March Update 2023

Dear faithful supporting friend and family,

A LOT of exciting things have happened since the last newsletter we sent you. Below are some of the highlights and events took place…

Resuming TEE Classes… 

February 17: 58 church leaders from northwest region came together for a full day of meeting and discussions concerning the slow pace and lack of interest in teaching Theological Education by Extension (TEE) courses. TEE course is based on the life and ministry of Jesus through the book of Matthew, a course designed to help and prepare believers to become leaders of their local churches. It is an 18- 24 months course, if studied consistently on a weekly basis. For a while, TEE has been and continues to be one of the main theological courses for training and equipping leaders especially those many leaders who oversee Alliance churches in rural areas. When Covid-19 arrived, classes were postponed indefinitely. But even when things are now back to “normal” again, leaders were slow at resuming classes. Seeing the needs, the church leaders decided to plan this workshop hoping to learn about the root course of it. We are still learning. However, a short time after this meeting, some pastors and church leaders were asking for and ordering discipleship and TEE books to teach small groups in their local region! We are excited to see what God will do among churches as His people are on fire to study His Word once again…

58 leaders participated at a TEE conference

                                                        Leadership Class in Srae Nouy…

February 18: Hout Soheng, our Khmer National ministry partner for the Anlong Veng region, is the main leader for teaching a weekly leadership class in Srae Nouy where 18 students faithfully participated. However, based on a unanimous request, Soeuth was asked to teach/preach in an in- depth message once every 4-6 weeks, depending on our availability at the time. It was good to be with our former students again and to see they are now teaching classes of their own while they remaining disciples of Jesus…

Soeuth teaching at Srae Nouy leadership class

Anlong Veng Team Retreat

February 23-25: The Anlong Veng spent a few days of retreat at Kampot province. We all worked hard in various ministries and thought we deserved some time for fun, rest, and relaxation. But it took us 14 hours to drive each way! To pass time and avoid “Are we there yet?” questions while on the long road trips, we played games (“license plates," or “I spy with my own eye”). Once we arrived, everyone had a great time and enjoyed eating ICE CREAM bought from a local Seven-11 store! This was an AMAZING discovery! Seven-11 stores in Cambodia! Our time at Kampot was cut short due to other planned activities and events awaited us in Anlong Veng…

Anlong Veng team retreat at Kampot province

Evangelism Outreach in Samrong…

February 26: We were invited to share an evangelism message in a village in Samrong, about 1.5 hours of driving from us. Upon arrival, we were surprised to see about 100 villagers already sat down and waited for us! Although some of them listened intensely to the message, no one came forward to receive Jesus. But from that event, five men showed interest in learning more of Jesus. As the result, we scheduled a weekly Living Water discipleship class with them…

Evangelism at Samrong

Spiritual Oppositions & Challenges…

As God was moving and stirring among the people in northern region, every member of the Anlong Veng team experienced oppositions in so many ways throughout the last weeks of February until March. The most attack was on Rithy, Kristie Ty, and their children—our newest teammates who moved to join the AV team mid-January. Since they arrived in Anlong Veng, their family encountered numerous spiritual attacks in forms of snakes (found inside and outside of their house), scary visions and images at nights, repeated accidents among other attacks. Praise God that in the midst of it all, the family was able to see God’s hand in their family. During our weekly life-on-life team meetings and devotions and fellowships, we were able to encourage one another that, “We must be doing something right in God’s kingdom, that is why the Enemy is targeting us!”

Resolving family conflicts

Anlong Veng team's weekly devotion

Then, there was another attack on church families. At least four church locations were facing potential church splits. Some of the issues arose from “sheep stealing” groups who went around behind the leaders’ back in a deceptive way, telling lies and slanders about the present church leaders, and inviting the families to join their group. As a result, there was great misunderstanding among church families, and while some issues resulted from poor communication of the leaders. In early March, we’d been traveling to remote locations trying to bring church families come to an agreement with one another. As of date, two villages are on the road to restoration and unity while we are still working closely with two other villages. We appreciate your prayers for wisdom and discernment on our parts and for unity among the church families…

Sunday School Teachers Conference…

March 11: Syna was invited to teach a workshop course at Phnom Penh for the Children Sunday School Teacher conference where about 130 plus people from around the country participated. This was their first conference in 4 years! Everyone was excited to be there and everyone was absorbing the messages like a sponge. Although our involvement in every meeting or conference a few hours of teaching, the travel time it took for us to get there and to return home is anywhere between 3-9 hours of driving each way! There is no short cut to it. Whenever an event like this takes place, we begin the trip as early as 5 am and return home as late as 9 pm or 10 pm or even later. The constantly prayer for safety on road trips is a daily request.

