Cambo Manfreds

Manfred's Cambodia Christmas

2011-12-26T12:12:00.002+07:00

We are so thankful to have Joel and Janelle visiting us for Christmas in Cambodia! The C&MA helps missionary kids with one trip back to visit the country where their parents' serve and both Joel and Janelle decided to take their trip this year. What fun for us!!!!

The Ultimate Missionary

2011-12-26T11:16:00.004+07:00

The C&MA Cambodia Team

A Very Merry Christmas!

A word not often associated with Christmas is "missionary". But in fact, that has EVERYTHING to do with Christmas! A missionary, of course, is one who is sent on a mission.

We can honestly say that Jesus came on a mission. The angel said to Joseph: "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21 -- NIV). His mission was and is to save us from the punishment of sin. This was and is Good News. Jesus truly was Heaven's ultimate "Missionary".

Jesus' Great Commission has the word mission right in it. The Mission that Jesus had on that first Christmas has now become our mission... to point people to the Savior. Particularly going to those places where people have no opportunity or limited opportunity to hear this Good News... places like Cambodia where about 99% of the people do not yet know the Savior.

Chris and I are so thankful for the privilege of joining with Jesus in His mission to Cambodia. It has now been more than 10 years since we started serving as the Field Director couple working with the C&MA Cambodia team of about 40 missionaries. By God's grace, we have seen significant impact for Christ and His Kingdom.

As those who have supported us in prayer, we would like to share a few ministry highlights from 2011 as an encouragement to you as our partners in ministry:

The C&MA Mission helped establish a church planting training program with the Cambodian Alliance church where more than 40 volunteer Cambodian church planters are fanning out throughout the country to start groups of Christians where there have never been any before... Since this program started in 2010, there are more than 20 house churches that have been started in unreached areas.
More than 250 Cambodians are enrolled in the "TEE" leadership training program for church leaders around the country. In addition, 17 students are studying full-time in the Elim Rural Ministry Training School. It is exciting to see Cambodians being trained up to lead the churches and to eventually work the missionaries out of a job!
In November we received official permission from the Cambodian government for five churches in Ratanakiri province of Cambodia. This is an area where the number of churches has grown from 0 to more than 30 in the past 12 years. This has also been an area with a lot of persecution against Christians. This permission is very significant because, of the 30 churches in the province, these five are the first to ever receive official local and provincial recognition.
Medical professionals on our team (2 doctors and 2 nurses) literally helped thousands of Cambodians in need of medical care... combining medical expertise along with the compassion and care of Christ. In addition, pretty much everyone on our mission team, oftentimes at personal sacrifice, has assisted people too poor to receive medical care to get the care they need. This doesn't get reported much, but it is something that happens VERY often.
CAMA Services is working with the mission to support an ambulance ministry in Banteay Meanchey province. In 2011, our staff conducted more than 300 ambulance runs, trained Cambodians to successfully operate an Emergency Medical Services program throughout the province, and donated one ambulance to a remote area that has never had an ambulance before.
NewHope schools helped more than 400 children, mostly from very poor, sometimes destitute, backgrounds, to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and the Gospel. Most of these children are now believers and have hope for a brighter future than the one into which they were born.
We have two families on our team who are translating the Bible... one into the Bunong language and the other into the Kuy langauge. It is a thrill to see these people groups beginning to receive the Bible in their own language for the very first time.
At the national church youth conference in April, more than 700 young people attended. Some of them made first time commitments to Christ and many of them responded to a call for total surrender to Christ.

Missionaries working with our team have had the privilege of leading hundreds of people to Christ this past year... from a very high government official to a very poor person dying of AIDS... and everything in between.

Please pray for the following:

4 Generations of Manfreds, August

Many Cambodians have already made professions of faith at Christmas services around the country. Pray for open hearts at the remaining services yet to be held (up until Jan. 1) and for appropriate follow-up for those who, through faith, have experienced the true meaning of Christmas.
On a couple of personal notes, we are so thankful for the prayers and support we have sensed from so many as Dave's dad went to be with the Lord earlier this month. We had a great chance to see him (along with our first grandson, Caleb) in August. Thanks for your ongoing prayers for God's grace in our lives.
That the Great Commission Fund (GCF) of the Alliance will prosper, allowing for greater Kingdom advance in Cambodia and around the world.

As the Lord leads, please continue giving to the GCF. Funds can be sent to: The Christian and Missionary Alliance PO Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3500, clearly marked: "Manfred Support". Donations can also be made online at www.cmalliance.org/give Thanks!

We’d also like to appeal to anyone who has never given to the GCF to consider starting. It is through the GCF that many hundreds of Alliance workers, and their vital ministries around the world, are supported. We are able to continue our ministry, and live in Cambodia, only through the GCF. Thanks so much for considering this!

We appreciate you standing with us as we bring the Mission of that first Christmas to the peoples of Cambodia.

In Christ, Dave, Chris, and Jenna

Faith in the Flood

2011-10-29T11:16:00.004+07:00

Worship in the Flood

Dear Prayer Supporters:

Thank you for your prayers for Cambodia. We would ask you to continue to do so as Cambodia is experiencing the worst flooding in many years. More than 200 have lost their lives and the rice harvest has been significantly impacted. In areas where the needs are the greatest, our missionary team and CAMA services have been assisting with emergency food supplies through several local churches.

Cambodia is a low-lying country and much of the country is what we would call in the West, a flood-plain. That is one of the reasons why many Cambodian homes are built on stilts. However the floods this year have been much worse than normal. The flood waters have gone higher than the stilts in many of the homes near the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. This particularly affects the Vietnamese minority who tend to live on these rivers.

