January Update 2022

Dear Supporting Friend and Family,

Happy New Year! We trust that all is well with you and your family.

We sent out an urgent prayer request email earlier this month to some of you concerning situations below, but in case you are not aware, here is the latest update from our family…

As appropriately described by a dear friend, “You started 2022 with a bang!” We had big plans for Monday January 3, 2022. After months of waiting, Jonathan finally had an appointment on that day for a written test for a New Jersey driver license’s permit at a local Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV). However, on that appointed day, South Jersey received its first snow storm of the winter season with about 6-14 inches of snow throughout the region. 

First snow storm in New Jersey of the winter season

With much snow on the ground, everything closed including the DMV. The next few days, we kept showing up early at the local DMV hoping to get in. Finally, on January 6, after three hours of waiting, Jonathan was allowed inside, but he did not pass the written test. We have a few appointments lined up in February and March at different DMVs. Please pray that Jonathan will get a driver's license soon… 

Jonathan patiently standing on a long line at the local DMV

While we were frustrated with the New Jersey DMV’s situations, at Fridley, MN, Justin and Katie and their two children were all excited and ready for the big day—their long awaited overseas trip was to depart at 9pm from Minneapolis on January 3. But their Covid-19 rapid test (a requirement for all International travelers) came back positive for both Justin and Katie! After a week of waiting, they repeated the test, but one of them was still positive! After another round of tests, on Monday afternoon of January 17, all results came back negative! After a long period of waiting, things were moving along again at full speed! They got new flights, left the next day, and 19 hours later, they arrived at their designated country. Their trip went well. All the suitcases arrived. Justin and family are now settled down in their new furnished apartment (thanks to the hard works of their supporting teammates to set up their new home).

They will have a few extra days of rest before language school begins on January 24…

The younger Lao family

Our spring tour officially began on January 7, but because of severe weather conditions, one church had to cancel their weekend events, but was able to reschedule to later date. Then, we were concerned about our recently trip to the southern California, with all the surges related to Covid-19 and Omicron and the many flight cancellations. But feeling at peace about it, we went anyways. Due to the pandemic, the attendance was low in one of the four service events. But only God knew who He wanted His message to be delivered to.

Here are some additional praises and prayer requests…

1. Dec. 13-21: We were grateful for a brief but meaningful visit with Justin and Katie in Fridley, MN. It warmed our hearts deeply to see our one-year old granddaughter, Maya, taking her first few steps and to then hear our almost three-year old grandson, Jesse, learning a few Khmer words. He said them with such precision and clarity! On a Sunday evening service before we left, at a small church gathering attended by close friends and relatives, we were blessed to be part of a special commission service, a send-off prayer service for Justin and Katie participated by both sets of parents and grandparents. And the evening service was concluded with a baby dedication for Maya!  We treasure these precious moments in our heart knowing that it would be a while before we see them all again. It is the right thing to let them go and follow where the Father is leading, but this does not minimize the pains of separation which can be deep and raw…
2. Recently, we reached out to a few trusted families who would be willing to let Jonathan live with them for a while shortly after we return to Cambodia. God answered prayers with a few responses. Please pray for clear directions, especially for Jonathan, as he will soon decide where he will be living for the next few years. This decision relies heavily on an HVAC job availability and a good community church family. There are a lot to be done in the next few months in order to help Jonathan settle in the States so we can return to Cambodia with peace and sound mind.
3. Continue praying for safe traveling on long road trips and for good health as we travel every weekend to a new church for speaking at mission conferences. Pray that God would raise awareness in the church families to support Alliance Mission in Cambodia and around the world.
4. In addition to our monthly living expenses, we have two other Approved Special Projects that we are required to raise funds for during the next 4-5 months as we visit churches to share about the needs. Some of you have donated to the needs. Thank you! The projects are “Anlong Veng Ministry Center Project” and “Soeuth & Syna Lao’s Vehicle Project." To support one or both of the project, please send in your tax-deductible donation to the Christian and Missionary Alliance (The C&MA), 8595 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. You can also give online. Scroll down and click “find a project” and type in “Anlong Veng Ministry Center” or “Syna & Soeuth Lao’s Vehicle”.

Thank you so much for your faithful partnership with the northern Cambodian ministry through your prayers and financial support to Alliance Mission. Because you give, we are able to remain serving in Cambodia sharing the message of true Hope found only in Jesus to the lost people in Cambodia and around the world. Lost people matter to God. He wants them found. Please share with us what God is doing in your life. We want to be a blessing to your through prayers as well. 