A New Discipleship Class Started…

March 13: After teaching a new class of Living Water in Samrong, one of the men, Vout, who attending that class asked if we would go his village, Toul Pongroe, to share an evangelism outreach, about a 30- minute drive away, saying he  had invited “a few people" coming. Upon arrival, we saw some emptied chairs and only a few village ladies and some school-aged children. As the appointed time drew near, about 80 plus people showed up! Soeuth began sharing the same evangelism message as shared on February 26. At the end of the service, 48 people prayed to received Jesus! Please pray for Vout, a shied quiet man, aged 50, a new believer, who is also a designated leader for this village, to have courage and ability to lead these young believers to know God’s word, even while he is a student learning God’s word with us on Wednesdays... 

48 people prayed to receive Jesus at Toul Pongroe village

A new discipleship class started at Samrong

Evangelism Workshop & Opportunities…

March 14-15: In response to the needs, the Firm Foundation Alliance church leaders organized a two-evening workshop on how to share faith to and witness to unbelievers. The first evening, 28 people attended followed 32 people on the next evening. The workshop was well received by attendees and they asked for more evening workshops in the near future. During our weekly small group classes, it was exciting to see believers whoo were on fire at sharing Christ with their unbelieving relatives and friends. As they prayed for and sought opportunities to share, God granted their requests a mighty way. Pheap, a member of our church, had two opportunities to share her faith among other parents at a local school during the recently parents-teachers conferences. Savy, another church member, boldly shared his faith and true hope he found in Jesus to hopeless people and to the grieving family while attending a Buddhist funeral recently! A few students shared about a “golden opportunity” to share their faith with their peers, and they event led some of their friends to begin a relationship with Jesus! And so many more stories like these are being shared and heard about and are happening almost every day. Even among the soccer kids, ages 4-14, who come to play at the church field EVERYDAY, they are inviting their friends to play soccer at the “Preah Yea-sue (Jesus) Field!” As more kids come to soccer and church consistently, we started the first monthly youth meeting on March 21 where 29 youth (grades 4-10) showed up! God is truly at work among the people in Anlong Veng and the regions beyond…

Church service at Toul Prich

29 youth attended the first youth meeting in Toul Prich

Evangelism workshop at Toul Prich

Other Dates and Events needing your prayers…

1. As you are reading this note (March 23-25), we should be in or traveling to Ratanakiri province, a 10-hour (at least) drive, each way, from Anlong Veng, for a regional youth conference. This is a time that regional local leaders will vote for their future youth workers for the Isaan region. Pray that God would raise godly leaders with deep passion to reach youth for Christ.
2. Based on the repeated and unanimous request, we resumed a monthly (or once every 4-6 weeks) leadership class at Poipet. Our first meeting was at Ang Salla village, on March 18, in Poipet where 32 people attended.

   

   Poipet monthly leadership class resumed

   
   
3. In early March, the well company was able to build two successful wells for two villages in Anlong Veng. The people in Srae Nouy and in other villages are crying out to God for rains. This drought last so long already. Most ponds are already dried up and we had a number of failed attempts to build deep wells. The same well company said they will try to dig a well at Srae Nouy one more time. 

   

   After many failed attempts, we finally had two successful wells built in Anlong Veng!

   
   
4. The construction building project for the Srae Nouy church is an on-going event, hoping to get it done by mid-April. Due to tight space on the property, the leachers had to tear down an old wooden house and rebuild on a different location to give enough space for the new church building. Most of the workers are NOT yet followers of Jesus, but they had opportunities to hear about Him. While the construction work is going on, some workers took time off to listen and participate in weekly church service and in their evening small groups. The seed had been planted. In God’s timing, we pray they will grow in the knowledge of knowing God and accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. 

   

   Construction project for Srae Nouy church building

   
   
5. At this writing, another group of construction workers are traveling a 9 hour-road trips from Phnom Penh to Anlong Veng. 
6. Mid-April is Khmer New Year, and the students will be on a two weeks break. The leaders are planning sport or fun activities to cater toward these students which will include a friend trip on April 25 to visit Preah Vihear Province, one of the Cambodian historical sites. We are anticipating 20 youth, grade 6-10, will be going. Pray for safety and protections. 
7. Church leaders throughout the northwest regions are teaching and preparing their people for the Easter celebrations as well as preparing some new believers for baptismal service in the coming weeks. This is a big commitment and a HUGE decision for many who are the only followers of Jesus in their house or in their community. Pray that they would not be swayed away or changed their mind as the event is drawing near.

Thank you for your prayers and support. God is doing something amazing in Cambodia and around the world. Thank you for your partnership through your prayers and your generous giving to the Great Commission Fund with the Alliance Mission which enables us to remain serving and living among the Khmer people in the northern Cambodia. Please share with us what God is doing in your midst. Have a blessed and joyful Resurrection Day.

