Back in the States!

We made it back to the United States. It was an incredible trip and we praise God for all that he did during our time in Cambodia. Right now we are still fighing jet lag pretty bad. Kristen and Benjamin are staying at the house in Johnson City while Lewis and Sterling go to a leadership seminar at Heritage Fellowship in Jefferson City. On Saturday the boys have their last basketball game and then next week we go to Strong Rock Christian School in Georgia and Faith Community Fellowship in Alabama to share about the vision of the English School. No rest for the weary!

As soon as we are over our jet lag, we will update everyone on the trip.

Muslim Village in Kampot Province

If you would like to see more photos from the trip, you can visit our website:

http://www.lightinseasia.org/

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers during the trip! We witnessed the hand of God during the entire time that we traveled.

Servant of a Passionate God

Lewis Burke

Rom 8:31

Phnom Penh

We have had a really great time in Phnom Penh. God has truly given us the desires of our hearts to see everyone that we needed to see. In a third world country, it is often difficult to connect with people.

Friday night we arrived in Phnom Penh after, in Kristen's words, "The most peaceful car ride that I have ever had in Cambodia." The driver went slow and did not take any silly chances. We also never got more than five feet from another car, water buffalo, cow, child, chicken, cat, dog, or old man in a wheel chair. It was amazing! I did not know these drivers existed. Praise God for answering prayer.

After we arrived in Phnom Penh, we had dinner with our good friends Sonja and Tola Kim. On Saturday morning, we came down from the lobby of our hotel and there was Pastor Siani. He was picking up a mission team from Singapore who were staying at our hotel. Kristen had prayed that if we were suppose to run into him that we would. It was great seeing him and hearing how everyone from Banteay Meanchey is doing. After spending a few minutes with him, we had breakfast with Daren and Jodi Beck. Friends of ours who have lived in Phnom Penh for years now.

After spending the morning in Russian Market, we stopped by the new "mall"and had Swenson's ice cream. I had heard a rumor they were here now, but wanted to see for myself. Again, praise God for answered prayer. It is good to know that I can get real ice cream every few months when we move back to Cambodia. HA!

Last night we went to see our dear friend Lyda. Her mother and father were in from Kampong Cham and it was an incredible time. Her father used to stay with us when he came to Phnom Penh and we spent many nights and days out in his village. He is 72 years old and his health is holding up. He used to love to watch the Jesus film at our house and would watch it over and over. He is one of those special people in our lives who have touched us deeply through the years. I never have time to visit him on one of these trips and it was so good of the Lord to let us run into him at Lyda's house here in Phnom Penh. We sat on the floor for over an hour with them catching up. It truly felt like we were visiting family. I really cannot express how thankful we were to see them all. God is so good!

We leave tonight for our long trip back to the states. We have over 36 hours to get back to Knoxville. Please pray for safe trips, our luggage to arrive with us on time, smooth airplane rides, our health, and for no delays. We really hope that we can check our luggage from Phnom Penh to the states. We do not have want to have to pick up our luggage in Korea.

We are very thankful for all that God has done on this trip. We are blessed. Thank you for praying for us during this trip. We pray that the Lamb that was slain would receive the reward of His suffering through His Church in Cambodia!

Servant of a Passionate God
Lewis Burke
Rom 8:31

For Prayer Requests for the Trip;

You can Visit our Website:

www.lightinseasia.org

God is Faithful in All Things

We are constantly amazed at the faithfulness of God. Why this is, I have no clue. God continually amazes with everything that He does. To see all that He has accomplished during the seven years that Lighthouse Ministries has been on the ground here in S.E. Asia is, at times, overwhelming.

In meeting after meeting with Vutha, he continues to show wisdom way beyond his years. In dealing with the other staff, the children, the government, the culture, etc., Vutha continues to walk in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Just this morning, he was telling Kristen and I about how his heart was to let the children go back to their home villages for a day or two every year so that they can share how Jesus has changed their lives. It is his desire to see the children ministering to their lost relatives. We have several children who will be 17 and 18 years old this year, Vutha is passionately seeking the Lord for direction for their lives and is coming up with Spirit inspired plans.