Blessings,  

Soeuth & Syna

December Update 2021

Dear Supporting Friends and Family

“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.

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

Toul Prich kids enjoyed a game of soccer. 

Soeuth and village kids in Toul Prich village. 

Village children having a fun time riding on the back of our truck. 

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…

Playing corn hole in the snow. 

The Lao Family

Below are additional praises and prayer requests for your consideration…

1. Throughout the busy weeks of traveling and speaking, God kept us healthy and strong, but at the last day of fall tour, Soeuth caught a bad cold which last more than weeks. He is slowly recovering, hopefully he will be back to normal again when spring tour begins. 

2. We rejoice to announce that the approve special Srae Nouy Church Building Project was fully funded during the Thanksgiving week! Thank you for your support!

3. In addition to the Srae Nouy project, our heart desire is to see the Anlong Veng Ministry Center (mentioned above) getting started shortly after we return in July 2022.

4. We appreciate your prayers for our children, Justin and Katie and their two small children, who will depart for their International Worker service with the Alliance in the Middle East starting this January 3. Pray for safe traveling and transition into a new culture— learning and adjusting to a new language and lifestyle.

5. Please continue praying for our youngest son, Jonathan, for his future needs for a housing arrangement, an HVAC-R related job, and a reliable used vehicle for him to drive.

6. The churches in Cambodia are still busy celebrating Christmas service almost every day throughout the entire month of December. Speaking to Hout  Soheng (our Cambodian National ministry partner for the Anlong Veng region) recently, even though he already participated in 14 Christmas events, their last Christmas celebration is on January 2!

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

 

 

November Update 2021

Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever” 1 Chronicles 16:34.

We have so many reasons to be thankful for this year. We are grateful to God for the gift of life, family, good health, protection, daily provisions, and opportunities to join God at work in the Cambodian ministries. During the past four years of the northern church planting ministries in the Anlong Veng and in the Srae Nouy regions, we were beyond blessed to see many fruitful ministries taking place in such a short time. We are thankful to God for YOU, our dear ministry partners, for your countless prayers for our family and for ministries. We are thankful also for the financial support you gave to support the Alliance Mission. Because of your involvement, we were able to remain serving in Cambodia sharing the message of Hope in Jesus to lost people in that part of the world. THANK YOU! At the same time, all the works in Cambodia was not done by just the two of us—we are blessed to work alongside some AMAZING, Godly Cambodian National Ministry partners such as Mr. Kong, Pastor Dy, Po, Heng, and Mrs. Rate, and so many others. We wish we could tell you all, but for now, we will just share briefly about Pastor Dy…

Pastor Dy (left) on a boat.

Although we knew of Pastor Dy (pronounce Dee) many years ago from our previous interactions among the Alliance gatherings, our friendship deepened July 2017 when we began church ministries in Anlong Veng and in Srae Nouy areas. Pastor Dy, a 54 year old loving father of three adult children, devoted husband, and very humble servant of God is also a great man of prayer. Originally from the southern part of Cambodia in Kampong Cham province, as young believer, Dy uprooted his entire family and settled down in Srae Nouy around 2008 due to family and financially related crisis. To survive, Dy and his two young sons learned a trade of carpentry and earned a meager income through selling wooden furniture that Dy and his sons made. Because of debts, Dy literally ran away from his hometown to hide in Srae Nouy! But God found Dy in his hiding place and gave him a sense of purpose, a new direction in life. Living out his faith wherever he was, Dy became a spiritual leader to a small group of believers who had heard the Gospel of Jesus through Dy. 

As the number of believers grew, The Srae Nouy Alliance church was shortly established under the leadership of Pastor Dy. Having very little education but with daily devotions to the studying of God’s words, Dy led a group of vibrant believers to the next level. Initially, every night, Dy and the Srae Nouy believers and their families willingly came together in prayers. Their persistent request was, “God, reveal Yourself to us. Please come and show us your ways.” Twice a month, the leaders faithfully fasted and prayed with the same petition. As a result, God showed up. He met them in powerful and amazing ways. 

Every week during Sunday church service, Dy and the Srae Nouy Church families witnessed miraculous healings on those who came to church desperately seeking prayers for healing. When the believers united together in faith and through prayers as they laid hands over a sick person, God responded. When people with mental and or physical illnesses and their families came to seek God in faith asking him for healing, He simply showed up in their midst. Believers of various journeys of faith had seen miracles and wonders. Some had personally experienced miraculous healings. As a result, the fame of Jesus spread near and far within the Anlong Veng and the Srae Nouy regions drawing curious seekers to come near to His kingdom. 

