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Monday, October 30, 2006

Labour of Love



Pastor Mark Carter and members of Capitol City Baptist Church, Des Moines, Iowa, gather with us to dedicate the property in Ampov Prey. Their partnership with us in planting this new church is truly a labour of love! Joining in the ribbon-cutting ceremony from left to right: Pastor Mark Carter, Ben Nissen, Kevin Prendergast, myself, and Suong Seyhar.

It was a great blessing to have Manna Worldwide, under the leadership of Rev. Bruce O'Neal, lead this team to Cambodia. Pastor Carter and CCBC, Des Moines, have been partnering with us since 2003. They are supporting our Manna orphanage, Manna feeding center, and our church planting mission work. It's always a blessing to have guests and this was no exception! During the time they were with us, we had a Vacation Bible School and Youth Meeting. One of the highlights of their visit was the trip to Ampov Prey, where James Suong and his wife Srey Ny are starting a new church. The sacrifices of God's people in Des Moines led to the purchase of this land and construction of a church building.

This work began out of Capitol City Baptist Church in Phnom Penh. Four missions have already been started out of our Phnom Penh church, with more new churches being started soon. We are planning three new churches now: one more in Prey Veng province, one more in Kandal province, and a new church in the western suburbs of Phnom Penh. Pictured here are just a portion of the souls that have been saved by the grace of God in the last four years.


There is so much work to do here! Making God's name great among the Gentiles brings glory to His name! Please pray for us and partner with us in declaring God's glory among the people of Southeast Asia!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Welcoming Vibol



Chok Vibol, age 6

Yesterday we undertook a grueling 2 1/2 hour drive towards the Cambodian/Vietnamese border. We traveled two hours south of Phnom Penh, then loaded the van on a tiny little ferryboat and crossed the Bassac River. After going ashore, we traveled again for another half an hour to forty-five minutes over incredibly muddy and slippery roads until we finally reached our destination. The roads were so bad that we almost slid off into the river several times. We barely missed hitting trees and once almost wiped out a lady's table where she'd put out vegetables for sale. Our passenger van is simply not a good choice for travel outside the capitol.

We met with village and district officials and finished the necessary paperwork for taking Vibol into our orphanage. The things we heard while we were in this village were heartbreaking. Many parents suffer physically from the effects of slave labor under the Pol Pot regime. The Khmer Rouge were responsible for the deaths of about two million Cambodians. We discovered that this village and district is filled with orphans! Parents who suffered under the Khmer Rouge die early in life, leaving behind orphan children.

We are trying to raise $46,000 by March 2007. Our new home for orphans needs your prayers and financial help. The land has been purchased and the construction has begun. Please help us rescue these children from lives of hopelessness and despair. Jesus Christ is the answer!

Friday, October 06, 2006

Orphanage Construction Update



The outer wall is now going up around the orphanage property. You can also see that the roof is complete over the children's play area/basketball court.

We are still in the rainy season here in Cambodia. We have about a month and a half of daily rains and then the dry season will set in. Construction will speed up considerably at that time. We still lack about $46,000 towards all the funds we need to complete the project. If you would like to help us finish the orphanage, please contact me by email and I can give you further instructions. We need your assistance in finishing the orphanage. Please pray for us and for this project!