Pizza in K 13 Village

 Normally I have blogged about spiritual things at this site, but I wanted to tell you about some fun things we did this month.  Sophan, Sopheap, and Ezra all love pizza, but there hasn't been any way to make pizza locally.  Recently Sopheap found this little toaster oven second hand and bought it.  So this month I took flour from Bangkok, as well as yeast and oregano and we made pizza!!  We didn't have any tomato sauce or cheese, but ketchup was substituted and we did without cheese.

pizza beginnings

Baking the tiny pizza in the toaster oven.

Kilometer 13 Village's first pizza....probably the first pizza ever made in the entire district of Sompovloun!!  The final product was quite the interest for everyone as it smelled delicious.  Sopheap gladly shared with  everyone that came around.  It was good!!

VBS 2011

 Here are some additional photos from the VBS:

Teaching English with a Bible curriculum.

Boys in Kilometer 13 village sitting on the camping stools they made!!

Scenes from prayer walking:

The muddy village

 Houses along the way.....families we prayed for.

Praying for Granny.

Additional photos from Ou Thmaa

Girls hand sewing bags.

Final program for the parents

August 2011 VBS Prayer Requests

                                           VBS 2010 video clip


The August VBS will be here soon, and we'd love to have lots of people involved.  Even if you aren't able to join us in person, would you pray for us?  We really need it!  The rains and the roads are major needs, but above all, we want the Lord Jesus glorified in all that we do.

Please remember that Thailand and Cambodia are 12 hours ahead of central time, and 14 hours ahead of pacific time.


- Pray that the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth will control the rain. The crops need the monsoon rains. So we ask for prayer for God’s timing with the rains…. that the farmers get what is needed for a great crop, but that the rains won’t interfere in our travel or for the VBS activities.


- Pray that all that is said and done through this week of VBS will bring honor and glory to the Lord.

 Here is a daily schedule you can be praying over:


August 9th: Team departs from Seattle


August 10th: arrive in Bangkok - please pray for a good night’s sleep …and for quick jet lag recovery


August 11th and 12th: orientation and preparation for VBS in Bangkok; sightseeing. Please pray that our team will get to know one another and be united as a team.


August 13th: leave for Cambodia. Please pray for safe travel…..and that the dirt road will be passable to Sompovloun.


August 14th: Worship with believers at the ministry center. Please pray for a sense of “oneness” as we worship – even though the team won’t understand what is sung or preached.


August 15th-18th: VBS at the ministry center


-please pray for the children that come….that they would be attentive and listen to the Bible lessons, that God’s Spirit will work in their hearts to draw them to Himself if they don’t know Him yet. And if they already have put their faith in the Lord, that they will grow in their faith and trust in Him. Pray that the kids will have fun with the activities.


- please pray for God’s protective Hand over all the ministry center. Pray that everyone who comes to the center will sense that this is a safe place….a place to learn and know about God. Pray that the enemy would not be able to disrupt anything that God has planned for this week of VBS.


- please pray for the team to have the energy and strength to work effectively in the heat, and culture and climate changes. Pray for good sleep each night. Pray that they will love the kids and be able to communicate the love of the Lord to them – even though they don’t speak the same language! Pray for good health for each team member. Pray for safety as we travel on motorcycles every day on slick muddy roads.


- Pray for Sophan and Sopheap as they teach the Bible lesson each day, lead daily memory verses, and lead the singing. Pray that God’s Spirit will speak and teach through them. These are tiring days for Sophan and Sopheap, too, so please pray that they will be encouraged by the team being there, and energized by God working in them and through them…strengthening them. Ezra, their son, is two years old now, so please pray for him as his mom and dad will be busy.


- pray for our national helpers – Pei, Dee, and Ravy. They are the ones that can speak directly to the students. Pray that their words and actions would be pleasing and honoring to the Lord, speaking clearly how to believe and trust Christ as Saviour.


- pray for the English teaching that the team will do in the afternoons. We will be teaching English using a Bible curriculum. Please pray that God – by His Spirit – will touch the hearts of these students. Pray for the teachers to have clarity and teach effectively.


August 18th: final day of VBS at the ministry center. We will hold a closing program and invite the parents to attend. Some of these parents have never been to the church before, so this is an important time for them. Pray that they will feel welcomed and loved, and sense the presence of the Lord. Pray that they will desire to know Him.


August 19th and 20th: VBS in Ou Thmaa. This is the first time to have a VBS here. We will be traveling on motorcycles and motorcycles with side-carts, for 45 mins each direction to get to Ou Thmaa. Please pray we’ll be able to get through on the dirt roads, and for safety in travel. Most of what we will do in Ou Thmaa is very dependent on it not raining. Please pray that God will hold back the rains so that we can get in and out of the area, and also be able to teach the lessons and do the skills development. Please pray all the same for Ou Thmaa as for the VBS at the ministry center. None of the parents are believers yet that we know of, so please pray that God’s Light will shine here in Ou Thmaa and that many will come to know Him as a result of His working through the VBS.