For all these young believers, God put Pastor Dy, a timid and humble man as their spiritual leader. When we had finally met Pastor Dy face to face in the summer of 2017, we told him and the other leaders who were standing beside him, “We are here to work alongside you for the next four years. How do you want us to help?" All at once, they began to cry with tears of joy falling freely down their cheeks. As their leader, Dy went on to explain, “For the past two years, all of us here have been faithfully praying to God, begging Him to send us teachers who would teach us His words. Now, you are here! Thank you for answering the Call. Jesus heard our prayers and sent you to us!” 

Both Soeuth and I count it as a privilege to be able to work alongside such a Godly leader and ministry partner such as Pastor Dy. When we first met Dy, in addition to the already existing Srae Nouy Alliance Church, there were four other small house churches scattering over the northern part of Cambodia. These small groups were very young in their faith—about 4 months old Christians at that time. During the next four years of ministry, through the efforts of discipleship and leadership training, the groups grew from 5 into 21 village house churches! We were grateful that God allowed us to join Him at work in the Anlong Veng and in the Srae Nouy regions, at just the right time, to see Him moving and stirring hearts toward His kingdom.

Pastor Dy preparing his Sunday message

In mid-October, by faith, we mailed out a bunch fundraising letters to some of you concerning the Srae Nouy Church Building Project that we hope to raise funds for especially while we are still on home assignment this year. And many of you have generously responded! At this writing, we received about 95% of the total funds needed for this particular project! THANK YOU, LORD JESUS! And thanks to you, our dear supporters.

Greetings from the Srae Nouy Church families

In addition to the Srae Nouy project, we also have other additional Approved Special Projects: "Anlong Veng Ministry Center", “Northern Church Plant",  and “Soeuth & Syna Lao’s Vehicle Project” that we hope to raise funds for while we are still on home assignment. Would you prayerfully consider going a step further by supporting any of these Approve Special projects?

Concerning our immediate family, this Thanksgiving week was a bitter-sweet time for us. We welcome our children and grandchildren—all seven members of us were under one roof for a whole week! BUT this was also our last time together as a family, at least in a long while, because both Justin and Katie and their two children will soon depart for the Middle East early January 2022, Lord willing. They will serve as Alliance International Workers in that region for the next four years. We will be sad sending our precious loved ones away for a long period of time, but we are so PROUD that they say “YES” to the Call. Please consider extending your love and support and prayers to this dear young family as well.  Pray for their adjustment to the new culture and learning the new language and so on...

Some of you have been praying ever so faithfully for our youngest son, Jonathan. Thank you! He is doing well and thriving in a trade school located about 3 miles drive from our current home. He is half way through the HVAC-R one-year training program! Lord willing, Jonathan will complete his training by June 6. Meanwhile, we are looking and praying for a place with a family of mature Christians in the New Jersey areas, where Jonathan would be welcomed to live with, at least for the first year or two. We also pray for an HVAC-R related job for him to work after we both return to Cambodia in early July 2022. Although things look uncertain now, our God has always been very faithful to us and to our family in the past. We are trusting that HE is not going to fail us now, especially with the requests for the upcoming future concerning our children. We appreciate you joining us in these prayer requests…

Additional praises and prayer requests…

1. It has been a challenge effort trying to get any appointment with a local New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicle, because everything is still closed due to Covid restrictions! A few times already, we tried online registrations for an appointment. We even had to do it after a midnight hour! Even at these attempts, the earliest appointment we could get for a written driving test for Jon is not until January 3! By this rate, Jonathan may earn his HVAC-R degree before he can get a New Jersey driver license! Frustrated? Yes! But God knows what He is doing. Next prayer request is to look for a reliable but affordable vehicle for Jonathan to drive before July 2022. When we are not home to give him a ride, Jon walks 45 minutes to and from school!
2. It has been a very full, busy, but enjoyable fall mission tour. We have two more weeks of speaking after Thanksgiving. The spring tour is also a full schedule. It will begin on January 7. So far, we had opportunities to share with Alliance and with partner non-Alliance churches about what our God is doing in Cambodia. Thank you for your support and responses to the mission fields in Cambodia and around the World. 
3. Through frequent communications with some key church leaders, we learned that, as of today,  all 21 house churches in the Srae Nouy and in the Anlong Veng regions are still going strong! Pastor Dy recently shared that since we left, about 60+ new people had prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior! The small group leaders are busy preparing for the next baptismal service around Christmas time. It is encouraging to hear that new believers are looking up to God and relying on Him for all their needs instead of looking to their human-spiritual leaders for any help.
4. As of early November, the country of Cambodia loosened their restrictions. People are now free to travel across the country and with church activities are now back to “normal” again.

