For over 30 years, my dad, Ted Olbrich, has let everyone know what is happening in the ministry in Cambodia as a pastor and missionary through sending out a monthly newsletter. It was his way to help keep connected with all of you and let you know the amazing things God was doing. After his funeral, our family was going through some of the personal things my dad had and we came across his journals and Bibles. Here’s a picture of 4 of his worn out, highlighted on every page Bibles from the 1980’s till now.  Are any of you familiar with Strong’s Concordance? It is the size of a large family Bible or dictionary…he wore two of them out!

What is amazing is that from 1966 through 2023, he wrote scripture verses down, wrote about what was going on at that moment, and prayers in a daily journal. This stack of journals spans those 57 years of writing; it is something I treasure dearly as I get to see a glimpse of his wisdom, challenges, and successes.  

One of his first entries was from his sophomore year at Iowa State University.  As a young 20 year old (what were you doing when you were 20), he asked God or as he said “claimed the gift of apostleship”…to be a tool of God to reach the unsaved. He then committed to a regular quiet time with the Lord for a week and ended up doing that for nearly 60 years everyday.  

Little did he know that it would take 32 years to fulfill that prophecy but he was obedient and came to Cambodia to fulfill his apostleship. Those of you who know about the apostles, they were often highly successful in their gifting but also had tragic endings to their lives – all too familiar for the life of my dad; it is bittersweet.  

As a farmer/pastor, he has planted a lot of seeds around the world. Those seeds of faith and hope for a new generation to lead Cambodia to Christ are now maturing and leading a strong, vibrant Church movement – fully committed to Jesus. My dad had a discipline that very few people have in their lives and it inspires me to be a better man of God, better husband, better father, better leader, and to put Christ first. 

I hope you will continue with even more support for FCOP and your family in Christ here in Cambodia – they really need you, more than ever. 

Truly Yours,

Emil Olbrich