Because He lives,

Syna and Soeuth  

February Update 20

Dear Friend and Family,

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

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

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

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

Youth & Soccer Ministries…

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

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

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

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

Soccer ministry in Anlong Veng

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

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

prayed to receive Jesus! 

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

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

Youth & Soccer ministry in AV

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A cobra on the soccer ground

The snakes are back!

New Teammates...

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

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

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

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

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

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

100th Anniversary Celebrations…

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

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

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

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

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

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

Visiting Team…

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

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

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

encouragement to us also to local pastors and lay leaders.

Anlong Veng Team

The Ellenberger visiting Cambodia

Visiting village ministries

Deep Wells…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Srae Nouy Church’s Construction Building Project…

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

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

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

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

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

A Library in Anlong Veng…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time to Swim, Anyone?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Soeuth & Syna Lao

January Update 2023

Dear Faithful Prayer Supporters,

Happy New Year! We trust you had a blessed Christmas season and a joyful New year. We can hardly believe that 2023 is already here! It feels like yesterday when we were dealing with all the issues accompanied with 2022. So, before another month slips by, we want to share with you some updates and a few highlights of what took place in December 2022…

Christmas at Boeng Beng Church…

Dec. 20: We joined a small group of believers to celebrate Christmas at Boeng Beng church in Malay district, about an hour drive from Poipet. Led by Lalin and Pheap’s leadership, a Khmer national couple from Poipet, the number of attendees grew to about 25 adults and many children. Lalin, a National Children ministry coordinator, has a special ministry reaching school-aged kids in the community. She and her husband, Pheap, travel from Poipet every week to teach and preach. On this special occasion, the children and their parents were invited. About 70 people participated-- 40 plus of them were children! Many of those who attended said that this was “My first Christmas celebration!” When Soeuth gave an altar called, four ladies responded and prayed to receive Jesus. From past experiences, we always asked people if they had any spirit strings after leading them to Christ. And if so, would they be willing to cut them off? One lady, Sokry, was willing to cut off a total of six spirit strings! She kept adding one string at a time whenever she discovered that her husband was cheating. When asked why she decided to receive Jesus, “I am tired of being rejected and betrayed and unwanted, over and over. If what Lok Kru (meaning teacher- referring to Soeuth) said is true, that Preah Yea-sue came down to earth to seek lowly people like me, well then, I believe! I want Jesus in my heart”. 

40 plus children joyfully participated in a Christmas celebration at Beong Beng for the first time!

A lady, cutting off 6 spirit strings (her old life) to follow Jesus!

Children paid close attention to the Christmas message!

A Surprised Christmas Visit at Kabin Phlaov 3…

Dec. 22: As if it was previously planned, 11 key church leaders and their wives from the northwest region decided, individually, to pay a surprise visit to a Christmas celebration at Kabin Phlaov 3, (literal translation meaning the “merging of three roads”). Among the surprised visitors were Rev. Sok Sophon, a former KEC president, and his wife, Maram, and some of Tongsy’s dear friends—other elderly widows from northwest region. It was such a wonderful surprise to us all. Auntie Tongsy, the 83- year- old widow, the main hostess for this special event, had no clue that all these key leaders would show up at her doorstep! Her joy was so overwhelming that it moved to tears…

(Tongsy and her friends sang joyful songs to Jesus

During the early 1980s, Tongsy and her six small children were living in refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodia border with her drunken husband, then. It was inside the refugee camps that Tongsy and her children found true peace, happiness, contentment, and refuge through her genuine faith in Jesus Christ the Rock. Shortly after she received Jesus, Tongsy was mistreated harshly by her own husband.  Whatever the reason, Tongsy’s husband seemed to take pleasure in beating up his wife and children, especially whenever he was drunk, which was almost every day. Sometimes, the beating was so severe that Tongsy was found unconscious for days at a time and with her body completely covered with cuts and bruises. He was constant demanding Tongsy to deny her faith. But no matter how severe the verbal and the physical abuses she endured, Tongsy remained faithful to God. In late September 1993, after the refugee camps closed, Tongsy and her family returned to settle their lives in Kabin Phlaov 3 where she became the founder of an Alliance church there. Even as Tongsy was a leader of this small church, her husband, then, would always look for opportunities to mock and humiliate her in front of people. In spite of the constant abuses, Tongsy was faithfully determined to practice forgiveness over retaliation to his evil deeds! Her unshakeable faith in Jesus and her willingness to remain living with a very difficult husband were an inspiration to all her six adult children, that they also became faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Sadly, in October 1999, her husband drank himself to death without having a relationship with Jesus.

