Wednesday, March 27, 2024

March Update (Part 2) 2024

Dear Friend and Family,

Christ is Risen! 

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


Poipet’s Leadership Class…

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

Anlong Veng (AV) Team’s Prayer Retreat…

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

The KEC National Women Conference in Poipet…

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

Dates & Events needing your prayers…

  1. In our last blog, we shared about Noeu’s new found faith in Christ. She continues to trust Him in spite of battling with ongoing sickness. She has a tremendous love for God and LOVES to pray! During a weekly small-group Bible studies, everyone was amazed at her boldness and sense of maturity in her faith as she presented her requests to the Living God. Those in the group seemed to agree, “She was having a deep conversation with God, like no one else was in the room!” Although she is a new believer, Noeu’s faith is an inspiration to everyone at church.
  2. Please pray for rains. Some families already ran out of water supplies. It was expected for this time of the year, but lately the heat was unbearable at time. Everything around us is scorching and dry.
  3. March 28-30: The Peoyope (northwest) regional district conference will be held in Svey Sisophon. Soeuth will be one of the key note speakers for the conference. There will be an election/appointment for a new district leader and for new church committee leaders at this conference. Pray for unity among the leaders. Pray also that God will raise up Godly leaders to oversee the churches in the region.
  4. April 5-6: The National KEC youth committees will have the next quarterly meeting in Phnom Penh. Pray for wisdom and visions for the youth workers to see the big picture for the National KEC youth ministry.
  5. April 10-May 2: We will be visiting three Alliance churches in the west coast for mission conferences and speaking events. Pray that our messages will be presented clearly, meaningful, and impactful for the expansion of the kingdom of God in Cambodia and around the world. We hope to have some quality family time.
  6. Rithy and Kristie Ty, and their two small children, our teammates in Anlong Veng, have been battling with health crisis, one sickness after another, since early February. 
  7. Our Anlong Veng team has been busy getting bookshelves and books for our newly built library. We received some donated books (mostly in English) and a few laptops stocked up for the students, while the ordered Khmer books are expected to arrive at the end of March. Everyone is very excited about this brand-new library, the only library in Anlong Veng! As students come to read books in the library, pray that we will have the opportunity to share the reason for our faith with and to them.

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

Because He lives,

Soeuth & Syna

Saturday, March 9, 2024

March Update 20224

 Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

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

Heat & Fire…

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

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

LMC in Siem Reap…

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

LMC conference in Siem Reap

Agricultural Workshop…

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

42 people participated in Agricultural workshop

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

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

A lady prayed to receive Jesus in sickbed

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

The Philippines Trip…

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

Hiking adventure in the Philippines

Mt. Kanlaon located in Negros, Occidental, Philippines

Dates & Events needing your prayers…

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

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

With a grateful heart,

Soeuth & Syna 

Saturday, January 20, 2024

January 2024 Update

Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

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

Srae Nouy’s New Church…

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

Christmas celebration at Trapang Krasan village.

Giving water bottles to village kids


Church families worshipping God in their local traditional style


Srae Nouy dancing their special song

First Christmas Celebration at Kokespean…

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

First Christmas at Kokespean

This lady brought her two kids to Kokespean church

First baptism at Kokespean

A Local Government Leader...

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

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

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

    Typical Khmer houses in rural village

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

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

December Update 2023

Dear Prayer Supporters,

Warm Christmas greetings from Cambodia. May you experience a true meaning of the Christmas season—The Emmanuel God.

The National Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC) are busy preparing Christmas events throughout the month of December. In order to get the best options for their favorite guest-speakers, some churches began planting this celebration and invited speakers as early as September. An Alliance church in Svey Sisophon already had their Christmas celebration on December 2! Christmas is one of the most anticipated events for the National believers. It is an opportunity to invite unchurch friends and relatives to join the festive celebrations. For church leaders, this is an opportunity for ministry outreach to those who have never heard of the Gospel before. Please remember to pray for the Cambodian churches throughout the country as they celebrate Christmas this year.

