January.

First Core Group Meeting for the Toul Kork Church Plant

Pastor Samath going over the vision of the church

Paul has been going over different theological topics related to the ministry here with Pastor Samath as well as working together to develop evangelistic tracks, a new believer’s bible study, and a church membership class. It has been challenging in that nothing can be taken for granted. Some people in Phnom Penh are aware of who Christians are and what a church is, but others are completely unaware of anything related to Christianity. Paul has also been going over different theological topics with Pastor Samath related to the ministry here. They have just finished talking about God’s revelation and now have started talking about the doctrine of God.

The long-term hope is that the church plant in Toul Kork will be church that can send out many church planters to under reached areas, especially in the villages. Recently, Pastor Samath had assembled a team of thirty Khmer medical students (some Christians and some non-Christians) and went to a province called Kampong Thom that has been devastated by flooding. The team spent three days in the area providing medical treatment to over a thousand people and distributing water filters to around 200 families. They also had the chance to share the gospel to many of the people they treated. They were able to work with the local pastor in the area to follow up with many of the people who were interested in learning more about Christianity. Pastor Samath hopes that trips like these will be opportunities to show the love of Christ in word and deed as well as a catalyst for future church planting opportunities.

Flooding in Cambodia

Pastor Samath is hoping to send another team to other afflicted regions in Phnom Penh in December and January. He is currently attempting to raise funds for medicine and water filtration systems. If anyone is interested in contributing please email Paul.

Prayer Requests:

• We will be having a Christmas outreach on Dec 24. Please pray that it may be a time to connect with people in the neighborhood and an opportunity to share the Gospel.
• Please pray that the core group would continue to serve with joy and complete reliance on the power of the Spirit to do God’s work in Toul Kork.
• Pastor Samath and his wife will be having a baby in a couple of months. Please pray for their health of their family.
• Please pray that God would be preparing the hearts of all those that he will call to join the church.

TOUL SANGKE

Toul Sangke is an area north of Toul Kork that is a relatively new neighborhood. It is marked by hundreds and hundreds of factory workers that walk up and down the street in the evening when the factory shuts down for the night. In an area about 1 square kilometer, there are about 6 to 7 large garment factories. There are young women that come from all over Cambodia and stay in boarding houses so that they can work at these factories and send most of their earnings back to their families in the villages. Next to these factories are long houses that have been recently built with new families moving in.

Paul is working with Pastor Hong (Khmer pastor) and Christina Thomas (MTW teammate) to plant a church in the heart of this neighborhood. Paul is working through different aspects of church planting with Pastor Hong. They have just finished going over the biblical understanding of calling. Meanwhile he continues to meet with Christina for their weekly mentorship meetings.

Christian Thomas is living in a rental house right across from a row of factories. Most of the outreach ministries take place in the house. Currently Christina and Susan are reaching out to the factory workers through English classes on the weekends. We are hoping to start a snack time after Sunday classes where they can continue to build relationships but also provide a relaxing time for the factory workers before starting another long work week. We hope that this time will transition to a bible study and eventually a worship time.

A factory right across Christina’s

English Class with factory workers in Toul Sangke

Susan Teaching English in Toul Sangke

Paul and Pastor Hong are teaching English to the neighborhood children as an outreach to the families in the area. Through this ministry there have already been two mothers who are interested in starting a Bible study that Christina will be teaching. We are also attempting to reach more of the men in the area by offering English classes to store owners in the area.

Pastor Hong teaching the Bible to children in Toul Sangke

There have been some high and lows to ministry in Toul Sangke. One of Paul’s students was a 14 year old girl, who didn’t have an opportunity to study at school was coming to learn English. About two months after she started, she returned to her hometown village in September during a Khmer holiday. Paul found out that she was married off to someone in her hometown village. Even in Cambodia, fourteen is quite young.

On the other side of the spectrum, remember Sokleap, the factory worker Paul had the opportunity to do a Bible study with? A short while ago he had to return home to help his mother who was suffering from AIDS. At the time, he had been learning about Christianity for about six months and was struggling between following Buddhism or Christianity. He was experiencing many attacks from spirits in his life and wondered if Jesus could really help him. Paul encouraged him to continue reading the Bible while in his home village and to pray to God. About 3 months after he left for his village he called Paul with joy in his voice saying that he had been baptized and that he had been sharing the gospel with all those that would hear what he had to say.  Sokleap has been calling Paul at least once a week, whenever he gets enough money to make a call, updating Paul about all the joys of living free in Christ. It has been a humbling reminder of God’s sovereignty and grace.