One of the ministries of the C&MA Cambodia Mission is called "NewHope" ministries. This is a ministry focused on the million plus ethnic Vietnamese people who live in Cambodia. The number of Christians amongst the Vietnamese in Cambodia is much less than 1%. NewHope currently has 8 small churches amongst the Vietnamese living here. Two of these churches have been under water for four weeks.

In the midst of this hardship, it is encouraging to see the faith of the faithful. A few Sundays ago, one of our missionary families from Australia went out to see how the "Prek Kdam" church was doing. Even though the water had risen above the height of the stilts and the floor in the church was flooded, they found that the faithful had still come to worship. They all came in boats and tied their boats together in front of the church where they worshiped, shared in communion, listened to God's Word, and prayed. Since the church flooded four weeks ago, they have been gathering together in their boats in front of the church every Sunday.

Serving the Lord's Supper

Their testimony reminds me of Jesus words in Luke 6:47-48: "I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built."

These are people, who in the midst of the personal challenges all around them from the flood have chosen to built their "house" on the solid Rock of faith in Jesus. What a great reminder and testimony to the fact that whenever the "floods" of life come, there is a Rock to which we can cling.

We are thankful for the testimony of God's people. This church was started a few years ago through the faithful witness and testimony of C&MA missionaries who continue to invest in developing new leaders, strengthening this church, and doing the same in many more places like it. Thanks for your support in prayer for the people in Cambodia who are being impacted by the flooding but even more significantly, thanks for your prayers and support for our missionary team and Cambodian believers who are helping the peoples of Cambodia to understand that there is a true Rock upon which they can cling when the inevitable floods of life come. This is the eternal need that only Christ can address.

In addition to your prayers, your support through the Great Commission Fund helps to keep us here impacting the multifaceted needs of this land. Giving can be done through your local Alliance Church or online at www.cmalliance.org/give

Thank you for helping us to be here and serve here in these times of need.

In Christ, Dave and Chris Manfred

23 in 18

2011-07-27T22:39:00.000+07:00

Dear Praying Friends

Please look through the following list:

1	Lweah Kaum (Kandaal)	Sarun	Mar-10
2	Lweah (K. Chnang)	Taon Ton and Preap Kain	Mar-11
3	Pum Plong	Njol	Apr-10
4	Koh	Theun	Apr-11
5	Teah	Theun	Apr-11
6	Pum Jo-Aan	Seeuw Haing	May-11
7	Pum Peak	Seeuw Chol	Jun-11
8	Pum Kohl	Chuel	Mar-10
9	Camka Kabah	Bin David/Kum Een	2011
10	Ang Tosoum/ Kum Tosool	Bin Navi	2010
11	Bat Num	Pauw and Sokun or Theun	Oct-10
12	Sambua	Tea, Houng and Tuck	May-11
13	Lweah (Varin)	Seiha	Sep-10
14	Chuk Sohh	Hein Moch	Jan-11
15	Anlong Veng	Phearum/Srei Noi Church	Mar-11
16	Srei Noi	Nhorn	May-11
17	Rung Wean	Camraen and Kam Pui	Mar-11
18	Bay Domraam	Tree	Mar-11
19	Kabaal Crobei	Chung	Mar-11
20	Pum Puyou	Mimi and Oreang	2010
21	Trean	Can Ton/Elim Bible School	2010
22	Srei Amboung	Cin Tan and Klum	2010
23	You Ondeang	Cin Tan and Tea	2010

What are all these strange names? The first column is the name of a
Cambodian village/town that now has a group of believers meeting weekly
to study God's Word and worship. 18 months ago, none of these
communities had a Christian presence. To re-emphasize... since the
beginning of time, there has not been a Christian presence in these
places... at all... but praise God, over the past 18 months, there is
now.

The second column has the name of the Cambodian Church Planter(s) who
took the initiative to get each of these new groups started. The last
column is the date when this new group was started (all within the past
18 months).

Three years ago the Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC--the name of the
Cambodian Alliance Church), asked the C&MA Cambodia Mission to help them
strengthen and expand their church planting ministry in Cambodia. The
table above is the fruit of these labors. With encouragement and
training from the C&MA Cambodia Mission, the KEC has started
house-churches who meet weekly for worship in each of these 23
communities... this means that over the past 18 months, on average,
more than one unreached community per month has a new Christian presence
(house church).

In addition, there is ongoing work to start new house churches in many
more unreached communities. One of our Alliance missionaries, Erik
van't Ende, is working with 47 KEC Church Planters who are being trained
and are actively taking steps to start new churches... Just a few of these
church planters receive some reimbursement funds for their travel expenses but
none of them are paid by the Mission to carry out this work. They are
donating their time, talent, and treasure for this work out of their love for Christ.

When we see this long list of names, it is merely an obscure and
meaningless list. In reality, each of these names represents a unique
place that now has an active house church where people are learning
God's Word each week and coming together to worship the Lord. Each of
these communities represents hundreds of families who, until recently,
have never had a Christian presence near them. Each of these names
represent people who are now "within earshot" of God's Word and are
able to see Christ's transforming power through the lives of their
friends and neighbors who have become Christians.

The Cambodia C&MA Mission is one of the leading voices within a
movement called "MK2021". MK2021 means "Mission Kampuchea (Cambodia)
2021. It is an inter-denominational effort to see a Christian presence
(typically house churches) established in every village in Cambodia by
the year 2021. It is a God-sized vision since there are 14,000 villages
in Cambodia and less than 3,000 of them currently have a Christian presence.

There are a lot of things being done today that are popularly promoted
in missions... medical help in the developing world... helping women
and girls in danger of being trafficked in the s-x trade... having short-term
teams come to assist with English or other felt needs... providing
education to kids who have never had the opportunity to receive a decent
education... helping widows and orphans. The Cambodia C&MA mission is
also involved in each of these good and important initiatives.

