Yong & Wendy

Illustrating teamwork at the hospital

2026-09-07T00:00:00+00:00

“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12: 26-27

Illustrating teamwork at MMCC…

It takes a team of many people to deliver the care we strive for at MMCC. Recently we had a successful surgical outcome for a patient that had a total hysterectomy. We had been managing her Diabetes and high blood pressure for the past 3 years, when during one of her check ups with us our team identified a bladder mass. Within a short time we also confirmed a mass in the wall of her womb.

At MMCC we have limited services, for example we don’t have a blood bank or CT scanner, or all the specialist doctors. This means for the best interests of the patients, we partner with other hospitals and services, including treatment for cancer. Some patients can access free healthcare at government hospitals.

With these multiple complex needs that this patient was experiencing, our medical team discussed the best approach- to balance her kidney function (impacted by the bladder mass, diabetes and high blood pressure), so that she would be fit for surgical intervention. Our team discussed and agreed to refer her for a biopsy of the bladder under a specialist urologist and also to be able to access cancer treatment at a government hospital.

Two weeks later she returned to us without having surgery or cancer treatment. She had spent time and money without significant benefit. Our team felt very disappointed to hear this.

Despite a lot of logistical challenges with the timing, our MMCC team was able to do surgery and arrange for blood transfusions so she would be in a stronger position both pre and post op. We were able to partner with another OBGYN surgeon who works at another hospital, to support our own OBGYN surgeon. On the day of surgery some of our own staff worked to organise blood donation and collection. She was able to be discharged the following week. All the people and teams involved on the day of surgery alone: surgeons, nurse assistants, nurses, physicians, porter to carry blood, blood donors, nurse advisers, the lab staff, the pharmacy team, 1 financial officer. That was fantastic team work: using different skills for the blessing and good of 1 patient. This is how we show Jesus’ love in action and we praise God for the opportunities He gives us to serve and honor Him.

She was thankful and full of praise for our hospital team and services, although she is not yet a believer, we pray she will come to know Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.

We took this photo right...

Our former hospital director…

About a month ago, just 24 hours before they planned to return to Cambodia from their home assignment, our previous hospital director Dr Tim experienced a brain bleed. Praise the Lord for the amazing ways God provided for him and the skilled neurological surgeons and expertise he could access in the US. He is continuing to recover although there are ongoing concerns and vulnerability. Please pray with us for him and for Marjie, his wife.

Brief updates about the hospital appointment system…

We continue to work on the communications with patients. Now about 40-50% of our patients each day have appointments and we are improving our patient flow. Lately we have seen a lot of very sick patients and we have had more admissions into our inpatient care. Please pray for our communications with patients and that we can take all opportunities that God gives us to share the love of Jesus with them.

Thanksgiving and prayers:

Praise God for the new shoots of faith that we see among patients we see- including a recent young woman from rural Mondolkiri who had surgery at MMCC to remove a 7kg cyst. Pray for her testimony about the saving power of Jesus within her village!
Please pray for our communications with patients and that we can take all the opportunities that God gives us to share the love of Jesus with them in word and action.
Please pray for our former director Dr Tim and his wife Marjie, recovering after Tim’s brain bleed.
We continue to pray for the relationship and peace between Cambodia and Thailand and for all the families impacted by this conflict- children missing school, lack of access to land for harvest, loss of security, home and income.
Later this month Wendy will travel to visit her aunt, uncle and cousin. Please pray for safe travel and a good time as a family together.

Bible Translation Celebration

2026-07-18T00:00:00+00:00

“GTherefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Provinces and minority groups…

Did you know that Cambodia has over 20 minority ethnic groups with their own languages and cultures? If you could not hear or read Jesus’s words in your mother tongue, do you think you would believe in Him? Jesus commanded us as His followers to teach people about Him and the love of God the Father. Some missionaries are working on Bible translation, promoting and encouraging writing of indigenous praise songs among these groups as the church grows. Some friends of ours in the northeast and in the middle of the country are among these missionaries, whom we have visited during motorbike prayer circle rides. Before we were married many years ago, Yong lived for 4 years in Mondolkiri and Wendy lived there for 6 months, so we both have memories and relationships with people from there.

In May, Yong was invited to join a 10 year celebration of the new testament Bible translation of Bunong language. This was held in Mondolkiri, a good 7 hour motorbike ride away from the capital and our home. Praise God for the churches among these groups that are growing faster and for the minority group missionaries coming up from within who are seeking to plant and grow churches among other minority groups.
Thank God for the opportunities Yong has to help with website building and management for Bible translation partners who are working among minority ethnic groups in northeast Cambodia.

This is Yong… I also took part in the initial Bible translation celebration 10 years ago. Prior to that while I was living in Mondulkiri I got to know the SIL couple that was doing the translation there. Part of the reason I was asked to take over the deployment of the translated Bible onto the internet was that the translator, Didi, had been battling cancer for many years. This past week, Didi went to be with our Lord. It is sad for the community he left here but we know he’s in a better place now.

If you’re curious as to what Bunong sounds like, go to this link and click the play audio at the bottom of the page: bible.bvp-bunong.org.

Me and Didi at the...

