 | David & Ashley Trautwein Phnom Penh, CambodiaNew Life Fellowship of Churches |
Missionary Information:
David and Ashley moved to Cambodia in July 2017 and currently live in the city of Phnom Penh. They partner with New Life Fellowship of Churches and work specifically in the area of church planting. Their desire is to plant and support churches that multiply and make disciples in their communities. David and Ashley are currently working with the leadership team of a church in the Tuol Sangke area and they travel to other churches in Cambodia as well. They have a desire to communicate with Cambodians deeply and effectively in their mother tongue so language-learning has been a huge focus for them thus far. David and Ashley have a heart to see Cambodians meet Jesus. One way they reach out to the community is by offering a free English class. This is a gigantic open door to build relationships and share the Gospel, as many youth desire to learn English. David and Ashley are excited for what God has in store for the nation of Cambodia. Cambodia is only 2-4% Christian, but there is a real openness to the Gospel. This is Cambodia’s time! Please be praying for them and the nation of Cambodia.
Latest Update:
One month down! Time is flying by! We are getting settled slowly but surely. Here’s a video update:
We’ve written just a little bit here. Most of it is covered in the video. Good News! We found a place to rent! YAY! It isn’t furnished so we are trying to find inexpensive furniture. Things just take a long time. There’s not really any one-stop shop options here in Cambodia. But we are slowly getting there!
We just started full-time language school! We are super excited to further our language to the next level. The school we are learning at is great. They are excellent in the way they teach Khmer as a second language. We feel so blessed to be able to attend the school for this term. The only downside is it’s a bit expensive and raises our monthly budget quite a bit. The school is really helpful so we’re trying to make it work!
Our goals as we are living in Toul Sangke for the next 9 months to a year:
-Start an English/Bible study class for those who don’t know Jesus
-Work with and train the leadership at NLF Toul Sangke
-Reach the community around us for Christ!
Here’s an example story of having patience in Cambodia from last weekend:
The plan…
-Replace glass stove between 9-10am
-Go find a bed, mattress, and scope out prices for things for the apartment.
-Have it delivered to Toul Sangke and start setting things up
-Dinner for a friend’s birthday at 5pm
Reality…
We had a guy coming to replace the glass on the stove top we broke. He was supposed to come between 9am and 10am. He came at 11:30am. We helped him get set up but then realized it was the wrong stove top. He told us he’d go get the new part and come back. So we wait. We get a call around 3pm saying they don’t have it. At that point, there wasn’t time for us to shop and go to Toul Sangke. Also, that night we went to the wrong restaurant and we were pretty late to the birthday dinner. At least we got 1 thing checked off our list. We already have many stories like this. Without patience and flexibility here you DIE. We try to laugh when these things happen!
Life here in Cambodia this last month has been an adventure for sure! Yeah, there are ups and downs, but we feel so blessed. Just in this past month we have seen God move powerfully through His church here in Cambodia. His church is growing fast and hearts are hungry for God. There is a lot of weakness here. Poverty, injustice, brokenness, spiritual darkness. But God is piercing through the darkness and transforming lives. We are just so excited that we get to be a part of the transformation that is taking place in this nation!
We would love to ask you to consider supporting us in prayer and/or financially. If you would like to contribute financially, you can do so through the link below. It is tax-deductible. Thank you for all the love, prayer, and support! We are excited for what God has in store.
If you would like to follow David and Ashley on their journey and receive monthly updates click the link below!
Prayer Requests:
Our ministry as we serve the Church of Cambodia and build relationships with the Cambodian people. Strength and smartness as we learn the Khmer language.
Give:
To financially partner with the Trautwein’s, click here.
Thank you for your heart to get to know our missionaries!