Presently, Tongsy remains a faithful, vibrant, and fearless spiritual leader for this small remote Alliance church. As for distance, Kabin Phlaov 3 is far removed and remotely located from any Christian community. To visit this church, we drove almost 6 hours from Anlong Veng, (a 315- kilometer one-way trip), mostly on bumpy and dirt roads. 

Auntie Tongsy sharing her joy and gratitude upon seeing many surprised visitors at her village.

Because of the distance, we visited Kabin Phlaov 3 only a few times in the past few years, but we had always seen Tongsy or some of her adult children attending conferences or seminars in one of the central locations throughout the northwest region. Many times, she invited us to visit her place, but time would not allow us, until this Christmas season. On this appointed date, to see so many visitors from distant places surprised at her humble village, Tongsy was speechless and flooded with tears of joy beyond description. At the end of his messages, Soeuth offered another alter call where seven (7) ladies responded. And all seven of them cut off spirit strings.  

Seven ladies prayed to receive Jesus at Kabin Phlaov!

A Christmas Celebration on a Floating Village…

Dec. 24: Early morning on Christmas’s Eve, we took a truck-load of church members from Anlong Veng to join a celebration at Kampong Klang floating village. Similar situations as in Kabin Phlaov 3, families who live remotely on various floating villages found themselves lonely and isolated from other Christian community. They rarely received any visitor from the mainland. So, upon our recent visit, the hosting families rejoiced exceedingly upon receiving 20 visitors who packed into two boats full to join their Christmas celebration. We brought individual wrapped gift bags filled with school supplies, coloring pages, crayons, small toys, and some goodies as gifts for 68 children! While it was fun visiting the floating village, some of the visitors found the trip to be challenging due to the lack of adequate bathroom facilities. They were glad that it was only a short visit and everyone was glad to step on land again…

Visiting a floating village

(A joyful Christmas celebration on a floating village!)

Christmas Celebrations at Poipet…

Dec. 29: Even though our original plan was to join the Living Water Alliance church for an evening Christmas celebration on Dec. 31- Jan.1, we decided to arrive a few days early just to visit with some church families. Shortly after arrival, we learned that another church nearby, Santepheap Alliance Church, was also doing their evening celebration on the 29th. We showed up unannounced at the appointed time, and what a wonderful surprise it was to everyone there. The beautiful thing about this celebration was the entire program was carefully planned, organized, decorated, and prepared activities and including meals—all were done by mostly youth and a few young adults! Our hearts soared beyond measure to see young people stepped up to serve and to get involve in various ministry capacities. Two families from that church who raise goats for a living. Months before Christmas, each of these two families decided to dedicate their first-born goat and to raise it for the Christmas celebration. When Christmas arrived, each family brought their fatten goat (s) to prepared for the Christmas feast. There was plenty of food to feed 150 people!

Christmas celebration at Poipet

Dec. 31-Jan.1:  When we arrived a few minutes before 4 pm (as was mentioned in the program), there was hardly anyone at the Living Water Church! Someone jokingly commended that they were following a “Khmer time." But as the evening approached, church people from various villages began to show up at a rapid pace. The leaders had 400 plastic chairs set up. Late in the evening, people were still standing to worship, because there were no seats. Every year, this church spent, on the average, at least $500-$800.00 for Christmas meal. This year, however, the families decided to contribute home cooked meals from their own personal expenses! There was plenty of food, 15 plus course meals larvishly displayed on two longs tables serving as buffet style, feeding nearly 500 people! Every expense was covered by each family’s personal expenses, and not a penny was taken from the church offering account. It was a beautiful site to see church families generously and joyfully gave, some families gave out of poverty. They all gave in various ways—through finances, times, and or services. The evening program ended at 10 pm, but many people lingering on around a bon fire roasting hotdogs, corns, and sweet potatoes. They stayed on to welcome the New Year and then slept in the hammocks, tents, and mosquito nets that each family brought from home. We joined the camping group and stayed up until 2 am then checked into our favorite and comfortable portable “hotel," our hammocks…

Dates and events needing your prayers…

1. We have A LOT more highlights and stories still need to be shared, but not this time… Meanwhile, please continue praying for the well building situation that we have been trying to get done in villages where people are crying for cleaning drinking waters. As shared last month, even after three tries, we had failed attempts in Andong Chan. The same company went on to drill three more attempts at Srae Nouy but with meager results.  For the first and third sites, after drilling passed 130 and 140 meters deep, were completely failures. The second site, after reaching 136 meters, produced about 1000 liters of water per day.  We put pumps and kept it going. With extra fund added to their request, by mid- January, the same well company drill on the second site, again, hoping to go deeper for a chance reaching clean water level… We will also plan to build a well on the property of the Anlong Veng Ministry Center. Hopefully and prayerfully, they will not face similar problems in Anlong Veng... 

