Adam Wood

We finished up our scheduled meetings at the end of October. During our deputation we visited somewhere around 124 churches, traveling some 43,000 miles. We praise the Lord; we had very few problems while on the road, and only one costly incident—hitting the deer. Lord willing, we are leaving out of Atlanta on November 18th. We are due to arrive in Phnom Penh at around 10:45 AM on November 19th EST (10:45 PM Cambodian time). Please pray for our safety as we travel. We are glad to report that acquiring our visas was easy and uneventful. All that remains is packing some 12 boxes and 6 carry-ons for the flight and moving out of our house. The Lord provided some excellent heavy-duty boxes free of charge through a man in one of our supporting churches, for which we are thankful. We have been greatly blessed by the kindness that people have shown toward us as we prepare to leave.

Language study is in full swing now. I have been studying with a tutor for about a month. At first, we started with four hours of study per day, changed it to two so I would have more time to review words, and have now moved to three hours. We do much review every day, which helps solidify the words and grammar in my mind. I am simultaneously studying spoken and written Khmer, while also learning words used often in the Bible. The study I did in America proved very useful in reading and writing. Spoken Khmer is a bit more of a challenge. Progress is being made: at times slow, and at times fast.

Since our arrival, I have been learning more information about the situation with missionaries in Cambodia. I am learning how they are spread out and what the most needy parts of this country are. There are numerous provinces that have a great need for missionaries. I do not think, this early, that we have clear direction from the Lord as to where He would have us to go. There are MANY things between now and any move of that sort. However, we ask you to pray for wisdom about where the Lord would have us to work in Cambodia.

In late October Brother Rodney, his son, Joshua, and I took a survey trip to Kampong Cham province. It was both a great deal of fun and very informative. Our goals were to price the cost of living and to see the kind and quantity of churches in the provincial capital of Kampong Cham. We were told that there were about 10 active churches. There are a number of church buildings that are apparently not being used. We began to understand the sad state of the city when we began asking the people if anyone had ever told them about the Lord Jesus. The answer was invariably “no.” However, there was one person who answered “yes.” They described two people riding bicycles, wearing white shirts and ties. You guessed it—Mormons. When we told them that they taught error, they answered, “How do we know the right people?” From what we could tell, the Mormons were the only ones doing any kind of “witnessing,” albeit spreading damnable heresies. There is definitely a need there. We are still seeking the Lord about where He would have us to go and work in Cambodia. We are not yet sure about the place. Please pray that the Lord would give us wisdom both in the timing and location.

About a month ago, three young men between the ages of 18 and 28 called upon the Lord to save them. I had been teaching them off and on for about 2 months. However, once again, a couple of weeks ago, they moved. Two of the three moved to a province. I know where the other man lives, but have not been able to catch him at home. There is one other young man that I was originally teaching (he wasn’t at home that night the three got saved) that has moved close to our house. Hopefully, I will be able to track him down.

Context This excerpt is included to give a sample of actual ministry.

Recently we have been witnessing and distributing tracts in a predominantly Muslim area along the Mekong River. We had a very good conversation with a couple of young Muslim men. The Cham Muslims here are markedly different than Buddhists in a number of ways. Often they endure more pressure and persecution from family and neighbors for believing in Christ than Buddhists do.

I have also been teaching another middle-aged lady on a weekly basis. Her name is Maly. Occasionally there are opportunities to teach her family and neighbors from God’s Word as well. She seems to be genuinely understanding, and hopefully believing, the biblical truths about God and sinful men. Please pray for her to be saved as I soon begin teaching her about Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection for us. Also, don’t forget to pray for her son (Sokkia), daughter (Srey Nich), and husband to be saved.

Recently, a young man, 21 years old, tracked us down (interestingly enough through Maly’s recommendation). His name is Rut. He told me he wanted to learn about God and learn English. He said that he is a Christian and has been baptized. We must be cautious because sometimes people here will ‘play the part’ to get some sought-after knowledge: English, a job, computers, etc. So, having never done it, I told him I would teach a group of him and his friends English 3 hours a week for 3 months, as well as teach him from the Bible separately. Please pray for these people, that the Word of God would touch their lives and they would be saved. Also, please pray that the Lord would give me wisdom in this situation.

