Happy New Year

We are seven days into 2020 and I wonder, does it still feel like a new year, a new decade? Have we already fallen back into old habits? I started this blog with this funny name approximately 13 years ago. I will admit, I am not a blogger. I am not a consistent blogger. I am not a good blogger.

I decided to try and begin to write short blurbs to attach to church emails, to follow up on Sunday sermons, share my heart, prayer requests and other things that come up.

This past Sunday I preached a message from John 3:22-30. The focus verse in this text is the popular, "He must increase, but I must decrease" verse 30. As I read the totality of the text I noticed that John could have easily fallen into the trap of constant comparison to Jesus. His disciples were comparing him to Jesus, but John was consistent in his testimony. He would constantly testify that he was not the Christ and that he had complete joy in being in the shadow of Jesus. His goal was not for him to get more followers, but for Jesus to be lifted high. His goal was for Jesus to increase and for him to decrease.

I tried to stress that this should be our resolution for the New Year. Let us all lift Jesus high in 2020 by being more intimate with him than active for him; being humble and rejoicing in Jesus; not comparing ourselves to everyone else, but being content in what God has given us and using it for His glory.

I firmly believe that if we apply the example of John from this text to our lives, we will lift Jesus high and others will be drawn to Him.

Pastor Garrett

Day 4 update from Logan

Today was a really great day. We took a really long drive up into the mountains to find these remote unreached villages and people. In these villages the team was able to see around 200 people saved. This was an amazing sight.

I was amazed by the joy they received from getting a piece of bread from us. I mainly worked with the kids. I got to play games and teach them songs such as Jesus Loves Me.

It was really cool to see the big smiles on their faces the whole time and there joy when they received a lollipop. It was especially funny when the people would stop and stare at me because of my red hair because they had never seen it before. The smiles of the people made the whole long bumpy journey worth it, but most importantly the 200 people who are now saved is what makes this whole trip worth it.

Day 3 update

We had a very early start to our day. We met in the hotel lobby at 6:00am, took a walk down the street to grab some Vietnamese coffee, load up in the vans and head to ABC Bakery for breakfast. 

Once we arrived at the orphanage, we began to set up for a one day VBS. It was VBS Cambodia style! 100 of bikes were parked inside the walls of the orphanage as several hundred children arrived. 

The children were treated to games, songs, a meal and gifts. We attempted to do a relay race and water balloon games and it may have been the most chaotic thing I have ever been a part of. Language and culture were definitely a barrier today. 

The kids were full of laughter and smiles as we had an opportunity to show them the love of Jesus Christ.

We came back to the city and headed to the Central Market for some shopping. We returned early to the hotel for rest and showers. Tonight we will eat a buffet dinner. 

Tomorrow will be an early and long day as we head into the mountains to visit several villages. 

The adventures of team Towers continues! 

Day 2 update from Clarence Kwok

We started the day off early at 6:00 am with some iced coffee and we also picked up some donuts from a French bakery.

We met up with the rest of the team at 7:00am. Half of our team went to the Home of Grace while the other half went to visit the Killing Fields. It was an important visit that let us experience just a fraction of the suffering that the people of Cambodia went through.

We then visited 3 villages to spread the Gospel and to feed the people bread. Pastor Garrett shared a sermon about creation and Jesus's salvation story to already baptized believers (we later found out). Logan shared his story about Jesus walking on water to kids, Gilbert shared his testimony, and I shared the story about the bleeding women. On this day, 42 people accepted Christ. It is such a blessing for us to be able to see the fruits of our harvest and it is an encouragement seeing the obedience from man and the faithfulness of God.

After the villages we went back to the Home of Grace where we played with the kids. We finished our day off with the group eating Pizza!

Team Canada + 1 went out after dinner for the "best" coffee and donuts in Cambodia. Were they the best? Ask us to find out!

Day 1 update from Gilbert Fung

Oh hey, I didn't see you there! Today was our first day helping out in Cambodia. We went to the Home of Grace orphanage, which was a beautiful place out in the countryside. It really felt like a light to the community and the families in the area. We got to experience a children's worship service, where the kids sang songs and shared testimonies. I shared my personal testimony, Pastor Garrett taught about the greatness of God, and Clarence led the song 'How Great is Our God.'

Afterwards we went to the Bati village church where we felt a little bit at home. There was a time of greeting everyone, some locals sharing their testminonies, and the kids being dismissed to kids' worship after the songs were done. The Broken Arrow team also shared their stories of becoming Christians, teaching a sermon about prayer, and singing a song. We saw five people come to accept Jesus!

At the end of the service, we helped serve a delicious lunch for the congregation, while a heavy rainstorm passed over the open-air church.

