September Update 2024

 Dear Faithful Supporting Friend and Family,

Warm greetings from Anlong Veng. We trust that you are doing well.

“That’s the way my God works!”

Recently, while removing wooden planks from an old house, Savy, age 55, a member of the Firm Foundation Alliance Church, was miraculously spared from a dangerous accident. Just hours before this specific incident took place, Savy had been sharing his faith with one of the four workers of the same project. Savy shared about numerous ways that God came to his aide. God provided food and medical needs for his family, protected him from a near drowning accident, and healed his family members again and again. While Savy was passionately sharing his faith to one man working on the ground floor, three other men working on the second floor were listening intensely to their conversation. Suddenly, without warning, a large plank of wood, 12x 2 feet (4x0.8 meters) fell from the second floor directly on to where Savy was working. The three men above shouted in fear and quickly rushed down to the site, only to find Savy standing strong without any cut or even a small bruise. When they examined closely, a huge rusted nail (sized 3.2 “or 8 cm long) was still attached to that wooden plank, and that nail landed on Savy upper right back. The nail ripped off Savy’s shirt but not a cut was found on Savy’s back! (Please refer to picture below). Shocked and bewildered, yet feeling amazed and grateful for God’s protection, Savy exclaimed, “You see! That’s the way my God works!” Seeing how Jesus protected Savy, Chee, the young man whom Savy was sharing his faith with earnestly inquired, “Please tell me more about your God. I want to know him too." At his request, Savy was more than glad to tell Chee about Preah yea-sue…

Savy was wearing this shirt when the wooden plank with nail fell on him. Only the shirt was damaged.

Zorn’s Confession…

The last weekend of August, we had a leadership gathering at a remote village where 36 key presenting leaders from Alliance house churches around northern Cambodia areas. Soeuth shared a message from Nehemiah chapter 1 and reminded the leaders about the call and the burdens that God put in each leader’s heart concerning lost people. After a message, there were opportunities for the leaders to share about what God was doing in their designated regions of ministry responsibilities. One after another, a few leaders stood up to share ministry highlights, frustrations as well as challenges they were facing. When it was Zorn’s turn, he stood up and wept bitterly, but did not say any word.  His gentle falling tears suddenly burst into uncontrollably sobs. Seeing his convulsive gasps, other leaders stood up to give him support. When he finally controlled his emotions, Zorn looked up and said, “Everyone. I have a confession to make." He went to explain that because of personal greed and pride, Zorn not only left the fellowship of Srae Nouy church, he became the rink leader for “sheep stealing” using worldly materials to lure other church families, mostly new believers to join him; and together they formed a “new church” service, next door to the Srae Nouy church building. This group had maliciously and constantly spread gossip and slander about the Srae Nouy’s leadership causing hurt, distrust, and division among the remaining members. These evil practices went on for a few years that they became “thorns in the flesh” for Pastor Dy and the Srae Nouy church families. Instead of retaliating, however, Pastor Dy and the church members presented their requests to God in daily evening prayer services and monthly fasting. As a result, God stepped in and began a new work in Zorn’s life. 

Zorn joining the prayer service at Srae Nouy church

At this particular meeting, in between sobs, Zorn went on to confess, “In my foolish anger, I wanted to hurt Pastor Dy who is also my uncle, but I ended up hurting myself and hurting those who followed me instead."  In the presence of other leaders, turning toward Pastor Dy, Zorn kneeled down and pleaded, “Uncle, I had wronged you. I sinned against God and against you. Please forgive my mistakes. I want to come back to your church!” After this, everyone in the room stood up, each one extended their hands toward Zorn in warm embrace and in prayers. 

Srae Nouy's night prayer service

Since this incident took place, Zorn has been fellowshipping with the Srae Nouy church and joyfully participated in every small group event. Other the families who had left the fellowship also returned to join the Srae Nouy church. As the result, the number of attendees doubled in size! The childrens ministry’s attendance was tripled in just few short weeks! 

Church attendees became doubled after a recent reconciliation among believers

Other dates and events needing your prayers…

1. Recently, a few church families in Anlong Veng experienced divine protection in various way. After each of these incidents, there were immediate opportunities for the believers to share Christ with their unbelieving relatives and friends who also were eye witnesses to these incidents. As a result, four people prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord! God still uses miracles to draw lost people into the kingdom. 

