Visa run to cambodia

This past weekend, Dave and i did our tri-annual visa run(hehe) we are required to leave Thailand every three months to renew our visa(hopefully this will change next year and we will have volunteer work permits) We headed to Cambodia with another couple and a friend. This was our 4th time to Cambodia and the other couples 1st time, we knew what was happening and how to get past all the obstacles.
We boarded the bus at 630 am at the mall and started our journey! It was a quick 3.5 hour bus ride, which was amazing, we had air conditioning, coffee and snacks and a 1940's Thai movie playing for us- we were excited as this was a great start to the weekend.
As we arrived at the border we knew we would be faced with sharply dressed men helping you to arrive safely and 60 dollars less across the border, we casually smiled and let them know we are ok and have done this many times.. as you make your way past the 'con artists of the border,' you find yourself facing the other realities of Cambodia- the 3 year old children holding onto there 2 month old brother or sister begging for money, so that there owners can afford to drink-
This time Dave brought tracks written in the Khmer language, they were surprised to receive this and hurry away to see what these tracks said, though we believe none of them could read, they could hold onto hope and see the picture of Jesus Christ. We finally reach the exit to Thailand into no mans land- which is filled with casinos and more beggars. It is illegal to gamble in Thailand,but once you leave Thailand you are iimpacted with more than 5 casinos within 1 minute. You see Lexus, BMW's and wealthy people driving to the casinos and young children begging for food or money and the stench of dirty water and air- a heartbreaking situation, but you continue to move on. While doing this journey you still find yourself with 1-2 more Cambodian con artists assisting you to the Real Visa office- once again you assure them you are ok and fill our your forms for your visa. As you get your Cambodian visa approved and purchased you set off for another walk to enter Cambodia. You enter Cambodia safely by getting your visa stamped and find yourself in a completely different country. What was paved roads, the smell of sweet and spicy food, nice cars and civilized society of Thailand, becomes dirt filled roads, garbage filled what I believe to be sidewalks and hundreds of children running around with no teeth and a hope for a meal today- Cambodia.
The man who runs the ministry in Cambodia, Joel, lives about 2 minutes from the border, we walk a short distance and stay at his home, an awesome blessing of a 4 storey building with running water and showers! We make ourselves settled and decide to take a short nap, we are quickly awakened by one of this ministry leaders. We are told that we are going to the aids clinic and they would love for us to come and pray for the people, without hesitation Dave and I wipe our eyes and head for the hospital with our friends. The aids hospital is about a minute walk from where we are staying- so we arrive quickly. As I am walking I feel great emotion coming upon me, I begin to pray for strength so that Jesus Christ is able to show hope through me for the dieing men and women in the clinic. About 6 of us go, we all arrive with smiles and love. Three of us sit on the beds of two beautiful young girls, who may not be here next week and sing some worship songs in the Khmer language ,I pick up the tune in English singing every so proudly "How Great thou art"The girls have huge smiles on there faces and we are so overwhelmed with emotion we smile and begin to cry. We are ask to share some words with the people in the clinic, David gives a testimony of healing and hope, some have the look of peace on there faces when they hear this, for its the only hope they have, Jesus Christ. We then pray for the people, one man there has gotten extremely ill and can not walk or move anymore, they fear he may not live for more than a couple weeks- we pray with all our strength - the lady taking care of him begins to burst into tears, tears of fear, tears of hope, tears of thankfulness. I cant imagine living like this, but I press on and pray harder. We pray for another man and as we are praying he says in his language he feels a healing in his side- we rejoice and praise God, for he is good!! We then pray for everyone and head back home. This is a weekly ministry they do in Cambodia and I thank God for the people who do this , and I pray that you as well will pray for them. That was our first day, we then have dinner and prepare for tomorrow as it is Sunday and the David and Gabe are preaching.
Sunday morning arrives and we get ready for Church! Gabe does the offering and you see the poorest of the poor giving all that they had collected from that day, a humbling experience. Myself, Melveena and dawn head downstairs to do kids ministry- the church is mainly made from the children, this week we had 20. As Melveena does children's ministry,Dave is upstairs preaching about Faith. I loved how we were able to impart just a little something to there lives! After church is done, we get ready to leave for Thailand. Joel, who runs the ministry returns from Thailand with 2 missionaries from BC. He sends us off for another journey on the bus. We leave Cambodia and head for Thailand(10 minute journey) to find that the bus we are to take is filled, but they are willing to have us sit on stools for almost double the price of what it was coming from Thailand. We refuse and hunt for another bus. After an hour of looking we learn that there are no more buses going to Sriracha Thailand- we are all tired and anxious to leave so we head for the closest city(which is about 5 minutes away) We then find a man who knows Joel and tells us he can get us a truck home. Praise God a truck is willing to take us home, though more money than what we wanted to pay we are grateful for a ride. The boys ride in the back of the truck as us girls enjoy the air conditioner. About half way through, I hop on in the back and enjoy the rest of the journey with wind blowing in my hair and a beautiful sky to look at. It was quite a journey and an experience, I am ever grateful for a God who supplies us with all of our needs, health-love-joy-peace and so much more! Please pray for Cambodia and Joel! Don't forget to check out continuum media, either at www.continuummedia.com or on YouTube!! God Bless

