Julia Liles – February 2018

Cambodia


A NEW YEAR BEGINS. . .

FEBRUARY 2018

Julia Liles – February 2018

The start of a new year can hold much hope and excited anticipation of what will come, the realization of dreams, new beginnings and achievements! For some, the new year may have started with a bang; a health scare, a compromise at work, a struggle within the family, broken relations, or huge financial concerns, perhaps even a crisis of faith or loss of a loved one. A young Christian Khmer woman recently asked me “Sister, if we do not see answer to prayer how can we keep trusting God?”! …Great question to start the year with! Though we cannot see God- we are blessed to be surrounded with evidence of His existence, so that we are without excuse in regards to recognizing a Creator God (Romans 1:20) and the love we are impacted by on our journey. In terms of faith, the Christian is assured through God’s word that we should “(believe) walk by faith and not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
Pictured above are the members of the new house Church in Cham Chaou on the Border of Phnom Penh, lead by Pastor Rathy (taking this photo) and wife Channtha (couching in the front row with a pale blue top and long hair!). The TCM City Center missionaries are pictured (Myra Omictin, Pastor James and Agape Bermejo and myself). Along with our Khmer brothers and sisters including our Board of trustees here. We have much to be thankful for as the Lord is slowly encouraging this community with the Christian love present.  

Team Cambodia

Pictured above left to right; Pastor James Bermejo with wife Agape, Myra Omictin, Myself, Faith and husband Pastor Ariel Mahilum. A great team!

We are so pleased as a Team, to announce the opening of the 1st City Center Church in Phnom Penh this Sunday (Feb.4) at 9:30 am with newer Khmer contacts and friends who have requested a worship service closer to home! We are so thankful to the Lord that He has provided so much and His timing for this is fantastic! We have been receiving funds and donations of equipment along with faithful prayers for this vision to become a reality… Thank you to all who support the ministry in Cambodia… We are so excited to have you serve along side us… I’m excited to report again at the end of the month!

Julia and John

On a very personal note it has been an emotional start to the year for me. In early January my darling sister Priscilla was struck by a car… THANK GOD she is still with us… however the after effects continue to cause her great pain which she has lived with for a month now… this is physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting for her and I know your prayers mean so much to her… Pray for her courage to keep going.I have also just received news from home that one of my closest friends just passed away. A brother in the Lord, John Monk whom I affectionately called ‘Johnny Boy’! You may remember he visited the ministry in Cambodia 2 Christmas seasons in a row, 2015 and 2016. This has struck many of us over here hard, as John made a great and lasting impression…Despite his shyness and anxieties to ‘step out of the boat’, John committed his final 3 years more fully to serving the Lord with all of his strength.  He defied the odds by traveling both to Cambodia and the USA on faith based trips, despite having a weak heart.John participated in Street Pastors training in the UK, applied himself to the volunteer team GLUE Ministries in Phnom Penh, reaching out to lonely male Westerners in the red light district and later making great contributions to this team. John Acted in our Dormitory Christmas production in 2015. He enrolled for one year at London City Mission. John also completed a course at All Nations Christian College in 2016.John made many friends over the past few years, including close friends of mine at Kickboxing which John enjoyed back in early 2016! John was well known at his favorite Mexican eatery in Epsom, Surrey (Los Amigos). John continued to share about his faith in Jesus Christ with many he met including his customers who he did gardening for. John is the perfect example of a man who allowed Christ in, to turn his life around 360 degrees!John had many dreams for 2018 including possible trips to Nepal and the Philippines for bible training and experience! Following his first trip to Cambodia in 2015, John developed a heart for missions and shared this with his latest church in Ewell, United Life (Christ Church Ewell being his former, where we made friends). In the last 3 years, John recognized the importance for others to receive the same love, forgiveness and acceptance from the Lord Jesus that he had received. I believe John leaves a legacy… As Jesus said “Live Life to the Full” and that is to know the purpose for which God created you!John was a challenger, an evangelist, a very loyal friend, encouraging and kind-hearted, hard working and a funny guy. John was brave and despite peoples expectations of him- John pursued righteousness and overcame so many hurdles and accomplished more than anyone knew he was capable of! I’m so proud of him. I love him and miss him… Please pray for this grieving process for those who knew him best, my parents and I consider John as a family member. As did his best friend James Petit and his family. And please pray for his mother Alma and sister Emma and sons. John will be much missed and I pray that others will be encouraged by his incredible story of redemption… John finished his race young but strong and faithful for the Lord… Testament to the quote: “It’s not the years in your life, but the life in your years.” 
Julia xx