 And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Whatever you need today, he is that for you. Welcome to Hope Today. I'm Amy Schaefer. I'm here with the one and only Tom Hollis with a jam-packed program today. We really do. First, I love that verse because it was written, what, 700 years before Jesus, but it's clearly about him. It is amazing. Well, you know, God is doing some amazing things around the world. I hope he's moving in your life, in your area, I'm sure he is. But sometimes we, you know, we, we see Lord, are you moving in my block, my neighborhood, my town? Well, he is, but he's also moving in places like Cambodia. And we're going to hear from Darth Lee, who's a Cambodian missionary. Sydney had a chance to talk with them earlier. And Megan Bixler of Youth with a Mission, something I know a little bit about. And Bixler's a name we ought to know a little bit about. She's the granddaughter of the ministry here. And we're going to share a little bit about what God is doing through her life and again around the world. Well, I'm excited to hear about what's happening in Cambodia because I've heard so many terrible stories of human trafficking, sex trafficking that's happening in Cambodia. So it'll be awesome to hear how God is moving. You know, today is also worship Wednesday. And are you ready? God rest ye merry gentlemen with Annie Moses and the band. Don't you just love like love, love, love Christmas music. I do. And that's actually one of my favorite. When I usually get pushed to say, what's your favorite Christmas Carol? That's usually my favorite. Really? I love that. No, something about the words, you know, saved us all from Satan's power when we had gone astray. I just love that tidings of comfort and joy. That's what this is all about. Because of comfort and joy. I just want to say, are you having that type of experience this Christmas season? If not, or even if you are and you just want to prayer about something you can always call the prayer line. We have a prayer partner standing by and they just want to pray with you. And during this time, it's important that we, you know, get God's perspective. What is God saying in our own life? All the splash and dash all the running around. I love that. I love that Christmas. I don't know about shopping. It's all online now though. I mean, for me, I am a go to the store, walk through the shoes, feel the glory in the presence of God, walk through the clothes, pick through, look, I love it. You know, I don't go to the home goods very often, but we went to home goods and because we were looking for something for the kitchen and it was like Christmas wall to wall Christmas, but it was great though. But anyway, we, if you need prayer, the prayer line is always available during this time. Well, right now, let's go to Sydney's interview with Darth Lee. Darth Lee, you're so glad to have you with us. You are a missionary to Cambodia and so can you tell us before we get into the way that God is moving through your family in Cambodia about your story and your beginning? Tell us how it all started. Well, thank you for the question, Sydney. Both my wife and I were born in Cambodia. If you can remember 45 years ago, a radical communist known as the Khmer Rouge came to power in that country and in the spans of four years, they murdered one third of the population. And so I was seven years old when that happened. We were separated from our parents and were put in labor camp and was forced to work in the rice paddies from sun up to sun down without food and was tortured. But God has His hand on my life and I was able to escape and came to the U.S. when I was 11 years old and was put in a foster home and God saved because of my foster mother took me to church every Sunday. And then God called us back to return to Cambodia and we've been serving in Cambodia for the past 27 years. We're planning churches. We're training pastors and church leaders and also ministering to the physical need of the people through school. We're bill and run school. Currently we're operating five school that minister to over 3000 children daily. Yes. Wow, Darth. I just like hearing just like your story of like where you were in this such trauma and peril and how God rescued you put you in a family like a foster family here that shared the love of Jesus and then you met your wife and then God sent you back to Cambodia. Can you just tell us a little bit about your encounter with God and when you knew that this is what I'm called to do to go back to my people and share the love of Jesus. So when I was 14 years old at a Bible camp, you know, we have speaker that came and talk about salvation. And so I went forward and gave my heart to the Lord and I didn't think of anything about it. And three months or so later I was sitting on my bed and I realized that the nightmares that I was experienced simply disappear because once I got to the U.S. and once all the basic needs were met, you know, the food and clothing and shelter, the trauma that I had experienced as a child showed up and I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because of just what happened to me. I was experiencing that and when I got saved, God just took that away. And so I was so thankful and I made a commitment in my heart. I said, Lord, I will serve you. I don't know how, I don't know what. I was just an orphan refugee who survived the genocide in Cambodia. But when I was at college, the country of Cambodia opened its store to the