Developing fully-devoted followers of Christ in Cambodia

Today, Wed Oct 25, I depart for Cambodia to share with our Cambodian Ministry Partners in Battambang who serve with CASA in partnership with Encompass World Partners. I will serve with Kent Good, Becky Sheffer Good, and Jill Kane. Below is a photo of the CMP (Cambodian Ministry Partners) of CASA.

I will serve with Kent & Becky Good, Faline Jones, and Jill Kane (Grace too).  

 
On this short trip, I will also get to visit our Orphan Homes in Battambang as well. On a later trip, I will visit our Orphan Homes in Thailand too. 

Please pray for me as I go to develop fully devoted followers for Christ in Cambodia. I praise God that Grace Church sends me to develop leaders for Christ. #savedpeopleservepeople

How do you share an adventure where God shows up each day

I ask your forgiveness as I share this post several days after being in Cambodia.  The privilege of traveling to be with our sponsored children and our missionary partners is overwhelming.  

I praise God that I am on this journey with Melissa.  Together we are experiencing God's love for the peoples of the world in unique and deep ways.  

A quick recap of where we've been on this adventure:

• Departed Wooster OH at 4:15am on Monday morning for 30-hour plus journey to Siem Reap Cambodia. We flew through Atlanta; Seoul, South Korea; and to Siem Reap, Cambodia. 
• We landed in Siem Reap at 10:30pm on Tuesday night where we were greeted by Kevin and Jill Kane. Our driver Sambo coordinated transportation and a hotel. We were exhausted!
• Next day the team slept in (as best they could). Part of the team toured Angkor Wat and the other part of the team toured Siem Reap while also visiting an NGO ministry.  Siem Reap is notorious for human trafficking for the sex trade. We traveled from Siem Reap to Battambanng (a 3-hour van ride where your prayers help avert a collision with a cow--a story for later).
• When we arrived in Battambang at the hotel, the sponsored orphan children from Asia's Hope greeted us. We were overwhelmed with love. 

This is a quick post to get you to Battambang.  I will post later to share my visit with Kevin and JIll Kane and our first day with the sponsored kids. Indeed, tonight (Friday night) we will witness our sponsored orphan children helping with worship at a crusade in Battambang.  They also value outreach.  The believe as we do, "Life change is an invitation away!" 

Please pray for God's strength for our team. We are weary but buoyed by your prayers.  Ask God to give comfort to Jeana and myself upon learning tragic news of loved ones who passed away.Ask God to heal Traci who is taking Z-pac to avert a potential cold. 

For pictures, please follow me or anyone from our team on Facebook.

Saved People Serve People--Rescuing at risk children from human trafficking changes lives

Grace Church is committed to rescuing at-risk children from human trafficking in SE Asia with partner organizations like Asia's Hope, Grace Refuge Outreach Worldwide, and Team Hope International.  We also have sponsors for children in Africa with VisionTrust International. 

One of our values is Saved People Serve People.  Our sponsors faithfully support our sponsored children in residential homes in their home country.  The monthly support provides what the sponsored children need for life: food, clothing, school fees, and special events like birthday party celebrations or excursions like missions trips to their home villages or planned field trips. 

With Asia's Hope, we sponsor three orphan homes, one in Thailand and two in Cambodia.  Each home has house directors who care for the sponsored children. The house directors sacrifice to care for the children.  We praise God for their devotion and willingness to serve.  Saved People Serve People.

With VisionTrust, God has allowed us to sponsor 53 children in orphan care in the Central African Republic. Many children were orphaned from parents who died from AIDS.  Although civil war and disorder remain difficult challenges, God is helping VisionTrust locate displaced children and their families so that they can provide relief.  We praise God for faithful sponsors who give to provide help for orphans and their families. 

What is more amazing is how our Grace Place homes have adopted our values. They embody the same value, Saved People Serve People.  