The Youth Camp…

Last month, we asked for your prayers for the National KEC youth camp. Here are some updates. On the appointed day, youth leaders brought in their youth groups to register by the vans or buses full of excited young people. Some had traveled almost 13 hours! Although 469 people had officially registered and paid for the camp registration fees, about 100 others had not registered but showed up here and there throughout the week. Of those who participated, at least 85% of them were first time campers! Some of the registered campers were as young as 8 years old. The theme, Rise Up and Walk, was intended to encourage the young people to break off hindrances or obstacles that were holding them back in life. One young lady,  Kimbuy, testified about her struggles with poverty and growing up as an orphan. Despite many challenges that could have prevented her from pursuing her dreams, Kimbuy refused to allow circumstances dictate her future. To earn a small income during her high school years, Kimbuy woke up early every morning and bicycled around town selling hot freshly baked French breads. After high school, with the help of scholarships, she studies at a local university and earned a degree in finance. While she worked and studies—her daily pep talk to encourage herself to keep on trying is, “I can do all things through Christ who helps me."

Nearly 570 people participated in a youth camp

Of the 570 participants, at least 85% of them were first time campers!

Another young lady, Jenda, shared how she wanted to attend the camp since 2018 but didn’t have enough money. She stared saving for the next camp, but it was cancelled due to Covid. “I was heartbroken. Now, after four years of waiting, I am finally here!”

On the last evening, the students heard a message about hidden sins that can hold people back in life. They were encouraged to write down any sin that might preventing them from moving forward. At the end of the service, about 150 people came forward to drop off their notes into a bonfire and ask God to help them “rise up and walk” from their old way of life.

We were grateful to the many people who help prayed and donated funds so this camp could take place. Please pray that participants will continue moving forward into their God-given destinies.

11 Soccer Kids Got Baptized…

Shortly after the youth camp, the Firm Foundation Alliance church in Toul Prich village had a scheduled baptism on November 29. Originally, 16 soccer youth had been disciple, trained, and prepared for this special event. Everyone was excited. However, on the appointed day, only 11 youth showed up while the other five young people were forbidden by their not-yet believing parents from moving forward with their faith. They were sad, but we encouraged them to respect their parents and told them, “When things begin to cool down at home, we can plan another event in the future."

11 Soccer kids got baptized

Dates and Events needing your prayers…

  1. Dec. 9th, about 100 kids and their parents have been invited to join the youth Christmas celebration at the Anlong Veng Ministry Center. This will be the first Christmas celebration for many of them. Pray for receptive hearts, especially from the parents. The children, many of whom are the only believers in the family, have been working hard practicing their special songs and memorizing their lines for the play.
  2. Dec. 15-16: There will be the first Christmas celebration ever done in Korkspean village in Sarong. Since February 2023, in respond to the needs, we have been going to teach a discipleship class there on a weekly basis where about eight adults and a few teens showed up for class. About ten families of newly believers meet together every week for Sunday worships. This year, they are hosting their own Christmas celebration on Dec. 16, and a baptismal service will be followed after the Christmas celebration. Some of the church families from Anlong Veng planned to spend a night at this village on December 15 as we plan to show the Jesus film to the villagers then.
  3. Dec. 17 at 3 pm, a Christmas event will be celebrated at Trampang Krasang village. The leaders are expecting at least 150 people will participate. 
  4. Other Christmas events that we will be joined and celebrating in the coming weeks: Three celebrations will be in Poipet for December 23, 24, and 25. The Toul Prich Firm Foundation Alliance Church will have their evening celebration on December 21; and the Srae Nouy will have their big celebration on the evening of Dec. 31 until New Year. This year, the Srae Nouy church will have a celebration and a church dedication for their brand new church building!
  5. Pray for receptive hearts from the audience and for good health and safe traveling for all. 
  6. January 17-26, 2024: The Leadership Matters Course (LMC) will be held in Siem Reap Province in Cambodia. A number of the Alliance Workers will participate in the 10-day training program.