However, in my opinion, the most significant area where we as a mission
can be involved is seeing people come to Christ and grow as His
disciples. The rest, as good as it is, must be secondary to Christ's
Commission to make disciples of all nations. I have been Field Director
over the Cambodia Alliance field for ten years. I have seen it over and
over again that people change destructive behaviors and patterns after
they have had a radical encounter with the living Christ. THAT is why
starting groups of believers in unreached communities is foundational to
any lasting change. This ministry, to be long-lasting, can not be
done without a deep understanding of local language and culture. It is
best done in close partnership with local Christians who have a proven
track record of integrity. These are some of the reasons it is so
important to have long-term missionaries serving in Cambodia.

I want to thank you who come alongside us in prayer. Thanks also for
giving to the Great Commission Fund. This is what enables our team to
be here for the long-haul to bring the Gospel of Christ to the peoples
of Cambodia. I am not ashamed to say that your investment in prayer and
sacrificial giving is making an eternal impact for Christ in this land...
Praise God for 23 house churches birthed in unreached communities
over the past 18 months! We can not do this without you. Bringing the
Gospel to the unreached of the earth truly requires a partnership between the
sent ones and the ones who send. Your support for the Great Commission
Fund can be given either through your local Alliance church or online at
www.cmalliance.org/give. At the website, you can designate your gifts
specifically to support the ministry in Cambodia if you would like.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership to come alongside us to bring
Christ's light to the peoples of Cambodia.

In regards to Praise and Prayer needs:

Praise God for a wonderful Field Forum conference in July with our
Cambodia Alliance missionary team... We sensed that God's Spirit met us
and we also had encouraging and supportive connections between our
missionary team. Our team has now grown to about 35.

Praise God that we will have the joy of meeting our first grandson,
Caleb Manfred, as we travel to the US for vacation in August. We will
also help our daughter Janelle get settled into life as a freshman at
Crown College. Finally, we will most likely be saying our earthly
farewells to Dave's dad who is in hospice care. He is 93 years old and
knows and loves the Lord.

Please look through the list at the top of this email and pray for the
evangelism and discipleship that is happening in each of these
communities (the names in the first column)... God knows each place and
each soul. Your prayers can impact hundreds of families in each
location as the Gospel is beginning to take root in that community for
the first time ever.

Please look through the list at the top of this email and pray for the
names in the second column... These are the names of the Cambodian
volunteer church planters who are bringing the Gospel to unreached
areas. Pray for their strength, wisdom, and perseverance as they take
on this pioneering work of evangelism and discipleship...

Pray for open doors for the Gospel and for the other church planters who
are being trained to bring the Gospel to still more unreached
villages... that the vision of MK2021 would be accomplished through us
and others. Our desire is to see a sustainable church planting movement
that will truly transform Cambodia for Christ. We appreciate you
praying with us towards these ends.

Thanks again for being our senders and partners in Christ's Call to the
unreached in Cambodia.

Dave and Chris

June Prayer Letter

2011-05-31T22:26:00.003+07:00

Dear Praying Friends:

Cambodia has made it through the hot season and is now entering into the rainy season. In North America, it seems like rain is often seen as a nuisance... something to be avoided. But in Cambodia, after 6 months of dry season with almost no rain at all, when the rains start, they are embraced. Everyone sees it as a blessing. It is not uncommon during heavy rains to see kids out playing in the rain. There is almost a tangible sense of joy throughout the nation as the dry, hot, dusty, parched land returns to life.

Israel is also a dry land. In Ezekiel 34, God is speaking about the blessing that He wants to bring to the people in that land and the Lord also uses the imagery of rain:

"And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them." Ezekiel 34:26-27

Cambodia is a land which, like Israel in Ezekiel 34, has been enslaved. Cambodia has been enslaved to war... enslaved to poverty... enslaved to hopelessness... enslaved to suffering... enslaved to a belief system based on the very real fear of evil spirits... enslaved to a belief system whose greatest hope is to be snuffed out into eternal non-existence.

As the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues to impact this country, we are beginning to see the rain of God's blessing transform this parched land. As Field Director overseeing the broader C&MA work in Cambodia, it is my privilege to watch these "showers of blessings" fall. Let me highlight just a few:

Through the funeral of a Christian man two weeks ago in Ratanakiri province, the non-Christians attending were so impressed with the ways that the deceased was honored that they wanted to learn more about becoming Christians. So far 17 of them have made professions of faith and there are others in another village who are asking to become Christians.
Starting a new ministry with a Christian dorm and agriculture training center in Mondulkiri province came together in record time. There is only one high school in the entire province and this dorm will allow the Christian students (who come from rural areas) to receive a high school education... For some of them, they will be the first people in their village to receive a high school education. In addition, they will also learn new agricultural techniques and be discipled to grow as followers of Christ while they live at the dorm. Praise God that most of the funding needed for construction for this project has been miraculously provided in less than two months.
Last month, we welcomed five experienced International Workers to serve long-term with our C&MA Cambodia team. All of them love the Lord, are serving in deeply remote rural areas, and are fluent in the Khmer language. Two of them have doctorate degrees. We are blessed with the quality of people God is bringing to our team.
Last week four churches that our missionaries have been working with for many years (3 near Poipet and 1 in Pursat) became "organized churches". This means that they are recognized by the Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC -- the name of the C&MA churches in Cambodia) as mature churches with their own Cambodian leadership. This is really what we as missionaries have come to do... work ourselves out of a job and have Cambodians lead the churches to impact their community and the areas surrounding their community.
Over the past two and a half years, one of our International Workers has begun working with the KEC to provide training for people who want to start churches in new places. In that two and a half year time, 49 KEC Church Planters have been and are being trained to start new churches. They have started planting churches in 43 villages and towns around Cambodia. 25 of those 43 locations have already started weekly meetings. Almost none of these 43 villages and towns have ever had any Christian group or presence previously.

