Scroll down to read reports and view photos from Cambodian staff and missionaries.
From Donnie Sargent, Missionary with New Life Fellowship
Dear Friends
Well do you have those days you just feel just too emotional? Just recently I felt that way when I came across a quite sick child. I was in Kombong Thom to do a report on one of the churches and ministries there and I went with Sophy the Healthcare Assistant to see some patients she has been checking on. We went to the places in her area then she asked me if I would like to check on this child from another village she knows of but isn’t really part of the area we minister in yet. I said yes so we borrowed some bicycles and went. I did not really know what to expect. When we got there we met this 2 ½ year old child and we listened to his heart and lungs. I smiled nicely for a photo and then started asking the mother questions. I could hear the lungs were wheezing and the heart seemed not to be beating regularly. I am not a doctor so can’t really tell how bad he was but he seemed to have some struggles breathing. His mother said he had been to a hospital and been checked and does have problems with his lungs and heart. He had been on medicine but it was finished now and they could not afford to travel to the city to get more medicine even though the treatment was free. I asked to see their home because where we met them there seemed to be a lot of big homes around.
When I saw their tiny home then I was hit with the reality of the situation and the hopelessness they must of felt. My thoughts went back to a child that was very sick before that I had visited with the C@R team. The family of the child was given food and supplies but the child was in such bad condition that he died not many days after the visit. As I thought of the family’s situation sadness overtook me and to avoid shedding tears in front of the family I had to quickly take aTIME OUT TO PRAY AND REFRESH! So I walked on a path behind the house a little ways from everyone and cried to God. What should I do? A local clinic in the community probably would not know how to deal with the situation and are not always trust worthy yet the city was so far away. I prayed and when I felt in control I went back to the home. We prayed for the child and I took down all the information from the patient form the Hospital gave. I contacted the hospital to see if something can be worked out but it seems the only way is to have the child taken to Siem Reap to be checked again. I checked with Sophy and she said Veasna has his good days and bad days. The travel will be a little costly but I felt I wanted to help the family so they should be able to taking him to the hospital in the coming week. Please help by praying for this child. Prayer is the greatest help we can give!
THANKS SO MUCH! YOURS IN CHRIST,
Donnie Sargeant
AS AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE FAMILY IF YOU DO FEEL LEAD TO PRAY FOR THE CHILD PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND THEN I CAN TELL HIS FAMILY HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE PRAYING FOR HIM.
Jason and Angie Prosser Newsletter: September 2007
Hello Everyone!We had quite an interesting month. I know that some of you have heard about it already, but if you haven’t, all the details are here in this newsletter. Thanks for all your prayers. We certainly couldn’t have made it through this month without all of you.Thanks so much!Jason WHAT A MONTH! Well, the month of August was quite an interesting one. A couple of things happened that we would’ve rather not have experienced, but I guess that you have to take the bad with the good.
The two big ‘events’ in August happened right at the same time. The first involved "Hope: Cambodia" and the Joyce Meyer ministries that were happening here in Cambodia and the second was our surprise trip to Thailand.As we have been talking about for the last few months, Joyce Meyer and her team arranged a number of special events throughout Cambodia in the months of July and August. Some of the events that were scheduled in Phnom Penh were a concert with Hillsong London, a Joyce Meyer crusade at the Olympic Stadium and a concert with Hillsong Australia and Delirious?. As the kick-off for the month of events, Hillsong London came to Phnom Penh to do a concert. Their concert was originally scheduled to be held at the Olympic Stadium, (at the indoor kick-boxing arena) but due to some opposition, they played at the Chenla Theatre instead. A theatre that holds about one quarter the amount of people. However packed and crowded the theatre was, it certainly didn’t diminish the presence of God and the enthusiasm of everyone as we worshipped together. All throughout the next month, there were on-again, off-again reports that we would be able to use the stadium for the grand finale featuring Joyce Meyer, Hillsong Australia and Delirious?. However, when the time came, the authorities did not allow us to use the stadium.
So, we once again shifted all the events over to Chenla Theatre. There were four nights of events that were scheduled. (Thurs. - Sat.) On Friday night, the police came and shut off the electricity, so Darlene Zschech and Martin Smith led worship in the dark using a megaphone! Then, after the police had closed the gates to the theatre, a group of men helped Joyce Meyer climb over the fence into her own meeting! Afterthat night, the remainder of events were cancelled due to bomb threats. These are all stories that our friends have told us, because, unfortunately, we were not able to be a part of what was happening.
