Meet Gabby

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In May we welcomed two young women to our team here in Cambodia: Gabby (volunteering her help for almost two months) and Rhiannon (here for a one-year internship).  Since they arrived, we’ve been keeping them busy helping with English classes, Sak Saum leadership training, children’s programs, and more!

Teaching at staff devos​

Next week, Gabby will be returning home to Colorado. She will be missed by many; in the short time that she has been here Gabby has built relationships with staff, Sak Saum women, and many of the children in our care, helping them to know they are valuable by loving them, teaching them, and simply spending time together.

In Sak Saum, Gabby’s learned how to do some of the ministry’s more practical tasks, as well as spending time teaching and hanging out with women in the program. At Father’s House, all the children’s English has been improving by leaps and bounds thanks in part to their frequent lessons with these two young women. Those in our daily English classes and Saturday children’s program are enjoying seeing some new faces as well.

Staff members Aly and SreyMom have been having a blast getting to know her and Rhiannon more, through teaching English together, translating their lessons to Sak Saum women, and hanging out during their free time.

​We are blessed to have had Gabby for the time that she has spent with us, and wish her all the best as she returns to Colorado and prepares for her upcoming wedding!

-In His Steps

Clipping nails at a children's program about hygiene

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Teaching English to Sak Saum women

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Meet Gabby: a volunteer who has spent nearly two months with us this summer (shown here with one of our Father's House children).

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Spreading the Word

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“As the rain and the snow
 come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth
 and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire
 and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. ”
— Isaiah 55:10-11 - The Holy Bible
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It is rainy season in Cambodia: roads are getting muddy, fields are turning green. Farmers rely on this time of year for enough water to flood their rice paddies as part of their yearly planting cycle. From now until September, we could see anywhere from 5-8 feet of rain each month!

In this time of seasonal flooding, it is perhaps appropriate that we have received what can only be described as a flood of Khmer-language Bibles: 1,000 to be exact! Through communication with Messengers International, we were able to receive this huge donation from the Cambodian Bible Society for distribution to our church and others in our area. 

This gift is a wonderful opportunity to get the Word of God into the hands of many who have had little access to it before. Last Friday at our Pastor’s Fellowship meeting, our leadership team gave out over 400 Bibles to many different churches, who in turn are free to distribute them to anyone in their area who needs one. On Sunday, we had a chance to give even more Bibles, as members of our church young and old came forward to receive their very own copy! 

It’s a joy to be able to provide this precious resource to so many, and we believe God’s promise from Isaiah 55:11: his Word will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it.

​Please pray with us for each person receiving a new Bible, that the Holy Spirit would help them understand, receive, and apply what God wants to speak to them. Who knows how many hearts will be touched and lives will be changed by having the Word of God in their hands for the very first time? 

-IHSI

Honoring Parents

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An emotional moment between father and daughter this past Sunday.

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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

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Building Pastors

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Today we want to tell you about a man whom we recently had the privilege to bless in a small way. His story is one of faithfulness in the face of tragedy, hardship, and isolation.

In the group of church leaders that join us for our monthly fellowship meetings, there is a certain pastor who attends somewhat sporadically. He stood out to us because the first time he attended the fellowship, he arrived more than four hours early! Pastor Pheaktra chatted with him for a while and discovered that he had ridden a bicycle for more than two hours to our Center, simply to receive teaching and spend time in fellowship with other local church leaders.

This man has had more than his share of difficulties: a handicapped leg, the loss of two young children, and a life of relative poverty could have left him embittered and withdrawn. Yet he chooses to walk in the calling that God has placed on his life, despite the hardship that he faces daily. He finds joy in service to God through ministering to the people in the small rural village where he lives as assistant pastor.

His salary is small and he and his family have sacrificed much to continue in ministry, so when our leadership team discussed his situation we knew we wanted to help. We decided to target one of his biggest needs: transportation.

Below is a photo of the pastor enjoying his new moto, brought to him as a surprise by Eric and Pheaktra. We are also committing to provide him with some gas money each month, to make sure that this gift remains a blessing not a burden.

God has seen this pastor’s labors, his long bicycle rides around the countryside, and his uncomplaining spirit. We’re so happy to have been able to help him in a small way. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive.

~In His Steps

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