Learning cohorts (from Wendy)…

The small pilot project of a cultural learning group for cross-cultural workers here was interesting to co-facilitate. Working with co-facilitators who have also been serving in Cambodia several years, I really appreciated reading, discussing and thinking about the cultural factors here, including worldviews, values, beliefs, that impact how people respond to the saving good news of Jesus. I have now lived and worked in Cambodia for over 12 years. I want God to shape my understanding and give me wisdom to serve Him within the community He gives us. The course completed in April with some good reviews and feedback for future potential cohorts. Secondly, the spiritual formation group completed in May, with significant insights and celebrations for many of the participants involved, deepening in their love and knowledge of God and in their understanding of themselves and how they hear from God. How or where do you feel most aware of God’s presence? For me the beauty of creation points me to the Creator and His majesty, singing songs of praise and hymns softens me to His love and care, seeing new aspects of His character reflected in others teaches me how glorious God is and the beauty of God’s word shapes and corrects my thinking.

Celebrating completion of the spiritual...

Brief updates about the hospital appointment system… We continue to work on the communications with patients. Now about 40-50% of our patients each day have appointments and we are improving our patient flow. Lately we have seen a lot of very sick patients and we have had more admissions into our inpatient care. Please pray for our communications with patients and that we can take all opportunities that God gives us to share the love of Jesus with them.

Thanksgiving and prayers:

Praise God for the churches among these groups that are growing faster and for the minority group missionaries coming up from within who are seeking to plant and grow churches among other minority groups.
Thank God for the opportunities Yong has to help with website building and management for Bible translation partners who are working among minority ethnic groups in northeast Cambodia.
Praise God for all the many different ways God speaks with us and shapes our understanding.
Please pray for our communications with patients and that we can take all opportunities that God gives us to share the love of Jesus with them.
Praise the Lord that Wendy’s Dad’s house sale has completed!
We continue to pray for provision for Cambodian refugees due to the war with Thailand at the start of the year.

A year of changes and new visions for MMCC

2026-05-26T00:00:00+00:00

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Provers 19:21

We have been having a busy time lately as there are many changes this year at MMCC hospital. The vision of MMCC is to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Luke 9: 2). To do that we focus on 4 important ‘P’s- Proclaim, Provide, Prepare and Partner. The 2025 MMCC report indicates the needs and desires among the people here for complete healing- fulness of life, not just physically, but also freedom from fear and spiritual oppression. To bring holistic healing we have departments caring for medical and surgical needs, but also psychological health and spiritual needs. We work on preparing staff with skills to proclaim and provide, across all departments in the hospital, which means we are both training staff and treating patients. To do this well takes time, patience and resources. Over the years we have invested in developing Cambodians with professional skills and servant hearts to interact with patients and care for them. Please click on this link to read the full report for MMCC for 2025 and understand more of the ongoing vision.

MMC 2025 Report.pdf.

New appointment system…

Yong has been supporting the hospital registration and administration staff as we roll out a new appointment system for our patients. He has been writing code and creating spreadsheets to organise and implement this. As staff contact patients to confirm appointments and receive them each day, he trains and supports them to manage the patient flow. You may well imagine that many people are involved in the daily flow of patients as they arrive, are assessed, then meet with the doctor who determines which additional tests are needed before making a plan for the patient to be treated and discharged, admitted or transferred. It is challenging for our doctors to be attentive to their time management of patients, especially as we precept and teach our junior doctors during their training as Family Doctors (equivalent of GPs). For our reception staff, they need digital competency, hospitality skills, communication skills and a great deal of patience, working in demanding circumstances. Our patients may be making their first visit to Phnom Penh, and their first language may not be Khmer since we see many patients from the rural provinces from ethnic minority groups. Contacting our patients can be very challenging- due to poor signal coverage rurally, language barriers, finances and the patient’s degree of technological familiarity. As we implement these system changes, please pray for great communication and unity together, working as a team to serve our patients well. And ultimately that God will be glorified.

New roles…

In March our founding hospital director stepped down into a different role- and we have a new hospital director (Chad) who has been working at MMCC for over 10 years. We also have a new medical director (Tim M) who has been working with us for the past 3 years or so. These changes have been taken prayerfully and thoughtfully. We praise God for our founders’ faithful service and please pray with us for these folks as they learn their roles and manage the daily running of the hospital.

Practicing with dummy

Gratuation photo

Gratuation photo #2

New buildings…

We opened up new buildings in March for patient waiting area, canteen, Hospital Maintenance, Pharmacy, Finance, Administration and Spiritual Impact Team. This was the first phase of expansion and the second phase will likely commence next year, focusing on improving and expanding our Emergent Care Unit, Endoscopy, Inpatient care and Physiotherapy. Currently we are thinking and praying about phase 2, including for the funds and the priorities for renovations. Please pray for wisdom for our leaders to make choices that advocate and promote access to care for poor Cambodians, furthering our mission.

Over at the new ‘Canaan’ campus (which is where we are now living), we are thankful for the space for our hospital child daycare facility and that the MMCC staff can enjoy the recreation space with the football field and volleyball court. Please pray for the partnership with the Kingdom school who is leasing the educational buildings for their growing school, which is a great opportunity to provide accessible, affordable quality education for our hospital staff. Later as renovations are done on the student accommodation, more of our staff will move onto this campus. Please pray for discernment and funding to implement plans that further longevity and staff retention, enabling families to stay together, rather than parents feeling forced to send their kids to be raised by grandparents in other provinces.

