Fruins in Cambodia

March 2012

Dear Friends in Christ,

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places…¹⁸Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Ephesians 6:12, 18).

We praise the Lord for you, who are faithfully praying for us. It doesn’t seem like a day goes by when we don’t see the results of the prayers of the saints back in the States, whether it be for safety during our travels, for souls trusting Christ as their Saviour, for God’s provisions in some area of our lives, as well as in the lives of those we minister with, or for God’s intervention in some crucial area. We would like to thank you for your faithfulness in praying, but we would also like to assure you that because of your prayers, you are having a significant part in the ministry and the Lord Himself will honor that.

We had many professions of faith at the Christmas services, as well as over the past few months. One of them was Kaan, the husband of Sri Nook, who is Braak-Ngeam’s daughter. Sri Nook used to come to church years ago, but she got married and moved to her husband’s village, which is a couple of hours away. She returned to her mother’s house to have her baby, which is when we got to know Kaan. We tried to disciple him following his profession of faith, but shortly after the baby was born, they moved back to his parents’ home. A couple of weeks later though, Sri Nook, with the baby, returned to her mother’s house, claiming that her husband had been beating her and that he wanted to sell the baby. Kaan also returned to the area, acting as if he wanted to make things right with Sri Nook, however, a few days later late at night, he took the baby and headed back to his village. As you can imagine, this caused quite a commotion and we were asked to help. So, we, along with Tera, Mi, and two of Sri Nook's brothers, went to meet Sri Nook and Braak-Ngeam in Kaan’s village in order to rescue the baby. We went to the village leader’s house, were told to wait for him while he was in a meeting; but after an hour, we decided to go meet him at his meeting place. We took several back roads and as we were driving, we spotted Kaan handing the baby off to two other ladies. It was a miracle that we happened to be at the exact place at the exact time that he was giving the baby to these ladies, or we probably would have never seen the baby again. This is just one instance of answers to your prayers for us. The baby is now safe with Sri-Nook and although Kaan has made several visits to see both of them, his visits are closely supervised. We continue to pray for him, as we strongly doubt his salvation, but we know the Lord can do a work in his heart.

Again, we appreciate your prayers for the church here in Takhmau. The attendance has gone down quite a bit, as more and more churches move into the area, and as churches are more determined than ever to get as many people as they can to come to their services, at any cost. Not too long ago, a new group began renting a house in a neighboring village and began passing out rice to draw people in. We had been working with several people from that area and with one teen in particular, however, most of them have stopped coming to church, because they are going there. A different situation involved another village, where one particular family was controlling where the others could and couldn’t attend church. The grandmother, especially, from this family was upset with us, so she basically stopped anyone from coming to our church. Even though we tried to resolve the issue with her, she still remained angry. However, this past Sunday, many from this village returned to church once again. Through it all, God has led us into new areas and even brought some people back who used to come long ago. Currently, we are running in the 50s and 60s, which at times seems to be more than we can handle. We are praying for faithfulness of those who are coming, so that they might grow in the love and knowledge of Christ.

The Bible institute continues to progress well and again, we thank you for praying. We are on the last book of the last course, and it is with great joy that we announce our first graduation to be held on April 26, where five men will be finished with all of the required courses and receive their diplomas from IBE through Bob Jones University. It has taken us seven years to get to this point, but it seems like it has only been a couple of years. Along with the five men receiving their diplomas, there will be 12 other individuals who will be receiving certificates for completing certain portions of the diploma. We are excited that Dr. Wayne Van Gelderen will be flying in for this special event.

For those who have not heard, we would like to share a little about our desire to start a Bible college in the near future. Some of the church leaders, who are in the Bible institute, have children getting ready to enter college. They are concerned about their financial situation, wondering where they are going to get the needed funds to send their child through four years of college. However, our concern is not for their finances, but rather for the direction that their children will be taking; especially if they enter secular colleges, which focuses either on the world or on a false religion. The next generation of Christianity in Cambodia is at stake right here and right now. We have been helping train these leaders over the past seven years, as they have been ministering full time, along with working jobs and caring for their families. If their children are lost to the world, the process will have to start all over again. Shortly after starting the Bible institute, the Lord also gave Ron a burden to begin a Bible college someday in the future. Our desire is to impact the lives of the next generation of believers to the point of possibly influencing the attitudes of Cambodian society toward the Gospel and Christianity. The graduates could end up in major corporations or in politics and have a positive impact in their work areas. To have godly Christians in the workplace, making good incomes and still exemplifying Christianity is a rarity. Our goal in the Bible college is not just to train these young men and women thoroughly in God’s Word (which is the most important part), but to train them in their career choices so that they excel in their occupations. We want them to receive a good education, so they might be godly testimonies, which would give them a better opportunity to share the Gospel. Dr. Tom Johnson and Ron discussed the importance of taking this next step of faith during this crucial time in the ministry here. Currently, we have received commitments from eight prospective students who would be attending the first year of a three-year program. Much prayer, work, and planning is still needed to be done in preparation, but we believe this is the direction that God is leading. The current plan is to open the Bible college in November of this year, which is when the normal school year begins here. We truly covet your prayers concerning this important issue.

We continue to appreciate your prayers for our children. Jonathon is finishing his first year of college at Baptist College of Ministry at Falls Baptist Church. He really enjoys his classes and work responsibilities, as he utilizes the different talents that God has given him. Leah continues to love the ministry and opportunities that she has at Falls Baptist Church, as well and she stays very busy. Rebekah is still driving school bus and continuing on the “deputation trail.” That trail can be very long and discouraging at times, but it is a great time of stretching and growing. Please pray for God’s perfect will in each of our kids’ lives.

Again, we want to thank you for your faithfulness in praying for us. Those prayers have enabled us to remain here and to continue in the work that God places before us. All around the world, it is evident that we are fighting a spiritual battle that can only be won on one’s knees. May the Lord bless you.

Serving the Saviour,

The Fruins

Prayers
* New Bible college
* Upcoming institute graduation
* Church folks (salvation and growth, health)
* Our children and major decisions in their lives

Praises
* Faithfulness of those praying for us
* Salvations over the past three months
* God’s intervention for Sri Nook’s baby
* God’s continued protection and provisions