July Update 2017

Dear praying friends and family,

Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand! We hope this newsletter finds you well.

Lots of things happened these past few weeks that we wanted to share with you. But with constantly traveling from one place to the next, with a limited internet access, we kept on delaying our communication to you. So, here is a chronological order of events that took place these few weeks…

Friday June 23rd, as soon as Jonathan got out of school, a friend Nyack drove us to the Newark International airport where our flight was to depart for Minneapolis at 8:00 pm. However, due to severe rainstorms that evening, we were delayed three hours. By the time we arrived into Minneapolis to our host family at Maple Grove, MN, it was after 1:30 am of the next day. On Saturday evening June 24th, we were warmly welcomed by church members from Crossroad Alliance of Brooklyn Park, MN, with a cook-out meal and a great fellowship with former visiting teams to Poipet (these friends had visited us in Poipet in 2015-2016). Following it was a rich time of prayers over us as our church family commissioned us back to Cambodia. We felt so richly blessed by their love and prayer supports. Early Sunday morning, we met and fellowshipped with friends who drove three and a half hours from Rochester, MN, just to have a time of fellowship of meal with us! At Sunday morning church service, we spoke and shared about Cambodian ministries at Crossroad Alliance Church, our last speaking engagement of the year.

Monday afternoon, June 26th, we drove to meet our new host family at Ramsey, MN, where this family kindly let us use their entire house including the kitchen for some Cambodian food preparation for Justin and Katie’s rehearsal dinner. Though we had never met before this day, after a week of fellowship and a lot of laughter, we actually left their house saying goodbye to our new friends.


Saturday July 1was a big day of celebration for us as very proud parents. We welcomed a brand new daughter-in-law, Katherine Jane Lao, into the family. Altogether about 220 close friends and family attended! And God blessed the newly wedded couple with a beautiful gorgeous sunny day. Sadly, due to a few family crises only Syna’s mother and older sister were able to attend the wedding from the Lao side of the family. But a number of our Cambodian mission families came to show their love and support for the young couple. We rejoiced at the godly ceremony and union of our children, Justin and Katie, but it was also a bitter-sweet moment for us because it was also the last time we were going to see them for a while. That Saturday evening when we sent Justin and Katie off to their honeymoon, we also began our departure for Cambodia.

At 4:30 am of Monday (July 3rd) we were standing in front of the check-in counter at Minneapolis airport and shockingly discovered that there were problems with our connecting flights to Cambodia. Panic and confusion began to kick in. Since we could not call anyone for help at this early time of the day. In addition, to avoid missing our 7:00 am flight we had to pay a large sum of unplanned luggage fees. Praise God after arriving into LAX airport, we were able to get through to the travel agent where she was able to smooth out the process of delivering our suitcases all the way through. After 28 hours of traveling, we arrived into Siem Reap International airport at 11:00 pm of July 4th and with all our bags!

As we exited the airport building, we were excitedly greeted by two church leaders from Siem Reap province and two others from Poipet, who came to welcome us back with our pick-up truck. As we began to load up the suitcases into the truck, summer rains also began to pour. Sadly, our friends forgot to bring along a plastic tarp/sheet for the covering. Fortunately, experience taught us to line up all our suitcases with plastic bags when packing, which saved the contents of our bags from being soaking wet. By the time we checked in to the Freedom Hotel, it was 1:30 am of Wednesday July 5th.

Daniel holding the snake he killed on the time of our arrival

Wednesday morning after breakfast with our four national friends at the noodle shop, we drove three hours to Poipet, dropped off our suitcases, and repacked smaller bags for Anlongveng trip. Shortly after we arrived into our old place in Poipet, however, we were surprisingly welcomed by a familiar yet unwanted creature, a 2.3meter-long snake in front of the house! Fortunately, friends assured us that it was not a poisonous one. Immediately after all the excitements of seeing old friends (church family) and an old enemy (snake) again, we had to quickly made a four hour road trip to Anlongveng, before jet-lag began to kick in. Strong coffees and lively conversations kept us awake all the way through to our new location. After we checked ourselves into a local guesthouse at Anlongveng, we had dinner at a local restaurant with two Cambodian siblings, Daa and Channa, our first Christian contact people in this new place. And after a brief meeting, we arranged to meet again the next day for a house hunting adventure.

Syna, Daa and Channa

We started our long search for houses on July 6th, a Thursday, at 6:30 am. We literally drove around on every street/path and to every corner of Anlongveng, knocking on every door, standing in front of every gate of any potential houses asking the owners if they were interested in renting us their house, or if they knew of a house where we could rent.