Our next update will include news of the two learning cohorts we referenced in previous newsletters that Wendy has been involved with- one for journeying deeper in faith and one for newer cross-cultural workers based here. We will also share about Yong’s recent trip to Mondolkiri for a celebration among the Bunong churches.

Thanksgiving and prayers:

Praise God for the faithful committed work of our hospital founders and pray for our new leaders that they will serve under the Lord’s leadership.
Please pray for great communication and unity together, working as a team to serve our patients well. And ultimately that God will be glorified.
Please pray with us for these folks as they learn their roles and manage the daily running of the hospital.
Please pray for wisdom for our leaders to make choices that advocate and promote access to care for poor Cambodians, furthering our mission.
Please pray for the partnership with the Kingdom school.
Please pray for discernment and funding to implement plans that further longevity and staff retention.
We continue to pray for provision for Cambodian refugees due to the war with Thailand at the start of the year._
Thank God that Yong is recovering well from knee surgery and that he was able to recently ride to an event in Mondolkiri- more on that in our next update.
Pray for the health of elderly family members Stateside and for all the paperwork to successfully complete the sale of Wendy’s Dad’s house.

Finding Beauties in Times of Uncertain

2026-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

“Would each one of you, our prayer partners and supporters send us what is beauty in your life?”

Where do we look for beauty in times of uncertainty? Of course, we look to God. He gave us poetry, the brilliant hues of a Renoir, the beauty in His creations, the fields of tulips, the green shoots of the tea leaves, the birds in the sky of blue and clouds of white, the rainbow colors of the ocean waves, the gentle movements of a koi fish as it swim and countless more. We should take time to appreciate these all. I had the treasure of resting and recovering at my sister’s home, of visiting families and old friends. It was springtime in the US and you can’t ignore it if you try, the greening of the trees, the blooming of the red roses too. As you may have gleaned, I borrowed phrases from a song that was created in the backdrop of the assassination of President John F Kennedy, the oil crisis of the ‘70s, the Vietnam war and many other conflicts. In one way or another, we’ve been there before and we’ll be there again. Here’s the lyric of the song that I find beauty in:

Lyric to the 'What a...

Mobile outreach

2026-03-13T00:00:00+00:00

“Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. For the Lord hears the cries of the needy” Psalms 69:32-33

At the end of a week of many global wars and crises, we look to see ways that God leads us. As we surrender to Him, He transforms, shapes and renews us. During this Lent period, it is an opportunity to reflect, to abstain, to lean in to hear the Lord’s voice as we anticipate Jesus’s journey to the cross, to bring rescue and hope. We hope you are experiencing a significant faith journey through Lent this year.

Praise God for the recent opportunity we had to send out a medical outreach of our MMCC staff to displaced people camps in the north of the country. We sent a team of 10, who saw over 470 patients over 5 days. They worked with one of our referral partners to bring healthcare and the message of God’s redeeming love and hope to the people there. Pray that God would grow faith as our referral partners follow up there. We thank God for continuing peace between Cambodia and Thailand, however for the remaining Cambodians who can’t return home due to disputed border areas, homes destroyed, unexploded ordinances and fear, please pray for God to bring justice, safety and opportunity to return to their land.

The MMCC medical outreach team...

I (Yong) was watching a movie the other day and the main character taught his children the bond between families. As an example, he gave each of the children a stick to break in half and the children were able to break the stick easily. He then told them to tie the sticks together and now try to break the bunch of sticks. Of course they couldn’t break them. He said family together is what makes everyone stronger. I think that’s a very good example of a family bond.

I am in the US to recover from a few health issues - my knee surgery, added to having five stitches to my ear from falling down the stairs and a broken collarbone from crashing my motorcycle. I also wanted to be with my elderly parents as they have more medical needs. I am not medically trained but being with them is what feeds me. I am thankful for the family that God gave me. Family is what binds us together. They allow Wendy and I to do the things that God has us doing in Cambodia. I guess I just wanted to note that without them we wouldn’t be where we are today.

The nurse team from MMCC-...

Thanks for engaging with us and praying for all that the Lord wants to do here through us. We pray we can demonstrate Jesus’ love and bring blessing through the skills God has given us.

For pray and thanksgiving:

Praise God for the recent medical outreach from MMCC to displaced people camps in the north. We are thankful for the working partnerships with one of our referral partners and we pray that God would water and grow the seeds of faith.
We thank God for continuing peace between Cambodia and Thailand, please pray for God to bring justice, safety and that they can return to their land.
Thank God that Yong is recovering well from recent injuries and knee surgery- pray for continued rehabilitation.
Thank God for the blessings of our team mates here- we are thankful the Cambodian visa was renewed on time to fellowship in Malaysia. It was encouraging to hear about the different ways God is blessing and transforming lives across the region!
Pray for the health of elderly family members Stateside.
We continue to ask God for the sale of Wendy’s Dad’s house.

We long for peace, hope, joy

2025-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” I Timothy 2:1-2

What A Provider God!

