I’m not the same person I was when we launched. I used to be shy about the name Seventh-day Adventist. Now, I use it as an opening. When asked, the reason I give for coming to Cambodia is Jesus’ second coming, and that judgment day is soon. Before Jesus went back to heaven, He promised His disciples He was going to prepare a place for them. All the signs He gave have been fulfilled. I love the people here so much that I left my country and my family to tell people here to get ready.

This shows from the first touch that I am one who desires their good. Many people feel the end is near. Embracing our special message gives me the opportunity to share the gospel, my testimony, or a parable of Jesus and find out if they are open to hearing more in just minutes.

God also put new sincerity in me. I used to think I had to do some prolonged work of health or teaching before I could share Jesus’ story, or else I would scare people away or sound too preachy. Through a vivid dream, God told me, “I love these people so much, and they don’t even know it. Can you tell them for me?” So I go around asking people if they know God loves them and boldly stating that He loves people so much that He gave His life for everyone in the world. I’m learning to rely more on the Holy Spirit’s promptings rather than the experiences of others found in books or lectures, as useful as they all have been.

Through friendship and conversations with a Baptist missionary family not too far from us, I have been driven back to the Bible to learn the principles of interpretation that allow us to read the same Bible but come to such vastly different conclusions. Stepping outside the Adventist bubble, I see new beauty and life in God’s word and the things I have taken for granted all along.

Now there is nothing I would rather do than spend time in His Word and spend time in His harvest. I could tell you witnessing stories for an hour without any preparation.

We are in the middle of building a house. During this process, God has opened up the opportunity to have worship with the workers, and one has given his heart to Christ. He’s now playing Christian music for the whole job site. I was also able to share the gospel with a husband and wife who are both working for me. They got into a fight, and I shared my testimony and taught them about reconciliation. They had been watching how often I called Stephanie out to the build site to consult her wishes and were willing to listen to why we had unconditional love and respect for each other.

I’m so excited to tell you everything God is doing. I can’t wait to see you all while we are on furlough this summer, beginning in June.

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