Please share with us what God is doing in your life. We would like to be a blessing to your through prayers. As always, because of your faithful prayers, your generous financial support toward the Great Commission Funds, and because of your persistent partnership in the growing Cambodian ministries, we are able to continue serving in Anlong Veng and throughout northern parts of Cambodia and beyond, sharing the message of Hope in Jesus Christ to hopeless and lost people in Cambodia. Thank you! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Blessings,

Soeuth & Syna

Saturday, November 25, 2023

November Update 2023

 Dear Faithful Supporters,

Warm greetings! We trust you are doing well. We apologized for the delayed updates. Lately, we have been going through a long season of challenges. Some of the issues related to ministry ministries while some others were of personal and family matter. By the grace of God, some of the issues are on the road to mending or recovery…

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

Soccer Kids at a Buddhist Funeral…

Recently, one of the soccer youth from Poipet, “Jonny," was grieving for the loss of his beloved grandmother. Like most needy families in Cambodia, many children were left at home to be cared for by elder parents or extended family members while the young parents went off to find work either in Thailand or in some big cities. Jonny had been raised by his grandmother since he was 2 years old. Now at age 15, he lost a very significant person in his life. He was noticed by his peer sobbing incontrollably.  Because his grandmother was not a believer, the family had a traditional Buddhist funeral. His soccer teammates and friends were mostly new followers of Jesus. As usual, before and after each soccer match, the team would huddle together to pray and give thanks to God for the outcome of each game. At the end of their prayer, the team would habitually shout in a unison voice, “In the Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen!” At this funeral, however, seeing their grieved stricken friend sobbing, the team’s captain gathered all 22 youth to pray for Jonny. At the end of this prayer, however, they shouted their usual ending statement and ended with a louder AMEN! Their shouting was heard by all the funeral participants including the Buddhist monks and priests. To the youth’s amazement, everyone praised how well the young people were behaving and by the way they showed love and support to their friends in need. The grieving family was especially grateful for the support of these young people…

Starlight Soccer Team, from Poipet

Soccer kids showed love and support to their grieving friend at Buddhist funeral

Harvest Time…

Harvest season on Cambodia

It is harvest season in Cambodia. After months of waiting since July, farmers finally rejoiced for the fruits of their hard works and were busy gathering crops. However, because the rainy season began much later this year, it also ended later than usual. Normally, the rainy season finished by mid October or by early November. This allows farmers time to collect their crops and put into storage. However, this year, even in late November, there were still few heavy rain showers every now and then which caused severe damage on crops in some fields A few of our church families were affected by this. Some families of the Christian community who gathered their crops on time saw their friends' trouble and were willing to share their precious harvest food with them. It was a beautiful picture to see the Body of Christ coming together to lift one another’s burden up, especially in their time of need…

Pink Eyes And Flu…

For the past few months, there have been strange sicknesses among the families in rural region that took place in every village. First, there was a pink-eye epidemic that seemed to spread at a rapid pace. Adults and kids alike, at least 2-3 members of each family have pink-eyes! Then, there was a flu-like illness that plagued every person in every village as well. The common described symptoms were chills, low-graded fever, sore throat, chest pain accompanied by deep dry coughs, severely bodily aches, and generalized weaknesses. We were spared from the pink-eye episode, but we had suffered 5 days of flu-like sickness. We cancelled classes multiple times to allow farmers enough time for harvest as well as for us to regain strength. Please pray for good health for all.

Youth Camp...

As shared in the September update, we are getting ready for the upcoming youth camp (Nov. 24-27) at Kampong Cham province. This will be the first large group youth gathering since April 2018. Due to Covid-19, the April 2019’s youth camp was cancelled. Needless to say everyone is excited for the upcoming youth camp event. So far, we already received 480 registrations. However, the youth committees expected at least 550 people in attendance. This year conference theme is “Rise Up & Walk." There is still work to be done before everyone arrives on Nov. 24. Please pray for receptive hearts for from all participants. Pray for key note speakers at five main events and for all workshop speakers. Pray that God would be glorified as his people come together for a cooperate worship.

