March Update 20224

 Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

Greetings from Cambodia! We trust you are doing well. A lot has happened since our last note to you. Here are some of the highlights…

Heat & Fire…

Cambodia is at the early stage of a hot season with an average daily temperature of 95 F or 34 C. We have not had rain since early November! With everything so dry and dusty, there were already a few scary fire incidents that took place in the last few months! Last week, there was a blazing fire incident on the field next to our current house! If not for the brick fence dividing our place from the burning fields, the fire could have easily spread into our location. Although no one was hurt (praise God!), most of the nearby houses, including ours, were covered with ashes and black soot!

This is the result of the fire incident next door to our house house!

LMC in Siem Reap…

Back in  January 12-26, Syna was part of a training team called the Leadership Matter Course (LMC) which was intensely busy! As busy as it was, it was also a joy to watch 40 complete strangers all coming from different walks of life and meeting together for the first time. By then end of that first evening meeting, everyone left the room feeling a sense of belonging as friendship developed! Compared to the previous conferences done in Cambodia, this was the best LMC so far…

LMC conference in Siem Reap

Agricultural Workshop…

January: 29-31, immediately after the LMC, we had a two-full day agricultural and financial workshops done in Anlong Veng where 42 people participated. The focus of the workshop was to help local villagers wisely plan out their financial budget and farm God’s way. The conference was long and the heat was unbearable, but through it all, no one left the workshop prematurely as some had a habit of doing so in the past conference settings. Instead, all 42 people actively participated in all events, engaged and focused, and everyone seemed to absorb in whatever was taught. 

42 people participated in Agricultural workshop

A Birthday’s Present & A New Life in Christ…

On February 1, after teaching a discipleship class, Syna was invited to visit a sick lady in Toul Prich village. There she met Noeu, a 63 widow with five adult children, who, based on the descriptions of her recent medical symptoms, appeared to have suffered from a recent stroke. In her time of need, she cried out to an unknown God and asked for his help. One night in her dream, an image of a man dressed in white kept repeatedly urging her to “Go and look for the Jesus people. You will find your answers there." Upon waking up, Noeu earnestly pleaded with her relatives to “Go and find the Jesus people for me!” Thus came the invitation where Syna and some of her students went to visit the sick woman.

A lady prayed to receive Jesus in sickbed

After brief meeting and sharing the salvation plan, without any hesitation, Noeu prayed to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior! Since this encounter, with the help of kind neighbors who picked her up for church, Noeu has been faithfully attending the Firm Foundation Alliance church in Toul Prich village. And she even brought a grand daughter to the church with her. The amazing part was, upon the first meeting, Noeu was too weak to even sit up! Now, she is walking radiantly and full of joy! What a privilege for Syna, whose birthday is on Feb. 1, to have the honor of introducing Noeu to Jesus on that day!

The Philippines Trip…

Feb. 7-16: we visited Aide’s (our teammate) hometown in Negros Occidental, about 3 hours drive from Bacolod City in the Philippines. It was our first time visiting this beautiful country and loving it! We the had no previous plans or agenda but simply to meet Aide’s family and friends and to see where she grew up in order to gain a better understanding of our friend’s background. Our purpose was also to “go away and rest." Upon arrival, we were treated like royalties by her senior pastor and the entire church family! We stayed in a beautiful mansion called Beaula Land, just the two of us, free of charge! Beaula Land is a retreat center for mountainous pastors and Christian leaders. It is located directly in front of Mt. Kanlaon, an active volcano located less than 5 kilometers away from where we stayed! We went to the Philippine to rest, and God provided such an opportunity. We woke up every morning surrounded by green rice paddies, palms, banana plants, and were constantly serenaded by the sounds of roosters crowing without the endless distractions from the internet! We went on many hiking routes and swam in crystal clear spring waters. Throughout the week, we also met Aide’s family, church members, old classmates and former teachers, and her many cousins! This was the best vacation we ever had so far…

Hiking adventure in the Philippines

Mt. Kanlaon located in Negros, Occidental, Philippines

Dates & Events needing your prayers…

1. Immediately after we got back from the Philippines, we joined the rest of our IWs teammate for our annual prayer retreats. With our overlapping schedules, we could only participate in the second and the last service of the retreat, but it was so good!!!
2. Feb. 19-25: We traveled around the country with the camp director-couple of the Alliance Redwood Camp. The purpose of the trip was to scout around for potential camp sites which will allow us to host under privilege kids for a once-in-a-lifetime camping experience. We met our visiting guests for first time at the Phnom Penh airport as complete strangers. By the end our trip, we had a hard time saying goodbyes to dear friends. Only God has away of putting people together for His glory and purpose. 
3. March 1-3: we helped host a team of 21 students and adults from Bangkok International School, Thailand. The visiting team had their schedules and flights lined up to visit Anlong Veng, but their hosts caught a sudden sickness which limited them to accommodate the visitors. So, we stepped out to help friends in their times of need. And what a joy and a blessing it was for the visiting team as well as for the hosting villagers.
4. The Anlong Veng team went on a retreat, March 7, 8, and 9 visiting different sites in Siem Reap.5
5. The National Alliance (KEC) Women will hold their annual conference in Poipet, March 21-21, where Syna will be one of their keynote speakers.
6. March 27-28: The northwest regional church leaders will also hold their conference in Svey. Soeuth will be speaking at one the workshop seminars.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support. The works in Cambodia continue on because of your partnership through prayers and financial support to the Alliance GCF. THANK YOU! Please share with us what God is doing in your life. 

With a grateful heart,

Soeuth & Syna