With a few welcome exceptions such as “Cambodia for Christ”, Christian music performed in Cambodian churches are translated from imported Christian tunes. Most music written in Cambodia is secular. Cambodians love to sing and there are hundreds of karaoke bars in Phnom Penh alone. This may explain why FCOP puts so much emphasis on music training for our Cambodian churches. It connects the secular to the Divine in a painless seam. There is a reason for that and though the devil may think music is his, God planted the musical seed in every heart. The kids at FCOP’s National Training …  

As we shared last month, staff member Shanon Hladek was recently in the USA but she’s thankful to be back home in Cambodia. She kept a very busy schedule, visiting 6 States including: Washington, Oregon, California, Texas, Alabama, and Utah sharing at 7 churches all within 8 weeks. Each church generously gave support for the orphans and widows beyond what she could have asked or imagined. We’re grateful for each one’s support from providing electricity for a church to committing to monthly sponsorship of church community centers. Here is what she had to say about her time away: “It’s one …  

When the devil gives you lemons, ask the Holy Spirit for a lemonade recipe! Churches are still officially on lock-down. The result was predicted to be disastrous. But, the reality has been the scattering of the faithful who open new meetings in their homes and are broadcasting their messages via social media from multiple churches each Sunday and they are reaching thousands of people. Although FCOP has no way to officially tabulate the results, we are confident, that during this time of great fear and stress, that the Church has been growing. Every week district leaders are visiting new locations …  

Those on the front lines of ministry that are plundering hell to populate heaven must be involved in the ministry of deliverance. An inconvenient truth is that not all demons are created equal. When you really war for the soul of a nation those who have the faith and anointing to take on principalities will rise to the top of your spiritual army like cream in a can of milk. But, know this, those people so gifted will face a special wrath! They really need our prayer covering. “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the …  

Any homeowner knows about maintenance and upkeep of their house. We have over 100 homes that house orphaned and abandoned children. We often use visiting teams to help with some of the upkeep and projects. Without having a foreign team in the last two years and funding for projects taking a hit because of it, we’re in a deep hole trying to keep our church home buildings in good repair. We’re grateful for churches who have done virtual teams with us (if you’re interested, feel free to contact us) and for our own staff who we send all over Cambodia …  

In mid January we unloaded our last container of Manna Pack. It is a nutritious, rice based meal with protein, vitamins and minerals added. The freight costs and shipping difficulties are killing us. With regard to supply chain issues, it now costs us nearly $10,000US to receive a 20 ton load of Manna Pack from the US interior to our Training Center in Phnom Penh. Domestic rice price are under the government thumb and our own raw rice is selling at our farm for only about $225 per ton. With a 62% milling percentage and a $50/ton milling cost, that brings our locally milled rice …  

Our daughter Hannah gave birth to our new grandson, Oliver Theodore Olbrich Rowley, on January 15th. Ollie is doing great, but Hannah has been in and out of the hospital with a condition known as preeclampsia, which affects her kidneys and blood pressure. Her husband’s mother is suffering from knee replacement complications, our daughter Chanta has Covid and our son Emil’s wife is still recovering from a double mastectomy. So, Hannah needs her Mom. We are leaving for the US tomorrow for a 16 day trip. Mattai (a young man with Down Syndrome that has been with us for 22 …  

On Sunday December 26th, Mak Sou and I attended church for the first time in 20 months. As we watched our kids at Chom Chao perform different parts of the service, I was reminded that ever since coming to Asia (Laos) back in 1968, I have been amazed at how different cultures and languages interpret the same thing differently. A few years ago I was back in the USA in December visiting donor churches. I was driving with my daughter between weekend meetings when the song, “Last Christmas” played on the radio. I commented, “I’ve never heard that one.” My …