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Dear CCAM Partners and Friends,

God revealed to the prophet Jeremiah His plans for the future welfare of the Jewish remnant in exile (Jeremiah 29:11).  Today this message still encourages us Christians who are Abraham’s offspring by faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:29). The apostle Paul wrote, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).  Our God brings good out of evil (Genesis 50:20)!  He is in the business of restoration (Acts 3:18-21)!  Therefore, His chosen members of the CCAMS remnant are full of hope for the future (Romans 12:12)! 

Just as the Lord Jesus watched for the signs of His Father’s working around Him, so that He could align Himself with His Father’s work (John 5:19), we too are paying close attention to the signs of God’s working around us, so that we may correctly discern His intentions and be able to fully cooperate with His plans for us.  Based on the signs that we’ve seen so far, it seems that God is planning to give CCAMS “a future and a hope”!

Among these signs are many strong encouragements from His Word:

The Inheritance of the Remnant (Zechariah 8)

“‘For there will be peace for the seed; the vine will yield its fruit…
I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things…
I will save you that you may become a blessing. 
Do not fear; let your hands be strong…
These are the things which you should do: 
speak the truth to one another;
judge with truth for peace in your gates.
Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another,
and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’
declares the Lord.” 
Zechariah 8:12-13, 16-17 paraphrased

The Inheritance of the Servants of the Lord (Isaiah 54)

 “‘If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me. 
Whoever assails you will fall because of you….
No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and
every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. 
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and their vindication is from Me,’
declares the Lord.” 
Isaiah 54:15, 17

There has been clear evidence of God’s working in the hearts of the CCAMS remnant!  After the mass exodus in December, some members of the remnant were sorely tempted by the devil to follow the example of the rebellious ones who left, but as we prayed and exhorted one another with the Word of God, in particular Zechariah 8, many of us (especially the four leaders and the two oldest students) acknowledged God’s calling each of us to stay here to seek peace and unity with one another for building up the remnant Body of Christ at CCAMS to serve our Lord Jesus Christ!  We are now putting this vision into practice in our day-to-day lives, following Ephesians 4, the original 20-year-old manifesto for CCAMS “body life.”

The climax of Ephesians 4 (verses 25-27) exhorts us to be truthful about relational difficulties through discussing and solving problems before the sun goes down, providing no opportunity for the devil to cause divisions in the Body of Christ. Throughout the past 20 years, whenever members of CCAMS rejected this principle by accusing and separating from one another, the devil was unleashed in our midst to divide and destroy, just as has happened recently!  On the other hand, whenever everyone at CCAMS embraced this principle, we enjoyed peace, just as we are again enjoying it now!  But the devil continues to prowl around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, so please continue to pray for all of us here to diligently resist him (1 Peter 5:8-9)!

Another strong confirmation that God has positive plans for CCAMS is His calling of Kelsey Wilson to serve Him here.  As an answer to our prayers for a new generation of volunteers, she began working with us as an intern back in 2011, right after her graduation from college.

At Thanksgiving 2014, Kelsey made a long-term commitment to serve at CCAMS by writing a letter to God to hang on the cross.  Then, in early December 2015, just as the rebellion was beginning to stir up, she published her personal newsletter called “Thanksgiving Commitment” to reconfirm her previous commitment. That newsletter was shared later in December on the CCAM Facebook page.  Her scripture reference was Ephesians 5:20, “…always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” 

Kelsey’s commitment, based on that verse, became a life preserver for her to cling to during the raging storm of rebellion throughout the month of December!  She was able to continually thank God that, during her time of testing, she had already anchored her soul to the cross of Jesus by surrendering to His calling no matter what, and that Jesus had already pledged to never leave her nor forsake her!

Just during the past year, God has called four other interns to volunteer at CCAMS this coming summer!  Surely that is a sign from God that our prayers are still being answered and that God is preparing more volunteers to assist in the restoration!

Another important indication that God is preparing a hopeful future for CCAMS has been revealed in the commitment of CCAMS part-time teacher, Borany Nhem.  Like Jesus, who went out to rescue the one lost sheep, she continues to coach Sokchea and Srey Leak, the only two 9th grade students left in the CCAMS remnant, for the upcoming government exam March 21-26.  We are thrilled that these two students will have an opportunity to further their academic education, but we are sad that the other eight 9th grade students who recently left will not be able to take advantage of this free professional coaching.

Since December, a few people have joined with our accusers to blame us for what has happened (Proverbs 17:15).  Some have even advised us to just accept the new normal and “downsize,” or retire to our rocking chairs! 

However, there have also been some honest souls who, after hearing our accusers’ side of things, have contacted us to hear our side before jumping to conclusions (Proverbs 18:17).  Most of those people have now joined with us to pray for God’s restoration of CCAMS, as well as for His working appropriately in the lives of those who left.

What was especially encouraging to us was the overwhelming number of CCAM partners and friends who, following their first notification of our trials and tribulations, immediately pledged solidarity with us, including prayer for the restoration of CCAMS, financial assistance, and emotional and spiritual support during our time of transition!

When Gioia attended the Nashville Gathering for Artists in Ministry & Missions this past August, she met Becky Wright, a missionary songwriter, singer, and speaker serving God with ACT International.  Ever since then, they have prayed for each other’s ministries and have kept in touch by email.  When Becky read our newsletter reports about what happened in December, she emailed us right away expressing her heartfelt sympathy and encouragement, attaching a recording of her original song “Trust Me While You’re Waiting” from her album Before the Throne.

"Trust Me While You're Waiting" Copyright 2016
Becky Wright Songs, ASCAP
www.beckywrightsongs.com

The message of Becky’s song was a powerful confirmation of the other messages from God’s Word that we were receiving from various sources!  Noren has now translated this song into Khmer, and everyone at CCAMS is learning to sing it in English and in Khmer!  Not only that, but Becky has given Gioia permission to choreograph a contemporary-style worship dance to that song for the CCAMS Junior Dance Team; first of all, so that they may be personally restored spiritually and emotionally, and eventually, so that they may be equipped to share their testimony with others in a creative way!

Another important spiritual encouragement recently given by God to the CCAMS leaders has come through Pastor Jim Dycus.  He was the missions’ pastor who recommended that his church support CCAM financially when we shared with them about our ministry vision back in 1994!  Ever since then, he has been faithfully praying for us, following our ministry journey on the internet, visiting us each time he comes to Cambodia, as well as partnering with us on mission projects!

When Pastor Jim learned about the December exodus of CCAMS staff and students, he emailed us a Bible lesson based on a similar situation in the book of Nehemiah, chapters 1 through 6.  In chapter 1, when God had finished disciplining His rebellious people through exile, He called Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem by authority of the king, to lead the obedient remnant to rebuild the broken down walls. However, the devil instigated attacks against this project through people inside and outside of Nehemiah’s group.  So many of the happenings in that account were mirrored in our recent situation!  But it was especially encouraging to see that God was already leading us to respond like Nehemiah did, persevering against all obstacles in his calling to rebuild the wall (like we were persevering in our calling to restore CCAMS) by faith in God’s protection and provision.

So may it be for us, as it was for them!  “And it came about when all our enemies heard (that the wall was completed), and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence (to persecute us); for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God!” Nehemiah 6:16

In this newsletter, we have focused on the scriptural evidence of God’s intentions for the future of CCAMS.  In part two, we will report on the practical provisions that God is orchestrating to make restoration possible.

Thank you for your prayer, financial, and practical support of the ministry of CCAMS in Cambodia!

Focusing on the signs,
The CCAMS Family

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