March Update 2023

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

March Update 2023

Dear faithful supporting friend and family

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

Resuming TEE Classes…

February 17: At least 50 church leaders from the northwest region came together for a full day of meeting and discussions concerning the slow pace and or the lack of interest of teaching Theological Education by Extension (TEE) courses. TEE course is based on the life and ministry of Jesus through the book of Matthew; a course designed to help and prepare believers to become leaders of their local churches. It is an 18- 24 months course, if studied consistently on a weekly basis. For a while, TEE has been and continues to be one of the main theological courses for training and equipping leaders especially those many leaders who oversee Alliance churches in rural areas. When Covid-19 arrived, classes were postponed indefinitely. But even when things are now back to “normal” again, leaders were slow at resuming classes. Seeing the needs, the church leaders decided to plan this workshop hoping to learn about the root course of it. We are still learning. However, a short time after this meeting, some pastors and church leaders were asking for and ordering discipleship and or TEE books to teach small groups in their local region! We are exciting to see what God will do among churches as His people are on fire to study His Word once again…

50 leaders participated at a TEE conference

Leadership Class in Srae Nouy…

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

Soeuth shared an in-depth message at the Srae Nouy leadership class

Anlong Veng Team Retreat…

February 23-25: The Anlong Veng spent a few days of retreat at Kampot province. We all worked hard in various ministries and thought we deserved some time of fun and rest and relaxation. But it took us 14 hours to drive, each way! To pass time and to avoid “Are we there yet?” questions while on the long road trips, we played games (“license plates”, or “I spy with my own eye”) along the road trips. Once arrived, everyone had a great time and enjoyed eating ICE CREAM bought from a local 7-Eleven store! This was an AMAZING discovery! 7-Eleven stores in Cambodia!  Our time at Kampot was cut short due to other planned activities and events awaited us in Anlong Veng…

AV team enjoyed eating ice cream by the 7-Eleven

Evangelism Outreach in Samrong…

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

Evangelism outreach at samrong

Spiritual Oppositions & Challenges…

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

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

Resolving church family conflicts

Sunday School Teachers Conference…

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

A New Discipleship Class Started…

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

A new discipleship class started at Samrong

48 people prayed to received Jesus at Toul Pongroe village!

Evangelism Workshop & Opportunities…

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

29 youth attended the first youth meeting in Anlong Veng.

Other Dates and Events needing your prayers…

1.       As you are reading this note (March 23-25), we should be in or traveling to Ratanakiri province, a 10-hour (at least) drive, each way, from Anlong Veng, for a regional youth conference. This is a time that regional local leaders will vote for their future youth workers for the Isaan region. Pray that God would raise godly leaders with deep passion to reach youth for Christ.

2.       Based on the repeated and unanimous request, we’d resumed a monthly (or once every 4-6 weeks) leadership class at Poipet. Our first meeting was at Ang Salla village, on March 18, in Poipet where 32 people attended.

Poipet leadership class resumed

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

We had two successful attempts of drilling deep wells in Anlong Veng

4.       The construction building project for the Srae Nouy church is an on-going event, hoping to get it done by mid-April. Due to tight space on the property, the leachers had to tear down an old wooden house and rebuild on a different location to give enough space for the new church building. Most of the workers are NOT yet followers of Jesus, but they had opportunities to hear about Him. While the construction work is going on, some workers took time off to listen and participate in weekly church service and in their evening small groups. The seed had been planted. In God’s timing, we pray they will grow in the knowledge of knowing God and accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior.  At this writing, another group of construction workers are traveling a 9 hour-road trips from Phnom Penh to Anlong Veng.

Construction project for the Srae Nouy church

6.     Mid-April is Khmer New Year, and the students will be on a two weeks break. The leaders are planning sport or fun activities to cater toward these students which will include a friend trip on April 25 to visit Preah Vihear Province, one of the Cambodian historical sites. We are anticipating 20 youth, grade 6-10, will be going. Pray for safety and protections.

7.     Church leaders throughout the northwest regions are teaching and preparing their people for the Easter celebrations as well as preparing some new believers for baptismal service in the coming weeks. This is a big commitment and a HUGE decision for many who are the only followers of Jesus in their house or in their community. Pray that they would not be swayed away or changed their mind as the event is drawing near.

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

 

Because He lives,

Syna and Soeuth 

 

December Updates

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  We trust that you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas time with your love ones. 

