Kandi in Cambodia
August 29, 2024
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Thank you for praying for the Antioch Bible Institute of Phnom Penh and its graduation in July. The teachers (and posted pictures) tell the story of a wonderful ceremony and much joy as three students graduated, and two interns finished their time at Antioch. (See the attached picture.)
The new school year will start on September 1st, so please pray for the students that will soon arrive. You have faithfully prayed for many years for an increase in the number of students and God has answered! In addition to the six returning 2nd year students, the teachers will be welcoming nine new students! And besides the 15 full-time students, four special students will be living at Antioch so that they can improve their Khmai language through immersing themselves in the school community. Nineteen incoming students! Praise God for hearing our prayers and raising up more young people with a heart to follow and serve Him!
With the increase in students comes an increase in work for the teachers. But God knew what He was doing and had the school fully staffed with three teacher couples before increasing the number of students! And God has given the added benefit of one extra teacher as one of our interns (from last year) had agreed to teach a class, too. Pray for the teachers as they welcome the students, help the new ones adjust to school living and teach classes – some which are new to them.
I would also appreciate your prayers as I continue to adjust to life in the U.S. and prepare and give various talks during the year.
Hope to see many of you this year!
Kandi
(717) 377-5854
Church Schedule
September 15 – Chanceford Alliance Church, Felton
September 22 – Cassels Community Church, Manchester
October 5-6 – Faith Alliance Church, Glenmoore
October 13 – Iron Mill Church, Danville
October 20 – Lewisburg Alliance Church
October 25-27 – Chambersburg Alliance Church
November 3-6 – Paintersville C&MA Church, Lewistown
November 9-10 – First Alliance Church, Harrisburg
November 11 – Alliance Church, Lancaster
November 23-24 – Community Alliance Church, Bloomsburg
December 7-8 – Moosic Alliance Community Church
July 12, 2024
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Hello from hot and humid … Pennsylvania! It’s good to be home. And how nice of you all to arrange Cambodia-like weather to welcome me back!
I’m so grateful for your faithfulness in prayer and giving over the last three years and thank God that He has given such wonderful partners for the work in Cambodia. Because of your prayers and gifts, the Antioch Bible school is now fully staffed with three teacher couples, is finishing up the first year of its internship program and will soon be launching its sixth class of graduates on July 26th. Pray with me that the students, interns and teachers will finish up classes well and that graduation will be a celebratory time for everyone.
Next week (July 15-20th) I will be joining other returning International Workers in Ohio for a week of meetings, debriefs and preparation for life and ministry in the U.S. this year. We’d appreciate your prayers.
I’m looking forward to seeing many of you soon! (You’ll see a list of my scheduled church visits for 2024 below.)
Kandi
(717) 377-5854
July 23 – Summit Grove Family Camp
August 3-4 – Carlisle Alliance Church
August 18 – First Alliance Church, Harrisburg
September 15 – Chanceford Alliance Church, Felton
September 18-22 – Cassels Community Church, Manchester
October 5-6 – Faith Alliance Church, Glenmoore
October 13 – Iron Mill Church, Danville
October 20 – Lewisburg Alliance Church
October 25-27 – Chambersburg Alliance Church
November 3-6 – Paintersville C&MA Church, Lewistown
November 9-10 – First Alliance Church, Harrisburg
November 11 – Alliance Church, Lancaster
November 23-24 – Community Alliance Church, Bloomsburg
December 7-8 – Moosic Alliance Church, Avoca
Antioch Bible Institute Teachers and families
June 19, 2024
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support through the Great Commission Fund. I and the other International Workers (IWs) here can’t do it without you!
Please continue to pray for me as I have only two weeks to finish things up at the Antioch Bible Institute, pack up and prepare my house for some house/dog sitters and say goodbye to my friends here. This is always a crazy and stressful time and I’d appreciate your prayers. I leave Cambodia on July 4th.
And continue to lift up the Antioch Bible Institute as they will not finish their school year and have graduation until the end of July. Pray for our three graduating students and for our teachers. Please especially pray for our new teacher couple, who are still growing into their roles at the school.
I look forward to seeing you all in your churches and homes in the coming year. God is doing good things in Cambodia because of your partnership!
Thanks, and see you soon!
Kandi
April 21, 2024
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
God has been faithful to give what we need here and that includes you, our faithful prayer partners and supporters. Thank you!
