January prayer 2011

Dear Friends,


Can you believe it that it’s nearly the end of January 2011 already! Where had the time gone? We hope that you and your family had a blessed Christmas holiday together.

The month of December was packed with Christmas activities! The biggest event this past year was on the evening of December 24th that was held at the new church building where over 600 people attended! It was a wonderful celebration as church families from Poipet and Malay-- all joyfully came together for a joined Christmas celebration! The evening was filled excitements as various planned activities/ programs were performed beautifully, one after another, on a large outdoor- opened stage underneath the starry night! It was very meaningful to sing many Christmas songs at night! And to top it all, Rev. David Manfred, our Field Director, with his strong voice, spoke a very powerful message of the true meaning of Christmas that, as a result, at the altar call, more than 30 people came forward to Twia Kloun- giving their lives to Jesus! Although it was a challenge trying to keep track of these new believers, but those who are from the Poipet areas, about 20 of them are still coming to worship with us every Sunday!

Though the invitations were many, we’d only attended 11 Christmas activities (from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31) throughout the Northwest region, and of these, Soeuth spoke in 9 services! In some distant villages, an over- night stay was often required. Though not always but sometimes, both, Justin and Jonathan, considered this part of the trip as an adventure as they both like outdoor activities in addition to riding in the back of a pick-up truck, and would get to sleep under mosquito nets or in hammocks. It is also our family tradition that to every new place we visit, we often take along some young people (anywhere from 2-10 or more) with us, in hope that, they would have some opportunities for ministry observation, learning new experiences, and meeting new friends as the result. And of course, these easy-going and highly energetic young people are often a great source of encouragement and fun traveling companions for our sons.

Justin’s time at home (Dec. 17-Jan.16) was never long enough. But we did make the best of our time together. As soon as these “roller coaster” of Christmas activities had somewhat calmed down, we took a week vacation, left Poipet, traveling across Cambodia, sightseeing and visiting places where we used to live since 1995. It was a good time to reflect, as a family, of what God’s faithfulness to us, and of what He has been doing and will be doing in our lives. Even after long road trips, we all came back home to Poipet feeling recharged and refreshed! Amazing!

January brought us some bitter-sweet feelings as we, once again, said good-bye to Justin, sending him back to Dalat International School for his second semester of his 9th grade year. Justin is now settling into his dorm life and is happily reunited with his dorm family as we are back to our weekly routine in this small but busy town of Poipet. And Jonathan is also back into his home school routine (3rd. grade), and even though after all these times, he still says, “I don’t like school!”

This New Year brought us some exciting events in the church ministries. As new believers kept on coming to church every week, altogether there will be 6 new classes started this month! And though not yet official, there are 2 new groups that are already in, and 2 or 3 other groups are ready and waiting to officially join the C&MA/KEC family circle! This is a very exciting time for the church ministry. And yet, as always that when God is at work, the enemy is also busy stirring up troubles among God’s family. Please PRAY with us for our key church leaders for clear directions, wisdom, and discernment as they continue to work with the growing churches in Poipet.

And just this past Sunday January 23, the believers from Poipet and Malay areas came together for a joined service as the Poipet church had officially moved into the new building! Altogether more than 200 people attended the service, and of these were representative from 10 different villages/ house churches- all came for a full day of joyous celebration and fellowship with a potluck meal afterward. The big crowds drew many attentions to the local community children that more than 100 EXTRA kids also came!

Please also pray for:

-Feb. 7-10, CEC National Conference in Phnom Penh,

-March 8, Northwest region youth rally.

-April 6-9, Annual national youth conference;

-Struggled house churches that are in distant places such Boeng Beng, O Sampore, O Lahong, and Malay areas.

Please share with us your praises and prayer requests. We would love to hear what God is doing in your life! And always, we thank you for your partnership, faithful prayers, and support for our family and ministries in Poipet. Your generous and faithful gift to the GCF is huge blessing as it enables us to continue serving God in this part of the world.



Serving together,

Soeuth, Syna, Justin and Jonathan Lao