Street in Anlongveng

Our desire was to find a Khmer-style wooden house to live in. After looking at 13 places, however, none of the houses we looked at had any indoor plumbing! So, we kept on searching. Finally, we found one that was a stone/cement house. Out of all those houses we looked at, this was the only one with indoor plumbing. It had four bedrooms with three bathrooms!

Our new house

The landlord is one of the prominent government leaders of the area who seemed very generous and favorable to our requests; and he was even willing to drop the renting price to our budget! Finally, at 5:30 pm of the same day, we were thrilled to officially sign a one-year contract with our new landlord and were looking forward to live in this new location for the next four years, Lord willing…

As we drove around searching for a house, we also learned new discoveries about the community and nature of Anlongveng. It appeared that there were a few other Christian groups that had recently established in the areas. As we drove around town, we saw houses with locked doors with posting signs of mostly independent Christian groups.

Because we were still struggling with jet-lag, (waking up at 1:00am or 2:00am every day), we decided to leave Anlongveng on 5:00 am of Friday, July 7th, and drove four hours back to Poipet. But as soon as the church leaders learned of our arrival back into Poipet, they persistently pleaded with us to have fellowship through a “welcome-home” meal with church families from Alliance churches in Poipet. We said yes. That Friday evening, 58 people came to greet and welcome us back. Happy tears began to fall down as we warmly received love from our friends. Despite our absence for an entire year from missions, their love for God, devotion and commitment remained faithful to the one true God. We give thanks to God for protecting His flock.

Soeuth sharing at the Living Water Church

At 6:30 am, Saturday, July 8th, we met with other 13 missionary team mates at the Poipet border as we began the long process of crossing the border to Thailand to attend the annual Field Forum with the Thai mission field. Around 10:30am, when we stopped for a bathroom break where Soeuth had turned on his phone to check emails we received the shocking news from my family back in the United States that my little brother, “Phaly passed away on 7/7/17." Even while we were still in Minnesota preparing for Justin and Katie’s wedding, we learned that Phaly was already admitted into a hospice. But we never thought that his homecoming would be this soon. Please pray for my aging mother as she is prepared to bury another son. Pray for my sister-law, Rebecka, with her five children, 2 girls (ages 18 and 19) and 3 boys (ages 4,6 and 8) as the grieve the loss of their beloved husband and father. This is a very dark time for me and for my extended family back home. We appreciate your prayers.

Lastly, from July 9 -14, we traveled from Bangkok to Hua Hin, Thailand, to begin our Field Forum in Spring Field resort, about three hour bus ride away.

As always, we are grateful to God for your prayers and support.

Soeuth & Syna

June Update 2017

Dear friend and family,

Greetings’ in Jesus’ Name! We trust this letter finds you well. The heat wave this week (average temperature in Nyack in the mid 90’s) makes us homesick for Cambodia that we can hardly wait to go back. We hope that you are able to go outside and enjoy the summer weather.

This is the last newsletter from America as we are about to return to Asia in just a few weeks. Once we are back in Cambodia, we will keep you up to date about what will take place there. Meanwhile, here are some news/events of what took place since our last newsletter to you.

From May 15-25, our oldest son Justin and his fiancée, Katie Kragt, along with four other Crown College students had a tremendous opportunity to go to Berlin, Germany on a mission trip to work with the Alliance International Workers (IW) there. While in Berlin, God opened their hearts and eyes to see and to respond to the needs of the Syrian refugees. We don’t know what God has in store for Justin and Katie’s future, but they are open to wherever God is directing them.

Immediately after Berlin trip, Justin flew to New York (staying from May 26-June 10) to be with Jonathan so that Soeuth and I could attend the Alliance General Council in Columbus, Ohio. As it turned out, the timing was perfect and very precious to our sons. This was the last time the two brothers spent together before Justin and Katie’s marriage on July 1. And what an honor it is that Jonathan (aged 15) is being asked to be the best-man for his big brother!

And in case you are wondering, the wedding plan is coming along nicely. While at council, we had opportunities to connect with Katie’s parents to discuss plans for the coming wedding. We look forward to welcome a brand new daughter-in-law into the family.

And what a tremendous BLESSING it was for us to attend council (May 28-June 4) after all these years of waiting. In the past, due to conflicts with our children’s schooling schedules we kept on missing council every time we were on a home assignment. The last council we attended was 2007 in Orlando, Florida.  It’s better late than never.