The last thing we did in the day was returning to the orphanage and playing with the kids. At first it was chaotic, with around 50 kids running around and kicking and throwing balls everywhere, but we joined in and just had fun with them. They really enjoyed being with us, and I'm really glad that we will get to spend more time together throughout the week.

I hope everyone back at Towers is doing well! I'm thankful that we have a strong group of believers praying for us for this trip!

Cheers,
Gilbert

Landed...

The team has landed in Phnom Penh. We will check in to the hotel and do some sight seeing until our partners from FBC Broken Arrow arrive late tonight.

Stay tuned...

In memory of Chad...

I have debated whether or not to write something in regard to the passing of my cousin Chad "Slam Dunk" Coon. There are so many memories that I will not be able to capture all of them in this post. I will do my best to remember him, but it will not be complete or in order.

Chad was more like a older brother to me than a cousin. Some of my earliest memories are from when I was in 1st grade. Chad, who was in 12th grade, along with his twin sister and younger sister would come in the big blue van and pick me up for school. I remember watching Chad, #14, play basketball. He had a love and passion for sports, but especially basketball. He is the reason why I am a Chicago Bulls fan. In the time before the technological age that we are in now, I would go down to Chad's house to watch the Bull's on WGN. Chad was so cool because he had a satellite.

He was such a giving and gracious person. He would take this teenage boy to "cruise the boulevard" in town. He would let this much younger cousin hang out with him and his "older" friends. He would let me tag along with him when he would broadcast sports with Q102 FM. He would take me to buy soda and candy to Brister's Grocery. He would let me play co-ed softball with him and his crew. He had the first "bag phone" that I had ever seen. He would always stop by my parents house and just talk sports. If he wasn't talking loudly about sports and how to correct the coach of a certain team, then it wasn't Chad talking. If he wasn't covering a sporting event, he was always watching our high school play sports (Go Jackets!) wherever they were playing. He would stand on the sidelines of every football game. He would be in the dugout cheering on softball and baseball teams. He would be at every basketball game coaching from the stands.

I remember when he had an accident while working at the paper mill. I found out about it while at school and I immediately left and headed to the ER to check on him. I remember playing pool (billiards) with him in the upstairs of his house. I remember the poster of race cars and bikinis on his bedroom wall. I remember that when we would "go to the pool" he would always come say hi and eventually we would be throwing some sort of ball around in the yard.

My first experience with golf was with him. We would drive all over the state to watch high school and college basketball. We drove all the way to Ole Miss one time to watch an Ole Miss and Alabama game. We drank a lot of Mountain Dew and Dr. Peppers on that trip. We made many trips to State Championship basketball games. I remember driving to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to his friends apartment and we watched Brett Favre play. A lot of these things I would have never done or gone to, but because it was with Chad my parents would let me go. I got to experience a lot of things because of him.

Memories are flooding into my mind as I type and I can't begin to write them all down. Chad was always supportive of my decisions. He always seemed proud that I was following wherever God was taking me.

Now that I think about, he may have even introduced me to coffee. For those of you who know me that is a big deal. My first "coffee milk" was probably at his house. He always had a golf bag, a softball bag and some dirty shoes in his car.

He loved sports. He loved family. He loved his "baby girls." He loved Michael Jordan. He loved Dr. Pepper. He loved his mom, dad and sisters. He loved.

When I heard about his cancer one year ago, I immediately booked a flight to go see him. I spent a lot of time with him last April. I was able to see him again on a visit this past October. I am so glad I got to spend this time with him. Of all these memories I have shared and of all the things that I have listed that he loves, I was reminded on these two trips about how much he loved Jesus.

He understood that all he was going through was a part of God's divine plan. He told me that he was able to share about Jesus with his friends who were visiting and with the doctors and nurses who were providing treatment and care. When most people question God during a difficult time, Chad trusted God. His belief and faith never waivered.

Chad is in heaven with Jesus today. It is not because of all the great things he did or the kindness he extended. It is not because he was a good man. It is not because he loved. The reason he is with Jesus today and the reason he could be kind and good and love was because he had a personal relationship with God through Jesus. There was a point in his life, when he asked God to forgive him and save him. God was faithful and He did forgive him and save him. Chad is now face to face with his Saviour and Sustainer today. Chad is cancer free and pain free today.

He would want all of you to know that you can have a relationship with Jesus too. Chad was not perfect, but Jesus doesn't ask for perfection. He asks that you trust Him with your life. Chad trusted Jesus with his life through the sports and through the cancer. Because he trusted Jesus with his life, he now has eternal life in the presence of his Creator and Saviour.

What about you?

Day 6 update

We are all sitting in the Phnom Penh airport waiting for our flight to Incheon/Seoul, South Korea. We have a very long layover and we plan to explore Seoul for a few hours.

This has been an amazing week. I believe that our team has grown close and our lives have been changed.

