What in the world is God doing in Cambodia

As the field Director overseeing a team of about 30 very gifted and committed International Workers, one of my privileges is to see the big picture of what God is doing in and through our team.  I just completed my 2012 annual report and wanted to share with you some of the things for which we praise God over the past year:

Dave, Chris, and Jenna in front of a 1,000 year old bridge

• The C&MA Mission continued to strengthen our church planting training program in cooperation with the Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC).  More than 40 KEC church groups have been started by the KEC in the past 2 years.
• C&MA International Workers have been intentionally and directly involved in a number of new church plants in addition to the ones done by the KEC.
• International Workers serving with our team have had the privilege of leading several hundred people to Christ over the past year, all the way from generals to poor people on their death beds.
• 21 students are studying full-time at the C&MA's Elim Rural Ministry Training School.  For the first time in the 4-year history of the school, there were more applicants to enter the school than places for students.  This signifies that the school’s reputation is growing.  We continue to see good fruit from the lives of the graduates of this intense 2-year residential program to train young people as leaders in the church and as church planters
• More than 240 people are currently enrolled in the 2-year Theological Extension by Extension program to train church leaders.  This is a course that meets once/week at local churches.
  
• At the KEC annual youth conference in April, the plan was for 500 youth to attend but nearly 700 young people attended.
• At a KEC regional youth meeting in October, 178 youth attended.  At the altar call, about half of them committed or recommitted their lives to Christ
• The Mission assigned our first worker to Stung Treng (Joyce Johns), one of the least reached provinces in Cambodia.  She will begin her ministry there this Summer.
• The number of baptisms in the KEC increased to 413 in 2012 which is an increase of 18% over last year.  The total baptized membership of the KEC is now more than 4,300 people which is  a record high.  The number of people who attend KEC churches is actually several thousand higher than the number of baptized members.
• Samaritan’s Purse and CAMA Services are working with the mission to support an ambulance ministry in Banteay Meanchey province.  In 2012, our Cambodian staff conducted more than 300 ambulance runs and trained Cambodians to successfully operate an Emergency Medical Services program throughout the province.
• NewHope schools helped more than 350 Vietnamese children with grade 1-5 education.  Most of the children are from very poor, sometimes destitute, backgrounds.  They learn reading, writing (in both Cambodian and Vietnamese languages), arithmetic, and the Gospel.  Most of these children are now believers.  For the students who graduate from the NewHope schools and then matriculate into the Cambodian educational system, they have a track whereby they can become Cambodian citizens.  Previous NewHope school students, who just this year completed high school, have now matriculated into university level classes for the first time ever this year. 
• The C&MA Guest Home built four more guest rooms. In addition, the number of people staying at the Guest House increased by more than 50% in comparison to 2011.
• Gene and Carol Hall, retired C&MA Cambodia International Workers, spoke at our annual prayer conference.  It was great to hear their testimony from the significant spiritual harvest period from 1970-1975.
• The HIV/AIDs ministry in Battambang continued on under Cambodian leadership.  The mission now has only limited input and oversight into this ministry.  It continues to move forward with four teams of church volunteers going out twice a month to provide physical and spiritual support.  They are currently helping 47 people living with HIV/AIDS who are being served by this ministry.  Many of these 47 have come to faith now along with some family members as well.
• In partnership with four of our International Workers who have been secunded to the C&MA from Wycliffe Bible Translators, Bible translation progressed significantly in two languages:  Bunong and Kuy.  The Bunong New Testament is now more than 50% done.  The Kuy New Testament is about 25% done
• A new initiative began to encourage Bible reading groups amongst the Bunong people in Mondolkiri province.  They are learning to read their own language through the newly translated portions of the New Testament just completed.  About 150 people come out each week for these Bible reading clubs.
• The mission, in partnership with CAMA, helped set up a solar power system at a prison in Mondulkiri province.  This is the first electricity available in the prison.  This helps the prisoners in a general way but it also helps the prisoners, who learned literacy and the Bible from one of our International Workers, to be able to read the Scriptures and other Christian literature at night.  Some of the prisoners are now believers.

Prisoners installing the solar panels

We know that when you see a list like this, it can seem likes it's just a list...  maybe even a bit overwhelming...  but in reality, each of these bullet points mark significant progress for the Kingdom of God in a land that has been ignorant of the Gospel for many millennia.  Each bullet point signifies real people who are being changed by Christ in profound ways. 