While at council, we got word from our friends in Cambodia that the Bethlehem Church construction building was moving along smoothly. Even though there are still works to be done due to the rainy season last week, the Bethlehem Alliance Church of Cambodia held their church service inside the new building!

During our mission tours this home assignment year, some of you heard us sharing a story about a godly lady called Meing Pheap, who is being used by God to establish the Bethlehem Church since May 1992. You can read her story in Alliance Life (July 2014 edition) at:
 http://www.cmalliance.org/alife/the-house-of-bread

Many of you generously donated funds to contribute to the cost for this building project. This week, the Bethlehem church families request that we extend their deepest gratitude to you and THANK YOU for your generous support!

Immediately after council, we visited a small Cambodian Alliance church in Columbus, Ohio, where we shared with the church about Cambodian ministries. From there, we drove two hours to Kentucky to visit the Creation Museum as we celebrated our 25th anniversary (May 30th).

Immediately after arriving back into Nyack, Soeuth and Justin moved heavy boxes/bins of our belongings and transported them to a friends’ place for storage. Despite exhaustion from moving and traveling, we managed to spend the remaining days and made the best of our time with Justin.

 Last week, friends gave us tickets to watch an exciting baseball game at the New York Yankee stadium, the Yankees playing against the Red Sox. Three days later, Justin flew back to Minnesota to start a summer job which began on June 12.

This week, we are finishing up with packing and storing our things and will soon begin cleaning up the apartment. On Friday, June 23 we’ll fly to Minneapolis where we’ll spend a few days with friends at Maple Grove, MN, before heading out toward Crown College where we will be staying with a church family there until after the wedding. Then on July 3, we’ll fly out from Minneapolis to Cambodia…

From now on until the next 7-8 weeks, we are depending on YOU for prayer supports as we will be living in and out of suitcases, moving from place to place. We will be attending the annual missionary Field Forum in Thailand (July 8-15) until we find a place of our own. Pray for safety and protection. We hope and pray that God will lead us to find the right house before July 30; that’s when Syna will escort Jonathan and another missionary kid (MK) to Dalat School in Penang, Malaysia.

Meanwhile, please continue to pray for Syna’s brother, Phaly, and his wife, Rebecka. Phaly, a strong believer, aged 46 with five small children is battling with cancer. While facing this dark time, it is hard to know what God has in store for Phaly’s life. Even in the midst of darkness, God is still at work! HE has provided Phaly with a kind, godly boss (also a long time friend), who is willing to go extra miles just to help Phaly. As Phaly’s strength is slowly declining, he is currently reduced to part time job, but will still receive a full time salary! Learn more details about Phaly as Rebecka set up a page at: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/prayingforphaly/journal 

Also, as shared in our previous update,we have an Approve Special from the Christian and Missionary Alliance (the C&MA) to raise fund for the purchase of a piece of property for a ministry center at Anlong Veng, (account# 1-47200-46-64-01030).

If you are interested in supporting this fund, please send your donation payable to:

 The C&MA
8595 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

Or give online at www.cmalliance.org/give.

As always, we appreciate your continual prayers and financial support to the Great Commission Fund which enables us to continue serving in Cambodia to bring the message of God’s Love to the Khmer people, reaching out to the unreachable. Lost people matter to God. He wants them found. Thank you for being a partner in the Cambodian ministries.

In Him,
Soeuth & Syna Lao

April Update 2017

Dear Praying Friend,


Greetings in Jesus’ Name! Spring is finally here at last! Hope you get a chance to go outside and enjoy the beautiful creation that God made.

Here are the latest updates…

Ministries:  The annual Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC) national youth camp, April 7-9, that we asked you to pray for, went by very well! According to the information we received from the youth committee, 555 young people from across Cambodia came to participate in this exciting annual event! Everyone had a great time, and no major incident took place. Praise God!!!!

The Alliance national KEC leaders are already in the long process of nominating potential church leaders who will step forward to take up the roles for men, women, youth, and children ministries. Upon returning to Cambodia, part of our responsibilities will be the point persons for the KEC national youth ministry and national children ministry.  Please join us in prayers that God would raise godly men and women for these roles.

