February Update 20

Dear Friend and Family,

Immediately after a busy Christmas season, we launched January 2023 with a whirlwind of church

activities, conferences, and celebrations. These activities did not come as a surprise, but knowing about

it and experiencing it is a totally different matter. Anyways, that is all behind us now. Here are some

highlights of what took place since our last newsletter to you…

Youth & Soccer Ministries…

On January 4th at 3-5pm, we began the first weekly soccer ministry for the Anlong Veng school-aged children.

There were 68 children, ages 4-14, who showed up and were ready to play soccer! Before the game began, Soeuth gathered the group for a short prayer followed by some rules and guidelines of what was expected from them. One of the rules was absolutely no cursing allowed anytime while they were on the church

property. If any swear word is heard, we will stop the game until the guilty person acknowledges his/her

wrong, apologizes to the group—only then can the game continues on. At this, they agreed. Then, Soeuth led them into a time of warm-ups and stretching- they were not too excited about the warmups.

Soccer ministry in Anlong Veng

A few weeks afterward, an average of 45 kids joyfully participate every week. Some even came as early

as 1 pm! Some of the kids attended church on Sundays. Since this ministry began (Jan.4), 14 children had

prayed to receive Jesus! 

Village kids proudly wore their wooden cross necklace after receiving Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

One thing you must know that youth and soccer ministries are among Soeuth’s most passionate ministries. No matter what designated ministries or responsibilities we were involving in the mission field, we had always made room for youth ministry. Those who know us well know that our home is like a revolving door that constant opens and shuts by young people who constantly dropping by. 

Youth & Soccer ministry in AV

If you recall, just one year ago this very month, when Soeuth encountered many episodes of frightful health crises. It began in early February 2022 when he was gasping for air and was fighting for his dear life. After 9 visits to the doctor's offices followed by 4 visits to the Emergency Room and very costly

medications, in late April 2022, he was finally diagnosed with adult onset-asthma. Since back in Asia

(July 4th ) living the warm tropical airs, he is doing MUCH better. He  visited doctors in Bangkok a few

times since July. As far we know, Soeuth’s asthma is GONE! Our God does heal!

Usually, when God was at work, the Enemy was also busy working. On that first day of soccer ministry,

while Syna and some ladies were busy preparing snacks for the kids, a 38-inch cobra was spotted

crawling on the soccer ground! This took place just an hour before the kids arrived! Moum, one of the

church ladies, saw it first, screamed loudly for help. But when help was slowly arriving, Moum quickly

grabbed a nearby wooded stick and killed it! She then gave the dead snake to one of the church elders for food. It was a big snake that weighed 1.4 kilograms!

A cobra on the soccer ground

The snakes are back!

New Teammates...

On January 15th, we welcomed a family unit of new team mates! Rithy and Kristie Ty and their two children moved to Anlong Veng to serve alongside us in northern church ministry. The Anlong Veng (AV) team now increased to seven adults and five children, ages 0-10 years old. We are grateful that God sent us helps. The ministry is growing and we need all the extra helping hand we could get. Seeing the rapidly growing youth ministry, Rithy’s younger sister, Vantha aged 21, is also praying and considering of join the AV team… A week after the family moved in, however, and while Rithy attended an all-day leadership class in Srae Nouy, Kristie saw a” huge green snake” in their kitchen cabinet! Terrified, she called a few people for help. Unfortunately, by the time help arrived, the snake had already gone away. Please pray for

safet, protection, and for peace as Kristie is home most of the time with her hands full of child-care

to a very active toddler boy and a newborn baby girl. These dear little ones are mixed-race kids, half

Khmer and half Americans, just like our own grandchildren who live in the Middle East. Both Soeuth and

I are very proud to be called as their “Taa and Yay” (grandpa and grandma). Having these precious little

people nearby helps lessen the aching in our heart from missing our own love ones…

100th Anniversary Celebrations…

Recently, the Cambodian evangelical churches came together for a joyful celebration for the 100th

anniversary of when the Gospel was brought and introduced to the Khmer people by American Alliance

missionaries, Author Ruth Hammond and David and Muriel Ellison, in January 1923. Jim Hammond,

his grandson, gave a reflection of his grandparents’ ministry while Helen (Ellison) Ellenberger,

at age 90, also gave a reflection of her memories of her parents. 