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for Hong and Paul and Christian that they would all be able to work together with a common vision and heart to see a church established in Toul Sangke.
• Please pray for Susan to not only be able to teach effectively but to build genuine and intimate relationships, despite the language gap. More importantly that she’d trust God with these relationships and not in her abilities.
• Please pray for the students (both the children and the garment workers) that their hearts would be stirred and soften to know and understand more about this Jesus that we present through our lessons as well as through the lives of the teachers.
• Please pray for the Christmas Party that they would be opportunities to further build relationships and to present the Good News.

A Year Already!

The past few months since we’ve last blogged, we have been busy traveling and getting acquainted with Southeast Asia. In September we spent a few days in Bangkok, Thailand. Then in October we spent a week in Johor Bahru, Malaysia for an MTW retreat.

One of the highlights of these trips, aside from the obvious, are taking hot showers. In Cambodia, we only have one shower and the temperature is usually lukewarm to cool. Up until recently, there were no movie theaters here in PP so we took advantage of the theaters in the malls in Thailand and took the boys to see Mr. Popper’s Penguins, a movie adapted from a book Caleb read last year. If we have time, we try to shop for things that are hard to find, expensive or not of great quality here, for example our wall clocks and shampoo.

Meet Ronald McDonald, SE Asian style.

The sign above the elevator buttons at the hotel in Malaysia.
Durian has an acquired taste as well as odor.

Tomororw, November 17, will be exactly one year since we landed on Cambodian soil and were met by many of our team mates who were waiting for us at the tiny PP airport in the middle of the night. Though we still feel like newbies in many ways, we are amazed at all the things God has been revealing and teaching us and all that has happened in just a year. Life has been swamped with meetings and ministry while we continue to adjust to everyday life here.

Susan met Mr. Millipede one early morning in her kitchen sink.
The fact that she didn’t scream proves how well she’s adjusting!

Rainy season has just ended. Many Cambodians will take advantage of the rain by washing their car or taking a shower. Thankfully, for most of us in Phnom Penh, it just meant days of non-stop downpour or sporadic rains throughout the day. It also meant cooler weather. As you may have heard there has been severe flooding in parts of Cambodia as well as other areas of SE Asia, like Bangkok. It has left people without homes and access to food and water. This past week during a major Khmer holiday, the Water Festival, the core group Paul works with at the Toul Kork church plant went out to a province to do some relief work.

November and December is technically the start of the “cold” season, though whether it actually gets cool or not is a guessing game people often like to bet on. We’ll let you know…

The boys watching the downpour.

Paul has taken a pause from his Khmer classes while Susan has restarted with an early morning level 3 course. Paul still meets with his tutors every weekday and is persevering in his studies. Though Paul’s Khmer is stronger than Susan’s, we are encouraged at our progress. We are thankful for every small accomplishment, from being able to ask for a fork at a restaurant to having any level of conversation with the Cambodians in our lives.

These days most of Paul’s time is divided between homeschooling Caleb and working with his two church planting projects. Having Paul homeschool was just a practical decision since Susan’s class was in the mornings but it has been a wonderful opportunity for Paul to spend more time with Caleb. It’s been helpful to have him share the burden of teaching as well as providing concrete input. His Toul Kork church plant projects involves many meetings and teaching theology. The Toul Sangke church plant has its own set of meetings involving a mentorship with Christina, our team mate, and working with a Khmer Evangelist, Hong. The most time consuming part has been teaching English to a total of 60 students from the area every evening from Tuesday to Friday. Through this ministry, there have already been two mothers who want to study the Bible. [We will be updating our blog with a detailed ministry update in order to provide ways for you to partner and support specific needs through prayer and finances.]

As for Susan, she’s been enjoying her 7:30 AM Khmer class. She’s weak in vocabulary but steadily learning. She wishes she could spend more time with her language studies, having a strong burden to learn the heart language of her students who she meets every Sunday for two hours. It seems she has a good rapport with them but lacks the language to get deeper. Please pray for patience, her ability to grasp the language, and a way to share the love of Jesus despite the language barrier.