outside world and the Somalip God as a fellowship, we sent missionaries into Cambodia and one of the missionary families, they were from my home church. And so they asked if I was willing to return to Cambodia to help them for a short time. And well, at first I didn't want to go back to Cambodia. I didn't want anything to do with that country. But the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and I reasoned that perhaps I can go back to Cambodia and bring a closure to that part of my life. And so I went. And when I went back to Cambodia, all these memories surfaced once again. And I found my mother, the mother I was separated at the age of 7 years old by the Khmer Rouge. And I found her and that encounter led me to just praying to God and asking God to help my mother. And the Holy Spirit said, yes, Jesus had done it all on the cross. And because of that, I can come back and bring the message of hope and salvation to my mother and the people of Cambodia. And that's what got us back to go back to Cambodia as missionaries. That's an incredible story, Darth, of like God just redeemed, He healed. I mean, the trauma that you endured and just to go back to your homeland and your country now to bring the gospel, the good news of Jesus. And you know, you do ministry work with your wife. So can you tell us like quickly, how did you and your wife meet? Yeah. So she was also from Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge, they kill her father. But her mother and siblings survived and they came to the U.S. And they first went to Houston and then moved to Minnesota. And she was connected with a lady who brought her to the Khurshin community and then encouraged her to go to Bible school, North Central University in Minneapolis. And at that school where we met and then, yeah, we got married and God called us back to Cambodia. Yeah. That is truly incredible. Like God is like just rewired and re-network things so you two could be together and go to Cambodia. So tell us, you know, give us a picture like for here, us in America. I know we hear about Cambodia. It's not a lot of times in the news, but what could you say about the spiritual state of Cambodia and how God is moving in your country? So Cambodia is a Buddhist country. 90% of the people today are Buddhist and most people yet have an opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But the church is growing from the last 20 years since Cambodia opened its door to the outside world and does allow the gospel to come in. The church is growing and through that people are, because just the people are hurting and poverty and suffering, just the history of that country. The people are looking for hope and through that we're able to bring the message of hope and salvation. And through that God is touching hearts and saving lives. Yes. That's truly beautiful just to hear about that. Can you share a story of how you just saw God, like a miracle, you know, just through the work that you've been doing? Yes. So a couple years ago we have a church planning team that went to plan a church in the northwest part of that country and we went to this particular village and for the first time the people in that village, you know, they got an opportunity to hear the name of Jesus Christ, to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And so as I was teaching the people and telling the Gospel story, I heard a commotion behind me and I turned to find a man was carrying a woman in its arms coming to meet us. And so when he got to us, he put the woman down next to me and I asked the question, I said, what can we do for you? And the men share with me that the woman is his wife and she couldn't walk for the past year or so. They didn't know what was happening to her. They went to medicine's man, they went to Western doctors, but none could help them. And so they said, we have heard that the Jesus people can heal. And I told them, I said, well, we don't have any power to help her, but we know that there is a God that can heal her. And so we prayed for her and then we left that village to go to the next village. And an hour later I got a phone call saying that this woman who couldn't walk for the past year or so now is walking in the village. And so that's just an amazing story and that's what God is doing in the country of Cambodia. That is truly incredible, Darth, that you are being the hands and feet of Jesus. And I love that, like, we heard the Jesus people and that they were going to witch doctors and all trying all these different things, but it just shows that our God through Jesus is a healer. And Darth, I just want to ask you, you know, for us, how can we be praying for you and your country? Well, thank you for asking that question. Yes, we are in the U.S. right now, itinerating, which is raising funds to go back to Cambodia and our plan is to go back in July of 2024. And so pray for God's protection in our travels, in our itinerary. Also pray for God's provisions that we were able to raise enough support to go back. And also the ministries in Cambodia that God continued to provide and protect our people and the children in the schools as well in our schools. So we appreciate that. Well, Darth, we just want to say that we are just so thankful for you and all that you're doing for the Kingdom of God in Cambodia. