The answer was clear, simple, and obvious: preach the Gospel. “For I determined to know nothing among you save Christ and Him crucified”. John prayed again. “Lord, they won’t believe me.” Again, the answer came: “Christ died, and was buried, and on the third day He rose again.”

With the help of Pastor Borin, our long time Cambodian companion and co-worker in Cambodia, John began to explain the Gospel. When he finished, he asked the people to raise their hands if they believed and accepted Christ. Every hand in the house went up, and John was overwhelmed. On the drive back to our home, he asked Pastor Borin, “How many of them really believed?”

“We don’t know,” replied Pastor Borin “Maybe only one, but we hope all of them.”

It is with that hope that John has continued his ministry in Cambodia. He has served as Pastor of a local international church, planted house churches, and taught a number of young men, always presenting the Word of God with the prayer that Christ will open the hearts of the hearers.

John’s other responsibilities include administrative oversight of all aspects of the work in Cambodia, whether it be signing work agreements with the Secretary of State, hiring staff, or keeping inventory at Cosette’s Hope Children’s Home (CHCH).

Linda’s responsibilities are primarily home and child centered, and virtually every Cambodian who knows her calls her “Mommy”. Between her own children and the children of CHCH, there is no lack of work to be done, and Linda is grateful that her “work” often includes taking a van load of children to the beach for an afternoon, doing art projects with the kids, or playing a wild and crazy game of “Duck, duck, goose.” In her spare time she is resident administrative assistant to John.

Our children are not just along for the ride. Our older daughters have been full-time nannies to several of the children who came to us as infants. They have also been school teachers to the older children of CHCH. Our younger children take a more relaxed and natural approach to ministry: They consider the children of CHCH their brothers and sisters, and love and enjoy them as such.

We have been privileged to have this unique opportunity to minister as a family. Prior to our move to Cambodia in 2000, Linda had not lived outside a 20 mile radius and still clung to dreams of a big house in a quiet area with a little white picket fence. Can you say “comfort zone”? It was a jolt to leave that dream, but in the tearing away of all that spelled comfort, we have found not only our greatest trials and challenges, but also our greatest joys and blessings among the people of Cambodia.

We praise God for the unity of our family, for His hand on us, and for the blessings we have enjoyed together. Please pray for our continued safety and well being, and for open hearts to hear and do the Lord’s will together.

We thank you for your interest in our ministry and our family. Please pray for our labors among the people of Cambodia, our raising of the orphaned children in Cosette's Hope Children's Home (CHCH), our ministry of the gospel through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, and most of all, pray that we would glorify our Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us, so that we might have eternal life!

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain, in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Grace and Peace to you!
John and Linda and Family

 

John, Linda, and family, have been serving the people of Cambodia since 2000. We have 13 children, all of whom Linda has given birth to, and all of whom have lived in Cambodia at some point in our ministry. Our three oldest are now married and living in the U. S. Three of our four youngest were born in S.E. Asia, and to them, Cambodia is home and America is some place we visit. Our ministry through the years has involved all of us in varying ways.

Dad, of course, heads up both the home and the ministry. John is a pastor and a teacher, and his first love in ministry is presenting the Word of God through both in-depth study as well as practical theology.

During our first year in Cambodia in 2000, John found himself looking out the window of a 12’ x 12’ house into the lush, tropical jungle. In a strangely surreal moment, with maybe 50 people seated on straw mats before him, he realized that he was truly ministering in a foreign land. He prayed then, as the reality sank in: “Lord, what do you want me to tell them?”