Sdam and I had a lovely little wedding on November 14th. Two days before the ceremony, the restaurant we had booked canceled on us because of new COVID restrictions. We reached out to friends who quickly came to help, and we had a small socially distanced wedding at the CMA office. Thankfully, Sdam’s family was able to join and my parents called in on FaceTime.
We are now happily married!
Here at EMI, we have been busy wrapping up different projects for the end of the year. And, I have been busy preparing for the interns we plan to take in January. With new visa and entry requirements, this has proved more stressful than in previous terms. However, our interns are still excited to come and are busy making preparations and raising support. Please pray for smooth transition for them early next year.
Sdam Update
Over the next few months, we want to introduce you to Sdam’s ministry here in Cambodia. Sdam started working for his NGO in 2013. At that time, he was hired as the first Khmer staff. Initially doing community outreach, he soon began working for the social work team, doing house visits and working on specific cases. Today, Sdam is now the head of the social work team of 6 other Khmer staff. (Most of whom are pictured below.)
Here is one short example of the kinds of cases Sdam works on:
In the community where they work, there was one young boy, Rithy (not real name). He was about 12 years old. He was known in the community as homeless, a drug user and seller, and physically abused by the drug sellers he worked for. One day, as the team was visiting the community, they were told the boy had died already. When the team went searching for him, they found him unconscious, but alive. They revived him and quickly began working to get him placed in a drug rehab center. This involved talking with local leaders and authorities to get him placed quickly. This was almost one year ago now. Sdam has seen Rithy recently and can’t believe how much he has changed. He has learned guitar and Bible at the rehab center. Now that Rithy has finished the program he was in, Sdam’s team is working on getting him reintegrated back into society. Please join us in prayer for Rithy. He hopes to be able to move back to his home province with distant family he has there.
The year 2020 is almost over. At times it felt like it would never end, and yet, I know that what I’ve experienced here in Cambodia is nothing like what friends and family have experience around the world. Case counts and the resulting restrictions and fear have mostly stayed low in Cambodia. Only in the last month have we started to see a small up-tick in numbers. This fall, as numbers remained low, schools were opening and we had begun to meet in person at church again. However, with new cases being reported, a lot of the restrictions are being put back in place. Please continue to pray for those in Cambodia who have lost jobs during this time, and still struggle to provide for themselves in this time.
We pray with you and the rest of the world for hope in Jesus Christ, in this difficult season. May you remember this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
Merry Christmas,
Anna & Sdam