Antioch’s last trimester finished up well at the beginning of April. We didn’t see any big changes with the two students I asked you to pray for but continue to pray for them as we move into another trimester. Pray for Antioch’s three 2nd year students as they finish up a rather heavy course load and prepare for what is next.
Several of you have asked for an update on Antioch’s new teacher couple, Thom and Pyung. In a previous email, I told you their son was struggling to adjust to being here. Only three weeks after they arrived, an uncle came and without his parents’ permission took their son back to their village to live again with his grandmother. His parents were understandably upset. Her unbelieving family doesn’t understand the way they want to raise their son. Thom and Pyung then made the decision to leave their son with his grandmother for the duration of last trimester.
During school break (right now) they returned home to see what the situation and decide if it’s a good idea to try to bring him back with them again. One of the problems is that he can’t be enrolled in school in Phnom Penh until September, so he wouldn’t have anything to do and that can make transition to a new place even harder. Thom and Pyung returned yesterday without their son. Pray with us for Thom and Pyung’s family situation as well as their continued progress in learning how to be teachers at Antioch.
Please also pray for the school director, Sarom, and his family who recently lost his mother. His father also has a serious health condition and so they are also concerned about him.
This past week God has been gracious to protect the school and the people who live in our building. We are in the midst of a very hot season (we’re going on our 4th week of 100 plus degree weather!) and haven’t had rain in a very, very long time. Behind our building is a large, abandoned lot which is filled with tall grasses, weeds and lotus plants. The water in this lot has long dried up and everything is very dry. Earlier this week, I woke up before dawn to my dogs barking and the crackling of fire – someone was burning garbage and it got out of control. (My apartment overlooks the lot behind us.) The fire occurred on one of the days of Khmer New Year (when many people leave the city to go home to the country or stay and party hard until the wee hours of the morning.) So getting the fire fighters to come was challenging. They didn’t show up until 3 hours after it started!
We did what we could to water down the grass near to our back wall, prepared to evacuate if necessary and of course prayed a lot! And God was good. The wind was blowing the other way and amazingly the fire stopped advancing before it got to our section of the wall!
The fire smoldered and started again several times over the next couple of days and the fire truck made four trips to the lot to put it out. In the meantime, we were able to find a bulldozer and cleared a nice wide fire lane next to our wall. In the end, that was the wisest thing we could have done as a day later another raging fire quickly burned right up to that fire lane and stopped. Praise God for His protection!
The last trimester of this school year at Antioch will begin on April 23rd. Pray for the teachers as we try to get things ready over the weekend.
I will be heading to the US for home assignment before the end of the trimester, so please also pray for me as I not only teach but figure out how to turn over responsibilities well and prepare to leave Cambodia over the next few months.
Thank you for your prayers!
Kandi
March 28, 2024
Dear Prayer Partners,
Here’s a quick prayer request for this week…
The Antioch Bible School teachers have been trying for quite some time now to help two of our students with character issues in their lives which if not dealt with will negatively affect their future ministry and personal lives. The teachers have prayed continuously for them (even fasting at times) and the problems seem to be increasing. The students are nearing the end of their time at Antioch and we often see an increase in family problems and spiritual opposition for students getting ready to graduate. We are in a spiritual battle for the hearts of our students and their future. Please pray with us for these two students. Pray for hearts softened by the work of the Holy Spirit and willing to receive the help the teachers are offering. Pray for a repentant spirit and transformed lives.
Thank you for praying.
And may you have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!
Kandi
February 6, 2024
Dear Prayer Partners & Friends,
Thank you for your faithfulness in praying over the last three or four years for another full-time teacher couple. They have arrived! Praise God! His timing is perfect! We are so happy to welcome Thom and Pyung to the Antioch Bible Institute. They join us with their two children and Pyung’s younger brother – who believe it or not is the same age as her son!
Their son has been having a very hard time being here. Pray for Thom and Pyung to have wisdom in how best to help him. And pray for him. He only recently came to live with their family and has spent most of the first 10 years of his life with people who don’t follow Jesus. So, he not only is dealing with moving to a new place with new people, but also with a new family and a new way of living. All the teachers believe this is the best place for him, but it will mean being patient and loving him no matter what he does or says. It is a lesson of grace and love for all the students and teachers. Please pray with us that God’s love and the love of his parents and the school community will transform him and bring him to faith in Jesus.
