Linda and I extend our heartfelt thanks to each of you for your thoughts and prayers as we continue to serve the people of this beautiful country. We¹re now a month into this trip enjoying every minute of it and packing so much into each day. God is so good to keep us in good health, provide the energy we need and to show his favor to the ministry activities we¹re involved in.
Please take a look at our trip by going to Cambodia Impact.org to view our website or see our Facebook page at Cambodia Impact.
This past week was filled with design and construction activities including meeting with contractors, designing buildings and facilities to adjust to our budget and determining the best approach to meeting the facility needs of our kids. We believe we can bring this Phase 1 project at Antioch Orphanage in on budget and are close to selecting a contractor to work with. We are working through all the normal issues related to planning a significant construction project while adding two additional challenges to the mix: we don¹t speak the same language so are working through translators and, everything is in the metric system.
Our Antioch children continue to flourish with the new computers and all they are learning. We¹ve installed Rosetta Stone so they are learning English at a more rapid pace and have other tools that are helping them learn valuable skills.
We¹re well on our way to the completion of the new design for the ³business as mission² sewing project building. A floor plan is completed and building materials and specifications have been determined. We hope to start this project in the next few months and complete the building early next year so we can continue to expand this ministry.
We have enjoyed the presence of Duffy and Laurie Sample, friends from Pennsylvania who came to Battambang to see what we¹re doing. Their insight and wisdom relating to our work means a great deal! We¹re looking forward to their continued involvement as we expand the work in Battambang.
Marty and Margie Fox arrived in Phnom Penh on Wednesday so we enjoyed seeing the sights there a few days before driving to Battambang on Saturday to have dinner with our Antioch kids on Saturday night. We will be at church together Sunday morning then spend time on Monday at Svay Kang as we tour the sewing project. Our dear friends Thong Romanea and his wife Naroth from Asian Outreach Cambodia will be with us this weekend to see if we can expand this project to Phnom Penh and other locations in the country.
We are blessed by your prayers and your interest in our work. God is at work in this country and we love being a part of what he is doing. We find ourselves in a very special place at this stage of life; fulfilled, energized, using our gifts, making new friends and loving life as God enables us to be a part of his work. What a privilege to share in the work of God by helping the least, the lost, the widow and the orphan. We are blessed indeed!
Love, joy, peace, John and Linda
Cambodia Impact 4300 North Ave. Modesto, CA 95358
209.652.5200