Dear Partners in the Ministry, September 2017 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Greetings from the mission field of Cambodia. First of all, please allow me, my family and Grace Baptist Church Cambodia Ministry to thank God for each and every one of you for being a channel of blessings and encouragement to all of us here in the field. We do really appreciate all your love and for always remembering us in your prayers. My family is doing well, sometimes sickness is here and just these past few days, Rafael had on and off fever but thanked God for always being there for us. God is always faithful to provide in times of needs. Rafael just turned 2 years old last August 6 th and the joy that he brings in our family and to the people around him really makes a lot of fun and great memories. Last Wednesday, September 13 th, I celebrated my 32 nd birthday and yes, I am getting old and getting more gray hairs hahaha. But that s okay, the Lord is always good to us, nothing to complain but thankful for every blessings and challenges in life especially when I celebrated my birthday in our bedroom because of fever but I am doing well now. We are also happy to announce and thank God for answering our prayers last June for granting Rafael a US Visa after the application interview. Lord willing, next time we will travel back to the US together with Rafael. We want to take advantage of this opportunity to thank every one of you again for everything that you have done for us especially when we were traveling while my wife was pregnant to Rafael. We know that many of you would also like to see Rafael.
Secondly, we are thankful for every God-given opportunity to minister to every individuals and groups of people here in Cambodia. Few months ago we started some programs and activities in our church. First, we started a teachers training seminar every Sunday afternoon for our young people in teaching children to our prospect children center outreach. Second, we thank the Lord for one family in our church who open their home for bible study every Tuesday and Thursday evening. I am thankful for the result of this bible study because of their deeper love for God and wide understanding about the work and ministry of God.
Third, because of the open house bible study, the Lord allowed us to start an evening service at the same house of this family for their desire to reach their neighbors and love ones. These are just some of the many things that God entrusted to us to minister to the people of Cambodia. We are also thankful for every souls that accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. May their decisions be genuine and may their lives be a strong evidence of their testimonies to encourage and be a blessing to their fellow nationals.
Lastly, please continue to pray for our church building project. The fence is finished but the church building construction was delayed because of some legal clearance from the government but we are hoping that soon we will be able to start the construction. Thank you for those who were able to help us financially for our deep well. Before the end of this year we are going to celebrate our seventh year anniversary of reaching the people of Cambodia through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for every fruits from our labors for the last seven years and we are thankful to the Lord for every friends and partners in the ministry for always praying for us and helping us financially here in Cambodia. Our prayer to God for all of you is that God will continue to bless your churches, your ministries and your families. May we continue to work together in reaching the lost souls and together as we serve the Lord in every given opportunities. Thank you for being a way of blessing to us. Prayer Requests: As the country of Cambodia continue to grow and improve as a nation. I have seen many changes in this country for the last seven years. Few weeks ago, the government pass out a new law for all the foreigners (like us) staying in Cambodia. The government would like every foreigners staying in Cambodia to have a working permit to be able to continue our extension of stays in Cambodia. For the last seven years, extension visa for one year is just payable for $300 through a visa agency per person for one year without any supporting documents or working permit especially to our status as a missionary. Not only that, as I continue to gather more information about the implementation of this new law, according to one agency, there is a Year Back Pay meaning, we need to pay $100 per year since the year we stayed in Cambodia. Just like me for example, I came here last May of 2010, now its September 2017, I am now staying in Cambodia for seven years and five months. If The Year Back Pay will be implemented soon, the next time I will renew for my extension visa not including Rachel and Rafael will be really costly. Let me quote what Miss Rachana said regarding this matter and I quote Work permit cost $290 for 2017 (including medical check,
quota and immigration form). But if your first visa is before 2017(my first issued visa is May of 2010) then you will have to pay for the back years $100 each year end of quote. The next time that I will apply for an extension visa, it will cost $290 for working permit I.D. for one year, $300 for visa extension for one year and $700 for my seven years back pay. Please remember us in your prayers about this matter. I am talking to the agency and appealing if they could help my family not to pay this amount because we are not really working in Cambodia under a company and nobody will give us a COE (Certificate of Employment). I am explaining to them the purpose of our stay in Cambodia as a missionary. We are praying that they will consider our status and not pay the amount that they are asking. But if they will force us to pay the amount for us to be able to continue our stay here in Cambodia, I believe God will provide. If you desire to know more about our situation, you can email us here pastorflandingin@aol.com and I am very glad to answer your questions or if there are portions in this letter that you don t really understand email me your cell number and we will give you a call. Thank you for all the things that you are doing for my family and for the ministry here in Cambodia. Rest assured that you are always in our prayers especially to our friends and supporting churches in Florida during the hurricane Irma, we remember you all in our prayers. We hope that you are all doing well. Your Missionaries to Cambodia, Francis, Rachel, and Rafael Landingin