1. Currently, three different building companies are working closely with church leaders to discuss plans and strategies for three building projects: a library and a soccer field in Anlong Veng, and a church building at Srae Nouy. Our desire is to see the groundbreakings established (hopefully by mid- January or early February) and the foundations laid (by early March at the latest) while we are still in the dry season. Rainy season begins in early May. Pray that the church building committees and the construction companies would reach an agreement so the they can go on with building plans… Pray for the integrity of the workers (who are not yet believers) and the foremen (believers) who overseeing each of the building projects. And please, pray for safety and for protection for everyone, especially the workers… The believers all over Cambodia are bursting with excitement as they waiting with expectation for the 100th year celebration, January 26-28. Pray for workers, the organizers or overseers at every level—pray for strength and energies and unity. May the light of Jesus shine ever brighter at this celebration…
2. 7 members of Field Leadership Team (FLT) met every two weeks via zoom for 9 minutes at each meeting to discuss plans and strategies for the field. On January 12, FLT is invited for a full day meeting with the National Church Committees (NCC) to discuss plans and strategies for overall Cambodian Alliance church. Pray for discerning hearts and unity for all as we seek to work for God’s kingdom purpose…

THANK YOU so much for your continual partnership in the overall Cambodian ministries in the effort to share the message of Hope in Jesus Christ to lost people in the country and around the world. Your generous donations to support Alliance Mission enables us to remain serving in the Cambodia. We greatly appreciate your partnership, your prayers, and your support. 

It has been one year since we launched the fundraising for the Anlong Veng Ministry Center approved project. And supporters like you have been sending their generous financial support.  The total amount needed to complete this project is $350,000. As of date, we’d received $176,393.74! Praise God for this amazing provision in such a short time. Lord willing, our heart desire is to see this project complete funded during the next few months or by early next year so we can carryon with the building plans during this three- year term serving in Anlong Veng. Our next home assignment is June 2025.  

Won’t you join us to see this dream become a reality. To support this project, please send your donation, make it payable to the C&MA and write  the word “Anlong Veng Ministry Center” on the memo line, then mail the check to The C&MA, 6421 E Main Street, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068. 

To give online, please visit the C&MA website then scroll down to click on “find a project” then type in “Anlong Veng Ministry Center”. For detailed information about this project please refer to an attached file below…We are so grateful to God for you. May 2023 bring abundant blessings and true happiness to you and your family and ministry. With a grateful heart.

Blessings,

Soeuth & Syna Lao

December Update 2022

Dear Friends and Family,

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6

As you are preparing to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, may you experience the true meaning for this holiday season.

Churches all over Cambodia (and around the world) are busy preparing for Christmas celebrations. Church members are encouraged to invited their non-church family members to participate in these festive events. This year is the first big-group Christmas celebration since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic began. Therefore, everyone is very excited and looking forward to join any celebration. Many things had happened since our last update. Here are just a few events…

Kong’s Memorial Service

Nov. 19: Pastor Dy led a small group (about 30 people) of believers to gather as a memorial service at the tombstone of the late Mr. Kong, who went to be with Jesus on April 5. To honor the occasion, the groups sang a few of Kong’s most favorite Khmer traditional hymnal songs. Even though it was a hot day, the only shade was from a single neem tree, but everyone seemed to enjoy singing and sharing stories of their late friend. At a proper time, people took turns to express their love and gratitude to the memories of the late Mr. Kong for introducing Jesus to them. While the service was going on, Kong’s oldest son and some men were busy mixing cement and gravels in and attempt to mount up a memorial marble plaque onto the tombstone. Many were grateful to God for an opportunity to know Mr. Kong…

Soeuth preached at Mr. Kong's memorial service

KEC Men Conference

Nov. 24: The KEC held a national men conference at Phnom Penh where about 120 people from around the country participated. This event took place right in the middle of a very busy harvesting season, where every helping hand was needed in the fields to gather and collect crops. As a result, not many men were able to participate. All the messages and workshops for the conference were based on Matthew 24:14.

 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”

Although it was a national men conference, there were about 30 plus ladies were among the attendees. In between the services, there was a rich time for personal testimonies, prayer requests, and a time for confession. Many men raised their hands to recommit their lives and ministries to God. 