   

   Field trip day for the Anlong Veng youth

   
   
2. When it rains, it also pours. We are having too many big rains lately. The rain waters, although welcome, also destroyed roads and flooded and damaged crops. And there have been too many incidents where people had close encounters with poisonous snakes. Pray for protection for all.
3. Some of our church men earn their daily living from working at construction sites. Works are being postponed during heavy rains. No work means no money to buy food for their families. Overall, this is a season where many villagers are struggling just to find daily food supplies for their hungry families. We were grateful for a like-minded local NGO who recently donated eggs for our church families. In addition to the eggs, using ministry funds, we bought rice to distribute to 43 needy families. There is so much we can do and we cannot help everyone. Pray for daily wisdom and discernment as we face needy families each week, not knowing who, when, how to help so that we do not create dependency or a begging church environment. We were always looking for creative and practical ways for needy families to “earn” a living with dignity. For example, we hired local villagers or students to plant trees, clean, and do ground keeping at the church. In return, they receive small fees in exchange for their daily services.
4. The Firm Foundation Alliance church members including students and teachers from two nearby public schools, in addition to some members from the Srae Nouy church will have clean up days during the next couple weeks and months in preparation for two major events (see #5 and #6 below) to be held at the Anlong Veng Ministry Center. Pray for good fellowship and opportunity for witnessing especially with the unbelieving students and their teachers. 
5. The Firm Foundation Library will be officially dedicated on November 8, 7:30-11:30 am. We're expecting at least 200 attendees, most of whom are not yet believers. Our Field Director will give an evangelism message on that day. 

   

   Firm Foundation Library

   
   
6. The KEC annual youth camp, November 14-16, will be held in Anlong Veng this year. We are expecting 600 plus attendees.  A lot of work and preparation need to be done before these events take place: obtaining permissions from local authorities, invitations, food preparations, among many other things to be done beforehand... It will be done in an open space atmosphere. By then, it should be a dry season, but pray that we will have good weather including safety and protections and favors from local authorities... 

   

   Anlong Youth is getting excited about the coming youth camp

   
   
7. Please continue praying for safety on long road trips that we make 3-4 times/ week. Most roads and highways in Cambodia shared with stray dogs, cows, mechanical cows, trailers & wagons, wandering small children, students walking or riding bicycles or motorbikes, chickens, ducks, snakes, and many other things while we drive at a limited speed. This week while driving to a village ministry, Soeuth hit a dog, 3 chickens, and a snake!
8. Pray for Syna’s elderly mother, aged 93, who is battling with chronic renal issues. At this writing, Syna is on her way to visit the family in Tacoma, Washington. Syna's mother and her handicapped older sister are in need of a live-in home healthcare worker by Oct 1.

A young couple joined in the  Srae Nouy church's prayer service

Poipet's monthly leadership class

We are grateful for your partnership in the Cambodian ministry through your prayers and support. Your generous financial support toward the Alliance Great Commission Funds enables us to remain serving in northern Cambodia sharing the message of Hope in Jesus to Lost people in Cambodia and everywhere. 

Thank you!

Soeuth & Syna Lao

August Update 2024

 Dear Faithful Supporting Friend and Family,

Warm greetings from Cambodia! We trust you are doing well. 

We apologize for a delayed update. It has been a long season of losses and grieving along with personal family challenges for us. We still have a long journey ahead of us. By the grace of God, we are trotting through this dark season, one day and/or one week at a time.“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you (us) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phillipians 1:6).

From A Scorching Drought to A Raging Flood…

In less than a two month-time, Cambodia changed from a scorching drought and dry season to a raging monsoon and flooding season! The heavy rains came down hard continuously almost everyday. In some communities, almost an entire village was completely underwater! Whatever crop was saved from the dry season, farmers (including many church families) were excited to welcome the first rains and began preparing their fields, then planting rice and other seeds. Then, the July down pouring rains had severely destroyed most of their precious crops. It saddened our hearts to see so much losses in such a short time. 

“See, How The Jesus People Care For Us!”