We praise God for the ways He continues to build His Church here in Cambodia. We couldn't do this work without the Lord's provision and enablement.  We also couldn't do this work without the prayers and support of people like you. 

Some prayer requests for us include:

• Pick any one of the bullet points above and pray for God's ongoing work in the hearts and lives of the people involved.
• Pray for the upcoming 90th anniversary celebration of the gospel coming to Cambodia which will be held Feb. 15-16. The C&MA pioneered this work in 1923 and there is quite a celebration planned. Pray that it would all honor Christ
• Chris and I return to the US in June for our one-year home assignment.  We will serve again as the International Workers in Residence at Crown College for the year.  Pray that we would finish well over the next few months in Cambodia and the Lord would lead our team as they elect a new Field Director in early March.
• Our daughter Janelle is a 2nd year nursing student at Crown College.  She plans to go on a 2 week trip to Macedonia in June to assist the C&MA work there along with some other Crown students.  Please pray for the Lord's provision for her in this ministry.

It is through the Great Commission Fund (GCF) that we are able to continue our ministry and live in Cambodia.  Thanks for considering supporting us by clicking on the links to the right.

In Christ, Dave, Chris, and Jenna

Manfred's Christmas Update

Merry Christmas to one and all...

Here is our annual update on the Manfred clan...

Joshua, Kelsey, and brother Caleb welcomed Lydia Christine to the world on August 2.  Whoo Hoo!!!  Joshua is working full-time at Bethel University and started studies at Bethel seminary in the Fall.

Joel is a senior at the University of Minnesota studying Family Counseling.  He is living at our family home in Saint Paul.  He and his girlfriend Nikki continue to enjoy each other's company :)

Chris and Jenna with Molly, Max, Flamingo, and Tinkerbell

Janelle is a sophomore at Crown College studying nursing.  She is very involved with the missions group at Crown but also found some time to have her first experience skydiving.

Jenna is in 5th grade at Hope International School in Phnom Penh.  She enjoys her family, her friends, her dogs (Molly and Max), and her birds (Flamingo and Tinkerbell)

Chris has been overseeing the C&MA Cambodia Guest House as a ministry to the missionary community throughout Cambodia.  She also coordinated construction of four additional rooms at the Guest House. 

David continues as the Cambodia C&MA Mission Field Director. He traveled to the US in October/November to visit churches and had a great Thanksgiving with our US based kids.

David with (L to R) Kelsey, Josh, Caleb, Joel, Lydia, and Janelle

In June, Dave, Chris, and Jenna will return to the US for our one-year Home Assignment.  We will once again be based at Crown College where we will be the International Workers in Residence at the college.

We have been blessed with the Good News of Jesus Christ who loves us so much that "though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:6-7).  It is still a radical message that is changing lives and can change our eternity!

We pray for God's richest blessings on you and yours over Christmas and into 2013.  

Dave and Chris

A Christmas Journey

On December 13, David was invited to go with a group of about 15 other Christians from our Phnom Penh churches to celebrate Christmas at a large island in the Tonle Sap river about 3 hours north of Phnom Penh.

Our Ferry

Officer Ath

It was quite a Christmas journey!