This year in bible college has been an experience that will always be with me. The students this year decided to go down south to do our annual mission trips, we were prepared to preach and see waterfalls and more than anything, peoples lived change for Jesus Christ. We were able to pray for the sick and see healing, pray for the demon possessed and see people set free. It was a true example and life experience to see God move so instantly. When you live in countries where Buddhism is the religion and Jesus is rarely talked about, you begin to realize how much they need his love. Once you tell them of Jesus Christ, there hearts are open for him, they yearn for Him in ways you see yourself yearning for Him. I really did make new brothers and sisters when I was down south. The man who led the trip was Pastor Boonden , a great man of God, who is truly laying down his life everyday and professing the love of Jesus Christ. Pastor Boonden and his family currently live in a tent and have planted 14 churches within the last ten years. He is true inspiration and a man of God that I would like to model my life after.

Waiting, Prayer and Faith

Isaiah 30:18

18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!

This past week has been a week of waiting and prayer for me. David has left for his missions trip down south in Thailand and I sit and wait for him to return, anxious to waist time. What a waste I thought after the first day, and felt the need to start praying for people, really push myself to pray more than I ever do and focus on certain people. Its hard as time seems so slow and it feels like a waiting game but I know that in the end what seemed so hard in the beginning was a character building task- its only making me stronger in Christ.
I chose to take this step to go farther and found that it has been a breakthrough in many areas, I really noticed as I picked up my bible for devotions and found myself lost in His word, I sat and waited, I reflected on the past two months in Thailand. Dave and I were in a real hard situation when we came here, we were in Thailand with little money and barely any support, but we chose to come, we had no plan or idea on how it was going work but knew we were to be here. Within a month our sponsorship went from little to abundant- what made us get to that place, Devoted time in prayer, we asked, no sort of told God that we would pray and pray until we got an answer- it was a night of fully devoted prayer on the rooftop and days of continuous prayer and God answered us- it was simple, no lighting rods or anything. He said submit to me and my ways( What I heard personally was submit to David and trust in what he wants to do, as I know the plans I have for him and you- WOW) All of this was in a time of Waiting and listening for his word. It was after that when we began to exercise our faith- I am amazed that we are still here, I am constantly praying for our sponsors as we know that they are blessed to be a blessing- you guys have let us take the next step in fulfilling the call on our lives, Thank You.
So let me encourage you, when things are coming against you and feel like you are beaten, don't give in, be excited for you know that after the battle is done, you are stronger than you were before and your character is being altered to be like Christ-
Love and God Bless
Kelly

First Time Blogging

Well Everyone this is my first time setting a blog up, actually not true I have repeatedly tried to set up a blog last year when i was in Thailand and became frustrated with having to create new emails every time and not having the greatest internet connection. But I am ready to commit to the blogging world to keep all of you, our friends and families, updated with what is happening in our lives in Thailand, I may even sneak a few Canadian adventures in there.. so brace yourselves!