Recently, a young lady, “H” (age 14), who was the only believer in her family and member of the Firm Foundation Alliance church, had a motorbike accident resulting with a broken leg. In panic, she cried out, “Preah-yea-sue help me!” before passing out on the main road. When her family was notified, they attempted to take her to a Krue Khmer (a local witch doctor). But H awoke on time and shouted, “No! I am Kone Preah-yea-sue (a child of Jesus). Please, take me to the hospital.” When local church families aware of H’s accident, they rushed out to visit her home, each visitor gave small amount of money to help pay for a taxi ride to the Siem Reap’s Children Hospital. H had a surgery and is currently still in the hospital. Amazed by the love and concern and the generous support from the community of believers during their time of need, H’s family remarked, "See, how the Jesus people care for us!”

A Sunday service at Firm Foundation Alliance Church

“Jesus Was Never Too Busy To Answer My Prayers!”

During the “prayer & share” time at a recently Sunday church service, members from the Firm Foundation Alliance took turns sharing how God was at work in their lives. Excited and eager for her turn, sitting on a tiled floor and leaning against the wall for support, Noeu shouted, “I, also, have something to thank God for my life." She went on to share her amazement at the ways God deeply loved

Noeu shared about what God had done in her life

and cared for her life. Before accepting Jesus as her Lord, Noeu had spent all her financial resources to pay local witch doctors as well as for all her medical local clinics at various local clinic. Her many chronic diseases which include a heart disease and high blood pressure among many other illnesses. After she had a stroke in January that left her weak on the left side, Noeu met Jesus in a dream (please refer to Noeu’s extended stories found in March parts 1 & 2 update). At this particular church service prayer & share time, Noeu declared, “I had always been sick for a long time, and my family took me to see doctors almost every week. It was a heavy financial burden for my family, but since I believe in Jesus, I have not stepped one foot into the hospital building! Preah-yea sue not just healed, but he actually hears me when I prayed!” In her excitement, Noeu went on to share, “We all use our phones to call our loved ones in time of needs, but sometimes, the lines can be busy or the connections are not clear. But my prayers seemed to have a direct line straight to the throne of Jesus! And Jesus was never too busy to answer my prayers!” Through a kind believing neighbor, Noeu is being brought to church every week while she actively participating in a weekly Firm Foundation discipleship class that is being taught at her home. Noeu seemed bold and not ashamed to share her faith with her extended family. Since the day of her salvation, Noeu had already led four of her granddaughters to Jesus...

Dates & events needing your prayers…

1. Some unbelieving parents had recently forbidden their teens to attend church. As a result, some of these young people were getting worse in their behaviors, cutting class, and hanging out with the wrong crowds. At the same time, however, some youth brought their Bibles to read at school because they were not allowed to read it at home. Please pray that their faith would be rooted in Christ as these young believers endure persecutions at home and among their peers.
2. Resulting from the sudden floods, farmers who raise fish or livestock (chickens) for a living are experiencing a major loss of their goods. It seems that everywhere we turned, there were families that we know of who are affected severely by the floods. Pray for wisdom on how and who to help.
3. With raging flood water in every village, there were a number of drowning incidents among church families. So far, since the rainy season began, there have been four different drowning incidents, small children ages 2-5, from among the KEC church families in the northwest region. With the rainy and flooding season comes also snakes and diseases related to mosquito bites. Pray for protection among the church families. 
4. Pray for on-going health issues for Syna's extended family members from the States side. Pray also for peace in the midst of grieving and concerns for our extended unbelieving family members.
5. At this week’s meeting, the National KEC youth committees will finalize the location for the annual national youth camp which is scheduled for Nov. 14-16. Depending on the location, there will be a lot of preparations to be done before the conference/camp takes place. Pray for unity among the youth committees.

The Poipet's monthly leadership class

Thank you so much for your on-going prayers and financial support toward the Alliance Great Commission Fund. Your generous support enables us to remain serving in this part of the world shining the Light of Jesus and sharing the Message of Hope in Jesus to the Khmer people. We are grateful for your partnership in the Cambodian ministries. Please share with us what God is doing in your life.

