Groth Report February 2008

From the Word

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17

While riding in our tuktuk our Nebraska visitor read the caption on a T-shirt. It said, “There’s Only ONE.” Since the above Bible section was fresh in our minds from last Sunday’s Gospel reading we could not help being struck by this shirt’s message. Yes, this is the message we are here to share. There is only ONE Savior, Jesus Christ, who could keep God’s law perfectly and forgive the sins of the whole world. It is this “only ONE” that we share and this “only ONE” that is the message of salvation that we share. Perhaps we should all wear a shirt like this as part of our personal Ablaze sharing campaign.

Current Events

The past weeks have seen a lot of travel. I made a trip to Bangkok to support our ONE volunteer who had the need to renew a visa. Thailand is getting much more difficult on visas, and so we had time to be together in Thailand. While she went on to Cambodia to get her visa I hade the privilege of being the ONE to take her classes. It was fun to interact with the students and to see the progress they are making in their English. It was also great to see the difference that this ONE teacher has made in lives. I also was privileged to visit our ONE new missionary, Deb. She is filling in a needed ELS teaching position for three months. When she leaves April 15th we will need ONE replacement. Any ONE interested?

On ONE Friday Chuck hosted our Sihanoukville Bible study. New faces were added to the group. It is interesting how each ONE contributes to the group and brings together the study of Scripture. The text was the ONE above, and the men worked together to plan a message for their Sunday sermons. What a wonderful way to work together and to learn what makes an effective message.

Then we were privileged to host ONE John Hitz. John came to Cambodia to teach small business. His prayer was that he would have the opportunity to affect the life of ONE person. He is now on week four having done four workshops. He is a wonderful testimony to what ONE person filled with the Holy Spirit can do to share not only business but also life and salvation. John says that his prayer has already been answered. ONE person’s life has been changed. That ONE person is he. He says that he will never be the same again or view the world in the same way. We thank God for his help and support of God’s mission in Cambodia.

Now we are hosting ONE group from Midland, Michigan. They are visiting the mission field here and are also working to present the miracles of Jesus to the twelve leaders in our ongoing workshops. It has been exciting to see them participate in God’s work here and gain new understanding of the mission field. They brought with them a Cambodian man they helped to resettle in the US thirty years ago. This trip is his first back to his country, and you can imagine the emotions that that evoked. His daughter who has never been to Cambodia is also here. For the first time she is meeting family that she never knew she had. The biggest excitement is that Sunday she will receive Holy Baptism at Trinity Lutheran in Battambang. We rejoice that she is truly ONE of God’s family and an heir of salvation.

While we were at Battambang Chuck also worked with Pastor Kosal and a visiting group from Rattanakiri. They are interested in exploring Lutheranism and traveled to learn more of what that is all about. They represent two different ethnic groups in Cambodia. They may become involved in future training with us. Truly our God is helping the ministry here expand in new and exciting ways.

While in Battambang I worked to prepare the women for the retreat they will be part of in March. They will be presenting and teaching ONE Cambodian song, sharing a part of God’s Word and singing for the group. It will be great to see these Christian sisters from the US and Cambodia become ONE in Christ as they study under the theme, “The Peace That Passes Understanding.” Part of my time in Battambang was also spent working with the Bible and English teachers to prepare future lessons. The Bible teachers are working on Lenten themes and preparing hearts for the Easter celebration.

I am working with ONE Cambodian woman to put together the vocational English course that will teach English through hotel terms that will also enable people here to hopefully get jobs in the housekeeping part of the hotel industry here. There are so many people here who really need to have the opportunity to better themselves economically. Because these classes are held at ministry sites this will also be part of our outreach.

Chuck is also busy working with our ONE agricultural volunteer to prepare for the coming of a group of teens from Hong Kong International School. They will be attached to a ministry site to pour a concrete floor and half-wall (mixing the cement by hand!), prepare tables, build latrines and form a simple volleyball court. All these activities help the center reach out to the surrounding community with the message of salvation. It will be fun to see these young folks interact with village children and work to make this ministry site more usable.

You’ve seen ONE throughout this letter. You are also ONE important person to God and to us. Your support in prayers and dollars keeps us here in ministry. Perhaps you, too, would like to come and in person be ONE to share the Gospel message here in Cambodia. We’re always looking for new volunteer missionaries. Maybe you are the ONE God is calling to share the message of salvation through the ONE man, Jesus.

ONE with you in heart and Spirit,

 

Chuck and Jeanette Groth

 

Thanks to God for Prayers Answered:

Continue to Pray for:

 

Contact Us - We’d love to hear from you!

John Hitz presenting a workshop at Trinity Battambang

The Hong Kong International School ministry site

John Hitz working with a group of university students

Is this van really overloaded?