This dirt road (the path to Christina’s where we teach English) was paved less than a month ago

The homes along this path where some workers might rent out a room or space

Neighborhood children taking a bath

The rest of Susan’s time is centered around managing the home and caring for the kids. Nate is no longer attending Eden Preschool. We’re not sure if it’s because Susan isn’t bringing him to school or because he’s struggling to adjust to the Korean-Khmer culture or because of the inconsistency due to all the traveling but he refuses to go. Not even candy or DSi time will lure him. Instead he has asked to be homeschool and promises to try to do his best and not interrupt Caleb’s studies. So we have slowly started homeschooling him.  Meanwhile Caleb is busy with his studies, PE @ Logos, learning Khmer with Soklyda and his friend, Katie, piano lessons on Friday, and Tuesday’s homeschooling co-op.

Homeschooling Co-op: Ancient Egypt Day - Our Pharaohs

Susan’s Presentation of 10 Plagues for Egyptian Gods

We struggle to put into words the things we’ve been experiencing and learning over the course of our first year here. At the MTW Retreat in October, where we spent time with a slew of MTW missionaries from many different mission fields, experiences and years spent, we were all blessed by the preaching of Ray Cortese from Florida. It was a timely opportunity that helped us process our life this past year – to be confronted with our sin of performing to earn our sanctification and merit before God AND to be comforted by the Good News of God’s Amazing Love through Jesus alone.

This year here has stripped us of most of our “strengths” that fool us into thinking we do not need God as well as the comforts and distractions of life to where we can escape and hide, leaving us raw and vulnerable. We’re not as smart, capable, resilient as we think we are. No matter how smart or capable or hardworking your think you are, you quickly see how needy you are when you can’t do anything for yourself and are completely dependent on others to navigate in a foreign land for everything. Everything is tested – abilities, relationships, and where you put your identity and trust. Ray Cortese helped us realize how it is here in the “wilderness” that we realize we need God alone, when He’s all we got. It’s here in the wilderness where we meet God, where we see his severe act of mercy and experience his ferocious love.

As we reflect on this past year and, suspect the years to come, the lessons we are learning are summed up by this:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. <2 Cor 12:9~10>

Some Random Pics:

Weekly or bi-weekly car wash is a must here. Costs $2

Filling up the moto with gas

Tray for Pepsi glass bottles filled with gas

“Summer” Update

A roach crawls out of my bathroom sink, our container of uncooked rice is swarming with live ants and worms, and a bird gets caught in our rat glue trap that was meant for a rat. The nozzle for the cold water on our water dispenser is broken, our car was sent to the mechanic for the 5th time since arriving here 9 months ago, and our generator is rusting away on our balcony because it’s been leaking gas. All normal. A dog barking non-stop for hours straight in the middle of the night, for days…not so normal.

We have come to understand a phrase a teammate has long ago coined, “TIC” (This is Cambodia); or another friend’s “anything can happen in the Kingdom of Wonder.” Yet we are still alive and well here, thankful that God has recently brought back all the members of our team, after many trials and struggles. We are thankful for the rich experiences we have enjoyed recently while working with the short-term teams and through our different ministries. Where do we begin to update you?

TOUL SANGKE CHURCH PLANT

Again, Toul Sangke is the name of the area in which we live but also where we have been mostly involved, in terms of ministry. Paul has been working side by side with Christina Thomas, a team mate and friend from Alabama who has been here for 3 years.

Currently, we are providing English classes for the garment factory workers from the WinCam Factory, a korean-owned garment manufacturing company. The main items manufactured here are swimsuits, many of which you’d find at your local Target. Most of these workers are poor and have left their home in the provinces or Vietnam to make a living yet struggle to pay their monthly rent for the shared room in Phnom Penh. Susan teaches level 1 to about 10-12 students, mainly woman in their mid-twenties.

Recently, a short-term team came and brought with them ten used laptops, donated by people from their churches. Through their generosity, we have been able to incorporated a computer-based English program, Hope ESL, that teaches English while presenting the Gospel. For most of them, this is first time touching a computer. Next weekend we will begin a new session with the same students on Saturdays (Christina – American Headway) and Sundays (Susan – Hope ESL).

