Pray for Cambodia!

What a journey!

What a journey! I (Titus) have been working with missionaries since I first became a Christian and went to the Wesleyan Bible Institute in 2000. The missionaries told me their stories of how they travelled hundreds and hundreds of miles away from home to churches to raise their own support. They told stories that many times they had to sleep in a tent in front of peoples’ houses, eating at McDonald’s almost every meal (just to save money), packing a lot of snacks and drinks (just to save money), and even staying in homes with people that they never knew or met before.    

We are on that journey now! The journey of an adventure and trust with the ALMIGHTY GOD.

Oh how I now understand that adventure! For the past couple months since we started raising our own support to go back to Cambodia as missionaries to start a new field for World Gospel Mission, we have been travelling quite a lot; and of course, we experienced some of the things that I mentioned above.  

Honestly, sometimes I wandered if I would wake up STILL ALIVE and BREATHING (don’t let our hosts know this) at a strange place in a stranger’s house. Or what if I have an accident on the road?  What if the car breaks down while I am driving?  What if the food that the hosts serve us has poison in it?  What if I have to go the bathroom (#2) immediately while I am driving, but the next exit is still 11 miles away?  What if Jewel goes into labor?  Those are the feelings and fears that frequently occurred from the moment we left the house to travel.

While driving and looking through the car window and seeing the view of mountains, hills, lakes, rivers, trees, skies, storms, rain, sunshine, stop lights, stop signs, deer….etc. These things have reminded me the beauty of God’s creatures and that He is still around me. He is in the car with me. He is in the storm with me. He is in the strange homes and places with me. He is simply with us everywhere we go.

The Lord has been so gracious to us! He has proven Himself trustworthy and a God who provides. We are a young couple, unexperienced in fund-raising, unprofessional in contacting people, but the God that we believe often chooses these kind of people to shine His Glory and to prove to the world that He could mold the ugly brown clay into the most beautiful vase.

Many of the people and churches that we speak at do not know where Cambodia is but once I mention that it borders with Vietnam, they all open their big eyes and stare at me……

(To be continued)

 “For the Spirit of God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:7

To see Christ glorified in Cambodia,

Titus, Jewel, Sophear, & Little Man

You work all things together for my good

While some weeks our support-raising seems slow, God continues to encourage and strengthen us.  We have been motivated to seek deeper, look further, and stretch higher.  After hearing its words included in lyrics at church Sunday night, I have been encouraged by Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Cambodia - Christmas 2010

Things don't always go according to our plans. We had intentions to return to Cambodia as missionaries within two years after getting married (2011), but God quickly showed us that He had other plans.  In the time that has passed since we had already hoped to be in Cambodia, God has led us on some amazing adventures!

• In July 2015, Titus became a citizen of the United States; this allows him the right to travel freely between Cambodia and the US without a visa.
• Our daughter was born with a heart defect, but was able to have life-saving surgery.
• Titus went on missions trips to Puerto Rico and Uganda.
• Jewel found gainful employment at Indiana Wesleyan University, which provided Titus with the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree with free tuition.
• We plugged into ministry with the youth group at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church.
• We have built a strong support among those who have been able to get to know us as a couple and a growing family.
• We have also had the opportunity to return to Cambodia twice (December 2013 and October 2015).

Titus' citizenship ceremony - July 16, 2015

Our story is long; and our God is good. Our journey to now has not always been an easy one, but it has been one full of blessings, of affirmation, and of the Lord’s leading us. He led me to Cambodia, He led us to each other, and He has led us since then.  He's taken care of us.  His sovereign plan has been greater than ours.

While we continue to make plans, we're trusting that His plans, even when they do not match ours, are great.

We didn't plan for Sophear to have surgery this year and we certainly didn't plan for her to be born with a heart defect, but we're grateful for what God has taught us.  When the anesthesiologist carried Sophear to surgery on March 16, I found myself helpless and fully reliant on God's loving goodness.  When Sophear was 12-days-old, we dedicated her to the Lord and chose 1 Samuel 12:24 as her life verse -

But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.

He has already done great things for Sophear!  Dr. Kumar wants to see Sophear one more time before we move to Cambodia; but at her last appointment, he said she looks GREAT! The extra blood flow through her heart has COMPLETELY STOPPED and there is NO resulting DAMAGE on nearby veins or arteries. Also, he was surprised that the left side of her heart has SHRUNK back to almost its NORMAL size. (He had previously anticipated that the swelling would be long-term damage.)

