Dear Friends,

It seemed like a lot has happening since our last newsletter to you in August.  First of all, for the past 4-5 weeks, we have been going around from village to village to the sites where the remaining 9 house churches are located and we’d visited some of key leaders from each location.  What we’d learned from these visits is that there have been a pattern of rumors and lies have been spread by a former church leader who used to be part of the KEC (Khmer Evangelical Church—under the umbrella of the C&MA) who now has established his own organization.  We are not sure of his true motives, but it seemed like he has been going around, privately, to every location site and had stirred quite confusion among the believers there.  As the result, our focus has been to strengthening the weaker sites like Mak Hoeun, Malay, Beong Beng, and Osompore Villages, while the other leaders can focus on the remaining sites.  And to give the leaders a short break, Soeuth has been taking the role of preaching on “Spiritual Growth” at the Living Water Church (the mother church) for the next few months.  This has been strongly requested by the leaders as they all expressed, “We have not been well fed, spiritually, for a whole year”.   Please pray for strength and growth among the church families.  Pray against the spirits of opposition and lies.  Pray for wisdom and discernment as we go about overseeing the house churches in Poipet.

In late July and another in August, we were able to visit Mrs. Moum who is still locked up in prison for a crime she did not commit.  She looked well and seemed contented there.  A local C&MA church from that area has an outreach ministry, twice a week, to teach literacy to the children whose parents are in prison.  (In Cambodia, when one or two parents are in prison for a crime committed, their infant or small also come along for the ride, especially if they don’t have any other close relatives to look after them at home.  And these children pretty much grow up in these tight, filthy, congested prison cells, with their mothers, along with other inmates, who share the same room!  These kids would stay in this condition however long their parent’s sentences would be.  Many of them often get sick from living in such poor conditions and they are not well fed and had no chance schooling opportunity at all!)  In this prison where Mrs. Moum stays, however, there is a new prison warden, a very kind and well respected man, who has showed such kindness and compassion toward these kids.  When the leaders from a local church presented the ministry opportunity to him, he was altogether in favor and is very supportive of the group!  And when the leaders needed extra helping hands in the ministry, Mrs. Moum, who naturally loves children, became one of the volunteers!  Mrs. Moum continues to share the Good News to her cell mates, and has found a reason why God placed her there in the first place.  Her sentence status remains unchanged.  She will have at least 18 months to go before her release time is due, provides that the authorities there keep their words...

Meanwhile back in Mrs. Moum’s home in Malay, things are not going well.  Every Thursday we went there for Bible studies, we learned that the family is struggling greatly just to survive!  Savori, the oldest daughter, has been trying hard to keep the family together and feeding 9 mouths without any outside resources or income.  She had sold most of their family valuable goods and properties so she could have money to pay for food and other basic needs.  And the children (Moum’s kids and grandkids) have been stopping going to school because they did not have the extra money to pay for private lessons—(that’s another story of its own!  And not enough time to explain now).  So far, we have been supplying the family with bags of rice and food items every so often.  Please PRAY for wisdom and discernment on our part as to how best to help this family.

Perhaps it is due the facts that we have just recently come from United States, where we had a chance to rest and relax a bit (in spite of busy tours) and the fact that we are still getting used to the life style and routines in Poipet, whatever the reason may be, it seemed like as soon as we had landed in Poipet, there have been too many dramatic incidents and too emergencies happening here, one after another.  So far there have been a few deaths and funerals within the church families, and A LOT of sick people!  Many children have been severely sick with dengue fever (caused by mosquito bites) and typhoid outbreak and others!  The real frustration is that, with all these sickness going around, we don’t have a reliable trust worthy medical doctor nearby to call for help!  The local “doctors” seemed to diagnosis any sickness by guessing, and it that the IV fluid is the Number One choice of treatment for any kind of sickness! 

Soeuth is still learning about the National Youth Ministry.  Last week in Phnom Penh, Seouth met with the youth committees and they had a good and positive meeting.  Pray for youth leaders/ committees for clear visions and directions for the future of the entire youth ministry.  Next year will be their 20^th anniversary for the KEC youth ministry, and the committee planned to hold a Nation Youth Conference in August of 2013.  Pray for the financial need; we still short about $5,000 toward the conference budget.

Soeuth has been also working with the men ministry among the Poipet churches.  The men met once a month, and each man has been challenged to keep one another accountable in their daily walk with God.  Please pray that God would raise up these men of God to be good husbands and fathers to their families and to be godly leaders in their communities.

We praise God that the money raised for a vehicle has been completed.  We had placed an order, paid deposite, and now are waiting, hopefully by February or March we should get the vehicle.  THANK YOU so much for your financial support!

On a family side, Justin made it okay to Dalat School, since August 12, where he is now adjusting to the life and routines of being a dorm student.   He is so excited to be at Dalat School and being with all his friends again.  He’d tried out and has been accepted into the school soccer team where he plays as the goal keeper for the school team.  We miss having Justin at home with us (the house is quieter without him), but the frequent phone calls and the weekly updates from the dorm parents seemed to ease the longing a little…

I (Syna) was still at Dalat School helping Justin getting stared with his first day at school I when I received the shocking news about my brother’s health—his cancer has returned, and is growing and spreading rapidly!  Nothing like this has every happened our family before.  This news shook me to the core! Praise God for an “angel” by name of Ester, who was there that week for other reasons, but I felt strongly that God had purposely placed there just for me! In my darkest moment, she was there to lend me listening ears and shoulders so I could cry as I poured out my heart to her; we were complete strangers at first, but circumstances had changed that to friends…  So this Tuesday, Sept. 11, I will be traveling to the States to see my brother for two weeks.  Please pray that God would use me, in whatever way as He will direct, to help my brother and his family during this darkest time of their lives…  Soeuth and Jonathan will be in Poipet during this time.

 Please share with us about what God is doing in your life.  We are grateful for your prayers and support.  Thank you for partnering with Poipet ministries.  You faithful financial support to the GCF is what keep us serving to expand the Kingdom of God in this dark part of the world.  Thank you for living the call together.

In Him,

Soeuth and Syna Lao

Poipet, Cambodia