FCOP International UPDATES

Dominion

 Albert Einstein defined insanity as, “Doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” Since we have replanted rice after two consecutive failures to drought, I suppose that would qualify us as certifiably nuts. We simply hope the weather is different. Please continue to pray for rain in Balang, Cambodia! But, we are grasping for our sanity; we have a plan. God said to Adam, “Take dominion over … every living thing…” So we are taking dominion over the control of water on our rice with a dike and moat system that will provide water for an entire crop and …  

Little Lady, Big Faith

El Sim, our little 4 foot 6 inch apostle, has few Biblical miracles that cannot be attributed to her ministry. As far as I know, no one has seen her walk on water yet, although she does seem to make it. There are few wells on her island of 100,000 souls. The geology of the sub-soil is like a block of cheese, there is no lateral movement of subterranean water.  God told her to dig a well on her property. She asked, “Where?” and the Lord responded, “Anywhere on your property. Dig it eight meters deep and you’ll have water.” …  

New Believers

Sou and I didn’t come to Cambodia to raise rice. We came to see Cambodia come to Christ! Thank God that is happening at an ever-increasing pace! That gives me both comfort and encouragement. I have needed a lot of both this month. As you all know we have broken into the hearts of the Cambodian people by caring for separated children and the demonstration of the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit. What we have to figure out is how to keep this expansion going. It takes money to travel, and money to support orphans. I have it …  

Bouncing

I’m in “Bounce” mode! I couldn’t have been flatter if I’d been run over by a go-cart, rescued by an ambulance that turned out to be a steam-roller only to have “Wiley Coyote” drop an anvil on my head. The loss of the rice crop to drought for the second straight year was a tough pill to swallow. But swallow it we did! The next day we were plowing under what appeared to be good rice, but it had no chance to produce anything. That rice crop was the “Last Man Standing”, we had several miracle rains that kept it going, …  

Mother of Invention

We have to be ready for the rains. Trust me! (Why should you?) They will come, and when they do, they will come with a vengeance! Necessity is the mother of invention. So, how do we spray herbicides and fertilize 750 acres of rice when it’s knee deep in mud? With a “Super Mudder!” Paul Mok, our farm manager, is putting on the final touches of a 6X6, two ton fertilizer and spraying machine that does it all at one pass with a 60 foot swath.   

Rice Meals

But, God does work through unction. And, I thank God, that against a lot of resistance, I brought in 600 tons of rice nutrition meals so far this year. It cost us a lot of money but we will have food to eat. But, we still have all the other bills to pay.  

Slow death-New life

You need to know the truth. The scope of the drought in Cambodia is being kept from the public, as it would produce a food panic. Market prices for food are creeping up anyway. We really need your prayerful support. Personally, I blame no one, if they never give FCOP another penny. Our giving is down. I believe generous donors grow tired of my, “Crying Wolf!” I even get tired of it myself! However, all hysteria aside, this is a disaster. Cambodia and much of Southeast Asia is in the midst of a major drought. We are replanting on borrowed …  

Fat Rats

Fat rats! The only good thing to come of our plowing days was being able to kill over a thousand rats. These suckers were as fat as pigs, and our “Rice Farm Rangers” couldn’t pass up the feast; that very evening they had a feast, barbecued rat! Paul Mok, our Farm Manager is like me, he doesn’t eat rat, so, he had a private meal of gourds and fish.  

Project of hope

Without this farm being developed to the point where it is more resistant to drought and flood, I see no way for this ministry to become self-sufficient. We can do this! But, it will take 1.4 million dollars. How do we raise that? We have a plan that was developed by a Singaporean Church, pastored by FCOPI Board Member, George Butron. We are still waiting on the engineering drawings, but it involves consolidating 1000 acres and surrounding it with a moat that will go into the ground as far as we can dig and have dikes on both sides allowing …  

Dare to love

“The Dare to Love Project” a “Not for Profit” charity from the US came and visited several of our church homes leaving behind a trail of painted and repaired homes for our kids to live in. This is a big deal for us, so keep the teams coming!  

Pastor Training

Even when we don’t have money we keep training pastors. While I was up plowing under our rice crop, Mak Sou put 107 pastors through an intensive week of learning and prayer. This is the key to winning Cambodia four Christ. Jesus warned, “The hearts of many shall grow cold.” Money does that to good people and a weird group from Korea called, “Ahn Sahng-hong” (They believe that Jesus is a Korean and already returned) is buying up pastors by giving them money and even paying for their children to go through medical school. Our trump card is the Holy …  

I can see

“I can see clearly now the rain has gone. I can see all obstacles in my way…” Johnny Nash sang that song decades ago. But, it is true, I had my cataracts removed late last month, and now everything is clearer! Sou found she had a bleeding ulcer and after two weeks of three strong antibiotics we are both back on track. Thanks for the prayers! We are fine! Don’t interrupt; I think we need to get a room!