120 people participated in KEC men conference

Regional Church Committees (RCC)’s Visit

On Nov. 30- Dec. 1, we had the honor of hosting 7 members of the northwest regional church committee members (with their families, a total of 16 people total) who came to visit church ministries in the Anlong Veng region. During a warm fellowship and worship time, Rev. Nhea Pherum, a district superintendent for the northwest region, gave an encouraging message based on the book of Judges chapter 6 and challenged the believers to remain faithful in their service to God no matter what lowly backgrounds they came from saying, "If we are just willingly surrender our lives into His plan, God can use any one for his kingdom purpose." After the message, there were opportunities for church members to share their personal testimonies on how each of them came to faith in Jesus. Immediately after the service, members from the Toul Prich Firm Foundation Alliance church surprised the visitors with their famous Khmer traditional dish of green curry and rice noodle! 

Regional Annual Women's Christmas Celebration

Dec. 3: The northwest regional KEC women also held their annual Christmas celebration at Svey where 300 plus ladies joyful participated! 26 ladies from the Anlong Veng and from Srae Nouy were also part of this big group. Some ladies put on their beautiful Khmer traditional outfits for this special occasion. There were two keynote speakers for the event: one gave a Christmas sermon message and while another gave a health lesson/message. Because of the pandemic, the last big group women gathering was since December 2018! When an opportunity to meet finally arrived, the ladies made every effort to join. The total attended was an overwhelming surprised to the committees who had planned, expected, and prepared meal for only about 150. Fortunately, the location was not too far from a local wet market where the cooks were able to buy already prepared meals for the extra attendees. Over all, everyone was not too much concerned for the lack of food, they were just enjoying the conference and one another’s company. During a time set aside for special songs, each group sang their hearts out in songs of praises, worship, and dancing to the one true God and King Jesus. The word AMAZING was the common expression from every lip of those who participated in this Christmas celebration…

300 plus ladies attended a regional women Christmas celebration

Syna taught a health lesson at the women conference

Other dates and events needing your prayers...

1. After facing many “red tapes” in an attempt to find well building companies, we found one and hired their services on December 4. However, just two days before the workers arrived, one of the key leaders had an accident and needed to be hospitalized immediately. This leader was to be present at the work site to monitor the well building process. We found a replacement, but then we faced another bigger problem. The workers had worked diligently for 5 days in a row drilling the well. Even after they had reached 106 meters deeps underground, they still had not reached the clean water level. At this writing, the workers removed pipes from one location and tried again at another location. So far, at this second attempt, they already passed the 70 meters depth, but still have not reach the water level. Please join us to pray for a miracle. The people in Andong Chan Village are desperately crying for clean drinking water. This is the fourth times we had tried building a deep well for this village! After Andong Chan, the same well workers will try to build a deep well at Srae Nouy. Please pray for a successful attempt.

A fourth attempt to build a deep well at Andong Chan village

2. Since the school-aged children are on a long 3-week break, we worked together to plan fun activities or fellowship events for them. December 5 was one of such events when we took 15 youth from Anlong Veng areas for a field trip to visit the ancient Angkor Wat temples. All but two of these youth had never visited this place of wonder before. Needless to say that everyone had a fantastic time. Although many of the school-aged kids have not professed faith in the Lord Jesus yet, they willingly come every day to the church property to hang out and to learn in various classes that our teammates offer. Even their parents (who are not yet believers) have also entrusted their kids into our care. While these children are with us, every conversation, every game, every song, every dance or fun activity, and every lesson plan-- these are all careful designed, developed, planned, and geared toward Bible based messages. The seeds of truth have been deeply planted in their hearts. Pray that the God of the harvest would allow these seeds to growth in His perfect timing.

3. Dec. 8, we held a Christmas outreach event for the school aged kids in Anlong Veng region. 86 kids 16 parents showed up.

Christmas outreach event for Anlong Veng school aged kids

86 children and 16 parents showed up an a recently Christmas event!

Visiting Angkor Wat with Anlong Veng kids

4. Christmas celebration are happening in every village that we know of, and it happened almost everyday! Obviously, we cannot be in all the places. At this writing, we had already participated in four Christmas celebrations, only eight more places on our list, so far... Christmas is a big thing for the Cambodian believers, stretching from early December to early January, with a back-to-back plan, going from one church celebration to another, without much breaks in between.  It is fun and joyful time for the hosting villages, but it can be a weary and exhausting time for the “traveling” preachers. Pray for safety as we take long distant road trips. Many of the remote locations required an overnight stay either before and after the celebration. In such places, we often stayed in the village people's home sleeping in our own hammocks. Pray for receptive hearts from the audiences. Most messages have been prayerfully and carefully prepared with an evangelism outreach purpose.

5. Normally, after Christmas season, we tried to carve time for rest and relaxation during January—but not this year, and it is for a good reason Cambodian churches all over the country are super excited for the joined effort to plan for the 100th anniversary celebration for when the first gospel was brought into the country by Alliance Workers.  Everyone is waiting with great anticipation. Pray for good health and protection of those who will be traveling from around the world to join the event. Pray against the enemy schemes that might thaw the plans for this celebration. May His will be done for His purpose…

Preparing for the 100th anniversary celebration...