A number of church people along with some key church leaders from Poipet are suffering with various kinds of on-going sicknesses. Since most of our medical International Workers (IWs) are at the States side for home assignment this year, the usual weekly free -of- charge Wednesday clinic is being postponed until the IWs return. Many poor Cambodian people could not afford for proper medical treatments at local private clinics. Pray for God’s protection and for His healing touch upon these poor families…

Family: On April 21, we received shocking news that Soeuth’s brother, Pol, aged 52 years old, died of medical complications while seeking treatments in Thailand. The family had to make quick and expensive arrangements in order to transport the body back to Cambodia. Because of his family religious background, a Buddhist funeral was immediately arranged. As far as we know, Pol was not a believer. Yet, even just days before he passed away, Pol had heard us sharing with him, many times, through phone calls, urging him to turn to Jesus… Only God knows what really took place during the last minutes of Pol’s life. Of the family members attending the funeral, Soeuth’s 78-year- old mother was the only believer in there! Pol had a wife, two adult children and a 2-year-old grandson! It is hard for all of us, but more so for Soeuth, being far away from our loved ones during this time of loss…

This week also, we received more shocking news concerning Syna’s brother, Phaly, aged 46, a devoted husband and father of five children. After four long months of fighting an on-going sickness, a recent oncologist report confirmed that Phaly has liver cancer! More tests are being done as Phaly waits for a surgery. The latest report says that no cancer cells are found in his bones or limp nodes! Phaly is a committed follower of Jesus Christ and so are his wife and their five children. Please pray for peace as we wait on God in the midst of storms…

As we wait for answers, we could not help but wonder what God has in store for us when we return to Cambodia in July and move to a new location starting new ministries. We could only imagine that God must have something great awaiting for us in Anlong Veng. Perhaps that is the reason why the Enemy is trying hard to discourage us and to rob our joy…

Prayer Requests: In addition to previous prayer requests (from March’ news), please also add…

1. We still have a few more weekends remained for spring tours, even though our minds are already beginning to check- out as we mentally getting ready our return to Cambodia… Pray that we will finish well and finish it strong.

2. Pray for peace in the midst of family crisis…

3. Pray that God will use Pol’s dead as a wakeup call to our unsaved relatives.
We appreciate your faith prayers and partnership with and in the Cambodian ministries. We are grateful for your faithful and generous giving to the Great Commission Fund (GCF).  For those who are interested but are not aware of how the financial aspects work, please refer to the information below.

To financially support for Soeuth & Syna Lao, please make a check payable to The Christian & Missionary Alliance, 8595 Explorer Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.  On the memo, specifically designate your donation (s) to:

1. Support the Lao family in GCF.  This fund is what kept us in the field to pay for our rents, transportations, facilities, medical benefits, and other living expenses.
2. Lao’s Work Special: This fund allows us the freedom to use where specific ministry needs are.
3. Lao’s Personal Gift/ Outfit:  This fund is given to us as birthday or Christmas gifts, for personal outfits, for personal traveling expense, and for other personal needs.
4. Anlong Veng Ministry Center (1-47200-46-64-01030):  This fund will be used to purchase a property for the ministry center in Anlong Veng, Cambodia.

To give online, please visit: www.cmalliance.org/give and follow instructions above.

Please share with us what God is doing in your life.

In Him,
Soeuth & Syna Lao

March Update 2017

Dear Faithful Prayer Warriors,

Greetings in Jesus’ most powerful Name! We trust that all is well with you. Thank you for being so patience with us, especially with our delayed responses with update ministry reports.

So much has taken place since October, the last time we wrote you. During the winter break, Justin came to spend sometimes with us, Dec. 19-Jan. 6th.  But our time together was cut short when Syna’s mother was sick and hospitalized for 10 days in Tacoma, Washington. Syna made a quick trip, Dec. 31-Jan. 4th, to be with her mother, and then another longer trip on Jan. 23rd -Feb. 3rd. Thank you to many of you who have been praying for Syna’s mother.  She is comfortably staying at home receiving moderate nursing cares from family members.

Every weekend, we continue with our visiting and speaking at various Alliance churches throughout the Metro District areas. Spring tours began on January 8th, and it has been a busy journey ever since. We are grateful to God for the opportunities to share with supporters and church families about the ministries of Cambodia.

January brought us some exciting news!
First of all, based on the unanimous decision from January Field Leadership Team (FLT) meeting, our family has a new assigned location for our next missionary service in Cambodia! We will be doing church planting related ministries similar to that of the Poipet ministries. The new location is called Anlong Veng located in Odar Meanchey Province, about three hours drive away from Poipet; it is still within the Peoyop District/northwest region. From our previous visits to Anlong Veng district, we’d sensed a strong spiritual darkness and spiritual needs there were overwhelming. Because Anlong Veng was the domain/ the “headquarter” of former Khmer Rougue regime, nearly the entire region/ district are still undeveloped. And as far as we know of, there is a group of believers, no Alliance church there, yet.  Because of the bad reputations involved including historical and political events related to this place as well as the atmosphere surrounding this new location, we envision that Anlong Veng would be even a darker and more remote place than Poipet would have been. BUT we are serving a faithful and victorious God!  We believe that HE who calls us into the far regions and beyond, HE will go before and with us to this new place.  Please join us in prayers that even now, GOD will begin to soften the hearts of Khmer people, preparing the field for the harvest, bringing lost people in for His own.