It was sad to leave the kids at the orphanage today, but I know we will see them again. As a pastor, I am so proud of our team and our church. I am blessed to pastor a church that wants to go. I am blessed to know partner churches that want to give to make trips like this happen.

Today, I was able to be apart of a baptism service. Henry (missionary to Cambodia), Kevin (missions pastor of FBC Broken Arrow) and myself baptized 77 new believers.

We were able to give out noodles, water, rice, mosquito nets, bread, and mattresses to over 300 villagers who attended.

This week over 600 lives were changed forever because of Jesus. It's is amazing that God chose us to be a part of His work.

These verses from Romans have become very real this week:

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" - Romans 10:14 and 15

Thank you all for your prayers! You were a vital part of this trip. Continue to pray for our trip back to Vancouver.

Day 5 by Pastor G

What was the best thing about the day?

There were many good things about today. We went to the market and got to experience Khmer culture at its finest. From the great deals to the street food, the market was great. We were also able to visit two existing churches. We were able to teach and encourage both adults and children. At one of the villages all of those who came were already believers, but at another, 17 villagers became followers of Jesus. The number of people who have accepted Christ this week is now over 500.

What was the hardest part of the day?

I am continually overwhelmed by the poverty. Village by village food is limited. Village by village clothing is limited. Village by village safety is limited. These villages are so remote that access to most everything is limited. I held a baby today who was only being cared for by other children. It breaks my heart to see kids in this environment.

How did God speak to you today?

God reminded me that I am selfish. From our air conditioned building and comfortable chairs, I don't feel we have as much as these Khmer Christians. They are overwhelmed with the joy of their salvation. I have walked barefoot through villages and sat on dirt floors and have sweat profusely. It has not bothered me one bit.

How do you see God working?

God is working deeply in the staff of the Home of Grace orphanage. These are the first Christians in this area. These guys are doing all the ground work. They are delivering food. They are leading worship. They are praying. They are serving both these village churches, but they also deeply care for the children at the orphanage. 

Henry and Nari are amazing. God is using them to find new villages, to train new believers and continue to lead this orphanage. Henry will be spending nights out in these villages over the next month following up on all the salvations. God is multiplying His kingdom throughout rural Cambodia.

I also see God working in our team. Seeing Anthony, Lawrence, Logan and Jessica step up to teach, preach and/or encourage has blessed me. They have not complained any and have always been willing to jump right in and do whatever needed to be done.

Tomorrow (Friday in Cambodia) we will baptize over 200 new believers. We will celebrate with the children. They will eat pizza for the first time ever. After dinner we will begin our journey home.

Continue to pray

Day 4 by Logan Holmes

What was the best thing about today?

Today was an amazing day. We went to two villages and saw maybe 350 people come to Christ. It was amazing to see the people accept Jesus and listening to the people as they prayed was very cool. It is just great to know that those people aren't going to hell and will go to heaven.

What was the hardest part of the day?

Today it was hard to see the people and how poor they are. It is heartbreaking to see how skinny some of the people are. It was sad to see the kids in their clothes with holes in them or that they didn't have any clothes at all. It makes me appreciate what I have a bit more. 

How do you see God is working?

I can see God working in the villages by saving all those people. It shows that there is hope for Cambodia. All the new believers will be able to share Jesus with other villages or other people in there village. It's just great to know that today there are plenty more people going to heaven. 

How did God speak to me today?

In the villages I saw how poor the people were, but all the people were so joyful. It just shows me that it doesn't matter what physical things you have. If you have Jesus he will make you happy. I also saw the kids and I could see what a future those kids will have for there village. If we teach them about Jesus now they can lead up the next generation as Christians. 

Day 3 by Jessica and Anthony Ho

Today's post is written by Anthony and Jess. Jess shared her testimony and Anthony preached about the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son. I followed them up and invited the crowd to follow Jesus. Over 100 people accepted Christ today.

What was the best thing about the day?

We went to two new villages today! Nari and Henry laid the relational groundwork which allowed us to come and witness to the people. 

The Canadian team helped out with the kids at the first village. We told the story of Daniel and the lion's den and the children really enjoyed the story. It was great to see the children so engrossed by the story. 

In the next village we witnessed more than half of the crowd (about 100 people) accept Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit was working in our hearts as He was with the crowd. God transcends language and cultural barriers! 

What was the hardest part of the day?

Speaking in front of a crowd of over 100 people and just being hopeful that someone in that crowd will come to believe in Jesus.

How did God speak to you today?

He continues to use this broken and unworthy vessel to do his work. I am continually amazed by the outcome and power of his Word!

How do you see God working?

For a person like myself who stutters and gets super nervous when it comes to public speaking, God was with me using me to speak to the people in the village of His awesomeness. It felt like a Moses moment.

