Cambodian Harvest Prayer Letter, February 2020

Thank you all so much for your faithful prayer support over many years. We sincerely appreciate your love and kindness. Over nearly 16 years, we have experienced many joys and trials and given all the praise and all the glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. His faithfulness has been amazing and many times He has astounded us with His love. Our people have become a testament to His plan to make us like Jesus in this world. We are a work in progress.There is so much excitement in the churches here about the signs of awakening and end times revival. The fear brought about by the severe Covid19 virus in China has released much anxiety and Christians can even more boldly proclaim Christ. We are here for such a time as this.

The situation in Cambodia. - There has only been one reported case of the virus in the port city of Sionoukville and that man has recovered. However, many thousands of Chinese returned to Cambodia after the Chinese New Year before the news of Covid 19 was made known. Cambodia has been inundated with Chinese businesses and workers over recent years. No restrictions of entry from travelers from China have been made. Asian travel to Cambodia has stopped & there are few visitors coming to Cambodia now, especially after we allowed the Westerdam ship to berth and it did have unreported & undetected sick passengers who were allowed to disembark and travel to Phnom Penh and sight- see before flying on to other destinations. Business is so quiet in Cambodia and ours has almost ground to a halt. Customers are not paying us as they wait to see what happens and try to keep their own businesses afloat. Our situation is really desperate.

The effect on Cambodian Harvest - Our problem is that although we are owed money, we cannot get it back from customers to pay our own monthly bills and our tax bill which was due on February 20th. International airports of Phnom Penh and Seim Reap are empty of Asian travellers and the inside shops are closing or reducing staff and opening hours. Cambodian Harvest relies on two airport sales outlets to sell enough to pay our monthly expenses. Chinese, Japanese and South Koreans are our main customers. This is the mango season and we need to be manufacturing at least 3 tons of dried mango this month and next. While the fruit comes from Cambodia, the sugar and other ingredients come from Thailand and prices are skyrocketing. If we cannot sell our products, what can we do? These are the Facts. The Truth is - God is with us and He is our very present help in time of trouble. We are all learning anew what it is to trust God in every situation and look expectantly to see what He will do and proclaim the goodness of God.

Church - We have been overjoyed to baptize four factory staff recently. Kheat, who has been working with us for many years and Channy, Chinn's wife, and Seyha and his wife Sreyrat were baptized. We also dedicated Chenda Chinn and baby Seyha to the Lord. In addition to this, our outreaches to Tha Ahn in Kompong Thom Province were blessed, where we baptized 13 adults and 30 young people in the river, and one month later, three more adults and five children were also baptized. A big celebration was held and there was great rejoicing. Sadly our team discovered one of our new believers had a motorbike accident and sustained a broken arm. She lived alone and her only relative worked far away at a garment factory. No one from the village helped her. Bunthoeun took her to a hospital where they set her arm and then took her home. Days later she fell out of bed & remained there for two days, during which time she died. She must have had undetected brain injuries from the accident. There was no money for a funeral so they put her body in a coffin and buried her without a funeral ceremony. We were shocked and now we are having to teach our new believers about their responsibility to care for one another.

God blessed our outreaches with our lovely new Ford Ranger Wildtrak utility and encouraged us so much when people were healed and came to faith. Our five church children love going on these outreaches and enjoy teaching the village children to dance and sing the Gospel songs. Staff salaries have had to be cut so church funds are low. To raise funds for outreaches the staff have been selling fresh papaya from Kampot in the local markets.

Marion is still struggling with the same sore throat and cough issues as before and as it has now been ongoing since early January, and keeps resurfacing , so she will to return to Adelaide on 27th February for treatment and return on 8th May. Antibiotics seem to fix it but by the end of the course, but it comes back again after about a week, often after each visit to the dentist, so obviously there must be some other reason for this. The RTC Board thinks she should return ASAP in case she gets stuck in Cambodia and not allowed back into Aust. if the Covid 19 virus gets worse. This is a hard decision because Bunthoeun & Netha are facing the worst financial problem in our 15 year history and we may lose all that we have worked so hard for. Kerry Norman visited us for a month and really encouraged Marion Fromm (and all of us) when she stayed with her in Phnom Penh and joined our outreaches and preached at church.

Marion Fromm plans to spend some weeks in Australia from February 27th. If you would like to invite her to speak at your church or if you are able to give her accommodation while she is in Adelaide, please email her ASAP.

Your support for us is very much appreciated. Please pray for the following:

• Revival in Cambodia and for God's protection on the people of Cambodia against the Covid 19 virus
• Cambodian Harvest staff and business to see God's miracle of provision and ability to pay the bills.
• A revelation of the love of God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
• Pray for a miracle of healing for John Wilkins, who is waiting for a lung transplant. He urgently needs our prayers.
• Marion Fromm's trip to Australia and healing for her throat. She will arrive on 27th February. Marion plans to return to Phnom Penh on 8th May and needs a place to stay while she is in Adelaide.
• Please help us financially if you can. Our situation is dire indeed .

The blessing of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the fellowship of Holy Spirit rest abundantly on us all. With love