On May 24, I (Jewel) had a very long and painful gallbladder attack.  While comprehensive bloodwork and an ultrasound (of the gallbladder) had good results, there is concern for another attack.  If I have another attack to the extent of the previous attack, my doctor wants to immediately remove the gallbladder.  Before removing the gallbladder, he will deliver Little Man.  Of course, our plan includes a full-term pregnancy and a complication-free delivery on August 1, but we're trusting that sovereign God has a plan to "work all things together for our good."

Memorial Day Weekend:

The Romdenh and Nov families

We traveled to Churchville, NY to spend the long weekend with our Cambodian-American friends and to speak at Spencerport Wesleyan Church. Phalkun and Janell have been friends of Titus since around 2001. Their story, though written a few years earlier than ours, is about the same – go to Cambodia as missionary from IWU, eventually come home with Cambodian pastor husband. Janell was a missionary at the Wesleyan Bible Institute in Phnom Penh and Titus also translated many courses for her. The drive to the Rochester, NY area was about 9 hours one-way and Sophear did FANTASTIC! We seriously couldn’t have asked for a happier girl!

On Sunday, we shared about our calling and ministry at Spencerport Wesleyan Church.  Because of our friendship with Phalkun and Janell, we had visited their church on previous occasions and we were grateful to see some familiar faces and receive a warm welcome!  SWC was the fourth church that we have visited as a family on this journey of support-raising.  We continue to be grateful for the opportunities that we have had to share, for the people that have encouraged us, and for the experience of worshipping God in a church outside our home church. Traveling and being a guest is not always easy or fun, but we are grateful for the opportunity that we have been given to raise our own support, to build our team, and to connect personally with our supporters!

We covet your prayers!

• Praise God for His goodness and faithfulness!  Please pray that He will continue to strengthen and encourage us and provide us with more speaking engagements.
• Please pray for the people at Cambodian American Christian Fellowship, Cambodian United Methodist Mission Fellowship, Coleman Wesleyan Church, and Spencerport Wesleyan Church. (These are the churches that we have visited on our support-raising journey.)
• Please pray for God's favor upon Jewel's scholarship application for her continuing studies at Moody Theological Seminary.  Scholarship awards will be made in July and early August.
• July 23-31, we will attend Family Camp in Fairmount, IN.  Please pray that we find comfortable accommodations for our little family.  Please pray that it's a spiritually and emotionally uplifting week!  Praise God for the tradition on camp meeting!  
• Please continue to pray for Jewel's pregnancy, gallbladder, and Little Man, expected August 1.
• Praise God for Sophear's healing!

To see Christ glorified in Cambodia,

Titus, Jewel, Sophear, & Little Man

International Day of the Unreached

Sunday, May 14th was International Day of the Unreached - a day that Moody radio made me aware of in the days leading up to the Sunday.

According to the Joshua Project, an unreached or least-reached people is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers (identified as greater than 2% of the population) and resources to evangelize that people group.  (Click HERE to read The Joshua Project's data on Cambodia.)

Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  When He returned to Heaven, He left us with this command:

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"

(Matthew 28:18-20, NIV)

“With more than 2 billion people who haven’t had a chance to meet Jesus, it’s time … to take a radical stand and say ‘This has to end in our generation.” - Rick Warren, pastor and author

God has called us to reach the unreached, a call that Titus and I know is leading us back to Cambodia.

From 1975-1979, 80% of Cambodian believers were martyred during the horrors of the Khmer Rouge.  From the small seed of some 2,000 remaining believers, the evangelical Church in Cambodia has since grown to more than 200,000 believers.  Nonetheless, evangelical Christians in Cambodia number less than 2% of the population and more than 75% of Cambodia is considered unreached.  The needs for evangelism and church planting in this war-ravaged country remain great.

Titus and I have chosen 1 Chronicles 16:24-25 as our verse for ministry in Cambodia:

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.”

A Buddhist monk in Kampong Cham and a Muslim school girl in Takao

Will you join us in praying for the unreached people groups in Cambodia and around the world?  Will you join us in praying for those who have already gone to reach these lives for Christ?  Will you help us go?

