John Everett Millais' Victory O Lord! (1871)

     John Everett Millais' Victory O Lord! (1871) depicts Moses holding up his arms during the Battle of Rephidim, assisted by Hur (left) and Aaron.

     When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset.    NIV Exodus 17: 12

Fight the Good Fight of Faith 

     Battle...it seems that we, as followers of Christ, live a life of battle. It is all around us and within us.

"Fight the good fight of faith..." "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies..." and more...  How then, dear friends, are we to live also that "abundant life" spoken of in John and that life of "peace with all men" which we read about in Hebrews?

     Mark and I have been living in Cambodia for 2,922 days (as of July 10, 2012). More than SEVEN and a half years...hard to believe. (Our initial plans were to only be here 3 years!)

     It has been very much a battle...a battle to live here, a battle for our family, a battle to establish God's vision of Bykota House...a battle over the very lives and destinies of the children entrusted to us.

     We are very thankful for the Aarons and Hurs that the Lord has brought along in our time here but most notable is Heather, our school administrator. While we carried and birthed the vision for School of the Nations, it was in her arms that it was nourished, cared for, and grown. Over many days that grew into months, she did this alone...sometimes she had a bit of help.

     We will also forever thank the Lord for the Annes, Hannahs, Sopheaks, Renzs, Elises, Kathleens, Danielles, and Isaacs that have walked right along with us and have as much red Cambodian soil under their nails as we do.

Now we are joined by another married couple, Micah and Kelsi. They arrived at a time when the "Moses" of this ministry (Mark, Rhonda, and Heather) was becoming very weak. Yet, it is the time of great harvest. I am sure that the enemy we battle has had other plans, but the Lord's plan was that none of the harvest be lost due to our battle weariness.  

 Highlights of the Great Things Happening Here.

• In May, Chatreah, one of our oldest girl's in Bykota House, was joined in Holy Matrimony to a young Christian man here in Phnom Penh. She presently has a job working as a beautician. This is a great victory because she worked hard for a year at her salon training school.
• The Liberty Computer Lab is finished and is getting used hard. We have a class in Microsoft Word ongoing for some of the older kids. Just this week we had Photoshop program installed for some students who just finished four weeks of training. The Bykota House Littles are using a number of different programs including Starfall.com. As an added benefit, the computer lab is open after hours for the Bykota House kids to access their Facebook accounts and to enjoy some online games in the safety of our center rather than an unsupervised internet café.
• Micah and Kelsi have stepped into School of the Nations classroom for the main student body studies. However, since there are two instructors instead of just one, they have added extra instruction in math and in reading since they both have special skills in those areas.
• Small group has been able to begin again now that we are in larger facilities. In addition to this, Micah is leading a discipleship group each night with a group of young men who are being faithful to attend and are excited about what God is showing them.
• Meanwhile, Heather, has designed and began a Kindergarten program for the Bykota House Littles with the plan that this time next year, they will have sufficient foundational skills to step into the main student body for study.
• We have a Khmer instructor, Pisey, who has been working with several children on their native language reading and writing abilities. He will also serve as a homework tutor for Rattana, Peroom, Chantee, and Peter as they enter the National High School this October to seek their completion certificates.

Prayer Points

     Pray as the children seek their life paths.

     Pray for more volunteers.

     Pray for others to join in the financial support of the ministry, including Bykota House, Teacher Heather and Micah and Kelsi. 

     Thank you for walking this journey with us. We thank you for your support in all ways...your friendship, your prayers, and your financial support. We pray that God's blessing be upon you. We love you all!  

Until next time from Cambodia,

Mark and Rhonda and family

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