Community is being built naturally through their household. “In the day-to-day, Thida and Len are very involved with the neighbors. They are very close with the neighbor’s baby. Also, in front of our house, there is a noodle stand. They know the owners of the shop. On our street, we know everyone. We have a lot of friends.”

Kandace described their neighbor’s daughter: “She comes to our house every day. She thinks she lives here.” The roommates are seeing growth in their relationship with the girl’s parents. “We are very close with her mom. So her mom comes over too. They are not believers: the dad is Muslim and the mom is Buddhist. It can be really kind of interesting. She loves to look at our Bible story books, which have pictures of baby Jesus. We are not sure how her parents feel about that because she likes to keep the books. But so far, they haven’t said anything. We do a lot of playing, coloring, and dancing. She loves to dance.”

Kandace described one of the highlights of their week: “On the weekends, the students who used to live in the dorm come. The same five students come consistently. We will eat, watch a movie, or go out somewhere.” Receiving an invite to hang out at someone’s house is unique in the Phnom Penh context. “It’s different than in the states, where if my friends and I are free, we can go to someone’s house and chill. It’s different here, because a lot of families live together, or they rent one room. Hanging out at someone’s house is just not something that happens here.”

Kandace feels encouraged in her interaction with the students: “Even if they are not believing yet, the fact that they trust us, the fact that they want to spend time with us, I’m really proud of them and what God’s doing in their life. It’s really an honor to be able to witness and to be a part of it. When I’m discouraged, I just need to be thankful that I have this opportunity. God didn’t need to give it to me.”

Kandace shared, “It can seem like Christianity is a foreigner’s religion. They can say, ‘It’s easy for you to say, you’re a foreigner.’” Len and Thida are both the only believers in their family. Kandace explained the positive impact that Thida and Len can have as fellow Cambodians in interactions with the students: “I cannot say I have been persecuted, that I have lost everything. If one of the students has a family issue, I can be compassionate, but I can’t really feel it or understand it. Having another Cambodian believer, specifically the wisdom Thida has, is huge.”

“Thida’s grandfather is a priest of Buddha. Thida has all the Buddhist education, more than the average Cambodian,” Kandace said. “With relating to other students, it’s huge, she knows all the tenets of Buddhism, and she can really connect. It makes it so great for sharing the gospel and reaching out to the students who were in the EMM dorms. So the students spend a lot of time at our house. It’s been a very good ministry.”

Kandace explained some of the students’ barriers: “Especially for Cambodians, it is very hard. To be Khmer is to be Buddhist. It can also be seen as forsaking your country. If they give up on their faith, it can be seen as throwing away their family, not only now, but in the next life, because there will not be anyone to pay merit or give sacrifice.” None of the students have become Christians yet, but they have seen many encouraging developments. Kandace explained, “We will be eating, and they will stop us and have us pray before our meal. If they have a problem, they will text us to have us pray for them. We have our foot in the door, and ask God to open the door for us.”

Kandace said, “The students are musicians. They are not Christians, but when they come over, they play Christian songs. They are not believers, but that’s what they choose to play. We sing worship songs together. They are not believers yet, but we can see the seeds have been planted.” Kandace shared more: “One thing that is super fun is they use percentages. I will ask my students, ‘Do you believe?’ They will say, ‘I believe in God 50 percent and Buddha 50 percent.’”

Kandace described the encouragement she has felt in her interactions with the Cambodian community. “I am very honored if someone will trust me. It takes a lot of time to open up and trust someone. Cambodians have no reason to trust me. The fact that they do is huge.”

Thida shared about the positive impact that Kandace has had on her, “God is working through Kandace a lot. Before I knew her, when I had problems, I would keep them to myself. I can say that she is the only one I tell everything to, and when I come home from work, and I’m stressed, I just come to her and tell her everything.” Kandace concluded the call, “We want people to know that God is working in Cambodia, and pray that God would raise up leaders, send more workers, and that God would bless Cambodia.”