Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas! We hope you have a great holiday with family and loved ones. Here in Cambodia, we celebrate a little differently than in the West, since most Cambodians do not even know the meaning of Christmas. We feel that this time of year is a great opportunity to bless the communities we are in and teach the true significance of Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ.

This past Sunday, we held a Christmas program at our Saang Foundation Center. The program began in prayer by Pastor Pheaktra, and was MC’d by Solomon (one of our staff teachers) and a young woman from our youth group. It was an almost 4-hour program, including dance, worship, drama, and the message of Christmas.

• Sak Saum, our program for at-risk and trafficked women, performed a beautiful skit, song, and dance telling of how God has brought them out of dark and difficult situations into a place of hope and new life.
• Solomon and a group of youth led a time of worship, and the youth also performed a dance.
• Our intern Daniel and some of the young men in his breakdance class debuted their new dance group, “Souljuz Crew”. It was exciting for their friends and family to see them use their talent and new skills to glorify God. Interest in his class is growing and now many more youth in the area are signing up!
• Children sponsored by our Loaves and Fish program danced, and some also participated with other youth in a drama telling the story of Jesus’ birth.
• Following the drama, Eric and Pastor Pheaktra spoke, sharing the significance of Jesus’ birth and the meaning of Christmas.
• Through a free prize draw, we gave away 2 bicycles, 5 moto helmets, 22 cases of noodles, 2 electric fans, 3 small gas stoves, 5 water filters, 2 rice pots, 50 tee shirts, 20 sarongs, Sak Saum bags, and more! This was a great blessing to the community. Many of the prizes went to children, which very exciting!

Although we have done other Christmas events in the past, this year’s outreach was by far the largest event In His Steps has ever hosted. We invited 2,000 people, and over 1,800 attended! People in Saang have never seen such a large event, and are still talking about all that happened. We invited local government leaders, and were excited that many of them came. They seemed very impressed with the program and what we are doing in the community.

Our staff and volunteers all did a great job making sure that things ran smoothly. Many members of our youth group volunteered as ushers, parking attendants, and security guards. We know that our efforts were blessed: throughout the day there were no disturbances, thefts, or injuries! This is incredible, considering the number of people who attended. We were amazed by the success of the program and God’s faithfulness to the people of Cambodia as he uses us to minister to them. Please pray that the message of hope they heard will touch their hearts and lead to more salvations and transformed lives in the community!

Happy Holidays,

In His Steps

Breakdance Class

Hello all,

This week we wanted to give you a glimpse into the ministry of our intern Daniel. Daniel is from Singapore and is with In His Steps for a year. Our interns receive personal discipleship and opportunities for them to use their skills to assist in ministry. 

For Daniel, who has been breakdancing for several years, his time in Cambodia has led him to see how his own interest in dance can be used to influence Cambodian youth in a positive way. He is now holding weekly classes with youth in Saang, and is teaching some of our staff to breakdance as well! Those who attend the classes enjoy practicing their new skills and building friendships at the same time.

Cambodia is a nation where over 50% of the population are under the age of twenty years old. There is a great need for discipleship of this young generation; they are the leaders and influencers of Cambodia's future. Young teen boys in Saang are often at risk for gang activity, and need a pastime and a positive means of self-expression. Making a difference in their lives now can influence many generations to come. Daniel's breakdance class is one of the ways that In His Steps can do that!

~ In His Steps

Ministry Update

Hello everyone,

In this post we wanted to give you a little update on each of our ministries. If you're not already familiar with what In His Steps does, click here to read more about our ministry and the ways that we are working to establish the Kingdom of God in Cambodia!

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Loaves and Fish

Our Loaves and Fish program is always busy, and this month has been no exception! School break ended at the beginning of the month and all of our sponsored orphans are now back in school studying hard. We are so proud of them all; many were illiterate until we began sponsoring them. Now almost all are at the head of their classes and setting a great example to their peers. It is such a joy to see them reaching their potential!

