Growing, Growing, Gone

Acts 1:8

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Greetings,
This is our last newsletter update from Canada. We write this update as we are in Vancouver visiting family and supporters just before we get on a plane on July 10th to head back to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. To say that it has been a fast year is just giving in to another cliché but it certainly has been a fast year. 
As we reflect upon this past year, the idea of growth or growing up keeps coming into our minds.  The 4 years in Cambodia for our family certain have been times of growth. Times of growing in our trust of God, times of growing in our closeness as a family, and times of growing in all our relationships with those that we met in Cambodia. As we have been back in Canada this past year, the one comment we keep hearing is, “oh wow, your kids have grown so much!!!” And as we look at our friends and their kids, we can say the same. Many of those who had no kids when we left, now have 1 or 2 kids.  It makes Joyce and I feel especially old when we are visiting former students who are now married and have kids. Maybe it can make us feel a bit better to say that we are not getting old, but we are growing. But it is true that our kids are growing. Jadon turned 16 in June and got his G1 (learners) driver’s license. Josiah finished elementary school and Elisabeth finished middle school. As well, both Jadon and Elisabeth were baptized in May. If we allow ourselves to think ahead, it’s mind boggling to think that in two years Jadon will graduate high school and head back to Canada on his own to go to university. And at the end of our next 4-year term, Elisabeth will also graduate high school.

Growth is something that is natural and is a part of God’s plan for us. He desires for us to develop and continue to grow in Christ-likeness. He is continually sharpening us and growing us in our areas of weakness and fine tuning us to be more useful to Him and His kingdom purposes.
This idea of growth reminds us why we as a family are going back to Cambodia. We desire to see the impact of Jesus Christ grow greater in Cambodia, particularly among the Vietnamese population. We desire to see the growth of Vietnamese communities of faith into parts of Cambodia where there is presently no Vietnamese Christian presence. We want to see existent leaders developed and new leaders birthed.

Growth can be sad as you think about moving on from what “used to be”. But it is also so exciting as you consider the possibilities that lay ahead as you walk the path that God is laying out. When our family heads back to Cambodia, there certainly will be more than a hint of sadness, but we are excited to see what God has in store for our family and the ministry that we are a part of with the Vietnamese in Cambodia.
We thank every one of you who have made our time back in Canada memorable. We thank you for the individuals and churches that have reminded us of how we are so deeply supported in prayer. We regret that there are so many churches and people that we were not able to see in our time at home.
The next time you hear from us, we hopefully will be able to say, “greetings from Cambodia”.
 
Blessings,
David, Joyce, Jadon, Elisabeth and Josiah

• • Pray for our family as we travel back to Cambodia July 10th.
  • Pray for our children that they will do well with all the moving and changes.
  • Pray for us our family as we still need to find a place to rent in Phnom Penh.
  • Pray for the local leaders that we work with, that God will give us a common vision for the work in Cambodia

Joshua Project – Vietnamese in Cambodia: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/12700/CB 
Nguyens in Cambodia Facebook: www.facebook.com/djnguyen.ca
Nguyens in Cambodia Website: www.djnguyen.ca
C&MA Global Ministry Website: https://www.cmacan.org/ministries/global-ministries
C&MA Bio Page: https://thealliancecanada.ca/gift/david-and-joyce-nguyen