Pheakadey's little restaurant is truly a Lighthouse in the city. She recently led a 65 year old foreigner who was visiting the city to Christ by sharing her testimony. A young 24 year old girl next door to the restaurant is a bonded slave to a rich family. The young girl has tried to commit suicide twice in the last few years. The family she is indebted to will not feed her enough or give her even a few hours off to visit the Church. Pheakadey sneaks her food from the restaurant and gives her tracts to read. Many poor and forgotten in the city know that they can find a place to sit for a few minutes, get a free meal and hear Pheakadey's testimony one more time. She is truly one of Phillip's spiritual daughters - a new testament evangelist. I am always convicted when in Pheakadey's presence because she is so in love with the One who saved her life (she was saved from child prostitution) and soul and is so passionate about sharing His love with others.

In the morning, the bread seller walks the street calling out for customers. Mary, Vutha and Pheakadey's daughter, will run to her window when she hears him calling out and sing at the top of her lungs, "Jesus Christ is the bread of life! " So, everyone every morning, the street they live on hears a child teaching them the truth of God.

Seeing Somnang, our oldest boy at Heritage House, in his right mind, leading worship, teaching computer skills to another student at his school, and talking about his future is a miracle. When Somnang came to live with us, he was 12 years old, and he had never been to school. He was really rough and we were reluctant to take him in. After prayer, we knew that he was suppose to live with us. Watching him relate to the other children and to see the work of God in his life is amazing.

Our new cook, Heng, was a demonized woman living in the village. Her father had nine children and was completely insane. He walked the roads seeing visions of Satan and terrorizing the others in the village. Heng was married to a drunkard who abused her and her two sons. She was soon following in her father's footsteps and the other villagers were afraid of her. One of her sisters gave her heart to Christ and shared the gospel with Heng. Now she is a Christian and growing in Jesus. She lives with Vutha and Pheakadey with her two sons and they are being discipled.

I could go on and on about the faithfulness of God. He has been working here in Cambodia and around the world and will continue to do so. We are blessed to serve Him. Our prayer is that Jesus Christ would be exalted in the nations and that His kingdom would truly come through His Church here in Kampot.

We will be leaving Kampot to head to Phnom Penh tomorrow. It will be difficult to leave our Khmer family here. We spent the morning with the staff of Heritage House. We praised the Lord together, prayed together, studied His Word together, washed each other's feet, and had communion. We laughed, we cried and we were moved by the love of God.

Tonight we will have a meal with the staff at Pheakadey's restaurant, spend the evening talking with the older children about their future, have devotions with all of the children, and spend the night at the guest house with Srey Roth and talk about her future. Please pray for us as we prepare to leave, it is always hard to leave the staff and children, for our safety traveling to Phnom Penh (really dangerous road) and for our time in Phnom Penh to be as fruitful as our time in Kampot has been.

Servant of a Passionate God
Lewis Burke
Rom 8:31

To see Prayer Requests for this Trip,

You can Visit our Website:

www.lightinseasia.org

God is so Good!

The trip has been amazing so far. God has blessed us in so many ways already. We made it to Kampot, after leaving Tennessee only 57 hours earlier. After some really bumpy plane rides, we were thankful to have a very peaceful van ride down. We praise God for the safe trip here.

Seeing how well the staff and children have adapted to their new home and city is a real treat for us. They are really flourishing in every area. The children are all doing well in school. In almost every grade, one of the children from Heritage House is first in their class. The Church is moving along and having an impact in the area. At our guest house yesterday, a lady who works there said that she can hear the children singing and praising Jesus everyone day and that on Sunday mornings they seem to be so happy. Sisters Restaurant Two (Pheakadey's restaurant) is going well. Some of our older girls help cook and waitress when they are not in school. Yesterday, Mari and Chrup made our lunch and last night served us dessert. It is great to see how God is moving here and using the staff and children to make an impact in the city.