Dates & Events needing your prayers…

  1. The Toul Prich Firm Foundation Alliance church will plan a baptismal service for new believers on Nov. 29.
  2. The small house church at Kork Spean- Samrong which was started in February 2023 is thriving well. The small ban of believers have been faithfully meeting together on Sundays for service on their own while about 8-10 of them joined our disciple class on Wednesdays. Because of limited time, we can only commit to Wednesday classes, but the designated “leaders” were encouraged to use the same lesson learned from the Wednesday class to teach to their larger group of 30 people on Sundays. A few members of this group are excited about sharing their bold faith with their relatives and friends. As most thriving young believers, they have a lot of questions about walking faithfully in God. It is very common for us to receive phone calls even late at night asking us to explain about a passage of Scriptures or how to sing one of the Khmer traditional hymnal songs. The church families are preparing their first Christmas event followed by a baptismal service—all in one day events on December 16. Pray that nothing would interfere with those who are committed to follow Christ. 
    Discipleship class at Kork-spean, Samrong

    Weekly youth fellowship at Toul Prich Firm Foundation Alliance Church

    Weekly discipleship class at Toul Prich

  3. Please pray for the many Christmas events that are about to take place in the next few weeks all over the country. The Firm Foundation Alliance church in Anlong Veng will have their celebration on Dec. 21, two separate events scheduled in Poipet on Dec. 23 (one in the morning and another in the evening), another evening service at Living Water Alliance church in Poipet on Dec. 24. The Srae Nouy church will have an evening service at their bran new church on Dec. 31…  Pray for safe traveling for all, and for good health. Pray for receptive hearts. Many church members are encouraged to invited unchurch family members and friends…
  4. November 1, we moved to another rented house, a few kilometers closer to the Anlong Veng Ministry Center. A new place is much quieter and more peaceful. There were no more inconsiderate, noisy, and loud neighbors as it was at the old place; the electrical power is MUCH stronger including great water pressure. However, the draw back is that, this new place is a bit distant from central town—too far away from internet routing. We are working closely with the IT people of the areas to have an internet line installed to our new place. As of date, have been without internet access for almost 3 weeks. We visited local coffee shop frequently in order to send or to receive email updates. It is not the end of the world, but it would be nice to have internet access working again soon, Lord willing.

We are very grateful for your faithful prayers and support. We sincerely appreciate your on-going partner in growing Anlong Veng and northern Cambodia ministries. Your faithful financial support which enables us to remain service Christ in this hard place shining the Light of Jesus to Lost People in Cambodia and around world. If God lays in your heart for any opportunity to visit us of to bring in a short-term mission trip to our areas, we would LOVE to have you visiting us and to share with you what God is doing here, there, ad everywhere. Please kindly share with us what God is doing in your life. Happy Thanksgiving!

With a grateful heart, 

Soeuth & Syna

Saturday, September 30, 2023

September Update 2023

 Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,"  Matthew 19:14

11 Soccer Kids Received Jesus!

Recently, we had opportunities to share the gospel to kids around the Anlong Veng community. One such opportunity was through soccer ministry. The kids who came regularly to play soccer at the Along Veng Ministry Center’s property continued to spread words to their peers and invited their friends to “Come, let’s go to play soccer at Jesus's field!”. At a most recent sports event, 62 kids came to play soccer. Our teammates have been intentionally hosting weekly evangelism youth bible studies on Sunday afternoons. On the average, 25 kids willingly participated. As shared in our August’s updates, many of these children come from broken and dysfunctional families. They have many responsibilities at home to help with farm work, to cook and to clean, and to take care of their younger siblings. At home, they hardly got a chance to be “kids”. At the soccer field, it is our greatest JOY to see them laugh, be silly with each other, and fellowship with their peers. For the few hours they are with us on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, our team intentionally makes efforts to create opportunities for them to feel welcomed. On Sept 24, after a heart-to-heart discussion about Jesus’ invitation to “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”, (Matthew 11:28), 11 additional soccer kids prayed to receive Jesus! Many of these children already involved in various small groups and discipleship classes. Only God knows the future for each of these precious children. As they keep coming to the “Jesus’ field”, we will do our best to meet their needs in whatever capacity that God allows us…

