The majority of our students are doing well in their studies. They have tried their best in class and at home, and they have progressed a lot. I can say this because on the first day of school in 2022, they knew none of the English alphabet, yet now they can read English words and phrases about themselves, family and occupations. However, we also have some students who have difficulty learning English. We often do 10 minutes extra teaching for these students after class finishes, and we hope they can catch up and will not need extra class soon.
For spiritual value, we encourage our students to pray the Lord’s prayer because they don’t know how to pray and where to start. So, they are learning phrase by phrase in Khmer language first then in English language. We will also teach them to memorize the 10 commandments from the Old Testament.
The community has received much blessings and seen God’s love through our programs. At least 96 children got free foreign language lessons, 65 families received food packs, and around 100 children experienced fun, love and joy in Sunday school service. I am more thankful to have good and kind people working together for the Kingdom of God.
I hope you and your family are doing well. My family and I are also doing fine. We gather together to pray for the sick, ministries, supporters, families, and churches. We thank God for always watching over us and giving us his grace. As we wait for His coming, we will do our best to serve Him and to have a good relationship with Him.
English School
It is a pleasure to share with you how the school is doing and how God works through the English school program. We planned, discussed, and prayed for everything to be done according to God’s will.
This month, I have a few things to update:
The mid-term exam is over, and 85% of students have passed the test. 5 students have dropped out because their parents had to move to another province to look for work.
We had a parent-teacher meeting. 65 parents attended the meeting. We talked about student attendance, and I gave all parents a questionnaire to fill out. I also gave them their children’s report book. Parents were happy to see their child’s progress.
The Prime Minister election has just finished, and there will be a new Prime Minister. I am not sure if there will be new laws in the future.
We are now planning for 2024 activities as we have a clear picture of what we will do for next year.
Peam Sunday School
Thank God that Sunday School helps our students learn more about God. Our Sunday School provides not only spiritual teaching but also life lessons. For instance, we taught students about their rights and self-care as they enter their teenage years. As God loves us, he also wants us to take good care of our bodies as his living temple.
Our assistant teachers will be taking a break for a couple of months because they need to focus on their studies to prepare for their diploma exams. Please pray for our teachers to pass every subject they take.
For 2024, we want to focus on discipling a small group of students. We will select students that meet our criteria to help them grow stronger in their faith and then help in the Sunday School.
Kok Thmey Sunday School
I am at peace to see our church members, and also children, keep coming to church. I am also thankful for our pastor and teachers who are always faithful in carrying out their duties. I pray that what we are planning and doing will give us results that please and honour God.
Thanksgiving for:
A wonderful team
Good discipleship class
Many students passed the exam
Chairs for our Kok Thmey Sunday School
Prayer request:
Safe travel back and forth
Financial support for pastor Bunnath at Kok Thmey church
Wisdom for students to learn
Our plans to be completed and to succeed according to God’s will
I trust you are doing fine with your family. I am truly grateful for your support in school and ministry. I am sure that our “investment” in God’s kingdom will reap fruitful results that glorify God and bring joy to our hearts. My family and I are doing well, except for my father who has been in pain for a week now. Please pray for my father.
English School
There was a long school break this year because of the SEA games in Cambodia. But our school started two weeks earlier than public schools because we wanted to follow our curriculum. However, not every student attended the class because they were in their hometown. We’ve learned that we should follow the public school semesters and not try to push ahead with our curriculum. We’ve had to revise our scheme of work. We’ve designed worksheets for homework and also printed out the exam paper.
I am blessed to have good teamwork, both with the operations team and teachers. Teacher Dalen, our new teacher, works hard and is willing to learn new things. She has the potential to be a good teacher.
Peam Sunday School
Your prayers and donation are very important to us to bring the gospel throughout the village. This month, God has called one of the girls to be baptized. She accepted Jesus as her personal savior. We are pleased to baptize her in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We pray that many more young people will come to know Jesus as their savior and Lord.
Incidentally, we have shifted Sunday School time from afternoon to morning for this period of time because of the hot weather change. Sunday School is presently from 8:40 to 11:00 AM .
Kok Thmey Sunday School
Your act of kindness has served the church and community for very good purposes. Our Sunday school program is doing fine – we’ve finished the story of Lazarus being brought back to life by Jesus. As we taught that lesson, we encouraged children to say thank to God for the life that God has given them.
