The past month and a half has flown by mostly because of all the activity going on. We finished out the school year at Battrang Middle School where my teammate Chris and I and two Khmer staff have been teaching about agriculture. It was a fun last couple weeks and the students really enjoyed the jeopardy game we made up to review. The last day of our class we had a small party with the students and staff and they got to try some "American" cookies and cakes. We met with the teachers and adminstative staff last week to talk about what next year might look like and what they want for this course. Thank you for your continued prayers as we decide what to do.
Some of the Battrang school staff
Me and my team
In my upcoming newsletter there is much more news, but I wanted to connect with people here so no one thinks I fell off the face of the earth! =) I am very much here, just busy.I was able to visit the rice field co-op project that my teammates help start several years ago. It is now fully run by Cambodians and provides land for the poor to farm rice on. The area where the land is located is near the Tonle Sap Lake, which grows in size throughout the rainy season and floods the surrounding area. The rice in this area grows about 2 meters tall because of the deep flooding and it is called "floating rice". This time of year it isn't too wet yet, but during the next couple months it will only be accessible by small boats. We went to pray in the four corners of the land and ask God's blessing on the rice crop and ask for rain and protection from insects and rodents. Praise God for this land that is helping to feed many families!
At the end of June I went on a consulting trip to Som Pouv Loon village with some friends from my church in Phnom Penh. Their organization helped start a community center and church there and they wanted some agriculture advice for their land. They have around 20 goats, so as one of the main focuses is become self-sustaining, they want to increase their forage sources. We came up with a plan to plant some grass, legumes and annuals that will help feed the herd. It was a really fun experience for me and I got to help with milking one of the mother goats whose babies couldn't nurse, got to go on a prayer walk through a nearby community and got to attend the Sunday worship service. I heard many amazing testimonies of what God is doing in the lives of the people there. Especially amazing since 3 years ago there were no churches or Christians in that area. One testimony was from a solider who spent thousands of dollars on idols trying to find the right god. One night he had a vision of Jesus where Jesus was saying He is the one true God, so this man found a Bible and started reading. Now he and almost all his family are Christians!
At the community center they also teach poor women how to quilt and they make amazing, beautiful quilts out of scraps of fabric. Som Pouv Loon is near the border of Thailand and it has a bit of different scenery than Battambang. We saw seasame plants bundled and drying in the sun, lots of tractors, corn and cassava fields, some hills, and some very bumpy roads. =)
Seasame
One of the quilts
A container garden we saw in the community
Things are going well with the moringa business, though sales are slower this time of year. We just moved into a new office on the main drag in Battambang (it's a fairly small town) so we praise God for his provision!Thank you for your prayers and support!! I couldn't be here without you.
