Greetings from Cambodia,
Wow, the year is flying by. In this last quarter we have had to balance ambition with practicality. Some roads have been muddy and dangerous, so we have had to change where and when we travel to some places. Literally, "when it rains it pours" here.
Sokatt has settled into his "Bridge the Gap" (BTG) project role now that all the material we want to use is ready, and on reliable USB drives. He has a great manner with the church leaders, and is being welcomed by them. We have a short video below in both English and Khmer to introduce Sokatt to you.
We are sharing and training the usage of large flash-drives (USB/Type C) which have a lot of resources and materials for pastors and leaders. This is already-downloaded material is great, and in some contexts where the internet is less available.
Along with some focused assistance to pastors, and sharing of resources via social media, Kevin has enjoyed sharing the cabinets, Bibles and songbooks different supporters have provided dedicated funding for. Recently we got down to having only 3 Bibles left, then the next day $500 NZD turned up in our bank account tagged for the buying of resources! This is enough for 30 more Bibles. Kevin was worried about being too generous in giving away Bibles, but perhaps the message from God here is to continue to be generous.
Gillian continues to provide additional resources for the rural Hope Centres, with the help of some volunteers, and is now providing some coaching assistance in the areas of professional development and managing teaching staff at Salaa Hope. Presently she is preparing for 3 days of training in literacy and numeracy development at Salaa Hope so that they can step beyond rote learning, and being tied to the book which the Ministry of Education provides. There is nothing wrong with these Ministry books, but there are opportunities to supplement the concepts the books introduce in order to expand and accelerate the breadth and depth of learning.
Please pray for wisdom with regard to what to do about reading recovery (there is none at present), as many children cannot "catch up" without some form of intervention and assistance. Looking forward, training and capacity-building (both for teachers and management) needs to occur, and to be managed and prayed into being. While this is a school management issue, they are looking to Gillian to provide some guidance and training.
Please pray with us for the upcoming workshop in February with pastors and leaders. This one will be quite different, with a focus on Bible Storytelling (ways to read, recite and dramatise Bible stories), as we want leaders to be able to take a fresh look at how the Bible can be presented. Khmer speakers love dance and drama, and it has been strong amongst children's ministries in the church here, but not so much with adults.
Personally, we will visit some fellow missionary friends in Phnom Penh for Christmas and enjoy some "family time" with them, and with some folks here in Battambang also. We wish you blessings for the season of Christmas and New Year. We pray that you will be refreshed in body and spirit, and discover afresh the loving touch and care of our heavenly Father, and His love for those who are still without His saving grace in their lives. Plus, as an added bonus, we actually have Gillian's sister and her husband coming to visit with us for a few days!
We thank you again for partnering with us and we do appreciate each one of you. Thank you again for your faithfulness in prayer for us, your words of encouragement, and the one-off special funding to buy some of these resources, for us to then pass on. It is great to be a conduit of God's blessing, and we want you to feel encouraged about your part in this.
God Bless,
Kevin and Gillian.
[Please do look at the pictures below]
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Video introducing us to people who don't know what we are doing
[Please click on image]
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