Written by BJ and Andrea Lopez Saturday, 24 February 2007 00:00
We wanted to thank all of you for your prayers and acts of love on our behalf. We are encouraged by your faith and love for our Lord Jesus Christ and your love and care for us.
The last couple of months have been very difficult as we were making plans and decisions about our upcoming furlough. The US Embassy’s denial of travel visas for the children and our plans to travel to the States has caused a tremendous emotional rollercoaster ride for all of us. After much prayer and thinking through various possible scenarios, we have decided that Andrea will remain in Cambodia with the children while BJ travels to the US for one month of support raising. We have many emotions about Andrea not being able to be back home to fellowship and worship. She was so looking forward to being home. However, we could not find peace in leaving the children that God has entrusted us with, despite the 7 weeks of committed and purposeful prayer regarding this situation. The children struggle with trust and abandonment issues from their past experiences and we fear that if we both left, we would not only add to the issues but lose the ground of trust that we have gained. This is exactly the reason why we rejoice in this trial. We know that this is why He has called us here, to minister to these children and in general, to the church of Cambodia. We must represent Christ, in spite of how difficult it may be or how inconvenient it may seem for us. Until they are mature in their faith and able to understand His Word and the promises contained therein, we must be Christ to them. We are thankful and praise God that He has opened such a door for us to minister to their hearts and needs, that He and the hope of His glory may be known and worshipped. We labor and toil in the hope that one day, we may present them mature in Christ. In this we rejoice(Col 1:24-29)!
We want you to know how thankful we are for you, your faithful prayers, your steadfastness on our behalf, and your generosity and the sacrifices you make so that we may minister God’s Word, in word and deed. We are an extension of your love for the Lord and His church, the Bride of Christ, and it is our honor and privilege to partner with you in the gospel(Phil 1:3-5).
We are very aware of our need for rest. It has been four years since we first arrived in Cambodia. We are currently looking into planning an extended time of rest and reflection of our first term on the field, once BJ gets back from the US.
Let Us Rejoice,
BJ and Andrea Lopez
Col 1:24-29
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