Hot Dogs for Jesus

It’s been a busy month for In His Steps: opening the Kairos Training Center, children in our programs starting the new school year, visitors passing through, and much more. With all the busyness, we thought it would be fun to have a party for local kids and share some hot dogs with them!

After sending word to the neighborhood that all children were invited for lunch on Wednesday, we wondered whether the recent holiday of Pchum Ben might negatively affect attendance. We needn’t have worried: an hour before the program started, our Center was already inundated with kids flocking in from the surrounding area!

Our staff and a great team of volunteers and Father’s House kids pitched in to prepare trays full of food and pass everything out. Over 220 children came, and after a short lesson from staff, received hot dogs, drinks, and snacks. The air was filled with a happy commotion as they and their friends enjoyed their hot dogs, a first for many!

We love kids: they are the future of Cambodia and a blessing from God. Please join us in praying for the children of Saang district, that they would grow to know Him through the small and seemingly simple acts of love that He has called us to.

- In His Steps

Teamwork - A Photo Update

Each year, we host teams from the US and other countries for short-term outreaches. Having teams is both challenging and energizing: it’s extra work for all of us, but often brings a breath of fresh air into the labor of love that we are busy with year-round!

These past few months have been packed with several teams visiting in quick succession. Multiple groups from Colorado Hong Kong, and Singapore all came with different backgrounds and skills but one shared goal: to bless Cambodians and share God’s love. They did everything from teaching English and preaching in church to helping with youth programs and taking children on a trip to the zoo!

If your church or group is interested in doing team outreach with IHSI, click here to learn more. Below are some photos of our most recent teams making new friends, doing ministry, and having fun!

Honoring Parents

An emotional moment between father and daughter this past Sunday.

How did you celebrate Father’s Day? Here in Cambodia, the holiday is not nearly as well known as others (for example, the Queen Mother’s Birthday, which was yesterday). Cambodian culture places a high value on respecting parents and ancestors, but all too often this takes the form of gifts of money or offering sacrifices to idols on their behalf.

For many Cambodians, to honor their parents means to live in complete subservience to their parents’ wishes, in relationships more reminiscent of servant/master than child/parent. This unhealthy mindset has been modeled for generations and is deeply rooted in Khmer culture.

To truly honor someone from your heart means to revere them by recognizing their value. This is what honor means in Scripture when it tells us to honor our father and mother, and this is what we are trying to teach Cambodians who have for far too long seen honor wrongly defined as co-dependency or control.

Many in Saang have never heard of Father’s Day or Mother’s Day, which is why we choose to celebrate both of these special days in church. Below are some photos of this weekend’s Father’s Day service, where God as our Heavenly Father was honored in worship and earthly fathers were encouraged and blessed through songs, teaching, a drama, and small gifts. We pray that your Father’s Day was blessed!

- In His Steps

The Gift of Children

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalm 127:3

These last few months have been exciting times for Gospel Community Church Saang! We’ve been seeing a lot of new faces in our services, had several salvations, were able to do some outreaches with other local pastors, and are seeing great growth in our youth-aged members as they help with different areas of church ministry. Since we also recently had two more births among church member’s families, we have even more reasons to celebrate!

Last year, we held our first baby dedication where families and guardians publicly committed to raise their children in God’s ways. Considering the recent additions to our church body, it seemed right to have another dedication service this past week! Before beginning our dedication, we shared with our congregation the significance of this event, and for those who have only recently begun attending we know that this was a message they had never heard before.

Here in Cambodia, children are often seen either as a burden or a source of income. Consequently, family structure has been molded by patterns of dysfunction and exploitation. As Christians we agree with God that children are gifts to be treasured, loved, and raised according to biblical principles. Baby dedications give us a chance to reaffirm this.

As each parent publicly committed to raise their children to love and know God, church members stood and promised they would do their part to help bring this goal to fruition. It was a special time, and we hope to have many more such dedications as Gospel Community Church Saang continues to grow! 

Merry Christmas 2011!

This year's Christmas Program in Saang was a beautiful display of God's love and the message of Christmas, highlighting the talent of local children and youth. After beginning our preparations several months ago, the drastic flooding through our region made us wonder whether we would be able to carry on with the program at all! Thankfully, our Center land dried up in time. All the performers threw themselves into daily practices as our staff hurried to finish final plans and cram what would usually have been two month’s work into one! We’re so glad that God made a way where there seemed to be none, so that the message of Jesus’ birth and salvation could be brought yet again to many who have not yet heard it.