It was perfect timing for our friends to visit us from Kratie. The husband was sick but he recovered enough to come to stay with us. While they were here, I (Yong) was involved in an accident or something. I have no knowledge of what happened. I still do not know. I know that I was on my way to a gym close by our house, to do some more rehab on my ACL repaired knee. The next memory was that I was home and our friend Kim was on the phone talking to Wendy at MMC, trying to form a plan to take me to the hospital and do a CT Scan on my head. Kim left everything and took me in her car to the hospital. It was perfect timing that they were staying with us.

Another gift, we had to pay some medical expenses for the CT-Scan and hospital visit. I didn’t check the balance on our ABA account but I was able to pay the bills without issues. Little did I know, the InterServe team gave us a gift into our ABA account that covered the bills. I didn’t have to worry about putting more money into the account. What perfect timing again without us asking for it. Thank you to the team for the generous gift.

Peace…. many people are displaced across Cambodia and Thailand because of the border conflict, bombings and fighting. We know families who have fled from Anlong Veng and other places in northern and western provinces. Last night we had team prayer and heard about the ways Khmer people are helping each other by taking supplies to displaced people and the Khmer church is also engaged in helping. However we also heard about anger and fear as fatalities increase. We pray peace will come soon.

Hope and joy… I (Wendy) thank God for some encouraging testimonies shared during our staff yearly reviews with the nurses at MMCC. I feel so thankful for the ways that the nurses enjoy the teamwork, learning opportunities and see the ways God is building faith and bringing blessings to patients through MMCC. Praise Him! I am thankful too for the growing maturity among our nurse leaders, in both faith and professionalism- God is producing spiritual fruit for His glory.

Learning cohorts… the Journey Deeper spiritual growth community completed 4 more online teachings lately, thank God for the deepening faith and maturity in Christ. In January, Wendy will join a small team facilitating 8 cross-cultural trainings to help new workers here to explore and discuss the deeper significance of sharing faith and building up the Cambodian church. Pray for protection over both these groups (JD and CT), seeking to prepare and serve, being fruitful for the Lord’s kingdom.

Christmas events… Due to our current recovery circumstances and also due to the border conflict, we anticipate church Christmas celebrations and events will be scaled down. Please pray that God will prompt and lead the Cambodian church to illustrate Jesus’ love, generosity, mercy, kindness, hope and faith in these challenging circumstances. Please pray for us to encourage our Cambodian brothers and sisters and to know how to do this in word and deed.

We wish you a special Christmas time that makes room to welcome the Lord Jesus into your home and as you do so to receive His peace and love. We pray you will find renewed hope and joy as you reflect on God- come to earth to dwell with us- Emmanuel, the Lord Jesus, Saviour of the world.

Thanks for engaging with us and praying for all that the Lord wants to do here. We are thankful for all God gives us to do and for all the people we can work alongside- we pray we can demonstrate to them Jesus’ love and encourage others to follow Jesus.

It's good to pray

2025-10-27T00:00:00+00:00

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” I Timothy 2:1-2

Dear Family and Friends,

Since our last email, we have been settling into our work and life back home in Cambodia.

Despite mobility limitations, Yong has been working from home supporting various organisations and friends with different websites and admin support. Recently one team mate who is working at the Gateway2Khmer language school contacted him to help with their programming support and timetabling. He has also recently been making more instructional videos for the MMCC admin team as they continue to learn about using the Google platforms.

We are thankful that Yong has had knee surgery at last. Finally all the correspondence with insurers, doctors and hospital administration came together last week. Yong had the surgery on Saturday Oct 18th and it went to plan. He is recovering very well. He will need to walk with crutches for 6 weeks and it will take several months before his knee will be strong enough to ride off-road motorbikes again. Please pray for this healing process, including a helpful plan for home exercise, physio appointments, patience and perseverance to keep motivated to work on this, improving fitness and strength.

After knee surgery! Waiting at...

Wendy has joined the team facilitating a new cohort of 16 international and Cambodian believers who want to deepen their faith through the Journey Deeper course. The course started with a 3 day retreat at a venue in Phnom Penh. There will be online meetings over the coming months, including some coaching with individuals and a small group. We pray it would be fruitful for each participant learning more about listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Hospital work with the nurses continues, including two recent teachings on Pharmacology and understanding medical records (physicians notes). Also in early October, Wendy recently filled in a gap to lead a lunchtime bible devotion with nurses, which required some quick thinking and preparation to do that in Khmer. After several years without formal Khmer language study, Wendy decided to invest in this again, with 1:1 tutorials each week, particularly working on reading and expanding vocabulary.

Recently at MMCC hospital, we have been able to see great progress in the OR team competency and confidence, which we give thanks for. We are training nurses in the skills of circulating nurse, anesthetic nurse and scrub nurse. We have a goal to have several staff trained in these areas, so that we can have 2 OR teams that are able to rotate. To develop the surgical skills among our physicians, long term we are praying for funding for a surgical fellow position and also for discernment about which completing resident would have aptitude and interest for surgical skill development. Please pray with us for that.

Wendy leading worship during the...

In our last email we referenced the border conflict with Thailand. This conflict stems from historical disputes about the border demarcation and political issues. We are thankful for the further diplomatic peace talks and agreement over the weekend. Some of our prayer circle colleagues rode up to the north east areas this month, riding as close to the borders as they were permitted. They were praying through, praying for people they met, praying for peace and reconciliation. We pray with them also, that peace will hold and that trade can be open again and that displaced people can return to their homes and to their work.

