As my son Josiah and I bumped along the road, we were as excited as could be. We were on an adventure! We had been given the task of interviewing the teachers and newly baptized students at the ASAP-sponsored school in Takong, Cambodia. With us were our driver friend Caleb, who I had known since he was four years old, our translators, and seventy bags of rice for the students. At the school, we played with the students, taught a little, and then took pictures of each one. They happily made them special crafts and wrote thank you letters for their sponsors overseas. A newly hired teacher named Sok Som Arth told me this thrilling answer to prayer:
One day after school, two of his students, both sisters, came up to him and sadly said, “We will not be in school tomorrow. Our parents are going to Thailand to work in a restaurant. They are forcing us to quit school and go along to wash dishes at the restaurant.” At that very moment it was time for the united prayer meeting that meets daily after school for any of the teachers and students who want to join. The teacher and the two girls earnestly prayed for God to somehow intervene. For the rest of the year and throughout the summer, this faithful teacher prayed for the girls, asking God to bring them back. The day before school was to begin, he was at the market buying food. All of a sudden, he saw the two sisters running up to him. He couldn't believe they were back! Their story came tumbling out. “We were sick the entire time we were in Thailand! So sick that we couldn't work! Finally our parents were so frustrated they sent us back. We will be in school tomorrow!” The teacher joyfully told me, “My prayers were answered! And they haven’t had a trace of sickness since!”
Please pray for the children of Cambodia and Southeast Asia. Pray for our teachers and schools to make a huge impact for God’s kingdom.
-Julie Griswold, wife of Associate Director Scott Griswold