In these first couple of months of 2024, we have a lot of comings and goings at Antioch. Soon after Thom and Pjung’s family arrived, we said goodbye to one of our kitchen workers, Chantee. She was such a good help in the kitchen and a great example to us of a faithful, loving wife, mother, and friend. We will miss her. Two full-time teachers are now overseeing the kitchen. Pray that they will adjust well to their added responsibilities.
Somewhere around Feb. 18th, we will be welcoming Christina Her to the Antioch community. Christina is a new International Worker from the USA coming to Cambodia to help us with our field bookkeeping. She’ll be living at Antioch to help her with language and cultural learning. Sometime around the same time we’ll also be welcoming another missionary couple from a different country who will be staying with us for the same reasons as Christina. We’ll have a full dormitory! Pray for these new workers and their language and cultural learning.
And this ‘old’ worker would also appreciate prayer.
Pray for strength, energy and for a focus on the important things.
Thanks! And Happy Chinese Year!
Kandi
January 21, 2024
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Thank you for your prayers!
Last time I told you about two sisters who weren’t sure they would be able to return to Antioch. The day before classes started, they began their journey from their houseboat home to dry land which is about an hour or two of boat travel. When they arrived at a small city where some relatives live, they planned to stay overnight and continue their travel to Phnom Penh in the morning. Unfortunately, the older sister, Sophea, got sick, so they delayed their departure a day with the hope that she would feel better in the next day. But by the following day she was quite ill and was eventually admitted to the hospital where she stayed for the next five days. Her sister, Sopeak, stayed with her to take care of her while in the hospital. (Hospitals here don’t provide food or patient personal care, so you need someone with you to help you.) She had contracted typhoid.
After being discharged she returned home with her sister and mother. We weren’t sure they were going to come back to school at all since the hospital stay had used up their travel money. But the school was praying, and you were praying. The school also took up an offering to help with the hospital and travel expenses. A week after the official start of this trimester at the Antioch Bible Institute, both sisters finally arrived! Thank you for praying them here!
We are expecting our new teacher family (Thom and Pyoung) next week. Pray for them as they still have some issues to settle at home before they make the move. And a big move it will be for them as they are moving from a rural location to the big city of Phnom Penh. (Interestingly, all our teachers are from the countryside, including myself!).
Thank you for standing with us as we disciple and train God’s people to love and serve Him in variety of settings!
Blessings,
Kandi
December 28, 2023
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Praise God for His faithfulness and goodness toward us!
Last trimester (Sept-Dec) at the Antioch Bible Institute, God graciously answered our prayers for seven new incoming students. With three returning students and five students from our sister school (Elim) who is still trying to get back on the right schedule after Co-vid, we had a total of 15 students. Boy, did they keep us busy! But we had a great trimester with lots of learning and lots of laughs.
We also saw the start the internship program with two of our graduates in September, too. Phalla and Sokha have helped in various ways at Antioch, including helping to teach classes. They were also able to teach a class on how to do chronological Bible storying at a local C&MA church to church members who were older than them (which is a big deal in Cambodia). They both grew leaps and bounds in these first four months of their year-long internship and we are looking forward to seeing how God will continue to grow and use them in the new year.
Antioch’s next trimester will be starting January 2nd with our ten returning Antioch students. Two of those students are sisters who have informed us that they aren’t sure if they’ll be able to return because of their family situation. Please pray with us that God will make a way for both sisters return to their studies.
In addition to welcoming our returning students back to the school in a few days, at the end of January we will be welcoming another teacher couple! Yes, after three years of praying, God has answered! Thom (the husband) is an Elim Bible School graduate who has pastored a couple of small rural churches, and he’ll be coming with his wife, Pyoung and their two young children. There will be a lot for them to adjust to and learn. Pray for their transition to Antioch and the new things that God is calling them to do.
And continue to pray for me as I’ll be helping Thom & Pyoung adjust and learn how to teach at Antioch, as well as continuing to oversee the interns with Teacher Kunthea. I’m scheduled for my home assignment this summer, so I’m also feeling the pressure to finish up a few other projects at the school and outside the school in preparation for my departure this summer. Pray that in the midst of it all, I would know God more deeply and receive my strength, energy and joy from Him.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and may this New Year be the best yet!!
