Update Dec 2024 | New Baby & More
We hope you and your family are well. Especially during the Christmas season.
The past few months have been a whirlwind, with a focus on Pheaps pregnancy and the birth of our child, but we served where we could and have seen amazing things happen though our community here at YWAM/University of the nation.
Welcome Liam
Photo of Pheap teaching in Poipet
Introducing our second son Liam. He was born late October and a lot has happened since then.
Only a few weeks after his arrival, he developed a severe chest and stomach infection that progressed into pneumonia.
At first we were in a local children’s clinic but they soon referred us to a better equipped children’s hospital 3 hours away, where he was admitted to the ICU and then transferred to a special care unit. Thankfully, he responded well to the initial treatment. However, his recent progress has slowed down, and he’s now been moved to a general ward with other children, closer to a lung specialist. While this is a step forward, it’s also a challenging one. The ward of 21 beds is sometimes noisy and crowded, making it difficult for Liam to rest and recover.
Pheap has been a soldier, staying by his side to feed him every 3 hours. The constant stress and lack of sleep have taken a toll on her and her ability to produce milk. We’re praying for her strength, health, and for her milk supply to remain abundant.
There aren’t any privacy screens so the lack of privacy in the new ward has also been a significant challenge for Pheap. She also needs to ask other parents to watch Liam when she attends to her own needs like going to refill water or get food, which is stressful.
We’re thankful for the medical staff’s care. However, we’ve been told that Liam’s recovery will require time. We’re hopeful that with continued treatment and support, he will make a full recovery.
Meanwhile, Pat’s been juggling responsibilities back home with Jayden. He feels tension, as he wants to be with Pheap and Liam to support them through this challenging time but at the same time, he wants to ensure that Jayden can continue school and feel loved and secure.
Currently we have enough finances to cover almost 3 weeks of treatment.
Please pray for Liam’s health, Pheap’s strength and wisdom for pat. There has already been a lot of prayer which means a lot to us.
If you would like to give, please contact us so we can work out an easy way for you to give, or you can find ways to give on our website.
UPDATE 12 Dec 2024:
Just a day after I posted this newsletter, Pheap and Liam returned home! Pat was surprised.
We’re not in the clear yet as Liam still has pneumonia with some fluid in his lungs but the progress satisfied the doctors enough to release Pheap and Liam with continued medication and check-ups. So there’s going to be a few more trips back to the hospital 3 hours away and we’re hoping Liam’s healing will smoothly continue to move forward. Let’s continue praying together for a full recovery with long-term peace.
It’s so good being together as a family and It’s reassuring that Liam isn’t in a room full of other sick kids and he has the strength to cry and eat.
Thanks for being there with us on this journey.
Amidst the present challenges there have been a lot of good things happening.
People deciding to follow Jesus
- Implus 3 day youth camp: We believe that it will be through youth movements that there will be a revival here in Cambodia. One weekend in November we had expected only 500 to maybe 600 youth to show up but the numbers reached about 1,000 youth! From this incredible event, there were 51 people that accepted Jesus!
- Discipleship Training School Outreach: Twice a year we run Discipleship Training School, which is an introductory school for missions to help believers know God and make Him known. The school content also helps develop and equip people in core areas of their own personal lives. Participants of this past school went out and saw 179 people decide to follow Jesus.
- Mini Concert: Pats old team that he used to lead helped run mini-concerts in 2 schools. About 30 people decided to follow Jesus through these concerts. A lot has changed compared to when Pat was in it and he’s excited to see they’ve continued to grow and do excellent things.
3 day Gospel Concert
Photo of the gospel concert
The campus recently helped to facilitate a massive 3-day gospel festival. Pat went to the field to help with a bit of preparation. It was great to see the partnership with other churches and performers, we were able to reach thousands of people. On the first night alone, an estimated 6000 people attended.
There were people receiving healing including those who couldn’t walk. Hundreds of people made decisions to follow Jesus, with contact information collected for each individual, enabling local churches to provide follow-up support.
A few challenges had to be overcome, such as a last-minute venue change due to a double-booking by the venue. Through prayer and negotiation we were given favor to continue using the field. It’s a testament to His faithfulness.
So good things will continue to happen but there may be some adversity. As we continue to move forward, we ask for your continued prayers for success and favor.
CLC Goal to Give Out Gifts for School Kids
CLC (Community Light Church) has a Village Christmas Project going from the 15-20th, the goal is to raise $5000 worth of Christmas gifts ($3 per gift) to hand out to children with school supplies. The Project is set to be held in 6 villages, as well as a CLC Sunday service that’s held on campus.
Pheap Helped With Immigration Inspection.
Photo of Pheap with immigration police.
Den is in kindergarten now. The school is in Khmer so even though he understands Khmer language, he speaks English a lot more, so he’ll be in kindergarten to help his Khmer foundations. He loves his school and he especially loves that it’s in the same building where daddy spends time serving. We are thankful that he could be in a good school that cares for not only his intellectual development but also the development of his character as a person. We are still looking for someone to commit to help with his tuition fee, we have one friend committed for $50 per month, so we need someone to help with another $100 monthly.
Thanks
We’re so thankful for having you stand with us during this time. Together, we’ll keep moving forward through challenges and continue to ame a positive impact.
Hope you have a merry Christmas.
Blessings,
Pat & Pheap.