“Give thanks to the LORD for He is good. His love endures forever…” 

Do you have reasons to be thankful for this year? We are thankful for you! We appreciate your partnership in the Cambodian growing ministries. Some of you have been very faithful with your financial support giving to the Alliance Mission. Thank you! 

For some of you who have not been able to so do but are considering, please visit the CMA website, click “A Worker You Love” and type our names to give. Or you can also choose “A Project You Love" then type the name of the project and give. 

Your sacrificial donation to the Alliance Mission enables us to keep on serving God in Cambodia sharing the message of Hope in Jesus to Lost people in this part of the world. Thank you for your partnering with us in the Cambodian ministries.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Soeuth & Syna

September Update 2021

 Dear Friend and Family,

Autumn greetings! Although it is still quite early in the season, we hope you will get to enjoy the changes of the majestic and glorious colors of fall this year. While serving in Cambodia, what we missed most in America was Fall. Now that we are on the same side of the ocean as you, and while we travel around visiting churches and sharing with you about what God is doing in Cambodia, our heart is longing for and missing our dear friends in Cambodia. As we reminiscing the memories of our friends back in Anlong Veng, one story popped into my mind…

“Convenience Store…”  

It was a routinely practice for me to always bring along bags of supplies every time Soeuth and I traveled to do weekly village ministries in Cambodia. Village people who live in remote places had no ways to get necessary supplies which were normally sold in the city locations or in central markets. So, every week after classes, church people gave me a list of requested items where I was to bring the supplies to the village during our next visit. The most commonly requested items (in addition to Bibles, hymnal books, MP3 radio of audio bibles and other Christian literatures or supplies) were highlighters, notebooks, different colors of pens or pencil to mark their Bibles, reading glasses, bible bags, some off-the-counter medicines, and among other requested items. During a break or a “shopping” time, crowds of people immediately surrounded me in an attempt to “buy” their supplies. Thanks to the generous financial support that some of YOU gave toward our Ministry Fund, we were able to purchase abundant supplies of the requested items and to distribute them among church families. To avoid unnecessary potential jealousy from the local people and to promote and encourage ownership and partnership from the recipients, we asked that each person contribute a small fraction of the total cost for each of the items. Surprisingly, the village people were more than willing to participate in the suggested plan and were excite to “buy” their supplies from my “convenience store”. During a “shopping time”, people would line up eagerly waiting for their turns to buys their supplies. It was during one of these “shopping” events that we learned about Chea’s miraculous story of deliverance…

Supplies commonly requested by villagers

MP3 radio with audio Bible

“The Pond Is Clear Now…”

At the line where people waited to get a pair of reading glasses, I often started with a few questions while I searched for an appropriate pair of glasses for a person in front of me. When it was Chea’s turn, I asked, “How old are you?” After he gave me his age, I went on to show him a piece of written literature then asked, “Can you read this?” At my question, Chea looking down then reluctantly replied, “Well, I used to go to school before I was sick, up to a third grade; then I got sick”. As Chea hesitantly answered my questions, those who were standing in line waiting for their turn began to watch us. They, unashamed and openly eavesdropping to our conversation, began to call out some unusual phrases and strange remarks like, “Oh yeah, the pond is clear now. We can use the water!” Or “The pond water is clear now!” Then another echoed in similar wordings, “The people can finally come and draw the water now. The water is clear”, and “We can use the pond water”. All around me, people were grinning from ear-to-ear as they were looking at Chea then at me while blurting out these strange comments.  I thought to myself, “That's was odd. What does ‘The pond is clear now’ have anything to do with me giving Chea a pair of reading glasses?” This went on for quite a while. Finally, I shouted, “Would somebody PLEASE tell me what is going on?” Then, Pastor Dy, our Cambodian National ministry partner from Srae Nouy village, with his usual loud, booming laughter, stood up, stretched his hands as in motions to quite the crowd, then began to explain Chea’s story of deliverance… 