THANK YOU so much dear faithfully supporters and ministry partners. Thank you for your love and concern for the lost of the Khmer people and other lost people from around the world. You have demonstrated such love through prayers and financial support. Your generous donations to support Alliance Mission enables us to remain serving in Cambodia sharing the message of HOPE that can be found only in Jesus Christ. We are very grateful for and appreciate you! Have a blessed and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Jesus Christ is the reason for the season,

Soeuth & Syna Lao

November Update 2022

Dear Faithful Supporting Friends and Family,

Greetings from Anlong Veng, Cambodia! We trust everyone of you is doing well by the grace of God. It is harvest season in Cambodia and rice farmers all over the country are busy harvesting and gathering crops to store in the barns before the rains come. In spite of the worst flooding season we had recently, church families were grateful that some crops were not completely destroyed by the flood waters. With the floods, came a season of sickness related to contaminated waters and mosquito bites.  Some church families were hospitalized with various diseases, but by the grace of God, every one of them has been recovering well. 

VBS with the Village Kids… 

From mid-October to early November, we had been busy hosting a visiting team from Hawaii to help with VBS school-aged children to conduct adult leadership seminars among church leaders. Then in early November, another team (also from Hawaii) came to do trauma and healing workshop seminars for all age groups. The seminars were done mostly in church locations at Anlong Veng, Srae Nouy, Batthambang, Svey, and at Poipet. While in Anlong Veng, upon a request from a local public school, a two-hour session of trauma and healing was taught to 102 middle school-aged youth in addition to their teachers, the school principle, and a village leader! Some of the youth from that same school were members of the Toul Prich Firm Foundation Alliance church! Praise God for a precious opportunity to plant seed in this school community.

Fruits of the Spirit VBS with village kids

Leadership workshop at Svey

A fellowship meal with Toul Prich church

Trauma and Healing Workshops…

While trauma and healing sessions were being taught at the local churches, participants paid close attention to what was taught and discussed. Even during the hot afternoon hours after a hearty meal (a time when people normally fallen asleep) many participants were wide awake! They were like sponges-- absorbing every word being said or discussed! During a wrap up time after trauma and healing session, each of the participants had the opportunity to practice being a counselor or a client. It was a beautiful site watching people willingly share about their painful hurts and past to their trusted neighbors. For many of them, this was the first time that they had someone to really listen to their stories of past hurts and traumas. Our hope and prayer are that more people would find true healing in Jesus and also that relationships are restored after their stories are being heard.

Participations taking turns to practiced sharing and listening stories

Floating Villages… 

In between the Hawaiian teams, we also hosted a vision team of five pastors from Mosaic church in Nevada.  In addition to visiting two public schools in Anlong Veng, some Alliance church in the northern region, this team also visited some floating Alliance churches on the Tonle Sap Lake. Even though it was a very long (about 3.5 hours each way) and an uncomfortable boat ride for the visitors, this trip to the floating villages was especially meaningful to the hosting families. The village families who live in remote places often feel completely cut off from other communities. These small floating huts/homes are constantly surrounded by deep waters anywhere from 8-15 meters deep, depending on the season, and many of them live in constant fears whenever there was a storm approaching. Children who live in floating houses often learned to swim before they learn to walk. The older kids and most adults don’t even know how to ride a bicycle or a motorbike! 

A floating Alliance church in the middle of Tonle Sap Lake

To go from one house to another or from one village to the next, they would spend a high price on fuel for the motorboats. Therefore, with on-going family poverty and limited funding available, many of them hardly seen or walked on lands for months or years at a time. The fact that Mosaic team was willing to visit them in such far away locations, to be able to sit down and enjoy a humble meal with them, brought MUCH blessings and encouragement to the local hosting people. It was also a great learning experience for the visitors. We started the day with a beautiful sunrise from Siem Reap to shore of Tonle Sap and ended it with a beautiful sunset on the way back. 

Visiting floating villages

A long boat ride to and from the floating villages

An Alliance Church building stood proud and strong even in the raging storms among the great Tonle Sap Lake of Cambodia!