11 additional soccer kids prayed to receive Jesus

Seeds Being Planted at Local Public Schools…

Another opportunity was through an on-going good relationship we had established with the teachers and with the students from the two nearby public schools. On August 24, thanks to the generous financial support from Phillipsburg Alliance church of the Metropolitan District, we were able to purchase water bottles and distributed them to church kids as well as to the students who are from the two local public schools. Grateful to the generous donation, the two school principals allowed us 30 minutes, at each of the two schools, to share a short evangelism message to the audiences! This was an historical moment for the Anlong Veng ministry. God alone knows the outcome for this new development. For now, we remain steadfast in making our presence meaningful and impactful among the Anlong Veng community.

School kids lined up to receive water bottles

Middle school kids received water bottles

The KEC National Conference…

Sept.21-22, we had opportunity to participate in the Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC) National conference along with 300 plus other church leaders from around the country. The conference was at the KEC National office in Phnom Penh and the conference’s theme was based on Jesus’s word, “… On this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it…” Matthew 16:18. It was a beautiful site to see the hunger from the audience as they listened intensely to the messages and stayed engaged in three practical workshops given by Alliance International Workers. This was the first national gathering due to the interruption from the Covid-19 pandemic. Needless to say, everyone was thrilled to attend the conference.  While fellowshipping with friends, I, Syna had opportunities to fellowshipped with friends from Kampong Cham province. Among them were two mem who attended the conference for the first time. In fact, these men were not even believers yet when they were invited to the conference. Through watching how the Christians interacted with one another, they began to soften and showed strong interest in Christianity. At a divine moment, one of our teammates lead the two men into a relationship with Jesus Christ!

300 plus Alliance National Leaders attended a KEC conference

Two men prayed to receive at the KEC conference

KEC leaders worshiping God at the KEC conference

300 plus church leaders attended a KEC converence

A Mission Conference in Hawaii…

August 30-Sept 15, we had opportunity to speak at a mission conference at one of our partnering Alliance churches in Hawaii. We were grateful for opportunities not just to speak at the planned events and in various small groups but also had opportunities to meet with new friends, a new partner church, and with new partnering individuals! In one such opportunity was a divine appointment with “Tere”. During a women mission luncheon, I (Syna) shared briefly about my first encountering with Jesus while living inside a refugee camp in January 1980. I also shared how I witnessed the God’s love being compassionately demonstrated through various International Workers who were sent there by different relief agencies… At the end of my talk and to my great surprise, Tere came by to greet in the Khmer language! Tere was one of the relief workers who happened to be in the same camp around the same time that I was there!  Amazed beyond description, I could only utter a ‘Thank You’ to Tere and to the countless other Workers like Tere, who had sacrificially answered the Call to serve, even in such a hard place as those camps along the Thailand borders, so that I and thousands of other refugees could have the Gospel access. I am grateful to God for faithful Int. Workers like Tere. Who I am today is because someone was willing to say YES to the Call, no matter the cost. By the grace of God, I was able to see my story came in a full circle…

Hiking at Manoa Fall trails

Dates & Events for your prayer consideration…

  1. Sept 18: The Anlong Veng team was invited to participate in teachers’ appreciation luncheon, partly, because of our involvements in the Anlong Veng community. Among those who participated in this event were 12 public school teachers, three village leaders, the Anlong Veng district leader, and the assistant director for the Anlong Veng Educational department. 
    At the teacher's appreciation luncheon

  2. Oct. 7:  Syna will speak at a regional women conference in Batthambang province.
  3. Oct. 13-15: The entire country of Cambodia will celebrate a Bon Pa-jum Ben holiday. Similar to that of the Halloween which is celebrated by the western countries, Bon Pa-jum Ben is a very dark and eerie holiday for the local Khmer people who normally celebrated and worshipped ancestorial spirits, mostly from out of fear evil spirits. From past experiences, this is one of the most testing times for new believers who would be pressured by family members to bring food offering to the local Buddhist temples. Often where there were team conflicts or any personal issues or potential accidents or other calamities happened, they happened more often around this time of the year. Please pray for protection against the evil schemes…

Because of your faithful prayers and financial support, we are able to make our presence meaningful and impactful as we live and share the Hope of Jesus in this dark community. Thank you for your involvement. Please share with us what God is doing your life.

