2007 Single Pastors Retreat

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Many people are familiar with married couples retreats or even pastors and wives retreats. These events give us the time to really focus on what makes our marriages work and how we can be blessings to our spouses. However, here in Cambodia, we have many single men and women who are pastoring our churches. They deal with the same problems with community leaders, with the same persecution and with the same day to day struggles that the married pastors do, yet they do not have someone with whom to share this burden. This is why we felt that it was necessary to hold this single pastors retreat down in Kampong Saom; that these young pastors would be able to meet together, have fun, relax, and most importantly, that we could all reconnect and focus on what is really important.


One of the things that was very important was having fun. We did have times of meetings, teaching seminars, and discussions, but we also had a lot of fun. It would be so wasteful if we came all the way down to Kampong Saom and did not enjoy the blessing that God provided when He gave us things like the beach, the ocean, and the community of believers. We played football (soccer for all of you back home), Uno, games on the beach and other games such as the game of Bible charades that you are seeing in the above picture. We ate together, worshipped together, and generally enjoyed life together.

Every morning and evening, we would come together for times of worship, prayer and sharing. In this picture you are seeing Pastor Jun and Teacher Chaney singing together during one of these gatherings. When we were last in Kampong Saom with many of these pastors, it was just after we had arrived on the field. We did not know the language, we did not know the songs, and we did not know these pastors. However, after this year on the field, it was a privilege to deepen our relationship with these pastors who have become our friends and fellow workers, and it was a great thrill to be able to sing worship songs with them in Khmer that give praise to our God in heaven.

The theme of the retreat was Finding your Worth in Christ. Worth and honor here in Cambodia are two very important matters. How you are treated shows how other people consider you, what worth they have ascribed to you as a person. However, as Christians, we are not to get our worth from worldly wealth or people’s ideas of our significance. We are to find our worth in God who really could not care what type of car we drive or how important our job is. Tiffany and I taught the final seminar where we focused on the characters of the rich man from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and the character of the Apostle Paul, giving illustrations of a worth that lasts, one that is found in God.

Sharing our hearts with these young pastors was an honor for us, and we thank all of you for supporting us in this ministry. Because of your sacrificial giving, your prayers, and your encouragement, we can be involved in events such as this single pastors retreat that expanded the Kingdom of God by enriching the hearts of the community of pastors and believers here in Cambodia. Everyone in attendance left with what I believe to be a greater supply of energy, a clearer sense of purpose, and a new vision of a worth found in Christ that cannot be shaken.

God’s blessings to you,
Tim and Tiffany Gallant