October Update 2019

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Greetings! We trust that all is well with you. During the entire month of September, local Khmer (Cambodian) people were celebrating Pchum Ben, a religious holiday centered around ancestor and family worship. This was one of the testing times for new believers as they were being pressured by family to go back to their old ways of life. Sadly, a few young Christians had turned back, but praise God for many new believers who are still standing strong and firmly committed in their new faith to follow the One True and Living God! And MANY new and exciting developments including some sad news took place since our last update. Below are just a few of these events…

Youth Rally…

Sept 7th: Despite the many washed up, terrible roads because of too much rain, the recent regional quarterly youth rally went well. Riding in three vehicles, we brought along 38 young people from Anlong Veng and more from five other villages around Srae Nouy to join the rally. Pastor Chean from Living Water Alliance church (from Poipet) did an excellent job delivering an encouraging message to the young people challenging them to live godly characters in their communities. Altogether, 114 young people traveling from five different provinces participated in a joyful youth rally Svey Sisophon!

Damaged roads resulting from too much rains

114 people participated at a recently KEC youth rally

 A New Established Alliance House Church...

New believers from Popel village (about an hour drive north of Srae Nouy Church) have been crying out for help since early June requesting the need to establish a church gathering in their community.  While their request was legitimate and the need was obvious, we had no one available to go out to help this group of vibrant believers. While patiently waiting for church leaders to make a decision, this group of eager believers was willing to travel over an hour distance riding in a “mechanical cow” open trailer going over bumpy and red-dirt dusty paths to join the weekly church service at Srae Nouy Alliance church. To get ready for church day, the families would wake up at 4 am to prepare a meal for the long journey to church. Every week, about 20 people came to church consistently both young and old. Finally, on September 11th, their persistent request was honored. With Pastor Dy’s arrangements, we joined the first church service at Popel village. Five of us were riding in our truck traveling from Srae Nouy to Popel. Upon arrival, the generous host families (28 of them) received us warmly with seasonal fruits and soft drinks. Soeuth spoke an encouraging message from Matthew Luke 13:22-30, “The Narrow Door." They all paid closed attention to every word spoken! Those who could read and write took careful notes of the message they heard! It appeared that everyone of them was so genuinely hungry for the Word! At the end of the service as we were about to say goodbye, a middle- aged lady shouted, “Wait! Don’t go yet. We have food prepared for you!” And they brought out a three-course meal for everyone to enjoy. As of Sunday afternoon, September 15th, the Popel Alliance house church held their first Sunday church service with a young couple from Srae Nouy (through Pastor Dy’s arrangements) as their key leaders. Some of the potential church leaders from this village already enrolled in a new study discipleship class at Srae Nouy...

A new Alliance house church started at Popet village

Two New Classes Started…

Since early August to the end of September, at least 35 people (from four different, but nearby villages) prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! In response to the needs, we added two new classes at Srae Nouy church. With everyone in agreement, and to protect our rest/ Sabbath day, the regular Monday classes are now switched to Tuesday. As often practiced at Andong Chan village, after a 9 am joined worship service followed by a time for “Share & Prayer” requests, we broke into two classes: Soeuth teaching Pentateuch level 1 while Syna taught Christian Family. And because Srae Nouy is only 30 kilometers away, we agreed to teach two more afternoon classes on the same day to a new group of students as Srae Nouy: Soeuth teaching Theological Education by Extension (TEE) to five potential emerging leaders while Syna taught Abundant Life class for new believers. Few students from Syna's class can read or write. But some of them were willing to sit through the entire classroom hours (through oral learning style) while staying engaged and participating in class discussions as much as possible. Pray that these students learn well and would be able to retain information and apply the lesson to their lives and pass on what they learned to others.

