June Prayer Letter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.