Chea’s Deliverance Journey…

Pastor standing between Chea and Chea's father

Since his early teen years, Chea was plagued with and was severely tormented very frequently by evil spirits which often drove him madly, uncontrollably, and physically violent causing him to throw things at people. When this happened, he would shout viciously and profanely at any one that come near him. Sometimes, the voices that came out of his lips were incomprehensible screams. And then, many times during the day or night, whenever he was controlled by evil spirits, he would jump into a family pond nearby then would swim and swim for hours without stop, until he was exhausted. Then he would come up onto the dry ground and begin to warm himself by a bon fire which Chea, in his right mind, had started and he always kept the fire going continuously. To keep him from potentially harming other family members or any unsuspected visitors, his father and some neighbors built barbed wire fences surround their property where Chea was continually locked up inside the fence. When I asked how often did these strange behaviors happened, Chea’s father who was with him at that time said, “Oh, about 2-3 times every week! Sometimes my son would calm down a bit and it happened again and again, at least 10 times every month!” At least one family member, and it must be an adult, had to be at home with Chea all the time. Then, Pastor Dy went on to tell that these demonic spirits had tormented Chea for the past 23 years! In desperation, his family, especially Chea’s father, had sold many precious livestock animals and other costly family heirlooms and used all the money they had to find help from many local “Kru Khmer” also known as witch doctors, but no one and nothing could help Chea. 

In late December of 2020, some church people from Chea’s village suggested to his family, “You should take your son to our church. Our God, Pre- yea-sue, is much stronger than all the evil spirits. You should give Jesus a try”. At their persistent suggestions, the father reluctantly took his firstborn son, Chea, to find help at Srae Nouy Alliance church. When Pastor Dy learned about Chea’s conditions, he quickly organized a prayer meeting of deliverance ministry for Chea. The church people, both young and old, came willingly to fast and pray. Initially, as people surrounded Chea in prayers, Chea began to throw fits at every direction. Some strong men from the church had to aggressively wrestle and put tight grips to hold him down. “It was a vigilant prayer that lasted two whole days. And then, he was free!” added Pastor Dy.  Amazed by what was told, I could not find a word to reply but kept staring at the man standing tall in front of me who appeared to be in his right mind and could very well carry a conversation with me…

Chea in a white standing next a church leader and his father in front of Srae Nouy church

My first encounter with Chea took place in early February this year, at Srae Nouy, during one of our Tuesday classes. Since this meeting, Soeuth and I continue to teach every week at the same village until the day we left Anlong Veng in early June. Often time, Chea came by, sat through, and participated in a class discussion that I was teaching. Although we did not see any activity personally, local believers reported about the couple times that Chea had a few minor relapses since he was prayed for, “but nothing of violent or vicious behaviors as he used to have…”

The Pond Is Clear Now

Chea sitting in a hammock making baskets to trap fish

Prayer requests for you to consider…

1. Thanks to modern technology, we are able to stay in touch with, pray for, and encourage our friends who are in Cambodia. It sounded like the number of those who are infected by Covid-19 is escalating all over Cambodia, but the country does not have adequate medical supplies or abilities to accommodate the many who are sick. Because of the increased in Covid cases, government-mandate-controlled-movement restrictions between provinces are still strongly reinforced. 

2. As a result of Covid restrictions, many village churches and small gatherings are still prohibited by local government. PLEASE pray for believers to remain steadfast with their decision to follow Jesus.

3. In addition to restrictions, many rural parts of Cambodia (Anlong Veng and Srae Nouy included) are currently underwater due to heavy rains and floods. Many church families are already short on food supplies.

4. Please continue praying as we travel around every week to visit and speak at Alliance churches for missions. Pray for safe traveling and for good health on our part. As we share about what God is doing in Cambodia and around the world, pray that hearts would be touched, receptive, and responsive the Call that God has for each of them. The mission field in Cambodian and around the world) is RIPE and READY for the harvest, but we are short on the WORKERS. Pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers to join His Mission Field…

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We appreciate your partnership in the growing Cambodian ministries. Some of you have been very faithful with your financial giving Alliance Mission for the Cambodian ministries, THANK YOU!!! But for some of you who have not been able to do so but are considering, please visit https://cmalliance.org/give/ Then choose “A Worker You Love” and type our name (s) and give. Your sacrificial giving to the Alliance Mission enables to keep on serving God in Cambodia bringing the Hope of Jesus to lost people in this land and around the world. Let us know if you have any question about Cambodia.

Blessings,

Soeuth & Syna Lao

August Update 2021

Dear praying Friend and Family,

It has a been a busy summer full of traveling to re-entry seminar and visiting relatives and friends around the east and west coast areas. Our fall missionary tours began August 14, and there will be a full schedule ahead of us. Nevertheless, we were grateful for some quality times reconnecting with some old friends and family. 