We praise God for His showers of blessing on this land. This land has been spiritually dry for so long but now, we are beginning to see "the trees of the field yielding their fruit and the earth yielding its increase".

Thank you for your partnership with us and the C&MA as we "work the ground" in this harvest field. We could not do so without your prayers and generous support.

We want to encourage your ongoing support for the Great Commission Fund. It is the GCF that provides the foundation for our mission work around the world. As you give to the GCF, you are helping to bring showers of blessings to Cambodia and furthering the work of the Kingdom of God. Without the baseline infrastructure provided by the GCF, our work, as well as the work of our other Alliance colleagues, could not remain viable. I know everyone is tight in this economy... the GCF is also tight right now. If you can, thanks for helping. Donations can be given through your local Alliance church designated with "Missions" or through www.cmalliance.org/give/

Some items we would appreciate your prayers over:

Pray for the 17 new believers in Ratanakiri province and the new village where people want to become Christians
Pray for the construction and development of the Christian dorm and Agriculture Center in Mondulkiri Province
Pray for the 49 KEC Church Planters and 43 new places where churches are being started

On a personal note, we have also experienced an amazing season of blessing in our family:

We became grandparents for the first time when Caleb James Manfred was born to Joshua and Kelsey on May 14. In our unbiased opinion, he is the best looking baby in the world!
Joshua just graduated from Bethel University. He gave the student address at the Bethel commencement ceremonies (we saw it via YouTube and were awfully proud of him).
Janelle graduates from High School here in Cambodia on June 1. She will also give the student address at those commencement ceremonies.
All of us (Dave, Chris, Janelle, and Jenna) will travel to MN in August to bring Janelle back to the US to attend Crown College and to get to know our new grandson and our other loved ones there.

In the midst of all that can and could go wrong... and sometimes does... what a privilege to know and love the God who can still bring showers of blessing to parched lands.

In Christ, Dave and Chris

March Prayer Letter

2011-02-27T13:46:00.000+07:00

Dear Praying Friends:

One of the great privileges in serving as Field Director is working with an amazing team of more than 30 Alliance International Workers serving in seven locations throughout Cambodia. One of those amazing couples are Bounoeuy and Chanthan Kes who minister with the Jarai people in remote Ratanakiri province in the NE corner of Cambodia.

Ratanakiri is a place where the number of Alliance churches have grown from 0 to 28 churches over the past 14 years... truly amazing growth for the Gospel! In August 2008,Alliance Life ran an article about the Kesses and their work in Ratanakiri. The article was the story of a Christian family (Yane and her husband, Hert) who dared to break with the centuries old Jarai tradition that after a woman gives birth, she and the baby are put on a bamboo bed over smoky coals for the first 3-6 weeks after the baby is born and the woman is not allowed to eat any meat or vegetables during that entire time. These practices mean that women often do not produce enough breast milk to feed their babies, both mom and baby develop horrible coughs, and of course all of this leads to incredibly high infant mortality rates. The Alliance Life article was the story of Yane who was the first Jarai mom who dared to break with this tradition. She and her husband listened to the Kesses counsel that new moms needed to eat healthy food and breath fresh air. They dared to follow this "new way" under the threat of their family and many people in their village who predicted that great harm would befall them for daring to break with the ancient traditions. The article ended with the story of how this Christian couple had a baby boy, whom they named Timothy. Yane was full of praise because she was able to produce all the milk that the little boy needed and he was healthy and strong.

How we wish the story ended there. Tragically, about the time that the Alliance Life article was published, Timothy who by this time was a toddler, tipped over a pot of boiling water on himself. The family tried to get him to the nearest children's hospital but that was a 12 hour drive away. By the time the family got him there, it was too late and Timothy died the next day. I remember praying and crying with Bounoeuy when we heard this sad news (we were together at our annual mission conference). We were of course sad for this family however we had even greater remorse because the people who believed in these evil practices and the evil spirits who inspired them would clearly cry out "We told you so!" thereby setting back both the work of the Gospel and healthy practices for newborns.

Yane and Hannah

After returning from Home Assignment in July 2010, I spoke with Bounoeuy and Chanthan about how things were going in the Jarai villages since Timothy's death. They answered to my surprise that since he died, other Christian women had decided to follow the example of Yane. In spite of Timothy's death, Christian moms dared to break with the traditional way of not eating meat and vegetables and lying for weeks with their newborns on the bamboo beds over the smoky coals. They bravely decided, despite the threats of their families and non-Christian neighbors, to eat nutritious food after their babies were born and to breath clean air. Included in this group was Yane who became pregnant again and has now delivered a healthy baby girl, Hanna.

The Kesses told me that since Timothy died two and a half years ago, more than 20 Jarai mothers have followed this new path. What is also significant is that several of the most recent young moms to try these new practices are non-Christians who are also beginning to see the benefits of this "new way". As more and more Jarai people see these benefits for moms and babies, it could eventually transform the practices of this entire people group. Since the Christians were the ones to spearhead these new practices, it also demonstrates the love of Christ in very practical ways that will continue to open doors for the Gospel.

Scripture reminds us that the Evil One has come to "kill, steal, and destroy". This Enemy has had his hand over these people and their practices for centuries and will not give up easily. Please pray for God's mighty Hand of protection over these little ones and the brave families who dare to break with these traditions. Pray also that the light of the Gospel will continue to grow and transform the Jarai people both now and for eternity.

We praise God that He is using His Church to bring Salt and Light into these villages in ways that directly benefit the Jarai people. We praise God for the courageous witness of Christian families who are willing to break with centuries of demonic-inspired traditions. We praise God for faithful servants like the Kesses and their willingness to live in challenging and remote areas to be transformation agents who are positively changing a culture and joining with Jesus to build His Church. We praise God for our sending churches whose sacrificial giving and praying allow us to serve long-term in hard places, learning the language and culture in ways that open doors for God's power and Spirit to confront evil and bring Good News.