In front of the Phum Tumnup church

Grandpa Sambo (white hair) to my right

Grandma Kane

The Christmas meal

In front of the 4 widow's house

Sacrificial gifts

Preaching to the workers

Open hearts

1. We left at 6 AM by rented van to go to the town of Kampong Chhnang.  This is a port town on the Tonle Sap river.  We boarded a ferry for the 45 minute ride to the island.
2. While I was on the ferry, I met a police officer named Ath and we struck up a conversation.  He asked what I was doing and I told him that we were going to a Christmas celebration.  I asked him if he knew what Christmas was and he said he had never heard of Christmas.  Do you know anyone who has never heard of Christmas?  In Cambodia, it is still somewhat common.  During that boat trip, I was able to give officer Ath his first lesson on the meaning of the Savior who came to earth to save us from our sins.   We had a great conversation and my sense was that he left with a positive sense about the things we talked about.  As the Scripture says: “But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent?”  Thanks for sending us to serve in Cambodia…  to a place where so many people are still waiting to hear… 
3. We arrived at the location where the Christians had set up a tent for a joint Christmas celebration for the six house churches on the island.  They had invited many non-Christians but, as it turned out, it was the height of the harvest season so they were all busy in the fields and it was mostly Christians at the service.  I sat next to an older man, “Grandpa Sambo”, and asked him when he had come to faith.  He replied “three years ago”.  Prior to that time he had been an “Ajah” (a respected lay leader) at the local Buddhist temple.  But he said that when he read the Bible, he understood clearly that only Jesus could save him, so he started to believe in Christ, even though his old friends got angry at him for doing so.
4. During the service, I also met “Grandma Kane”.  If you look at her, you would not think she is anything special.  She has a beautiful smile but is quite elderly and very poor.  However Grandma Kane is the person who, over the past 12 years, helped to start all 6 house churches on the island.  She faithfully attends the Alliance mission’s church planting training events but in reality, she should teach it!  She has a big heart and loves to tell people about Jesus, and God has honored her faithfulness by establishing communities of faith in six different communities which, in the history of the planet, have NEVER had a Christian presence before.  She is an amazing church planter who, through her simple but profound faith, has planted seeds that are changing the people on this island for eternity.
5. The church said they had never had a white man preach there before so they asked me to share the Word for their Christmas service which was a great honor.  After the service, the church put on a wonderful curry and rice noodle feast.  They also presented me and some of the others in the visiting delegation with a beautiful checkered Cambodian cloth to express their appreciation.  These people make, on average, less than $2/day.  Their generosity was humbling and was received for what it was…  a sacrificial gift which demonstrated how their hearts have been transformed by Christ, even in the midst of their great poverty.  They reminded me of the Macedonian church in 2 Corinthians 8 of whom it was written: “their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.  For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord”
6. Following the service, we were invited to a simple home that was being built for $500 by the generosity of some American Cambodian Christians for four very poor widows.  One of them was blind.  The widows asked us to come and pray a prayer of blessing over their new home which we were glad to do.  As we were leaving, these widows gave us two varieties of watermelons and a big papaya.  We encouraged them to keep them to sell at the market but they wouldn’t hear of it.  They insisted that we receive these gifts.  Once again, we humbly received them with thanks from these women who have learned the Lord’s call, “it is better to give than to receive”.  
7. We took the boat ride back to the mainland and then got a call from a Christian contractor friend who knew we were in the area.  He has been overseeing the construction of a large rice storage building.  It is a huge facility, about 130 feet wide by 500 feet long by 70 feet high, which he and his crew of 25 workers have been assembling for the past 5 weeks.  The work site was on our way back, about 90 minutes outside of Phnom Penh, and he asked if we could put on a Christmas service for his workers.  Most of them didn’t know anything about Christ or Christmas and he wanted to make sure that they heard the Good News.  We gladly arrived and had an impromptu Christmas service for the laborers right there.  I was asked to preach and felt unusual freedom from the Lord to speak clearly and briefly (briefly is the unusual part!).  For many, it was their first time to hear the message of Christmas.  The fact that this Christian boss gave them time out of their work day to hear the good news and then provided them a special meal during their work hours is something unheard of in Cambodia and clearly signaled to them that this was something special.  My sense was that the Lord did some good foundational work in their hearts during our time there.

That was our Christmas journey…  We have had, and will have, many more opportunities to go on other Christmas journeys this month.  Thanks so much for your support in prayer and giving to the Alliance's Great Commission Fund (www.cmalliance.org/give) so that we can continue to work alongside our Cambodian brothers and sisters to bring Christmas…  and most importantly, to bring Christ… to Cambodia where so many are still waiting to hear. 

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Prayer Requests:

• Continued open hearts to the Gospel throughout Cambodia during this Christmas season.
•  In the next month, Chris will be finishing up overseeing construction of 4 new Guest rooms at the C&MA Guest House.  Pray that the work would progress well with limited interruptions and problems
•  In February, the Cambodian Alliance church will be celebrating the 90^th anniversary of the Gospel coming to Cambodia.  The C&MA pioneered this work in 1923 and there is quite a celebration planned.  Pray that it would all honor Christ and would be a time of celebration for what God has done and eagerly looking forward to the ongoing spread of the Gospel throughout Cambodia.
• The mission needs to change its official recognition with the Cambodian government from CAMA Services to the C&MA Mission.  Pray that this will go forward without undue difficulties.

Thanks so much for being our partners in ministry!  Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Dave and Chris

The Gospel Changes Lives!

We who are believers in Jesus Christ know that the Gospel of Christ has the power to change lives.  But it is really quite encouraging when the secular world also sees and acknowledges that power.

Last week I got a call from a senior reporter from the Phnom Penh Post.  The Post is the primary English language newspaper in Cambodia (I know, a big fish in a small pond).  The Post is well known in Cambodia by all the expatriates and is also read by more educated Cambodians.

The reporter wrote a lead article on June 12 for the newspaper about one of our C&MA churches in Ratanakiri province in far NE Cambodia, the large number of people in the village who had become Christians, and the powerful changes in lives because of the Gospel.  He included a picture of the simple wooden C&MA church.  He even managed to quote me accurately a few times.

The link for the article is: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061256749/National-news/the-power-of-faith-and-medicine.html

The report was mostly accurate.  I would have given a lot more credit to the Jarai desire to be free from evil spirits over finances as the motivation for conversion.  The only other slight adjustment is that the C&MA started mission work with the Jarai in Vietnam probably around the 1940s, not the 1970s.

Other than those two points, I thought the report was a wonderful public testimony of the power of Christ to change lives...  and from a secular newspaper at that.  We praise the Lord for His power in the lives of the Jarai believers and their clear testimony to the positive changes that Christ has helped them make.

Thanks for your support in helping our C&MA team be here to serve in Cambodia.  Just like you, we have days of rejoicing and days of challenge.  Today is a day to rejoice.  We are so thankful for you who pray for us faithfully and support our ministry through your sacrificial gifts and offerings through the Alliance.  What a privilege all of us have to be involved in this call to see lives set free with new hope for this life and the next.

In Christ, Dave and Chris Manfred

Being Light...

Jesus said:  "Let your light so shine..."

Sometimes just living in a developing country like Cambodia gives unique opportunities to show Jesus' light in a place that still desperately needs that light...  In that regard, three recent events come to mind:

• You may remember, Phai Tola, the 23 year old young man we wrote about last month who needed life-saving heart surgery. He was a new Christian and the surgery cost $3,000...  far beyond the means of his family to provide.  Through the generosity of believers around the world, the funds were raised for his surgery.  His open-heart surgery occurred on Thursday.  He is still in intensive care but the cardiac surgeon reported that everything went normally and he has strong hope that Phai Tola will live a normal life.   The surgery almost didn't happen.  David went in to pray with Phai Tola on Wednesday afternoon, the day before the surgery.  The family reported to him they had just learned of a problem that would delay the surgery.  In Cambodia, people are hesitant to donate blood because they believe  that when they donate blood, it does not get replenished in the body.  Phai Tola needed to have 5 units of blood before they could do the surgery.  He had lined up five relatives to donate the blood however, when they went to donate blood, the blood bank (the national blood bank for the ENTIRE  country) reported that they did not have any type O blood (Phai Tola's type).  Of the five relatives enlisted to give blood, only one of them had type O blood so the blood bank told Phai Tola's family at 4 PM that they had to find four more people to donate blood that night to be able to do the surgery the next day.  Phai Tola's home is about three hours from Phnom Penh so they needed to find strangers in Phnom Penh willing to donate the blood.  We prayed about this and David made some contacts with some Christians in town and, miraculously, within a few hours, we were able to find 4 more people with type O blood who were willing to donate that night.  Phai Tola's surgery then went forward the next day without incident...  being light.

Srey Kooit and Her Great Aunt

• About ten years ago we had a cook who worked with us by the name of Jia Tea.  She stopped working for us many years ago and we lost touch with her.  We just learned this week that she died from cancer in our old town of Battambang.  She was about 45 years old.   Tea's husband deserted her many years ago but she had a nine year old daughter, named Srey Kooit.  Tea also had a great aunt in Phnom Penh who was a Christian and whom we knew because she attends one of the C&MA churches in town.  After her mom died, Srey Kooit came down to Phnom Penh to be with her great aunt but her aunt is quite poor and in her 60's and she did not feel she could adequately care for Srey Kooit long-term.  The great aunt did not know what to do but she prayed and as she prayed, she said the Lord put David and Chris on her mind.  She called us and we immediately thought of Marie Ens' (retired C&MA missionary) "Place of Rescue" orphanage outside of Phnom Penh.  We know this orphanage well and they do a great job of caring for the kids, in a strong Christian environment, along with having a strong school program that can take an orphan all the way to college         level.  After making a few contacts, the people at the orphanage were very glad to take in Srey Kooit.  Yesterday  (Friday) the great aunt wanted to express her thanks so she brought Srey Kooit to meet us before she took her out to the orphanage for the first time.  As we talked with them and prayed with them, our hearts went out for this young girl.  Her young life is going through huge changes, and we all know it.  In the midst of this, we were so thankful that she had a good and safe place to go.  Because of the ministry started by this retired C&MA missionary, Marie Ens and the good people who work with her, Srey Kooit will have a new home where she will be loved and have far better educational opportunities than she would have had otherwise...  being light.

• A few weeks ago, David was traveling by bus to northwest Cambodia.  It was about a 6 hour bus ride.  David likes to ride the bus because there are ALWAYS great opportunities to talk to Cambodians about Christ.  There are very few westerners who speak the Cambodian language so the question always comes up, what are you doing here and why do you speak our language so well?   That of course gives great opportunity to talk about Christ.  On this particular trip, a 29 year old Buddhist monk in his saffron-colored robe sat down next to David.  He was from one of the leading temples in Phnom Penh and was working on a college degree in Computer Science...  a very sharp guy.  His name is Kooem.  As they struck up a conversation, the inevitable questions came up.  David had opportunity to share his testimony and they talked non-stop for hours about the differences between Theravada Buddhism (the branch of Buddhism that is practiced in Cambodia) and Christianity.   The conversation was always respectful and open.  When David shared that as a high school student, in looking at nature, he had come to believe that there must be a Creator God.  Kooem replied that Theravada Buddhism does not believe there is a Creator God...  but then he went on to say that he has often times thought there may be a Creator God.  He also told David he was planning to leave the monk hood and asked David if he could give him a Bible.  Since that initial meeting David and Kooem have had additional email/facebook dialog back and forth and are setting up a time (hopefully this week) to meet together to give him a Bible...  being light.

Thanks for your partnership with us in bringing Christ's light to Cambodia.  We could not be light here without your prayers and support.

Prayer Requests:

• For Phai Tola's rapid and full recovery from open heart surgery...  and that he would take this new gift of life and use it in service for his Savior
  
• For Srey Kooit as she settles into her new "home" and to experience extra touches of God's grace and love in the midst of her loss.
• For Kooem and David to meet this week and that the Lord would work in his heart to bring him to faith.

For those who would like to support our ministry, you can donate 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 for considering coming alongside us in this way to help share the light in Cambodia.

Surgery Postponed

Just to let you know that the cardiac surgeon has postponed Phai Tola's surgery until May 25.  My understanding is that, as the only cardiac surgery facility in Cambodia, there were more urgent cases that came up which necessitated this delay.  I will send an update after the surgery.

Update on Phai Tola's Surgery

Phai Tola and his mother

We just wanted to update you on Phai Tola.  His heart surgery is scheduled for Friday, May 11 at the Heart Center here in Phnom Penh.  This is the only hospital in Cambodia capable of doing this kind of procedure.  We met yesterday with Phai Tola and his mother.  We told them of the sacrificial giving many people had made to help him with this need and they expressed their profound thanks for your generosity.   We had good opportunity to pray with each other and for the surgery. 


The story of how this all came about is quite remarkable.  There is a new C&MA house church getting started about 2 miles from Phai Tola's home (about 3 hours from Phnom Penh).  The volunteer Cambodian church planter somehow made contact with Tola and led him to trust in Christ a little over a month ago.   He made his commitment to Christ before he knew there would be any possibility of medical help.  His health had been poor for many years and he knew that he needed a Savior to give him hope for eternal life. 

It was through this church planter that we were eventually introduced to Phai Tola.  We sent him to the CSI clinic for evaluation and then on to Jeremiah's Hope for further evaluation for his cardiac needs.  This is a young man who knows that all of this has come about because of his choice to trust in Christ.  When we met yesterday, he shared with us that since becoming a Christian, he attends the small house church every week and is praying and reading from the Gospels in his Bible every day. 

For those who are medically inclined, the cardiac surgeon connected with Jeremiah's Hope, Dr. Ti Sopheap, said that his heart surgery will involve three elements:

1.  Patch the hole between the Right Atrium and Left Atrium (Atrial Septal Defect = ASD)

2.  Replace the mitral valve (below the Left atrium) - his valve is really stiff and doesn't open properly

3.  Repair the tricuspid valve (below the Right atrium) - his valve is dilated and floppy and doesn't close properly

Thank you so much for the part you have played in this through prayer.  There were also many who gave for a stranger.  The funds for this all came together within 24 hours of the appeal.  Amazing!  Thank you as well for your ongoing prayers for the specific surgical repairs being planned for May 11 and for the recovery that follows. 

This young man has been given an opportunity for new life...  again.

In Christ, Dave and Chris