Dear Supporting Friends and Family,
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these," Matthew 19:14
11 Soccer Kids Received Jesus!
Recently, we had opportunities to share the gospel to kids around the Anlong Veng community. One such opportunity was through soccer ministry. The kids who came regularly to play soccer at the Along Veng Ministry Center’s property continued to spread words to their peers and invited their friends to “Come, let’s go to play soccer at Jesus's field!”. At a most recent sports event, 62 kids came to play soccer. Our teammates have been intentionally hosting weekly evangelism youth bible studies on Sunday afternoons. On the average, 25 kids willingly participated. As shared in our August’s updates, many of these children come from broken and dysfunctional families. They have many responsibilities at home to help with farm work, to cook and to clean, and to take care of their younger siblings. At home, they hardly got a chance to be “kids”. At the soccer field, it is our greatest JOY to see them laugh, be silly with each other, and fellowship with their peers. For the few hours they are with us on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, our team intentionally makes efforts to create opportunities for them to feel welcomed. On Sept 24, after a heart-to-heart discussion about Jesus’ invitation to “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”, (Matthew 11:28), 11 additional soccer kids prayed to receive Jesus! Many of these children already involved in various small groups and discipleship classes. Only God knows the future for each of these precious children. As they keep coming to the “Jesus’ field”, we will do our best to meet their needs in whatever capacity that God allows us…
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| 11 additional soccer kids prayed to receive Jesus |
Seeds Being Planted at Local Public Schools…
Another opportunity was through an on-going good relationship we had established with the teachers and with the students from the two nearby public schools. On August 24, thanks to the generous financial support from Phillipsburg Alliance church of the Metropolitan District, we were able to purchase water bottles and distributed them to church kids as well as to the students who are from the two local public schools. Grateful to the generous donation, the two school principals allowed us 30 minutes, at each of the two schools, to share a short evangelism message to the audiences! This was an historical moment for the Anlong Veng ministry. God alone knows the outcome for this new development. For now, we remain steadfast in making our presence meaningful and impactful among the Anlong Veng community.
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| School kids lined up to receive water bottles |
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| Middle school kids received water bottles |
The KEC National Conference…
Sept.21-22, we had opportunity to participate in the Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC) National conference along with 300 plus other church leaders from around the country. The conference was at the KEC National office in Phnom Penh and the conference’s theme was based on Jesus’s word, “… On this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it…” Matthew 16:18. It was a beautiful site to see the hunger from the audience as they listened intensely to the messages and stayed engaged in three practical workshops given by Alliance International Workers. This was the first national gathering due to the interruption from the Covid-19 pandemic. Needless to say, everyone was thrilled to attend the conference. While fellowshipping with friends, I, Syna had opportunities to fellowshipped with friends from Kampong Cham province. Among them were two mem who attended the conference for the first time. In fact, these men were not even believers yet when they were invited to the conference. Through watching how the Christians interacted with one another, they began to soften and showed strong interest in Christianity. At a divine moment, one of our teammates lead the two men into a relationship with Jesus Christ!
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| 300 plus Alliance National Leaders attended a KEC conference |
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| Two men prayed to receive at the KEC conference |
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| 300 plus church leaders attended a KEC converence |
A Mission Conference in Hawaii…
August 30-Sept 15, we had opportunity to speak at a mission conference at one of our partnering Alliance churches in Hawaii. We were grateful for opportunities not just to speak at the planned events and in various small groups but also had opportunities to meet with new friends, a new partner church, and with new partnering individuals! In one such opportunity was a divine appointment with “Tere”. During a women mission luncheon, I (Syna) shared briefly about my first encountering with Jesus while living inside a refugee camp in January 1980. I also shared how I witnessed the God’s love being compassionately demonstrated through various International Workers who were sent there by different relief agencies… At the end of my talk and to my great surprise, Tere came by to greet in the Khmer language! Tere was one of the relief workers who happened to be in the same camp around the same time that I was there! Amazed beyond description, I could only utter a ‘Thank You’ to Tere and to the countless other Workers like Tere, who had sacrificially answered the Call to serve, even in such a hard place as those camps along the Thailand borders, so that I and thousands of other refugees could have the Gospel access. I am grateful to God for faithful Int. Workers like Tere. Who I am today is because someone was willing to say YES to the Call, no matter the cost. By the grace of God, I was able to see my story came in a full circle…
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| Hiking at Manoa Fall trails |
Dates & Events for your prayer consideration…
- Sept 18: The Anlong Veng team was invited to participate in teachers’ appreciation luncheon, partly, because of our involvements in the Anlong Veng community. Among those who participated in this event were 12 public school teachers, three village leaders, the Anlong Veng district leader, and the assistant director for the Anlong Veng Educational department.
At the teacher's appreciation luncheon - Oct. 7: Syna will speak at a regional women conference in Batthambang province.
- Oct. 13-15: The entire country of Cambodia will celebrate a Bon Pa-jum Ben holiday. Similar to that of the Halloween which is celebrated by the western countries, Bon Pa-jum Ben is a very dark and eerie holiday for the local Khmer people who normally celebrated and worshipped ancestorial spirits, mostly from out of fear evil spirits. From past experiences, this is one of the most testing times for new believers who would be pressured by family members to bring food offering to the local Buddhist temples. Often where there were team conflicts or any personal issues or potential accidents or other calamities happened, they happened more often around this time of the year. Please pray for protection against the evil schemes…
Because of your faithful prayers and financial support, we are able to make our presence meaningful and impactful as we live and share the Hope of Jesus in this dark community. Thank you for your involvement. Please share with us what God is doing your life.
Blessings,
Soeuth & Syna