Kandi
P.S. Thank you for your faithfulness in praying and giving toward the work in Cambodia and at the Antioch Bible Institute … even without any updates from me!
At the end of August, I had some problems with my laptop and all my prayer partner emails were erased! I have finally been able to start to rebuild that list, but I don’t have all the email addresses I originally had, so if you know of someone who would like to receive updates from me and isn’t receiving them, please let me know.
July 24, 2023
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Graduation was a success! Thank you so much for your prayers! It was a very nice ceremony and one of the least stressful that we’ve ever had! Some of that was do to the fact that a church member has started a catering service and the teachers didn’t have to make food, as well as, get ready for the ceremony and greet guests like we normally do.
We are so proud of Phalla and Sokha who have finished two years of study with flying colors! And we are happy that both of them decided to apply for and were accepted into the year long internship in Phnom Penh. Pray for this new internship program and especially for the one in Phnom Penh that is still a work in progress.
This coming week (July 26-31) I’ll be headed to Siem Reap with our other Cambodian International Workers for our annual meeting and retreat called Field Forum. Pray that God will meet us there and our hearts will be open to His voice and leading.
When Field Forum is over, I’m headed home to Pennsylvania for a little vacation time with family and friends. Pray for a time of rest, fun and refocusing on what is most important in my life and ministry. Perhaps I’ll see you in PA!
Thank you again for your prayers!
Kandi
July 17, 2023
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
It’s the last week of school!!! Everyone at the Antioch Bible Institute is eagerly looking forward to summer break, but this week still holds several final tests, a last fun outing with our students and graduation on Friday. Still, I’m already feeling less stressed as one class after another finishes.
One of the classes that was taught this trimester was Evangelism Explosion (EE) – how to share the gospel. The 2nd year students have studied this once already, but this time around they have been helping and leading the 1st year students to ‘practice’ sharing the gospel with various people in the city. One of our 2nd year students is particularly gifted in building relationships and sharing the gospel. On Sunday as we were riding a tuk tuk back to the school, she struck up a conversation with our driver and when he seemed interested, she launched right into sharing the EE way. By they time we arrived back at the school, the driver had many of his questions about Christianity answered and a better understanding of what Christians believe. And hopefully, some things for him to continue to think about!
On Saturday we held our last Kids’ Club gathering for the trimester. If you remember, we were inviting the neighborhood children and the children on campus to join us in this new children’s ministry. We’ve had our ups and downs throughout the trimester. A couple of weeks we only had one or two children come, but this last week we had 14! Several were our neighbors, some were from other ministry group sites, some were children of the Family Home (guesthouse) workers (which is on campus) and of course, some were our own teachers’ children. What a wonderful way to end the trimester – with a summary of our stories on creation, ice cream and lots of chaos!! Continue to pray for these children to come to know the God who created them.
Pray with us for a smooth and fun ending to this school year – and of course for graduation on Friday, July 21st and our graduates Phalla and Sokha. Thank you for praying through another group of graduates!
I’d also ask you to pray for our school director’s (Sarom) mother who is scheduled to have heart valve replacement surgery on Thursday (the day before graduation). Sarom’s parents have been a part of the school community for many weeks now, as they have been in Phnom Penh to get the care she needs. Her surgery was postponed multiple times because of various health issues, but she’s now doing better. Pray for a successful surgery, speedy recovery and financial provision for her medical care.
Thanks again!
Kandi
July 10, 2023
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Yes, I am still in Cambodia! It’s been a couple of months since I last sent you a prayer letter – Sorry about that! This trimester at the Antioch Bible Institute has been particularly busy and as usual when I’m busy, it’s my email communication that suffers. These last months, I’ve been teaching every day except Saturday, leading the kids’ club ministry group, helping other teachers with their classes, helping to get the graduate internship program up and running as well as squeezing in a trip to interview prospective students. Please know that I am ever so grateful for your continued prayers and support – even if I have been a poor communicator. Thank you!
We are now nearing the end of the last trimester of the school year. Two weeks and counting. The students are doing well, although everyone is finding it difficult to keep motivated to finish strong. We are all looking forward to Graduation on July 21st. This year we will be graduating two students, both of whom are interested in staying in Phnom Penh, possibly as part of the new internship program. Pray for Phalla and Sokha as they look toward their future.