Prayer circle riders earlier this...

For pray and thanksgiving:

Praise the Lord for successful knee surgery for Yong and we pray for his recovery over the coming weeks and months
Thanks to God for the new cohort of believers- internationals and Cambodians- who want to journey into deeper faith and relationship with God and the opportunity for Wendy to facilitate this with a team
Pray for peace at the borders of Cambodia/Thailand
Praise God for the surgical skills we have as we develop the team at MMCC team- please pray for the long term needs of a surgical fellow to rise up among our doctors.
We continue to ask God for the sale of Wendy’s Dad’s house.

God’s perfect timing

2025-08-20T00:00:00+00:00

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7

Dear Family and Friends,

During the past 3 months, we have had some wonderful divine appointments and we can see God’s perfect timing. God has provided homes for us, a car for us, gifts to cover costs, new friends who want to partner with us in prayer and financially to enable us to continue serving in Cambodia. We have spent time with our family and many old friends; enjoyed many delicious meals (including some favourite foods!) and experienced some beautiful places to walk or sit. Alongside these sources of thankfulness, we have also had challenges and tears.

We write this to you from London, UK where we have been based during our visits to churches and supporters here in the UK. We expected to be back home already in Cambodia, but at the end of July, Wendy’s dad became unwell, then passed into heaven. We are very thankful for the way God took care of him, and of our family as we were able to gather to support each other, to grieve and remember, giving thanks for his life well lived. We are thankful for the timing for us, that we had not yet left the UK, which meant we were able to plan the funeral and then the memorial service in Devon, within the community of friends and believers who loved him.

For over 6 weeks, Yong has been struggling with a painful knee, which we think was an old injury that worsened. We were thankfully able to get an Xray and senior physio input in London when it happened, however it has not improved. It has been painful and very limiting for him and for us during our home assignment time. Unexpectedly, a generous friend here offered to arrange a private appointment with a knee orthopedic specialist, so we await that at the end of this week. Please give thanks with us for this provision of expertise and also that God would bring a clear plan and healing for Yong.

A happy memory for us...

Back in Cambodia, many of you will be aware of the border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand over the past 6 weeks. Whilst the land border between the two countries remains restricted or closed, this will have a big economic impact on families who live day to day. We don’t have friends who have been affected directly, but we do know some people working to support people who are displaced. Please pray for peace and for normal work and trade to return, as well as for those displaced to receive support from NGOs or charities working in that sector.

At MMCC hospital, 4 new trainee residents have started their 3 year course with us in family residency which is like GP training. We also had a new nurse start this month. Please pray for them to settle in well and to deepen their faith. Several of our MMCC leaders just attended a weekend retreat together, with the purpose of learning about leadership through change, and for deepening relationships. Spouses and children of our leaders joined also, since this is a witness to being a community who care for each other and honour our families. Praise God that during the weekend the husband of one of our senior doctors made the decision to follow Jesus. Please pray for him with his wife, to find fellowship to continue to grow in his faith and trust in Jesus.

The MMCC nurse team gathered...

Thank you for your ongoing journey praying for MMCC hospital and for our community in Cambodia. Thank you for praying for us in the challenges and also for giving thanks with us for all the blessings. Through it all, to God be the glory.

For pray and thanksgiving:

Pray for peace at the borders of Cambodia/Thailand, for people to return to their homes and their work.
MMCC team- praise the Lord for 4 new trainee doctors (Family Residency training, which is like GP training); and for 1 new nurse.
Pray for Yong’s knee and a provision for getting it fixed.
Thanks for Bryan’s life and faith (Wendy’s dad) and the timing that we were in the UK while he passed.
Thanks for the divine appointments and provisions that God has given during our home assignment.

Completing journeys - on a motorbike

2025-05-11T00:00:00+00:00

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:104-105

Dear Family and Friends,

We have two recent journeys to share with you that we experienced God’s presence, guidance and blessings. Firstly for Yong, he joined a prayer ride into the south/southeastern borderlands of Cambodia, with lots of river crossings and border crossings. As usual this was a ride to prayer through the land, to pray for God to plant and build up churches, to pray for redemption and freedom in places of despair and oppression. One border town particularly felt dark and uncomfortable, where the team were looking for accommodation for the night and decided to circle back out of the town to sleep undisturbed. Cambodia is a nation that fears and appeases spirits, horror ghost films are the most popular entertainment, people live with spirit houses and daily offerings. Would you pray with us that Jesus, the light of the world, would enter into the darkness here, to bring release, hope, freedom from fear?

Look at the journey ahead...

Crossing the ferry

The motorbike prayer circle riders...