Even though in late December, Christmas programs are still being celebrated throughout Cambodia! So far, we’d attended a total of eight Christmas programs this month!  And the season is not over yet!  To celebrate these joyous events, many of the church families would lovingly prepare and serve delicious chicken (or other various meat curries with rice noodles (a 3-day process).  Many of those who attended were celebrating their first Christmas ever!  Christmas is a time of giving!  Lately, we have been seeing people that are GIVING their lives to JESUS!  Good news is being reported throughout the northwest region, this Christmas season as a number of newly believers were being added to the groups every day!  PTL!!!  PLEASE keep these new believers in your prayers.  Chinese New Year (February) and Khmer New Year (April) are coming soon.  These are the ones of the most persecuted times for the new believers…

We’d asked you to pray for the Monday event of Dec. 10, when a youth rally took at Poipet at the Living Water church.  Although the youth committees had previously planned for about 170 attendants, but at the last-minute notice, many youth were bringing along their friends and relatives that more than 250 attended!  We had very full house! It was quite an interesting experience for all of us trying to accommodate and gather all the extra needed supplies and chairs!  But it was especially more of a challenged for the cooks, trying to prepare extra food for those many hungry youth!  Throughout the entire day, there were times for “special songs”, testimonies, various skits performed by many talented youth groups, and of course the message! Toward the end of the service, when Soeuth gave an altar call, about 30 of them went up to renew their commitments to follow Christ!  And 5 others gave their lives to Jesus!  Thank you for praying! 

This year, the churches in Poipet decided to do their own individual Christmas program: the Ondong Thmar-Meas Church reaching out to the families from within the village; the Santepheap Church reaching out to the community kids (those from the feeding program); and the Living Water Church reaching out to the soccer team kids, the English class students, and their parents.  And a number of other house churches, that could not afford to do their own Christmas, came to join the mother church— the Living Water Church.  About 300 people in all attended the Living Water Church Christmas program!

On Thursday, Dec. 27, we were invited to join the first Christmas celebration, inside the prison in Svey Sisophon Province!  This is where Mrs. Moum is still locked up against her will.  It was good seeing Mrs. Moum again and to witness such joyful and servant attitudes that she has toward others, in spite of her present conditions!  The head jailer has all the praises for Mrs. Moum for her abilities to reach out to other inmates and the ways she cares for others more than herself!  And the volunteer team, for the children ministry, is very grateful for all her helps in training and gathering the children, and getting them ready for classes every week.  This particular celebration was for the children growing up inside that prison, but the team took the opportunity to invite their inmate mothers to attend as well.  Soeuth spoke a message of “God’s Love”, and at the end of the service, 3 inmate mothers gave their lives to Jesus!  According to Mrs. Moum, there are now, a total of 66 believers in that prison!  The head jailer (who also used to attend church) is also very grateful to the volunteer team.  This team, from a local C&MA church, is very passionate about reaching out to the small children of inmates.  The news about their good work is being spread across Cambodia. Recently, a National Cambodian television new report televised a short interview with the head of the volunteer team, Mrs. Channy, where the reporter was praising the team for their good efforts! According to the news report, this is the only prison in Cambodia that has a program for the children of the inmates!  Please continue to keep the volunteer team, Mrs. Moum, and her family in prayers.

Syna has been teaching our house helper, Srey Neang, how to read using the Bible-based adult literacy books!  As the result, Srey Neang also gave her life to Jesus this past week!

Our family enjoys having Justin home for the long Christmas break!  While we were in Bangkok, picking up Justin from the airport, two boxes of care packages were waiting for us!  What perfect timing for Christmas! Thanks, Children Ministry of Washington Alliance of PA, and a special friend from Indian! It is great to see Justin enjoys helping out with the soccer team kids at the church every day.  As soon as the Christmas activities begin to “calm down”, we hope to take a week of family vacation, sometimes, next month, before Justin heads back to Dalat on January 20^th.

Please pray for the Poipet youth Christmas/ New Year’s Eve party taking place on Monday Dec. 31 at our house.  We are expecting anywhere between 40-50 people.  Many will bring their not-yet believing friends/relatives as well.  Pray for opportunity to witness Christ to them!

We’d enjoyed receiving feedbacks along with some prayer requests from some of you.  Please keep us in the loops with what God is doing in your lives.  We thank you all for your faithful prayers and sacrificial support!  Your giving to the GCF is what keeps us continue to serve here.  THANK YOU for your partnership with the Poipet Ministries!

Please check out an article about the Poipet ministry in Alliance Life Magazine—January issue, called, “Let Us to Jesus”.  (www.alliancelife.org)

HE’s the reason for the season,

Soeuth and Syna Lao

With Justin and Jonathan

Octobet updates

Dear Friends,

It’s “Bon Pjum Ben” time in Cambodia!  It’s a Buddhist religious holiday where the people here, from out of fear, celebrated their ancestral spirits by bringing food offerings to as many as seven (7) or more temples in order to please the spirits.  Even in the midst of extreme poverty, these people would save up, collect, and or even willing to borrow a large amount of money from their relatives and friends in order to have enough for the purchasing of these required food offerings!  The Khmer Buddhists believe that,  this is one of the few times when their ancestral spirits are released, from captivity, and are allowed  to come to roam around all the temple areas of their birthplace, looking for food offerings from their living relatives.   The actual holiday, according to the lunar calendar, will take place, this year, on October 13-15, but the preparations began as early as the last week of September!  To get the people up early and be ready to prepare for the food offerings, the Buddhist monks, priests, and nuns would, loudly and in a long, sad, and dirge monotones, chant their wake- up prayer songs, into microphones, every day, as early as 2 am!  And this can go on every hour, all day long, until 9 or 10 pm!  We looked forward to a few hours of quietness before it began again, at 2 pm! (These same tones of songs are also sung at a funeral service.)  The entire atmosphere can be very gloomy and oppressive.  In the day light times, however, to get rid these oppressive sounds, we often blast out with praise and worship songs.  But there is nothing much we can do when it is 2 in the morning!

