ABWE missionary Phil Coppola presents the gospel message.
…and he [Abraham] went out, not knowing where he was going. (Heb. 11:8)
Karen and I didn’t have any idea what we were going to do. It was November 2008, and our sending church had just informed us that because of the economy and the loss of our pastor, they were cutting our support by 40 percent. We trusted, however, that the God who called us to the difficult field of Cambodia in 2002 would be able to raise any amount of support in His time frame.
Seven years ago, I finally surrendered to the Lord and committed to go to Cambodia. I had always believed that prefield ministry was long and hard, that you had to beg for support, and that most churches didn’t have the funds to help anyway. During the following 18 months, however, God repeatedly proved me wrong.
We were commissioned in the class of 2002. As we prepared to contact churches, we decided to use our strengths in the process. Karen had worked as a church secretary, so we decided that she would make the initial contacts on the churches, and introduce our ministry. If needed, I would come on the phone to set appointments and make the necessary arrangements for a church visit. In 2004, God sent us to 54 churches in 50 weeks. By December 15, 2004 we had received verbal commitment for 100 percent of our support. We arrived on the field February 1, 2004 for our first term of service.
Fifty percent of that support came from our sending church. They believed in what we were doing. They had seen our ministry in action and wanted to be a part of something special. We were awed by the hand of God and rejoiced at His provision in our lives.
So, here we were preparing to return to the field for our second term when the bad news came our way. It was November. We would be losing over $1100, effective December 1. What were we going to do? We had already been to all of our supporting churches. We knew that several other churches were looking to take us on for support, but nothing even close to the amount needed to fill the deficit.
We decided to do three things. First, we brought the need before the Lord and found our rest in the fact that this did not take God by surprise. We knew that we were in the United States for a reason and as long as we had a task to do for the Lord, we would be willing servants.
Second, we examined our support requirements to see if we could cut anything extra without impacting our ministry. When all this was said and done, we determined that we would need to raise $877 in new support before we could return to the field.
Third, we brought the need before those who cared the most about our ministry. We sent a prayer letter to our mailing list, talking about the real need. I don’t know what I expected. I know we serve a powerful God. Our prefield experience in 2004 had proven that. But, the last seven weeks could even make a Baptist believe in miracles!
God showed His power and simply asked us to trust in His timing. I stand amazed, knowing that we have added two new churches and five new families to our support team. In addition, five of our current supporting churches and one individual supporter have increased their giving… all for a total of $880.
On the day that we received our last verbal commitment of support, our sending church extended a call to our new pastor. It was as if the Lord placed His Hand on my shoulder and said, “Your job in the US is done. It’s time to get back to the field.”
Sometimes I wonder if God doesn’t sit up in heaven, look down at me and smile. “Doesn’t Phil understand that I had this figured out from eternity past?” Ah, trust. A wise man once wrote, “The just shall live by faith.” The more I learn that lesson, the easier life becomes.
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Cambodia