The beginning of June, another teacher (Kunthea) and I traveled to northwest Cambodia to interview two prospective students. We usually interview them in their own homes so we can understand their situation better and get to know their parents. Many parents don’t allow their children to go to Phnom Penh because they fear for their safety but meeting the teachers and hearing about the school firsthand calms a lot of fears.
One of the two new students is a young man I knew in Poipet when he was a little boy! What fun it was to see him and his family again – as well as many other friends! Pray for these two students who have been accepted for the new school year. Pray that Satan will not put any barriers before them that will keep them from coming to study in September.
We have been praying for six or seven new students, but at this point, we have two for sure and maybe one more. Every year we get excited about the number of people interested, only to be discouraged when only a few of them choose to apply. Pray with us that God will send more workers to be trained for the harvest field in the city.
With one more year until I return to the US for home assignment, Antioch is also in need of another teacher couple. We have been praying, and looking and asking around, but God has not yet answered. One challenge is that the school needs a couple that already has ministry experience and those that have ministry experience are already in a ministry they have no plans to leave! Pray that God will speak to the teachers He wants for Antioch and show clearly His plan for them.
Thank you again for your faithfulness in prayer! We may have few students, but those few can make an impact on God’s Kingdom. You are praying them through the tough lessons they must learn in class and more importantly outside of class. Thank you for building up the next generation of leaders by your prayers and support!
Kandi
April 16, 2023
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Happy Khmer New Year! Khmer New Year is one of the most important holidays for Cambodians. It’s also the hottest time of year here. Yesterday my weather app said it was 100 degrees and felt like 115! Anyone want to come and visit?
The Antioch Bible Institute is currently on break and I’ve enjoyed the slower pace and the quiet of the campus and city. The last weeks of the trimester finished with a flourish of activity including a trip to the beach. Several of our students had never been there before and it was a fun and special day, especially since we also had a baptism in the ocean! Two young ladies from one of our ministry groups sites, along with Deborah, the daughter of one of our teachers, and Chantee, our kitchen worker, were baptized by Pastor Rit (pastor of New Jerusalem Church in Phnom Penh) and Sarom (the Antioch school director). What a blessed time together.
In weeks leading up to the end of the trimester, the Antioch school also started a weekly kids’ club on campus. We had four boys from the neighborhood join the kids on campus to learn about God and play some fun games. The last kids’ club before break one of our students, Sanin, was teaching the children about various characteristics of God. One of the neighbor boys asked the question, “What does God like?” His friend quickly answered, “People, God likes people. He has to like them because he made them!” His question showed us these boys are thinking about what we are teaching them. Pray that we can continue to show the neighborhood children and their parents who God is and that they will open their hearts and lives to Him.
Last year many of you were praying for Rebecca and Nhieu (Antioch graduates) who lost their baby when it was nearly full-term. She again became pregnant, and in March gave birth via C-section to a beautiful baby boy, who they named Micah. Praise God for the gift of this little boy! And thank you for your prayers for Rebecca and Nhieu as they adjust to being mom and dad.
Classes will be back in session on April 24th. Pray for the teachers as we prepare for the new trimester. This trimester I’ll be teaching nearly every day, helping two other teachers with one of their classes and teaching a class on “How to lead worship” which is a new one for me, so will require extra work.
Please continue to pray with us for a new teacher couple which we really need to find in this coming year. We are also starting our recruitment of students for our next school year which starts in September. Ask God to send us those who want to serve Him in the city.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and giving to me and the development of leaders for the Church of Cambodia!
Blessings,
Kandi
February 19, 2023
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Life is back to normal at the Antioch Bible Institute after a couple of busy weeks with extra guests and the 100-year anniversary celebrations. Normal being – classes, ministry groups and more classes and more ministry groups!
Last week, we invited some of the neighborhood boys over to play ball and four of them came. They had a blast playing with two of our students and some of the other kids on our property. We are considering doing a weekly kids’ time at the school but haven’t decided when or what it might look like. Pray for God’s direction and timing. We would also like to reach out more to the adults in our neighborhood. Kids are always easy to build relationships with, but their parents, grandparents and others need Jesus just as much. Pray for a way to go forward with being Jesus to our neighbors both in word and deed.