To see Christ glorified in Cambodia,

Titus, Jewel, Sophear, & Little Man

One Short Life

My grandmom, Jane, began writing One Short Life many years ago and finished only days before the Lord took her home in September 2013.  The stories and testimonies included in the book have been formative, as early as elementary school, in fueling my passion for becoming a missionary.

One Short Life is the story of my aunt, Jewel, who went to a remote area of Africa at 7-months-old with her missionary parents (Harvey & Jane) in 1954. They began to learn the Yalunka language and culture while adapting to life under a grass roof. It was a time that later helped birth Jewel’s own call to the mission field – a call, however, like that of her parents' missionary service, that was tragically cut short. But it is most of all a story of how faith in the providence of a loving God, hope for an eternity with loved ones, and love for God and others can overcome disappointment, loss and grief.

One Short Life is selling on Amazon for only $8.98!  Grandmom wanted all proceeds from her book sales to support world missions. However, our family felt that the book should be sold as close to cost as the publisher allows, thus allowing it to be accessible to more people. Our hope is that each reader will be inspired to financially support and pray for world missions.  Read more here.

I would love to give away one or two copies to readers who will, upon completion of the book, promote it!  If you are interested and willing to do this, please e-mail me.

To peak your interest, I've attached some pictures from the stories included in the book.  See more at oneshortlifebook.com.
Picture 1: Aunt Jewel on The Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (the boat they took from New York to London)
Picture 2: Aunt Jewel reading books to beloved pet monkey, Sammy
Picture 3: Granddad and Grandmom's mud and thatch roof home in Ganya, Sierra Leone
Picture 4: The view from the front porch
Picture 5: Granddad leading a Christmas service in town
Picture 6: Daily life: five Africans at work
Picture 7: Mom and Bokari in 1956
Picture 8: Mom and Bokari reunited in 1983

Granddad, Grandmom, Aunt Jewel, Mom (Joy), and Uncle Andy

I am endlessly grateful for the rich Christian heritage evidenced in this book and so thankful for Grandmom's dedication to write this story.  Thank you also to Uncle Andy, Aunt Nancy, and Kevin for the many hours they have spent in fulfilling our promise to Grandmom to publish her story.

I hope you'll read it and be inspired!

To see Christ glorified in Cambodia,

Titus, Jewel, Sophear, & Little Man

Khmer New Year with Cambodians in Ohio!

Two weeks ago, we learned that there is a large Cambodian population in Columbus, Ohio - less than three hours from us!  While I wish we had known this four years ago (if you knew and didn't tell us, shame on you! haha), we're grateful that God has finally brought these people into our lives this month and we're anxious to see how these relationships develop.

Pastors Chenda and Phal preaching

We spent the last two Sundays worshiping, sharing, and fellowshiping with two Cambodian congregations in Columbus, Ohio.  Titus has this testimony to share about the experience:

               What a blessing for the past two Sundays to attend the worship services with my fellow Cambodian Christians in Columbus, Ohio. The tears of joy and emotions of happiness were overflowed inside my heart when I saw my own people worshiping and serving the Lord God Almighty wholeheartedly in this foreign country. I got to share my heart for our ministries in Cambodia.
             My heart was filled with emotion because of their lives during the Khmer Rouge and in the refugee camps and in United States. Each one of them had lost most of their family members and relatives during the civil war in Cambodia.
But they also confessed that God has a bigger plan for Cambodia. I thought I have been through a lot of things (good and bad) for the past 4.5 years in the soil of America but after hearing their stories, I was humbled! Not just humbled, very humbled!

On April 10 and 17, we attended services at both congregations and enjoyed meals and fellowship with the pastors, their families, and other church members.  We were asked to share about our story (how we met and how Titus came to the States) and our ministry in Cambodia.  We were asked to pray over the sick.  We were prayed over.

Titus praying for healing

As we shared in our last post, Khmer New Year (Cambodia's biggest holiday) was April 14-16.  On April 17, Cambodian American Christian Fellowship (where we attend the morning service) had a Khmer New Year picnic following the service.

The picnic was a great opportunity to have fellowship with the church congregation and many others who attended.  There was a large buffet of Cambodian food as well as hamburgers and hot dogs.  Children and adults played traditional Khmer New Year games, including: tug of war, sack races, various relay races, and a watermelon eating contest.