Intro to Computers: A student paired up w a short-termer with translators on deck
Caleb joins in as well

Though there is still so much to iron out and there are many limitations due to the language barrier, it has been a rewarding experience for Susan to get to know these precious students. As they have expressed their own joy and appreciation for the class and relationship with her, it has helped Susan in her adjusting to her new life here and finding tangible motivation and purpose.

Another part of this project has been the children’s English classes that Paul has been teaching on Saturdays. After a week of working with a short-term team and providing VBS, the number of students have jumped from 4 to a consistent 30. During the week of VBS, as many as 70 would come out and has since has come banging on Christina’s doors. Next week we will be moving the classes from Saturday to weekdays. We hope that this would be an opportunity to reach out to the local children but also to connect and build relationships with the families.

On the last day of vbs, over 70 kids line up for a goody bag and balloons

Some boys with their swords

We are in the infant stages of this church planting project and need much wisdom in terms of vision, direction, budgeting, team dynamics and finding Khmer Christians to partner with as well as the actual activities, relationship building and presenting the Gospel with love and wisdom. Please continue to keep this in your prayers.

TOUL KORK CHURCH PLANT

Toul Kork is the area right next to Toul Sangke. It’s an up and coming neighborhood since it’s not as crowded as “downtown” Phnom Penh, where more of the wealthier Khmer live. Samath, a member of our church and the one who has translated for Paul when he preached, has been working with Lloyd for a while in preparing for the launch of this church plant.  Paul has recently joined this project as well. He will be working alongside Samath and overseeing the church planting activities. He has already begun meeting with Samath and some others for discipleship. Discipleship and church planting are very dear to Paul’s heart and what he believes he’s been called and gifted by God to do so we are very excited.

PAUL

In July, the family attended our first Khmer wedding – Luke (our team mate) & Sokha’s. It was tradition but with some differences, being a Christian wedding. The wedding ceremony, at the bride’s home, took place early in the morning, starting around 6:30 and ending with lunch. Then the reception, slotted to start at 4pm, commenced right “on time”  at 6pm. It was at a chinese-style restaurant where you have to fill your table with 10 people before they’ll serve you food. Paul was privileged to give a sermon during the reception, which seemed more like street evangelism with everyone talking and eating.

Caleb soaking in the tradition Khmer musicians

Paul and his tutor/translator, Samuel

Aside from the ministry things mentioned above, he is still committed to his language studies. He is weeks away from completing Level 3, where the homework assignments have often taken hours to complete. He is still meeting his language tutors daily where he extends his language studies to things related to Christianity and theology. There is a definite improvement in his Khmer language abilities, so, that definitely has been encouraging and useful.

The last thing on his plate will begin in January where he will teach at a new seminary that just opened its doors this week. The details are still being decided.

On a more personal note, Paul has been receiving physical therapy for his shoulder for a couple of months. Though progress is slow, we are thankful for any progress.

SUSAN

The “summer” has been a busy one. In terms of kids, Caleb’s time at VBS (a week) and summer school (3 weeks) at Logos came and gone in a flash. Our homeschooling co-op’s summer project was to put together a short production, directed by one of the moms (Moonjung) and the script was edited by one of our students (Kaelyn), and all the costumes made by the moms. It was a fun project where the kids got a chance to perform, work together, act silly, and exhibit their creative and theatrical side.

End of Summer School @Logos Performance – Caleb (yellow shirt, on the right)

Homeschooling Co-op Play: Our Three Mice

We welcomed our newest addition to the team, the Songs from Denver, Colorado. We being the most recent to the team, we were given the privilege of welcoming them and getting them settled. It was an opportunity for our family to reflect on our own beginnings and see how far we’ve come by God’s sustaining grace. It was encouraging to Susan to be able to use her limited Khmer to call up Khmer landlords to set up appointments as well as to be able to quickly relate with the beginning struggles of one’s first weeks here.

Then homeschooling began on August 8, following the schedule of the Logos International School where many kids on our team attend. Though Susan is often faced with her own inadequacies and impatience, they have both been learning a lot about themselves as well as the school material studied.

This week Caleb also started 2nd Grade P.E. at Logos where he gets his exercise but has an opportunity to make friends with other kids his age. He has also joined Katie (Lloyd & Eda’s youngest) for private Khmer lessons. According to Caleb, Soklyda (a Khmer Christian) is much more “professional” than his mom.