Secondly, Wendy gathered at the start of May at a hotel in Phnom Penh to complete facilitation of a cohort 18 christian workers, both internationals and Khmer, who longed to deepen their faith and spiritual maturity, through formative guided retreats, bible study and prayer. Facilitating this cohort has been a weekend and evening commitment for Wendy and four other leaders over the past eight months or so, with a combination of large and small group meetings, 1:1 coaching, and through both online and in person gatherings. At the final retreat we celebrated together as each person recognised their refreshed identity in Christ, the ways they understand God gives them values, gifts and a vision in which to serve Jesus, which of course for each person is unique. If this sounds interesting to you, do ask us to share more! This year was the first time we had some Khmer believers joining. We hope and pray that in the future God will grow a desire and capacity for Khmer believers to translate and contextualise these materials to be a wider blessing to the Khmer church. The Khmer church is very young, generally first generation, lacking mature elders, there is a desire and need for discipleship to grow elders and mature believers. Would you pray with us for God to grow maturity and commitment to discipleship within the Khmer church?

Wendy was meeting with 5...

Wendy was meeting with 5 women over the year, encouraging them in their deepening spiritual journey in Jesus. This photo was during our final retreat together. (The photo is blurred to protect their identities as some work with sensitive communities where their faith cannot be openly shared).

The spiritual formation group

The spiritual formation group of both Khmer and international christian workers, gave opportunity for exploring ways to grow in our identity in Christ. We were also discerning the unique vision that the Lord Jesus gives us to both serve and be a blessing in our communities. Our final weekend of celebration included presentations of this, and some were done very creatively.

Thank you for your ongoing journey praying with us here in Cambodia. We will be spending time in the UK during June and July, if you’d like to catch up with us in person. We have some dates already booked and others in discussion, but we anticipate being mostly London based.

June 10-12 our organisation’s offices, Birmingham

June 15/16 St Peters Church, Budleigh Salterton, Devon

June 17/18 Dorset area

June 22, 29 visiting London churches- location to be confirmed

June 24/25 Brampton, Huntingdon area (and again in July, but we are not sure of dates yet)

July 6,13 visiting London churches- location to be confirmed

July 20-24 mission partner and churches conference (Hertfordshire)

July 30 returning home to Cambodia

For pray and thanksgiving:

We are thankful for a great team conference together in April- encouraging time away together and interesting teaching about reconciliation.
We give thanks that Yong could join a great prayer ride in early May into the southeast of the country, engaging with many guards at multiple border crossings, including praying through one particularly spiritually oppressive border place. Pray for Jesus, the light of the world, to enter into the darkness here, to bring release, hope, freedom from fear.
In early May, Wendy was part of the facilitator team for a group of 18 international and Khmer christian workers to complete an 8 month journey of deepening in faith. It was celebratory and joyous as each person shared testimonies of how they recognised the identity we have in Jesus and the specific vision God gives us to serve Him. Pray with us for God to grow maturity and commitment to discipleship within the Khmer church.
We’re about to start our US and UK travels, including family gatherings and church family events. We are very grateful we can do it and we appreciate all your prayers for stamina as we travel away from home over the next 3 months.
We ask the Father God to give us the words to share about our lives and ministry here in Cambodia with each appointment that God gives us as we spend time with friends, supporters, believers and our families. We pray it would be a big encouragement, blessing and inspiration toward following Jesus closely.
We are pleading continually for Wendy’s Dad’s house to sell.

Riding into the northwest

2025-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

“how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”” Romans 10:14-15

Thank you for your ongoing journey praying with us here in Cambodia. This newsletter we have plenty of recent photos to share with you, including from a prayer ride earlier this month.

Monthly women’s fellowship at the...

Friday lunch times we have...

We appreciate visits from adventurous...

Yong rode up into Laos...

Breakfast before start of PCC...

Start of PCC ride February...

Before we set out on...

The group gathered for prayer...

A rest stop during the...

We met this lady and...

Wendy took a tumble on...

A river crossing day 3....

Waiting to cross the Sekong...

Crossing the river Sekong river...

Scott with the mechanic trying...

Listening to Dave E (prayer...

Visiting a family of the...

A circle of feet in...

Meeting and encouraging some believers...

For pray and thanksgiving:

We’re so thankful for recent visits from friends staying with us. It is a blessing to show hospitality!
Praise God for those we met during our February prayer circle motorbike ride. Some believers live quite isolated from fellowship and teaching about following Jesus. We pray God blessed our visits to encourage them and we also shared some Bible apps to equip and inspire- may God water and feed their faith.
We give thanks for the December hospital all staff retreat and for the foreign staff retreat in January, which were both excellent times of fellowship and affirmation in the mission of the hospital to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God (Luke 9: 2).
Please continue to pray for the journey to faith among our hospital staff and that we may daily continue to share our hope and joy that comes from receiving forgiveness and new life in Jesus.
As we plan some home assignment (furlough) in the summer, we will visit churches and supporters who partner with us to serve God here. Please pray God would guide our planning and provide for our needs.

PCC Oct 2023 northwestern of Cambodia

2023-11-28T00:00:00+00:00

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.”
1 Chronicles 16:8

We completed our prayer circle on Oct 13-16. It was a good trip. On our first day, we visited Jared and Emily who live in Stung Trang. It took us 10 hours of travel time to get to their place. The first part of the trip was okay but as we got closer to Stung Trang the rain poured down on us. At one point we had to stop and take cover from the driving rain. We had a good visit with them hearing about their work with young adults- building skills for trade and about following Jesus in their communities.