I shared at Hosanna Church Cambodia yesterday morning. We had five of the school teachers who had visited during the Christmas outreach return to visit the sevice. All five of them came forward to pray during the ministry time. They all prayed and opened their hearts to the Lord. In this culture, I am hesitant to say that they "prayed the sinners prayer." I do know that they prayed and asked Jesus to reveal Himself to them, confessed their sin and need for a Savior and asked the Holy Spirit to teach them about Jesus Christ the true God. So, we know that He is faithful to move in their lives and that the door has been opened for God to move. Please pray for them to truly encounter Jesus and for them to become true disciples.

The children from Heritage House led worship at the service. As always, Kristen and I sat and cried as we saw the goodness of God being lived out before us. To see these children who were orphaned, cast out by society and hopeless now being living epistles to the glory and goodness of God before our eyes. To see them singing and praising Jesus with all of their hearts lets us know that He is alive and still moving throughout the earth.

Please join us in praying for Coy, Somnang, Tola and Mari. These are our oldest children and we are seeking the direction of the Lord in what to do with them next year. We are praying about vocational schools or for them to continue one more year in public school. We need to be preparing them for their future and none of them will be able to finish all of high school due to their ages. We are trying to see what will fit each of them best.

Yesterday afternoon, Kristen and I spent hours with Vutha and Pheakadey and it was so refreshing to see all that God is doing in their lives. In the late afternoon, we played and talked with the children from Heritage House. It was a great day and we are thankful!

As strange as it seems, we only have four days left in Kampot. We leave for Phnom Penh Friday afternoon. We will visit friends there on Friday everning and Saturday and then start the long journey back to the states on Sunday. We did get seven hours sleep last night (our most so far) and may be getting used to the time here about the day we leave to head back to the states.

Thank you for your prayers!

Servant of a Passionate God
Lewis Burke
Rom 8:31

for prayer request for the trip,

you can visit our website:

http://www.lightinseasia.org/

Korea

We are at the Incheon Airport in Seoul, Korea. It took us over 36 hours to get here and we still have a 6 hour flight ahead. We have had some really rough take offs and landings due to weather. Kristen's cold was getting worse on the flights, but getting 6 hours sleep here has helped. We are praying for a smooth flight from here to Phnom Penh. We arrive at almost midnight there, spend the night and catch a bus in the morning for our 4 hour drive to Kampot where we will see the staff and children at Heritage House. Yeah! That is worth the trip for sure!

Will update more as I can!

Servant of a Passionate God
Lewis Burke
Rom 8:31

www.lightinseasia.org for prayer requests for the trip

Off We Go!

Kristen and I are traveling to Cambodia to visit the orphanage from February 11th - 23rd. We are really looking forward to seeing all of the staff and children at Heritage House in Kampot, to meeting the new members of Hosanna Church Cambodia and to seeing old friends in Phnom Penh.

We did not intend to visit again before we move back in the fall of this year, but the Heritage House staff and children kept asking and God provided the funds for us to be able to do it at this time. It is great for Kristen to get to see Kampot before we move there. During our first move to Cambodia in 2002, she moved sight unseen. She claims this was the best way for the Lord to get her there. I say, she is an amazing woman who is willing to follow Jesus anywhere regardless of the living situation.

We have 20 hours of layovers, 26 hours of flight time, cross the international date line and arrive in Phnom Penh at midnight to spend the night and take a four hour bus ride the next day to get to Kampot. So, we leave for Kampot on Wednesday but do not arrive there until Saturday. Pray for the trip!

Speaking of prayer, we have a prayer list on our website:

www.lightinseasia.org

We will do our best to keep everyone updated on the trip as we go along. We will certainly miss our boys while we are gone. They are staying with friends and grandparents until we return. We trust that they will be refreshed and encourged during our time away.

Servant of a Passionate God

Lewis Burke

Rom. 8:31