Secondly, in addition to the unanimous decision to send our family to Anlong Veng, the Field Leadership Team also unanimously approved the request for us to raise $45,000.00 US dollars in order to purchase a piece of property at Anlong Veng! Please be in prayer that God would lead us to the right property.  This property will be a central local for the future ministries.

Last but not least, the other exciting new is that there will be a new member added to the Lao family! Our oldest son, Justin, is getting married on July 1, to a very delightful and godly young lady who is from a wonderful Alliance missionary family, Katie Kragt!  Having met and dated for over two years, Justin and Katie decided to “tie the knot” this summer, especially before both sets of parents return to our designated mission fields.  Both Justin and Katie are in their third years in the nursing program at Crown College (Alliance school) in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. We are very excited at the way God brought these two together, and we could not be more proud of their decision to honor God with lives.

Upon return to Cambodia, Jonathan will return to Dalat School where he will enroll in 9th grade there. With Dalat International School starting on August 2, Syna will need to escort Jonathan and an MK (missionary kid) to Penang, Malaysia, July 31- August 4.  It would a tremendous blessing,  ifJonathan could see what our house looks like before heading out to school.

Looking ahead, our summer is packed with activities and things to be done and so with many transitions coming our ways. Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not true, with God.  So, we are relying on the promises that, “I can do all everything through Christ who gives me strength” and “My God shall supply all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:13 & 19.

For Cambodian ministry update, the Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC) youth ministry just had their regional youth rallies on March 8.  Please pray for the upcoming National KEC youth camp which is scheduled for April 7-9 at the Eden Center at Thmar Koul district in Battambang province.

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for the right house that we will look for renting and live in for the next four years. It will be not just any house, but a home for us and for the ministries.  The timing is very crucial.  We are hoping and trusting God that we would be able to locate just the right house within the few days after arrival (July 4), before heading out to join our team mates at the annual Field Forum at Springfield Resort, Thailand, on July 8-17.  If the house is found, then, we could really enjoy Field Forum.

2. Pray that the landlord would be kind and willing to cooperate with us as we will make requests to add things onto the house.  By the nature of the town, we do not expect find a house that already has indoor plumbing or window and door screenings!  But wouldn’t it be an extra blessing, if we find one?

3. Pray for safety and protection from snakes, landmines and other dangers in Anlong Veng.

4. Pray that we will find favors with the local villagers, village and/ or community leaders.

5. For beginning ministry opportunities, we are looking to find ways to partner/ work with existing local.

6. We are anticipating that God will do even greater things in Anlong Veng by pushing the darkness, demolishing Satan’s strongholds, and claiming souls and new territories for God’s kingdom.  Pray for a harvesting field at this new place.

7. Pray for the upcoming transitions, including Justin and Katie’s wedding.
We appreciate your partnership with us with the Cambodian ministries. We are grateful for your on-going prayers and financial support.  Some of you, as individuals and through your home churches, have been faithful in supporting us through the GCF!  For that we are very grateful. Every dollar you support us through the Great Commission Fund is what kept us in the mission field ministering to those in need and sharing the Gospel of Hope of Jesus Christ to lost people in Cambodia and around the world. For some of you who had never done it before but are interested in partnering with the Cambodian ministries, please send your donation payable to The Christian and Missionary Alliance (The C&MA), PO Box35000, Colorado Springs, CO 08935-3500.  On the memo section, specifically designate your donation (s) to:

1. Support the Lao family in GCF:  This money is what kept us in the field to pay for our rents, transportations, facilities, medical benefits, and other living expenses.
2. Lao’s Work Special: This money allows us the freedom to use where specific ministry needs are.
3. Lao’s Personal Gift/ Outfit:  This fund is given for our personal use including birthdays, Christmas gift, outfits, personal traveling expense, and for other personal needs.
4. Anlong Veng Ministry Center: This money is for us to purchase a piece of property for the starting of a ministry center in Anlong Veng.
5. For beginning ministry opportunities, we are looking to find ways to partner/ work with existing local Cambodian people in Anlong Veng.   

To give online, please visit this website: www.cmalliance.org/give and follow instructions above.