Tuesday afternoons Susan and both boys meet with their homeschooling co-op where the activities planned ranges from science, art, writing, and an Ancient Egypt day. Susan had to teach her first science experiment that brought back her dreadful science days in high school and college. Thankfully Paul patiently gave ideas and talked her through her lesson plan. Caleb said Susan was like a “real teacher” and was proud of his mom!

Susan giving a lesson about Air Pressure

Nate is adjusted to his school, Eden Nursery School, but still prefers to be home. The owner and head teacher is a Korean missionary but works with 5 young, Khmer Christian woman. Apparently, all three languages – Korean, Khmer, and English – are utilized, all mixed together. Often Nate doesn’t know if what he is saying is Korean or Khmer but it’s wonderful to hear him come home singing a Khmer nursery song that all of us don’t understand.

TRAVEL

The next few months will entail some traveling. Thankfully all of them are something we are looking forward to. Please pray for safe travels but also that each trip will fulfill its purpose and be a time of needed refreshing and renewal, physical and mental.

Today the family leaves for Bangkok, Thailand to meet one of Paul’s former colleague, Jonathan and his family who have recently welcomed a new member to their family.  This trip will also be a much-needed vacation for us.

In October, we will spend about a week in Johor Bahru, Malaysia at an MTW Asia retreat. Occurring every 4 years, it is a time to minister to the needs of the MTW missionaries in the area.

Then finally in November, Susan’s mom plans on visiting us for a month. We are all very excited to have her send time with the family and get to know Cambodia.

Random Pic: Boys swimming on a Open Pool Day @Logos

Cambodia Slideshow

We hope you are all doing well, enduring the heat for some of you. I believe it is cooler here than for many of you.  We have hit a busy time and haven’t had much time to keep you updated with all that is going on but hope to soon share some of our ministry happenings as we covet your prayers.

Meanwhile we wanted to share with you a slideshow one of our friends, Irene Lee, who recently visited along with her pastor, Jason Mather, from King’s Church, created a slideshow. She did a great job with capturing a glimpse into Cambodia as a country as well as our team.

Cambodia Slideshow:
http://southeastasiapartnership.com/

Spirit of Oppression

A frequent term here is “spirit of oppression.” Short-term teams have come and sensed it right away. Missionaries, both recent and seasoned, experience this feeling of being weighed down – a constant pressure that’s physical, emotional, spiritual.  It may manifest itself in fussy kids, strife in marriage, disunity among team members, feelings of melancholy, sickness & health issues, and obstacles in ministry, just to name a few of the Satan’s cunning ways.

We are no exception, especially as we begin to get more involved in ministries. Though our spirit is full of joy being here, our flesh is weak and weary. Spiritual realities are not something we paid much attention to when we were in the States. Sure we’d mention the Holy Spirit here and there but everyday life was about what we see, hear, touch, feel, smell. But here the spiritual warfare and Satan’s attacks are too blatant to ignore, reminding us that “…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12)

We humbly ask you to pray for spiritual protection for our family, our team, and our ministry. We share also so that you may be made more aware of the ways Satan may be discouraging you, feeding you lies of condemnation, and distracting you from remaining “faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose” (Acts 11:23) and “to continue in the grace of God (Acts 13:43). The wonder of it all is that God has used this to draw us closer and more dependent on Him.

MINISTRY UPDATE

• Paul’s Trip to Myanmar
  Paul had the opportunity to travel to Myanmar at the end of May for about four days.  The church planting effort there is quite a few years ahead of what it is in Cambodia and it was exciting to what God had already done and is doing there.  Paul traveled with Lloyd and Luke and together they got a chance to visit a Presbyterian reformed seminary where many church planters are being trained.  They also visited the various church plants from former students of the seminary.  It was a blessing to worship and to be encouraged by brothers and sisters faithfully serving Christ in yet another country.