Blessings,

Soeuth & Syna

Friday, August 11, 2023

August 2023 Update

Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

Warm greetings from northern Cambodia. We trust you are enjoying your summer with family and friends. 

Rains, Floods, and Snakes…

Cambodia is still in the midst of a rainy season. This year’s rainy season began at a much later time than usual, but it’s better late than never. While the rain brought much joy to the farmers in the country side, many who reside in the city faced numerous flooding incidents resulting from too much water! In addition to floods, many farmers have to deal with unwanted creepy, crawly visitors such as snakes, centipedes, poisonous spiders, and other pests. In mid- July, we received repeated phone calls from church families about family members suffering from snake bites. One lady, Nuon, from the Firm Foundation Alliance church in Anlong Veng was bitten by a Russel viper! It happened while she was cultivating her casavas field about 40 kilometers aways from a nearby town. A kind farmer nearby saw what happened and drove Nuon on the back of his motorbike to a referral hospital in Anlong Veng. How she managed to stay awake during the long bumpy motorbike ride and still alive is nothing but a miracle. Nuon retold how she kept on shouting over and over again, “Preah Yea-sue (Jesus) help me!” until she arrived in the hospital. She is okay now.

Visiting Nuon at Anlong Veng's referral hospital

Rains and snakes...

Progress on Po’s Back…

In our last update, we shared about Po’s lower back herniated disc. The pain levels improved significantly since then. He was able to move around with great cautions. Please continue to pray for a complete healing as the family depends on him for a living. Also, because of his back problem, a few village ministries under his responsibilities were put on hold due to lack of workers. Pray for the believers in Kampong Pluk floating village and believers in a few other villages as they faithfully met together for fellowship BUT without the presence of a shepherd to teach them God’s Word. As time allowed, we managed to visit Kampong Pluk a few times these past two months.

Po's walking with man-made crutches

Building Constructions…

Working with a very tight budget, the Srae Nouy church building construction project is about 80% completion. The main goal was to have a roof completely built before rainy season arrives, it was accomplished! Currently, every available helping hand fr church families is needed to help carry dirt to level up the sanctuary as the workers laying bricks to build the stage. From time to time, we were able to drop by and pay short visits. It was a beautiful sight to see church members proudly come together to volunteer their services to build “our church."  Some families who could not help with manual labors donated kilograms of rice or vegetations or chickens or ducks from their farms to help feeding the workers. They sang joyfully praising God as they worked side by side. This working unity among the church families was a testimony to the hired not-yet believing- workers. One of these hired workers was heard to comment, “Look how the Jesus people (referring to local Christians) help each other without being paid or asked!”

Srae Nouy's church building

The Anlong Veng’s library building project is about 50% completed. Unlike the Srae Nouy church, this library is being built by hired contract workers. Usually, each worker uproots along his/her family and camps in small huts or shelters during the entire building projects—however long it takes to complete each project. It is very common to see pregnant women, nursing mothers, or small children hanging around the work sites while the workers do full time work. These working families were willing to move from far away provinces for any job opportunity. Even though they received handsome payment in exchange for the labors, saving enough money for the cost for food is a daily struggle. Local Christians grabbed the opportunity to share Christ’s love by sharing their food resources with the workers. Their food items could be a bunch of bananas, green papayas for cooking, or any vegetations they gathered from the fields. As the believers dropped by to share their food, they also took the opportunity to share with their new friends about their faith in the one true God—Jesus Christ.