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for this opportunity to share my story. God bless you. What an incredible story that Darth shared, like a true story. I felt like I was watching, you know, almost like a faith film, like a faith movie. And it's interesting because he really is a mighty God that we serve. He really is a God that rescues, redeems. He really is that everlasting father. He was a good father to Darth and a good father to his wife. And now God is using them to go back to the land where he delivered them from to preach and reach the gospel. So I wonder today in your life, if you need God to show up in a mighty way, like it seems so dark, it seems so bleak, it seems so lost, so hopeless, but he is a mighty God. And I think that's so important to remember in this season. Number one, you're not alone. Number two, God is for you. Number three, he'll never leave you or forsake you. Number four, he is mighty to save. So you can really, you can really, really, really have hope today because of who Jesus is. I'm so thankful, Tom, for this season, for stories of the faithfulness of God, of the mighty working power of God. It is real. Well, look at God who orchestrates a Cambodian terrible situation. Another Cambodian in a terrible situation. God brings them to the United States, brings them to salvation. And they meet each other in Minnesota. What are the chances of that? And now they're doing ministry back in their homeland and seeing God move. And I just love the humility of Darth and what he shared. Let's continue to pray for God's move in Cambodia and around the world. Coming up in just a minute, we have Megan Bixler who's doing some great work around the world. But first, we'd like to show you a little bit about what Sydney is doing right now. Hey, it's Sydney Goldman with the Glory Hour where Spirit Meets Culture was super excited with coming up on episode two. You don't want to miss it. It's all about redemption in reggae and in Bob Marley's birthplace. We're going to talk about Daddy Yankee. Have you heard the news? And 99 gasoline. Oh, well, that's what he made his public profession of Jesus Christ. And we're going to share how the reggaeton superstar plans to use his gifts now to glorify God. Also, we're going to talk about the Bob Marley movie. The biopic is coming out in 2024. It's the most anticipated film of the year. And we're going to talk about what's been happening, the spiritual undercurrent behind the reggae legend sound and success and even how the Holy Spirit has been moving and breaking out on Jamaica. We're talking with Pastor Chris Morgan. He's a pastor from Kingston, Jamaica. You're also going to hear a story from Sarah Kawan Kaurner of talking about how she had an encounter with God on the island, gave her life to Jesus. And also we're going to talk about how God has been touching the addicted and afflicted in Jamaica through Teen Challenge in Jamaica. You don't want to miss it. It's going to be an incredible show. So join me on the Glory Hour coming up today at 3 p.m. on Cornerstone Television Network's YouTube page, and you can always watch it later too if you can't catch it at 3 o'clock. So pull up, grab a snack. I cannot wait to see you all on the Glory Hour. Since the earliest days of Cornerstone Television, we have supported mission efforts around the world. We have Cornerstone Cares right now. Whenever you partner with Cornerstone, you're partnering with missionaries around the world. And one of those is Megan Vicksler. Megan, welcome to Hope Today. Thank you. First we have to say you have a famous last name around here. You are Russ Enorma's granddaughter, the youngest one. Yes. Okay. Well, that's a great legacy that you have. And so tell me what you are doing for missions. So I partner with a ministry called YWIM, other known as Youth of the Mission in Tyler, Texas. And I work with our training department there, so we run different schools. Our main one is a five-month school called a Discipleship Training School. And so it's three months in the classroom learning about the Lord, learning about relationship with God, and how to make Him known. And then two months of that is outreach. So going somewhere in the world, whether it being in America or to Asia or Europe or Africa, like you name it, YWIM has probably been there. So you're talking short term, but a lot of us for churches, the short term is usually a week. You go somewhere for a week. You're going for two months. Yeah. Yeah. So what's that like? Yeah. It's super fun. I was just telling Linda in there that I feel like I'm living my dream. I get to travel and get to see different cultures and experience different languages and people and experience like God's heart all over the nation, because every nation carries a different part of his heart and getting to, yeah, just see people encounter the Lord for the first time and even like people that have been walking with God and knowing a little bit more about him. So when you go to another country, are you mainly talking to the church people there or are you trying to speak to non-Christians? Yeah. So it's kind of a little bit of both because the heart of like short term missionaries is like to support and like encourage like the long term people that are there. So we're partnering with them as like local believers, but also getting to know people in local churches, but also people on the streets and we run into people from all different backgrounds. Right. Right. You get a chance to share the gospel. Yeah. So let me ask you about what you've done this year because you've gone to some great interesting places. Yes. Yeah. Tell me about