From Stung Trang we headed toward Prey Vihear. We visited Joel and his team mate Chelsea who work with young adults. They provide houses and support for the children from far away villages across the province, to enable them to attend high school. The students get to stay there for grade 10 to 12, then they graduate and the students go to university in Siem Reap and/or join YWAM. After that some of them would return to Prey Vihear and become leaders of the student centre there. This past school calendar year, they had 50 applicants for 12 slots. It’s a hard task to be so selective for the missionaries there because the children getting these slots are life changing for them and their family.

Praying for a family near...

After church service sharing time...

After Prey Vihear, we headed to Anlong Veng to attend a Sunday worship service and to meet up with some of Wendy’s old colleagues. The church service was led by a young couple that Wendy used to know. It was a simple service. We met a young man who needs psychiatric assessment and care- please pray we can help him and his church family to access this. We then went to meet with a family who had a child who’s mute and deaf since birth but who has never had an expert physician assessment. He was a rambunctious child, eager to learn and attend school but currently unable to due to his different learning needs. There’s a children’s hospital in Siem Reap but the family is afraid of going to a large city. We agreed to try to connect the parents with some contacts that we know of in Siem Reap. Please pray that the family will get some good connections and that the child can be seen properly. It would be doubly difficult to grow-up mute and deaf and unable to attend school.

After Anlong Veng we headed toward Siem Reap about 30 to 40 km outside of the city, Yong’s bike gave out. The engine locked up and would not restart. We had to tow the bike into the city in very bad weather conditions. The mechanic in Siem Reap looked at it and he said that it needed major part replacement, so he helped ship the bike to Phnom Penh, where they had to replace the piston. It now runs good as new. Due to being one bike down, it was a slower journey home riding two up, and hitting torrential rain and heavy traffic combined with fading light. Thank God for keeping us safe, especially during the last 3 hours into Phnom Penh.

Praying over new land

Taking a ferry crossing the...

Pray with missionary friends in...

Thanksgiving and prayers:

Praise God for the contacts we made during this ride and the people we could pray with and pray for.
Pray for the deaf-mute boy we met, that he can access expert assessment to see if there are any interventions that can help. Beyond that, pray for him to be able to learn and go to school.
Pray for the young man who needs psychiatric support, pray we can help support that in combination with his local church family in Anlong Veng.
Thank God for our safe return from our prayer circle trip.
Thank God for a good team day with our mission (InterServe) team mates a couple of weeks ago.

MMC's women outreach

2023-10-08T00:00:00+00:00

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. …whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” James 1:21-25

Health outreach, testimonies at a bible school

Last month we joined some hospital colleagues who were doing a small health outreach to students and people living locally there. While there we were able to visit some old friends who lead a Bible school. The school is about 2 hours from Phnom Penh. One evening we had a wonderful fellowship, sharing testimonies and singing praise to God. Some of our young doctors from MMCC shared about their journey of faith which was deeply encouraging and inspiring for the other young Bible school students who come from across Cambodia to learn about how to serve as pastors and teachers of the Bible in their local communities after they graduate.

Medical outreach at the Bible...

the outreach team and bible...

Pastor Koi with his beautiful...

MMCC hospital

We have just started the new cohort of nurses and student nurses in our nurse training on Wednesday afternoons. We were delighted to celebrate the graduations from students in the last cohort, as well as 2 nurses who completed our inhouse leadership training- see some photos!

Among the international workers at MMCC, we had a very good short retreat with the female staff. We discussed effective approaches and strategies for mentoring and discipling our Khmer colleagues. We also spend time sharing together our different strengths and motivators, which helps us to better work together and to overcome conflicts. Did you know that the number 1 reason that mission partners leave the field early is inter-team conflict? Working on these relationships is essential, even more so as we seek to role-model overcoming conflict with our national colleagues. Mission partners at the hospital come from 6 different nations, so cultural differences can be huge!

Some of our international colleagues have been facing very challenging situations. We have had 2 cancer diagnoses in the last month and we had one family left the mission field due to their eldest daughter’s ill health. We mentioned in our February news, it’s now confirmed they won’t return, which has severely limited our surgical services. Please pray for our hospital team.

At the same time, we give praise to God for an amazing breakthrough - the MMCC Board had been working for over 5 years to purchase some neighbouring land to enable expansion of our patient services. In August this was finalised. Praise the Lord for this opportunity and we are prayerful into the designing and planning for the potential to be led by God- not our ways but His we pray. In September we started regular prayer walking around and through the hospital each Wednesday after work and each time God draws our attention to different people and matters to pray for and encourages us with scriptures to direct and feed our prayers.

October is the month of the Cambodian Pchum Ben festival, which is a festival to pray to and appease their ancestral spirits. It is often a time that Cambodian Christians face pressure from their Buddhist family to offer sacrifice and perform rituals for dead ancestors and spirits, sometimes blood offerings are made. Please pray the Cambodian church would shine as light into the darkness and that believers would demonstrate love and respect for their families but also live out their allegiance to Jesus.

Some pictures from our celebrations in August of our 5 nurses who completed our in-house nurse training course and 2 nurse who completed the leadership course. We have just commenced our new nurse training course this year with 6 students.

Prayer Circles Cambodia

We are glad and excited to anticipate two forthcoming prayer rides this month, so please pray for the planning and for the actual rides- that God would direct us as we decide where to go, who to stay with, who to speak with and for readiness to speak words that give life. Memorising scripture helps in these circumstances! Pray the riders would be equipped spiritually to serve, to work as a team together and to bring blessings and peace to the different homesteads we are welcomed into.

