…he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice…
Our journey really started at our friends’ place. We were blessed to spend time with them before leaving, to have fellowship together, and they truly took care of us. Some helped with our vehicle, and others even brought us to the airport. It felt like we were being sent out.
We got on the plane, and everything seemed perfect. But about an hour into the flight, all three of our children got sick, especially the two girls. It was a stomach flu, and it was very horrible. The whole journey became heavy. Not what we expected at all.
When we arrived in Phnom Penh, Samuel took care of us. We were supposed to stay at his place, but because of the situation, we decided it was better to take a cheap hotel. We didn’t want it to spread, and the kids needed rest. After two days, the girls seemed better. We even went out for our first tuk-tuk ride. Eve was still not 100%, but she looked a little bit better.
But after a while, Eve wasn’t getting better, and I remember being concerned. My wife and I didn’t really know what to do, we were just thinking and going back and forth. So, I prayed, and I remember making the decision to leave my children in God’s hands. In my morning reading, God spoke to us, telling us to trust in Him and to be confident (1 John 5:13-15). After that, I felt a peace inside of me.
Not too long after, one evening we went out with both families, and suddenly Sarah and Eve got sick again. But this is where we saw the hand of God. Pastor Samuel told us that he knew a doctor, a friend of his who is also a pastor, and that even if the clinic was closed, he would call him. For us, it was clear, so we said yes. The clinic was closed, but he opened it just for us, examined the girls, and treated them. The next morning, they were completely restored, full of energy, like nothing had happened. For us, we really saw God’s hand in that.
Just to give a recap of why we are here, our heart is to find a way to stay longer in Cambodia. We believe in discipleship, and whatever it looks like, we believe it’s a long-term commitment. So we are trying to find a way to stay, and for that we needed Mary’s parents. The challenge is that they are leaving on April 10, and we arrived on March 25, so we didn’t have much time.
Again, Pastor Samuel helped us. He and his family drove us seven hours to Banteay Meanchey Province, close to the Thai border, to meet Mary’s parents. We even had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them, and we are praying that Jesus reveals Himself to them soon. For us, this felt very important, maybe even the last opportunity because of their age.
But we started to feel some opposition from some members of Mary’s family, and it shook us a little bit. Time was passing, and not much was happening. So again, we prayed, and God spoke again showing that we need to stay humble, that at the right time God will honor us and that we should give all our worries and cares to Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:6-7) this also confirm something God spoke to me several month ago in Psalms 78:21-22. And we did, and again, peace came.
Later that morning, something happened that we couldn’t have planned. We saw another foreigner near the pool, which is not common in that area. Mary started talking with her and realized she spoke French, so they continued in French. Then they discovered that she was from the same region as us in Canada. As they kept talking, they mentioned Mary’s dad, and suddenly everything clicked. This woman knew Mary’s family very well. She even carried Mary on her lap when she was four years old.
She was married with a Cambodian man who had many connections, and when he heard our situation, he said he would help us get the papers we needed. Through his connections, we were able to get them without all the usual trials of bureaucracy and delays. That was a big, big breakthrough for us.
Not long after that, we had to figure out what was next. We didn’t really have a clear answer. Mary’s parents had a small car and told us we could use it, so we thought maybe we could go to Siem Reap. It’s not too far, about two hours, and there are many cheap apartments or houses we could rent. So we booked a place for a week with the idea of finding something more long-term.
But when we actually went to take the car, it was in very, very, very bad shape. I was concerned, and Marie too. Two things were constantly in my mind. First, if you have an accident in Cambodia as a foreigner, you can end up paying a lot or dealing with situations you don’t want like the police. Second, if the car breaks down, it’s 40+ degrees, and there is no roadside assistance like back home. You are on your own. Thinking about my family and the kids in that situation, I didn’t feel it was wise. I had no peace about it.
So we decided to drive the car back to Mary’s parents and leave it there, and we took a taxi instead. We didn’t really have a choice since we had already booked the place. When we arrived in Siem Reap, we found a cheap and comfortable place.
But then another problem came. Our debit card, the one we use for all our US dollar money, was compromised. Someone tried fraud, and the bank canceled it. Just like that, we lost access to our main funds. For a couple of days, we were very, very tight. We stayed mostly in the room, and when we used our Canadian account, the fees were outrageous. On top of that, the taxi and paperwork were expensive, so everything added up quickly.
While we were in Banteay Meanchey, we had opened an account with ABA Bank, but then we received a call saying we had to go back there to sign papers because they made a mistake. I was furious. We didn’t even have the funds to go back, and Khmer New Year was coming, so everything was about to close, which made it even more complicated.
I went outside alone and prayed, but this time I was desperate, even a bit angry. It felt like it had been nonstop, high and low, high and low. And yet, I know God is stretching us. We are in a foreign country, with a different language and culture, and a lot is happening. And honestly, I like it, I really do, but it’s different. Things don’t work like in Canada.
When I came back inside, Marie had just received a call from the bank. They found a solution. Instead of us going back, they would send the papers by taxi to us in Siem Reap, where we could sign them, and then the papers would be sent back the same way. That’s how things work here. Once again, we saw God make a way.
So right now, we are in this place of waiting, trying to understand what’s next. We also have to leave the hotel soon, and we don’t fully know where we are going yet. We feel that we need to be close to other believers. Here, we don’t really know anyone, and we are not here for tourism. We want to see the Kingdom of God.
We are leaning toward going near Kampot, where our language teacher lives. For the past year, she has been part of our journey, and we have built a relationship with her. We also want to be closer to Samuel, as we are like-minded in the Kingdom, and we also have projects together to help him, including for his stay in Canada and his website.
We had opportunities to pray for some people here, it’s different and we are still trying to grasp the cultural barrier but I specially like 3 encounters. The first encounter was a young family with a 3-month-old baby, I felt lead to pray, that this baby would be a light to all his surroundings, a beacon of hope and truth. We prayed that Jesus reveal himself to the family and blessing and protection over them. The second was a beggar with his kid, the kid was very young. We met them at the city shrine; they were next to the big statue. We prayed for both of them and the man said that he felt something leave him, that he felt better. It gave us opportunity to share about the hope we have in Jesus. Lastly it was a young family with some kids right next Marie’s dad home. We prayed for a Revelation of Jesus in the man and protection for the family.
At the moment, we are still waiting, waiting for direction, waiting on God. But overall, I am very proud of the children. They are doing great. Right now, our desire is simple, to be placed, to find peace, to start homeschooling, and to begin to see what this life here will look like here, in Cambodia.
There is much more I would like to share, things God showed me about faith and love, maybe I could make videos, not sure yet. Thank you for our prayers, it helps to think that people care for us and are in this with us. We had our share of bad day, the stress level can be high some days, but through this we are happy as we see God revealing more about us and more about Him. That the point of all this, to know Him (John 17:3)
I leave you with this song that is close to my heart:
Thank you to everyone who take the time to read and prayer for us, we really appreciate it. There is a lot of needs here and Cambodia need to meet God.
Thank you for walking with us. If you’d like to follow our journey more closely, you can visit our main website at familyjourneywithgod.com.
If you feel led to support us and the work God is doing through our family, you can do so through our store at verseonwall.com.
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