Christmas 2008

December 21st we celebrated Christmas with 300 Khmae from Sompovloun. It was a great celebration with 200 children, 50 adults, and 50 youth. We had a worship service that included some skits from the children and youth, then gathered for a delicious meal of bread dipped in curry. At the end we gave out small gift packs to the children. It was a wonderful time of seeing those in the church doing all the preparation, and everyone helping deal with the clean-up afterwards. Here are some photos of the day:



decorating the children's study area beside the center:







preparing for the skits:





Worship service:







Eating curry under the trees:






Thank you all for your support and prayers through this last year. God is working and moving in this community and people are coming to know the Saviour. Some highlights for prayer for this next year are the finalization of the purchase of the ministry center, and Lord willing our first baptism in April.

Thanks for being a part of the team!!

Gayle

September 2008 VBS

Here are photos from our 2008 VBS in Sompovloun, Cambodia. Hope you enjoy them. Thanks so much for praying!!



Our VBS Team:















First morning gathering:











Bible lessons:


















Girls hand sewing:

























pillow project:













Boys carpentry:




















sawing and playing in the rain:




















Finished stools:












Little boys playing with wood scraps:













Afternoon house repairs:














One finished roof:











and another finished roof:










Teaching english late afternoons:





















Closing ceremony:





















a few random photos:

July 1st update

It's been awhile since I've update this blog. We've had a lot going on and I would like to share some of that with you.

We have seen God working and moving in many lives in K13 Village. One of our sewing ladies came to faith in the Lord Jesus and her children are hungry to know the Lord as well. We praise God for this! We've also seen God miraculously heal a little boy in the village. He was in a Thai hospital and the doctors had lost hope that he would live. Just after we prayed in the village for this boy, we received a phone call that this 2-year-old suddenly woke up and his body was working again! This was a tremendous testimony to the village - and we again praise God. The boy was home in two days and was totally well. I look around and see gardens started in the village and I can see many improvements in the lives of the villagers from one year ago - both physically and spiritually. Very poor people are getting health attention they've never been able to receive and are able to work for the first time in years.

At the same time we also see opposition from the enemy in regard to our present location. The owner of the property has been very difficult to work with, and he has only given us a few months contract at a time as he wants to sell the property. We hardly know from one month to the next whether or not we'll be able to continue on at the present location. This has made it challenging to improve and develop our own center. There are virtually no other suitable locations in K13 Village, so after much prayer and discussion, we have made the decision to formalize ourselves into a local NGO and have started fund-raising to purchase the center. We would very much appreciate your prayers with us as we undertake this huge step. We need to raise $45,000 to purchase the house and 2.5 acres of land.

The largest enemy we see in the village is the addiction to both alcohol and gambling. You would think that people that are very poor wouldn't have the money to drink and gamble, but the truth is, because of their addictions, they gamble instead of feed and care for their families. If they do make a bit of money, they use it in wrong ways - compounding this spiraling problem. So we are asking for prayer that these chains of bondage will be broken and that they will experience freedom from these addictions.

Here are some photos from the past couple of months:

Pastor Jim visiting the center

afternoon literacy classes:

Praying at a villager's house:

This past month God has provided for us to put in 7 more wells into Kilometer 13 Village. The wells have all been dug, and now the villagers are working to put in the cement around the pump and getting them running. Here are some photos from a few of the wells. They were obviously very appreciated. One particular well that I walked by frequently had many people using it constantly - some bathing and some washing clothes; all at the same time!














Our first "kid" was born on my last trip in. Our goat herd is growing already!

He was so cute!!

Goats at the Ministry Center

This month we purchased 12 goats for the ministry center. Our plan is to raise goats to sell to help financially support the ministry center. In addition to selling the goats, we hope to start milking them to provide fresh milk in the community. Once that is established we want to help others be able to raise goats, too. We've hired a "goat boy" that takes the goats to pasture three times a day. It's been quite a challenge to train the goats, but Samnang has recruited some of his friends to help him.


Out to the pasture:




Back home:






The children love the goats:







I appreciate your prayers for the success of the goat business.

In His Joy,
Gayle

Short-term Work Team

January 25th, 2008, four men from Highlands Community Church in Renton, Washington, joined us at the Cambodian border to spend ten days working at the ministry center in Sompovloun. Here are some photos from the work they did. I praise God for all that He did that week - for providing, encouraging, and keeping us through lots of challenges.



Planning the swingset over lunch - using chopsticks to illustrate:












Construction of the swingset has begun:





Making the slide:





The finished product:







Enjoying the play equipment:










Breaking up the cement floor of the Sunday School room:






Pouring cement to even the floor and make it larger:









Building the goat house:





Making the bamboo flooring:




The finished goat house and making bamboo fence:













We continue to pray that God will use the facility to further His Kingdom - to bring many to know the Saviour, and to improve the physical lives of this community as well.


Thanks for all your prayers,
Gayle