Stephen & Angela Benefield: Update from Cambodia (5-31-10)
Dear Praying Friends,
Praise the Lord, Ta's grandmother is doing some better! She is still very ill of course, but she is able to eat and rest more easily than before. Thank you so much for your prayers on her behalf, and please keep on praying. It was a very big help to me to have Ta back in his place this past week too.
Ming Munee is about the same. Our people are still volunteering their time to go and see her each day. Her 11 year-old adopted daughter, Sonyta, has been coming to church very faithfully in these past few weeks. Yesterday she raised her hand during the invitation that she wants to be saved. Please pray for me and our other counsellors as we seek to lead her to Christ. Her understanding is not equal to her age, but the more I get to know her, I am realizing that she understands more than I originally thought.
Prom Say has been tied up with work and unable to meet with me or come to church since my last update. This is a common problem here. Oftentimes we will meet a person who is unemployed and begin to witness to them only to have the entire effort coming to a screeching halt as soon as they get a job. When I met Prom Say, he was not unemployed, but was on a brief leave of absence due to sickness. He is a bus driver with a company that runs busses all over Cambodia. The last time I saw him, he seemed to still have the same level of interest in hearing the Gospel and coming to church, but was concerned about how it would all work out because of his work schedule. Usually he drives a long trip to another city, spends the night there, and drives back the next day. He should be at home at least 2 or 3 evenings per week. I am praying that God will work it out so that his nights in Phnom Penh are times when we have services. Also, I am praying that Satan will not succeed in snatching that seed that has already been planted in his heart between now and the next time I can meet with him.
This past Saturday I met a young man who lives next door to Prom Say. The new guy's name is Vee. Yesterday he came to both the morning and evening services. Please pray for him as I go to follow up on him this week. He is probably around 20 years old.
There is another man I would like you to pray for too named Hee. (I know, the names are kind of funny. No Hee is no relation to Vee!) Hee is a very nice young man who works for our landlord doing odds and ends. He sleeps in the landlord's carport 10 feet from the front door of the church. He and Ta have become pretty good friends, but he is still unsaved. Last Thursday night, Hee had nothing to do, so he came on in to the service. He's been a couple of other times too. The Lord recently convicted me that we need to pray more for him to get saved.
For the past several years I have been giving tracts to a man who works as a "car-backer-upper" (a very popular line of work in this congested city) at a local grocery store. We developed a casual friendship, but he could never come to church or even listen to the Gospel because he was ALWAYS at work. Recently he quit that job and is working for himself now. I ran into him the other day and renewed my long-standing invitation to church. Surprisingly, Sunday morning he called and said he and a friend were on their way! Unfortunately, he never showed up. I will be looking for him again this week, and would appreciate prayers for him too. I am not sure of his name. I know it sounds strange to know someone for years and not know their name, but such is the culture here. Most people call each other by family titles (like uncle, aunt, older brother, grandma, etc) even if they don't know the other person. It is not uncommon for me to ask a church member to stand and introduce their friend or neighbor that they brought to church, only to have them turn to the visitor and say, "What's your name?"
I have two more specific people for whom to pray this week. Two of the children in our Sunday afternoon children's church raised their hand for salvation yesterday. Kvay is an 11 year old boy who lives on our street. Roatana is a 13 year old girl who comes from an orphanage where we pick up kids each week for church. Both of them are really sweet kids. Roatana has been coming for several months, but is one of those rare kids here who just doesn't smile. Last Sunday I saw her smile for the first time. As I dealt with both of them yesterday, it became obvious that neither one of them quite understands yet, but I believe they are both close to making a decision to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray for both of them as we will be following up on them this week as well.
Several months ago I mentioned many names in one of my updates, and then joked that there would be a test later. My Pastoral Theology teacher from Bible college (Pastor Yeager) wrote back that he thought I was trying to get even with him for some of the tests he gave. So...this update is dedicated to you, Bro. Yeager! I have underlined all the names to make it easy. There will be a test. Two of the names rhyme, so no excuses:)
We had a great time last Friday night at our monthly English service with several other missionary families. I preached from Psalm 62, "Trust In Him At All Times", and I think it was an encouragement to several folks.
Thanks for all your prayers. We need God's power and God's blessing, and we know that prayer is a vital ingredient to that end.
Sincerely,
Stephen Benefield