Our news, however, is not void of negative things. Rut, the young man I mentioned in our last letter, seems to have drawn back to some degree. Another fellow I mentioned, Tieng, moved away to another province while I was in the process of explaining the Gospel clearly to him.

You might remember a girl named Davy, whom I mentioned before. About two months ago, she called on the Lord to save her. Since then, she and her husband and children have been faithful to attend church. Hopefully she will be ready to be baptized, along with Rut, in a short time. Yet, only about a month after Davy was saved, her older sister died as a result of liver trouble from an immoral life. Since her death, Davy’s family has said some very unkind and devilish things to her, even casting some blame on her for her sister’s death. When she and her husband didn’t go along with the worship of the departed, they then became targets of vitriol because of their faith in Christ.

Each Friday, Rut (a young man in our church) and I go to a village called Tuol Srae to witness to and teach the people there. Oddly enough, the fellow we originally went to teach doesn’t seem too plugged in. Nevertheless, the Lord has opened many doors to spread the Gospel to many in that village.

The people in the church have had their ups and downs recently, some passing through difficult seasons in their lives. We thank God that, as He promised, He has sustained them and brought them through. I would ask for you to pray for Tevy, whom I have mentioned before. She believes in the Lord but has seemed to pull away from the church a bit. She is still reading the Bible and seeking God in prayer, but she needs the encouragement and fellowship of her church. It seems thorns are trying to choke her faith.

In the coming weeks, we have some special evangelistic efforts planned. Our hope is to do some literature distribution at some of the nearby garment factories as the workers go in and come out for their shifts. We are also hoping to show a video called The Hope to some of our neighbors and friends. Lord willing, that will be shown on December 13.

As part of our preparations for furlough, Brother Matt Brown and I put together a video presenting the true-to-life Cambodian religion and the reason why Christians should consider taking the Gospel there. We are currently showing this video in churches that we visit. We would love for you to watch the video and prayerfully and seriously consider its message.

This year of our furlough has come to a close as quickly as it began. The bags are packed and we are ready to head back to Cambodia. On Tuesday, July 5, we leave from Atlanta to return to our corner of God’s field. Our furlough, we feel, has been truly blessed by our Lord. We have had the opportunity to visit so many faithful supporting churches, some of which we had not seen in 9 years or more. Our Lord has provided abundant grace, wisdom, and strength for Alison’s health needs. During this year, the Lord Jesus has given us a renewed vision and zeal for the work in Cambodia. We have seen Him do a work in our own hearts and lives to make us more fit for His service. We desire now more than ever to see the hand of the Lord with us and the ministry. And that, for this letter, is my prayer request.

Pray for Tevy and her husband Huv. Living at her parents’ house, they are followed, spied upon, and threatened, for Christ’s sake. Huv is afraid of Tevy’s parents kicking them to the curb if she attends church too often, as he makes his living out of their house. They read the Bible together at 11:00 at night so her parents won’t hear. On top of all of this, a vile cult (World Mission Society Church of God) is attempting to lure them away from the truth. Pray that God would give them strength and boldness to obey Him.

The work in the “Red Dots” is well underway. We have surveyed a large portion of major towns and cities in Kampong Cham and Tbong Kmom provinces. Wow! There is such a huge need for the gospel in these places. We have been surprised to find churches of various sorts in places you would not expect them, yet finding very little gospel witness in places where you would think it most likely to be. Even in towns that have churches, very few places have any kind of active witness. When surveying a town, we look for the churches, but we also ask bystanders if anyone regularly comes by to preach the gospel. We were especially moved by our recent visit to a rather sizable town called Memot, near Vietnam. Literally everyone we talked to had no idea what Christianity was about. They had heard the name of Jesus but thought it was some kind of Chinese religion. The town had no church of any kind. The need is so great!