Contruction of the Anlong Veng's library

Seed Planted Being at Two Local Public Schools…

During the past few months, we hosted three separate teams of pastors, educators, and counselors from the US and from Singapore. Each of the teams was given opportunities by local teachers to conduct a 2.5- hour workshop seminar to students and teachers in three different locations. Working with students (grates 4-9), we did rap sessions where students were encouraged to anonymously write down questions of their curiosities. As random questions were drawn out and asked aloud, and with students’ full participation, we answered questions concerning sex, alcohol & drugs, the differences between boys vs. girls, about family conflicts, wars, politics, religions, animals, natures, and many other questions. In these rap sessions at the two local public schools, there were repeated questions about the origin of man or “Who is responsible for making this world?” The few Christian students from among the crowd were quick to shout their answers and pointed everyone to the Lord Jesus as the Creator God of this universe. While one team member spoke through interpretations, other members did prayer walks around the school campuses. Altogether, we did three rap sessions among 236 students…

A rap session at a local public school

In addition to the student workshops, the counseling team had a two-hour workshop privately with 12 local public teachers. One of the topics was to help teachers understand better the differences how boys and girls were wired. At the end of this session, one female teacher boldly shared her new discovery, “You’d just saved my marriage! I was very frustrated with my husband about the way he did things that I was considering to divorce him. But after this workshop, I can understand him better. I will learn to live and to work with him a bit longer. Thank you, for sharing this information with us!”

Overall, the workshops were successful, well received, and enjoyed by all the participants so much so that all the teachers and students invited for the teams to come back! The Seed has been planted. In God’s timing, we pray and hope to see spiritual “fruits” in the near future…

Dates and events needing your prayers…

  1. July 26-31: The Alliance Mission field held a field forum in Siem Reap where about 75 of us (including teammates, children, and visitors). It was a very enriching and fun week as the workers came together for fellowship. This was our biggest Field Forum we had so far. The timely sound doctrine messages about the Life of Elijah spoken to us were well received. 
  2. Alliance Mission at 2023 Field Forum
  3. With many traveling trips around the northwest regions for workshops followed by Field Forum in Siem Reap, we were away from Anlong Veng off and on for about three weeks, not being able to join the soccer ministry. When we finally showed up at the soccer field on August 6, 52 young people excitedly rushing by to greet us, each shouting “You went away for so long!” During our absence, the youth began to spread word about the “HUGE” soccer field at the “Jesus’ field” and invited their friends to check it out. With so many children and very few adults to help, our Anlong Veng team is figuring out how best to accommodate and meet the children’ needs. Many of these children, not yet believers, are mostly from broken and dysfunctional families. At the “Jesus’s field” is where they can be themselves—playing soccer and other sports and having the opportunity to be kids. Pray for wisdom as we work out plans and strategies. 
  4. As of date, 22 children prayed to receive Jesus since the soccer ministry was launched in January. On the average, 25 youth participated in a weekly youth gathering, 80 children (aged 4-14) participated in a monthly kids outreach ministry, 16 teens participate in weekly discipleship classes, and about 35 kids participate in an afterschool program. When the children come to the church property, we have opportunities to share the gospel with them as well as to teach them about life in general. We are grateful for these vast opportunities to reach community children for Christ.
  5. Soccer kids received instructions before dividing into groups

    Weekly youth fellowship in Anlong Veng

    1. August 12: the National KEC Youth Committee members will hold an all-day meeting to discuss and plan for youth ministry as well as plans for the youth camp scheduled for November 24-27 at Kampong Cham province. We are expecting at least 500 plus youth will participate. The last time we had a youth conference/ camp was in April 2018! Needless to say, everyone is exciting for this coming event. If you are interested in sponsoring a youngster to attend the camp or if you feel led to support the KEC youth ministry financially, please let us know.
    2. Lastly but not least, we were beyond blessed to have our youngest son, Jonathan, visiting us from central New York for three weeks, July 4-25. In light of the Covid pandemic, this was his first trip back home since he left Cambodia for boarding school in Malaysia on September 2021!
    Jonathan's home visit

    Please share with us what God is doing in your life. We want to be a blessing to you through prayers. We are grateful for your partnership in the northern Cambodian ministry. Your generous and faithful donation to the Alliance Mission enables us to remain serving in this part of the world sharing the Good News of Jesus to lost people in Cambodia and around world.



    With a grateful heart, 

    Soeuth & Syna Lao