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

Dear Friends and Family,

It is that time of the year again; the last days of our home assignment year in the United States of America, a time to reflect what God had done throughout this past year, and a time to look back and recount all the blessings He has been giving us.  But it is also a sad time for us, as we’d say “Jume- Reap- Leah” (good bye) to all our friends and family as we are getting ready to head back to Poipet, Cambodia, in just a few more days (July 3).  If things are going well with traveling arrangements,  including 2 nights-staying in Bangkok, Thailand, and if the Lord is willing, we will arrive in Poipet (July 6).  Soon, we would be greeting and saying “ Jume- Reap- Sure”(hello) to all our friends and family there!  We all are excited about going back to Poipet and are very anxious to learn what God has in store for us for the coming years!

As we take the time to reflect on what God has done, we counted the many blessings that God has given us throughout the year!  We were blessed with a good reliable vehicle to drive to places without any worry or concern that the car might break down in the middle of the highway!  We are grateful for His un-ending generosity to let us live in such a beautiful furnished apartment, with a safe neighborhood and wonderful caring neighbors, including good friends and playmates for our sons!  And throughout the year, we’ve been traveling, as a family, to visit churches from within the Metropolitan District and to some other C&MA churches in out of New York areas, God gave us many meaningful opportunities to connect with old friends and making new friends along the way.  He gave us numerous opportunities to do fun things as the family that, if on our own, we could never afford for such opportunities, nor could we ever think of or imagine!  But our heavenly Father, in His caring and loving ways, has lavished His great love and abundant blessings upon us beyond measure!

We give praises to the Lord Jesus for protecting our sons, Justin and Jonathan, giving them a good school year, and allowing them to have such positive experiences in the Nyack public school!  We are grateful for opportunities for celebrations!  Justin made it through 10^th grade without any problem!  Jonathan, not only he’d survived his first time ever in a public school, he was having fun in school! Jonathan turned “double digits” on April 9^th as we’d celebrated his 10^th birthday!  And as for Soeuth and I, we celebrated our 20^th anniversary on May 30^th!

We have also witnessed the ways He protected and watched over us during those many long road trips. And we have seen the hands of God working miracles in the lives of our love ones, including how He healed my ear and restored to me my sense of hearing!

And now, we are all excited and ready to head back to Poipet!  Justin is looking forward to reconnect with his Khmer (Cambodian) buddies in Poipet, and is excited about returning to Dalat International School, on August 8, where he plans to finish his remaining high school years there at 11^th and 12^th grade.  He recently got a new pair of bright orange cleats and is looking forward to join the Dalat school soccer team again!  Though Jonathan is a bit sad saying good byes to his buddies in America, and he has mixed feelings about returning to homeschool this fall at 5^th grade, but he is anxious to be in Cambodia again!  He is looking forward to swim in the ponds in Poipet (now that he could swim well—thanks the many swimming lessons at the YMCA!).  And he anxious for a chance, once again, to have pets of his own!  As for Soeuth and me, we are also looking forward to work and partner with our Khmer brothers and sisters in Christ in the Poipet areas and with the church leaders from the Northwest region!

As we are heading back to Poipet next week, we anticipate for some new and exciting adventures that God has in store for us for the coming years.  At the same, however, we are more than aware and anticipate that there will be some old PLUS new challenges awaited for us as well.  BUT we are claiming and relying upon and demanding for the Presence of God to go before us and with us (Exodus 33:15)!

Here are some specific needs that you can pray for and with us.

1/ Pray for good health, protection and safe traveling this coming week and during the months of July as August; we’ll be traveling A LOT in and out of country!

2/ Pray for smooth transitions in Poipet—moving into our old house, and in Dalat School (Justin); pray also for safety and protection as we’ll be moving heavy boxes and barrels (storage stuff) back into the house, hopefully, by July 20, after we return from Field Forum;

3/ Pray for our team annual Field Forum at Sihanoukville Province (July 10-17);

4/ Pray for wisdom and discernment and for guidance and clear directions in areas of ministries.  This coming year, we are very shorthanded with the number of staffs.  This summer, for home assignments and other personal reasons, a total of 14 adult International Workers are leaving the Cambodian mission field, and only 5 are returning!   In addition to overseeing the 10 house churches in the Poipet areas,  this year, Soeuth has been asked and assigned to be the  Point Person for the Northwest region, covering  5 provinces with about 80 KEC churches—and with just two missionaries—that’s us!  Soeuth also has another new assignment to be a Youth facilitator for the entire country for the next two years!

Please keep us posted with what’s God is doing in your life.  We want to be encouragers and prayer supporters to you as well.  And we hope to see some of you coming to visit us in Poipet sometimes in the near future.  For contact information, please email at jjablaos@gmail.com or mail at C/o Alliance Guest Home, 28/2 Pradipat Road Soi 13, Bangkok, 10400 Thailand.

Thank you for your prayers and support in the Poipet ministries.  Your generous and faithful giving toward the GCF is what keeps us and other International Workers serving in Poipet and around the world.  Lost people still matter to God, and He wants them all found!  Thank you for partnering with us in bringing the Light of Jesus to lost people Here, There, and Everywhere.