The children’s ministry continues to enjoy God’s blessing, even with its ebbs and flows. The Lord has given us a number of opportunities to make Christ known to the families of the kids. Please pray for Thuen and Ream. They are the parents of two of the kids. We have shared Christ with them extensively, and they know that they need to be saved. Yet they have not yet decided to repent and trust in Christ. Please pray for them. We so desire this family to know God’s forgiveness! Srey Ran is another young lady of about 14 from the kids’ ministry that we’ve been teaching. Please pray for her to understand and believe the gospel. Then there are Seang Hoang, Konitha, Kakada, Thona, Kakada, Meng Ly, Meng You, Sok Leap, Srey Neat, Navy, Reaksa, Lysa, Meng Ly, and others. These are, of course, just names to you. But they represent souls of precious children whom Christ wants to save! Please pray for them!

In January we welcomed a church group from Thailand for a visit to see the Cambodian churches. While they were here they helped us distribute around 2,800 DVDs of Khmer Christians giving their salvation testimonies, the recording which I mentioned in our last letter. Please continue to pray for the light of the gospel to shine in the hearts of those who have received and will receive these DVDs in the future!

For the past few weeks we have been making trips out to one of the Red Dots—called Paav—to survey there in hopes of doing evangelism. On our first trip the Lord caused our paths to cross with a Christian lady named Srey Leak and her daughter Pisey, who is also a Christian. She is apparently the only Christian in the town. She has indicated that she would like to see a church started there. Please pray for the Lord to provide a venue for evangelism with people we meet and for discipleship. This is the biggest need in this potential ministry.

In several of our previous updates I mentioned some of the doors of opportunity that God has opened to us to minister in one of our “Red Dots” called Paav. The Lord led us to a Christian family for our initial contact there (Srey Leak). Then He gave us a great opportunity to share the Gospel at the public school in town. Since then, we have been meeting with Srey Leak, her daughter Pisey, and occasionally Srey Leap, all of whom are Christians, as well as Srey Leak’s other children. We have been having a kind of church service at, of all places, a gas station convenience store. We cannot meet at Srey Leak’s house because of opposition to Christ from her mother. Nevertheless, we have a wonderful time each week singing and giving testimony of God’s work in us. And most importantly, God gives us the opportunity to teach Srey Leak and her family the holy scriptures. In the coming weeks, if God is willing, we will begin regular evangelism in the town in hopes of seeing our Lord establish a church there. We also have plans to baptize Srey Leak and Pisey soon. Please pray for these, our Lord’s lambs, as well as for her children Kuy Ing, Kim Seng, Kim Chhay, and Grandmother to be saved! Pray also for more open doors in this town to make the Gospel of Christ known.

We continue to teach Srey Leak in Paav. We are constantly amazed at the grace and receptivity that God has given to her. Her desire to follow the Lord seems unquenchable. We know that God and God alone sustains her. We give God the praise for His work in her.

In a village near Paav, Cheung Prey, we have also been meeting weekly with Chia and his family. We met Chia originally in Paav at his job. He desired us to come out to his village and hold services at his home. There are several other people in Cheung Prey village that also profess to be believers in Christ. At this time we are simply going through the gospel plainly and step-by-step to ensure everyone understands what biblical salvation is. Their careful attention to the scriptures as we study (sometimes even when it’s hard to see in the dark) is such a blessing!

Please pray for a situation in the life of Srey Leak, a lady I have mentioned several times before, whom we disciple weekly. Her mother has decided to hold an idolatrous Buddhist ceremony at their home (they share a home). This ceremony puts an immense amount of social pressure on both Srey Leak and her children to take part, on pain of great social disgrace to both herself and her mother. She is resolute to not participate. In the near future, she has very difficult decisions about her children in particular. Please pray for God to provide a “way of escape” for both her and her children to defeat this temptation.

In October my son Joshua and I had the opportunity to take a missions trip to visit a friend of ours that works in northern China near the North Korea border. What an eye-opening experience! We had the opportunity to visit an underground, unregistered Chinese/Korean church, as well as to meet and spend time with some of God’s valiant soldiers that have been bound for Christ’s name. What great oppression there! What a great need for the gospel! Please pray for the people in North Korea and China, that God’s word would have free course and be glorified!

