This month has been a CRAZY month of divine appointments. We've all connected with some great people. Whether its Shantu at the bakery, Cecilia at the salon, Helen in the tuk tuk or the countless others we've met along the way, God has used us to shine his light in Phnom Penh this month.
Perhaps the greatest connection we made actually started 2 months ago in Thailand. We worked with Help Thailand, an organization that prevents children from entering the sex trade. While in Thailand, we had dinner with the founder, Carl, and got to know him, know about his organization and just hear some great testimonies of what God has done in him and through him.
Fast forward two months. Last Wednesday, I did a normal evening grocery store run with two of my teammates. As we were checking out, we saw Carl, his wife Laurie and daughter, Nhu!! In the middle of Cambodia at a busy mall! What a coincidence, or should I say "god-incident." I yelled to him and started waving frantically. We exchanged phone numbers and decided to meet for lunch on Friday. During our lunch meeting, we told them about our ministry for the month and about how Rithy's orphanage is desperately in need of stable, consistent funding. He proceeded to tell us that he would love to meet and talk with Rithy ASAP. Immediately following lunch, they met and talked about vision and potentially forming a partnership. The very next morning, Saturday, we met again for another meeting to talk specifics and logistics. Carl said he knew of 4 churches who were waiting to sponsor children and could have all 32 of Rithy's children sponsored in no time. What an answer to prayer!! We later found out that this divine appointment was an answer to a huge prayer Rithy and his children had been praying for 4 years!
Then, Saturday night, Carl and Laurie invited us to go to the arcade and out for ice cream with their children. It was such a great time of fellowship. The kids got to be kids and get to know some of the kids at Carl's home. Sunday, Carl's children joined us for church and lunch at Rithy's place which was another great time of fellowship and fun. We spent the rest of the day Sunday taking pictures of all the children and making profiles for child sponsorships. Monday we joined Carl and Laurie for another lunch date and got to chat more. He is such a wise man who is following God's specific call on his life: to prevent children from ever entering the sex trade. He spoke a lot of wisdom to us, poured into our lives and encouraged us.
I'm so excited to see this partnership grow over the next several years as God continues to bless both of these ministries. Who knows what God has in store for this ministry. Maybe in the future they will combine houses or build a bigger house near the airport in Phnom Penh. Or maybe something bigger and better than we can ever dream or imagine. God seems to do that often- to just blow the roof off of our expectations. 🙂
P.S. in case any of you were wondering how the "urgent: funds needed" situation turned out, thanks to YOUR love and support, we were able to raise over $5,000 in less than 2 weeks to meet the immediate needs of the children at the orphanage. Thank you all for loving and giving to these precious children! Picture blog coming soon!