Vannak Yun, house director at Grace Place Battambang, shared a picture where a young child receives help from Grace Place Battambang.  As Vannak testifies, 

"This is the poor family is informed to us by the chief of commune. She has one son, age 12 years old no chance to go to School because she is unable to provide him at all. So on behalf of Asia"s Hope we provided him School uniform two sets, bag, pens, and shoe. He"s so happy to receive that. For giving is better than receiving. God is good. (this Event is prepared at the commune office)"
--posted on Facebook on Wed June 3, 2015

Vannak facilitated a blessing on another Cambodian family who was under-resourced. The boy needed school uniform and supplies. Saved People Serve People!  May God allow us to continue developing fully devoted followers of Christ all around the world. 

To sponsor a child in one of our Orphan Residential Homes, contact Juana Hernandez (330) 264-9459 x246 or jhernandez@woostergrace.org. 

Fever hits Grace Place Battambang

Kids on the mend

Report from Vannak Yun, the house director for Grace Place Battambang regarding our kids and the outbreak of fever in the home.

Pastor Vannak gratefully thanks us for our prayers. Without our prayers, care for the children would be overwhelming.

He shared how 12 kids came down with illnesses. One child, VinSeang contracted both Typhoid and Dengue fever.  Four others, Chin, Srey Pan, Mariya, and Joy had Typhoid. Seven others were ill but now all are better. On the road to recovery, each is taking her medicine, eating porridge, and going back to school when ready.  

I praise God for Pastor Vannak. He attributes their healing to God and to the prayers of God's people for the children. All praise to God, maker of heaven and earth!  Your prayers matter.  My prayers matter! Keep praying everyday for our kids at Grace Place Battambang. Post your prayers for the kids in the comments below. 

I close this post with his own words from an email that he sent me:

"Thank God so much for that.God is healing them.  We just in Him and His name the mighty Lord. May the Lord Jesus bless all of you good health  -- Vannak"

Sunday, July 24

Sunday morning was a delight as we joined the Battambang homes for church services.  All the home participate in the service which is awesome. Savorn spoke since he drove up for the weekend. 

 

Afterwards Zac jumped up to the drums and the kids gathered around as he played.  Back to Grace Place we went for last minute massages and hugs from the kids. 

 

Final massage

We finally had to begin the process of saying goodbye. And believe me when I say process.  It only took 1/2 an hour this time to tear ourselves away from the crying children. This is the most difficult part of the trip for us because your heart just breaks and wants to stay and love on these kids some more. It would be easier to never come, some may say. A part of you is left behind, ripped out of your chest.  You are never again the same. But it is more than worth it. "At least we have more children to look forward to," says my kids. "It makes leaving a little bit easier."

 

We drove back to Phnom Penh, rode around in a tuk tuk with Pkeakdey, had pizza down by the river, started to pack for our trip tomorrow to Thailand. Tomorrow we see Faa and the GROW children and Tutu. And now, I say goodnight!

 

So hard to say goodbye

Gifts from Wooster Grace to Vannak & Home Directors

 

Saturday, July 23

Who is that on the menu from Apple Creek?

Well it is Sunday night here and a lot has happened this weekend.  We had such a wonderful time with the children at Grace Place: Battambang. They are all doing so well. I had to take a picture at the restaurant where we had breakfast because the Richardsons are on the front cover of the menu at a place coalled "Cold Night" 

After breakfast Saturday morning we headed out with Pkeakdey and her father again to visit three more possible children for the up and coming GROW Cambodia home. 

Two of the girls are 5 year old twins and the other is three. The girls looked like they were 3 years old because they don't get enough food to eat. Their father died in an accident and their mother has some mental illness that comes and goes.  The family eats when neighbors in their village give them some food like a tomato or something.  

GROW Cambodia orphan rescue candidates

We spent quite awhile talking with the mother and her friend whom she was staying with in Battambang while she brought her daughter to the hospital.  We gave the girls some beanie babies the Roselers gave us and the mother some money to buy some food for her daughters and self. She began to cry as I, Pheakdey and her father all handed her some cash. She was overwhelmed by the love we were sharing with her.

We then headed to Grace Place to pile all 40 kids, the staff and us into 2 vans.  Yep, that's a lot of people in a small space, but we did it! The kids had so much fun at the waterpark.  We pretty much had the entire place to ourselves.  For hours we went up stairs and down slides, played Keep a Way and splashed (see more photos below). 