At the beginning of that same week, (on Sunday) Angie woke up with a terrible headache and fever. She said that she had never felt that bad before. We didn’t go to church that day, but spent the morning and afternoon at home, allowing Angie to rest as much as possible. We decided that if Angie still felt that way the next day, that we would go to see the doctor. Angie didn’t get any better, so we scheduled an appointment for Tuesday morning. After the doctor had examined Angie, she suggested that she might have Dengue, (deng-ee) but she had to take a blood sample first. With Dengue, you can’t see any results in the blood until the fourth day, so we had to return on Thursday for the doctor to take Angie’s blood. It wasn’t until Friday that we got the results of Thursday’s tests, but when we did, our doctor told us that Angie’s white blood cell count and her platelet count were very, very low—which is common for Dengue. Then, she told us that we should fly to Bangkok that same evening.So, I spent the rest of that day running around to travel agents, making phone calls and packing to get ready for our trip. By that time, Angie was so weak that she had to be carried up and down our stairs.
That evening, the four of us, along with a nurse from New Zealand flew to Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok is only about an hour’s flight away from Phnom Penh, so we’re thankful that it wasn’t a very long trip. When we arrived in Bangkok, we were met by a man who helped us from the airplane, through customs, to the luggage carousel and out the door of the airport. In all of our travels, we had never passed through customs as fast as we did on that night. Outside the airport, the hospital had arranged to pick us up at the airport and drop us off at the hospital. Once we arrived, the hospital staff were waiting for us and Angie was checked in immediately. Through it all, there were always little things that let us know that God was watching out for us and caring for us.
Now, we are back inCambodia, and Angie is recovered 100%. She is doing great!
We are all so thankful to God who has taken care of us, and to all of our wonderful friends all around the world who were praying for us.
Thank you so much!
If you want to read more about Joyce Meyer’s events in Cambodia, please log onto http://www.joycemeyer.org/Cambodia/Hope/Update.htm KIDS’ KORNER Hi everybody! It’s Caleb here, and I have lots to tell you! This month I got to fly on an airplane and go to Bangkok! It was because Mommy was sick, but she’s all better now. Jesus healed her! I had fun in Bangkok, especially because someone very special came. My Grammy! I was so happy to see her, and we got to play a lot! She brought me a new Color Wonder book and my favorite treat—M&M’s! Sometimes when we went for walks in the hospital, I got to push my baby brother in the stroller. I liked doing that too. I tried my best to steer good, but usually Daddy or someone was there to make sure I didn’t run into anything. Justus and I have fun together. He always kicks his feet and smiles and makes happy noises when he sees me. I like to play hide-and-seek with him when he’s sitting in his bouncy seat or his highchair. Mommy and Daddy say I’m a good big brother to Justus, but I need to remember to be gentle. I love my brother.
Something else exciting is that I get to go to school every day now! I used to just go three days a week, but now I get to go five! And I have a new teacher! I call her Teacher Sue. She is a nurse from New Zealand, and even came all the way to Bangkok with us to help with me and Justus on the airplane. I really like her and am already having fun in my new class. Today we learned about alligators—they start with the letter “A”, and they’re different from crocodiles. I even got to paint a paper alligator with glitter glue! I like getting to use the glitter glue.
Guess what?! I got to buy a new truck with my own money! Every night before dinner I set the table for Mommy, and usually on Saturday mornings I help Daddy with projects around the house. Then, every Saturday, Daddy gives me a whole dollar! I put ten percent in the offering at church on Sunday, and ten percent into savings for college (whatever that is! I think it’s school for when I’m really big), and the rest I get to spend on whatever I want! This month I saved my money and went to a new toy store! They have all kinds of cool toys and trucks there! I was so excited I could hardly stand still! I got a new truck called, “Monster Mutt”. It’s painted like a white dog with black spots. It’s got really big wheels so it drives really good.
Well, I guess that’s all for now. See ya’ next month! A NOTE FROM ANGIE Hello friends and family!
I can’t help but say a huge thank you to all of you who were standing with us in prayer through my bout with Dengue fever. It was probably the worst illness I’ve ever experienced, (and I pray I never go through it again!) but it showed me the power of prayer on a whole new level.