We thank God that although we still do not have another teacher couple for Antioch (Please keep praying!), God did provide more help for our kitchen. Chantee, who along with her husband were a part of the English program last year, have now moved to Phnom Penh because of her husband’s work. Chantee graciously offered to help us in the kitchen and is now taking responsibility for our lunches and dinners. With Om already helping with breakfasts, this means the teachers are free from nearly all the weekly kitchen responsibilities which is a big help!
Would you pray for peace in Chantee’s heart? Just this week when she and a student were on their way to the market to buy food for the school, a thief cut the strap of her bag and then sped off on his moto with it. Both she and the student were shaken and upset - anyone would be. This isn’t the first time the school has experienced theft and probably won’t be the last. But the city has many open doors for the gospel and God loves the people of the city. It is here that we are called to be witnesses.
Thank you for standing with us as we reach out to the city with the love and forgiveness of Christ!
Kandi
L-R: 1st year student class, Sanin with neighbor boys, Watching The Chosen
February 1, 2023
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
Praise God for some wonderful 100-year Anniversary of the Gospel in Cambodia Celebrations! I wish you all could have been here to join in the festivities!
In 1923 the first two Protestant missionary families, Hammond & Ellison, entered Cambodia and they happened to be sent by the C&MA. We were overjoyed at our C&MA Mission celebration to have the youngest daughter of one of those missionary couples join us. Helen Ellenberger (formerly Ellison) is a young 90 years old. She grew up in Cambodia and shared stories of that time. The grandson of Hammond also shared his remembrances of his grandfather. What fun it was to spend time with the International Workers who had returned and hear how God has been working through the years.
The following day was the Khmer Evangelical Church (C&MA in Cambodia) celebration with 1,600 people. It was so fun to see friends from all over the country come together to praise and thank God for the way He has built His Kingdom in Cambodia over the last 100 years. We had guests from C&MA churches in USA, Canada, Australia and Thailand, as well as the president of the Alliance World Fellowship who is from Brazil. And the Antioch school hosted the rural Bible school, Elim, on our campus during this time, too. What a fun and joyous time we had together!
The next day saw the kickoff the two-day Interdenominational Celebration of the 100 year Anniversary of the Gospel in Cambodia on Koh Pich (an island which is part of Phnom Penh). There were lots and lots of booths representing many different ministries, as well as a special tent displaying the history of the Cambodian church. There was some food offered on site, too, but thanks to the Carlisle Alliance Church, the Antioch school was able to purchase some special meals from a Malaysian restaurant nearby. During the day, a smaller stage offered music, dances and special messages, but the main event was in the evening with an estimated attendance of 30,000 people! What a celebration it was!
I wish that I could send you all the pictures from all the events, but alas, if I did that this email would not reach you! So I’m sending only a few. If you want more, let me know.
Thank you again for your faithful support of what God has done and is doing in Cambodia. It is because of people like you 100 years ago who prayed and prayed and prayed that the doors to Cambodia were finally opened in 1923. And it’s because of people like you who through the last 100 years sacrificially gave so the International Workers could go to Cambodia and do the work of sharing the Gospel and making disciples. You have as much reason to rejoice as we who are currently serving in Cambodia. So, rejoice with us in God’s love, grace and power shown in Cambodia and pray with us that His church would continue to grow and disciples made until He comes again.
With joy,
Kandi
January 15, 2023
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
The new school year is off to a great start! In the first week we welcomed with joy a new baby (daughter of one of our teacher couples). Srey Roat is a very beautiful baby and we are happy to have her with us!
We also welcomed a new full-time student. It’s unusual for us to accept a new student mid-school year, but as he was already taking nearly all the classes a full-time student does (as a part-time student) and really, really wanted to live at the school, we accepted him into the first-year class. Pray for Heng. He has some health issues that make studying a challenge but is very motivated to learn and grow. Last night at chapel, he thanked God for the kind and loving atmosphere at Antioch and said he was glad to be here.
The Antioch Bible Institute is now gearing up and preparing for the 100th Year Anniversary of the Gospel in Cambodia. In ten more days, we’ll be hosting the Elim Bible School (our sister school from the countryside) on our campus during the 100th year celebrations. Our numbers will increase from 16 to 50! Despite the extra work this will mean, we anticipate lots and lots of fun!
Pray with us that these 100 Year Anniversary gatherings bring glory and praise to God - and push the Kingdom of God forward even more in Cambodia!
Kandi
January 1, 2023
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
A Happy New Year to you!