Upcoming dates/events:

October 13-16 Prayer Circle Ride to north Cambodia (including Anlong Veng) (coincides with Pchum Ben Khmer festival celebrating the dead and appeasing spirits)
October 20-24 Prayer Circle Ride to east and north Cambodia
Wednesdays- PG nurse training and prayer walks at MMCC hospital
And in mid- November InterServe team day gathering

Thanksgiving and prayers:

Pray for our international colleagues at the hospital who are facing treatment for cancer: two colleagues in the past month have been diagnosed with cancer.
Pray for the upcoming prayer rides anticipated in October to the north and north east Cambodia.
Give thanks for adjustments with the EMR system at the hospital. We pray for the new administrative tools and processes that Yong is teaching the hospital admin staff and department leaders.
Thanks for great celebrations of the graduating nurses at MMCC hospital.
Praise God for the Bible school we visited that is teaching young believers to pastor and serve Jesus in their rural communities.

Jacob & Nikki's Wedding + Ty's Visit

2023-08-14T00:00:00+00:00

“‘the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Jacob and Nikki’s Wedding

We are very thankful for our recent time spent in the US and UK. We started our journey to the US first, beginning with our nephew’s wedding. He and his new bride graduated from a military medical school, got married, bought a new house and started life together. What a summer for them!! In addition to their wedding, we were able to attend three high school graduations of our nephews and nieces. It was a blessed time. Having the chance to be part of life with everyone in our US family.

We then went to the UK, where we were blessed to be able to speak at three churches. We shared about what’s going on in Cambodia, our work and our lives here. Between speaking engagements, we were able to visit Wendy’s dad three separate times. We also were able to visit Wendy’s brothers in Spain for a few days. We are thankful for these times with our family after many months or sometimes years since we have seen them.

Just before returning to Cambodia we attended a conference for mission partners connected with our London church and their church network- known as iNet. This was an encouraging time together for fellowship and to share with each other looking back on what God’s been doing in different parts of the globe and looking forward to our next season of living and serving.

Wendy’s dad has some age-related health challenges and has had 2 recent hospital admissions. Please pray for him and that we can support him well even though we are so far away.

All the travel and change, with many different beds and sofas, was both tiring and also a big blessing, because God provided for us through this. We were able to spend time with many people we love and share words to encourage and build up our family of believers. There were many beloved people we were not able to visit and see. If you are one of them, please forgive us, and consider coming to visit us in Cambodia! When we landed back in Cambodia we enjoyed a visit with Yong’s brother Ty and his family!

Our nephew and his new...

Ty and family, visiting Cambodia...

We recently celebrated our latest...

MMC update

August has seen the implementation of a new electronic medical records system (EMR) at the hospital, after several weeks of preparation and practice by all the staff. This has started well, and we hope it will become easier. Please pray we can adjust our MMC processes and that the host server of this EMR software will be responsive to make changes as we give feedback to make this more user friendly and helpful. For our nurses particularly, please pray we as leaders can support them with using this programme and that they gain confidence and competency with English and digital skills.

We plan to start the next year of the PG course in September, but before that we will be celebrating a graduation of 4 nurses who completed the 1 year post graduate (PG) course and for 2 senior nurses who have completed leadership training. Pray this will be a joyful celebration, encouraging and inspiring for our team.

While Wendy has been away, we have recruited 1 new nurse- praise God for him.

In case you missed this, here’s a link to the 2022 annual report of MMC- exciting reading of what God is doing through our small hospital and faithful staff:

Mercy Medical Center Cambodia annual report 2022

Motorbike things…

Coming up we will again be officials at a motorbike race. Please pray we can keep building friendships and can take opportunities to share Jesus. During the races, please pray for safety for the riders, stewards and for the crowds who want to get near the action.

Cambodia changes

Recent elections passed peacefully and the Prime Minister announced succession planning that his son will become the new prime minister later this month. Please pray for the leaders of Cambodia to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly- may they come to know the Lord as God.

Upcoming dates/events:

August 19 graduation celebration for 4 nurses completing our in-house postgraduate nurse course and 2 nurses completing their in-house leadership training.
August 26-27 Enduro bike race, Kampot
September (possibly second or third week) restarting the PG course
September 22-23 MMC retreat for missionary women

Thanksgiving and prayers:

We are thankful for all the time we could spend with family, friends and our church families over the last 3 months in the US and UK. We are thankful also to be home again safely!
Thanksgiving that Wendy completed and submitted her dissertation for Masters. We pray this research will be used for God’s kingdom purposes and His glory.
Pray for the new Prime Minister of Cambodia and for politicians and leaders here to serve the people well.
Pray for the upcoming Enduro motorbike race in late August, pray for opportunities to bear witness to Jesus with people we meet there as we are officials at the race.
Pray for the new EMR (electronic medical record) system being implemented at MMC and for all the staff to become able and comfortable to use the system. Pray for problem solving to adapt previous processes to work within the new framework.
We ask for prayer for a family we know who have been deeply hit by the death of their son. Please pray for their comfort and healing.

Hey there

2023-07-14T00:00:00+00:00

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