I can’t tell you how overwhelmed I felt as the reports of the number of people were who were praying for us kept coming in. Our parents in both Portland and Hamilton kept updating us with “so-and-so heard you were sick and is praying for you”. It amazed us to hear of a church staff that stopped their staff meeting to pray, a youth camp that stopped to pray, friends that were fasting for us, and the list goes on! My eyes are getting misty all over again just remembering how I felt laying in the hospital bed, amazed at the beautiful body of Christ. We truly are a part of the best family in the world!
When we heard the doctor’s report of how sick I really was and that we needed to go to Bangkok, I had already been sick for about a week. Almost immediately after the word got out and people started praying, I started recovering. My fever broke and stayed down for the first time in days. I was able to get re-hydrated and began eating again. It was like the disease couldn’t help but succumb to the prayer pressure! Our God is an awesome God and I am extremely thankful for all of you and the prayers you lifted up on our behalf. God bless you!
PRAYER POINTS This section is dedicated to prayer needs for Cambodia, people in need and for ourselves personally. Please help us by agreeing with us for the prayer requests mentioned each month. Thank you!
Through all of the events of this past month, we see how God has taken good care of us since we first arrived in Cambodia. Sickness has definitely been the exception and not the rule for our family here. Please praise God and keep praying with us that God’s blessing and health would continue be on us.
1. Pray for our time down at the beach. That it would be restful, spiritually and physically. 2. Pray for our country and all of the Christians and churches in Cambodia. Pray that God would strengthen his people and help us all to grow in Him and see His plan take place in Cambodia.
Thank you all so much for your prayer over this past month, especially with Angie’s sickness. We have such an awesome team and we feel encouraged more than ever! If you would like to contribute financially:
In Canada, please make the check out to Living Hope Christian Assembly, and write a note in the memo line “Cambodia Outreach: Jason & Angie Prosser.” Then, send it to: Living Hope Christian Assembly 1045 Garth StreetHamilton, Ontario L9C-4L5CANADA In USA, please make the check out to City Bible Church and enclose a note designating the funds for Jason & Angie Prosser. Then, send the check to: City Bible Church 9200 NE Fremont Portland, OR 97220USA Thank you so much! Jason, Angie, Caleb & Justus Prosser
NEWS FROM THE PROSSERS August 20, 2007 Hello Everyone!I don’t know whether or not you all heard about our latest news, but about two weeks ago, Angie began experiencing some very uncomfortable symptoms. She was dizzy, weak, had a really strong headache, fever and was generally feeling lousy. We waited a couple of days and then went and visited our doctor here in Cambodia. After a few blood tests, she concluded that it was Dengue Fever and that we should be sent to a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. So, after about 6 days, we got some plane tickets and went to Bangkok. By this time, Angie was very, very weak, and she had to be wheeled onto the plane. We took the flight to Bangkok and checked into Bumrungrad Hospital. We are very thankful for this hospital, our insurance and our friend Sue (a nurse from New Zealand) who accompanied us to Thailand – but most importantly all of the prayers of our friends and family all around the world. We also met Angie’s mom in Bangkok too. After a couple of days of rest and being pumped full of fluids, Angie was on the road to recovery. We were so amazed at all of the reports, e-mails, notes and even phone calls of people who have been praying for us. It was very overwhelming. We heard about whole churches praying for us in their church meetings, prayer meetings, and even a youth camp that prayed for us! The Body of Christ is so amazing! We felt that as we were standing on the promises of God for Angie’s healing, there were so many more people who were standing with us, believing with us and praying for us. Now, last night, we flew back to Phnom Penh from Bangkok and are beginning to settle back into our home. We are just taking it easy and trying to help Angie continue to rest and fully recuperate from this sickness.
Thank you all so much! It is so comforting to know that we do not stand alone and in our hardest times, that is more evident then ever.God Bless! Jason & Angie Prosser
WORSHIP IN THE DARKNESS!
This brief report comes from Donnie Sargeant, a Canadian missionary who has been with us for several years. He's commenting on the Hillsong/Delirious/Joyce Meyer event that was closed down by the police:
Dear friends,
Prayer is needed. Again the after thinking that all permits and everything was in order the police came to the theater where we were holding a pre-outreach event and tried to shut down the program. Thousands were already in the theater when the police came and shut the gates, not allowing any more to come onto the grounds. Then the electricity was turned off and we were all in the dark. The worship went on with cell-phone lights and flash lights. Then when it was getting too hot inside we went outside and continued to worship with Delierious and Darlene leading just using a megaphone. Joyce Meyer was lifted over the fence and also gave an encouraging talk and we all prayed. The enemy may think he won this battle but I think he lost. God felt so close and God got all the praise.
