Pastor Bob leaves Wooster Grace

Pastor Bob Fetterhoff left Wooster Grace to travel with Jim Pike & Roger McManus to visit the people we support in Cambodia & Thailand. Their travels, pictures, and stories are on Pastor Bob's blog.

Pastor Bob highlighted one ministry in Siem Reap, Cambodia--White Dove Ministries in a blog post. Please read more about this ministry from an earlier post. You can watch a five minute video of the ministry to capture an overview of what this ministry does--rescue girls from the sex trade industry.

White Dove is a ministry of YWAM dedicated to helping girls get out of prostitution. Rescued girls live in community with other women at the White Dove Center where they learn about Jesus, get counseling, start healing, and receive instruction to learn a trade to support themselves so that they can be free from the lure of prostitution as an income.  Many girls arrive uneducated. Some are illiterate. Yet God is glorified when one girl chooses to leave the sex trade and to start a new life in Jesus. A great post overviewing the ministry and contact info is by Rachel Harman on her blogpost.

Director of White Dove Ministries & Pastor Chhom

We thank God that Pastor Chhom of the Siem Reap (Cambodia) Grace Brethren Church has partnered with this ministry to develop fully devoted followers of Christ from the ladies rescued from the sex slave industry. All praise to God!

Pastor Bob makes it to SE Asia

Pastor Bob Fetterhoff is in Cambodia with Jim Pike & Roger McManus. Read his first post on his blog. Please keep this team in your prayers too.

Pray for the team returning. They are in the middle of a thirty-hour odyssey as they come home. Ask God to help them adjust to our time zone, adapt to what has happened here, and to try to share what God has done in them with passion, grace, and tact. 

I glorify God for His work through us to impact the peoples of the world for Christ!

Pastor Ivanildo & his wife Naza arrive in SE Asia

Just an update: Pastor Ivanildo posted on FB. They have arrived safely in SE Asia for their vacation.  You can follow him on his blog. Post a comment to encourage them. 

Wooster Grace to hear from Steven & Deb Wise

Deb & Steven

On Sunday, August 7 Wooster Grace welcomes Steven & Deb Wise to share. Steven & Deb will be introduced in our Sunday services and give presentations in two ABFs and one evening bible study.

The times on Sunday, August 7 include, but are not limited to:

• 8:30 Kids Praise Room 316
• 9:00 Berean ABF Room 140
• 11:00 Internationals ABF Room 425
• 6:00PM Bible Study Room 334

The Wise's serve with GBIM in the capital city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I trust you can come and listen to what God is doing through them to help start new churches in SE Asia. 

Contrast of darkness & Light in Cambodia

Internet wasn't working last night, so tonight I am writing for two days.  Yesterday we visited Angkor Wat which is a large complex of ancient temples and cities.  This helped us to understand a little more about the religion of many people here.  I am including a picture that sums up our thoughts on this day.  Here you see a tree's roots clutching the temple rocks. These are everywhere.  It reminds me of how the Evil one takes people into his clutches, destroying lives, and not letting go.  This is what I saw with people bowing down before stone statues.  Satan has them in his clutches for sure. We even saw an elderly couple with a flashlight searching in a dark part of the temple looking for a water well that supposedly contains holy water that will heal them.  They dipped a bucket into the dark well and pulled out the water placing their hope in that. Very sad.

 

Today was a much brighter day!  The day we have been waiting for.  The day we get to go to Grace Place and see the kids.  Vannak surprised us when we arrived at the hotel with about 25 of the kids there to greet us.  That was so awesome to have them there hugging us already.  After spending some time with them, they returned for lunch and we checked into our hotel.

 

After lunch, we met Pheakdey and headed out to visit some children that GROW is looking to bring into a new GROW home in Cambodia.  We had to walk quite a way due to the rain making the roads bad then down a bike path to meet the three children.  They are living with their aunt and uncle and their two kids on $3 a day.  The children do not have enough to eat and are in desperate need of being cared for.

 

We then traveled to Grace Place. Wow what fun we had.  Nathan played guitar while Zac drummed out a beat on the chair and Val sang, we played snakes and ladders which we brought (a big hit), we ate dinner with them, and danced.  Zac spent about an hour with Nga imitating everything she said in Khmer.  Most of the kids gathered around and laughed at the scene. It then went to mimicking motions and soon broke out into dance. Volleyball, soccer and lots and lots of hugs rounds out the list of things we did with the kids.  We were exhausted when we left tonight.

 

Hope all is going well at home.  We miss everyone, but couldn't't be happier than to be at Grace Place.

 

Mealtime at Grace Place Battambang

 

Sharing with our kids at Grace Place Battambang

 

 

Our Kids!

 

 

Zac trying to repeat Khmer words to everyone's laughter

 

Surprised by Vannak & kids at TEO Hotel

 

Orphan Children to Rescue

 

 

Road to Village

 

Angkor Wat

 

Harley's visit the Killing Fields & the Homes of Love in Cambodia

It was important for today that I arranged for us to visit Tuol Slang and the Killing Fields to get a better understanding of what people here have experienced and what lurks in their memories.  For those of you not born yet in the mid-70's or for those who really didn't learn what had actually happened here, I will only briefly share now. Basically the Khmer Rouge, a group of Cambodian people aligning themselves with the Communists, attacked their own people killing 2 million of them in the worst possible ways.  The educated, the professional, the wealthy, the leaders, and their families brutally murdered.  The vision of the Khmer Rouge was to reduce Cambodia to a non-thinking group of slaves who did whatever the Regime told them to do.  They set out to destroy Cambodia financially, socially, spiritually and physically.  They wanted to destroy the culture and make pure, innocent, loving people into killers.  Just about everyone you meet here has been directly effected by this event.  Some lost their parents, some fled the country, some were taken into the military where they were taught to steal and kill.  It was a great tragedy and still has its ugly evil fingers trying to grip the people of Cambodia.

