Reports coming out of China regarding food supplies are not good. The swine herds have been greatly depleted due to the latest swine flu epidemic with some pre-flood reports showing a two-thirds reduction of pork supplies. Then in June, rains started ravishing Eastern China with record flooding on at least 32 main rivers. One report from early August stated: “Surging floodwater burst the banks of Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province last month, destroying thousands of acres of farmland in what’s known as the ‘land of fish and rice.’ The broader Yangtze River basin — which includes Poyang Lake and stretches …  

New wiring and plumbing was recently completed by our FCOP staff. Our Women’s Dormitory at the National Training Center continues to be an essential part of the FCOP ministry by opening opportunities to share Christ with people through providing safe, low income housing for factory workers (especially young women).  The dorm also houses some FCOP staff members and their families. The building is getting a little ‘long in tooth’ after 15 years of hard use. It was not constructed with separate electric and water service for each of the 48 rooms. Even though fuel prices have declined in Cambodia, the cost of electricity continues to increase and water prices are …  

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 …  

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 …  

Most of you are facing hard decisions. I only know of one way to proceed that has worked for me. Pray in the Spirit and in the natural until you have peace then proceed and don’t look back. We, like you have had to make hard decisions. One that particularly troubled me was planting our 1000 acre rice farm with no water in the rivers and only the promise of future rain. Those of you who have farmed know that planting a modern rice crop is not cheap. I did not have the money to even buy the fertilizer, let …  

In closing, I thought I’d send you a video from Cristina Rivera, a friend of ours. Cristina, her husband and son live in a Los Angeles suburb. She sent this video Thursday, April 29th from in front of her house. At the same time I received the following note from a friend in the Philippines: “So suddenly: New York, the “city that never sleeps” is now asleep, all quiet. Paris, the “center of romance” lives in echoes. Rome, the “eternal city” is deserted. Disney is out of magic. London is caged in silence; the Queen speaks to her people from …  

Iran is said to be the fastest growing church in the world (news source). Mosques are being emptied not through the trained insertion of covert Christian Missionaries but by Sovereignly called and anointed leaders that the Holy Spirit has selected. One man recently went through four attempts of being burned alive and emerged unhurt. That’s the God they need to see and it is happening. As Iran becomes a Christian Nation, I hope they send a few missionaries from the ‘hard knocks school of Iran’  to those ‘enlightened’, politically correct churches that no longer believe in the power of the …  

Hong Kong was our third largest supporting nation last year. Now, they really need our prayers!  Recently, at a major Hong Kong sports event, an enterprising youth managed to unplug the mandatory playing of the Chinese National Anthem and insert this song which seems to have captured the hearts of all Hong Kong’ers (see video). While millennials and generation z’ers in the USA are demonstrating for socialism, their counterparts in Hong Kong are putting their lives on the line for freedom, some of them carrying, of all things, American Flags. Yesterday, the first Hong Kong protester was shot by Chinese …