After dropping the kids off, and changing, we met the staff of our home at a BBQ and buffet restaurant as way of thanking them for what they do for these children and to give them a night off..  At first we weren't sure we were going to eat at all because everything was raw (meat and fish).  Then we learned that we cook it at our table on these little grills in the middle of our tables. It was quite an experience. Vannak and another staff member kept bringing us new foods to try. You may not wish to know what all we ate, but it was pretty good, never mind we all felt a little queezy in the stomach and bowels later. Yikes. But better now!

We returned to play with the kids some more of course.  By this time my kids are wanting to stay here and never leave. It is that or hide 40 kids in our suitcases! We Skpyed with Pastor Ivanildo and the older kids who are doing very well in English, spoke with him.  I will say I do not think I will do that again because Nga began crying after speaking with him.  She held onto me for 15 minutes or so crying about how much she missed him and wanted him to come back.  This began a domino effect as about 5 other girls joined in holdiong on to me.  I was able to convince all but Nga to join the others dancing and having fun.  I passed Nga off to Tim and she help on to him most of the rest of the evening crying.

Sokha

Sokret

Asia's Hope Director to visit Wooster Grace

Asia's Hope Director to visit Wooster Grace

Savorn & Sony in OH

This Sunday, April 10 Wooster Grace welcomes Savorn Ou and Sony Ich.  We intend to get them introduced in all our services and to provide them opportunities to share in various venues throughout our church.

Please note the following times Savorn & Sony's will share at Wooster Grace:

• 8:30 Traditional service prayer
• 8:55 Fidelis ABF
• 9:45 Contemporary Service prayer
• 10:10 Church Library
• 11:00 Contemporary Service prayer
• 11:25 Internationals ABF
• 5-7pm South Fellowship Hall Potluck Reception: You are invited to a potluck reception and presentation. If your last name is A-M please bring a main dish AND side dish or salad. Those whose last names are N-Z, please bring a main dish AND dessert to share.

Short bio:

Savorn playing with snow

Born into a strong Buddhist family, Savorn grew up in the chaotic days of the Pol Pot regime. He learned to steal from his parents and manipulate them from the doctrine of Pol Pot. Yet in time his parents forgave him for his actions.

The Pol Pot regime ruined the country. The country was in shambles after the Pol Pot regime was overthrown. Savorn grew up in poverty along with many Cambodians. Cambodians of that era says Savorn, "People had no food to eat, no clothes to wear, no school to study, and no house to stay. To fill the empty stomach, I ate crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, rats, and tree leaf."

Savorn got a limited education before the Cambodian army forcibly inscripted him to fight the Khmer Rouge. Yet his life was empty and hopeless. So he took a great risk and went AWOL to get to a refugee camp at the Thailand/Cambodian border. There he learned three languages, studied the teachings of Buddha, and became a teacher of English in the camp.

As English teacher, one of his friends became his student. This student fled from the Army too. Yet this student became a Christian and started telling Savorn about Christ. After two years of hearing about God's love and defiantly and proudly repelling God's truth, Savorn felt foreboding hopelessness. He came to Christ and his life changed. He got baptized, attended a bible school, earned a masters in Theology along with a MBA in Business Administration. Then God prompted him to accept the position as Asia's Hope Cambodian Director.

He passion is clear, "I want to use all of my knowledge and my network of fellow believers to develop a good staff for the orphan homes." For more details on his testimony, read his full bio on Asia's Hope website.

Links about Asia's Hope:

What Asia's Hope does.
Where they work in Cambodia.
Pictures of our kids at Battambang 4 or Grace Place Battambang.

Praying for our kids and families in Thailand

A 6.8 earthquake hit Burma (Myanmar) this week shaking buildings in Northern Thailand. Our friend Faa was in the Northern town of Chiang Rai when the quake hit. Buildings in Chian Rai were damaged and one house fell down killing one women (Reuters).


Yesterday, Faa shared on FB a couple of posts to reassure us. "

Earthquake in chiang mai my sister and beam ran out from the home and i am on my trip i am ran "out too he he he" (Thu Mar 24)

Pastor Ivanildo informed me that Faa is returning to Chiang Mai. Faa wants to be with the kids and her sister, Ning.

