Kandi Lay | Phnom Penh, Cambodia

For those in school or teaching at school, we especially look forward to Christmas break.  After a long hard semester or trimester, we finally have an extended break and we get to be with family and friends to celebrate the gift of Jesus. The students and teachers of Antioch Bible Institute are no different.   Our trimester finished on December 18th with a Christmas party attended by the church president, the chairman of the school board, our builder and other special guests.  It was a fun and encouraging time celebrating together.  Some of the students shared what God has done and […]

Two and a half more weeks to go in this trimester.  Pray for strength and perseverance for both the students and the teachers.  Our 2nd year students start preaching for the first time in chapel this week and would appreciate your prayers as well. Thank you for all your prayers for Srey Ruah.  In the end, she decided to drop out of school and return home.  We were sorry to see her go, but sent her off with our love and prayers. We had good visits with the potential teachers last couple of weeks, but none of them were able […]

Thank you for your prayers!  It was a very quiet holiday last week in Antioch’s part of town and peaceful all around.  The students had a good time playing games together and invited people from their ministry groups to join in the fun.  We even had a time of worship around the campfire before more food and more games!  See pictures below. A couple of issues have come up with a few of our students over the last week.  Srey Ruah, who lost her mother in September, wants to quit school.  Pray that she would know without a doubt what […]

At the end of this week, we hit two more holidays here in Cambodia – Independence Day which is immediately followed by Water Festival.  That means some days off for the students.  Usually when we have a couple of days off in a row, we plan some sort of outing with the students, but this year we are just staying at the school.  So we are planning for some special food, games and activities right at the school.  One of the students requested a bonfire where we can bake sweet potatoes and worship and share together.  Pray for good fellowship, […]

Faithful prayer warriors – keep praying! After several weeks of praying and visiting various sites, the Vietnamese ministry group has decided on a location for their new outreach.  One of Antioch’s graduates will move into a small rented room in that community at the end of the week, to begin building deeper relationships with the residents.  She told me this community is similar to the railroad track community we ministered to in the years she was a student.  Continue to lift up this new venture to the Lord.  Pray for good relationship building in the community and for the team […]

Thank you for your prayers!  The Antioch students had a great time with the students at their sister school, Elim, a few weeks ago.  In fact, the Elim students didn’t want the Antioch students to leave!  But thankfully, everyone returned after the break and are again back into the routine of classes, chores and ministry groups. The students in the Vietnamese ministry group have joined a team of other workers (including International Workers and one of our students who graduated in July) to investigate possibilities for a new church plant.  Pray for this team as they visit and research various […]

God is good.  Despite all the challenges and obstacles, the students and two teacher families finally moved into the 3rd floor of our residence building this week.  Everyone is so happy with their new rooms. Check out this short video our field director, David Manfred, made about the move into the building.  He refers to Antioch Bible Institute as “UMTC” which is the old term for the school. This week is Pchum Bun, a Cambodian holiday that centers around ancestors and family.  The students and some of the teachers will be headed to our sister school (Elim Bible School) in […]

One of our first year students, Srey Ruah, received news last Wednesday that her mother was in the emergency room with what appeared to be a heart attack.  She, of course, returned home to Poipet that night.  Her mother passed away the next day. When the other students heard the news, they asked if they could also go and support Srey Ruah and help at the funeral.  One of the benefits  of having a small number of students is that we can easily cancel class and transport everyone to Poipet in a short period of time.   The students (and teachers) […]

Praise God our first week of classes went well!  Thank your for your prayers as we figured out how to arrange our classroom spaces and get the new kitchen up and running.  We did have a few obstacles, like losing electricity in the kitchen and the boys’ room for a day.  Thankfully, Teacher Moum was able to put our perishable foods in other refrigerators and on ice until the problem was fixed.  But over all, our first week went quite well and the students are now busy with lots of homework! Ministry groups will start this week at four locations.  […]

Despite a rainy start to the day, the move to the new Antioch school location went well and more quickly than we anticipated.  The temporary living spaces for the teachers and students are adequate, but not ideal.  This, of course, causes some stress and tension, so please be praying for good relationships between the teachers and between the students in the coming weeks.  Pray that we will all have hearts of gratitude for all that God has done and given us.  (And that we will be patient as the third floor of our own building is completed in the next […]