Recently, during a Facetime with some friends in Cambodian, our hearts jumped with JOY to hear that many families of believers in Anlong Veng region are still going strong and steadfast with their decisions to follow Christ, and that in spite of hardship related to Covid-19 restrictions, church and weekly class attendants stayed the same if not increased as in some villages. Praise God!

Sarah’s Story…

Shortly before we left Anlong Veng, I (Syna) had meaningful opportunities to connect with a young single mother of two small kids whom I will call “Sarah." At just 24 years of age, Sarah had already endured much difficulties in life. The closer I got to know Sarah, the more I learned about the heart-wrenching circumstances she had experienced. She was just 16 years old when Sarah met and thought she fell deeply in love with the “right one." She soon realized that her marriage turned out to be a long, horrible, nightmare. Because of poverty and an abusive life at home from the hands of a chronic alcoholic father (for detailed information related to Sarah’s father and other family member, please refer to “Tell Us More About Jesus”), Sarah’s family of five children had been uprooted many times throughout her childhood and were constantly moving from one location to another, with each new place getting worse than the one before. 

As a result, Sarah only attended school up to second grade and could hardly read or write. Trying to be free from her dysfunctional family, she grabbed the first opportunity she could to “marry” and then move in with her husband’s family. But her escape into “freedom” quickly turned into modern-day slavery where she was severely and constantly abused, physically and verbally. She had endured harsh forced labor at the cruel hands her in-laws. To fit into her role as a married woman, Sarah had to do chores like cooking, cleaning, and hand-washing laundry for 11 family members of her in-laws everyday! She never had any free time to herself. On top of the heavy chores, her parent-in-laws were constantly abusive, verbally and physically. In all of these, Sarah was forbidden to make any contact with her family! The heavy workloads and constant abuse continued even when she was late into her third trimester of pregnancy with both of her daughters! After a short few days of rest followed by each delivery, the forced labor quickly resumed. While all of this took place, her husband did not do anything to defend her. The situations became worse when Sarah’s two daughters were just 2 & 4 years old. Sarah and her children got kicked out of the in-law’s house! Having no other place to go and no money in her hands, Sarah reluctantly returned home. 

Mentally, Sarah had prepared ahead of time that she would receive harsh treatment and complains from her own family. But shortly after retuned home and to her amazement, Sarah noticed tremendous changes in her father’s behaviors! Instead of being constantly drunk and verbally and physically abusing his wife and other family members as he had done in the past, her father was gentle and kind and helping her mother with household works! Instead of always drinking with his buddies, her father was actually working and bringing hard earned income to the family! “And he was praying to a strange God named Pre-yea-sue (the Lord Jesus) and he always reading a strange book which he called the Bible!” 

Sarah also took notice that each evening, her father gathered the family to sing and worship to this “strange God."  Initially, she repeatedly refused any invitation to join the daily family worship time. “But, the more I saw how changed and happy my father was, the more I became intrigued about his God." After a moment of reflection, Sarah looked up and faced me, then continued, “You don’t know my father. He was a very bad man. But now, I saw with my own eyes that he was a different person! How can this be?” 

Shortly after Sarah left home, her father, then her mother, were introduced, one after another, to Jesus by a close friend named Mr. Kong (Please see the ‘Out of the Ashes’ video of Mr. Kong). Since meeting Jesus, there were significant changes that took place at home and in the lives of her parents. The amazing transformation in her father astonished Sarah so much that she wanted to know Jesus as well. As she began to join the family night devotion, God slowly removed the walls of bitterness from her heart. And, instead of holding grudges against her husband and his side of the family, Sarah began to pray for them. She started to attend church services with her parents. 

Seeing her interest in knowing God, I invited Sarah to sit in a weekly discipleship class that I was teaching in her village. That was November 2020. Since then, Sarah has grown so much, spiritually and emotionally, that it was visibly evident in her overall demeanors! Instead of always looking gloomy and depressed as she used to be, she was now smiling, cheerful, and singing praise to Jesus! When asked why she was so happy all the time, Sarah simply answered, “God puts a new spirit in me. I love Jesus so much that I cannot help myself but singing praises to Him, everyday!” 

Sarah and her daughters, aged 4 and 6 years old

When I asked if she ever thought of seeing herself getting married again, she was quiet for a long time. After a long silent, she took a deep breath, paused, then whispered softly these shocking words, “I don’t want to see my little girls getting hurt by a stepfather. I will wait and see. I am praying for my husband everyday. If it is in God’s will, one day, after he (referring to her husband) has come to his senses, then I will reunite with him, and then, we can be a family all over again."  I assured Sarah then that I would be praying for her and her husband as well.