Thank you for your investment so that we can serve here for the long-haul. The primary investment vehicle to support our work is the Great Commission Fund. Contributions can be made through your local Alliance church, online at http://www.cmalliance.org/give/ or by sending a check to the C&MA, PO Box 35000, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3500. If you would like, you may designate your gift “for the support of Manfreds" (or Kesses for that matter) on the memo line. This personalizes your gift and helps us carry out our ministries.

Thank you again for your partnership with us. Your hands and voice in Cambodia,

Dave and Chris

Manfred Family Update

2010-12-31T20:21:00.002+07:00

Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year

We just returned from ministry travels to NW Cambodia and a quick vacation to Thailand and wanted to send a quick update before the New Year on what has been going on in our lives.

Jenna: Is in 3rd grade at Hope International School in Phnom Penh. She is a good student and her favorite subject is art. She has lots of good friends and enjoys going to sleepovers with them. Upon our return to Cambodia, she got a new puppy, “Pooka”.

Janelle: Is in 12^th grade at Northbridge International School. She is president of her senior class and very much enjoys hanging out with her friends as well. She has her own 110 cc motorcycle that gets her around town. Next summer she will return to the US for college and is planning to study somewhere in the Twin Cities area with a possible focus in medicine.

Joel: Is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota. He is still fine tuning what he wants to do but is thinking about counseling. In addition to being a full-time student, he works as a cashier at Rainbow Foods to pay the bills. He also spends quite a bit of time with his girlfriend, Nikki. This past May and June, he worked with his dad and showed some amazing carpentry, electrical, and plumbing skills to rebuild a basement at our “new” home (see below).

Josh and Kelsey: They have the BIG news for our clan since they are expecting in May! You can start calling us Grandma and Grandpa! Please pray with us that we will be able to swing a trip to the US this Summer to see this little one. In addition to that exciting news, Kelsey graduated from Bethel University in May. She is currently working for an appraisal company. She and her parents also helped us a lot with our home rebuilding project. Josh will graduate from Bethel in May. This spring he will be doing an internship with World Relief Minnesota where he will be interviewing recent immigrants/refugees and sharing their stories.

Chris: After our return to Cambodia in July she has been helping to get a new church started, working with the Guest House, and assisting language students. As part of the church planting effort, on December 18, we joined in a Christmas meal at one of our missionary’s homes with about 15 high level Cambodian government officials and their wives, only one of whom was a Christian. The message of Christmas was clearly shared and instead of ending at 8 PM as originally planned, they wanted to stay to talk until 10 PM. That was an encouraging sign because Cambodians don’t usually stay out at night past 8! One of them even talked about the rapid growth of Christianity in South Korea and his hope that Cambodia would follow that example.

David: Just before returning to Cambodia, we were able to purchase a small home in St. Paul. It is 87 years old and needed quite a bit of work but in just six weeks, we were able to make it almost like new J. After living in 23 homes in 25 years of marriage, we have our first “permanent” address (other than heaven). Josh and Kelsey are currently living on the ground floor and Joel is living in the basement. While we were still in the States, David was reelected by the missionary team to return as Field Director for another term. We currently have about 35 missionaries serving with the Alliance here in Cambodia. This is his 8^th year in the Field Director role. Although it involves a lot of administration, he still gets out for more hands-on ministry from time to time. On Dec. 24 our family went to Poipet in the far NW corner of Cambodia for their Christmas celebration. About 500 people were present. The service was outside in the evening and David was asked to preach. Most of the people there were already believers but when he gave an invitation of those who wanted to become Christians more than 30 people came forward. These are the kinds of things that continue to remind us of the importance of serving in this open and responsive land.

We wish you and yours a Blessed New Year! Dave & Chris

Ready for Christmas

2010-12-12T08:34:00.002+07:00

Dear Praying Friends:

Thanks for your prayers for Cambodia over these past few weeks since the
stampede that killed about 350 in Phnom Penh. The Christian community did a
good job of being "light" in the midst of that darkness. The women's group
from the largest C&MA Church in Phnom Penh has had a ministry for many years
in a large local hospital where they make weekly visits to patients who have
AIDs. They assist as they can with their needs and also share the Gospel.
So it was natural for them to do the same kinds of things with the 100 or so
injured people and their families who were at the hospital after the tragedy
last month. In addition, the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia (the
umbrella organization that most evangelical groups in Cambodia work with)
had outreach to victims and their families in several other Phnom Penh
hospitals. "Care" packages and prayers were given out by both groups. We
are thankful that through CAMA Services we were able to come alongside these
efforts to demonstrate the love of Christ to those who have lost so much.

As we enter into the Christmas season here, we continue to be amazed and
encouraged about how curious many Cambodians are about Christmas. Stores in
Phnom Penh are quickly understanding that they can make money by promoting
this holiday :-) so Christmas lights are up, Santa hats are out, and even
Christmas music can be heard in some places. Ten years ago, none of that
was true. We are not lovers of the commercialization of Christmas but in
Cambodia, it has created a curiosity about this holiday with many
Cambodians. And that in turn does open up some wonderful doors to share the
Reason for the Season.

We just attended a C&MA youth Christmas gathering in Phnom Penh on Dec. 10
with about 150 youth in attendance. At the same time in NW Cambodia,
another C&MA youth Christmas gathering was held with about 250 young people in
attendance. On Dec. 18 we will be having a Christmas meal at the home of
fellow missionaries, Joe and Kay Kong, where about 20 government officials
will be in attendance (almost all of them not yet Christians). Our family will be going to Poipet on Christmas Eve where David has been asked to preach for their Christmas service. In speaking with our missionary couple who serve there, Soeuth and Syna Lao, they anticipate more than 500 will be in attendance.

