LCMS World Mission Blog

“Years ago, when Trinity Lutheran Church in Battambang first started, it was a house church. There were a handful of people who faithfully came. As individuals came and heard, they would bring their families and friends. Since then, it has grown into a community church. It is becoming a mother congregation. There are now three villages that members of Trinity have discovered. Groups and teams from the church go to these villages once, twice, or up to three times a month. They recognize that this message of hope they have needs to be spread to others. And they see that others are hungry and thirsty for it. During the last week of August, a group of about 60 people traveled out to one such village (in Khmer it is called Morning Star Village). There is a lady from church, Mrs. Som, who has nine children. Most of her children are believers and attend church with her. One of her daughters lives in Morning Star village with her husband and children. This mother and daughter wanted to bring Christ to this faraway village.

“Morning Star village is about two hours from Battambang, where the church is. It is too difficult for the villagers to make that trip on Sunday mornings. We went to them and Pastor Kosal, Trinity’s Khmer pastor, along with the women’s team, shared the Gospel with five family groups in the village. After talking and sharing for over two hours, the Holy Spirit moved six people to declare that they want to believe in Jesus Christ. They confessed together that they have sin and that they need forgiveness. They confessed that Jesus is Lord. They have faith like a mustard seed now. The Word has been planted in good soil and we pray for a crop that will yield much more. Praise God!

“For missionaries and Christians, we don’t always get to see the ‘yielding of the crops.’ Sometimes we see the soil cultivated, the seeds sown, or the seedlings watered. But most of the time, we are not given the privilege to see or experience yielding new faith, or crops. But, what a joy it is to see God’s Word and His people at work. The event described above is a highlight for us that some missionaries are never able to experience, and we are so humbled and proud to have been just a little part of it. These past few weeks have been filled with such experiences.

“Many of the children who attend the Lutheran School to learn English are not baptized. Most of them come to church on Sunday to sing songs, hear the Bible readings, and then go to Sunday school. For most of them, their parents are not active in the church. Some of their parents maybe have never been to the church. But, God works in and through these children. Two Sundays ago, after the Sunday school lesson, 20 children were given the chance to dedicate their lives to Christ. Because the children were young and haven’t been fully educated in the doctrines and confessions of the Lutheran Church, they have not been baptized. They did however, confess their sins and their belief in Jesus Christ. More crops! These children are young, and they don’t know everything there is about Christ and their new faith, but the know that they are forgiven and that if they believe, they will have eternal life with Christ.

“As we teach our English classes to the youth of the church and outside the church, we hope and pray that we are witnesses of God to the students. For many of them, this may be their first time studying at a church or with Christians. We know that for most their priority is to learn English, but God works in amazing ways! One of Seth’s students, a young man by the name of Bunthol, has been coming to Seth’s class since they began in February. He has learned English, as well as Bible stories. He has learned alongside the Christian youth and he has been coming to church. Last Sunday, he also dedicated his life to Christ. What a joyous celebration the angels must have had! A young man has come to Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit, and we pray that he will reach out to his friends and family as well with the love of Jesus.”

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