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!

Maternity Makeover

As a ministry, we teach that every baby born is a precious gift from God. Yet many women in rural areas experience childbirth in terrible conditions that seem to contradict this wonderful truth. Their only choice often lies between having a home birth without medical care or going to a maternity center such as pictured below.

​Obviously, this birthing center was in dire need of a makeover. We started talking with the staff there and learned that the roof and ceiling needed repairs. Dealing with the entire building was beyond their means, but we wanted them to have ownership of the change as well. So we made a deal with them: if they were willing to take initiative to work on their roof, we would come and do the rest. The birthing center director was so happy about this that the roof work was finished in short order!

We began having sheet rock ceilings installed in several rooms and replacing drop-ceiling tiles in others. Then our staff and a visiting team from Colorado worked hard sanding, painting, cleaning, decorating, and collecting trash for two days. The end result? What was once drab and grimy is now a bright and welcoming place. New educational posters, nature photos taken by Eric, fresh paint, and new ceilings have completely transformed the building. 

The clinic staff are blessed by how new and bright the atmosphere of their workplace has become since it’s makeover. We hope that every woman who enters will feel the same, and that their experience giving birth would be a joyful one. Life is a gift worth celebrating!

Gifts for Father's House

Have you ever met a child that didn’t like getting a present? We certainly haven’t! Amid the day-to-day work of caring for the many individuals in our programs, we’re thankful for the generosity of believers worldwide who lend a hand by sending gifts, donating to our community-building projects, or even coming to visit in person through outreach teams. (Learn more ways to get involved by clicking here.)

A creative donor from the U.S. recently sent handmade blankets for Father’s House children, and each one was special and unique, just like our children. It was fun to watch their expressions as the children caught sight of the lively patterns and bold colors of their new blankets. We hope that their smiles will help brighten your day!

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Meet Chanteoun

Before surgery​

This week we’d like to introduce you to Chanteoun, a young woman who is the sister of Aly, one of our Khmer staff members. Chanteoun (pronounced “chan-too-en”) has been attending our church for some time and is employed by Sak Saum at one of our Freedom Facilities.

Though you probably wouldn’t know it looking at her now, until recently Chanteoun suffered from cleft palate, a birth defect that can lead to other numerous health issues. In Cambodia, it is believed that birth defects and handicaps are sign of a curse, or are the punishment for sin in a past life. For individuals like Chanteoun, this belief can be a factor placing them at high risk for abuse and trafficking.

After building relationship with Chanteoun through Sak Saum, we approached her with a question: would she be willing to undergo cleft palate corrective surgery? Her response was a shy but thankful “yes!” Soon our national director Theavy accompanied her to a preliminary doctor’s appointment.

On the day of her surgery, Chanteoun arrived at our office with a look of both nervousness and expectation. A night in the hospital and a short recovery period soon revealed the restoration of what had already been a beautiful smile. But over time, something else that was not there before has emerged: a lightness in Chanteoun’s step and a newfound confidence.

Please join us in praying for Chanteoun, that she would grow in her walk with God and in the confidence that comes not from self but from Him.

A Helping Hand

Today we want to share a little about a church member named Khom (pictured at right). Khom is has been attending Gospel Community Church Saang for many months, and has been a Christian for several years. She travels quite a distance to attend, yet is wearing a cheerful smile each Sunday when she arrives.

Recently, Khom told us that thanks to her micro-enterprise business sewing fabric flowers for Sak Saum, she had been able to save enough money to purchase all the materials to rebuild her small house. She was living in dilapidated conditions with her two sons, and wanted to know if we would consider helping her by paying for the labor costs to construct the new building.

In His Steps believes there is a big difference between a handout and a helping hand. We love to sow into people when we see true desire to grow and change. It was clear to us that Khom was not looking for a handout: she had worked hard to save money for materials and simply was asking for our help to complete her goal. So it was easy for us to say yes to her request, and give her the small sum of money that was needed.

Over the weekend, her little house was completed, and we wanted to see it firsthand. So this morning, Eric and some of our leadership team drove out to the rural village where Khom lives. Her new home is now a place where she and her sons can feel safe, with new tin walls and a lockable door (many provincial homes merely have a curtain!).

Our team spent some time fellowshipping with Khom, listening to her share more of her testimony. She faces persecution from her neighbors, and has often felt the sting of their unkind words and attitudes towards her as a result of her decision to follow Christ. Pastor Pheaktra and the others encouraged her to keep persevering and to respond in love to those that revile her.

Pray for Khom, that she would feel confident that God knows her needs and will never leave her or forsake her. The testimony of her trust and His provision will speak louder                                                     to her hostile neighbors than any argument ever could.

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Khom's rebuilt house before the front door was installed.

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