Anita's Story

As a restless and passionate child my curiosity for overseas ministry began to percolate soon after I was saved around age 15. One day in 9th grade I was asked, "what do you want to do when you grow up?" I responded, "A Christian Peace Corps!" However, my interest in Cambodia began before I was a Christian in grade 6. My teacher, who had a Cambodian foster child, taught us about Cambodia and the "Killing Fields". It shocked me that children like me could live in such a profoundly different world. Little did my teacher know that her stories would forever change the life of one of her students.

After years of experience in several churches, para-church ministries, work in domestic violence and the completion of a Masters of Divinity, I still found my heart restless for overseas work. Several years ago I began supporting a ministry working in South East Asia. Through daily prayer for this ministry, my interest for this region of the world increased. Meanwhile, my work with traumatized refugee women and children, many of whom are Cambodian, deepened my burden for war torn countries. Through my work I learned more about the effects of warfare, poverty, violence and overall injustice in the third world. I also came to believe that only through God's grace, hope and His transforming power could I address these issues.

In March 2003, during a time of prayer I asked God "what's my name?" I heard, "Bearer of Good News". For these reasons I am eager to pursue ministry among the poor of Cambodia.

Danny's Story

My call to be a missionary began April 26, 1993, when I was saved in a fraternity house Bible study. After the first year that God took to straighten out my life, I found myself having only one passion - to share the gospel that had changed me so profoundly. I found my heart growing in love for the nations and dreaming of the day when Matthew 24:14 would be fulfilled.

In the fall of 1995, I dedicated my life to global missions and made a specific commitment to spend my first year out of college in cross-cultural ministry. As a result, I moved with several recent graduates to Lowell, MA to live and minister in a Cambodian refugee community. During those 2 years I learned a great deal about poverty, the importance of character in ministry, and the theological and practical foundations for identificational ministry. I also met my mentor, a former missionary to Cambodia, who had lived out my dream of sharing, in word and deed, the gospel among the unreached poor. The time in Lowell solidified my commitment to global missions, particularly among the poor.

Much later, in March 2003, during a time of prayer I asked God "what's my name?" I clearly heard, "Servant of the Poor" and was flooded with memories. Beginning with my childhood, I saw how God had been sculpting me my whole life for this purpose. For obvious reasons this greatly encouraged me to pursue ministry among the poor of Cambodia.

Our Story

We met October 1997 at our church retreat. Immediately, sparks flew and we were both deeply impressed with each other's passion for God and global ministry. After 3 years of friendship and 2 years of dating, we were married on July 1, 2000. At that time we were both in our second year of seminary with hopes of going overseas after graduation. After our honeymoon we began planning a vision trip to Cambodia for the next summer. The summer of 2001 we went to Cambodia as summer interns with InnerCHANGE where we spent most of our time visiting many different ministries and missionaries. It was an amazing summer that confirmed our desire to serve in Cambodia and connected us more deeply with the InnerCHANGE team. After graduating from seminary and being freed from other ministry responsibilities, we decided to take the plunge to move to Cambodia as part of the InnerCHANGE team.