Sadly, a disabled man that Loaves and Fish sponsored recently passed away. Many of you have met or know about Mr. Loung, a stroke victim who had been paralyzed and had no way to provide for his family. We began to care for him and his family, meeting physical needs and encouraging them through daily visits, encouragement, and prayer. We saw great changes in Mr. Loung, including improved health, a better living standard, and a new outlook on life as he and his family received God's love from our staff. We were able to have a Christian funeral for him (a first in the Saang area) and will continue to work with and help his family. Please keep his wife and children in your prayers as they go through this difficult time.

Foundation Center

Our Foundation Center is growing in many ways, both as a center of learning and a hub of activity for the Saang Christian community. We are seeing an increase of attendance at both our educational classes and our church services. Not only our the numbers growing, but our students are maturing in their faith and seeking more opportunities to make a difference in their community!

Please continue to keep our plans for a safehouse in your prayers. There is such a need for this in Saang. Our staff constantly encounter situations where at-risk children are in desperate need of a place of refuge. The local government approves of our safehouse plans, but we cannot move forward without funding. Phec, Joshua, and Aaron (at-risk children and youth who we have been able to help by housing them at Sak Saum and the Foundation Center) are thriving and we look forward to helping more children like them!

Sak Saum

Our Sak Saum girls have been busy this month preparing for product sales in both Cambodia and the US. They have also been learning how to sew new products, which is always both a challenge and a chance to learn new skills. We believe in teaching each girl each step of the production process so that they can master many skills (unlike assembly lines at garment factories!).

In the future, we also want to teach other job skills to girls who may not wish to learn sewing. There are many other lines of work which can also be taught to help more at-risk and trafficked women provide for themselves. We are excited about future possibilities and are praying that God will give us more insight into how to expand Sak Saum in the coming years.

Some of our girls have been facing personal adversity from family, so please keep them in your prayers. We want to work with each of them to help them make positive life choices. Culture, tradition, and circumstances can make this difficult, but we know God has good plans and purposes for every one of our girls!

~

As always, thank you for remembering our ministry in your prayers and supporting what we do. God is moving in Cambodia and worldwide, and we are very blessed to be a part of that!

Love in Christ,

In His Steps

October Update

Greetings everyone!

We hope that as the seasons change you are all doing well! Autumn is always a busy time for In His Steps; our in-country ministry continues as Eric and Ginny visit the U.S.

While Eric and Ginny are away, our Cambodian directors work together to keep everything running smoothly. Meanwhile, the Hanson's are traveling to Colorado, Florida, and New York, touching bases with churches, teaching at Christian retreats, visiting family, and seeking to raise funds for our upcoming safehouse project.* 

Back in Cambodia, the month of October has been a time of staff training, as some of our national and international staff have attended seminars on family management and labor law. By participating in these seminars, our staff are being better equipped for ministry. This weekend, our Foundation Center will be holding a family management seminar of our own, taught by staff and free to the community! 

As time goes on and our ministry expands, we are seeing the fruit of discipleship and God's grace in the lives of our staff. As they grow personally, they are able to sow back into the lives of others more effectively. At our weekly staff meetings, we now rotate responsibilities for leading worship, prayer, teaching, setup, and cleanup. This keeps everyone involved and gives all a chance to grow in their giftings and leadership.

In additional to regular ministry, we are preparing for a Christmas program outreach to the community in Saang. Sak Saum, Loaves and Fish, and Foundation Center ministries will all take part in leading games, dramas, dance performances, worship times, and outreach. Please keep these plans in your prayers. Last year's program was a great success with hundreds in attendance, and we expect even more from the community this year. This will be a great opportunity to share the gospel to many who have never heard it. We are excited to see what God will do!

~In His Steps

*We now have at least four children in Saang area who are great need of a home. This is a serious matter and we have a strong burden to intervene. Please pray with us that God will touch hearts and release the finances for us to build a safehouse. 

Greetings everyone! These past few weeks have marked some important steps forward for both Sak Saum and our work in Saang, so we would like to share the news with you.

For the last few months, we have been going through the process of applying to the Cambodian Ministry of Social Affairs for a three-year approval of our Loaves and Fish and Foundation Center ministries. We are very happy to have received this approval this past Thursday! Although we already have permission to work in the Saang District, the three-year agreement is a great blessing to us. It will allow us to expand ministry and reach more people in Kandal Province. It makes it easier for international and national staff to receive visas for travel. And it also establishes Sarith (our national director) and other Cambodian staff as leaders and forerunners of future ministry.