Blessings,

Soeuth & Syna

June Update 2024

 Dear Faithful Supporting Friend and Family,

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” Romans 12:15

“I Have Decided to Follow Preah Yea-Sue…”

As shared in our last blog, Soeuth’s mother passed away to her eternal home on May 12th. While the grief was still deep and raw, the extended Lao family went through another major crisis, this time with Soeuth’s younger sister, Moum, who died on May 31st of pancreatic cancer. She was 57 years old. Although Moum had prayed to receive Jesus in the late evening of April 9th (the same day when she first received the shocking medical report about her sickness), we had no idea about how sincere her new found faith would be until we heard the testimonies shared by her own children and granddaughter at Moum’s funeral, a few weeks later…  A brief version of her story as told by her family was that shortly after accepting Jesus as her Lord and Savior, Moum returned to Siem Reap. She began to settle down her house and family in order before going off to Thailand for further treatments. The night before she left for Bangkok, in a quiet family gathering, Moum told her three adult children and their spouses including her three granddaughters, “I have taken the faith of my brother (referring to Soeuth). I have decided to follow Preah Yea-Sue, just like my brother and his wife did. When I die, I will go straight to heaven. We can see each other again, but first, you must also believe in Jesus.”  That was her last testament and the last memory that the family had of her. Moum went straight from her hospital bed in Bangkok to her new mansion in heaven. At her request, the family did a Christian funeral which was well attended by many Christians from the northwest region. A few days after the funeral when we visited the grieving family, we had the honor of leading two members of Moum’s family to receive Jesus…

Christians showed support at a family funeral

“There is Power in That Name!”

On May 28th, we were invited by Pheap, a believing lady from Firm Foundation Alliance church, to visit one of her sick relatives, who was suddenly diagnosed with a terminal liver cancer. The patient was an elderly man, a prominent figure who was well known and respected by the community. Feeling devastated by the shocking discovery of his sickness, his anxious family, following their Buddhist traditions, spent most of their savings seeking helps from modern medicines as well as from traditional local witch doctors, but to no avail. The purpose of this visit was to give support and encouragement to the grieving family. Standing by their front door on the appointed day, we heard strange commotions and screaming noises from inside the house! 

As we entered the house, there were a dozen of people including a Buddhist priest and two Buddhist nuns already sitting by the patient bedside performing some strange religious rituals-- chanting and sprinkling some strange liquid on the patient. Feeling awkward, we reluctantly entered the house and sat quietly in the back while watching the strange practices being done onto this dying man. Suddenly, the man arose violently and screamed loudly “Help! Help! They are coming after me!” Everyone was bewildered. The room suddenly was filled with chaotic and confusion as the chanting got louder and the sprinkling of water kept going on. Not sure how to respond, we began praying silently for the man. From previous visits, Pheap had shared the Gospel to this man before, but he had never made any decision. At this visit, however, as the screams got louder, the volume of the chanting also increased. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Pheap shouted, “In the Name of Preah Yea-Sue, I command you, evil spirits, to come out of my uncle!” Suddenly, the man stopped screaming. Conscious of what was going on, panic and fear were visibly evidenced on his face. The man turned his face toward our direction and pleaded, “Please help me! I don’t want to go to hell. I believe in Preah Yea-Sue now. Please show me the way to Him." At his request, Pheap took the honor of leading her uncle to Jesus, in the hearing of all those religious people in the who were presence in the house. Afterward, there were soft whispers among the other visitors saying, “There is Power in that Name!” 

Sadly, a few days after that home visit, the man died peacefully in his sleep. When we visited the family during a religious Buddhist funeral a week later, his wife assured us, “I want you to know that my husband believed in your Preah Yea-sue until his last breath."

Pheap and Soeuth praying for a dying man

Other dates and events needing your prayers…

1. May 21, we had a leadership workshop in Sen Chey village where 43 people participated. In addition to the workshop, there were opportunities for people to share what people had seen God at work in their lives. One man shared, “After 38 years of trying to quit smoking on my own terms, I was completely defeated. But when I fully surrendered my life to Preah Yea-Sue, He helped me. I have not smoked a single cigarette for the past three months!”  

   

   43 people participated in a recently leadership workshop

   
   
2. The result of prolonged drought had significantly damaged crops and added financial stresses to the church families. There were few sprinkles of rains here and there but not enough water to restore the damaged crops. The church leaders are anticipating a severe food shortage this year. May God have mercy on the poor and need. Pray for wisdom as we seek ways to help meets some of their needs. 