Blessings Donnie
POSTING BY MRS. RATHPHAN SEIHA Seiha is the wife of Staff Pastor and Missionary Heng Pisit August 9, 2007
This past week and weekend was another amazing move that God did in Cambodia! Pisit and his band were invited to lead worship in two provinces in Cambodia, Kompong Tom and Kompong Cham.
Pisit was too busy in Phnom Penh (the city we live at), so he sent some of his team to Kompong Tom. We laid hands on them and prayed for them before they left. Satan tried to stop them by putting some problems on the way and when they got there, but with God’s protection and grace, they could get out of the problems. Praise The concert was at the stadium in KompongTomProvince. There were 25000 people came for the first night! We supposed to play for four nights, but the last night the government stopped us without any reason. We thought because Cambodia is a Buddha religious country, so the government does not like to see big thing that Christians do. However, we still thank God for such a great concert we had in Kompong Tom. There were not only people who live in Kompong Tom have known and heard about this concert, many radio stations broadcasted about the concert and the event! We are not sure how many people made decision about Jesus, but we are happy that the Good News has spread out to many places in Cambodia!
Pisit led another team to Kompong Cham province for another concert. There was no problem at all with the government at this province. Praise God! The first night, there was raining and not many people came. The second night, we prayed harder for God to stop the rain and bring more people. God is good and faithful! The sky was clear and the weather was so nice! There were about 10000 people came and about 2500 people made decision to believe in Jesus! The third night, there was rain again, but this rain did not stop us from worship God. There were still lots of people came and worship God under the rain. It really encouraged us to see how these people love God!
There were two bands led this concert. One band is from Oklahoma, USA, and the other one is New Life Extreme band (my church’s band). The second and third night, these two bands were combined and played together. How amazing the Lord worked through these two bands. I could see the power of God flowed out while we were worshiping him under the rain.
One funny story about me was I had to take care of Pisit’s team’s cell phones, money, and other stuff while they were playing on the stage. So my bag was full with all these stuff. I also wanted to take pictures for them. So I stood in the middle of the crowd taking pictures and caring a big bag. I looked a little stupid, but I was happy to do for them. I could not just stand and look when I heard wonderful songs. This is the funny part; I was standing in the middle of unbelievers. When I worship, I lifted my hands up and closed my eyes, when I opened my eyes I saw many people stared at me in a weird way. There was also a bad thing almost happened to me while I was worshipping God. There was a gang team wanted to cut my bag and stole all the phones and money in my bag. Thank God that I saw them and they had to run away from me. I was a little scared!
Hello Everyone!
We trust that you are having a wonderful summer. For those who have been taking vacations, we hope that they have been restful and fun. We are planning on taking a little time off in September, but we have lots to do before then. Here are some of the things that we have been doing in the past month. We hope that you enjoy this latest edition of our newsletter.
Sincerely,
Jason, Angie, Caleb & Justus Prosser PLANTING SEEDS Heng is a non-Christian girl who came to our house for the first time last week. She has studied the Bible a little bit here and there, but told us that she wants to study the Bible more, even though she admitted that she is not a Christian. I see her every day in my English class, and we pray that soon, she will give her heart to the Lord. Last Sunday, we talked about our consciences at our small group. We talked about the times in our lives when we do wrong, even though our conscience is telling us the right thing that we should do. We read a few verses together and then we talked about how we can have freedom from sin through Jesus Christ. From what we could tell, Heng was listening very intently and was quite interested in everything that we talked about. Near the end, we asked her if she is a Christian, and she said ’no.’ We then explained very clearly how a person can be saved, but she did not give her heart to the Lord that night.