Sarah was among the 10 people who got baptized on January 31 at Toul Prich village. Recently, while connecting with church leaders from Anlong Veng areas, we received some good news that Sarah’s estranged husband had been coming to join the church services twice already! Sarah’s story is still unfinished, but she is hanging on to her favorite Bible verse found in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you," declared the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Praises & prayer request for you to consider…

1. Praise God that our home in New Jersey was spared from Ida hurricane storm that ravaged many parts in the Tri-states regions. Many homes and lives were lost and severely damaged as the result. Pray for peace and comfort on those who were severely affected by Ida hurricane.

 

2. Based on a recently ministry report shared by our National Cambodian ministry partners, the 21 house Alliance churches around Anlong Veng and the Srae Nouy regions are still going strong in attendance both in weekly church services and in weekly discipleship classes. According to Pastor Dy from Srae Nouy, 48 new people prayed to receive Jesus shortly after we left Anlong Veng! Church leaders are preparing for the next baptismal event, hopefully around Christmas time.

3. July 25th - Aug 2 was a very special week when we got to spend with Justin and Katie Lao with their two precious children in Minneapolis, MN! Words cannot describe the immense JOY in our hearts upon meeting our grandchildren. Sadly, because of conflict in schedule, we had to cut our visit short. At this writing, Justin and his family are attending a one-month Pre-Field Orientation required for all new Alliance International Workers. God willing, the family join a mission field in one of the countries in the Middle East by early January of 2022.

Justin, Katie, Jesse (2 and 1/2 years) and Maya, 8 months old.

4. August 17 - Sept 2: while visiting and speaking at Cambodian churches in the west coast areas, we had opportunities to spend with Syna’s side of the family who lives in Tacoma, Washington. It was sad to see some tragic changes that took place in the family during these past few years. In spite of it all, we also saw the hand of God was working in each of the family members. While in Tacoma, the family came together for early celebration of Syna’s elderly mother who turned 90 on Sept 5th. Please pray for physical and emotional healings to take place among family members.

Syna's mother in front row in white a sweatshirt

5. In July while searching for a trade school for Jonathan, God led us to one school at just a walking distant from our house! Immediately, we enrolled him in a one-year program there where the first day of school starts on Sept 24. Please pray for clear directions and wisdom as we help Jonathan to adjust to life in America. 

6. As mentioned above, our fall missionary tour schedule is full and busy. Pray for safe traveling by roads and or by plane. As we share with church families about Cambodian ministries that people will be receptive and responsive what God is doing in Cambodia and around the globe. 

Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers and financial support for the Cambodian ministries. Your sacrificial donation toward Alliance Mission enables us to continue serving in Cambodia to bring the message of Hope in Jesus to lost people in that part of the world. 

Alliance has a new platform for giving. For those of you who are giving through your local churches, nothing has changed. If you are mailing in donation or have a recurring donation set up, nothing has changed. However, if you normally give online, you’ll see the page has changed a bit. To support us, please visit: https://cmalliance.org/give/

Under Gift Type, choose Give to the Alliance or to a worker you love. Under the latter, type “Soeuth & Syna Lao” and then select the fund (s) of your choice. Then enter the amount you want to give and scroll down to continue with your information.

While we are in the States this year, if you have any question concerning Cambodian ministries, please email us at jjsblaos@gmail.com or contact us at 646-573-1158. Also, please share with us what God is doing in your life. 

Blessings,

Soeuth & Syna Lao

July Update 2021

Dear Praying Friend and Family,

Greetings from South Jersey! It feels good to be on the same continent as many of you! Having arrived to the States three weeks ago, we wanted to update you about what took place recently…

The past few weeks had been a season of “close-calls” & unexpected blessings… 

Close-calls

After numerous, frantic phone calls back and forth from Anlong Veng Cambodia to a travel agent from Chicago, Illinois, we were able to get Jon a new flight from Kuala Lumpur (KLIA), Malaysia, to New York City, JFK airport. Early June, just a few hours shortly after Jon boarded the plane from KLIA, many parts of Malaysia went into complete and immediate lockdown which resulted in many flight cancellations! Jon was able to get onto a flight just in time… 

Shortly after we arrived into Phnom Penh on June 11, significant outbreaks of Covid cases took place in many provincial areas where Anlong Veng was among the restricted locations that underwent immediate shutdown! Similar situations happened again shortly after we left Phnom Penh on June 18… Though we were very grateful to God for our safe arrival into the United States and being able to reunite with our Jonathan, our hearts ached for our friends and teammates whom we left behind in Cambodia. As the number of Covid cases are increasing, more restrictions are being reinforced daily. Prolonged restrictions mean no jobs, no income, and no basic food supplies for the needy and hungry families. May God have mercy on the people of Cambodia.

