Narin and Quenie

On Sunday I met the Cambodian pastor and his Filipino wife with whom I will be working, Narin and Quenie. What an amazing couple they are.

Ken and Donna Rudy have mentored them and they even named their daughter Donna, in honor of Mrs. Rudy, who has mentored some of the women in leadership here in Cambodian Christian circles.

Narin didn't start out intending to be a pastor. He was on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, but felt that God was leading him to plant a church here in Cambodia. He took a one year course for astors and then they bravely started out, gathering a group of believers in their home for worship and then moving to the ballroom of a very nice hotel. They really had to trust God to provide the rent money each month. They shared wonderful stories of how they had no idea how they were going to pay the rent and how God provided month by month what they needed to go on meeting in that facility.

Within a year, they outgrew the hotel facility and had to look for another accommodation. They now occupy the ground floor of a building in a very nice part of town, which they have decorated with potted palms, festooned with netting, and moved in lots of plastic chairs to accommodate the people who attend the services. They have a worship team, led by a classically trained musician, now on staff with Campus Crusade, and a congregation of over 100 people.

And they have vision! They are praying as a congregation for their number to grow to 300. They want me to help them to develop an adult Bible school, and I expect that we will probably discuss small group Bible study groups before I leave here. Most important, I think, is that they understand that God will be the one who builds His church and so they bathe everything in prayer. It is so refreshing to meet with a couple who is so aware of their dependance on God and who is seeing Him do great things.