Dear Friends,
WOW! We made it to
another year! The Christmas season is
finally over! The boys and I (Syna)
could only attend 13 Christmas events out of the many invitations we had, but Soeuth
went and spoke at most of these places!
At last, no more eating curies, until the next Christmas season... Over all, we did have a great time visiting
the many villages, throughout the northwest region, as the church families came
together to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. In one village, Srae Noi, we had a baptismal
service, following the Christmas event!
Even though it was a windy and “cold” day, 32 new believers joyfully
waded into a local pond to be baptized by their leaders! One lady
even took her little child into the water with her. (The child was very clingy to his mother). It was a beautiful sight to behold. Please pray for these new believers to
continue following the path of being Jesus’ disciples.
The last of our Christmas events was held on January 16, in
the Svey Sisophon prison, where Mrs. Moum is still locked up against her will
since May of 2011. Mrs. Moum and the prison
ministry volunteer team were able to get permission from the jailer so we could
conduct a Christmas event for the inmates there. All together, the team set up and gave away
121 care packages. Many of these inmates
came from distant places, and because of this and other reasons, some hardly
ever get any visitors from their love ones. It was a beautiful testimony of
Christ’s Love to these inmates, as the message of Christ’s love was being
shared in words and actions. Special
thanks to Mr. Bo Samoeun and his leadership team
who are committed to serve in the prison ministry. Please continue to pray for the prison ministry and for the children ministry outreach in this prison. Mrs. Moum’s time of captivity is coming to a completion in May 2014. She is looking forward to be released as promised by the local authorities. Pray that nothing would interfere with the plan.
who are committed to serve in the prison ministry. Please continue to pray for the prison ministry and for the children ministry outreach in this prison. Mrs. Moum’s time of captivity is coming to a completion in May 2014. She is looking forward to be released as promised by the local authorities. Pray that nothing would interfere with the plan.
Despite of the overwhelming busyness over the Christmas
season, we managed to get away for our family time, Jan. 6-12. We had our own “Christmas Day” in
January. Upon Justin’s request, we spent
most our time traveling around visiting other provinces throughout the southwestern
and southeastern parts of Cambodia, exploring new roads, riding ferries,
hiking, swimming, and visiting new places.
In the process, we’d encountered a few episodes of unpleasant motion
sicknesses including a 24-hour period of food poisoning (Syna). In spite of the stomach problems, and even
though the never-ending “emergency” phone calls (from church people) followed
us throughout the entire trips, it was GOOD to get away from Poipet.
The Monday and Tuesday following the trips were spent
wrapping up with labeling and mending clothes, packing, and making favorite
meals for the boys before they head off to boarding school. And after 13 hours of traveling, Syna and the
boys made it safely to Dalat on Jan. 15.
At the Dalat School, the entire Jackson Dorm kids went the extra mile
just to make the welcome special. School
started on Jan 16, and Jonathan had a successful first day. Thank you for praying for our children.
Having Justin and Jonathan in boarding school, we were not
sure how we should cope with and/ or adjust to the “empty nest”. But God, in His sovereignty, knows our hearts. As our sons are away boarding school, God
gives us two “daughters” to love and care for. We’ve
been enjoying having Da-nat, aged 20, living with us. She moved into our house on Christmas Day,
and she is having a great time studying at a beauty shop in Poipet… Last week, as we were getting ready for our
boys to go to school, another girl, SR, aged 17, was also moving to live with
us for a while. We’d learned of SR’s
situations from a friend that she, being away from her mother, was working in a
bad place. So, until things are working
with her family, SR will be living with us for a while. We praise God and Da-nat and SR seemed to
connect well with each other. Please
pray that the living arrangement would work out well for the girls. We are not sure where they are
spiritually. Pray for wisdom and
discernment on our parts and we would be good mentors and surrogate parents to
them.
We would love to hear about what God is doing in your
life. As always, we appreciate you
continual prayers and support. Your
sacrificial giving to the Great Commission Fund enables us to keep on serving
in this part of the world touching lives through words and actions showing
Christ’s love to those in need. Thank
you for partnering with us. Lost people
matter to God. He wants them found.
Syna and Soeuth, with Justin and Jonathan Lao