In the Chiang Rai province lives Faa's family and our Wiang Pa Pao home--Grace Place Thailand. So please stop right now and pray:

• Ask God to give Faa's family safety 
• Ask the Lord to take care of Faa as she travels back to Chiang Mai
• Ask God the Holy Spirit to give comfort, courage, and trust in God for the children in our rescue orphan homes in GP Thailand in Wiang Pa Pao and the G.R.O.W. home in Chiang Mai.
• Praise God that they are all still safe and the homes are secure.

GP Thailand Home in Wiang Pa Pao

14 people who deserve a Grammy for doing social good

At 2:30 am tomorrow morning we intend to send 14 people from our church to minister in SE Asia.  All seek to serve in SE Asia together:

• to help, encourage, and serve with missionary partners like Kevin & Jill Kane in Battambang, CAMBODIA.
• to love, hug, and play with rescued orphan children in our Grace Place home in Battambang, CAMBODIA.
• to be with, lay hands on in prayer, and encourage our house parents (like Yun Vannak) and their families in each Grace Place home.
• to meet and to learn more about White Doves Ministries who rescues women from the sex trade industry in NW Cambodia. You can see a video of their ministry here.
• to expand awareness of the culture and history of Cambodia by visiting the (links here may contain pictures of graphic nature) Killing Fields, Toul Sleng prison, and to visit a state run orphanage.
• to stay with and to work on small projects for the G.R.O.W. home in Chiang Mai, THAILAND where Faa and the rescued at-risk children live. You can follow them on Facebook too.
• to love, hug, and play with rescued orphan children at Grace Place Thailand in Wieng Pa Pao.  
• to travel to a Hill Tribe village and to understand what challenges face the Hill Tribe peoples.

Their 30-hour journey begins early tomorrow morning. Please take a moment to pray for the team: Ask God for health, safety, Holy Spirit empowerment to love, serve, and maintain unity, and for open hearts to consider what each could do when they get back to walk more closely with God and to do something to help those that they meet.  You can follow them via their blog updates.

Top Ten Images from Global Outreach 2010

As I pause to reflect on all that God has done through Wooster Grace, I praise God for His work in peoples' lives.  So here are my top ten images of what Wooster Grace did with the generous and faithful giving in 2010.

I post these images in no particular order:

• Our missionary partners from Wooster Grace--Hoberts, Triplehorns, & Kane's;
• My visit to Grace Place Battambang; 
• Ministry with GoTeam to serve with Kane's & Good's and CMPs; 
• Swain visit and help with VBS; 
• Ngoumape visit for construction of James Gribbell Ministry Training Center in Bangui CAR; 
• Nanga from ICDI visit to move forward in holistic community development; 
• GROW gets a truck for Faa to transport kids more safely; 
• Short-term Adult trip to New Mexico by ABF (Significant Times); 
• Student Ministries short-term missions trip to San Francisco, CA; and 
• Team Hope Cleveland 2010 (txs Jeff for photo);

Please comment and share what you think I missed or send me a photo of what could or should have been included. I do miss things. Can't wait to hear from you.

Our heroes in SE Asia

As you pray for our team in Cambodia, please focus your prayers on their health--ask God to keep them healthy amid sickness.  Likewise, pray for their stamina--ask the Lord to give them wisdom for how much to push themselves and how often to rest.  In addition, pray for their focus--ask God to provide encouragement to our missionary partners, orphan home staff, and our children. 

When you read the blog, please leave a comment.  They do read your words.  You can encourage them. So please check out the team blog and leave a comment to refresh their hearts. 

As Christmas comes to us

Here is another video of our kids singing, "O Holy Night" in Khmer.  The orphan children are our adopted kids at Grace Place Battambang.  As Christmas comes to us, let us always remember that Jesus was born, Savior of the world, the babe who came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

Christmas in Cambodia

As we celebrate Christmas Eve, Christmas has already come to Cambodia.  Check out this cute videos from our kids in Battambang, CAMBODIA. Please wait to the end to hear a Christmas greeting.