of the Bible) totalling about 125,000 words. This task is now ... Occasional
preaching has continued in both Khmer and English Sunday ser- vices. I also
look ...
Quarterly Newsletter of the Lepelaars
Cambodia Calling May 2013
My Life as a Juggler... Stay in Touch!
[email protected]
I have been juggling many ministries over the past year and a half and with a big sigh of relief will finally sign off on a couple of them: PPBS
FB: Rolf Lepelaar Bonnie Lepelaar Sunshine Cambodia Skype: rolfandbon Phone: B: +855 15 200204 R: +855 15 209905 Snail Mail: c/- CCFC PO Box 830 Phnom Penh Cambodia
After 13 years, I have finished up teaching at PPBS and have no plans to return, although I won’t rule out being a visiting teacher again in the distant future. It has been an amazing time getting to know the students, meeting up with them and teaching them. I’m encouraged by the amount of support from students, graduates and faculty who want me to continue there, but it’s time to move on. New Bible Dictionary Fount of Wisdom, a Christian publisher in Cambodia, will publish the IVP New Bible Dictionary. I helped translate a number of articles (on the books of the Bible) totalling about 125,000 words. This task is now complete (yes!) and those articles are now in the editing stage. Church based ministry
Links: www.hopeschool-cambodia.org
www.sunshineccambodia.org
Occasional preaching has continued in both Khmer and English Sunday services. I also look forward to teaching at a church conference on the 15th of May at a church led by a graduate of PPBS. Late June/early July I will teach at a pastor’s conference in the far north west province of Oddar Mean Chey. Pray that the pastors will grow in their ability to lead God’s people.
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PTC (Preliminary Theological Certificate) These students are enthusiastic and have grown from their studies. The next subject is Ephesians. We thank God for providing a new place to meet as we usually teach at the Painter’s house, however they will be on HA for the second half of this year. Pray that this course will go well at the new location. Cambodian roads can be dangerous, particularly over the Khmer New Year holidays when many people travel to their home provinces. Boray, one of our PTC students, was in a serious car accident and will miss class for at least a month. Pray for her recovery and for her young family as well.
New Ministry - Electronic Khmer Christian materials and Khmer Christian website Students often ask for my materials and love to receive electronic versions of lessons, sermons, articles etc. As a result I will spend more time writing and developing Khmer Christian materials in various electronic formats. These resources will not only be translated material from English, but also material written originally in Khmer, in Khmer context and interacting with the Khmer text of Scripture. I am also working with a friend in building a Khmer Christian website which will have free resources for Khmer Christians. Please pray for the development of the resources and the website.
The ideal Cambodian picnic - lots of meats with a green mango or chilli dipping sauce and the ubiquitous white rice. But what about spiritual meat? Pray that Cambodians will keep craving spiritual food as well!
New Ministry - University Students There are two Christian university student dorms opposite our new house and one of them was started by a former student of mine at PPBS. They have evening devotions at 9pm every night and I have agreed to lead this once a week. Pray that this will help them to grow in faith, hope and love and will equip them better to serve their churches.
Hope International School Being a Hope School Board member and head of the finance committee has been full of challenges as the school is still trying to solve staffing and facilities issues. We currently rent from multiple landlords and now one of them wants to sell his land, so we could end up losing our basketball court - our main sports and playing area. Pray that God will provide sufficient staff and a solution to our facilities problems.
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Bonnie attempts juggling too.. Since moving house 2 months ago, we stopped having a househelper and now share all the housework! For Bon this basically means shopping (almost daily), cooking, cleaning, laundry and other random activities required to keep a household running smoothly (yeah, like what you do already!)
The Church Missionary Society covers all our living, travel, health and education expenses. Please prayerfully consider how you can support God’s work by giving to CMS - direct debit is a great way for those of us with poor memories!
All this physical activity is to ensure I don’t spend the whole day in front of a computer - it’s down to about half a day as I still support Sunshine Cambodia in various ways, and still run the office for CCFC - our umbrella organisation - and I still teach Khmer Sunday School and have started a weekly language class again. I thank God that I have the flexibility to do a variety of things without getting over-busy.
www.cms.org.au
A bit of Sunshine...
Email:
[email protected]
Pray for Daneth as she meets up with Sunshine families and provides pastoral support. Pray for SP and SK whose husbands have taken second “wives” causing much misery. Daneth also takes 1 or 2 tuk tuk loads of Sunshine kids to church on Sundays.
Phone: 02 9267 3711
Last but not least...
Jasmine is currently doing 2 weeks of mock exams for IGCSE and she asks for prayer that she’ll have/make the time to do as much study as possible as well as remember everything she needs to!
Samuel always enjoys life to the full but needs your prayers so that he’ll eventually take his academic life seriously!
Up to 17 kids travel on one tuk
Support missions with your professional teaching skills! Hope International School needs primary & high school teachers for August 2013
Thanks for reading this far and for praying!
Contact:
[email protected]
Rolf, Bonnie, Jasmine & Samuel