Paul, Luke & Lloyd visiting a Buddhist temple

 Paul gives a word of encouragement at a church plant

Leaving the church to the main road

• Garment Factory Ministry – Teaching English & Bible Study
  About a month ago, Paul & Susan took over the Garment Factory Ministry while our teammate Christina had to return to the States on medical leave. This is the same ministry that involved last year’s Christmas dinner as well as a team worship a few months ago where they were invited and heard the Gospel for the first time. Most of our students are in their mid-twenties, wanting to learn English to get a better job since working at a factory is one of the lowest jobs in Cambodian society. Susan teaches the beginning level class (about 11 students, all non-believers) while Paul’s single student is actually more open to learning the Bible. He previously accepted Jesus but while there was a break in classes he struggled with great fear of the spells casted by a witch doctor. He has turned to charms as well as Jesus for protection.Yesterday we had a private medical clinic for our students and translators. Everyone helping out were believers, except Sophia, Sovanny’s fiance (he staff member of our team). We hope it was a tangible way to show love to our students, especially since it was their first health check-up for most of them. Despite the fact that their English and our Khmer is limited we hope it helped to further develop relationships and build trust. We pray for Sophia as well who has recently been open to the Gospel and occasionally attending church with Sovanny.

Susan’s Class
Jeany (teammate) & Sophia (Sovanny’s fiance) setting up the pharmacy

Roat (5th-Yr med student), Kimsung, & Dr. Eda praying for the patient

Sophia giving petrified Kimseng’s first-ever glucose test

Paul talking with his student, Sokleap, after his check-up

• GCF Small Group
  Paul is still leading our church’s English-speaking weekly small group. We are still going through a bible study called the Gospel Transformation. Recently we decided to come out of our comfort zone and reach out to a couple of families that were affected by a fire (the same fire we posted about when we first arrived here). After obtaining approval from the village chief, we met on a Friday night for dinner. Our group is still praying about how to continue to build upon these relationships with a kingdom view in mind.

Playing the Bunny Game to get to know our names

Another ice-breaker game

• GCF English Class
  Remember Paul used to teach English at GCF? Though he did not continue with the second session, he still occasionally accompanies Alex Jun (coordinator and our teammate). At the end of every session, there is a dinner with all the students and teachers. This time the spouses came as well. After the first half of introductions and Alex’s personal sharing, we went upstairs to dine and chat. Susan had a wonderful opportunity to share with a recently divorced 31-year gentleman, Ran. It was so evident how empty he felt as he searched to be filled by working at building a “good” life surrounded by “good” friends.
  

Alex sings a personal song he wrote when he found GodOur buffet dinner: Alex & Paul talk with two other lawyers

WHAT NEXT?

At our 6-month mark, we met with Lloyd, our team leader, for an evaluation. We’re thankful for the process because it gave us an opportunity to reflect on the past, discuss issues and concerns, and set some goals and discuss future plans. Please pray for us that we will continue to study diligent and God would help us to learn the language well enough for Paul to teach and disciple and for us both to share our hearts with people here. Please pray for direction and wisdom for our long-term ministry.

Thank you again and sincerely for your partnership in this. Thank you for your faithfulness in being our senders and supporters and friends.

Life for the Lees – 7 Months After

It’s been about two months since we last updated the blog. We have a lot of catch up on…thanks for your patience.

When we last posted, we had just returned from Korea and was enjoying the lull of Cambodia’s biggest holiday, Khmer New Year. Our time in Korea was a time of rest and reunion with our family. The best gift was to learn that Susan’s mom has received Christ in her heart. Soon after we left the States, her friends started bringing her to church to help cope with her loneliness. A couple of months later she accepted Christ, was baptized, and became a member! An answer to a decade-old prayer request. Thanks be to God! Thank you for caring for or praying for her, especially while we have been here.

Since returning from Korea, things have been busy. First came Easter. We were blessed with two worship services that day: one with our local Khmer church, GCF, and a team worship at one of our homes.

At GCF: Our kids recite Matthew 28:1-7 and sing a song

Then came an overnight trip to Sihanoukville, a 5-hour drive to a beautiful beach town, with our church for their first baptism ceremony.

Pastors Lloyd (our team leader), Sovan, Narin (GCF pastor)

Finally, our team worship at Esther’s village in May.

Her humble abode

The kitchen – separate from her house

Teacher Saran (works w Esther) & Nate

Dr. Eda tending to a student who just got into a moto accident

About a month ago we enrolled Nate at the Eden Preschool,  a block away on our street. It is run by a korean missionary wife along with five Khmer Christian women. After many teary mornings, Nate is slowly getting used to spending his mornings here along with 45 others Khmer kids his age.

