“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”
John 3:16
Because of His great love for all people, over two thousand years ago, God used two reluctant teenagers to partner with His salvation plan for all human race. And because of this, we have reason to celebrate Christmas even to this day…
During the fall mission tour while visiting and speaking at Alliance churches about what God is doing among the northern Cambodian churches, we also had opportunities to speak at some youth group events and to a few children groups. It was a joy to see true excitement and interest in the young people. They not only wanted to learn about the Cambodian ministries, some of them also showed genuine interest and curiosity wanting to know about children from around the world!
We rejoice to see these young people from North American cultures who are so blessed to have opportunities to go to school, play in various sport activities, be involved in extracurricular events, and just grow and have fun as children— without any care in the world or any concern about what their next meal would be. Whether they realize it or not, in our humble opinion, these children are beyond blessed.
Unfortunately, because of poverty, we cannot say the same for children in other parts of the world, especially the poor children of northern Cambodia. Some of them we have come to love and have had opportunities to care for and cherish as if they were our own children…
Imagine a 13-year old leaving home, never to be heard of again. In the remote areas of Cambodia, this is not an uncommon occurrence. With education beyond 5th grade only being offered in the city, many families can’t afford to send their child to school. Instead, the children stay at home and work the farm and in many cases, eventually cross the border into Thailand to follow the rumors of better work opportunities.
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| A little girl giving her sister, Sarah, a big goodbye hug as Sarah leaves for school in the city. |
Sadly, those work opportunities are usually drug smuggling and sex trafficking, trapping children in illegal activity that is harmful, but also shameful. It keeps them from returning home to their families or even speaking to them ever again.
Yet, there is hope. Because of your generosity, we have been able to purchase the property for the future home of the Anlong Veng Ministry Center. On the property between a primary school and middle school and a 20-minute bike ride to a high school, God has given us a vision of building a ministry center that will have a library, computer lab, dormitories for up to 30 children, a multipurpose room for 500+ people, vocational training center, and soccer field!
This means free housing for the remote village families to send their children to continue their education. This mean free vocational training to secure employment in country, investing back into their community. This means families are staying together and we are breaking the vicious cycle of poverty! And do you know what else it means? It means that by owning our own building, we have the freedom to share the good news of Christ to everyone who enters.
To see this dream become a reality, we are raising $350,000 over the next 6 months. We are looking for individuals and or churches to give generously to this project that builds upon the Alliance’s vision of All of Jesus for All the World and to our own vision of All of the World in All of Cambodia.
Would you prayerfully consider investing in the Northern Cambodian church today?
To support this project, please send in your tax-deductible donation to The Christian and Missionary Alliance (The C&MA), 8595 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. Or to give online, go to: https://secure.cmalliance.org/give/
Scroll down to click on “find a project” and type in “Anlong Veng Ministry
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| Toul Prich kids enjoyed a game of soccer. |
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| Soeuth and village kids in Toul Prich village. |
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| Village children having a fun time riding on the back of our truck. |
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| Soeuth teaching kids English class |
It had been a very busy fall since August 14 to December 19, where we visited many Alliance and some non-Alliance partner churches and shared about the Cambodian ministries. Although it was a busy tour, we were especially thankful for the opportunities to travel together. At this writing, we’ve enjoyed a few weeks of rest and relaxation at home, before the spring tour begins on January.
December 13-21, we visited Justin and his family in Fridley, MN. It took some adjusting coming from high 40s to low 50s degrees weather in South Jersey to the low-teens/freezing temperature of Minnesota with 17 inches of snow the day before we arrived! Despite the cold, we made the best of our visit enjoying every precious moment with our grandkids: Jesse who will be 3 in March and Maya who turned 1 year old on December 11. No matter how prepared we were, saying goodbyes was never easy…
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| Playing corn hole in the snow. |
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| The Lao Family |
Thank you so much for your faithful partnership with the northern Cambodian ministries through your prayers and sacrificial financial donation to support the Alliance Mission. Because you gave, we are able to remaining serving in Cambodia sharing the message of Hope in Jesus to lost people in Cambodia and around the world. Please share with us what God is doing in your life. We want to be a blessing to your through prayers.
For God so loved the world…
Soeuth and Syna