We had been told that it was very difficult for NGO’s to be approved, and that the process would take much longer. Instead, with little hassle and no long wait, God answered our prayers and our application was accepted! While we were meeting with the Cambodian Secretary of State for the signing ceremony, he had nothing but positive and encouraging things to say about our ministry. In fact, the ceremony was filmed and aired during a government news program on TV that evening!

Clearly, God is moving in amazing ways here. New doors have also been opening for Sak Saum in the areas of marketing products and supporting the girls. Opportunities that we could never have orchestrated on our own have seemingly fallen into our laps! We know that in reality they are falling from heaven. God is enlarging our reach in so many areas and we believe this is a result of submitting to authority and letting God work in his ways instead of ours. 

We are excited to see so many signs of God’s favor and confirmation of the goals we have been working towards. We appreciate your prayers that he would continue to bless In His Steps and the people we reach here in Cambodia.

In Christ,

IHSI

Without Walls

Hello everyone,

In this update we want to tell you about something we are building in Saang: not a building of concrete and wood and nails, but rather of faith and obedience to what God is speaking. In fact, our hope is that it will actually be “a building without walls!”

For some time now, we have seen that our Foundation Center in Saang will become a church. But this is the year that seems right to begin the church-planting process. No pun intended, this is a big step for In His Steps!

Since early spring, we have been working on the necessary applications with the government and a local Christian network (the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia) to officially establish the church. Although we have been told that it may take some time for our government application to be accepted, we believe that in the right time God will make a way.

Meanwhile, we have begun holding weekly Sunday services at the Foundation Center. Local Christians have shown great interest: attendance has been good and the foundation that is being laid is strong. We will continue to teach and disciple those who will be church leaders, raising them up in their giftings so they can minister effectively.

When we say we want our church to be without walls, we mean that it should be much more than a “Christian club”. Our prayer is for a church made from and ministering to the community: an established group of local believers that reaches out to everyone they meet with the love of Christ. That’s why it will be named “Gospel Community Church.

Why is it not enough for NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) such as In His Steps to minister in Saang? Why is it necessary for a church to be planted? We believe God’s heart is to raise up the Cambodian Church, not just in Saang but across the nation. There may be a time when God calls IHSI to a different village, province, or even country, but with a strong church already in place, ministry to the community doesn’t have to stop. God is faithful and he wants to be faithful to the hurting and those in need through his global Church, including the church in Saang. 

We’d appreciate your prayers for the planting of Gospel Community Church of Saang, that it would truly be a light to the community that is rooted and grounded in Christ!

 

God bless,

IHSI

Teamwork

Chim-reap-suah! (“Hello” in the Khmer language)

These past few weeks have flown by here at In His Steps… On Tuesday we said goodbye to an outreach team that was visiting us from our New York home church. The team was made up of nine teens and adults. For three of them, it was their first time in Cambodia!

The team did many things in their short time here, including leading a children’s VBS, taking our Loaves and Fish orphans on a fun field trip to a museum and water park, helping with Foundation Center repairs, and preaching at our new Sunday morning services in Saang. They also led games, performed dramas, and spoke at our weekend youth programs, taught English and guitar, led devotions for our Sak Saum women, and much more. In other words, they were quite busy!

At the end of all IHSI outreaches, we hold a “love feast”, a going-away dinner for the team with all of our staff. These are great opportunities for testimonies from team and staff alike. The team shared some of the highlights from their trip, and our Khmer staff spoke of how happy they were to see old friends and build new relationships. It was clear that everyone involved in the outreach was very blessed in many ways.

We love welcoming teams into our ministry family. IHSI views each outreach as an opportunity for team members to learn and grow while they are helping others. It was great to spend time with them and hear what God was teaching them during these past two weeks.

The team arrived safely back in New York this morning, and by now they are probably all resting from the effects of jet-lag! Meanwhile, we are back into our “normal” schedule (although life in Cambodia can be rather unpredictable). We look forward to more teams to come, and not just from New York… If your church or youth group would like to join us for a missions trip to Cambodia, we encourage you to click here and get more information!