   

   Damaged crops resulted from prolonged drought

   
   
3. June 28-30, we will be traveling with three members of the National Youth Committees to Rattanakiri province for a regional youth conference. It’s a 9-hour driving each way. Pray for safety on road trips and for a good outcome of the conference.
4. July 10: there will be a regrouping meeting among the key church leaders for the northern region.  Pray for our church leaders to have a passionate heart of Jesus to seek and to serve those who are lost and without hope.
5. In the past few months, our family experienced a long season of losses and grieves. We were grateful for the love and support that the Body of Christ lovingly demonstrated to us in so many tangible ways. We grieved but with an assurance hope that we will see our loved ones again-- because of Jesus.

With a grateful heart,

Soeuth & Syna

May Update 2024

 Dear Faithful Supporters, 

We apologize for the delayed updates. A lot has happened since our last updates. Below are a few events taking place…

Regional Conference…

March 28-29: The Peyope (the northwest) District had their regional conference at Svey Sisophon where 180 people participated. During the business session, a number of church leaders gave encouraging ministry reports showing they were on the right track for becoming healthy churches. Seven new members were elected for Regional Church Committees (RCC) at this conference, followed by a joyful celebration for five newly ordained Alliance pastors for the region.

Seven newly elected members of the Regional Church Committees (RCC)

Khmer New Year & Easter Celebration…

April 7: Since the holidays happened so close to one another, we invited the Toul Prich village church families and the construction workers (workers for the library) for a BBQ cook out in a traditional celebration for Khmer New Year and Easter celebration. Before the meal, Soeuth shared a brief evangelism message (his specific target audience was for the workers who were mostly not yet believers) about our hope in the Resurrected Christ. At the end of the day, two workers prayed to receive Jesus!

Two construction workers received Jesus on Khmer New Year and Easter celebrations

                                                            A Reason for Hope…

April 9th, late in the evening, we received a call from family members urging us to visit and comfort Moum, Soeuth’s sister, who had just received a shocking medical report that she had pancreatic cancer. After long hours of sitting in silence, Syna felt led to share the reason for hope in Jesus, not just to Moum specifically, but also in the hearing of seven other family members. Around 11:30 pm, Moum prayed to receive Jesus as her LORD and Savior! The next morning before she left for Thailand for further medical evaluation, Syna gave Moum a copy of the New Testament with an instruction on where to begin reading…

Moum's grand daughter received Jesus at the funeral

            Visiting Churches on the West Coast…

On April 10, we left for America as planned to visit and speak at church conferences on the west coast. We also had a brief family reunion with our youngest son, Jonathan, and with some of Syna’s relatives. Our plan was to spend a few days of quality time with Syna’s family in Washington State before returning to Cambodia. However, due to a family emergency at the homeland, our time was abruptly cut short. In a haste, we made traveling plans via a different route back to Cambodia on April 24; we left ten days early.  God’s timing was good. Soeuth was able to spend quality time with his dying mother in Batthambang province before she went home to be with Jesus on May 12th…

A brief family reunion with Jonathan

Brief family reunion in Washington State

Seeds Planted at the Funeral…

On May 12th at 5 am., we received a call from the family that Soeuth’s mother, aged 87, went to her eternal home with Jesus. Because we live six hours-drive away, and most of Soeuth’s immediate family were not believers, we contacted a few key church leaders of the area to start making funeral arrangements until we arrived. By the time we arrived after 1:30 pm, at least 80 members of local Alliance church families came to support Soeuth’s family. Upon the family’s requests, we had a four-day funeral with two services for each day, a total of 8 evangelism messages spoken by local pastors. This was the second Christian funeral ever done in the village. (The first Christian funeral was in July 1998-- for Soeuth’s father). 

Seeds were planted at a family funeral

The Body of Christ demonstrated love and support at a family funeral

Local unbelieving villagers and relatives were speculating and wondering what a Christian funeral would be like. To everyone’s amazement, the Body of Christ demonstrated their tremendous love and support for the grieving family. Every Khmer traditional hymnal song sang and every evangelical message spoken by different Alliance pastors were being broadcasted loudly in the hearing of the entire community. Every service was well attended by the local believers. Many believers went “the extra mile” to show their love and support for the family… By the end of the funeral, two of Soeuth’s nieces prayed to receive Jesus and a number of his extended relatives asked deep and insightful questions about Jesus, one of them was a Buddhist priest! We’d already made appointments with these individuals for follow-up visits. The seed was planted.

