Wednesday, December 18, 2019

December Update 2019

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Christmas greetings! Trusting the Lord that you have a Blessed and Merry Christmas. It’s been a very busy time for us: a lot of traveling, planning holiday events, and among other things. Here are some of the events took place since our last update…

Out With The Old, In With The New

Sam and Thoeun, a husband & wife couple from Toul Krous village, now in in their late fifties were both were former Khmer Rogue-child soldiers and were ancestor worshippers all their lives, until recently, when Christ was introduced to them by a believing neighbor. Although the Good News of Jesus was lovingly and persistently shared by a concerned Christian neighbor since early August, Sam and Thoeun were hesitant, thinking that Christianity was just another foreign religion. During a recent Buddhist religious holiday, Sam took his family to a local Buddhist pagoda as traditionally and culturally required of them. At a main ceremony, Sam accidentally witnessed two prominent religious leaders help themselves to the collected offering! Shocked and disappointed Sam pondered, “What kind of religion is this that even the leaders would dare to steal? Don’t they have any fear for God or fear for men? Is this religion strong enough to save me?”

In the months of October and November, Thoeun’s chronically poor health was turning worse. The family spent most of their savings seeking help for Thoeun’s rapidly declining health.  No matter where they turned, no medicine man, no Kru Khmer (witch doctors) and no clinic or hospital could help them. In desperation and at his last and final attempt, Sam took his wife to a provincial hospital. After staying in the hospital for many days and paying $30.00 daily for hospital fees, Thoeun’s health showed no improvement, and their financial resource was running low! After learning about their dire situations, we contacted our medical teammates in Poipet and requested for an immediate appointment. Using our ministry fund, we arranged for Sam and Thoeun to meet us in Poipet, where Thoeun was seen by Christian medical staffs. The clinic staff treated Sam and Thoeun with the utmost kindness, respect, and dignity. While staying with a family at Living Water Alliance Church, Sam and Thoeun also witnessed genuine love and concern from the believers of the Poipet area.  Many Christians, when visiting the couple, spoke kindly to them and offered prayers for Thoeun’s health…

A month ago, Thoeun had tearfully and hopelessly said goodbyes to her five adult children and 11 grandchildren before leaving for the hospital-- not knowing if she would be alive to come back home. Through prayers and also kind and loving care treatments she received from concerned medical staffs and from church families, Thoeun’s health was improving! Both Sam and Thoeun were back in Anlong Veng! After she prayed to receive Jesus Christ, Sam, the head of the family, took charge to remove and to demolish all religious shrines and many worship items from and around the house! He also cut off all spirit strings from the bodies of every family member! Immediately after prayer, we supplied Sam and Thoeun with Bibles, hymnal books, and an MP3 radio which contains an audio Bible along with many Bible stories which they often had played out loud every day! Sam and Thoeun with some of their grand kids joyfully attend the Toul Prich Alliance church! Both Sam and Thoeun are studying with us and preparing to get baptized on Christmas Day!

Sam and Thoeun encountered Christ's love in action after visiting Living Water Alliance church in Poipet
 A New Team Mate
A new team mate: Aide Rose joining the Anlong Veng ministries
After over two years of asking for help, God answered prayers and sent us a new team mate! Aide Rose Fernandez, an International Worker serving in Cambodia with the Bethlehem Star of Peace (https://coverage.or/missionary/aide-rose-fernandez) from the Philippines, moved to join the Anlong Veng church ministries on November! We rejoice for the way God had graciously provided housing arrangements for Aide. Her rented house is located just 300 meters away from our place! After spending Christmas holiday with family in the Philippines, Aide will settle in Anlong Veng. Please pray for smooth transition and directions as she will begin ministries alongside us…

Hong Kong

We had an amazing time fellowshipping and connecting with church families at the Alliance International Church (AIC) of Hong Kong. Our dear friends and host family, Pastor Joel and Becca Arndt received us warmly. On a Saturday morning service, Syna felt a special bond and immediate kindred connection after speaking to and fellowshipping with the Filipino ladies! So many of them, because of financial needs, left their families and loved ones behind in the homeland and went to work oversea as domestic helpers.

Posing with new friends: Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong
 While some of them were blessed to have kind and godly employers who treated them with respect and dignity, but some others were not as fortunate. Even though every worker has a day off each week (mostly on Sundays), there was no place for them to spend or to enjoy their rest day-- except in parks, in street corners, or under the shades of trees.