August 21st: travel back to Bangkok. Again, please pray the road will be passable -that we can get to Bangkok that day. In the evening the team will debrief together and pray together.


August 22nd: leave for the US early morning flight. Pray for safety in travel- and for rest. Please also pray for each member’s ability to process their time here. Give praise, thanks and glory to the Lord for all He did and accomplished.






“Father, thank you for the opportunity that you are giving this team to serve you in Cambodia. Prepare us- your team - for acts of love and good deeds. We pray that the team will be the aroma of Christ through all that is done each day. We pray that at every place of ministry where we serve, that Jesus would be seen in us, and the love of Jesus expressed through us. May your name be great in the streets and homes of Sompovloun and Ou Thmaa. Anoint our lips and prepare our hearts that we might be prepared to give the reason for the hope that we have with gentleness and respect. Use this week of serving together to further unify us, your people, and to further your Kingdom. May those we serve see how we love You and one another, and may their hearts be drawn to You. May Jesus be exalted and darkness pushed back in His mighty name.


Father, we pray that the seeds of the Gospel that are sown in Somvpovloun and Ou Thmaa, will be watered by Your Spirit and produce an eternal harvest! Bless each member of the team with the presence of Jesus. May many come to know You, oh Lord. Amen!!!”




Thank you so much for joining our team by committing this work and these people to the Lord in prayer.






Gayle

June 2011

Recently we had a young man from Phnom Penh come for two weeks to teach basic music to several of the youth at the church in Sompovloun.  He arrived in time for worship on Sunday, so he played his guitar for the service and Sophoan led the singing.  Here is a short video clip of the music:

Parent's Day in Sompovloun

Thal with her brothers and sisters washing their mom's feet.

I made a special trip to Sompovloun mid-April, with the idea of wanting to be a blessing to Sophan and his sister, as I knew they were keenly feeling the loss of their mom with the Parent's Day celebration.  The youth had invited their parents to come to the church for this celebration and a number did come.  Just as Sophan began to preach (from Eph 6:1-3) in walked an army man in full fatigues with a very serious unfriendly face.  He had his revolver in the holster, walkie-talkie, and various army paraphernalia on him.  He walked right up to the front and sat down.  I was thinking...Oh no.  What is this?  And just started praying... But Sophan was very cool about it...stopped his sermon that he had just started and told the man what we were doing and why, and welcomed him to join us.  Sophan then preached from Ephesians about children honoring their parents.  This was a wonderful message to share as Buddhists often say that Christians don't honor their parents.  At the end of the sermon, the older youth had a skit and the younger kids sang several songs.  As Sophan then started rearranging the front area I assumed we would have a snack and fellowship time.  But instead, he said we were going to have a foot washing time!!!  He talked about the loss of his own mom and how painful that has been for him...and shared how I was his mom in the Lord and asked me to come up to wash my feet!  I was stunned.  I had no idea this was going to happen.  Sophoan wept as she and Sophan washed my feet (oh how humbling that is to receive!!).  And then they presented me with a gift.  From there, Thal and her siblings washed their mom's feet - again with many tears and many words of endearment to her....and on it went as one by one the youth washed their parent's feet.  It was mostly moms that were there, but a few dads, too.  As it turned out, the army man was the dad of one of the youth...and the young man washed his mom's feet and gave her a gift...but the dad didn't participate.  There were many precious washings....and many tears.  It was such a God honoring time and I was just amazed at the service they had put together.  We have NEVER even talked about foot washing before so this came clear out of the blue for me.  After that came the snacks and fellowship time, and then as the parents went home, the kids all hung around and played Christian music and danced and danced and had such a good time....from little ones up to the 30 year old "youth".  It was just so wonderful to witness all this.....and as I told Sophan and Sophoan:  I had gone wanting to be a blessing to them, but instead they were a blessing to me!! 

Thu (the explosion boys' mom) and her children.

The youth having fun after the service.

April 2011 Updates

With the new road preparation, we lost the entire front of the ministry center land - almost right up to the porch of the center. That meant that the swingset the Highlands work team created several years ago had to be moved.

Phoan digging up the swingset

The land behind the ministry center is producing much better this year. Sophan has worked hard to improve the soil, and it has paid off in a better fruit crop this year.

Pomelo tree

sapodilla tree

king grass growing to feed the goats

We also were able to dig three wells in Ou Thmaa this past week. This community did not have any wells at all, so this has been a precious gift.

digging wells in Ou Thmaa

the first well capped

We still hope to be able to dig more wells in this community and have requested a local organization to help with this.

Thanks for all your prayers. It's exciting to watch God working and moving!!

Blessings,

Gayle