Thanksgiving for:
God’s protection over everyone when they travel to school
Having good teamwork
God’s mercy upon all children
Prayer Request:
Wisdom and strength
Safe travel as students return from their hometown
Financial support for pastor Bunnath at Kok Thmey church
Pastor Bunnath’s health to get better
Safe travel for Singapore team visiting Siem Reap from 2 to 15 June
Thank you for praying for us in Cambodia. I pray you and your family are doing well in Singapore. My family and I are doing well. We had a good time together during the Khmer New Year celebration. We visited some places in Siem Reap, and gathered with family, friends, and relatives for fellowship. Many Cambodians traveled to different provinces to visit or to catch up with their families. I thank God for protecting and strengthening us during the Khmer New Year break.
English School
We hope to see our students able to communicate with us in English. We pray that their relationship with God grows everyday. We finished some parts of Textbook 2 before the school holiday, so that everyone can rest and enjoy the break and return to school refreshed.
Peam Sunday School
All our students had much fun celebrating the Khmer New Year. We worshiped, prayed, and played a lot of games, which included traditional games too. There were prizes for everyone, and students got to bring home some food.
I would like to share one interesting and touching testimony from one of our older students. But before talking about her testimony, let me tell you what some people in her community believe in. They believe that if they can get their virgin daughters possessed by ghosts, they will get good health, wealth, and happiness in their family. So, they have a ghost possession ceremony where they call out many ghosts to get into their daughter’s naked body, and let her dance like crazy in the midst of people.
Srey Ya, one of our students was forced to do a ghost dance. She cried after the ceremony – her parents have never cared about her and just wanted to get a lot of money. And, it seemed they did.
Another student, Rosa, 14 years old, accidentally overheard her parents discussing sending her to a ghost dance because they wanted to have money. She ran into her room, knelt down and prayed. She asked God to help her as she was afraid. God answered her prayer. Her parents changed their mind because they did not feel well, and so didn’t send her to a ghost dance. Rosa said: “God is real, he is listening to me.” She encouraged others to pray to God too.
Kok Thmey Sunday School
We taught students in Kok Thmey village about Easter day. The whole church, and not just the children, also celebrated the Khmer New Year. We washed the feet of our elders, and they prayed for us young leaders. I thank God that he calls all of us his children, and he gives us opportunities to serve him.
Thanksgiving for:
God’s protection during Khmer New Year
My daughter getting first place in her English class
A wonderful school holiday
Prayer Request:
Wisdom and strength
Building permission
Safe journey for students travelling back from their hometown
Financial support for Pastor Bunnath at Kok Thmey Church.
I trust you and your family are doing well. It is wonderful to share with you what God is doing in Cambodia. Thank you so much for coming alongside your support in the ministry. I hope that my letters encourage you when you hear how God has grown the ministry and how lives are being changed. I am thankful for how God has blessed the English School and the Sunday School, and my family too. We are doing well, especially my sister who just got engaged to a good Christian man last week.
English School
Our school is very useful to the Peam community, and it is recognized by villagers, the village chief, and the commune chief. I believe we are slowly, but surely, building loving and strong people for God’s kingdom. As the Bible says “let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Updates for this month:
Student Report Book to be approved by the board before printing
Discussion on tracking of homework is still ongoing
Written exam papers for all grades have been completed and awaiting approval from the board
Trainee teacher to teach in grade 3 next month
School break of 3 weeks for Khmer New Year in April
Peam Sunday School
God is always with us – day by day, week by week. The seeds of God’s word are planted in people’s hearts, and eventually, these seeds will bear fruit, and I can’t wait to see the results of all the hard work everyone puts in. We have started collecting offerings again so children and youths can learn about giving to God. On one of the Sundays, we invited a child from the Sunday School to pray for everyone.
The youths are using a discipleship book with bible verses for their bible study. For the past few weeks, they are learning about the person of Jesus Christ (Jesus as God, and Jesus as human). After lessons, we pray and worship together.
A food pack distribution was carried out in Peam, with food packs going to 70 families. My mother shared the gospel and invited everyone to pray and repeat after her. My mother then went around and invited people to go to Kok Thmey Church, which is nearby. I hope to see some of them open up their hearts and go to church.
