On one afternoon, in several locations, around 500 adults received Christ. They burned 5 kg (That’s twelve pounds) of “sai gatas”. These are chords which are tied around the waist, once for life, and then the people purchase enchantments, inscribed by a shaman on brass or silver foil, which are rolled on to the chord to protect them form every type of malady which they can afford to have produced. These are never to be removed or: “All the curses, ailments, and disasters, the charms were written to protect you from, will come upon you!” When these people receive Christ, and …  

Two of the men from the 4000 family city came back to Phnom Penh to study to become Pastors. They are ‘oral learners’ having never attended school. They will use the “Proclaimer Audible Bibles” for self study and teaching. We brought in about sixty of our key leaders to go through the basic “Refresher Course”. Mak Sou was the main instructor. One of the two new believers showed some hesitancy, he said he’d, “Sacrificed himself to Jesus Christ.” Sou explained that sacrifice was not what God wanted, and walked him through the basics of salvation. He became agitated and his …  

My name is Thany.  I was born in the Battambang Province.  My family was all farmers.  Every year, we wouldn’t have enough to eat because the rice was destroyed by flood or it was fruitless, so my family would go work in other people’s fields in exchange for food.  My mother drank, smoked, and gambled every day.  One day she got sick.  At that time we had no money so my father decided to sell our buffalo to get her to the hospital.  Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with uterus cancer and pneumonia.  We couldn’t afford the treatments she needed.  My …  

A voice called me in the darkness and flooded my life with light.  My name is Sandok.  In 1996, my father was a Khmer Rouge Commander.  Where we lived in Southern Pursat Province was experiencing drought, the cattle had nothing to eat.  My father sent me to take the herd about 30 kilometers north to the east of the city of Pursat where there was grass for them to graze.  I arrived and set up camp along highway 5.  Late that night, a pastor was traveling to Pursat so he asked if he could stay with me since I had …  

Nazareth’s full name is Nazareth Kong. He was named Nazareth for Jesus’ hometown and Kong after our staff pediatrician that nursed him back to health, Dr. Kong Rolina. Even today we don’t know exactly how old Nazareth is, we had to give him a name and a birthday. That’s all you can do with a child like Nazareth, when they are abandoned and dropped off at the church by a random, goodhearted citizen. Nazareth was found in the middle of a large roundabout, in a basket by a food cart saleswoman. A motorcycle taxi driver knew that there was a …  

About 70% of FCOP kids are orphans as defined by UNICEF. The other 30% are kids that are abandoned, or share the fate of Chom Rong, a boy that had parents. Before you condemn us for taking him in, read his story as interviewed by Katie (one of our new volunteer staff from the States). She did not seek him out, but he just happened to be the first staff member she interviewed. He has been under our care since 2005, and started as a staff member about 4 years ago. We were looking for Christmas stories, but this one …  

Whether you meet MareYar (pronounced Mar-ree-yar) at her home, at school or singing songs at a church service you would immediately notice her smile, infectious laugh and kind eyes.  As you get to know her, you would see how she’s a healthy part of a functioning family, a good student, and a great helper.  These are all great things to highlight in a typical, healthy child’s upbringing.  The beginning of MareYar’s story, however, is anything but typical or healthy. MareYar doesn’t have the luxury of remembering her birth parents. Perhaps her parents giving up on her as a baby came from …