Wednesday, November 25, 2020

November Update 2020

Dear Praying Friend and Family,

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever… Psalm: 107:1

It had been a very hectic and emotional season for us as many church families for whom we care for so deeply are struggling trying to make ends meet as the results of the on-going Covid 19 pandemic and recent floods. Even in a season of confusion and uncertainty, many of the church families found reasons to celebrate God’s goodness as recently shared by various individuals in stories below…

“Jesus, the most valuable gift of all”

During a recent “prayers & share” time at one of our weekly classes at Andong Chan village, Mr. Kong shared about an opportunity where he led a family to receive Jesus. Kong was traveling home from Srae Nouy Alliance church when his old motorbike suddenly broke down in an isolated location. Having no way to contact anyone for help, Kong pondered in his heart and what God had in plan as he walked his bike along the road. After 30 minutes of tiredly walking in the extreme heat, Kong was excited to see a small village nearby the highway. At the village, Kong not only found a kind and pleasant mechanic who was willing to repair his bike, God also gave Kong an amazing opportunity to share the Gospel to a group of receptive people! By the time the bike was fixed, Kong led a family 8 people to the Lord where the head of that family was a former Buddhist priest! And when it was time to settle the price the older gentleman said, “No need to pay us for the service. You have brought us the most valuable gift-- the amazing gift of Jesus Christ! Thank you!”

The First Christian Funeral in the Village

Due to severely damaged roads resulted from the October flood, a weekly discipleship class at Rohaal village was postponed for a while. However, after learning about a tragic death of a new believer recently, 32 church people braved their ways on motorbikes across the potholes and muddy paths to join the funeral and to encourage the surviving relatives. Uncle Poev, an elderly man, went Home to be with Jesus, was the only believer in his family; he and 22 other villagers had prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the Covid crisis. Because Uncle Poev’s adult children were not yet believers, they organized a religious Buddhist funeral where some monks and priests participated and involved. But at the sight of many Christians showing up, the family and the priests willingly urged us to lead a Christian funeral in honor of Uncle Poev’s faith. Upon the family’s persistent requests and with their permission, we asked them to remove any articles related to religious worship items and prayed to dedicate the entire event to a Christian service. After a time of worship, being “prepared in season and out of season," Soeuth pulled out his ready note and delivered an evangelistic funeral message to the waiting audience where about 80 plus people participated including a village leader and some prominent men of the areas. After the service, the family and friends came to thank the Christian visitors for their extraordinary love and support. Amazed by their loving actions, Poev’s oldest son said, “You hardly knew my father or my family. But you all came! And you gave us tremendous love and support. Thank you!” Even today, more than three weeks later, the Rohaal villagers still talk about Uncle Poev’s unusual funeral—the first Christian funeral in the village! 

“You must share Jesus with us, too”

Mrs. Chanty, Pastor Dy’s wife from Srae Nouy church, also shared about an incident that she encountered at the Srae Nouy central market recently. Although few families of O Rum Jake village had heard the gospel of Jesus through Christian friends from Srae Nouy since early September, with on-going Covid restrictions and then the sudden arrival of unusual floods, in addition to the short of extra helping hands, those who were designated to lead a weekly small group at this village slowly abandoned their responsibility altogether… While recently buying food at a local wet market, Chanty was asked loudly by a strange lady, “Are you one of the Jesus people from around here?” “Yes," Chanty answered and then went on to share that she was the pastor’s wife from Srae Nouy Alliance Church. Realized that she had finally found what she was looking for, the stranger could not contain her excitement, she just grabbed Chanty by the hands and then began to dance around in the market with everyone looking at them and then shouted even louder saying, “Oh, I have been searching for your people for so long! I am so excited that I’ve found you at last! Please, come quickly to my village! Come and tell us about Preah Yea-sue! Don’t just keep Jesus all to yourselves! You must share Jesus with us, too!” Embarrassed by the unexpected incident, Chanty reluctantly promised the lady that she would report this request to the church. After learning about the need, Pastor Dy organized a new team of teachers, with Po (Pastor Dy’s oldest adult son) as the rink leader, to lead and to teach the new believers in O Rum Jake village. Upon arrival on an appointed time, Po and some church people from Srae Nouy were utterly amazed to see so many people, about 40 plus of them, were already waiting with much anticipation, including a village leader! The villagers were so excited about the resuming of weekly Bible studies that they all agreed, “We have 9 different houses lined up and ready to use as a place to meet. You just decide which house is the best location, then we can meet in that house. Only that you must come to teach us about Jesus!” Po and other leaders are currently preparing the villagers for the joint baptism on New Year’s Eve…

In addition to above events, here are additional praises and prayer requests…

  1. Early morning on Nov. 13 as we were about to leave for a Poipet leadership class, Heng, our Khmer national ministry partner, call to report that Moum, his wife went into premature labor. Although Moum’s mother planned to arrive at the end of November to offer her assistance to the family, all previous plans had to change immediately and accordingly as the baby came 3 weeks early. Soeuth called to cancel the Poipet class then drove the couple to Siem Reap hospital (a 2- hour drive each way) while Syna took care of three little girls (two belonged to Heng and Moum and a neighboring little girl whose mother was in the Siem Reap hospital for a similar reason). At the end of the day, Heng called to report that beautiful healthy baby girl, Hout Seriya, was born at 7pm on the same day at 2.8 kilograms.
    Heng and Moum with daughter # 3

    Poipet leadership class

    Syna took care of three girls (two belonged to Heng and Moum and a neighboring little girl)

  2. After a few cancellations and postponements due to unexpected emergencies, the Toul Prich monthly youth fellowship was finally held on Nov. 19 at Heng and Moum’s new house where 36 school aged kids and 12 adults participated in relay games and soccer. The village ladies prepared traditional dish called Num Krouk.
    Youth fellowship in Toul Prich

  3. Thanks to the generous donation that some of you contributed, we were able to do another round of food distribution to 47 needy families from the floating villages. 
    Bags of rice for distribution at floating villages


    A worship service at a floating village before food distribution


  4. Nov. 21: Soeuth officiated the first Christian wedding at Popel Village where about 100 plus people participated. It was a simple but the most God-honoring wedding that we had ever participated and attended in a while.  Even though about 40% of the participants were not yet professed believers, everyone paid closed attention to the entire ceremony! 
  5. Nov. 28: Soeuth spoke a message to Christian family and marriage seminar in Svey  Sisophonto 28 married couples.
  6. Church people are excited and already prepared for the many Christmas celebrations throughout the entire month of December.  The Srae Nouy Alliance church will hold a joined Christmas event and a joined baptism on December 31. Many people in our region will participate their first Christmas this year. Pray for receptive hearts and for opportunities to share Jesus with those who will come.
  7. Because of the uncertainty of the on-going pandemic, our son, Jonathan, will not be coming home for the holidays. He will still be staying in the dorm with other dorm children during the 4- week winter break. Many other dorm children, fearing that they may not allow re-entry, choose to remain in the dorm. Please for Dalat staff and students who will not be able to spend the holiday with families.

At this writing which took place by the ocean shore, we were taking a mini-vacation to enjoy the calm ocean at Kep Province. With the on-going pandemic still in place, there was hardly any foreign tourist in town! In some location, we had to the whole beach to ourselves! So grateful for this rest and relaxation time…   

Enjoyed some R&R time in Kep province

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

With a grateful heart,

Soeuth & Syna

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