Srey Leak grew up in Stung Meanchey, Phnom Penh which hosts the biggest rubbish dump in the country. In the area live thousands of the poorest of the poor, scavenging to survive. Srey Leak’s parents decided to give her up for adoption. She was adopted and taken away at the age of eleven despite both her parents still being alive. Srey Leak has ended up in the same class at school as Aimee – but has struggled to adjust in the massive shock of leaving family and friends in poverty-stricken Cambodia to a whole new massively affluent way of life in a new family, country, language and culture at the age of 13. She was delighted to find out about Aimee’s connection with Cambodia and surprised to find that Anna and I speak Khmer – she phones us to speak in her mother tongue and calls us “Ming” and Pu” – younger auntie and younger uncle! Srey Leak came for a sleep-over a few weekends ago. We told her we were going to say thank you to Jesus for the food before we ate. She asked us, “Who is Jesus?” Explaining in both English and Khmer brought a look of blank incomprehension. She had not heard of him in either language! At bed-time we looked through a Khmer picture Bible – going through Jesus’ life-story together. She asked questions for 45 minutes, and then insisted on going to church with us the next day. We wouldn’t allow her until she had the permission of her adoptive parents – she called them four times! Pray that Srey Leak (pronounced “Lay-ack”) would be able to cope with the phenomenal adjustments she is facing now and find faith in Jesus.
The first Orientation Course of 2008 has come and gone. Philipp and Elisabeth Schmuki, the new OC Supervisors, did well although arrived at the end of the month exhausted! The deadline for registration for the next OC has just passed and a further 28 folk are on their way to join us in May! The building project team is coming together for the rebuild of our office space at 2 Cluny Road. We already have a deputy project manager and a potential project manager will be visiting in April – pray that the Lord will help and guide us in making good decisions.
Work on the International Personnel System has speeded up even further. We are now at the height of effort and struggling to cope – around twenty people are working at full stretch and the project area fairly hums with activity. At present we are putting together the organisational structure to upload into the system so the IPS “knows” where everyone is located – OMF is challengingly diverse in its structures and this has proved to be a major difficulty. Please pray that we get this right and quickly – so we don’t hold up the build! From 7-11th April there will be a blueprinting week held here at IHQ on a new way of handling and tracking applications to OMF on-line. Folk are flying in from around the Fellowship to take part – please pray for a profitable week together with the software team and for stamina for everyone taking part.
On April 13th the Griffiths family will be leading both Family Services at our church in Singapore, Adam Road Presbyterian Church, together with Sin Ee – an OMF worker just back from Taiwan. Pray for a joy in worship, good communication of the Word in this all-age service and that the church would understand a bit more about being a missionary sending church. On 18th April Steve leaves for Brazil, with another International Director, to look at building relationships with the strong evangelical movement there. Pray for safety in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Please pray also for time to prepare the materials for deputation/preaching on Home Assignment – which starts for Steve at the beginning of May. Pray for Anna (doing the May OC lectures alone!) and the children staying on in Singapore for 5 weeks after Steve has left.
Josh and Aimee go on separate school trips during April: Josh will be away on Pulau Ubin Island from 8th-11th and Aimee to Taman Negara in Malaysia from 20th-25th. Praise the Lord that ACS International (the school where Josh goes) has found funding to be able to offer Aimee a bursary to follow her brother to the school in January 2009! Thank you to everyone for praying! With our love,
Steve, Anna, Joshua & Aimée
