Please Pray, Now!
Dateline: Phnom Penh, July 29,2019: "Extremely dry weather in Southeast Asia has caused the most severe drought in years, raising fears of economic and social disruptions in Cambodia. According to the Thai Meteorological Department, the drought has been caused by two major phenomenon. The first is less rainfall during the rainy season, which is a direct impact of the El Nino weather pattern that hit this year. The second is the closure of dams in Laos and Southern China, which have resulted in lower water levels in the Mekong River -- a major water supply for the lower Mekong basin, which covers Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. Cambodians have complained about a lack of tap water and rice drying out in paddy fields. At the border between Laos and Cambodia, the water level of the Mekong River has fallen to what could be its lowest level in almost 100 years."
Troubles, trials and temptations never let up despite a continuous stream of victories. I could see the funding challenges for FCOP coming with the worldwide push to abolish organized orphan care. Despite the fact that God mandates the church to "care for the orphan and widow", it has almost become politically incorrect. Adoption and foster care will never pick up the most vulnerable children in Cambodia and FCOP does what we do simply because that's what the church should do. To make up this difference last year we began the Rice Production Enterprise to fund the deficit. I have always thought it would take at least three years to get it up to speed and that we are vulnerable to weather aberrations in that period. We are in the midst of a severe trial:
Because we have not yet had time to build adequate reservoir capacity, our irrigation supplies have run out. We are getting adequate rice storage constructed and people ask,"Why didn't you build the reservoirs first?" The simple answer is: It does no good to raise rice if you can't store it. If we get rain in the next few days we can salvage most of our crop. Please pray earnestly for rain now!
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