Sometimes, it is very difficult to tell what people are thinking or what is happening inside of them. Obviously, that is something that only God knows, so we just have to do our part of ‘planting seeds’ and trust Him with the rest. Ever since we started our own small (cell) group in our home, we have had numerous opportunities to plant seeds. The Bible says that God’s Word is like a seed, and that when we tell people about Jesus’ Good News, that seed goes into their hearts. I have also heard that a person needs to hear the Good News of Jesus an average of seven times before they will become a Christian. In addition, the Bible says that God’s Word will accomplish what it is meant to do—to bring people to Him. That is what we are trying to do in our small group every Sunday evening— to plant seeds. Since the first week that we began, we have constantly been inviting people to our home to join us and study the Bible with us. Every week, I announce it at my English class, but every week, there are always different people who come. So, we never know who is going to come. One week, no one at all came because there was a downpour right at the time when our meeting was going to start. Sometimes, it can be a little discouraging when only a few people show up, but at those times, we always remember people like Heng, who God is in the process of changing and transforming into His image. We also remember that we are at the beginning. These things don’t happen over night.
Just recently, Caleb and I planted some tomato seeds in a large pot up on our roof. We don’t know if they will ever produce tomatoes, but we sure hope that they do. We watch out for them, make sure they get enough water and make sure that no little critters come to dig in the dirt! However, we can’t make them grow, they just have to do that by themselves. It would be great if we could just make them grow by ourselves and have full-grown tomatoes in a matter of minutes, but that’s not the way that things work. Right now, the biggest plant we have is only about one and a half inches tall. We still have a long way to go before we can make some salad or tomato sandwiches, but we’re just at the beginning. The same is true with those who come to our small group. We wish that we could just say the right words and people would believe in Jesus, but that isn’t always the way that things work. We must water, protect and care for them while they continue to grow. And pray, pray, pray. Would you please join with us and pray? Not just for our small group, not for a lesson, but for the people who God brings to us. The people of Cambodia need Jesus and we believe that God is going to do something amazing in every area of Cambodian society. We believe that everyone in Cambodia can hear the Gospel and that Cambodia will become a Christian nation, but this change first begins in people’s hearts.
Thank you all so much. It really is a privilege to be a part of the same team with you in planting the seeds of the Gospel in Cambodia!
GOD IS WORKING IN CAMBODIA! Last month, we told you about some big events that are happening here in Cambodia. The two that took place last month were the Hillsong UK concert and the Million Leaders Mandate. Both events took place in the middle of July and we saw great responses at both. We had some opposition for the Hillsong concert, but God is good, and there is fruit in spite of the opposition. We also had a huge number of leaders from all of Cambodia come to Phnom Penh for the Million Leaders Mandate. For both events, we packed out Chenla Theatre and many people were touched at both events. This month, the special events continue with Delirious and Hillsong Australia at the Olympic Stadium. Please keep praying!
TRANSFORMED GENERATION This month, we want to tell you the story of a young man named Vatanak. He is a good friend of mine and a teacher at our church’s Office Skills Training School. Before he became a Christian, his life was quite difficult. He was even quite poor when he was a young boy. When he was a teenager, he started studying the Bible with a man who came out to his house on a regular basis. However, this missionary had to go back to his homeland because his wife was having some health problems. After a while, one of his friends told him about a place where he could come and study English for free, and that is when Vatanak first started coming to new Life Fellowship. Through the English class, he began a friendship with another young man that we told you about before. His name is Vatha. Eventually, he began studying the Bible with one of our staff pastors and then, he became a Christian. Now, Vatanak is teaching English in our Office Skills Training School, interpreting for teams from other countries and has some exciting possibilities ahead for his future. God is so great! He is in the business of changing things. He turns our mourning into dancing and our sorrows into joy. He takes a poor, illiterate young boy and transforms him into a strong young man with a future and a hope. What an awesome God that we serve! Thank you for investing in Cambodia! PRAYER POINTS This section is dedicated to prayer needs for Cambodia, people in need and for ourselves personally. Please help us by agreeing with us for the prayer requests mentioned each month. Thank you!
1. Please pray that God would continue to send His blessings as these big events take place in Cambodia. Obviously, we don’t just do these things for the sake of big events, but we want to see people make decisions that last. As these events come to a close, please pray for all the churches that are involved that we would be able to follow up and see all these new believers become a part of our churches here in Cambodia.
2. Please pray for health, protection and strength for everyone involved in organizing, planning and serving in these meetings. We all need strength as there is lots of work to do.
3. Please continue to pray for our family. God has blessed us in every way through your prayers.
Thank you for praying for us. Prayer makes all the difference in the world!