Feed My Starving Children has come through again as FCOP received a much needed delivery of Manna Pack. As the price of rice continues to be too expensive to purchase at the Cambodian market for all of the children and staff in our care, we are grateful to those who continue to send much needed resources. The process of getting it imported into Cambodia and delivered out to the different provinces has a number of added steps during this COVID-19 time, but it’s worth the work. Without fail, many of our staff and children, when recounting their past before and …  

In Cambodia, we’re dealing with the largest COVID-19 outbreak to date. As of the writing of this, there have been 2,377 total cases and 11 deaths.  Prior to what’s been dubbed the “February 20th Event” of this year, there were only a few hundred cases.  Now, there are people on both sides of the fence regarding how to deal with COVID.  It’s lockdown versus herd immunity.  Without getting into the scientific arguments of both of those, I want to present another fact that immediately impacts our situation in Cambodia: Tuberculosis.  Annually, about 13,000 people die of the disease, often referred …  

Thanks for the help! FCOP put out an appeal to fund the meals we are going to be short of supplying. We believe with the cash donations from many individuals, some in-kind food donations from Gleanings for the Hungry and the Butte County Rice Growers, we will make it! We are eternally grateful!! Our staff snd kids are busy distributing our remaining food supplies to the provincial Church/Homes.  

The morning of May 27th our staff was in prayer and my phone kept ringing. I noticed it was our rice farm manager, Paul Mok. I hit the ‘off’ button but he kept calling. I figured this must be important and went outside to take the call. Paul explained that our 1,000 acres of rice was under attack from a certain ‘leaf hopper’ insect which carries a very deadly virus for rice. (Yes, rice get’s viruses too!) I was familiar with this broad family of viruses having studied it in the classroom, greenhouse, laboratory and fields at the International Rice …  

Cambodian Rural Pastors continue to open new churches despite the lockdown conditions in the cities. It doesn’t take much rain to make many roads impassable. The thin layer for dust clay becomes like grease and it is impossible to navigate even a 4X4 vehicle. Even though they skidded out of control, they moved up into the muddy Cardoman Mountains of Cambodia to take the good news of Christ to unreached villages.  

Waterborne illnesses can be rampant throughout Cambodia during the rainy season. We just hope we get some rain soon! It’s been quite dry in Phnom Penh and though we’ve had a few showers we still have not had real wet season rain. The rivers are extremely low. Fortunately, our rice farm is getting some timely rains. We try to use these times to our advantage and for the past ten years we have struggled with sewer problems at our National Training Center. The government finally put in a new sewer line and we got connected but not before we had …  

For most rural Cambodians roads are a major issue. We spent over $35,000 building all-weather roads into the our rice farm this year because when we raise a crop it does us no good unless we can get it out. We dug our own rock, hired our own trucks, used our equipment and even built our own culverts. Now, we should be able to get a crop to our people if we just get the rains to raise it.  

It is a date we will all keep: The day we die. For those of us who know Jesus, it will be the best day of our lives! Those of us left without you, well, we may not feel the same! But, we will see you soon enough if we just stay faithful. I never feel sorry for those who die in Christ. I grieve with those who grieve due to void in their lives. We said “Goodbye” to two old ‘War Horses” who have helped us pull the load here in Cambodia  for decades. Gong Yeun, one of our …