No eye has seen, no ear hear has heard...

(my July newsletter)

The school year at Battrang Middle School finished at the end of June, and we had a small party with all the students and teachers to finish the agriculture class. This first year was challenging, yet fun, and my teammates and I are prayerfully evaluating how to best continue our partnership with this community.

My CAMA services team is undergoing changes this summer as my team leader and his family will be moving to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in mid-July so he can fill the position of Regional Consultant. The other family unit on my team will move to Indonesia in mid-August to join the work there. Though these decisions were sudden and recent, the need is evident and so is God’s blessing. I will stay until next June 2011, as originally planned, and help with the transition of the moringa business. Sharon, the nurse on my team who has served for 14 years in Cambodia, also plans to stay another year to complete the transition of the AIDS homecare ministry so that it is fully run by Cambodians.

My teammates began introducing the benefits of the moringa tree to churches and communities in Cambodia about six years ago. Moringa grows in Cambodia, but most people don't know that moringa leaves are high in vitamins A, B and C, protein, iron, calcium, and magnesium. Not only that, the leaves contain all the essential amino acids. Making moringa leaf powder condenses this already high nutrient content and the powder can be eaten with food or drank as a warm tea.

After this initial teaching, Cambodians who made and consumed the moringa leaf powder noticed significant results. People reported fewer headaches, more energy, greater immune response, more stable blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and skin healing benefits. We have witnessed many miracles from the inclusion of moringa powder in the diet. Moringa is an extremely nutritious food, not a medicine, and so it is most helpful to those in need of extra nutrition.

In 2005, people from the city began asking to buy moringa leaf powder because they didn’t have the time or land to produce it. This created a market for the moringa powder and also created job opportunities for Cambodians in the church. Thus, “Moringa for Health” was born, and it has slowly grown over the past three years to include the processing of moringa leaf powder, bottling of moringa leaf powder in capsules, and processing and bottling of moringa seed oil (used topically for arthritis and skin problems). Sombok, a young Cambodian Christian man, is now the manager, and he has two staff working with him. They are learning how to make a quality product, run a business, and minister to and pray for people they come into contact with as a result of this work. Moringa powder is also a vital part of the AIDS homecare ministry as it improves the health, immune response and energy of the patients.

Praise God that we recently found a place for the moringa business to operate out of, both for production of the leaf powder and seed oil as well as a place to sell products and provide information. Please pray for our three Christian Khmer staff as their responsibilities increase with the departure of my teammates; pray that they will work with integrity and honesty and, most importantly, that they will stay close to the Lord. I look forward to helping the Khmer staff with general oversight, research and bookkeeping.

I appreciate and ask for your prayers in the course of the next year for God's wisdom, presence, protection and peace through all the transitions. Please also pray especially for me to find additional community and friends here in Battambang. The enemy wants to steal and kill and destroy, but God gives us abundant life through Jesus Christ! Thank you for traveling on this journey with me, for your prayers and support through the hills and valleys.

"Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him."—Isaiah 64:4

Blessings,
Holly

Praises
• Praise God for our moringa business office and for our three great staff members
• Praise God that I can use my gifts to help with the moringa business
• Praise God for this past year of teaching agriculture at Battrang Middle School and for the
students and teachers

Prayers
• For my teammates as they leave this “home” and plant new roots
• For the Moringa for Health business and staff
• For spiritual strength and for additional community for me in Battambang
• For wisdom concerning continued work in Battrang village