How many of you remember singing the timeless children’s song, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!”? Scott and I are rejoicing in these days that the Lord has made for us, and the plans He has for us. They have not always been our plans (!), but they have always turned out more than we could have asked for or imagined.
Our plan for home assignment this year was to return in May of 2025, well-prepared and equipped for 3-4 months of traveling, sharing about ministry in Cambodia, and preaching. Instead, we find ourselves on the ground and taking a running jump into what we know will be an exciting home assignment. God has demonstrated his faithfulness so clearly to us over the past three months that we have no doubt he has something big in store for as we begin these next three months of visiting YOU!
We are completing a 2.5-year term which has seen the birth of a Bible training school in our home province. The Stung Treng Bible School was started at the beginning of this term as a partnership between three different mission organizations, reaching out to every believer in our province, regardless of denomination. We hoped for 20 students in January 2023, and this past December, 45 graduated- having faithfully shown up each month for two years! This endeavor was one of our greatest joys to witness. We’ve also had the opportunity to begin relationship-building into a Muslim, ethnic minority group who we have prayed over for many years. Our work with these tribal people has continued and is bearing fruit as early believers are establishing CHRIST-FOLLOWING families with new, God-honoring traditions. We are excited for the chance to share with you about what God has been doing in our little corner of Cambodia. What a blessing to see God’s Church growing in Stung Treng!!
Over the next 3.5 months, we will be visiting eleven churches on Sunday mornings, with more mid-week visits planned to other church families. We are so grateful for our network of Friends churches, and the 15.5 years you have partnered with us, blessing us with your prayers and financial support.
Our biggest regret when we are Stateside is not having enough time to meet with all of you BUT WE’D STILL LIKE TO TRY!! If you’d like to connect while we’re here, please email us at andreas@friendsmission.com AND we will try to find a time to catch up.
One way you can stay abreast with what we are up to and KNOW how to pray for us, is by becoming one of our prayer partners. We know that so many of you already pray for us faithfully, and we cannot thank you enough. Because we believe in the power of prayer, we would love to actively increase the amount of intentional prayer support behind our us and our ministry. If you or anyone you know would like to pray for our ministry, please fill out this form.
We are so grateful for each of you, and hopeful to see many of you while we are here!
Rejoicing in this day He has given,
Andrea (and Scott) Sward
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