So we began to pin the locations of these rental rooms on a map. In total we have surveyed 255 locations, consisting of about 2,126 rooms. Assuming an average of 3 students per room, there are well more than 6,000 souls that live in these locations throughout our town, many of whom have never heard the gospel of Christ. Our desire and goal is to systematically and intentionally target this demographic with the gospel. Enlisting the help of some of my children and others, we want to take the gospel to them during the time they are most often home—lunchtime.

In a number of our previous updates, we have mentioned Srey Leak.

When we met Srey Leak she was already a Christian—but only just. She knew almost nothing of the scripture. Her main spiritual sustenance was Christian songs she found on YouTube.

For more than a year, we have been discipling her every week. By God’s grace, she has matured and grown in her faith in Christ and in her knowledge of God’s word and will. It is a blessing for all our family to see.

Several weeks ago, as we continued our study in Romans, I noticed that she did not have her Bible on the table. In its place was a notebook with handwriting in it. So I asked her what it was. She replied, as if she was surprised I asked, “It’s Romans chapter 1!”

Months ago while teaching her about the law, I very briefly mentioned that God told the kings of Israel to personally write out the law of God by hand. Of her own accord, she did that very thing for our study of Romans! It was a blessing to me, and hopefully to you as well, to see God working in His child apart from me.

Praise the Lord! He is so good.

In June, if God is willing, we are planning to host a close pastor friend who is visiting us here. While he is here we are planning to crank up another round of evangelism and gospel material distribution at the garment factories all around us. We are preparing close to 2,000 DVDs and other materials to distribute with some of our Cambodian folks.

Please pray for a lady named Hieng. We met her while out doing evangelism at the rental rooms. She is neck-deep in witchcraft and fortunetelling. Coincidentally, she is also an old acquaintance of Srey Leak, a faithful Christian lady we have mentioned several times before. Thank God for that connection. Hieng did come to church for one service. But please ask God to awaken her to her desperate need for Christ.

As the page turns from 2019 to 2020, so we feel a page turning in our family’s life as well. Lord willing, we will be returning to the United States for a furlough beginning in June 2020. Right now it appears likely that two of our children will remain in the U.S. when we return to Cambodia. Please ask God to provide for all the planning and expenses, both here and there, for our return and time in the U.S.

Context Little did we know that COVID was right around the corner.

Ministry in Cambodia has been unusual recently, much in the same way we hear people say, “these are unusual times.” Unusual they are. The vast majority of cases of coronavirus in Cambodia have been imported from outside of the country. This has caused Cambodians to tend to avoid foreigners, especially if they think the foreigner is a tourist. It has not caused us very many difficulties personally, however, thank the Lord. Secondly, the Cambodian government has shuttered all schools, as well as all religious meetings of any kind and of any number. This means no church services. Like many in the U.S., we have therefore been adapting to this reality, by holding church services and Bible studies via the internet. It has been a blessing to see churches come together to encourage one another. Third, the U.S. State Department raised its Global Health Advisory to Level 4: Do Not Travel, advising all U.S. citizens intending to travel in the near future to return to the U.S. as soon as possible, for fear that it would soon become impossible to travel. Indeed, for us, Cambodia’s borders with both Thailand and Vietnam have been closed. We were due to fly out of Vietnam in June.

As you can imagine, this decision was among the most difficult in our lives. But we trust the good hand of the providence of God in our lives, knowing that He directs us through these things. Through this time, God has forged in me an even greater desire and resolve to spend my life in service to Him.

To those of you that have supported and prayed for us over the years, there are a couple of things that we would like you to know. First, words fail to sufficiently describe our gratitude to you all for your faithful support of our family and ministry in Cambodia for so many years. Thank you so much. As I have told many people, I could not have hand-picked a better group of supporting churches than you have been to us. Our Lord has filled us with joy in knowing and fellowshipping with you all over the years. I sincerely mean that. We hope to continue to enjoy one another's fellowship in years to come. Secondly, it is important to me that you know that we have made our decision known to you as soon as we felt clear leadership from the Lord.