He is able,
Soeuth & Syna Lao

October Update 2016

Dear Friend and Family,

Greetings! We trust that the Lord is the provider for your needs. I, Syna, love everything about the fall season: the colorful leaves, the mild weather, the apples, the pumpkins and so on. Autumn is also a season to remember God’s goodness and provision. It is a season of thanksgiving for all He has done in our lives. This year, my family is thankful to be on the Stateside to enjoy the rich beauty and abundant blessings that God gives. In the midst of everything else, I hope you have a chance to enjoy and to reflect His goodness in your life…

August 2008:
Upon returning to Poipet, Cambodia, with an intentional effort to reach the youth for Christ, we initiated a soccer ministry on a rented property where we lived.  Many kids from around the community came to play every late afternoon. Makara, aged 16 then, was among the many youth who came to play soccer. Even with the intensity and excitement of the soccer match, Makara, unlike most of his peers, was always the first to leave the soccer field. After a few weeks of seeing him leave early, we began to ask around about who this young man was. We learned that Makara was a third child of five children  and was from a poor family with a single mother. His father was out of his life since he was seven years old. His mother and two older siblings went to find work in Thailand in order to survive. When his mother was caught breaking the laws of being an illegal immigrant, she was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. Since age 13, Makara was left to care of his two younger siblings in Poipet, while receiving monthly financial support from his older siblings.

As a restless teenager living in the spiritual darkness of the city of Poipet, without any parental supervising, Makara was often prone to wander.  Although he was attending school, cutting classes was among his many bad habits.  He was involved with gangsters and experienced drugs and alcohol among other things.  In his village and school, Makara saw the dangerous paths where many of his friends were heading, and he did not wish to end up like them!  But no matter how many times he vowed to be a good person or how hard he had tried to stay away from trouble, constant daily peer pressures caused Makara to fall repeatedly into the same vicious cycles of being “clean” for a few days, and then back to his old ugly habits. Hopeless and out of desperation, Makara stumbled into an Alliance church service one Sunday of February 2009.  “I felt as though some strong unseen force was pulling me! Whatever it was, I felt compelled to walk into the church building!” Makara recalled his first encounter with Christ. Being new to the church service and naturally inquisitive in nature, Makara sat still and tried to pay close attention to what was going on: “That’s when God made Himself known to me!”

Recalling a sermon that he had heard on that Sunday morning, “Pastor Soeuth said that only Jesus can change a person’s way of life."  Immediately, this news offered an invitation to Makara's longing heart. He began to pray, “Pheah Yea-sue (Lord Jesus), if you are real then help me! If you are able as the pastor said you are, change me! And if you can use me for whatever way you wish, show me! I am tired of being on my own man. I need your help."

Though the transformation in Makara was a long process, we saw the tremendous changes that God did and is still doing in his life!  During our missionary services in Poipet, Makara had enrolled and studied in many discipleship and leadership training classes with us. When confronted with challenged circumstances about life, financial struggles, or inner struggles of temptations, Makara was not afraid to ask even hard questions! Numerous times, when pressured by unbelieving family to turn back to their old religion, Makara remained faithful to the one true God.

Makara met Sopheak in April 2013, and the got married. They then devoted themselves to volunteer services in God’s kingdom ministering to street kids within the Poipet community. Recently, Makara (with Sopheak’s support) took on a coaching responsibility overseeing 22 boys age 12-14 (all of whom are from broken families), in a Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC) soccer team.  In June 2016, under Makara’s coaching service, 16 boys gave their lives to Jesus!

On March 2016, Makara became one of the five newly elected committee members for the Poipet sport ministry. Makara has a deep passion to serve God in sport ministry in an effort to reach kids for Christ. Of the five committee members, Makara could truly relate and understand well of the type of trouble kids are going through. Makara’s life verse is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." When asked about the significance of this verse he said, “I am eternally grateful to God for rescuing me from trouble. But I think God has another plan in mind when He kept me alive in all those years when I was on my own. He wants me to help other kids who are walking in the same destructive paths as I once did."  Please pray for Makara and Sopheak as they continue ministering to soccer kids.  The young couple is expecting their first baby in December 2016.

Family:  We appreciate your prayers and support concerning our children. This year, we rejoice having Jonathan stay home with us as he attends the local public school. But we miss not having Justin with us and are anxious for his return coming home from college in December during winter break.

Praises and prayer requests:

- We were blessed to attend the Metro District conference, October 17th-19th.  It was such a rich time for us to just receive solid theological messages related to the conference theme THRIVE.
- We were thankful for safe trips, thus far, as we are in the full swing of fall mission conference tours, mostly throughout the Metro District areas.
- Please continue to pray for the rest of tour year that we would represent God well as we share with the supporting churches and tell the stories of the lives He has touched.