9 students enrolled in Abundant Life class at Srae Nouy church

Soeuth teaching a new TEE class at Srae Nouy

Funerals…

On Sept 11th, we received a sad new that one of our dear friends, Mrs. Nehm Youla, aged 60, a widow and a devoted mother of four young adult children, from Poipet, a faithful disciple and a humble servant of Jesus Christ, went Home suddenly to be with her Maker. Since our early days while serving in Poipet (since July 2003), Youla was our faithful student 16 years! She loved to study and then taught others God’s words. She was a not famous lady but a very poor yet very kind and generous and humble lady. At her funeral, more than three hundred people from around the country attended! Everyone who came to her funeral spoke highly of the amazing impacts she had on each of their lives. Since it had rained hard the night before and early morning before burial time (Poipet roads are famous for their black sticky clay like dirt), we thought not too many people would be willing to risk their way to the burial site. As it turned out, more than 200 people showed up at the site. It was a powerful testimony to believers as well as to local unbelievers watching the long funeral procession lovingly paraded by friends and family riding on 18 vehicles and 50 plus motorbikes! It was the biggest Christian funeral we had ever attended in all our 24 years of serving in Cambodia! Youla loved her God and loved His people so dearly, and God honored her on her going Home party…

Soeuth spoke at Youla's funeral

We arrived late on Saturday night from Poipet, a very exhausting trip, but had to get ready for two Sunday village churches. As we were waking up on early Sunday morning, Pastor Dy from Srae Nouy called to report that another funeral took place, this one at the remote village of Ksach Ampel! And “It needs to be done today!” An elderly man Laa, aged 72 years old had suffered from multiple chronic illnesses. After learning he had been laying helplessly in bed sick for very long time, Kong from Andong Chan village along with local believers from Ksach Ampel had made frequents visits to his house to pray for and to encourage the poor family. Through Kong’s passionate sharing about the One True God, Laa prayed to receive Jesus into his heart, just one week before Laa went home. Because of distant location and with the challenges of tropical weather, the funeral plans had to be done immediately. Being that “Uncle Laa” had genuinely and sincerely believed in Jesus, his two adult children, though not yet believers but through Pastor Dy and Kong’s encouragement, were willing to have the funeral done in a Christian way. It was the first Christian funeral in this village!

First Christian funeral service at Ksach Ampel

About 80 believers from seven different villages came to pay respect to Uncle Laa and to support his surviving family. Please pray for Laa’s family and for the believers in Ksach Ampel village. This house church just came together recently to start a church service in their community and already they experienced some challenges and difficulties as part of the Christian calling. And being that this time of the year (Pchum Ben holiday) is one of the testing times for new believers in Christ, pray that these newly Christians would remain faithful to the One True God…

More than 200 people showed up at poor a widow's funeral

9 Drunken Men Found Complete Freedom in Christ…

In our last update we shared (briefly) about Samuit, a drunken man, who found completely freedom in Christ.  Here is a short version of Samuit’s incredible and amazing journey…

Samuit, aged 43, a wife-beating husband and an abusive father to eight small kids, was always drunk. He started to sample beer and rice wine since his late teens. Soon he became known as the “king” of the addicts among the Srae Nouy community. Samuit was not only abusive to his wife and to his children, he was always a “trouble maker” in the community, especially whenever he got drunk, which was almost every day for the past 20 plus years! He was arrested “too many times to count." Sometimes, because the Srae Nouy jail was “always full” of drunken and violent men, there was “no room for one more." It was public knowledge among the Srae Nouy community that Samuit was a scoundrel, a forever drunken trouble maker,  always violent, abusive, and just a pure evil man. That was Samuit before he met the Lord Jesus Christ… In the late Sunday afternoon of August 18, 2019, after a few scary experiences of encountering with the Living God, Samuit finally surrender his right, his drinking habits, and his entire life to Preah-yea-sue! After Pastor Dy from Srae Nouy Alliance gently led Samuit in the sinner prayers, he experienced immediate transformation! Samuit not only stopped drinking, but said “Even the smell of alcohol makes me want to vomit!” Instead of drinking, Samuit was often found listening to the Bible stories from his small precious device, an MP3 bible radio! Since being sober and completely freed from alcoholism, Samuit is being used very powerfully and effectively in reaching out to other drunken men to Christ. As a result, 8 other drunken men prayed to receive Christ and they also experienced complete freedom from any urge or desire to drink! When approaching a friend or a relative and when persuading someone to consider Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, Samuit simply stated, “You knew who I was. And you can see with your own eyes who I am now. What more proof do you need to convince yourself that Preay yea-sue (Jesus) is for real? As a result, many people who had close relationships to Samuit came to church willingly and had prayed to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior! Already, Samuit brought 19 people to the Lord, including his elderly mother, his aunt, his 8 drunken friends, his two adult siblings, three of his own kids, and a few more! Samuit is currently enrolled in Abundant Life class for new believers at Srae Nouy Alliance church. Only the One True and Living God can transform lives!