Sunset by the Tonle Sap Lake

Pheap’s Story… 

Recently, we took the Mosaic visiting team to visit a 45-year old lady named Pheap, a member of the Toul Prich Firm Foundation Alliance church in Anlong Veng, (details of her story were mentioned in our April 2021’s blog as well as in the Alliance Life magazine, volume 157, Jul/Aug 20022), and gained more details to her amazing story… 

Mosaic team visiting Pheap's house

During the long and difficult Covid months, like many other families in Cambodia and around the world, Pheaph’s family faced loss of employment which resulted in lack of other basic supplies. In the midst of hard times, Pheap’s natural survival instincts, prayers, and her amazing cooking skills, Pheap took charge and led her family above a survival mode. Together with some helps from her husband, three teenage son, two young daughters, Pheap prepared packaged home cooked meals which she sold to farmers and to people who were trapped in various quarantine quarters. When people called to place a meal order, Pheap carefully and prayerfully packed up meals that often included a small Christian tract in each of the lunch box! While everyone else was crying out for work, God blessed Pheap’s business so much that the family earned enough money to build a house! Before Covid, Pheap shared a tiny one-room wooden stilted house with seven family members. Pheap had always dream that one day, she would have house of her own safe enough for her sons and daughters. So, she saved up every penny she earned for the building cost of her dream home. BUT from past experiences, Pheap also learned that if she waited to have all the money saved for the house, eventually, her own husband or mainly her in-laws would try to “borrow” whatever money she had saved, as they had habitually done in the past. To avoid these no returned-borrowing methods, Pheap secretly purchased building supplies including, bricks, sands and gravels, metals, woods, and any other building supplies she could think of and stored them away in the back of her property. Whenever she had some cash on hands, she would always invested in the construction supplies, buying one item at a time, hoping that one day, she would have enough supplies for her dream home… 

Finally, March 2022, Pheap hired some workers to build her house! The house is not quite finished because the family had ran out of supplies and money. But Pheap was grateful to the fact that, “I have a roof over my head and strong brick walls to the house." She then added, “One day, when we have enough money, we can add one door and one window at a time." Recently, seeing that her house is still incomplete, a neighbor offered to pay Pheap handsomely, “If you would just recite to me the words/ the chanting of the magic power you once used." Pheap said, “NO! I am a follower of Preah yea-sue now. I don’t do that thing any more." But the woman went on to plead, “You don’t have to say the actual words out loud, just write them down on the paper, and that would be enough." Pheap firmly refused and asked the woman to leave and never repeat that question again… As we were about to depart, we asked if Pheap had any prayer request. The needs were obvious and we thought that Pheap might ask about financial need, but Pheap’s only request was, “I would love to see my husband (Ron) believe in Jesus and also my three sons. More than anything in this world, I want my whole family to believe and serve God together as the family, just like my teachers, Soeuth and Syna…

Here are some praises and prayer requests for your consideration…

1. The KEC churches are busy planning Christmas events. So far, Soeuth already accepted five speaking invitations… This Christmas time is significant for churches in Cambodia. This may be the first big gathering since Covid-19. Needless to say that everyone is supper excited. Pray that people would see the true meaning of the season and that hearts be receptive and responsive to the Good News…
2. In respond to the needs, we received enough funds from interested donors to build two deep wells for two villages that located a bit distant from one another. Even though we offered to pay a full- asking price required for building deep wells, because of distant locations, most well companies were reluctant to haul all the heavy equipment to work at each designated location. Pray that these companies would change their minds and would be willing to do the job soon.
3. As for the Anlong Veng Ministry Center, so far, we received about 1/3 of the total funding needed for the entire project! With the money received, we are in the beginning stage of building a smaller project, one at a time. Earlier this month, based on the need, we began a multipurpose open- space children center next door to the house church where the Toul Prich Firm Foundation Alliance church is currently meeting. Our next project is to build a soccer field… At the same time, the Srae Nouy Church is also planning to build their church building. The need to find honest construction workers is crucial. As we go through each project, we are reminded that if God is not in this from the beginning, no matter what we plan or do, nothing will accomplish. Please join us in prayers that God will see through all the detail of each project.
4. The Cambodian church leaders are busy planning for the 100th years anniversary event, January 25-28. The first Gospel was brought to Cambodia, in January 1923, through Alliance International Workers. Despite the massive killing during the Killing Field regime  (April 1975- January 7, 1979) where about 2 million people were killed, among them about 80% of the first Christians were also killed. But what the Enemy “intended for evil, God intended for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives…” (Genesis 50:20). Today, there are over 200 Alliance Churches and many other evangelical churches all over Cambodia. The first Khmer Bible translated by Alliance Mission is being used all Cambodia and among the Cambodian communities all around world.

We are so grateful to God for YOU, our dear faithful supporters. We appreciate your partnership through prayers and financial support. Thank you for investing your efforts and resource in to building God’s kingdom in Cambodia reaching out to lost people to find true hope and love and salvation in Jesus Christ. To financially support in any project through Alliance Ministry, please visit this website at: https://secure.cmalliance.org/give  And please share with us what God is doing in your life. 

Have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday. 

With a grateful heart, Soeuth & Syna Lao