Kok Thmey Sunday School
Kok Thmey Sunday School has been doing well so far. Most children like doing crafts after lessons. There are two services in Kok Thmey Church – one for children and one for adults. I’m thankful that the needed repair works in the church have been completed. Everyone feels good to come to church to attend the service. I hope there will be more people coming to God.
Food pack distribution was also carried out in Kok Thmey. The program and the sharing went well. We are waiting to see who will come to church after this distribution. Please pray for us!
Thanksgiving for:
God’s protection when travelling to school
Having wonderful teamwork
Teacher Dalen completing her 3-month probation
God’s provision in repair works in the church
Some English School students who prayed to God
Prayer Request:
Wisdom and strength
Building permission
Financial support for Pastor Bunnath at Kok Thmey Church.
I am grateful for your love and kindness to Cambodian people. I am sure that God will bless you and your family as much as you have blessed us. You have been very supportive partners, and you have carried the love of God, and made it seen to everyone. Thank you so much. Before I update this month’s work, I would like to briefly tell you about my family. We are doing alright. My father is taking medicine regularly, my mother has been helping a lot at Kok Thmey church since my father fell ill. My children are doing well in school. I am thankful that God is watching over us.
English School
We are thankful we have a team that helped in checking the curriculum and came up with ideas for the Friday program. Our students are happy to learn new things, new lessons, especially our new students. Our students are not only keen to attend English School but also to go to Sunday School where they feel joy and peace. Below are a few things to update this month:
Student attendance is 88% in total (above the average of 75%).
Students can follow school curriculum and learning objectives.
Teachers are working on a reporting book, homework tracking, and a writing exam.
For the Friday program, after telling students about the love of God, I asked them if they would want Jesus to come into their lives and to have God’s love in their heart. They all raised their hands and started to follow my prayer. Praise God!
Peam Sunday School
The Sunday School is doing well. We have enough lesson plans, pictures, and teaching aids. However, when there are a lot of students, the teachers sometimes have difficulty controlling the class. Our students come from three different villages, and they have so much to tell each other. We have put the 5 to 12-year-old students into two classes, with assistant teachers helping in these classes. We have a teens’ class too.
Kok Thmey Sunday School
Students come regularly for Sunday School and are absent only when they need to take care of the house and animals. Last Sunday, a girl shared that her parents were always fighting. So the teacher prayed with her that God will bring peace, love, and joy to her family. She said she wanted her parents to believe in God too.
Some parts of the church that needed fixing are done while some are not yet done. Two sides of the toilet have been painted, with just the front yet to be painted.
Happy Lunar New Year! How are you doing? I pray that you and I will see God doing something new this year, guiding us and showing us what we should do. I ask that God will bring more faithful men and women to work in His field and strengthen our love, faith, and hope in Him. I also pray for God’s blessings and protection for our families, our friends, and co-labourers wherever we may be – in Cambodia, Singapore, and other parts of the world.
English School
I am happy that the school did well last year. Before we re-opened school on 2 January, there were several things teachers had to do:
Repair gate and electrical wire
Conduct class orientation at state school
Invite parents of new students to come for a briefing
We started the school year with a “start-up” week for 40 new students. We now have six classes with 96 students in total. The Year 2 classes have been regrouped to better help the students. Better performing students were put together in the same class while weaker students needing more help were put into smaller-sized classes. With this regrouping, we hope to teach more effectively according to the pace the students can go at and how best the students learn.
This year will be challenging for the teachers as we will have to think about teaching strategies that will work for the weaker students to help them learn.
Peam Sunday School
Every Sunday, we already have at least 70 – 80 students including our older students. There are still more students registering to join our Sunday School. We have started Sunday School classes. This month, the Sunday School lessons for the younger students were about God’s creation of heaven and earth from Genesis, John, and Psalms. The older students learned about how God cares for them. They learned that God loves them and they learned to thank God. Two older girls trained to be teacher assistants are helping us very well.
Kok Thmey Sunday School
I am happy that this year our supporters are able to help one more village – Kok Thmey Village. The Sunday School has 40 students. We use the same curriculum to teach them. Besides Sunday School, we are repairing the toilet in the church. It is about 60% done. Thank God for everything.
Thanksgiving for:
God’s protection to and from school
My children’s good health
My daughter starting her English class
Wonderful teamwork
Prayer Request:
Wisdom and strength
Building permission
Support for Pastor Bunnath at Kok Thmey church (Monthly support for 1 year)
