Hi To All of you (again!)
I say again because I had just about finished a long update and everything was lost. Not coincidently I was asking for prayer for protection from Satan and his snares when the screen shut down. Get behind me Satan! Peter Camarata needs your prayers right now. He is one of our three team members arriving tomorrow. They are in the air as I type this probably. He was having nerve problem with pain down one leg. This will not make for a pleasant journey over here. Peter suffered many fiery arrows last year as well. You may remember his son became ill shortly after his arrival here and his sister died 3-4 days into the trip so he returned early to the States. He is a strong Christian man and leader. God must have a mighty work for him here because Satan is fighting hard to keep him away!
Thankfully for me so far, no signs of coughing or breathing problems. All is well. Please Mark or Travis, let my mother know!
Yesterday our morning was filled with our team meeting. It was a good time of sharing with each other and planning more specifics for the trip and some cultural awareness training. Matt Kuffel led a devotion on the importance and power of prayer. He had this great quote although who couldn't remember who said it: "You can always do more after you pray, but you can never do more before you pray." Amen! He had 4 reasons for the importance of prayer:
1. The battle is spiritual, therefore the solution must be spiritual.
2. Kingdom work is God's work, therefore we must seek His will and guidance for our work in the Kingdom.
3. Prayer gets the work done.
4. Prayer gives God a chance to work in us. Prayer is a 2-way conversation. We must listen to God. And through that God can change us.
Good stuff! So your prayers for me, the team and our work here are very important and coveted. We couldn't be here or have much success without prayer. Thank you all for standing behind us.
After our meeting yesterday we spent the afternoon shopping at the Russian Market. Good deals were gotten by all. However the market is a large enclosed building with a maze of narrow aisles winding through it with vendors packed everywhere. It is fairly mild temperature-wise here so far but in that clostraphobic enviornment with little to no air circulation it was HOT! Cold showers were had by all when we got home.
Starting with lunch today through lunch on Saturday, the church ladies will be fixing all of our meals. Matt was afraid we would have Khmer overload so we went out to an American place, Steve's Steak House, for dinner last night. It was a pretty awesome cheeseburger I had! Now it will be rice, rice, rice for a while. Great the first few meals but Matt's right, a bit much by Saturday. The ladies are great cooks, especially given their "kitchen" they work in. I do use the word Kitchen lightly. Think camping without the campstove! I'll try to get pictures to post.
That is all I have time for now. Talk again later.