During our visit, we were blessed with mostly beautiful sunny and cool breezy days. When out for a walk on a Sunday afternoon, we saw many sitting on mats and set-up tents in every street corner and under every tree where small groups of ladies (average ages their 30’s from the Philippine and from Indonesia) were joyfully and comfortably sitting in the open space chatting in their own languages. We could not help but wonder, what would become of this joyful fellowship if it was on a rainy day… Everything in Hong Kong was fascinating to us, as first-time visitors…

So many tall buildings in Hong Kong!
Soeuth with Pastor Joel Arndt, our friend and host

Family

While still in Hong Kong we got words from dorm parents that our youngest son, Jonathan, had an injury during sports practice, at Dalat International School, Penang, Malaysia! Naturally, the parental instinct kicked in and we became worried and concerned. But through frequent and detailed updates from both dorm parents and from a school nurse about Jonathan’s progress, and through many prayers from concerned friends and family, God calmed our anxious hearts. After being seen by a specialist at a local hospital followed by an MRI, Jonathan had a knee surgery, on December 5th, to repair a broken kneecap and some torn ligaments on his right knee. It could have worse. Because Syna was needed elsewhere, Soeuth cancelled two speaking events and went to be with Jonathan before and after the surgery. Praise the Lord! With the help of physiotherapy and many PRAYERS, Jonathan is on the road to recovery. Doctor’s recommendation: no more sport activities for the next six months…

Jonathan at physiotherapy after a knee surgery

 Spain

While Soeuth was busy helping Jonathan in Malaysia, Syna attended and participated in the Alliance Global Leadership Conference (GLC) in Malaga, Spain. Her first time in this part of the world. The conference was packed to the limit with scheduled activities and meal-meetings with leaders, team mates, and with old /new friends. Syna enjoyed long morning walks by the beach as the conference site being located by the beautiful Mediterranean seas accompanied by spectacular sunrise views.  Having a Sunday afternoon off, Syna joined friends and teammates to explore some of the most beautiful sites around Malaga. Having no previous experiences to compare, everything in Spain was fascinating…

Youth Rally

Immediately after returning from Malaysia, Soeuth wrapped up his message and last-minute preparations for a long road trip to join the northwest regional youth rally at Svey Sisophon. Normally at any big youth or church events we had had, Syna was often the one to organize meals and sleeping arrangements for church people who are from remote villages needing to spend a night at our place, before and after traveling to and from events. This time, solo—Soeuth, not only successfully hosted and fed 11 young people from the Anlong Veng areas, he also arranged transportation for 32 Srae Nouy kids to join the big crowd at the rally!

Toul Krous kids stayed overnight at our house before the rally
 Soeuth spoke a message from John 3:16 to young people. Immediately after the message, there were opportunities for lively small group discussions with thought-provoking questions and life applications. At the end of the discussions, Soeuth gathered up the group for a closing prayer, followed by an altar call where five young people prayed to received Jesus! Altogether, 250+ people participated in this rally!

Five youth prayed to receive Christ at a recent youth rally
About 250+ people participated in the rally

 Christmas Celebrations

At this writing, we are still early in the Christmas season. So, please stay tune for our next updates to learn more Christmas stories. So far, we participated in sixth Christmas celebrations and will have about 9 more events to go.  For many of those who attended and will attend these joyful events, this is their first Christmas ever!

Dates and events needing your prayers:

  1. Please continue praying that the fundraiser project for the Anlong Veng Ministry Center would come through quickly. Lord willing, we hope to secure a piece of property for this project before we go on home assignment. Pray for the right location of the land that would best meet the needs of the community. Some of you who support this project, THANK YOU!
  2. The number is being added every day to those who prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior! Most of them will be attending Christmas celebration for the first!  Please pray that their faith to remain strong even as some of them already faced persecution.
  3. Please continue praying for Christmas events being celebrated in Cambodia would bring honor and glory to the ONE we are celebrating.
  4. The Anlong Veng and Srae Nouy church ministries will have a joined baptismal service at Andong Chan village on Christmas. About 60+ people are prepared for this event.
  5. Dec.20-Jan 12: We look forward to having Jonathan home for the holiday and winter break. We hope to carve up some time for family in early January.
  6. Jan.13-27: Syna will travel to Colorado Springs and them some extra time visiting family…
Once again, thank you for your on-going partnership with the Anlong Veng and the overall Cambodian ministries. Your financial support to the Great Commission Fund enables us to keep on serving the Lord in this part of the world, bringing the message of Hope to the hopeless.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Soeuth & Syna Lao

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for sharing your encouraging testimony of Sam and Thoeun. Praise God for your ministry! Thank you also, Bong Syna, for gifting us with your presence tonight and sharing your testimonies about how God is working in Cambodia. God bless you, your family, and your ministry. We will be keeping you in our prayers.

    With love,
    Sokunthear from Washington.

    P.S. Keep up the good work slaying them snakes! :) <3

    ReplyDelete