Entrance to his school

Morning Worship

A tearful goodbye as he braves the new frontier

Meanwhile for Caleb, though we still have 5 more weeks until we finish his first year of homeschooling, our homeschooling co-op had our graduation ceremony. It was a wonderful night to reflecting on how both the kids and the homeschooling parent has grown. We gave each kid a graduation certificate and/or a character award.

Caleb also recently celebrated his 7th birthday. Can’t believe it’s already been 7 years! It was an opportunity to remind us that he is a gift from God, something we take for granted. Though he often struggles with the genuineness and strength of his faith, his prayers and questioning has been humbling and inspiring. Although most of his friends were traveling or away, we were able to celebrate with the Juns, our teammates. He got to watch Hero Factory: Rise of the Rookies on the night of his birthday during our small group meeting. Then Saturday it was a day at the mall – arcade, fast food, and ice cream!

Nate, Isaiah, Caleb & Jeremiah waiting for their ice cream

This week is our last week of our Level 2 classes, though Susan has not been able to attend since the end of last week. It’s been 6 months of studying and we’ve come a long way but still have a long way to go. It’s been encouraging when we can read or sing along at church or haggle at the market. Paul will continue on to Level 3 but Susan will take a break and recommence her Khmer classes in October.

Susan (sandwiched between Sotida and her teacher) with her dwindled down class.
Alex, another teammate, is on the far right.

This is the season for short-term teams. We’ve been learning just how small the world is when you’re in God’s hands. First, Lisa & Esther from Pacific Crossroads in CA, came about a month ago. Paul had picked them up at the airport. When he learned that Esther was originally from Staten Island, NY, he thought what a small world since that’s where Susan was born and raised. It wasn’t until the next day at church when Esther turned around that the two friends from junior and senior high school were reunited.

Then came Pastor Jason of King’s Church and a staff member, Irene and her 10-year old daughter, Karis. They arrived about two weeks ago. Irene and her family are close family friends of our team leader and family as well as another team family. Her husband, Robin, plays an vital role in supporting the ministry here. We actually first met Robin & Irene back during our seminary days where they also attended for our first two years until God brought them back to CA. Part of how we ended up here is through Robin and his “sales pitch.” What a small world!

For one of our team lunches with Jason, Irene & Karis, we took them to Romdeng, an NGO restaurant where they train street youth in restaurant and hospitality services. It was also our first time. Aside from the delicious Khmer curries and salads, they are known for their Crispy Tarantulas and sauce. Recipe below for those interested!

Paul eating the butt of the tarantula, the kids’ leftovers

Sorry it’s blurry

Some Random Observations:

• There’s no HOT or COLD water option, what you get is what you get
• Here in Cambodia, there are only two seasons: dry (Nov to Apr) and rainy (May to October, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not hot). Some joke that the true seasons are hot and really hot. After weeks of daily blackouts, we gave in and purchased a generator. It provides enough electricity to run our fans for a couple of hours while filling up our home with the lovely aroma of gasoline.
  
• Barred windows so in case of fire – two ways out: 1. front gate or 2. roof to neighbors connected roof
• This is the view outside my kitchen window, the back of my house. As you can see, it’s typically where most Khmer families like to cook and wash their dishes & clothes. It’s also where large rats like to scurry around looking for their food.

• Some of you asked for pics of people wearing pjs

• Since most Khmer homes do not have a refrigerator or freezer, people often order blocks of ice for various needs.

• One night we sprayed a speedy gecko with stain remover hoping we’d find it dead somewhere. The next morning, Caleb found him dead but in an unexpected way, hanging above our rice pot and toaster oven with one foot stuck to the wall. Wonderful!

Team

Below is Paul’s recent contribution to our team’s website.

http://plantingcambodia.com

* * * * * *

One of the ways God’s abundant grace is clearly evident on the mission field is the team that we work with. The team members are the first people we have met and it is their hospitality that we have relied on as we started to live in a new country. Just their presence alone is a source of comfort; an assurance that others who are just like us have gone through the same experiences that we are going through and they have not just survived but thrived. The team members have been there to guide and encourage us through each step of adjusting to our new home. It is a humbling process, when you have previously lived life in a self-reliant manner, to suddenly have to rely on the graciousness of others for even the simplest things of everyday living like shopping for groceries. You can’t wait to walk on your own two feet but then you realize that part of the new life you have here is one lived in interdependence between you and your team. Not just for ministry but also for community, accountability, and prayer in everyday life. It has been a blessing learning to be vulnerable in your dependence on others and viewing it not as a weakness but an essential part of living as a team.

