April 2011 Update - Shelter from the Rain

Hello to my mission partners

As you know I was in Bangkok for most of April receiving treatment for my shoulder and didn't return until the 22nd. I am healing slowly but still in major pain as there was two issues with my arm and I have to go back to see the doctors in Bangkok on the 20th of May (my birthday) for probably another surgery on the nerves in my arm.Pray I receive healing for my birthday this year.

This month I would like to share a moment I experienced with my fiancee Leakhena (with her permission of course) and also an opportunity for you to help in a tangible way a slum re-location site this month.


I returned on the friday night from Bangkok and was actually moving into a new place. Leakhena's family moved me well I was away for treatment into a smaller one room place which is located inside a complex of buildings which live most of her extended family from her Grandmother to numerous uncles ,aunts and an immeasurable amount of young cousins.Only one Aunt speaks a little bit of English and so this place will be helpful for my language study .

On saturday night although we are a month away from the rainy season it rained extremely hard. This was my second night there and the sound of the rain on the tin roof was deafening it sounded like hail the size of golf balls falling on the roof. at first I was upset at the sound as I just wanted to sleep and it was keeping me awake. Then I noticed there was water coming into my room from two different corners it created two puddles which didnt quite join but took up almost half of my room. I was frustrated and thinking oh no it isn't even rainy season yet and I will be mopping this up for the next 4 months.Then I felt awful as I realized that I had a tin roof unlike most of the people I encounter in the re-location sites. I had a floor that was tile and easy to clean and not a mud floor. I had a mop a tool to make this job extremely easy. I felt extremely blessed and prayed for my friends that do not have that luxury.

As I shared with Leakhena the next day she shared this with me.......

" when I was a young child we lived in a small place and the roof was made of coconut palm leaves ...there were holes in the roof and the water would come through when it rained and we would have to move around in the night to find the driest spot." Then the tears started flowing down her face as they did mine and she shared this.." I always remember one night it was raining so hard and the water was coming in everywhere..(Leakhena has three younger sisters and a brother) my mother and father only had one raincoat and they huddled all us kids together and all night they stood in the mud and the rain pouring through our small hut and held the raincoat over us to try to keep us dry.

As we waited until our tears stopped I was happy I was sharing this moment with Leakhena......you see Leakhena was not crying about the situation or the poverty she lived in . She was crying because she realized the sacrificial love her parents had for her and her siblings. It was this act of love that was being recognized for what it was. Her father passed away about 8 years ago and this is a memory of His love to her and her brothers and sisters.

This moment will never be forgotten because it was based in Love and was Love.

I was home for Easter Sunday and couldn't help but be moved by the sacrificial Love that our King died for us.

This is why I am here to share with people the sacrificial love that God has for them. That He would give up His only begotten son while we were still sinners. Please pray for me that I will be able to share His love sacrificially with the people of Cambodia and that I act in Love in all my encounters and when asked why I do it I can explain that it was already done for me.

There are still many people in Cambodia especially in the re-location sites that do not have adequate roofing for the rainy season which starts within the month.One site in particular at the bottom of Audong mountain is in dire need....these people have been evicted twice in the last two years and their huts are similar to the worst ones at Andong village(picture attached)before Pastor Abraham along with some churches have been putting tin roofs on. The people here were evicted from Dey Krahorm and then evicted from that re-location site as they were deemed to have no claim to property..these people are extremely poor and cannot fix their huts in time for this season.

Their are 70 huts which all house families that need a blue tarp for this next rainy season....the large tarps are $12 each and comes to a total of $ 840 dollars. I have never requested money in my newsletter and don't even know if it's appropriate but I do know God let the flooding of my place to steer my focus to where it should be ..on those with less.

I will be going out to the village on Monday and will be taking video and talking with my Cambodian friends who are committed to helping this community. I will post the video after I have edited it but the people here need your help today before the rainy season begins. A youth leader from Georgetown,Ontario LD McKenzie has helped me start a blog where I will be posting my future newsletters and thoughts..it is located at

http://kevinincambodia.blogspot.com/

Their is a link to a paypal account for donations if you feel moved in that direction. Please contact me at
kknight45@hotmail.com if you would like another way to donate.

God bless

Kevin