Posts Tagged ‘action’

When Religion is Everywhere Jesus Isn’t

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, April 7th, 2012

Is Jesus just a religious idea? A philosophy? A good luck charm? Or is He a real person; a being who desires a relationship with mankind on a personal level? This question came up over and over on our trip to the Philippines. Though photos, images, amulets, posters, and statues of Jesus abounded we learned from the missionaries on the ground working in the Philippines that few people really know who Jesus is. It was certainly a shock going from Chiang Mai surrounded by the images of Buddhism to Manila surrounded by the images of Christianity… and on the other hand it wasn’t.

We met at least one family, however, for whom Jesus is more than an empty image. Kenneth Pablina and his family are obeying Jesus’ command to “go into all the world” and are trusting God to provide for their needs as they seek to serve Him in… Thailand! God is good. Kenneth and his family do not typically attend the church we attended on Palm Sunday in Manila but they were there this week. It was an incredible blessing to spend time getting to know his family and we are praying we will see them here in Chiang Mai soon.

Kenneth Pablina and I

Please join us in praying for the Pablina family and for fellow missionaries working in the Philippines. -Ric and Sharon

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Our Purpose

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Friday, May 8th, 2009

Jaw set, staring off into the distance... symptoms of the purpose disease

God has called us to be ambassadors for Christ in Cambodia. That’s our motivation. This one purpose gets us out of bed in the morning, we find. The more we learn about Cambodia and pray for the work God is doing in the country the more excited we grow. Here’s what God has called us to do-

Catch a Glimpse of Our Purpose:

Few people can say they knew exactly what they wanted to do and be when they were in high school. We were both sure of two things six years ago – we were committed to each other and we were committed to Paul’s attitude toward evangelism in Romans 15:20:

" I have been eager to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation."

Sharon climbing a steep section of the Appalachian Trail. Determination etched in her face. To us, this verse reveals bit of God’s heart: he wants all people to have equal access to His truth and to the gospel. But they don’t. Inequality still exists, so we’ve dedicated our youth to fixing the situation in one part of the world: Cambodia.

The Specifics:

Our specific ministry location within the country is to be decided, but we have a timeframe of what we will be doing when (this is all subject to change).

  1. July of 2010 we will move to Cambodia and begin studying the national language, Khmer.
  2. Fall of 2012 we could be assigned to a local ministry location with a team. This would be in a Cambodian "Hill Tribe".
  3. Immediately we will begin relationship building, community development, and language and culture study.
  4. Depending on the length of time it requires for our team to learn the local customs and language, the team may begin training leaders, teaching bible lessons, and translating scriptures in 2015.
  5. Our purpose is to see a fully independent, functioning church that will continue for years after we’re gone.
     

That’s the work we’ve been called to do and trained to do, now we are asking God for the financial and prayer support needed to see the task completed. God has called us to represent Him in Cambodia and you can be an important part of seeing that happen! Please visit our ministry page to learn more, send us an email, or give to our ministry!

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