A Very Cambodian Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from The Olin’s!

This year Christmas means more than it ever has, and we hope that in this season our Savior reminds you of the greatest gift that has ever been given, the gift of Jesus Christ.

This past Sunday, I (Roberta) spent time helping a friend with her ministry that she started here, and in the midst of starting this ministry she adopted two wonderful little boys. The ministry is called Jeevit’s House, “Jeevit” in Khmer means “life”. This house is focused on supporting Children-At-Risk because their families in the village have been severely affected by HIV/AIDS. Many of these children come to Jeevit’s House simply for a meal, weekly, and the home currently sponsors up to 41 children with the intention to grow to be able to sponsor even more kids!

The kids at Jeevit's House hearing the
gospel.

I, Roberta, helped at Jeevit’s House, with their annual Christmas party, and the party ended up being for about 200 kids. Games, Food, Presents(for all!) , and the Gospel message, this was Christmas for the kids. All with the intention to show the children that despite how much they had, that Christmas was about the best gift that has been given to them, the gift of Jesus Christ. As I watched some of the children, my heart couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of grief to think of the poverty, obstacles, and loss that these children will face if they have not already. But the other side of me was overjoyed knowing that the hope of Christ is a hope that is for all, and that little by little everyday these children in Cambodia were coming to know the true meaning of Christmas.

I, John, have been spending a lot of my time studying very hard in the SBS. This is not the only thing that we are currently involved in at the moment. I am also working with some of the staff to help with the IT here for the SBS department. I have also begun to play soccer with a group of staff at the local soccer fields! It is so great to get to play such a great sport with incredible people and get to be in the community with soccer.

Being far away this year during the holiday time has shown us many things, including an appreciation for family and also for the ability to eat a good meal, have health, and also what a blessing it is to not only know Christ, but to serve him. Our time here in Cambodia has reminded us to never ever grow comfortable and take our blessings for granted, because there are so many others who have close to nothing. A statistic is easy to understand in a church pew, but the face of a child whose family is living on less than $2 dollars a day changes it all. We are blessed everyday, and this especially this Christmas.

Thank you to all who support us prayerfully and financially. We would not be here without you and know that your investment in us honors the Lord.

3 John 1:8

“Therefore, we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”

 All of you, friends and family that give and pray, you are our "fellow workers for the truth" and we are so thankful beyond words this holiday season for all of your support.

To learn more about Jeevit’s House, and all the work our friend, Laura, is doing… http://jeevitshouse.org/ 

Happy Thanksgiving from Cambodia

We are so thankful for all of you who support and stand by us!

We wanted to take a quick email to say thank YOU to all of you who have supported us in our ministry! Whether it was through financial support or encouragement to continue. We thank YOU for giving of yourself to help us work in our ministry! God is doing great things in us and through us. We are so excited for what he is doing through his word in us. Thank YOU again for all of your support. God is using your partnership to spread the gospel, through the Bible, in Cambodia. We pray constantly that God will bless you back much more than you have blessed us. Thank YOU.

Love, John and Roberta

First Month in Cambodia

Us with our SBS staff and students!

Hello friends and family,

We apologize for the delay of the update from Cambodia. Things have been in full swing for us as we approach a full two months of being here! Below is a few excerpts from different aspects of our lives for you all to be informed. We just want to take the time to again thank you for constant love, prayers, and support that you show to us. We are deeply grateful that you all have enabled us to follow the call of God on our lives.

SBS
Week after week we are diving into the Word in a whole new way. In SBS, we will go through the inductive bible study method for every book of the Bible. Three times a week we receive teaching on each book, so that we may better share the gospel and bring the kingdom of God to all the aspects of our lives. A few weeks ago, Johno calculated his time in the book of Acts there was a total of 56 hours of studying! We are blessed to take diving into the word of God to a whole new level. To see the vision of what we are doing go here - uofnbattambang.com/sbs/

Our Ministry
We are so blessed to be able to serve the people in Cambodia, and the amazing YWAM base here that is sharing the gospel and equipping Cambodian missionaries to reach their own people. If you would like an overall look at YWAM Battambang and what exactly you are apart of by partnering with us, check here - uofnbattambang.com

• Johno
  
  is being able to use his computer IT skills to help the base here in Cambodia become more knowledgable in technology and computers. During the week, he is the main person who is in charge of all the technical issues that arise, and also is serving the base and other missionaries here on campus on how to use the resources that God has given us through technology! It may look a bit unconventional, but it is really encouraging to see God use the gifts that he has given Johno in order to enhance the kingdom of God here in Cambodia.

