GCCS girls soccer team

Within the past couple of weeks IHSI started up a female soccer team! Some of the girls in the community have joined and also some girls from Father’s house. They are being coached by Sokrea, one of IHSI leaders. Boys from the soccer team have stepped up to help teach the girls. The girls are already showing great improvement! By starting up a girls soccer team, IHSI has become the forerunner in highlighting young women's sports. Instead of just watching, the girls can now participate and learn. The woods church has helped with this vision by donating soccer equipment for the team.

Coach Sokera receiving soccer balls from The Woods Church.

The Woods Church donating soccer equipment to the GCCS girls soccer team.

Valentines Day

Valentine’s Day was on February 14, 2016! At In His Steps International we celebrated Valentine’s Day through GCCS service. Some of Father’s house and youth group kids created a drama about the proper way to spend money for Valentine's Day. They did a fantastic job! We had worship and then a message from Pastor Pheaktra, one of our leaders. After the message, The church handed out gifts to everyone. The women received roses, the men received chocolate, and the children received a heart lollipop. Afterwards people were chatting, laughing and taking pictures. It was a very loving time for all. 

March Update

There’s been a lot going on in the last few weeks, so we thought we’d give you a quick look at some of the highlights and news about what is going on at IHSI!

Team Outreach

This month we hosted our second team of 2015, this time from Boulder Street Church in Colorado! It was a blessing having old and new friends on the ground with us as they took part in church programs, children's and youth ministry, helped in Sak Saum, did prayer ministry, spruced up our sanctuary with some fresh paint, and got to know our staff and community! Team outreaches are a great introductions to missions work while learning about the IHSI model of ministry. If your church or group is interested in doing an outreach with IHSI, click here to learn more! 

Baptisms

This past week we celebrated an important milestone in the lives of 15 new believers, water baptism. We brought them out to a local pool, worshiped together, shared testimonies, and baptized each one as a public confirmation of their faith and new life in God. Since we had a visiting team already with us, we of course invited them along to help at this joyous occasion!

Please join us in praying for the new believers who were baptized, that they would feel encouraged and strengthened as they continue in their journey with God.

Sokchea

Our staff brought Sokchea (a young girl with cerebral palsy from our community) along with us to the water baptisms so that she could experience a swimming pool for the first time! Sokchea has always enjoyed showers and water play, and we were hoping that she would find the pool a stimulating and enjoyable experience. She loved it! Dealing with so many limitations and challenges that she faces, it’s a joy to find ways that bless her and help her have some fun.

Upper Room Project

Sak Saum

Last week we released our newest Sak Saum products for spring/summer 2015. This beautiful range of products from handbags and wallets to jewelry and apparel is sure to have something for everyone! Each purchase goes directly into Sak Saum program participants and community job creation, so help us spread the word by sharing this link with all your friends!

- IHSI

What Have We Been Up To?

Every so often we share some of our highlights and issues that are close to our heart through this blog. Stories and little tidbits of our days here are our way of trying to keep you informed and encouraged about what God is doing in Cambodia. But the reality is, there is so much going on that we simply can't fit into blog posts!

So here is a round-up of 2014: an overview of the many endeavours that our awesome team has sown time, effort, and much love into. From long projects with big goals to small steps forward in seemingly small, sometimes unglamorous areas of ministry, we are blessed to see God's faithfulness to our team, our local community, and Cambodia!

Click here to download our 2014 report. And if you'd like to join our mailing list so that you can receive this and other updates, please fill out the form below!

Starting Small

This month we are excited about the newest teacher from our Center: SreyOuen, one of our Father’s House kids! For many months now, staff member Aly has been visiting local children and teaching them Khmer literacy and basic English. Aly has been doing such a great job transitioning these children from completely unschooled to functionally literate! And sometimes she brings along some of our Father’s House children (including SreyOuen) to help.

Recently, SreyOuen noticed that there were several new children hanging around who seemed interested in learning but were not ready for the level of study that the children who had been attending for months were at.  She asked Aly if she could start her own little class teaching basic Khmer reading and writing to them. We were of course thrilled to say yes to this endeavor!

One of our biggest desires for Father’s House and Loaves and Fish children is that as they grow up and see how God has brought them out of brokenness into lives of blessing and abundance, that they would begin to sow back into the communities where they were once considered outcasts: that they would bring hope to those around them just as God has brought hope to them.

We are so thankful for faithful and encouraging staff like Aly, who are modeling service and helping our children find their callings. And we are excited to see the many ways that the kids in our programs are blossoming, maturing, and sharing what they have with others! Please join us in praying for SreyEun’s little literacy class, that as she teaches these young children, both she and they would be blessed!

- IHSI