- Please remember to our KEC brothers and sisters throughout Cambodia that they would remain steadfast in their spiritual journey even without the presence of missionaries.  Pray that they would keep their eyes only on Jesus, the Provider of all their needs.

Please share with us what God is doing in your life. Thank you for partnering with the Poipet and Cambodia ministries. Lost people still matter to God and He wants them found. We appreciate prayers and financial support to the Great Commission Fund!

Blessings,
Soeuth & Syna

August Update 2016

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Just wanted to update you of what took place with the Poipet church- planting ministries.
Earlier in the spring, there were some concerns among the Poipet Khmer Evangelic Church (KEC) leaders as to what would become of the distant location- village- house churches after the missionaries leave town.  Because of the lack of personnel, the leaders had decided to “let go” of the smaller village churches for a season, but to focus on those of more “mature” and “stronger” ones…

Lately, however, the church leaders were convicted by these promised words found in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness: He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

As a result, one church leader from the Living Water church, Mr. Hout Soheng, in agreement with his wife, Moum, answered the Call to reach lost people for God’s kingdom.  This young couple with two small girls decided to face the weekly treacherous motorbike trips (68 kilometers each way) to do ministries in one of the remote places in the northwest part of Cambodia.

Heng with his two girls on the motorbike

To do this, the family would need to spend a night at Beong Beng Village of the Malay District.  While spending two days in Beong Beng, the young couple took turns to teach discipleship classes, lead a preaching club for potential leaders, and have children ministry for community kids and youth ministry of the areas.

Heng, Moum, and their two girls

Because Heng and Moum are willing to invest their time in the Malay District, God stirred the hearts of potential leaders from the areas, “And they are coming every week to study in preaching club."  Heng said, “A total of 17 leaders from the Malay District are having fun studying in the preaching Club!”  Before this class began, there were few small groups of believers scattered all over the Malay District, some are from the Alliance churches and a few others are from other denominations. But because these leaders had no former training, their Sunday messages or any form of Christian education were stale and “boring” putting their congregation/students to sleep.   Now, with the help from preaching class the leaders as Heng observed, “Began to show passion and added fire to their messages!”

As with other church leaders who answering the call into a specific ministry while facing daily hardship and struggle in life, Heng also had many moments of doubt asking himself if “it's all worth it?” and  “am I crazy as to risk my family safety by traveling to such a distant location?”  Heng is fully aware that to accept this ministry in Malay, he would lose two full days of any potential earning (from a labor job) for supporting his young family… But Heng also knows that “Our Heavenly Father knows” what his family needs…  As the result, in response to Heng’s weekly commitment and aware of his family’s needs, at the end of each class, the students take a collection/offering to help cover for Heng’s cost of fuel and food.  Some students even brought in a few kilograms of rice or some kinds of gifts from their village to support “Kru- Yoerng” (our teacher).  To Heng, “Seeing the joy and excitement and watching a new sense of passion sparked in these leaders as they shared their stories, gives him much encouragement! And “Now, I know. It's all worth it.”

Please pray for Heng and Moum and their two little girls for safety on long road trips, for open doors in ministry opportunities and for continual JOY in the journey of answering the Call of the Malay ministries…

In May’ update, we shared with you about physical and spiritual needs for the people in Sraa Aem Village at Preah Viheas Province.  Many of the young people who participated on the motorbike mission trip before also witnessed such needs.

Sraa Aem Village

 In response, the KEC church leaders of the northwest region have been praying and seeking for ways to help impact the lives of these 300 plus soldiers and their families.  After weeks of praying, researching, and planning the Northwest regional leaders appointed four committee members to oversee the Sraa Aem Village project.  The new committee, led by Rev. Bo Samoeun of Svey Sisophon Alliance church, took a three-day trip, August 8-10, in a rented taxi to initiate an Agriculture Project in Sraa Aem village.  The committee brought with them selections of chickens and vegetable seeds.

