It started with a prayer…one pastor saw the need and prayed. Then the pastor shared this prayer with other pastors and they prayed. Eventually, in the early 2000’s, these pastors met with Pastor Sinai Phouek and Mark Geppert and shared the need with them. That one prayer, approximately 20 years ago, has led to today: orphaned, abandoned, and at-risk children living in the permanent location of the New Hope for Orphans (NHO) children’s home in the province of Kampong Thom, Cambodia.
It has been a long process. Since those first prayers, many more prayers have risen over the years for this to happen. Mark and Pastor Sinai picked up the mantle of prayer for this need and carried it forward. Steps were taken and land was purchased in 2006. With the purchase of the land, it was thought that the home would come quickly, but it didn’t. The land was farmed for many years, producing cashews and vegetables that were needed for the local community.
In 2014, the first intern group returned from their internship at the SEAPC-USA office and established an office in the capital city of Kampong Thom. They worked very hard to reach out to people and establish a worship community, with the goal of establishing the permanent location on the property that had been purchased. After a year, it was obvious that it was not the correct timing and that the interns were needed in the Phnom Penh offices to help handle the rapidly growing ministry.
At the same time that all of this was happening, a young Sitha Phon and Sopheaktra Chhorn were growing up. Sitha was in his early 20s at the Phnom Penh home for NHO, attending college and working, and Sopheaktra was a teenager, living with her parents in Kampong Thom province and going to school in her local community. Her father is a pastor. Ultimately, as they grew, Sitha was working in the NHO head office and Sopheaktra went to Phnom Penh to attend college. They met through the youth/young adult ministry, fell in love, and married in April, 2015.
In early 2017, while awaiting the birth of their first child, Sitha and Sopheaktra felt led to move to care for orphaned, abandoned, and at-risk children in Kampong Thom province. They wanted to bless kids the way Sitha had been blessed when he was in need. Sopheaktra’s father’s church had a small school building on the church grounds that they were no longer using and said that the children’s home could be there temporarily. In August 2017, no more than one month after their son was born, they moved and within another month, they already had 8 children living at the home.
The number of children grew very quickly and the temporary location was at full capacity. It was actually inching beyond capacity as they could not in good-conscious turn away children in need. It was obvious that the home needed to move. Prayers intensified.
Then, in 2018, God brought short-term teams to help at the home. A member of one of these teams fell in love with the kids and staff at the home and felt led to help them in bringing forth the permanent location where they would live. Others joined in with the desire to see this completed. Using the land purchased in 2006, various designs for the home’s layout and construction were explored. The final design came into place mid-2019 as house father, Sitha, requested that the home be laid out in the design of a cross; with the church being closest to the road, the learning center/house parent lodging being behind the church with the boys’ and girls’ dormitories on either side, and the kitchen/dining area in the back.
Construction began in November 2019 with expectations that the entire campus would be completed and children could move in during the summer of 2020. Then, the world was hit with the global pandemic of COVID-19. From April through most of October, construction was stalled as the pandemic affected every area of life. It looked like the children would not be moving into the home any time in the near future but, as always, we have a great God. The obstacle that stalled construction was removed and construction began again in early November.
Now, at least one of the dormitories (possibly both) have been completed by the end of 2020. This allowed for the children to move to the location and start the new school year, beginning January 11, 2021, in their new schools – perfect timing. The construction for the remaining buildings will safely continue around them and they will expand into the full campus as it is completed. The expectation is that the entire campus will be completed by the fall of 2021.
Praise God! What started as a prayer almost 20 years ago has been answered. Orphaned, abandoned, and at-risk children are living in a permanently located children’s home in Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia. Once the campus is completed, the capacity will go from approximately 20 children, which was at the temporary location, to approximately 60 children – 3 times as many children can be served at the home.
Praise God, 2021 is already showing itself to be a year of multiple blessings! Another long-time prayer is being answered. Children at the NHO home in Pursat Province, are going to receive the second dormitory that they have needed for a number of years. Construction will begin very soon.
The children’s home in Pursat Province was built in 2008 with one multifunction building (dormitory, staff lodging, activity area) and a kitchen/dining area. Since its beginning, the house parents at this home have been Yoeum Tha and Thin So. Under their loving care, the home filled to maximum capacity and has been bursting at the seams with children for a while. The local government in Pursat loves the home and has requested that it expand to allow for more children.
I’m not exactly sure when Brother Yoeum started to pray for this need, but he and Pastor Sinai expressed it to us a number of years ago and we have been praying since. There has been much debate about whether to purchase land and move the home, closing the current site, or to build another building on the current property. Eventually, the decision was made to build at the current location. Now, a church in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, region has committed to build the building and love on the children at this home.
They have already raised 2/3 of the necessary funds and we are negotiating the contract with the builder for the timeline. We expect that this building should also be completed no later than fall 2021. Then, the girls will move to the new building and the home will double its capacity for the number of children that can be served there.
Two requests, many years in prayer, are being fulfilled right now. Approximately 55 children/youth will receive the immediate blessings. Innumerable children will be blessed over time. We have a great God who answers prayer no matter how things look around us! Thank you for praying with us!
