Ministry Expanding

I went out today and took this picture of the land next door to the church. As I have mentioned, the Lord has put the burden on our hearts to enlarge our ministry to the orphans and old folks. There are hundreds of thousands of hopeless orphans all around this country. The AIDS crisis here is killing so many parents and leaving behind so many orphans. We are taking in five more orphans next Tuesday, all from the same family. The mother and father are dying from AIDS-related diseases. Furthermore, so many are dying because of AIDS, that the land is filling up with elderly widows with no one to take care of them. If you could see the hopelessness we see every single day, it would break your heart.

We want to buy this land to house dozens of orphans and widows. We are calling it "Home of New Hope Cambodia." The price for the land is $12,000. We need to raise all of this as soon as possible. It is a good price. Once the land is purchased, we will begin building the Home of New Hope. Our Cambodian brothers and sisters are excited about this. Would you pray about helping us to get this land? We are praying that God will raise up these funds faster than we could ever ask or think.

Home of New Hope

Hey there everyone! There is a piece of land behind our church that we are considering buying. There are actually two pieces of land, one is $8,000 and the other is twice as much land and it's $12,000. The $12,000 plot is a better deal. Our church folks here in Cambodia desire to start what is called an NGO. It's a "Non-Government Organization." This is a good idea. It provides us with a good footing to continue here for a long, long time. No matter what governments come or go, this NGO status gives us better long range stability here. They have chosen the name "Home of New Hope." It is the desire of our Cambodian brothers and sisters to reach out to the orphans and widows. Home of New Hope is now looking to get a piece of land on which to build.

Please band together with us in prayer about this piece of land and funds to build a Home of New Hope for orphans and widows. The orphan and widow situation here in Cambodia is so desperate. Just this morning I went to the post office to get the mail and was met by two widows on the steps of the post office. Both of them looked sick and hungry. They were certainly in need of God. What happens in many cases is that their children, due to infidelity at home, wind up dying of HIV/AIDS-related causes and leave the elderly mother with absolutely no one to care for her. There is no retirement or social security here. If you are old, someone takes care of you or you die. It is heart-breaking.

Thank you for your prayers!

Not Enough Apples

It is said that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Obviously, we have not been eating enough apples! Cindy, Kayla, and myself have all been sick. Kayla has an ear infection in both ears. Cindy has asthma and bronchitis. I have had fever, headaches, dizziness, and an injury added on. I have very sore ribs on the left side from an injury sustained earlier in the week.

The Blessings of Christmas

Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. One of the greatest examples of that truth in everyday life is the joy that comes to a child when we give them something for Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas party on Christmas Eve. We invited all the Manna Feeding Center children, their parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and other extended family. We had over a hundred come to the party. The children had a great time and the parents seemed to enjoy it as much as the children!

The following day was Christmas. We had two services on Sunday with a combined attendance of 266. 47 people trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour: 29 adults and 18 youths. One woman in our church, HIV positive, is now suffering the affects of AIDS. She told other AIDS-affected people about the love and compassion she found at our church and invited them to church. This past Sunday she brought five visitors to church. They said, "We know we will die, but we heard that you could offer us spiritual hope." So, the Lord opened the door to tell them about the Lord Jesus.