Day 2 by Lawrence Kwok

Today's post is written by Lawrence Kwok. Pray for our team tomorrow as we travel 3 hours into the mountains to bring the Gospel to a new unreached village.

What was the best thing about the day?

Today we had a young man come to Christ. Although number-wise it doesn't compare to the 22 who were saved yesterday (the village was smaller and many were already believers), just like the Parable of the Lost Sheep says, there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner saved than 99 already saved.

What was the hardest part of the day?

In addition to keeping dry and hydrated, the hardest part of the day was witnessing the high school where people were tortured and the Killing Fields. We could still see blood stains on the school floors and teeth and clothing in the dirt in the Killing Fields. Learning about how evil man can be reminds me of how much we need God.

How did God speak to you today?

When I saw villagers in the countryside sitting in the heat or walking seemingly to nowhere, I wondered what their goal into life is. I imagined how long it would take to reach first-world status like Canada. But then I realized I was thinking in terms of worldly success. Even if Cambodians live like kings, there is still no purpose to life without God. Money does not last forever and ultimately our purpose is to worship God. 

How do you see God working?

In a smaller village we visited, we saw a young man run up to the front of the crowd when we asked who wants to accept Jesus as their saviour. You could see the smile on his face and his genuine happiness. It makes me hopeful that a new, young generation can build a stronger and better future Cambodia.  

Back at the orphanage, we handed out loaves of bread to each child. They were holding the loaves while singing enthusiastically about Jesus. I was touched by the fact that despite having so little that bread makes them smile, they are able to praise God.

Day 1

I started the day with some Cambodian coffee at a restaurant across the street. The rest of the team met up with me and we had some noodle soup for breakfast. We took a 1.5 hour ride to the Home of Grace Orphanage and worshipped with the kids and staff. Our team from #tbcrcbc sang Jesus Loves me for the kids. Lawrence had an opportunity to share his testimony and I preached a very short message from Psalm 8. After a quick snack lunch we drove over to Bati Village church and worshipped with those brothers and sisters. Jessica Ho shared her testimony and my friend Kevin preached and 22 villagers from Bati accepted Christ. It was an amazing experience. After that we fed them lunch and then went back to the orphanage to play with the kids. We are all very tired. Tomorrow we will visit the Killing Fields, go to the orphanage and take a 3 hour trek into the mountains to bring some good news to those who need to hear it.

Garrett Holmes
@garrettholmes
604-754-9557

Welcome to Cambodia

Late Saturday night (Friday afternoon for you in North America) we landed in Phnom Penh. God was very good to us as we arrived safely and had no trouble with our flights or immigration. Our team of 5 did have to pretend that we were on "The Amazing Race" because when we landed at Incheon Airport in South Korea we had to run. We made it and met up with our friends from Oklahoma. We were on planes yesterday for approximately 16-17 hours. When we arrived the local missionaries and two drivers met us and took us straight through the city to our hotel. Logan and I rested well and I hope the rest of the team did too. I woke up at 5am because of the time change. We all met for breakfast (dinner time for most of you) and then headed to the Home of Grace orphanage and to Bati Village. Please continue to pray for us!

#can2cam #tbcrcbc

Garrett Holmes
@garrettholmes
604-754-9557

Leaving on a jetplane...

I will do my best to periodically post updates through my email to this blog. Our team will share highlights, prayer requests, fun facts, etc. to keep you engaged on our trip. Feel free to email towersbaptistchurch@gmail.com or text to 604-754-9557.

Follow us on twitter and instagram @towerschurch

#Can2Cam #TBCRCBC

Maybe this weekend

Things are looking great! Andrew is only on an IV now. The doctor said
he would be on it for 7-10 days and day 7 is tomorrow. It is hard to
believe we have been in the hospital for a week.

We have great friends who are helping us with meals & childcare. THANK
YOU!

Yellow

Andrew is doing GREAT. He has no more tubes and is nursing. He has to
be on antibiotics for a couple of more days and will have to sit under
the light and a blanket that glows. His billiruben (sp?) has increased.

Maybe he can come home this weekend.

Things are better

Andrew is off the ventilator and his breathing is great. We are able
to hold him and hear him cry. When he was intubated he didn't make any
noise.

He will be on antibiotics for the next 1-3 days. He may be able to
start nursing today. His blood work continues to come back good.

Our nurse this morning is Leena. She is from Delhi, India and we have
discussed her culture, her kids, her husbands Seik religion, and where
in Vegas to get the best Indian food.

If things continue to go well he may come home this weekend. Auntie
Lisa arrives tonight.

Again I want to thank everyone who has helped out with our kids,
brought us food, and all of you across the world who have been
praying. It is really cool to have friends in countries all over the
Earth.

We love all of you.

Apparently Andrew "coughed" out the ventilator. I am on my way to get the details. Stay tuned!

Sent from Garrett's iPhone