Serving together,

Soeuth and Syna 

Lao's newsletter- 4/12

Dear Friends,

In case you've been wondering, "Whatever happened to the Lao family?"  We are still here, alive, and kicking...  It seems like a very long, long, time ago since the last time we last communicated with you.  Thank you for your patience...
For the past couple weeks, both Soeuth and I have been fighting a bad case of seasonal allergies and colds, which later on led to sinus infection (Soeuth) and ear infection (Syna).  Though both of us are being treated with strong antibiotics, we still have some concern about my ruptured ear drum.  Please pray that I will regain hearing from my left ear! We are trusting God for His healing touch. 
Life continues to be busy for us, traveling as a family on weekends, speaking at various C&MA churches, mostly from among the Metropolitan District areas.  We are very grateful to God for the many positive responses and the out pouring of prayers and supports from church families.
Earlier in March, thanks to the loving support of Grace Faith Church of Chinatown, NYC, Soeuth and I were to be able to attend a weekend retreat for Marriage Encounter (ALMA)- a ministry led by committed and devoted godly people of from Long Island Alliance Church, New York.  The retreat itself was blessing to our marriage!
We are very grateful to many of you who have been praying for my brother, Synath Tol.  He was battling with abdominal cancer (sarcoma).  On Dec. 21, 2011, Synath underwent a major surgery where a team of 4 doctors operated on him.  The doctors were able to successfully removed a large lump of tumor from his abdominal areas! The timing of his surgery was divinely perfect!  When they'd first discovered about this tumor in October, it'd measured only about the side of a golf ball.  But it grew so fast that by the time they removed it on December 21, it was the size of a large grapefruit!  And even though the inside part of the tumor was already necrotic and oozing, at the time of the surgery, however, every cancerous tissue was still in an enclosed sag!  The doctors said that if the surgery was delayed for just another week or so, the tumor would have been breaking and spreading out!  PRAISE GOD!!!!  Synath did have numerous blood tests there afterward and more scans were done.  And he was able to see the oncologist doctor on Feb. 7 where he received such excellent reports from his doctors!  From all those post surgery tests they did on him, they could not find any trace of cancerous cells left in his body!!!  AMAZING!!!  Synath is now stronger and healthy and is back to work functioning his life as best as he could!  If you are looking at Synath today, if not for the doctor written reports (before, during, and after the surgery), if not for the colostomy (for collecting urine) now attached to his body, and if not for the huge scars remained on his abdomen, you would not have known that Synath had the surgery or that he had a cancer!  Thank you, friends!  Your prayers have been answered!
Early in January, I was blessed to be able to visit with Synath, for a week, and being able to visit other family members who live in Washington State as well.  I am grateful to God for allowing me this wonderful opportunity.  I felt that it was a good closure for now, being that our family is heading back to Cambodia soon, and unless God have other plans, we won't get to see my side of the family (from the west coast), for the next 3-4 years.

We have exactly 3 more months to go before we head back to Poipet in July!   Although we are excited about the trip back to Poipet, we also have some reserved feelings as well.  We are anxious to see our friends there again, to be able to move into the same house as we'd lived there before (another answered prayed), to resume ministries and fellowship the church people there.  Justin is looking forward to return to Dalat School in August, to see his friends, and to join the school soccer team again!  And for both of our boys, going back to Poipet is like going home, since they have been living and growing up there most of their lives.....  But we are not as anxious to be there alone for one year (all our team mates from the northwest region-- 2 units from Poipet-- {home assignment} and 2 other units from Siem Reap Province-- {are leaving the field for good}, not looking forward to being separated from Justin again, and not as excited about being home school again... 
But we also feel strongly that, THIS IS the DIRECTION that God is leading us!  He has been proving Himself faithful to us, again and again, that He would never leaver us or forsake us!  And we also KNOW that we will not be going there alone either,  because YOU ARE going there with us!!! YES, through prayers and support!!!  We are excited and looking forward to see SOME of YOU who would be going to visit us in Poipet, sometimes in the future!!!
Some other prayer requests:
--April 4-7, National youth conference in Phnom Penh.  20 youth from Poipet will join this conference.  Pray for a good outcome and that the youth will learn much from this conference. Pray for wisdom for speakers and seminar leaders on how to communicate God ''s word to the youth. Pray for safe traveling and protection for all.
--April 13-16, Khmer/ Cambodian New Year.  Pray for safety and protection as people going about celebration the holidays.  Pray for Cambodian new believers.  This is one of the most testing times of their faith!  Many may feel obligated to go back into their old religion in order to honor their ancestors.
-- Pray for Chenda, a young lady in Poipet, who is, once again, being forced (by her own parents) into marrying with an unbeliever, a man whom she does not know or love!
-- Continue to remember Mrs. Srey Moum in prayer as she is still being locked up in prison, against her will, without any proof of charge against her!  Despite of her condition, Mrs. Moum is shining her LIGHT for Jesus to her cell mates through the World and through her own testimony.  And she is leading others to Christ as the result!  She is blooming where God has planted her!  Her daughters' faith, however, is being being tested since the time Moum was arrested.  One of the daughters is said to walk away from her faith already!
-- Pray for the many transitions that the missionaries are being faced during these next couple months-- some are leaving and some are returning to the field.  Pray that we all would finish well and finish strong!
-- Pray that the vehicle fund would come on time for us to purchase a reliable vehicle to be used for this coming missionary term.  We have an approved special for this--"Lao's Vehicle" http://www.cmalliance.org/give/approved-specials.
Once again, we thank you for your commitment in partnering with us in the Poipet ministries, through your continual prayers and financial support to the Great Commission Fund (GCF).  We know that GOD is the Ones who places/ sends us to where He wants us to be!  But your continual donation to the GCF plays a very important role in keeping us serving to the unreached areas such as Poipet.  The GCF fund supports our daily living conditions (monthly allowance, housing, traveling, medical, and other administrative cost).
If God is calling you to support in the various ministries in Poipet, please send your donation to the Christian & Missionary Alliance, PO Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3500
Please be specific as to which area of ministry you wish to support. http://www.cmalliance.org/give/approved-specials.
Have a blessed Easter Holiday!  CHRIST IS RISEN!
Because HE lives,

Syna Lao (and  for Soeuth, Justin and Jonathan)