Cambodia Bible Education Centre

The past week has undoubtedly passed swiftly. With a busy schedule comprising of dorm services at 5.30am three times a week plus group lessons, individual lessons, morning lessons, afternoon lessons, concurrent lessons in different rooms, English lessons, Bible lessons, keyboard lessons, Cambodian lessons.... I have had a lot to learn. There has certainly been a lot to adjust to as well, Steve’s humour being one of them. Add to that the vast number of young people I have been meeting, all with names seemingly designed to confuse me, and you would think I would have taken to my bed with a headache. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. The enthusiasm so many of these people display for not just learning about the Bible, but talking about it together has to be seen to be believed. It is so refreshing to be teaching the Bible to people receptive to it and full of questions that show they are not only listening and understanding, but thinking for themselves. Contrary to the p...

On Sunday we were excited to baptise and welcome a new brother into the growing Cambodian ecclesia. Leaving Lynne and Loy to teach Sunday School, a small group of us headed down to the Mekong riverside in the morning. Sheltering away from the sweltering sun under a nearby tree, we briefly considered the importance of baptism, the first step in our walk towards God's Kingdom. Nirann and Veasna then entered the water, and after a small discussion, Veasna was baptised. He arose from the waters with a look of joy on his face, and we pray that he will continue to feel that joy in the days to come. We celebrated Veasna's baptism by going out for a delicious lunch, followed by the Worship Service back at the BEC. Steve considered the theme of "We shall be like Him", a truly encouraging prospect, given the challenges we face each day. Veasna headed back to his province on Monday morning, where I am sure that he will face many questions about his baptism into a new faith, and ...

Vitou, our quiet young Cambodian brother, comes from Kampong Speu province and is twenty-three years of age. Vitou has a gentleness that belies his strength and depth of character. There is always a tender touch from Vitou… a firm but gentle grasp of the hand when we meet that humbly offers his love and affection and respect. As with many of our young people here, life has been difficult. He has seen his family struggle through emotional and financial difficulty, but there is not one ounce of self pity or bitterness in this young man. The local school opened in Vitou’s village when he was twelve years old – the unavailability of education was a legacy of the Pol Pot regime. Prior to this, he went to the local pagoda and received instruction from the monks. So at the age of twelve, Vitou began his formal education. He loved football and, as a young boy, was adventurous and full of fun. At the age of about fifteen, he says, that his personality began to change… he started to think about...

BEC has been blessed by the arrival of our sister Sarah Vogel from New Zealand. Sarah has spent the last seven months in India and will be in Cambodia for the next two months. Loy and Gaye are so happy to have a young sister for companionship! Sarah joined us last night for her first visit to the Bethezer dorms where she was welcomed with many smiles and questions. We began our second course of Learn to Read the Bible Effectively for all the new dormers. At the same time we have started a session on discipleship for baptised brothers and sisters and those who completed the Learn to Read the Bible Effectively course last time. Again, we had about forty participants and we all joined together after our study for refreshments and a movie. Today we will witness another baptism in Cambodia. So Veasna arrived from the province last night very excited about his baptism which will take place in the Mekong River this morning at 10.00. This young man began as a translator with BEC last year wh...

Yesterday at our worship service we broke bread and drank the wine with our new brother, Vanny. He was welcomed into the household and beamed with joy when he received messages of goodwill from many of the fieldworkers that have instructed him and fielded his curly questions. We showed the video of Vanny’s baptism to everyone at the dorm on Saturday night providing inspiration and example to all, especially the new dormers. What a trip! Sharing a mini-bus with 11 Cambodian young people filled with excitement. Vanny’s sincere words of appreciation for the support in his baptism were truly heart wrenching… “ I want to thank everyone who has made this possible. I have been praying to God about this for a long time and when I told Steve that I wanted to be baptised in the ocean I wasn’t sure if he would say yes. Last time I was baptised in the river, but I wanted this time to be different. Thank you everyone who has supported me, and thanks to my brothers who have taken time from uni to c...

We had a fantastic day today as we witnessed the baptism of Hem Vanny at Sihanoukville. We rose early to catch the sunrise and as the new day began...so did Vanny's new life in Christ. Five of his brothers from the dorm were there along with three of his other friends from the dorm, and sister Loy. Words cannot express the joy we all felt as yet another young man in this country gave his life to follow Jesus Christ and belong to the family of God. We arrived yesterday and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon together on the beach, the boys played soccer in the sand and swa m in the beautiful calm water. We sat on the beach as the evening approached and watched the most spectacular sunset, in awe of our Father's creation. It was an inspiring time for us all and we hope that one day you will all be able to watch the video of these young brothers welcoming Vanny as a brother of Christ. Steve and Lynne

We were very sad to say farewell to Warren and Jeannie today but so grateful that God blessed us with their company and help while Steve was unwell. He is nearly back to normal now - thank you for all your kind wishes and prayers! For those of you who know Steve, "normal" means lots of laughs and and many inspiring spiritual discussions. Thank you God. Warren wrote some thoughts for the blog before he left... Have you had thoughts about coming to Cambodia and maybe you have been a little apprehensive and undecided? Here are some comments on our experience. In regard to the facilities, the ACBM have done a great job in providing the accommodation. It is not much different from what you would expect at home, quite spacious and comfortable. Maybe if you are used to a soft mattress, you will find that a bit hard, but the air-conditioning is great and makes it very comfortable to sleep. The temperature is very constant, around 30 degrees at the moment and can be a bit sticky, esp...