Last summer I was in Siem Reap, Cambodia with a missions team from Okinawa, Japan. My first morning in Siem Reap, I debated whether or not to go back to the cafe that I had been going to for breakfast each time I was there for the previous year and a half. I stopped just short of the cafe and considered another cafe I had found that had great food and Air Conditioning. After reflecting for a minute I decided that I should continue going to the first restaurant as I had begun to develop a small relationship with two of the waitresses that worked the area where I sat.
During that trip I was able to pray for one of the ladies, Sokneat, and then share with another, Sokhat, about the Lord and also introduce her to another believer who had set up her own businesses just like Sokhat wanted to do. My family met both Sokneat and Sokhat an the teams that we have brought through.
This year Sokhat invited Clark and my family to join her for her sister’s wedding. It would have been a little expensive to bring the whole family down but Clark and I were able to attend and had a great trip over all.
We were able to visit a couple of new outreach ministries to poor neighborhoods that Paul Chamrong, who runs our orphanage, has started or partnered with others on. The church that the kids attend had a Baptism service and three of the older girls were baptized as they publicly declared their commitment to Jesus Christ.