Sophear was among the youngest to participate in an Easter egg hunt.  She found 17 eggs and while everyone else had quit, she was determined to cover every inch of the neighboring field to ensure no eggs were left behind!

Some of the traditional Cambodian food, including homemade donuts

The Egg Hunt and The Most Determined Hunter

The Children's Sack Race

Men vs. Women in Tug of War

Following the first service and Khmer New Year's picnic at Cambodian American Christian Fellowship, we visited Cambodian United Methodist Mission Fellowship only a few minutes away.  After the 3:00 service there, we had a time of fellowship and more Cambodian food at Pastor Phal's home with his family.

• Thank you for praying for Pastor Chenda and Pastor Phal and the congregations at Cambodian American Christian Fellowship and Cambodian United Methodist Mission Fellowship.
• Pray that both churches can develop a culture that is welcoming and desirable to all generations.
• Pray that God will bless the ministry of Pastors Chenda and Phal and that more Cambodian-Americans in Ohio will discover the Good News that is the life and message of Jesus Christ!

To see Christ glorified in Cambodia (and Ohio!),

Titus, Jewel, Sophear, & Little Man

Khmer New Year and DOUBLED GIFTS!!

In recognition of a very special Cambodian holiday, a donor has promised to match all new financial gifts that we receive from April 14-30.  Would you consider giving to support our ministry in Cambodia?  Click on the give button below or visit wgm.org/romdenh to make a monthly commitment or give a one-time gift.  Every dollar up to $2,500 will be matched!!!!

Khmer New Year or "Choul chnam thmey" in the Khmer language (literally "Enter New Year") is the name of the Cambodian holiday that celebrates the new year. The holiday lasts for three days and usually begins on April 13th or 14th, which is the end of the harvesting season, when farmers enjoy the fruits of their labor before the rainy season begins.

Traditional Khmer dancers performing for the monks

Khmer New Year is a special family holiday and everyone typically travels to their home town to celebrate with family.  Schools and business are closed.  Khmer New Year is also a celebration of Buddha's birthday and many people, even those who are not devout Buddhists, visit the pagodas (Buddhist temples or "wats").  At the pagodas, people present food offerings to the monks, who in turn give a blessing (luck and fortune for the coming year) to the people.  People participate in sharing food with each other and playing cultural games.  In anticipation of the holiday, people always thoroughly clean their homes and wear their nicest clothes.  Children give money to their parents and grandparents.  Even though it is a Buddhist holiday, Christians still travel home to spend the extended holiday with family.


Traditional Cambodian games on Khmer New Year

Khmer New Year is a significant holiday for many Cambodians, not only because of it's strong traditional, cultural, and religious ties, but for the same reason that most Americans appreciate our New Year.  Khmer New Year is the start of a new year!  "Some people have believed that for a period of one year the people always face the problems like diseases or serious obstacles to make them unhappy," one blogger writes.  "Choul chnam thmey" in the Khmer language (literally "Enter New Year") comes with new an exciting opportunities for a better year, for a better life, and for a better self.

Would you consider supporting our ministry to bring Hope, Life, and Good News to the Cambodian people?  Every new dollar (up to $2,500) that we receive from April 14-30 will be matched by a generous supporter!

Pledging is a commitment that a supporter makes to give a certain amount of money to our ministry on a regular basis. Some of you are already giving -- thank you for being obedient to the call God has laid on your hearts to be a part of our ministry!!  If you are interested in becoming a financial partner, here are the easiest ways to join our team:

1. Go to wgm.org/romdenh and fill out the form for a recurring donation. 
2. Request a prayer card from us, fill out the detachable post card, and mail it back to World Gospel Mission.

You can start your donations today, or you can indicate when you would like to begin your contributions. Since our goal is to be back in Cambodia by March 2017, you could pledge today to begin your regular support at the beginning of the New Year.  Regardless of when you can begin your financial support, or how large or small your pledge is, the pledge is a blessing! We cannot return to Cambodia until 100% of our monthly support is pledged.

If you have any questions, call us, text us, Facebook us, or e-mail us at titus.romdenh@wgm.org. 

To see Christ glorified in Cambodia,

Titus, Jewel, Sophear, & Little Man