Unexpected Blessings

In the midst of busyness while transferring ministries and juggling other transitions from Anlong Veng, we made casual contacts with some friends in the US to prepare for our arrival, but we had never imagined they would go the extra mile for us. Immediately after arrival on June 5th, Jon was warmly welcomed, loved, and cared for by a lovely family who took him as one of their owns until we arrived. The same token of kindness had been also graciously extended to us three weeks later by the same family! After nearly a year of separation, it was a welcoming sight to see our Jonathan again—who had grown a lot taller. Then our home district, the Metro District, provided us a beautiful car to drive for a year! 

After nearly a year of separation, we finally reunited with Jonathan at JFK airport!

A district car for us to drive this year

And our home church, the Living Christ Church of Nyack, also provided us a van (with a driver and his lovely assistant—his daughter-- included) to help us transport our things from the storage place to our new home in South Jersey, a distance of about 2.5 hours of driving each way. When we finally arrived into our new place at Cedar Lane Missionary Homes, our jaws literally dropped! We have a beautiful home!

Our new place for this year

Moving our stuff from storage place to our new home

They gave us the whole house (completely furnished and full of household supplies and stock-up food goods) with three bedrooms, a beautiful spacious kitchen and a living room, and private spacious yard to ourselves! In all our 26 years of missionary services, this was the first time we had ever lived in a private home during a furlough/home assignment year! Because it is a completely new location to us, we are still learning our ways around town. There are many fun things to do and places to see for rest and relaxation, but our most favorite activities of all (so far) is to sit in white plastic chairs, outside in the back porch of our new home, underneath a giant oak tree, during a cool & late evening time, watching fire fires fluttering by. Compared to the roller-coaster and busy life we had in Anlong Veng these past four years, living in Cedar Lane is like going to a retreat place, surrounded by quietness and peaceful environment, a very relaxing place for our souls. We are enjoying some rest and down time now before hit the road for the upcoming fall missionary tours…

Praises & Prayer Requests…

1. With the Pre-Field Orientation (PFO-- for Justin and Katie) and then HAMS (re-entry) conferences that we have to attend in July, although we are in the same country, we are not near enough to visit our son and his family in Minnesota-- until July 26! We look forward with much anticipation to meet our grandchildren…

Our grandchildren we long to meet: Jesse & Maya

2. Jonathan is taking a 6 month-gap year and will be staying home with us for a season while waiting for clear directions about his future. To remind us that God is still working in Jonathan— upon arrival to this beautiful place, we met a lovely matured couple who currently serve as director (and wife) at the Cedar Lane Missionary Homes, Inc.; they had previously served as dorm parents at Faith Academy in the Philippines! Upon learning about Jonathan’s situation, they immediately offered him as part-time summer job doing ground keeping works around Cedar Lane compound! Please continue praying for clear directions as Jon is still processing about life in America and what he will do…

Jonathan, hard at work

3. At this writing, Justin and Katie and their two little ones are participating in a PFO conference in Colorado Springs, CO, July 12-17. Pray for safe and smooth traveling and that they would learn well as in preparation for the going out to the mission field, at the end of the year…

4. We will have a very full schedule missionary tour this fall. Many of the places where we will be speaking involved at least 2.5 to 4 or 5 hours of driving each way. Pray for protection on road trips and that we will be good ambassadors of Christ as we share about what God is doing in Cambodia.

5. Pray for safely and protection for the Cambodians and for our teammate who are struggling with Covid restrictions. Many places including church gathering had been closed or under complete lockdown due to the most recent outbreaks. In the midst of fear and uncertainty, pray that they would keep their focuses only on Jesus.

Thank you for partnering with us in the Cambodian ministries through your financial giving and though your on-going prayers. We appreciate you.  If you happen to be passing through New Jersey Turnpike, feel free to drop by for a visit.  We are just off on exit 3 from the turnpike. We have LOTS of rooms and plenty of food for you!   Please share with us what God is doing in your life.

Blessings,

Syna & Soeuth & Jonathan