Agriculture Porject

Upon arrival, Mr. “V”, the 1-star Military General (see May’s update) of that village was so excited and so grateful to the committee for coming to help his people that he and his wife had graciously welcomed and hosted the visitors warmly.  Not only that, Mr. V provided for all meals for the fours visitors and for the 25 ladies (military wives of the village) who were participants of the agriculture project! The committee spent two days to teach and cover all the lesson plans including the step-by-step and hands-on practice lessons on how to raise chickens and to raise home grown vegetables.  Because of distant location, the committee will commit to do a follow-up visit every three month, but they are willing to answer any question or concern through phone calls…  Please pray for wisdom and discernment and directions as the church leaders of the northwest region are responding to the needs of the people in Sraa Aem Village in Words and deeds.
More Praises and Prayer Requests:

- Justin passed a road test and has a New York Driver License! No car yet, just a license.  He is back at Crown College for early soccer practice.  Classes begin on Sept. 18th. He is a junior in the nursing program.  Pray for a good year for Justin.

- We had a great time participating in the Cambodian District conference in Florida where Soeuth a chance to share with the Cambodian men and Syna with ladies.  Also attending HAMS in Colorado Springs was a great learning experience for us.

- Jonathan, our younger son will be in 8th grade at the Nyack public school.  Please pray for a good year for Jon.  School starts on September 6th, (scary for the parents more than for the student!)

- In between conferences in this busy summer, we’d managed to visit and reconnect with Syna’s two younger brothers and their families: One family live in Chester VA, and another in Massapequa, NY.  Please pray for Syna’s brother, “V”, not yet a believer, who is going through a dark time right now.  Syna is making every effort to reach out to him. Pray that V’s heart would be responsive to God during this difficult time.

- August 21-25, we will head to visit Washington, PA, to visit supporting friends and church families of the areas.  Pray for safe trip and good reunion with friends there.

- Fall mission tour will officially begin on the first week of September.  We will be visiting and speaking among Alliance churches of the Metropolitan District, with a few exceptions to Long Beach, CA (Sept.9-19) and to Detroit Lakes, MN (Oct.1-7). Pray that we will be used mightily by God as we go about reconnecting with church families, sharing and telling stories of what God has done and continue doing in the growing ministries of Cambodian mission field.  Pray that lives would be stirred and touched and be responsive to the Call that God has for each of listeners.

As always, the ministries in Poipet, Cambodia, would not be possible if without God empowering and if without your faithful prayers and financial support to the Great Commission Fund.  Thank you for being true partners in the growing Cambodian mission field and ministries in the effort to bring
Lost People into God’s Kingdom.

With a grateful heart,
Soeuth & Syna Lao

July Update 2016

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Nyack, New York!  We have landed and are now settled down in our new apartment in Nyack!  Things went as smoothly as can be with our traveling from place to place.

For the past two weeks, it has been a whirlwind of moving stuffs from the storage place to our apartment, doing grocery shopping, getting this new apartment into a live-able one, processing and reapplying for documents and among other paper works in order to re-establish our statuses as residents, and registering Jonathan into the Nyack public school system.  It was a bit a challenge, at first, trying to do these things without the help of vehicle. But God has been good to us!  He sent godly people to help us in every way including care packages and gift cards!  And we’d moved into an apartment that was completely furnished! We are very grateful for friends who drove us to and from airports, and who were willing to lend us their vehicles until we got one of our own.  YES, we got a car!!!!  The Metropolitan District graciously loans us a brand new (almost) car for the year! It’s a NISSAN, Sentra 2016!  PTL!!!

Our greatest joy is having both our sons with us this summer!  Justin came to join the family on June 23rd, a perfect timing when a BIG muscle was needed to help carry heavy boxes from the storage place!  June 24th, Justin passed a learning permit and is learning how to drive with Soeuth!  His road test is schedule for August 9.  Justin’s greatest desire and prayer is to have a New York driver license as his own identification when traveling back to Crown College by mid August.  He is also grateful to have a good summer job doing yard works at Living Christ Church.

For the last two Sundays, we’ve been enjoying worshipping God, in ENGLISH, with our home church, the Living Christ of the C&MA!  And this week, we’d enjoyed a warm fellowship of a church family picnic by the Hudson River and then to watch the spectacular display of fireworks on Independence Day!  The last time we’d seen fireworks was in July 2012!
For the coming year, we will be visiting and speaking at Alliance churches in the Metropolitan District.  We look forward to see some of you again really soon.  Thank you for all you prayers and support.

Please pray for safe traveling as we’ll be traveling to Florida, July 10-15 for a Cambodian District Conference, and July 20-25 for HAMS at Colorado Springs.

Blessings,                                                                                                                                      
Syna & Soeuth Lao
                                                                                                                        
12 South Blvd, Apt. S                                                                                                              
Nyack, NY 10960                                                                                                                        

Phone (Soeuth’s): 845-518-9466                                                                                        
(Syna’s): 720-799-5070