Other Events needing your prayers…

1. Between May 11-14th: there were so many tragic incidents that happened among local villagers where we live (most of whom were not believers). Recently, a young couple was recently struck by lightning and died instantly, leaving behind three small children, aged 2 and 9; another family lost 8 adult cows to the same lightning incident. Two days later, another lost their 17 years old son to a tragic motorbike accident. The young man was at the top of his class for grade 12. He was a beloved friend to our church youth. During these dark times, the Light of Jesus showed its best through the love and support from local Christians who attended the funeral and demonstrated love to their neighbors in many tangible ways…
2. Although we were grateful for a few sprinkles of rain showers here and there (which also lower down the heat), the prolonged droughts and prolonged heat waves continue to put heavy tolls on local farmers whose livelihood as plantation and rice farmers depend entirely on rain waters. Most farmers grow fields of cassavas (potato like roots) for a living. Upon harvest time recently, many farmers were shocked to discover their cassavas were completely baked and destroyed underneath the hot soil. Some farmers lost thousands of cashew trees, orange trees, and other fruit trees because of the extreme heat in the last few months. These trees took 5-7 years before they produced fruits; farmers were expecting to harvest their first fruits when the droughts came…
3.  Lately, we have heard of and witnessed too many tragic incidents and deaths resulting from traffic accidents, especially among local students. In response to the needs, in partnership with three local public schools, we donated some funds for purchasing supplies while the teachers donated their time and built barricade items to block off traffic which would allow students to cross the streets safely. In a small tangible way, thanks to your financial generous support to the Alliance Mission, we are making a meaningful and impactful presence among the local community. 

   

   A meaningful impact full presence within the community
   
   

Please share with us what God is doing in your life. As always, thank you for your partnership in the northern Cambodian ministry. Because of your support in prayers and through finance, we are able to continue serving among the Khmer community sharing the message of hope to lost people in this dark part of the world.

With a grateful heart,

Soeuth & Syna Lao

March Update (Part 2) 2024

Dear Friend and Family,

Christ is Risen! 

We trust that all is well with you. Cambodia is at the peak of a hot season with an average daily temperature of 98.6 F or 37 C and 70%-80% humidity. In addition to the extreme heat waves, we also face ongoing threats of wild fire. For some reason, local farmers burned off the dry grass from rice paddies as they wait for the rainy season (early May) and in preparation for the next rice planting season (July & August). The heat is intense, but it is the best time for mouth-watering, juicy, and yummy sweet mangoes. The hotter the season is, the tastier the mangoes are…

Enjoying a season of juicy mangoes

Our pet, Candy, enjoying a cool bath

Poipet’s Leadership Class…

With all the busy schedules we had, Poipet’s monthly leadership classes were postponed a few times and had just resumed on March 16. On the appointed time, 37 representatives from eight other Alliance churches from Poipet areas showed for class! Everyone was excited not just to study the Word of God, but also to fellowship with other believers. One of the main reasons for this monthly class is to allow opportunities for church members and lay-leaders to come together in fellowship, be supportive, and be an encouragement to one another. On a weekly basis, everyone does his or her own ministry at his or her various assigned ministry responsibilities. During these monthly gatherings, we often had opportunities to learn about and help church leaders to find solutions for various church issues. Recently, resulting from miscommunications and misunderstanding, some members were leaving the fellowship. Please pray for unity among the church families in Poipet. Pray also for discernment on our part as facilitators/ advisors for the northwest regional KEC churches. 