On Dec. 25, there are plans in several places to hold large
inter-denominational Christmas services. In Phnom Penh, they will be doing
this for the first time. Interestingly, it will be held at the same
location where the stampede that killed so many happened in November. We
are praying that many thousands will come out for this meeting and that the
Lord would transform this place of death into a place of life. In addition, in the northwestern Cambodian city of Sisophon, over the past two years, they have
had Christmas services with about 10,000 people who came out, They anticipate
about the same number this year. Amazing open doors for the Gospel!

In addition to all of this, each local church also has their own special
Christmas celebration in their community. The local churches do not
necessarily celebrate Christmas on Dec. 24 or 25 but they pick a day any
time from Dec. 10 to Jan. 1 to celebrate... so it is a full month of
celebrations.

Christians in Cambodia are not shy about sharing the Gospel during these
meetings. Pray that the true significance of Christ's birth, death, and
resurrection will be clearly heard by all who come. Pray that many will
respond in faith. Pray that those who response in faith will be discipled
to follow and serve Christ.

December happens to be the month when rice is harvested throughout Cambodia.
Cambodians are encouraged this year because it looks like it will be a
bumper crop for rice. Please join us in prayer that this December will also reap
another harvest in Cambodia... An even more significant bumper crop of
changed lives for good, for God, and for eternity.

Our service here is made possible by praying people like you. Thanks for
standing with us in prayer. Some of you may have heard that giving to the
Great Commission Fund is down so far this year. We just had to cut our
ministry budgets by about 7% for the next eight months. Our tight budget
just got tighter! Your giving to the Great Commission Fund through your
local Alliance church or through www.cmalliance.org/give/ helps us bring in the
Harvest. Thanks for your prayerful consideration to come alongside us in
this way as well.

Merry Christmas!

In Christ, Dave and Chris

Tragedy in Phnom Penh

2010-11-23T15:21:00.000+07:00

Dear Friends:

Thanks for your prayers for Cambodia as you heard of the tragedy that
happened in Phnom Penh last night. There was a stampede of people on
a narrow bridge during the annual
water festival. Current local reports are that about 350 died and 550
were injured.

I have called all our Phnom Penh based Alliance missionaries and none
of them were there. I have also called the Phnom Penh KEC church
pastors and the KEC national church president. As of now, about 22
hours after the accident, they are not aware of anyone from the KEC or
NewHope churches who was affected.

I drove past a hospital about a half mile from our house. As you can
imagine, the situation was quite chaotic. Pictures of the dead and
injured were put on a large billboard so that people could identify
them... there were many very sad and grieving people and people
trying to get into the hospital but they were refused because it was
already too full. We saw one man try to climb a 10 foot high fence
over sharp spikes to try to get in to see his family.

In the midst of this it has been encouraging to watch the broader
Cambodian response to this tragedy. Many Cambodians are making
significant donations to help... Tonight they are having a telethon
to support the families of the dead and injured... Hospitals are
giving free medical care... The government is helping with
transportation of both bodies and for the other needs of the
survivors. The Cambodian Christian community is also joining in with
help. This kind of broad-based response throughout the land is
unprecedented in our 15 years in Cambodia.

In the midst of this great tragedy, pray the Lord would somehow work
in the hearts and lives of the survivors and the country as a whole.
They so need Him and the Hope that only He can give.

In Christ, Dave and Chris

Manfred September 2010 Prayer Letter

2010-09-25T15:44:00.002+07:00

Dear Friends Near and (mostly) Far:

It is hard to believe but it has been almost three months since we left the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” to come to the “Land of a 1,000,000 Rice Paddies”. Over the past three months, here are some of our “highlights”:

David worked with another International Worker* to start a men’s Bible Study with the Cambodian men who work in our office. As a result of this, David had the chance to lead Chanthan, one our office guards, to faith in Christ.
The main C&MA church in Phnom Penh is called Tumnuptuk Church. After yeof prayer, fundraising, and hard work, they had a dedication service in September for their new three- story church building
We celebrated our 25^th anniversary in August. We splurged a bit to celebrate at one of Phnom Penh’s nicer hotels.
David took a little over a week and rode about 1200 miles (all on public transportation) to visit and get caught up with life and ministry with all of our International Workers on the field. We currently have 37 people serving with the Alliance in Cambodia. It was great to hear the things that God has been doing in and through this gifted team.
David was able to join the first ever Elim Rural Ministry Training Center graduation ceremony. This new Alliance ministry was started two years ago in a rural area about 2 hours from Phnom Penh. There were 6 graduates who completed the training program specifically designed for people who will minister in rural areas. It was great to see their hearts and commitment to spread the Gospel and build Christ’s Kingdom. There are now 15 more students who are in the process of studying there.
David had the chance to visit one of our International Workers who serves the ethnic Vietnamese on the large Tonle Sap lake near Siem Reap. There is a floating Vietnamese village there (everyone there lives in primitive houseboats). That village now has their own floating school/church. In the past year, this group has grown from only three adults to more than 100 adults and youth. As I joined them for worship, there was a great sense of expectation as they are taking on the challenge to share John 3:16 and their testimony with everyone else in their floating village this year.
Janelle was elected President of her High School Senior class (we are bragging a bit!)

Our service here would not be possible without faithful people like you standing behind us in prayer. With that in mind, here are some requests:

This week (Sept. 27 to Oct. 1), the field will go through a once in five year process called a “Strategic Field Review” where mission leaders from the outside will evaluate our ministry in Cambodia in dialog with all the International Workers on the field. Pray that this process would lead to strengthening the directions of the field and sharpening our focus into those key areas where we need to be investing our people and resources.
There is a very important Cambodian organization called TEEAC: The Theological Education by Extension Association of Cambodia. The C&MA Cambodia Mission helped set this up a number of years ago and now TEEAC is run independently with their own board. They develop all the TEE materials which are used throughout Cambodian churches to train church leaders. TEEAC is going through some major organizational struggles right now. Pray that the Lord would help them sort all this through and that their critically important service to produce and distribute quality Christian leadership materials would go forward.
We are looking to start some new evangelistic services specifically geared towards youth in the Phnom Penh churches. Pray that these services would draw both young Christians and their non-Christian friends.
Pray for Chris as she meets our new neighbors and others to develop relationships of trust that will open doors to the Gospel. She is working with a team of other International Workers to get a new church started here in Phnom Penh

Thanks so much to those of you who also support our ministries in Cambodia through your gifts to the Great Commission Fund through your local Alliance church or through the Alliance website at www.cmalliance.org/give/ Without that support, we would not be able to be here doing the things we are doing! Aw-koon! (“thank you” in Cambodian)

In Christ, Dave and Chris

September 2010

* “International Worker” is now the Alliance’s preferred term for missionary. It is a different term but our ministry is still the same!

March Praises and Prayer Requests

2009-03-31T03:23:00.002+07:00

Praise God that the Khmer Evangelical Church (C&MA Cambodia) elected a new Church President, Rev. Sok Sophon, at their recently completed national conference. There was a good spirit of unity throughout the conference for which we praise God.
Thanks for your prayers for the leadership for the Cambodian field in the year that we are on Home Assignment. The Cambodian field unanimously decided to have a 4 person Field Management Team share the Field Director responsibilities for one year. Please pray for a good transition with the Field Management Team over the next three months before we leave.
In the middle of March, David and several others visited 10 large towns in Cambodia to consider a place where we should invest sending a missionary to live and start a new church. We are specifically looking for a good size town with no Christian witness. Of the 10 large towns we visited, there are 7 that could be good possibilities. Please pray for God’s wisdom as these decisions should be made in the next two months. The Harvest truly is plentiful and the laborers are few.
Pray for Joel as he makes his final decisions about where to attend college next Fall.

May Prayer Letter

2008-05-02T08:57:00.002+07:00

Dear Friends near and far:

We are so thankful for the ways that you support us in prayer. We have sensed that support countless times and are thankful for the ways that God has been working to continue to build His Church here in Cambodia. There have been a number of encouraging things along the way...

• A recently completed CMA youth conference where more than 550 CMA young people from all around Cambodia were challenged to grow in their faith and share it with others. For the first time, the majority of the Youth Conference speakers were Cambodian CMA pastors. It is exciting to see the National Church continue to grow and many young people made deeper commitments to Christ.

• On April 11, there was a tragic fire about a mile from our Phnom Penh office. Miraculously, no one was killed. This truly was a miracle since more than 600 families lost their homes from the fire. In true "beauty from the ashes" form, this tragedy has also opened up doors for Gospel witness to these families through the significant financial response from the broader Christian community in Cambodia to help those affected by the fire. The CMA's New Jerusalem church which is less than a mile from the fire has had a team of people offering help to those who lost their homes. The CMA’s Western Great Lakes District has also come alongside us to help meet these needs

• The CMA Cambodian Mission Ministry Center is more than half way done. Lord willing, we should move into our new office by the end of June and a new Storage/Guest House should be completed by mid-August. These two quality buildings will serve the Cambodian Mission for all the years we continue to work in Cambodia and in 10 years, we will have paid off the Alliance Development Fund loan which will save the Mission the ever increasing cost of rent from then on.

These are some of the things for which we give thanks and praise.

On a more personal note, we have great reason to rejoice in that our six year old daughter Jenna, made a very important decision. She was talking to her mom about what it means to be a Christian and how a person can become a Christian. As Chris explained it to her, Jenna asked Chris to write down the words of a prayer that she could pray to become a Christian. At this point, they brought dad into the conversation and we went to the computer to write up a simple sinner’s prayer for a child to pray. We talked very clearly about what each word meant. Jenna wanted to put a picture of a cross and a border of Christmas trees around the prayer which we did. We then printed it out and dad asked her if she wanted to pray that prayer. She said “no”, which surprised dad. Jenna then went on to explain that she wanted to think about it more first.

The next morning Jenna gladly told us “I am a Christian now”. She prayed the prayer on her own in the morning. We rejoiced with her and sent her on her way to school. While she was at school, Jenna told her best friend Yesel (the daughter of Korean missionaries) that she became a Christian today. Yesel asked her how she did that and Jenna explained it to her. Then Yesel asked Jenna to help her pray that prayer because she wanted to become a Christian too. So Jenna led Yesel in praying the same prayer she prayed earlier that morning.

Sometimes we make the Christian faith so complicated. But both Jenna and Yesel have reminded us that it does not need to be so. Jesus’ words are: "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." (Mark 10:14-15)

Prayer Requests:

• The price of rice has nearly doubled in Cambodia in the past three months. This is a particular burden to the poor since this is the staple food. Pray for the prices to come down and for the Christians to respond with wisdom and love for these needs that are significantly affecting all poor Cambodians (a poor Cambodian means that they earn less than $2/day which is more than 70% of the population).

• Pray for the Cambodian Field Leadership Team which will be meeting May 19-22. We will be looking at the directions of the CMA Mission in Cambodia for the next two years and significant decisions will be made. Pray for the Lord's wisdom and leading over our meetings.