Samuit, wife, and baby on their old bike with Pastor standing behind

A Special Need…

Although we already had an Approved Special by the C&MA National Office to raise fund for Anlong Veng Ministry Center (1-47200-46-64-01030) before we arrived in Anlong Veng, we purposely have not made it a public request for the following reasons: We wanted to come to meet with people of the areas, to observe first hand where the specific needs are, to scout out for potential ministries, and to explore the land first before making any decision.

As some of you who have been faithfully following our monthly updates, you would have realized that, before coming here, we were not even aware of any existing churches or any Alliance churches in Anlong Veng. But shortly after we settled down by early October 2017 and after we met with Pastor Dy from Srae Nouy Alliance and with Mr. Kong from Andong Chan village, we learned that there were already five existing young Alliance house churches located around Anlong Veng and Srae Nouy areas! The people in these house churches are either related to or have some connections to Mr. Kong. These groups of people, after hearing Kong’s powerful testimony of how God miraculously saved his life, prayed to received Christ as their Lord and Savior! So, for the past two years, we have been intentional in investing our time, energy, efforts, resources, and many prayers to training leaders and teaching discipleship classes ever since. And YOU have been our faithful prayer warrior and ministry partner in this movement. Through these joined efforts, God has been very gracious to stretch our ministry boundaries where we now have a total of 12 Alliance village-house churches scattered around Anlong Veng and Srae Nouy areas! Without a doubt, we firmly believe that God had sent us here at just the right time to join Him where He was already and is still at work stirring hearts and transforming lives for His kingdom purpose. And now, we sensed that God is calling us to the next step, to purchase a piece of property for the Anlong Veng Ministry Center with an Approve Special serial number provided above. Please prayerfully consider joining us in this next movement.  We are looking at a piece of property located between two primary and middle schools between Toul Prich and Toul Krous villages. If God is willing, we hope to secure this piece of land before we return to the States, June 2021, for our furlough/home assignment year.

Toul Krous village kids get warmed up before soccer game

Additional dates and events needing your prayers…

1. Oct. 5: our next National KEC youth committee meeting in Phnom Penh.
2. Oct. 12-20: Jonathan coming home for fall break
3. Oct. 14-17: the KEC youth president and some National youth committees will be traveling with us to a youth rally at Rattanakiri Province
4. Oct 19: We will join the northwest regional church committees to visit Alliance house churches in Mart Klaa and Kamong Klang floating villages.
5. Oct. 29-Nov. 1: Alliance film crew to visit Anlong Veng ministries for a follow up story on Mr. Kong
6. Nov. 1-3: Northwest regional Alliance women to visit Anlong Veng ministries
7. Next Poipet leadership classes: Nov. 1 and Nov. 23
8. We are so excited for Aide Rose Fernandez who would, soon, join us in the Anlong Veng ministries.  Please pray for the right-price, right location, and safe housing arrangements for her.

Thank you again for your on-going prayers and support. Please share with us what God is doing in your areas.

Blessings,

Soeuth& Syna Lao