it. Yeah. So this year, early in April, I was in Mongolia for a month and we partnered with just different ministries there and specifically a Bible distribution mission. Yeah. You can call it like a mission. And they're kind of under the Wyman umbrella. And basically their heart and their vision is to see a Bible get put into every home in Mongolia. And they started that about four years ago. And I'm not sure how much they've gotten done, but they've gotten like a significant amount. Mongolia, that's really like the ends of the earth kind of stuff. I mean, it looks pictures. I've seen. I've never been there. It looks like a wide open kind of land. Yeah. There's mountains. There's like open fields. There's camels. There's like, it's crazy. There's snow. I'm from Texas. So I hardly see snow. So where else did the Lord bring it this year? So I also had the opportunity to go back to Poland this year in September and October. And we worked with the Wyman base there. So we have a couple of pictures here. Can you just explain to us what we're seeing? Yeah. Right here. This is a girl. Her name's Lexi. She actually was someone that did our, our discipleship training school and I got to disciple her actively for the whole five months. And I got to just see her come in, not really knowing like what her identity was in the Lord. And then like at the end knowing like, this is who I am, like I'm a daughter of God. And I know that. And I know that I'm loved and in purpose. And now she's able to like share that with other people and lead them into learning what their identity is in the Lord. Let's talk about that for a little bit because when you bring people into the training schools that you have in Tyler, Texas, a lot of times they're young people out of churches. Some may have come brand new Christians, but a lot of them have grown up in the Lord. What are they learning that's new to them? Yeah. I have people, if there anything like me, like I was raised in church and I didn't understand about relationship with God, I thought it was just about like being a good person and print, like doing the religious things, but I didn't understand that there is like a relationship with God waiting for me, that God didn't want me for what I could do, but he wanted me for just who I am. And I feel like that's like a big revelation that people will tend to have in their discipleship training school. Yeah. It's been a long time since I went through discipleship training school, but those are some foundational lessons that are still with me now. Yeah. I mean they're very, I'm sure people say I never really knew God this way. Yeah. And learning to know Him not only as like our Heavenly Father, but also as our friend and like our comforter and our guide, you know. So what were the results of Poland and Mongolia? In Mongolia, we, it was my first time to actually really like be with like unreached people, people who had never even heard of Jesus, we would ask them like, hey, we're here like from America, like, and we would love to share a story with you and then we share the gospel and we're like, have you ever heard of Jesus before and like who's that? Wow. And I'm like, wow. That's where a missionary stopped there. Yeah, that was my first time really like meeting people that had never even heard of Him. They were living out like Romans 10, 14 and 15, like how will they hear unless somebody preaches to them. Right. And in Poland, it was a lot of like serving with like Ukrainian refugees, because that was one of the main locations where people traveled to. And also we taught a lot of English in different schools, just like creating connections with that new island base there. So what is the Lord saying now, where is He leading you? Yeah. Right now, I'm kind of switching gears a little bit. I'll still be with Wyman Tyler, but I'm starting to work with our mobilization department. So like we're like focusing on like mobilizing East Texas and like the local church and things. What does mobilizing mean? Mobilizing means to get someone from one place to another. So if they're like, we meet people in churches all the time where they're just like doing their everyday life, just like as a Sunday Christian, some, some will say, but that, like giving them tools on like learning how to hear God's voice and learning how to even just share God with people in their everyday, going to Walmart, going, you know, to gas stations, restaurants, like praying for people at work or like wherever. So that's great. A little bit of that. Well, Megan Bixler, you have a great legacy of Godly people in your life. And we're so pleased that we get to be a part of what God is doing for you. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you. Love that song. As I said at the beginning of the program, because it is tidings of comfort and joy. It's what matters about this season. I love all the stuff around Christmas, but the real reason is that Jesus brought us tidings of comfort and joy that we can know him, that we can be saved through him. And also in the famous lyrics of angels we have heard on high, let's remember, let earth receive her King. Now is the time to let every heart prepare him room. So today in your heart, in your home, with your family, with your whole life, let's prepare room for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords to come in and to be the Prince of Peace. And that will bring you so much hope today. Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible.