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September, 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from rainy Cambodia. This afternoon it rained very hard, as we write this letter our street looks a bit like a small river. We are sad for the many Cambodians whose houses are flooded tonight making their living situations even more unhealthy.

August 2007 Banteay Meanchey Trip: We traveled to Banteay Meanchey for four short days (two days traveling and two days there) before school started. During the two days there we were quite busy. We visited a village that we hadn't been to before, Koun Trei, as part of our survey work. We also met a Christian family in Yeah Ath village (picture to the right below), they were saved in the refugee camps on the Thai border in the 1980s and eventually returned to Cambodia. They shared that there are other families in the same situation in their village but no church, they are requesting help in terms of training and discipleship. We met with some of the leaders in Kutasat and Kob Toich to encourage them and plan for future leadership training sessions. Phally, one of the young leaders from Calmette Church traveled with us and led two "Kid's Clubs."

Traditional Khmer Musical Instruments: Daniel has had an interest in seeing traditional Khmer instruments used in worship. The pictures below show him practicing with men at our home in Phnom Penh and in Kutasat. It is proving to be a great way to bring men together and to have an opportunity to teach and spend time with them. And, yes, for those of you that are wondering: Daniel is learning to play the "dro", the two stringed instrument that he has wanted to play for quite sometime.

Death: We feel as though we have seen an abnormally large number of deaths this year (in actuality, the number is normal for Cambodia, just strange for us). We are constantly reminded of the brevity and uncertainty of our life here on earth. Pray that more Cambodians will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus and the way to real peace and certainty even in the face of death and sadness. While we were in Kutasat the husband of Daniel's cousin was killed while trying to remove a termite hill (pictured below left) from his garden. He was hoeing at the base of it and it fell hitting him in the face and killing him instantly. He did not know the Lord. His wife related to us later that "the spirit" living in the termite hill had told her husband not to remove it and she believes his death was the result of acting againist the spirit. We know that the prevalent religion in Cambodia is Buddhism mixed with animism, it seems that we are just beginning to understand what animism and the belief in spirits really means. Pray for wisdom and boldness for us as we relate with this family when we return to Kutasat in October. Pray that this tragedy can be used to show God's power over the spirit world, pray for the salvation of Bong Lun's family. (picture below right is of the village women preparing food for the funeral go-ers).

Persecution: The wife of one of the leaders of the Kob Toich Church shared with us that thier family has been sick a lot in the last year. Their neighbors are saying that the illnesses are a result of their becoming Christians. Pray for strength for them to stand firm in their faith. The Kob Toich house church has been asked to register with the government (as have other churches), pray for wisdom as we help them through this process. The girl's hostel associated with Calmette Church has experienced attacks recently, twice they have been locked inside the hostel and most recently garbage was thrown into the hostel, these attacks clearly are because the girls are Christians and the hostel is connected with the church.

Language study/Phase 2: Suzanne passed her Level one language eval this past Friday. PTL! She has now begun Level two language study. Level two is intended to be 50% language study combined with 50% ministry time. Once Suzanne finishes Level 2 language study we will be allowed to move upcountry. Please continue to pray for diligence in study and a good memory for sounds and spelling. Suzanne will be working as the Serve Asia coordinator during our phase two year (taking the place of Serene who will be on Home Assignment). Serve Asia is OMF's short term program. Suzanne will be responsible for coordinating between the various home countries and the Cambodia field in planning for Serve Asia workers and being a resource for the workers while they are in Cambodia (estimated 8 hours/week). This combined with language study, family responsibilities and involvement at Calmette Church will make a full schedule.

Banteay Meanchey ministry: We have enough survey information to write the report for the Church Work council. Pending their decisions we are praying about moving to Svay Sisophon (the town nearst to Kutasat and Kob Toich villages) 12 to 18 months from now. In the future we intend to live in Kutasat but will need to prepare a place to live, as there are no houses for rent in the village. Our plan for the coming year is to continue with trips to Banteay Meanchey every 6 to 8 weeks, the next trip will be the beginning of October. We will be holding leadership training meetings for church leaders from several villages each time we go, please pray for an appropriate place to hold these meetings.

Thank-you very much for your prayers and support of our ministry. It is exciting to see God answer prayers in very direct ways, we know that He is at work in and through us. You are an integral part of our ministry here.

Because of Him,

The Prak Family

Daniel and Suzanne Prak
OMF Cambodia
PO Box 570
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

dsprak@yahoo.com

www.khmerpeopleforchrist.com

Daniel cell phone: 85592639264
Suzanne cell phone: 85592639262

Please note: Internet access here is costly, please be selective in sending pictures and avoid sending "forwards". Emails are welcome! Thanks.

For His Glory,

The Prak Family

Read Daniel Prak's personal testimony