Thany Archive

“Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.” 

It’s the last line written in the flap of a book by the angel Clarence in the classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Like George Bailey, I was discouraged. Government mandates insisting that we supply new uniforms to all our homes by the end of the year at a projected cost of $52,500 USD or face shutdown had me in despair. Mak Sou had a prophetic dream and told me to write to my old friends. It was a miracle! We were able to get the uniforms bought and though they may not be delivered before New Year, they are …  

Christmas Around Cambodia

Christmas celebrations actually began in late November and will continue throughout January. It’s the major holiday for the Cambodian Church and since December 25th is not an official recognized holiday, the season gets stretched, especially since ‘Orthodox Christmas’ isn’t celebrated until January 7th. FCOP church leaders like to attend their neighboring congregations services, therefore, they match their celebration dates so they don’t overlap. In this case, pictures are better than words!  

It Was A Colorful Christmas!

Eight thousand gallons of paint delivered in mid November have provided for fresh colors on many of our church homes with enough to refurbish all of them over the next few months! Bob and Christal Hollandsworth and our Training Center Staff have been the “Master Mixers’ with nearly 500-5 gallon pails sent to the provinces. The colors gray, pink, brown, green and yellow are not the most exciting but, gray seems to be a hit. Trimmed with a bit of another contrasting color, these churches look quite good.  

Visit from our Supervisor

FCOP was very happy to welcome Jerry Stott and Paul Vernon (our Foursquare Church supervisors for this region) for a short visit in December. We were able to meet as a Cambodian board with them, show them around our Training Center and offices, and share our desires for the future with them. It was very encouraging to see their active support for the FCOP vision for this nation. Paul had great visits with Shanon Hladek and Bob and Christal Hollandsworth. Jerry and Pa Thom (me) got to share extensively on the topic of deliverance and demonic oppression. This is a …  

Close Call!

 Paul wrote, “because for the work of Christ he came close to death…” (Philippians 2:30). The day before Christmas was not a quiet one for Pow Moi; a 16 year old tribal orphan boy from Olai-Lai. This is the site of a recent revival. This location is a far northern Church/Home in the FCOP system; up in the very peak of the country where Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia are joined. Pow Moi was clearing brush the day before (getting ready for a big Christmas celebration) when the machine he was using kicked back and cut through the tibia, tendon, and …  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2023!

When New Year 2022 struck, Mak Sou and I were celebrating the dedication of out 112th church building in Cambodia and eagerly awaiting the birth of our first grandchild in 16 years. Oliver Theodore Olbrich Rowley arrived on schedule on January 15th, 2022. Due to our daughter experiencing some postpartum issues with preeclampsia, we both made an unexpected trip to the USA at the end of January. Everything turned out great but it was an exciting trip for us since we hadn’t left Cambodia in 2 &1/2 years. 2022 was an exciting and eventful year for FCOP in Cambodia with …  

Funeral Canceled 

The doctors at the hospital sent the body home telling the family that the pastor was dead. Kong Seangny had pastored the church in Anlong Veng for more than twenty-two years. She was the founding pastor who saw the church birthed in signs, wonders, and miracles. Her own sons were raised up from death after eating poisonous frogs, but her church had stagnated. Her grave was dug, the casket was purchased, and FCOP’s General Supervisor Som Art was summoned to perform the funeral. Som Art left Phnom Penh with Dr. Lina and Ra Vy (from our office staff) and drove the 375 kilometers to …  

Why Revivals Don’t Last

Have you ever wondered why revivals never last? The first generation is raised up in the power of God, praying in the Spirit, working miracles, paying a great price for their faith, and God blesses that community (Hebrews 10:32). The second generation comes along and may be faithful church goers but they lose their spiritual zeal and by the third generation the church is dying. God always has a remnant, but they need the power of the Holy Spirit. The son-in-law of pastor Siengny, Nakreing Say, had taken over preaching but he had not seen the miraculous. God brought his mother back …  

The Big Squeeze

My old boss at FMI, Jim Scott, once said to me, “Just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean that they are not out to get you”. The Cambodian government has surely proved that to be true. FCOP has been hit with taxes on our facilities, high license and permit fees, along with an endless demand for meetings. They seem to be following the Chinese Communist Party model of church suppression. Last month, the government unleashed our old antagonist, UNICEF on FCOP.  We have been in UNICEF’s crosshairs for ten years. Our mission is to be the body of Christ. FCOP will …  

Thirty-two Month Covid Absence

Bob and Christal Hollandsworth have served faithfully with FCOP for 15 years. They went back to the US in February 2020 and just returned this November. They never intended to stay away that long but got stuck in the Covid-19 lockdowns. They returned just in time for the first container we’ve imported from the US in over two years arrived. We were sent 8,250 gallons of good quality exterior paint. This is a gift easily worth $100,000 US dollars. We have an assortment of colors that run through yellow, blue, pink, gray, brown and green. Bob and Christal arrived in …  

Saving Our Seed

We have received more rain in November than we did in either June, July or August, and those are supposed to be ‘Rainy Season’ months. November is traditionally the first ‘Dry Season’ month, but it has been wet. Unusual weather has been a pattern all over the world! FCOP lost most of our first crop to drought, then the replanting (second crop) was lost to excessive rains in September and October. In total FCOP harvested only about 20% of our crops. Finances have been extremely tight. So, we could not buy our usual, very expensive, foundation seed. Instead, Paul Mok went through …  

Merry Christmas!

Mak Sou returned from two weeks in the US on November 20th. She was amazed! She said it was like the “Grinch” showed up and stole the Christmas spirit. She remembers years past when the day after Halloween, Christmas decorations burst forth in every store. She was in Rochester, Minnesota, not a poor city, and there were few Christmas decorations in any of the stores right up to Thanksgiving. The entire world seems to be going through a very difficult time. The Covid lockdowns greatly damaged the economy in Cambodia and apparently every other economy in the world. We want to …