Classes started again today at the Antioch Bible Institute. This trimester is a little quieter with only five students, but we still expect to see God at work.
The end of last trimester was full of all sorts of activity with special outings and events scattered throughout the last two months including a trip to the sports’ club (gym, pool, steam rooms!) and dinner on a boat as we sailed up and down the Mekong River.
The last weeks of school were filled with joy – at the graduation of the five English School students who have been living with us at Antioch and filled with tears – as we said goodbye to the English students, the Elim students (rural Bible School students with us for only one trimester) and one of our own Antioch teachers.
This new year and new trimester will be even busier than the last one despite having less students. With one of our teachers moving on to a new adventure with God and the school still in search of another teacher couple, the extra work falls on the remaining five teachers (including myself). And one of those five, is pregnant and due within the next week or so!
We are all picking up kitchen responsibilities and extra classes. And we are very grateful for Om Owy who lives on the campus and is helping in the kitchen for breakfasts. Om Owy, by the way, is 72 years old – although you’d never guess it! We also have several IWs teaching some classes and doing some chapel messages which is a big help, too.
Please pray for us teachers as we move into this busy trimester. And continue to ask God to send us another teacher couple.
What I’m most excited about in this new year is the upcoming celebrations for the 100th Year Anniversary of the gospel coming to Cambodia! The first C&MA IWs arrived in Cambodia in 1923. They were the first protestant missionaries in Cambodia, so this celebration is not just for the C&MA but for all the churches in Cambodia and it’s a big, big deal! The festivities begin on January 25th with an English-speaking celebration designed for International Workers and other English speaking guests from the C&MA. January 26th the Khmer Evangelical Church (the C&MA church in Cambodia) will be holding a celebratory gathering for the C&MA churches in Cambodia. January 27 & 28 will be the interdenominational events where more than 10,000 people are expected.
And you, faithful prayer warrior and supporter, are part of the reason we celebrate! You and many other faithful men and women since 1923 have prayed, have sacrificially given and have gone to Cambodia to join with God in planting His Church. Thank you for your faithfulness! This 100-year Anniversary is your celebration, too! Praise God for what He has done in Cambodia!
With expectation,
Kandi
October 16, 2022
Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,
This first month and a half of the school year has been very challenging. The first couple of weeks of classes there were a lot of different illnesses among the students and teachers – which kept the school nurse (me ) very busy.
Then one of our students lost a close relative quite suddenly and returned home for the funeral. A few days later another student had a relative pass away, as did one of our teachers. Pray for those that have lost loved ones.
One of our students, a single mother of two young children, found it challenging to adjust to school life. Because of her past, the city is a place of temptation for her. She thought she was ready to stand again these temptations and the teachers did all they could to help her, but it was too much for her. She is no longer studying at Antioch but has gone to a facility in the countryside that can help her. We are sad to see her go, but perhaps we’ll see her again in the future.
Despite all the challenges, good things are happening, too. The first-year students all passed their first TEE test (our theology class based on the book of Matthew – it’s their hardest class), and the second-year students have stepped up as examples and mentors toward the newer students. They have also started teaching at their ministry sites – which is nerve-wracking for them, but a great chance to put into practice what they’ve learned.
The ministry groups are going great with both Antioch and English students participating this trimester. Last trimester Antioch participated in the children’s meetings that Nhieu and Rebecca were holding in their neighborhood. They have since had to move but are now reaching out to a new group of children in their new neighborhood. Our students are enjoying helping with this new ministry. By the way, Rebecca’s pregnancy is progressing without any problems (She is the one who lost a full-term baby last year when she had Covid.) Please continue to pray for her and Nhieu.
The group I’m participating in continues to share Bible stories with a lady (Bong) who has a shop near the school, as well as her grandson and other local kids. Bong knows all the Antioch students and teachers as someone goes to her shop to buy something every day! Her grandson, Lot, is always eagerly awaiting our arrival on Wednesday afternoons and this week we have invited him and some of his friends over to the school to play some games. Pray that as we deepen our relationships with the children and with Bong that they would respond to the good news we are sharing with them.
Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer for the Antioch Bible School and myself. It may not seem super exciting to pray for a Bible school, but your prayers are impacting those who will go out to build the Kingdom of God in the future. Their fruit will be the result of your prayers. Keep on praying!
Kandi
P.S. I’m attaching a few pictures from the last month.
