July 2026
Reaching Cambodia UpdateJuly 2026
“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
Isaiah 11:6
Preparing for the Catch
The WEC Conference last week was a wonderful opportunity for us to gather together near the Mighty Mekong River. It was a joy to welcome two long-term members, returning after almost 5 years in France. We were also privileged to reconnect with the NE Indian couple, of whom we joined their wedding last year, in India. The Conference Theme was ‘Cast the Net’, so in the lead up in our private studies we were reminded to expect great things with God. We remembered our Australian fishing days and enjoyed a few days at the sea before conference began, preparing our hearts and minds.
Conference is an exciting time to reflect and share all God is doing in our lives individually and collectively. As our ability to communicate in Khmer remains challenging, the Lord has continued to remind us, this is still His calling on our lives. We are so grateful for our teammates in both organisations that we are part of, who are very patient and encouraging toward us, giving us opportunities to be involved in biblical teachings in Khmer. It is very common for foreigners to give up after a few years of language learning, and to be involved in ministries not requiring the local language. But the Lord has continued to encourage us to persevere with language learning, in the same way fishermen patiently prepare their fishing nets for a catch.
Preparing the nets actually emerged as a sub-theme of the Conference, through worship and devotions led by us and others. Many of us are still language learners and building ministries after the focus of WEC Cambodia shifted toward sharing the Good News rather than humanitarian. We are also redefining who we are as a group. Sometimes as the newest western members, in a majority asian context, we still have much to learn. However, we praise God for love and forgiveness, as we learn together as a group what love, forgiveness, and encouragement looks like in a cross-cultural team, and in the eyes of eternity. We can identify with various animals, and sometimes feel like the biggest and whitest, but God is refining us all, in His image... One day the wolf will lie down with the Lamb.
WEC Cambodia Branch Conference 2026
Opportunities to Share
We are so grateful God invites us to work with Him, even before we are fluent in Khmer. Attending and occasionally leading small groups in English has been a great way to meet other missionaries, along with Khmer staff, who attend the Bible courses we are involved in and sometimes lead.
We continue to work primarily with GCI (Global Commission Institute), assisting in teaching basic theological and biblical course for believers. This takes up an enormous amount of our time, as we need to prepare for each class, by reading many pages in the Khmer language and translating them into English, so we can more easily understand the contents.
Alan continues serving on the WEC Cambodia Branch Leadership team. He’s also on the preaching roster of two churches and would love to have time to prepare some sermons in Khmer! During one of our Bible courses, he led communion in Khmer, and has also developed an online bilingual bible game, to help students remember the Books of the Bible, in order and by category. You can use it too, by clicking this link, and choosing GAMES from the top.
Leanne maintains the Facebook page for the Global Commission Institute, and converts some concepts such as love languages into info-graphs, with the help of our language tutor.
We also enjoy our times of sharing, praising, and praying weekly, with our teammates. It is a blessing when we can meet our wider team in person, in our roles as member carer and Branch Council.
Alan leading communion during a GCI class, in the Khmer language.
One of our GCI classes studying the Spirit World
(a biblical look at the world of the spirits).
GCI class in the village, studying Peaceful Families
(a biblical marriage and family course)
Lunch with some of out GCI students in the village.
Leanne's Monday evening women's fellowship group.
Alan preaching on Good Friday.
Seeking Sustainability
Since moving to Siem Reap, we have been extremely busy finding our place in this, predominantly tourist city. It is a more transient community, and therefore more difficult to break into the local social circles. Most of our Khmer friends are more than 20 years younger than us, and very busy in work, with very little time for relaxing. The choices of places to eat are endless, but things to do, quite limited... particularly with the land borders remaining closed, and relaxation and restoration looks different here.
It is not so much about what you do, but who you do it with – so we are so grateful for being able to welcome guests, and visit friends in different locations. We recognise hospitality and having time for God, each other, and others, is a vital part of our ministry, but it’s not sustainable to continue with so much language learning and translating Khmer course material.
By reducing what we do and how much effort we put into things, as recommended by concerned teammates, we can be more flexible without trying to do everything and burn ourselves out. Being part of one Bible course at a time, maintaining a schedule of exercise, personal bible study and prayer time, and pausing to praise God with our Ukelele’s, are all positive steps.
The Khmer are so encouraging in our language progress, knowing how difficult it is for foreigners, particularly older ones from a very different culture. We are grateful that once the marriage course is revised again, we already have people who are interested in studying it with us, in Khmer! There is such a huge need for this kind of material in Cambodia, and any marriage counselling / teaching is a new idea to them... but very much desired.