The team has also been blessing in terms of ministry. Before coming to Cambodia, all our ministry experience has been primarily with other second-generation Korean-Americans from the Northeast. Now we are working with teammates from various nationalities, ethnicities, states, countries and generations. In the midst of this diversity we are working toward a common goal to see the kingdom of God grow and flourish in Cambodia. It is a reminder that God uses the diversity of the body to make his kingdom known. The diversity of the team is a testimony of the unified body of Christ especially in a homogeneous country like Cambodia. This diversity also reveals itself as we are confronted with the multitude of different needs, both spiritual and felt around us. In the face of such needs my lack of gifts in certain areas is magnified and at the same time it reveals God’s provisions through other team members who are gifted in those areas. From evangelism to preaching, from worship to medical outreaches, from educational ministries to worship, God has assembled a team to cover such a wide range of opportunities for his kingdom in Cambodia. And there are more team members coming! The diversity of the team has also revealed differences and tensions but it has been encouraging to see viewpoints being expressed honestly and our team graciously and patiently grappling with the differences. It has been a personal reminder that diversity in of itself is not our identity but it is our diversity in the one body of Christ in whom we have our common love and purpose.

As blessed as we have been with our team, we have also become aware of our need for and the support of our supporters back home. All the benefits of the diversity and unity of our team are magnified as we consider our churches and supporters back home who cover us with prayers from every different perspective, who provide funding for the different ministries, and partner with us through resources such as short term mission teams and future missionaries that continue to build where we lack all for the glorious kingdom of God.

Happy (Belated) Khmer New Year & Happy Easter

The Cambodian New Year is a 3-day holiday that usually begins on April 13 or 14 because it is the end of the harvest season when the farmers can enjoy the results of the months of hard labor before the rainy season commences. This year it was on April 14-16. This year the Lee Family was able to spend our first family vacation in Seoul and Seorak in South Korea (some pics below), where we met with our moms and some family members. We hear it was pretty quiet in Phnom Penh since many take this time to travel.

The night of our return, we were welcomed back by a drastic change in weather in comparison to the chill we were experiencing in Korea, a series of blackouts during the middle of the night and throughout the following day, and our dead car battery. That’s when reality hit. We’re home.

Today was our first Easter here. It’s now been over 5 months here and things are really starting to feel like home. We attended our church, where the the kids in our team (minus Nate) recited Matt 28:1-7 and sang Lord I Lift Your Name on High. It was followed by our potluck lunch. In the evening we happened to have our monthly team worship. After each worship we usually break up into groups and share prayer requests and pray. Kids are always included in this. Today Kaelyn (our team leader’s eldest) and Caleb were in Susan’s group. To hear them share as well as pray for one another is just a blessing. To hear Caleb share how he is struggling with his faith, whether his faith is genuine and whether his faith will persevere to the end, and then to see him moved by others praying for him reminds me that God is indeed alive, powerful, working and so good. We’re not in this alone but our journey is one lived in community, sustained by our Lord.

Indeed, Happy Easter!

Some Further Observations of Phnom Penh:

• It is not unusual to see women (or men) wearing a pajama set as if a fashionable outfit.
• It’s still common to see people walking barefoot on the streets, especially monks.
• Many of the nicer restaurants (where the customers are usually wealthier Khmer or expats) have a swimming pool or a small playground. We’re thinking we’ll hide out there next time we’re hit with a blackout or when the heat gets too bad.
• When there is a downpour, it is not uncommon to see people (mostly men and children) come out and take a shower.

Some Pics when in Korea:

Met President Obama at the wax museum (in Building 63)

Caleb enjoying the penguins at 63 Seaworld

Paul deeply moved by this work of art

Family at Chun Gyeh Chu ( 천계천 )

Tired Nate in Insadong

On our way to lunch

At the restaurant (forgot the name)

Walking the streets of Apgujeong w cool Uncle Chris & cousin Stella

Sharing a Choc. Blast at Waterpia in Seorak(san) w Stella

Or not…poor Stella

Paul & Nate attack Caleb at Lotte World Jamsil