Thanks for your prayers. Thanks as well for your gracious gifts to the CMA’s Great Commission Fund. This is the fund that keeps us on the field and supports our ministries in Cambodia. Gifts to the Great Commission Fund can be given through your local Alliance Church or through www.cmalliance.org/give/give.jsp

Because He lives and Loves,

Dave and Chris Manfred
CMA Mission, Cambodia

Christmas Greetings

2007-12-22T23:08:00.000+07:00

We are encouraged because the promise of Emmanuel is still true today! God
is still with us and will be for Eternity! This is the living Hope we have
through faith in Jesus/Emmanuel (Matthew 1:21-23).

2007 has been a good year for the Manfred family:

Joshua is 19 and graduated from Dalat School in Malaysia and is now a
freshman at Bethel University in St. Paul. He continues to grow and develop
into a fine young man. We are so thankful because he just came back to
Cambodia to be with us for two weeks over Christmas before he heads back to
his studies at Bethel.

Joel is 17 and in 11th grade at Northbridge International School here in
Phnom Penh where he has been involved in the soccer, basketball, and
volleyball teams. He volunteered to help build some homes for homeless
people this year. He is taking several Advanced Placement courses and is
beginning to think about his college future. The timing for him starting
college will work well for us because we are scheduled to return to the
States for our one-year home assignment in the Summer of 2009 just after he
graduates.

Janelle is 14 and in 9th grade. She is involved with tutoring younger kids,
the Student Council, the swim team, and a young ladies weekly Bible study
with some school friends. She and her brothers enjoy joking with each
other. She also likes her little sister (most of the time) and is growing
into a fine young lady.

Jenna is 6 and attends Kindergarten at Hope School. She is becoming a good
reader. She was the “Enormous Star” (a leading role) in her School
Christmas play. She still likes to be close to mom and she loves her little
white dog “Pup”.

So in addition to Joel, we have a freshman in college, a freshman in High
School, and a Kindergartner... quite the spread which makes life lots of
fun for mom and dad.

In addition to her duties being “Mom”, Chris has become our Mission’s
resident architect and has helped design:
1. Our Cambodian Mission Ministry Center which involves a new office,
missionary storage and Guest House facility 2. The Cambodian National
Church Office and Conference Hall.
3. A new church building for one of our major CMA churches here in Phnom
Penh

In addition to being “Dad”, David has started his sixth year as the
Cambodian Mission Field Director. He continues to work with a wonderful
team of about 35 missionaries around the country. This year has also
involved finding funding for these building projects (see above). It has
been great to see how God has and is providing for these strategic needs.

Thanks to each of you for your partnership with us through prayer and your
financial support for the C&MA’s Great Commission Fund which keeps us
serving here.

We have included below a brief story that highlights the ways that God
continues to work in Cambodia... especially during this Christmas season.

Blessings to you and yours as you celebrate Emmanuel...

Dave, Chris, Josh, Joel, Janelle, and Jenna

PS: We recently started a "blog" where we occasionally include updates to
our life and ministry. You can access this at

www.cambomanfreds.blogspot.com

*****************************************

A Cambodian Christmas

Christmas in Cambodia does not at all seem like a North American Christmas.
The temperature is about 90 degrees. There are very few decorations. The
idea of giving gifts at Christmas is almost non-existent. Since Cambodia is
a Buddhist country, Dec. 25 is a normal work and school day. The only ones
who celebrate Christmas are the Christians.

A local Cambodian church can have their Christmas service at any time from
Dec. 15 to Jan. 1. They have a large service where they invite Christians
from other nearby churches along with their friends and neighbors. During
the service, the youth group typically puts on a Christmas play. In
addition to the normal parts of the Christmas story, one interesting
addition that Cambodians often include in their Christmas play is the
slaughter of the babies in Bethlehem. That is understandable given the fact
that it is biblical and is related to Cambodia’s recent violent history but
it does seem a little strange to North American sensibilities. Following
the service, the Christians put on a large meal for everyone who attends.
Most churches take special offerings to save up for this meal for up to two
months before the Christmas service.

On Dec. 15 David had opportunity to attend the Christmas celebration at one
of our CMA Churches about an hour motorcycle trip northeast from Phnom Penh
at a place called Koh Daj. Koh Daj is a large island in the middle of the
Mekong river so a small ferry ride was also part of the trip. The church is
about three years old and meets at the home of one of the members. When
David arrived, there were already over 100 children there and about another
100 adults and youth meeting under the house and into the yard (houses in
Cambodia are on stilts about 3 yards high so it works out great to meet
under the house). More than 50% of the people who were there were not yet
Christians but had been invited by the Christians in the house church.

David had opportunity to preach and spoke about the meaning of the names
given to Jesus that first Christmas… “Jesus”, the One who saves us from our
sins (Matthew 1:21) and “Immanuel”, “God who is with us” (Matthew 1:23).
When an invitation was given for people to receive Christ, about 25 people
raised their hands indicating their desire to make a first decision for
Christ. The key for these people growing in their faith will of course be
the local believers following them up through their on-going ministries and
teaching in the community.

After the message, Christmas songs were song (Christmas songs were a new
thing to most of the people there), the youth put on their Christmas play,
and then the kids were dismissed to play games while the adults shared a
nice curry meal together.

This service was quite typical of what is happening all over Cambodia this
Christmas season. Although a Cambodian Christmas does not have all the
“trappings” of Christmas in North America, in some ways, we think the simple
approach that Cambodian Christians take towards Christmas may be closer to
the mark of what it is all about… worship, telling the Story, sharing food
with other Christians and non-Christian neighbors, and working together to
help others know about Christ.

Simple but profound… like the first Christmas.

What Are You Complaining About?

2007-12-08T13:02:00.000+07:00

I was recently riding my motorcycle along the streets of Phnom Penh and I came across an amazing site... a man with one leg riding his bike in traffic. Note the use of his crutch as he gets started. He wedged the bike pedal between his foot and sandal to get started. This is one of the most endearing qualities of Cambodians... dealing with hardships, not complaining, and just doing what they need to do...