37 people showed for Poipet's monthly class

Anlong Veng (AV) Team’s Prayer Retreat…

March 7-9: After a long exhausting busy season (November to March) of ministries, the AV team enjoyed a few days of fun activities and relaxing times visiting various places in Siem Reap. To stay on budget and maximize our time, we left Anlong Veng early on a Thursday morning, drove two hours to Kulen Water Fall in Siem Reap Province, enjoyed a delicious pack- from- home lunch picnic in a rented gazebo, and played board games. After a fun afternoon of swimming in the cool waterfall, we continued to spend two nights in Siem Reap. While in Siem Reap, we visited and swam in the Barai Lake, rode in rented boat around the lake, and visited a Bontey Srey (meaning Women’s temple) we were heading back home to Anlong Veng. Everyone had a wonderful time…

Heng's daughters had fun at the AV's prayer retreat

Anlong Veng team's prayer retreat

The KEC National Women Conference in Poipet…

Every two year, the KEC/ National Alliance Women hold a two-day women retreat at various locations. On the average, about 450 women participated the conference, because it was one of the most anticipated events for the KEC church. However, with the interruption of Covid- 19 pandemic, most of the large group gatherings had been postponed. This year, the women conference resumed and the Living Water Alliance Church in Poipet was the chosen location. As days approached, the women committees anticipated that only 550 people would attend, based on the responses received from the participants. On the appointed day, however, nearly 900 people (including children, drivers of buses, and vehicles) showed up! It was chaotic and stressful time for the committees as they struggled to find enough food to feed everyone including finding tents, hotel rooms and other accommodations. Praise God, in the end. God provided all the details of our needs; and everyone had an amazing time fellowshipping with one another…

Village ladies traveling to the women conference

874 ladies participated in KEC National Women Conference!

Dates & Events needing your prayers…

1. In our last blog, we shared about Noeu’s new found faith in Christ. She continues to trust Him in spite of battling with ongoing sickness. She has a tremendous love for God and LOVES to pray! During a weekly small-group Bible studies, everyone was amazed at her boldness and sense of maturity in her faith as she presented her requests to the Living God. Those in the group seemed to agree, “She was having a deep conversation with God, like no one else was in the room!” Although she is a new believer, Noeu’s faith is an inspiration to everyone at church. 

   

   Noeu, seating in the middle, front row, praying at church.

   
   
2. Please pray for rains. Some families already ran out of water supplies. It was expected for this time of the year, but lately the heat was unbearable at time. Everything around us is scorching and dry.
3. March 28-30: The Peoyope (northwest) regional district conference will be held in Svey Sisophon. Soeuth will be one of the key note speakers for the conference. There will be an election/appointment for a new district leader and for new church committee leaders at this conference. Pray for unity among the leaders. Pray also that God will raise up Godly leaders to oversee the churches in the region.
4. April 5-6: The National KEC youth committees will have the next quarterly meeting in Phnom Penh. Pray for wisdom and visions for the youth workers to see the big picture for the National KEC youth ministry.
5. April 10-May 2: We will be visiting three Alliance churches in the west coast for mission conferences and speaking events. Pray that our messages will be presented clearly, meaningful, and impactful for the expansion of the kingdom of God in Cambodia and around the world. We hope to have some quality family time.
6. Rithy and Kristie Ty, and their two small children, our teammates in Anlong Veng, have been battling with health crisis, one sickness after another, since early February. 
7. Our Anlong Veng team has been busy getting bookshelves and books for our newly built library. We received some donated books (mostly in English) and a few laptops stocked up for the students, while the ordered Khmer books are expected to arrive at the end of March. Everyone is very excited about this brand-new library, the only library in Anlong Veng! As students come to read books in the library, pray that we will have the opportunity to share the reason for our faith with and to them. 

   

   Anlong Veng's brand new library is now open to the public!

THANK YOU for your faithful prayers and your support for the Anlong Veng and for northern Cambodia. Because of your partnership through financial support and through prayers, we are able to continue serving more effectively reaching lost people for Christ. Christ came, died on the cross, and rose again on the third day to give us life through faith in Him.

Because He lives,

Soeuth & Syna

March Update 2024

 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 

January 2024 Update

Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

Happy New Year! We trust that you recently enjoyed a warm Christmas season. For the next couple weeks, we will be intensely busy with various conferences. Therefore, we just wanted to brief you with a few updates before things got piled up… December was filled with Christmas activities and celebrations. We received many invitations, but could only accept and participate in eleven various celebrations…

Srae Nouy’s New Church…

The Srae Nouy church also known as “The Light of Christ Alliance Church” chose to have their joined Christmas celebration in their brand new church building on New Year’s Eve. The church construction building which began in February and was completely built in late November 2023, just in time for the Christmas celebration. They invited believers from a number of their surrounding daughters-churches. Altogether, about 370 people participated. The church families did great works in preparing for the events: the ladies cooked two course meals for the big groups, the youth with their Christmas play in additional to special songs and dance shows. And their children group, about 50 of the little ones, were amazingly adorable with their memorized Bible verses, followed by special songs and dances! Soeuth gave a Christmas message followed by an altar call followed where 11 people prayed to received Jesus. At New Years’s Eve bonfire service, about 150 people participated and openly shared their New Year’s resolutions. It was a very fun and festive celebration.