To go to the Buddhist temples, the Khmer people would put on their best traditional clothing attires, the ladies with their colorful and finest silks and laces while the men with front button shirts and trousers.  According to the youth in Poipet, they not only go there to offer food to the spirits through the monks, but they go there to meet people and to social and to party!  The Buddhist temple is the “happening place” especially for the young at heart!   In a culture where dating is not allowed, the temple is The Place where “boys meet girls”.  It is no wonder that the wedding season (another loud but happier event) would soon begin, right after Bon Pjum Ben!

Bon Pjum Ben is a time for the testing of faith for the new believers.  Many new believers feel pressured by their relatives and even by their community; and they are obligated to bring food offering to the temples!  Many believers  would face a tough decision that, should they go forward with their Christian walks and risk being rejected by their relatives, or should they go back to the old ways….

One way to help prevent these back slackers is to plan fun activities around these holiday times, to offer alternatives, so that the Christians would have a place to hang out.  In respond to the needs, the northwest regional youth committees have been busy planning and scheduled for a youth rally at the Thmar Koul Center, in Battambang Province, for Monday, October 15.  Since it is a National holiday, the committees are expecting at least 200-250 youth will show up.  The committees had a guest speaker planned for the event; but due to urgent and personal matters, however, that plan has recently been changed.  As of this past Monday night’s meeting, Soeuth is now the official back up plan!  Oh well, flexibility and being ready are part of life here….Pray for Soeuth as he prepares the message for the youth event.  Pray for safe traveling for all and for a good outcome.  Pray that the true Light of Jesus would shine brightly during this dark time of this religious holiday season.

                             Despite of this dark season, however, we are delighted to share with you that the Light of Jesus is being brightly shine in a new site called Sophee Village, which has recently become a daughter church of Ondong Thmar Meas Church!  Through the outreach ministry of Mrs.Theary, (one of the key church leaders from this mother church), the village leader, the assistant village leader, and 10 women from this village-- all of them have recently gave their lives to Jesus!!!!  In respond to the need, Soeuth has been going there, (along with Mrs. Theary and some elders), every Saturday morning, for Bible studies.  For the past three weeks that Soeuth has been going there, this group of new believers was always ready and waiting for the “teacher” to come!  We have never seen any other group who is as hunger and thirst for the WORD as this group!  Their responses to the messages taught are overwhelming!  Even this village leader has insisted that the weekly meetings must take place in his house!

September and October have brought some heavy rains and floods to most parts in the northwest region.  A number of places in the Poipet and Svey Sisophon areas have been heavily flooded.  Many people are suffering from typhoid outbreak and dengue fevers!

Please pray for Pastor Samoeun (and his wife Channy) from the Sisophon areas who has been undergoing some testing times recently.  In an attempt to care for his chronically ill and elderly mother, Pastor Samoeun has recently felt and hurt his back severely.  He is also suffering from typhoid disease as well. This young couple who love their LORD so much is facing some financial needs as well.  It was encouraging to us this week, at the Poipet church leadership meeting, when Samoeun’s situations were mentioned, a number of the leaders took special collections to help out their brother in who is in need!

For those who have been responsive toward the needs for Mrs. Moum and her family through prayers and financial support, we thank you!  And Mrs. Moum and her family thank you! 

Family:  We were grateful that Syna was able to visit her sick brother for two weeks in September.  His physical condition is weak, but his attitudes toward life and death are admirable…  We appreciate your continual prayer for Synath and his family… There have been too many stressful events happening around here, one after the other; and we are in need of some quality R&R times.  And we are looking forward to visit Justin at Chiang Mai, Thailand, at the end of this month!  The Dalat soccer team is scheduled to play at the 5 Nations Cup on Oct. 23-27, where Justin is one of the players there!

Please continue to pray for wisdom and insights concerning National youth ministry.  Pray for the committees to have clear visions for youth ministry.  Soeuth has been busy making many long distant trips to various regions for regional youth meetings.  Pray for safe traveling.

Here are some other dates and events to pray for.

-Oct. 15: Northwest regional youth rally at Thmar Koul, as mentioned above.

-Oc.t 18-27, a visiting team from Seattle, WA, will come to Poipet and to Siem Reap to serve with the local KEC church.  Pray that God would touch the hearts of those who come.

-Nov. 7-11—Soeuth goes to Rattanakiri Province (northeast region, about 18-20 hour drive from Poipet) for a region meeting with the tribal groups.

We want to be blessing to you as well through prayers.  Please fill us in with what God is doing in your lives.  We are grateful for your continual partnership with the Poipet ministries.  Because you pray, the Light of Jesus is being shine forth to this dark part of the world!  Because you give to support the CGF, that is why we are here serving along with the Khmer people in bringing the messages of Hope ,Light, and Truth to the hopeless and the lost…

Be Light,

Soeuth & Syna Lao