July update from Soeung Family

Half way done our trip! Yes, we have about 4 more weeks in the US until we go back to Cambodia. We are now in North Carolina and will be leaving for Simpsonville, South Carolina on Monday, 22th of July. Beth and I have been blessed with so many of you guys who made the time to see us even if it were for a short moment or a simple greeting. Thank you for helping create such wonderful memories together.  

We want to update you on how much God has blessed us so far toward the goal of raising support this summer. We are slowly climbing up our goal of reaching $1750 more per month: a lot of churches, individuals and families have committed to continue financially helping us so we now have about $565 combined. Therefore we only need about $1185 more. We ask the Lord for His provision and we know that we can trust Him. 

You also know from our last letter that we are raising towards some one-time goals. Personally, I (F) have a big goal to cushion for more training. Let me explain further: 

I feel that the Holy Spirit has led me to support children and some adults who have been struggling. I observe them through the way that they explore; a lot of them like to play games, or fidget with play dough and Legos, while others like to color and draw. I was able to find out that the 12 year old twin boys, who I have been meeting with regularly, got physically abused by their father. Here’s how: I noticed that they kept hitting their stuffed animals on the same spot each time they were playing with it, so I asked them about it. They responded to me, “Teacher, this is where our dad always hits us.” 

Another time, I was with an 11th grade pastor’s son. He moved to Phnom Penh and has been studying at the school that I volunteer with for about 3 years. In Bible classes he always answers my questions like he is a believer, someone who knows about the Bible very well. Later on I found out he had heard stories from the Bible since he was young because his dad always told them before bed. He is now staying in a Christian dormitory. I talked to his teacher and learned that he often misses classes. Sometimes he shows up in the afternoon but not morning classes. I am concerned about his behavior of missing classes. I asked him to come and help me prepare for Sunday school lessons and games and while we were doing crafts, he started talking about what happened to his dad a few years ago. I realized that he was angry at God because He allowed his dad to die. And because of that incident he had held a grudge against the Lord and doesn’t feel like he should have a strong focus on himself and his life for the future. As of now, I am continuing to advise and guide him each week through our arts and crafts together. 

I have experienced more of the Holy Spirit drawing me closer to observing those better through play, and arts and crafts; this intrigues me to learn more about it. I did some research and found that there is a 10 week training and Play Therapy course that is happening in Thailand; everything will be taught in my native language and during the week I will apply my learning skills and during the weekends I go back to Thailand to learn more and ask for feedback and questions. However the early bird price is $4,300 and I have to apply by the 15th of August. Praise the Lord, I received help from you guys to the tune of $2,600 already, and now I will need only about $1,700 more to register for the Play Therapy training program. 

What a beautiful blessing! Beth has been working hard alongside me. She also has a lot of essays and other projects to complete whilst she is out of school for the summer. While we were having breakfast with our supporters, the wife told us that her husband’s computer had been broken for a while so he couldn’t see our update. Then I shared about Beth’s computer that is not working as well. Suddenly the husband said let’s go buy a computer. Praise Him. Beth just got her new computer. Thank God for His provision.  

Sopheak is not well. He just got the results from the doctor that he is suffering  from high blood pressure. It’s kind of surprising to hear that because Sopheak is a very athletic and healthy person but on the other hand, Sopheak’s dad and his oldest brother both died because of high blood pressure. There are 2 more siblings who have been on medication with the same problem. Sopheak is starting to take medication alongside exercising and a good diet to try and help him. He hopes that this time of sickness won’t be long and he will have his normal life back soon. Please pray for him. 

Please continue to pray for Bethanee and I that we will continue having a good time together before heading home on August 5th. We hope for the Lord’s work to be blessed as we reach the goal for what we need to raise for our ministry and family needs.