Christmas celebration at Trapang Krasan village.

Giving water bottles to village kids

Church families worshipping God in their local traditional style

Srae Nouy dancing their special song

First Christmas Celebration at Kokespean…

Dec. 17, a small group of believers in Kokespean house church in Samrong district had their first celebration as believers in the Body of Christ. Friends and neighbor were invited, and about 70 people in all joined the celebration. Mr. Huot Soheng from Anlong Veng shared an evangelism Christmas message to the group. After a festive meal fellowship with delicious traditional Cambodian red curry served warm French breads, there was a baptismal service in a nearby pond where 10 people got baptized on the same day.

First Christmas at Kokespean

This lady brought her two kids to Kokespean church

First baptism at Kokespean

A Local Government Leader...

In November 2023, we received invitation to join an opening ceremony at a local middle school. At the appointed time, Soeuth was invited to sit in the front among some distinguished government leaders. After learning that we were Christ followers, an assistant district leader asked if he could have a Bible! Not having one with us, Soeuth said he would drop one for him at a later time… In the course of time, we were extremely busy: moving into a new rented house, preparing for the youth camp, followed by many Christmas celebrations in December. Soeuth had completely forgot about the requested Bible! On Monday January 8, while working with the church families at the new library’s property, a local school teacher dropped by to see what we were doing. Then, what this teacher said was an embarrassment on our part, “Oh, by the way, the assistant district leader asked me to remind you that he still wanted a Bible that your promised to give him." Hearing this, Soeuth apologized profusely. The next day, we dropped by the prominent man’s house and presented him a Bible in an instruction to begin reading on the book of John. We also exchanged phone numbers and encouraged him to call for any question related to Word. We were not sure what the motives behind for requesting for a Bible, but the seemed sincerely and was excited about getting a new Bible. We hope and pray that he would actually open and read the Bible as instructed and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and to teach him the next steps…

Soeuth presented a Bible to the Anlong Veng's assistant district leader.

Dates & events needing your prayers…

1. January 13-27: Syna will be part of the training team for the Leadership Matter Course (LMC) in Siem Reap province.
2. January 29-31: A two-day agricultural work led by Rev. Bo Samoeun, our KEC ministry partner from Svey Sisophon. We are expecting about 50 people from the local community will be participating in the workshop.
3. Recently, even though we were quite busy with other planned schedules, prompted by the Holy Spirit, we decided to give a surprised visit and to encourage believers who are living in remote villages Ksaach Ampel and at O Kandal villages. It was a 2-hour drive each way long, bumpy, and dusty dirt roads. Upon arrival, the believers were overwhelmed with gratitude for our visit that they all burst out tears of joy. We also brought large six bags of rice and dried food goods for the two villages. We also gave out 68 water bottles to the children. We were so glad we went. 

   

   Worship time at O Kandal village

   
   

   

   Typical Khmer houses in rural village

   
   
4. During the month of December, we participated in eleven different Christmas celebrations. From these events, we saw 28 people gave their lives to Jesus and 21 people got baptized.
5. The church leaders from Firm Foundation Toul Prich Alliance church plant to add at least two more of the weekly small discipleship/ Bible studies groups in order to strengthen the faith of the new believers. Pray that the plans would go through. Also in Poipet, due to the increased number of new believers, the leadership team is planning to add at least four classes/week. We have more people showing interest in studying in small groups that we do not have enough to help. Each of the key leaders is teach at least 2-4 classes per week. Pray that God would raise up more leaders in these areas.
6. The Srae Nouy and their many daughters-churches are preparing their people for the next baptismal service, hopefully in the spring time. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. We appreciate your partnership in the growing Cambodian ministries. Please share with us what God is doing in your live.

Blessings and Happy New Year,

Soeuth & Syna