End of May 2025 Update
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
And it’s time for us to go home...
...but what a hard parting! We’ve partnered with so many hardworking missionaries, trained so many indigenous pastors, and seen so many doors open that it was difficult to hit “pause” amid such fruitfulness. However, we remember the faithfulness of our LORD in directing us, and trust that His next plans will be equally sound.
And our reasons for returning to the States are compelling:
A) We’ve been away from family, friends, and church for 17 long months,
B) various of our refurbished body parts need tune-ups (ahem!),
C) our indigenous pastors are trained and ready to fly independently, and…drum roll, please…
D) there is a long-awaited grandson in the works!
With departure looming, and realizing we’d seen very little of Cambodia (other than villages and rice fields), we took a quick bus trip to Siem Reap, the ancient capital, to see the historic temple ruins that are, in some cases, almost swallowed up by the jungle. The number, size, and majesty of the temples were overwhelming, testaments to the ancients’ profound need to reach and reconnect with God. While there, we visited Tonle Sap, the lake that swells so much in the rainy season that its stilted villages are completely water-bound. Fishing makes up one-half of rural Cambodia’s economy, the other half being rice farming. Because we’d adopted Cambodia as our own, we were proud to see tourists marveling at her wonders too!
As we wanted to say goodbye to so many people we’ve loved, it was an organizational challenge indeed; we laughingly called the last couple of weeks “Peter’s Farewell Tour,” during which we had many coffees, lunches, and dinners, and were buried in keepsake gifts to take back with us! Concurrently, there was a mad rush to be sure those carrying on the training had everything they needed to be successful, which required days of meetings and videotaping. No matter how much time you think you’ll need to get ready to leave a country, you need to double it!
During our last days, too, we couldn’t help but notice “lasts,” as only the LORD knows when or if we’ll return; our last training, last trip to the provinces, last glimpse of the rabbits in the garden, last tuk-tuk ride in heavy rain, last day of 100 plus temperatures, last traffic jam, last use of a squatty-potty… (ok, there are some things we’re NOT going to miss!!!)
We continued to be involved in aid to earthquake-ravaged M_________, although the process was anything but seamless. Recently, because the fighting in the border-crossing area has intensified, the routes have had to be modified to avoid capture and loss. The lead logistics missionary himself was hit with shrapnel, which forced him to run operations from his bed! Despite this, medical supplies and water filters continue to arrive in Thailand to be transported over the border and distributed by underground church networks to believers and needy IDPs. Unimaginably, a school we provided with water filters was bombed by the government, killing over a dozen children, leaving an already grieving country reeling. The work transforming 8 large, intended-to-be-stationary, water purifiers into mobile units to be transported to higher-population stricken areas has been completed. The combined efforts of Godly engineers and unprecedented necessity are producing amazing results! Unfortunately, the military government remains hostile to international help; even the organizations that had been permitted to help, such as Samaritan's Purse field hospital, were asked to vacate, though the need is far from over. Only God!
Our pastors in the Dominican Republic also face government-based difficulties, with the DR stepping up deportation operations daily, and many Haitians so fearful of emerging from hiding that often they won’t come to Manna Pack food distribution points despite their desperate need. Even those legally in the Dominican Republic fear being stopped, as the police are poorly paid and live by pay-offs, rounding up legals and illegals alike, deporting them unless they pay. And being sent to gang-controlled Haiti, where many have NEVER lived, is a terrifying prospect. But the work of the LORD continues apace among both Dominicans and Haitians, with established churches growing, new plants established, Saturday Kids’ Clubs flourishing, pastor training conferences multiplying, and many missionary groups visiting and lending their skills and expertise to this nation.
And so, the next time we send reports from teams in Thailand, M_______, and the Dominican Republic, we’ll include more pictures from Pastors Rin Yame (Mercy Village Church), Pastor Sun Sokha (Glory Church), Pastor Soeuy Lak’s group (AMG Cambodia), Joe and Ima Radaniga (Hope Organization), and Theo Gangmei (Alpha Fellowship and School) who are servants of the LORD laboring in the white, white fields of Cambodia.
As we return home, we are reminded of a quote commonly attributed to Miriam Adeney, a missionary author:
You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.
Ain't that the truth.