She also shared memorable stories of her growing up as a bilingual missionary kid in Cambodia… Both Soeuth and I had the honor of translating their messages from English Khmer for the greater audience. At the greater Alliance Family gathering on January 26th, 1,600+ people attended! The celebration committee did an amazing job with all the detailed plannings and preparations which included in country- logistic needs for all the International guests and dignitaries. Then, on January 27-28, 350,000+ people joyfully participated in the 2-day evangelical celebration! There many people who travel some 9 to 11 hours from other provinces just to attend the celebration. To get this celebration ready, every available helping hand was needed before, during, and after the events. Some international visiting guests went on to visit other ministry locations around the country including some churches in northern Cambodia.

Visiting Team…

January 29-Feb. 2, shortly after the celebration, we had the privilege of hosting 8 members of the

Alliance leaders who traveled with us to visit a few church locations including the Kampong Khlang

floating village. Having these leaders visiting our humble remote locations brought much

encouragement to us also to local pastors and lay leaders.

Anlong Veng Team

The Ellenberger visiting Cambodia

Visiting village ministries

Deep Wells…

With regard to building deep wells, after multiple failed attempts, the workers quit trying altogether

because they were losing money on fuel and efforts. Now, the church families search for other

alternatives to get water supplies. There is a strong possibility that village families can get access to

clean city water. However, to do so, the water company requires at least 20 other families with the

same interest and who are willing to cover their share of expenses, $75.00/ per family unit, for the cost

of pipes and other equipment. Po, one of the leaders in Srae Nouy, is collecting names of interested

families who would agree to this arrangement. It may be the best option for them…

Srae Nouy Church’s Construction Building Project…

Februbary 6, the construction building workers loaded up their gears and supplies and travel an hour

from Anlong Veng to Srae Nouy to begin the ground breaking of the Srae Nouy church building. After

years of waiting, the Srae Nouy church families finally begin to see their dream becoming a reality, to

have their very own church building! Lord willing, they hope that the building project will be completely finished by late April, shortly after the Khmer New Year, and hopefully before the rainy season comes

(May). Pray for safety and protection for and the integrity of workers…

A Library in Anlong Veng…

The past few weeks and the next few weeks, we have been scheduling meetings with various potential

building companies to see which company offers a better deal. We had the library plan drawn for Phase

One for the Anlong Veng Ministry Center to build a library with a computer room, two adjacent-

multipurpose rooms under one building construction plan. Once done, this will be the first and might be

the only library for the entire district of Anlong Veng which consists of 162 villages. The library will not

only serve students and teachers from the two nearby public schools, but the entire community will

benefit from it as well. Needless to say, everyone is very excited to have a library coming soon…

Time to Swim, Anyone?

It was during the Covid-19 lockdown months when some church families from Anlong Vend accidentally

discovered a man-made pond about 30 -minute drive from Anlong Veng. Since then, this pond has been

frequently visited by our church families. Because the ground underwater was even, it varied from 1-5

plus meters in just a few mere steps away, we were greatly concerned for the safety of many who don’t

know how to swim. Recently, Syna bought 25 life jackets to share. And what fun we all had. While some

enjoyed swimming, some church ladies harvested freshwater snails and the men threw their fishing nets

out to catch a few small fish for meal. It was refreshing to dip in the cool water in the midst of daily

extreme heat high 90’s to low 100’s degrees Fahrenheit. At this writing, it was 101F outside!

Thank YOU for prayers and support. God is going amazing working in Cambodia. And the recent 100th

year celebration was a great milestone for the Cambodian Christians. And YOU played a major role in

this joyful event through your prayers and financial support as partnership in the overall northern

Cambodian ministries. And we are very grateful to God for you!

Soeuth & Syna Lao