After an emotionally heavy morning, we decided a visit to the Asia's Hope Christian School would be a great way to end the day and lift our spirits.  We played with the children during their recess. Tim and Zac played vollyball using the tree branch as a net and a soccer ball. Then we visited the classrooms, Nathan, guitar in hand, and played some songs they knew in English ,and they sang some we knew.  It was a great time of fellowship. [Please note that Pastor Daron will post pictures later]

Tomorrow we head up north to Siem Reap. Thank you so much for your prayers. Keep them flowing please! So please leave a comment of encouragement.

PK22 is not just a Danish leather lounge chair

PK-22

PK22 Danish Lounge Chair

 Today was our first day to visit ICDI's new land called PK-22.  This land is under contract from the CAR government to ICDI to develop agricultural and development projects that will impact the people of the CAR. 

 It was our joy to receive the grand tour of the 360 acres from Nanga Kaye, ICDI's chief agronomist.  It does not take long to hear the excitement that Nanga has for the potential of this land.  The passion is infectuous and we are excited to join him in developing ICDI's fields of dreams.  Nanga was excited to show us all sides of the land which also helped us with our excercise program because we walked and walked and walked as Nanga shared his dream for each area of the land.

PK-22: Land provided by CAR government

Oh, did I mention it was around 100 degrees and very sunny!  It was hot but it was awesome to see  all the land has to offer.  Some of the dreams include: developing fields of corn, soybeans, peanuts, and other crops that will provide seeds for a seed bank as well food to eat.  Other plans are for an orchard with fruit trees.  Ponds to grow and harvest fish will also be dug too.  The new land will also provide another base camp for the water well drilling teams.  Shipping containers are already here and are going to be used to store equipment and much needed parts.  A tractor and farming equipment as well as a barn and well drilling equipment is on its way across the ocean from Ohio and will end up here at PK-22.

Our projects while we are here will involve clearing land for fields, helping with drainage, arranging and setting up shipping containers, diggings fish ponds and clearing paths making the land more accessible.

Nanga Kaye-ICDI Ag Director

After lunch we began some of our work with ICDI's backhoe and skid steer loader.  Our plan is to train the ICDI staff how to properly operate this equipment as well as use the equipment ourselves.  As our work began, we soon experienced working in Africa, that means things don't always work the way they should.  We spend most of the afternoon trying to fix the skid steer.  Rick and Dale did their best to diagnose the problems but with no success.  While they struggled with that I began to clear land with the backhoe at least it worked.  The land I worked on will be used as a plant nursery so it needs to be flat as well as protected from run off from heavy rains.

Thanks to a call to Jason Steiner of Lowe and Young farm equipment, we now have better ideas to diagnose and fix the skid steer tomorrow when we return to PK-22.

Another goal of ICDI is to be a blessing to the village that is next to PK-22 so today Tom Peters and Ted Rondeau of ICDI spent time talking to village leaders hoping begin building relationships.  We also stopped at a local restaurant to see about getting food for future days lunches. Not a fast food place but we hope to eat there tomorrow.  We put our order in today so it will be ready for lunch tomorrow.  We ordered two chickens, (yes whole chickens) cooked to order, rice, and drinks (#1combo meal).Smile!

Well, I will give you a food review for tomorrows blog entry so stay tuned.

Thanks for all of your prayers
Tim

Team is commissioned today: Sun Feb 6

Today Wooster Grace commissions this team to be our servants to SE Asia.  Praise God for our vision to develop fully devoted followers of Christ in all the nations of the world. 

Sharing thoughts from tomorrow

It is Thu Aug 25 at 10am in Battambang, CAMBODIA.  I have not been able to get a decent internet connection. The TE.O Hotel has poor connectivity. Our team has also been busy with many projects and learning of Cambodian names.  Regardless, I will share several posts from my written journal from the time that I have been here; snippets really.

I will also try to upload a couple videos if I have time. Uploading videos is time-consuming.

In Chicago to go on 14 hour flight to Seoul

I praise God for teammates. Our team is great. I get to go over with a team from Ashland GBC.

The team is so helpful.  Judy and Cindy are funny. Sunny and Joanna are good travelers.  Dave & Mary are easy-going partners.  I am so glad I get to experience this with them. 

This will be the longest trip via air in my life.  In a naive way, I look forward to it.  Others who have traveled this trek shared only negative thoughts--horrible flight; couldn't sleep; got dehydrated; or had a large individual on top of me.  Regardless, I go in the name of the Lord. 

Thanks for praying for me and the team.  It's been great so far.

I can't wait to see Kevin & Jill and Kent & Becky. 

Richardson Family leaves for SE Asia with Asia's Hope

Asia's Hope Missions Trip (July 21-Aug 6, 2010)
 
Wooster Grace seeks to reach out to the world with the love of Christ. Outreach is a primary ministry initiative.

You can read about the experiences of the Richardson family by following their blog.  Please leave a comment to encourage them as you read about what God is teaching them. 

They depart on Tue July 21 for about a 40-hour travel odyssey to arrive in Cambodia.  Ask God to give them stamina, great health, safety in traveling and return home challenged to greater service for the Lord.

Team leaves for SE Asia