Pa Thom explaining to government officials farm progress

The Director of The Cambodian Development Council came to inspect the land holdings of FCOP and was so impressed with what can be done he is inviting the Ministry of Agriculture to come for a look. Our selfish motive in this is to make FCOP self sufficient through rice production. Even this is a demonstration of valuing others more highly than ourselves in that the profits go to support orphans.

Small land holdings  of rural rice farmers cannot compete with the efficiencies of larger, modern production. The key is to form cooperatives, but this requires a basis of trust. Trust is hard to establish, especially by the government since they have been behind many of the land concessions. It takes institutional authority and that has proven to be a role for the church.

Once people come into a relationship with a God who loves, accepts, and forgives them, then they can learn to pass this on to others. Forgiveness is one of the most difficult concepts to be inculcated into the hearts of Cambodian believers, and without forgiveness there can be no trust.