Go Beyond

Siem Reap, Cambodia

We received some very sad news this morning. The 35 year-old governor of Bantey Meanchey Province, where The Hope Center is located, was killed in an auto accident early this morning. This rising star in the Cambodian political universe was the youngest governor in the country. He was a dear friend of Steve Hyde and was scheduled to speak at the dedication of The Hope Center next month. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

The news of the governor’s death had a sobering effect on our team. Although he was a Buddhist, he was a friend of the gospel. He had great admiration for Steve and the work he is doing to care for orphans and to make provision for the spiritual and medical welfare of women and children in the province. He and Steve were scheduled to meet later this week to discuss the opening of The Hope Center. His presence and influence will be missed.

Our team spent the entire day shopping for furniture for the center. By the end of the day I had lost track of how many furniture-makers we had visited. Shopping with women is not as easy as shopping alone or with other men. The women did a lot of comparison shopping, asked a ton of questions, inspected every piece of furniture, consulted our color chart, and more before agreeing to buy anything. But I must say that they did an excellent job. By the end of the day we had purchased several truck-loads of furniture.

We all enjoyed shopping with Steve. He has the most winsome personality and an exceptional command of the Cambodian language. Once we had agreed on what to purchase at a particular shop, Steve had to arrange for our purchases to be delivered to The Hope Center. That meant making a lot of phone calls to coordinate delivery, not exactly an easy task. The first delivery arrived in Poipet this evening and we expect several more deliveries throughout the day tomorrow.

Excitement is building as so many things are coming together to move us closer toward the completion of The Hope Center. As we shopped we talked about what this center will mean to the poorest women and children in Bantey Meanchey Province. This center will hold high the standard of the sanctity of human life and champion the rights of the most vulnerable in the area. Each of us are committed to making sure that every detail of the center will demonstrate how much God values the Cambodian people.

Thanks for following our journey and for your prayers. A bright spot today was celebrating Kara Pott’s birthday. Kara chose to be away from home on her birthday this year in order to serve the people of Cambodia. I am grateful for her friendship and partnership in the gospel. She is a tireless servant and lots of fun to be with. We have all enjoyed her company and her contribution to our efforts to get things at The Hope Center ready for dedication day in December. Happy Birthday, Kara, from each of us on the team.