• Roberta
     is living her dream here in Cambodia! She is volunteering at YWAM's local cafe in town called "Cafe Eden". This ministry is located right in the heart of town, and is training at-risk-youth in English, Hospitality, and Restaurant skills. The job is a platform for the underprivileged youth to have a means to support themselves and their family. Roberta with her skills from previous jobs in the states, and also the blessing of her bilingual language is working in equipping and training the youth at the cafe. The profits of the Cafe here in Cambodia alone every months supports 23 Cambodian YWAM missionaries that wouldn't otherwise be able to serve God without it. We see God working incredibly through Cafe Eden. To learn more about where Roberta serves every week, check out the link here. www.cafeedencambodia.com

Things to pray for:

• Increased revelation as we study the word of God
• Safety on the roads here in Cambodia
• Health in all aspects, protection from dehydration, stomach illness , etc
• God would continue to open up doors for relationship with Khmer people
• Increase in Roberta's khmer language & Johno to be able to learn 
• Finances that we may be able to be generous with others and able to make extra purchases for our living conditions/arrangements 

Thank you all so much for your continued support and love. We would not be able to be here without the gracious generosity of you all!

A Panorama of an area near where we live.

After 2 and a half weeks in Cambodia

Dear friends and family,

We've been in Cambodia for a little over two weeks now! Our transition time into a new country has been filled with grace! There was a small hiccup with our visas upon arrival, so we had to take a detour to Thailand for a re-entry but thankful God provided finances and the time for it to go very smooth.Our food adjustment and jet lag has been bearable and we are grateful for God's grace in our lives. Please continue to pray for us in this area that our health would stay strong.

For our Biblical Studies, we had one week of orientation, and have just finished up our first official week of the school of biblical studies. We have completed our first two books, Titus and Philemon, and we just started Ephesians! We will be inductively studying each book of the bible for the next 9 months, serving in local ministries with the YWAM base, and allowing the gospel to transform not only our lives but the lives of local Cambodians as well.

We are so thankful for all of the support and prayer! We would not be able to be here without each and every one of your support. We are eternally grateful

Ephesians 1:16

"I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers"
Love,

John and Roberta

If you are still interested in supporting us, it is very possible and also available online!
Click here for the info

Or

Visit www.gofundme.com

We Are Leaving In 5 Hours!

Dear Friends and Family,

The day has finally come!

It's finally here. After 5 months of prayerful preparations our departure for Cambodia is today. We leave America with expectant hearts of all that's to come and what God has in store for us.

Saying goodbyes to friends and family has been a whirlwind in both Washington and California, if we missed you we are deeply sorry. We tried to fit in as much as we could.

We will be boarding our flight with Singapore Air to Cambodia at 2:20pm(PST) Today. We will have two stops on our way to Siem Reap, Cambodia, our stops will be in Seoul, South Korea and Singapore! We will arrive in Cambodia at 9:50am on Thursday(9/12/2013)or(6:50pm 9/11/13 PST). Pray for us as this is going to be about 29 hours of travel! 

God is good. God is Faithful.

And so now our journey begins! And fully funded! We are extremely excited to say that the original goal of $10,000 was fully met throughout this Summer by the generosity of all those God has called. Thank you all so incredibly much for being apart of this journey.

If you are interested in giving while we are away, click here.

We are so thankful for all those that continually support us on this journey, it hasn't ended... It's just beginning!

Next time you hear from us... We'll be in Cambodia! It might take us a few days to settle in but once settled we should have Internet connection.

Want to know more about what we are doing? Check out YWAM Battambang, Cambodia's Website and the School of Biblical Studies page, as well.