The Power of Books
We had the honour of joining our returning teammates’ opening Ceremony in Siem Reap of a Writers Course. Our teammate, a teacher and former writers group author, is helping to teach and encourage the Khmer to be authors.
During the Khmer Rouge most books were destroyed, and creative artists and writers did not survive. So, it’s exciting that local Christians have formed a publishing house, and are creating beautiful children’s books with good morals, novels, and testimonies as well. We were honoured to have some books signed by the authors at the event.
Happy Snaps & Movies
They say that a picture tells a thousands words...
So, here are some of our favourite memories from the past few months.
Please join our Reaching Cambodia private Facebook group for more photos and regular updates by clicking the below link and answering the questions (for security reasons).
Our friends wedding day in Takeo.
Leanne has been working hard to create a beautiful garden around our house, helping to keep the place cooler and prettier.
Dinner with friends from our Phnom Penh church. It was so wonderful to catch up after such a long time without seeing them.
Making a birthday cake with Leanne's friend, Sothery.
Photo shoot with more friends from Phnom Penh, in front of Angor Wat.
NGO in Siem Reap who provides vocational training to people with disabilities.
Visiting team mates in Kampot while arranging our new passports in Phnom Penh.
Prayer and Praise Points
Prayer unites us with the One who hears, answers, and transforms.
Thanks for praising and praying with us.
Please praise with us for...
- The Khmer Cristian’s attending the biblical / theology classes (the courses are full).
- Great teammates and partners in Christ.
- God uniting our new WEC Siem Reap team, with a new team leader, farewelling the previous leaders, and welcoming returning members.
- A people group praising and seeking God together.
- Reaffirmation of our calling to encourage and disciple the Christian leaders.
- A schedule review and reduction of tasks before we burn out.
- Restored relationships after communication breakdowns.
Please pray with us for:
- The Khmer language and culture, so we can talk ‘with’ the people, not just ‘at’ them.
- That we are filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit and it’s fruit’s.
- That God will heal this land, with people wholeheartedly worshipping Him and repenting of sin.
- May the locals know how to honour their parents as Christians, without engaging in idol worship.
- That we don’t get too distracted by all the ‘good things’ to do, rather concentrate on what God wants us to do.
- Good health for us and our families.
- For some Khmer people we can mentor and be mentored by.
- We’ve been asked to host an overview of the Bible course, for oral learners, called ‘Walk thru the Bible’. We’d prefer to offer it in Khmer, and are seeking God’s will on how to do this.
- We are hoping for new teammates, particularly from western nations to keep the cultural balance, and be gifted in support and administration, to assist the Branch Leadership.
- For Leanne’s Khmer friend Sothery, that she and her family can repent, love, and forgive each other, and live together again.
- That God’s Kingdom will come to Cambodia in power.
Thankyou so much for your prayers.
Please let us know how we can pray for you?
Prayer is so powerful.
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WEC (Worldwide Evangelisation for Christ), is our official sending organisation to reach Cambodia with Jesus. Their vision is to see Christ known, loved, and worshipped by the unreached peoples of the world.
As members of WEC Cambodia, Alan serves on the leadership team (Branch Council), and Leanne as Membercarer. We are part of the Siem Reap team, many of whom also have partnered with PCL (you can read more about them below), with mutual aims to strengthen the local church with solid theological training and the proper handling of scripture.
WEC has partnered with our home church, Hervey Bay Baptist Church, as our support base. You can find out more about WEC and it's long history, especially the story of it's founder C.T. Studd... by visiting https://wec.com.au.
PCL (People for Care and Learning) is dedicated to equipping leaders and strengthening churches. From Jesus communities with learning centres and farms in underprivileged areas, to vocational centres and relief work, their impact in Cambodia is wide and practical. They have mobilised thousands of food packs for displaced families and continue to expand mobile theological education.
We are partnering with PCL’s Global Commission Institute (GCI) to provide Bible training that equips pastors, disciples new believers, and strengthens remote churches. Our prayer is to empower the Khmer with biblical truth and raise up local leaders to carry the Good News to the furthest corners of Cambodia in their own languages. Partnering with them through GCI is a privilege, and we believe God will use this work to build His church across Cambodia for generations to come.
You can find out more about PCL by visiting their website (https://pcl.is/).
GCI Facebook page - https://web.facebook.com/GCI.siemreap
PCL Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/peopleforcare.
Thanks for journeying with us.
We truly appreciate your prayers and all your support.
Please share with us your news, we'd love to hear from you as well...
Have joy and peace,
Alan and Leanne