God bless,

IHSI

A New Life

Hello everyone! A lot has been going on in the ministry since we last posted here. In fact, we have gained a new son! A young boy who was in our Loaves and Fish program recently moved from his caretaker’s home to our Foundation Center to live with staff.

Joshua is about eleven years old, an orphan who had been living with his uncle’s family. We supported them for 3 1/2 years, providing food and vitamins, covering education costs, and offering many other benefits to help them raise him. Unfortunately, it came to our attention that there was increasing alcoholism and domestic violence in the home, with the uncle frequently beating his wife and sometimes threatening or harming the children as well. After meeting with the man and giving repeated warnings, it became clear he was not willing to change.

With the approval of the village leader and both Joshua and the uncle’s agreement,

Loaves and Fish gained legal custody and moved him to the Foundation Center. To mark the beginning of this new life for him, we bought him new clothes, shoes, and books. He will continue attending school and will be raised and mentored by our staff.

Joshua is a sweet boy who is already growing by leaps and bounds! Before, he seemed afraid to look people in the eye, but a newfound confidence is growing. His playfulness, joy, and diligence in studying show how positive this move has been for him. In his free time, he’s been having fun learning to ride the new bicycle we gave him!

It’s great to see Joshua begin to flourish in a safe and loving environment. Our heart for him is that he would be deeply rooted in Christ, growing up as an example and leader in his community. We believe God has great things in store for Joshua, and for all the children in our programs.

We’re blessed to have been able to help Joshua leave behind his dangerous circumstances and find a better life. He is just one of many orphans here in Cambodia who are often in danger even in their homes. Alcoholism, abuse, child labor, and lack of education about children’s rights are all a part of this problem. As you may know, we are planning to build a children’s safehouse on our Foundation Center property. To help support this effort, you can go to our website.

Please continue to keep Joshua and our entire ministry in your prayers!

In Christ,

IHSI

 

Not a Typical Mother's Day

"What do you usually do for Mother's Day?"

Making breakfast for Mom, planting flowers in the yard, or going out to lunch together may be your idea of a typical Mother's Day. Not for us! The holiday was a special time of testimonies and baptism for over forty youth and adults from Saang District.

Up bright and early, staff and new believers met at a hotel pool to prepare for the baptism service. Those who gathered were clearly excited about their chance to make this important step and publicly affirm their faith! For many Cambodian youth, it is difficult to convince their Buddhist parents to allow them to participate in Christian events. We encouraged them to honor their parents' wishes, and were blessed that almost everyone who wanted to attend could come.

After a time of worship and testimonies, I (Eric) and Foundation Center director Pheaktra began the baptism. Almost all of the 42 participants are new believers who accepted Christ while attending the Center. One HIV/AID+ woman who is sponsored by our Loaves and Fish program had an especially joyful Mother's Day, as she and two of her children were baptized together. Although it looked like rain, our prayers were answered and the skies were clear until after everyone safely arrived back home.

We were blessed to host this event and look forward to many more baptisms as the Saang community grows in Christ. Please keep Christians in Saang in your prayers, and stay tuned to our blog for more updates and prayer requests! Happy Mother's Day!

~In His Steps

Getting To Know Us

Welcome to the In His Steps blog! Our hope is that we'll be able to raise awareness of issues in Cambodia and what In His Steps International (IHSI) is doing to help. We've been working here for over nine years, and have seen God move in mighty ways as we bring the love and compassion of Christ to Cambodian communities. If you've never heard of IHSI before, or want to learn more about our ministry programs, please take a moment to check out our website!

Our vision:
Our vision is to provide all people with the opportunity to be set free from affliction, deprivation, and oppression, and to have their lives transformed.

Our mission:
IHSI is non-profit NGO dedicated to working with the global church, local communities, and government to set captives free. To the hungry we offer life, to the forgotten we give opportunity, to the outcast we introduce dignity, and to the desperate we bring hope.

Get involved:

We want to encourage you to keep our ministry and the country of Cambodia in your prayers. The intercession of believers worldwide is vitally important! We hope that reading this blog will help you stay informed as you pray. Also, if you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation to IHSI, please click here.

Check back soon for ministry updates!

~In His Steps International