Monday night prayers 27 October 2025

 Good evening all

It is always a rush to get to Monday nights, what to write?? Well tonight is one of those nights, but like Gideon use to say:””Here goes nothing!””

Twans led us into the prayer Sunday at church, yesterday. I must say, when it comes to prayer, I am most properly the worst one out there. Sitting still and pray just do not do it for me. I can pray out loud on my bike in the mud, maybe course I need to get out, but sitting still is another story. I was just reminded that I need to train to do it and get into the habit of doing it. Listening to the prayer meeting of FGC every Wednesday, I hear people really committed to prayer. I make my heart warm that we all are different and that we all pray in our own ways. Talking to the Lord daily and on the job, so to speak, makes it easier for me than sitting and pray in one setting. Thank you Lord for giving all of us a different way to communicate to You.

It is now a long time since I got a bad wound to attend to and was wondering when I can do it again. I got another opportunity to go and help a guy with Leprosy, thanks to Gordon in Ratanakiri. The wound on his foot looks horrible and is already in the bone. Shame he is cleaning it only with herbal water. Pray that I can go and help him soon. Such a shame that Leprosy still got a bad stigma around it. At least here in Cambodia they are still part of the community although they stay on their own in their own little house. But these guys you do not see on the streets. The lack of finances makes it difficult for people to travel to Phnom Pehn for treatment at their Leprosy facility. At least they can get their meds now in Banlung.

A friend of mine just told me that he wants 1300 little cars to give out in the villages. Well I got my work cut out for me,hahaha. Anyone want to come and help?? Anton is helping making wheels and that helps a lot. Tomorrow I got help from another boy and we need to break down some pallets.

Well that’s all for tonight. Next week is Water Festival but its canceled due to the unstable border situation. They signed a new peace deal just yesterday and we hope things will better for good.

Love you all

Rossouw-clan

Monday night prayers 20 October 2025

 It is that time of the year again when all the vehicles around had enough of all the water and mud. Not just my truck but also the bikes on this yard are broken. I spent the whole day to fix my old trusty jungle bike and try to restore it to good use, but not too easy, need to bring it in for fine tuning. Every morning Twans storm out of here with her bike just to get stuck in the mud around the corner. It is filthy mud and water as it lies between the small houses. We need to get her boots for this, shame.

The truck is another story. On Friday we went out to town and I said to Twans that something is seriously wrong. So Saturday, I loaded the bike on the back and off to the mechanic. Just a few kilometers away, a huge bang and the front wheel ran ahead of me. I am not sure if everyone were in shock but when I climb out of the truck we all started to laugh at this. Of course the truck is down without a wheel and a guy rolled it back to me. Luckily it was the wheel nuts that came loose. How in the big world that happened and why did the wheel not fell out on the highway back home? Two times there could have been a terrible accident on our way back home but God protected us again. So we fixed everything.

This morning used the truck to go to town and on the way back she got stuck about 100m from our gate. She came in and not in a good mood. The clutch is messing around as it hooks to the bottom and you need to use your toes to get it working again. I really thought the mechanic fixed it but not? So she was tuck in the mud and I had to go to rescue. She is in the truck again tonight, so I will hear how it go this time.

Just a small hindrance, I am sure everyone experiences once or some of us more than that. Well the Lord tells us to count it all joy. O my can we have joy in situations like this? Well to get angry is of no use and to laugh is better and get the job done. I am very fortunate that my dad showed us how to fix things and with YouTube, I am a good mechanic, hahaha.

As you can see, we are doing very well. Enjoying Anton at home and spent as much time with him as possible. Toinette is ever busy with the kids in the village. Please pray for one of the staff, Marie as she is not doing well. Her illness returns quite often and it baffles the doctors. It is difficult for her as her family do not really care about her illness as they only see it as money spent. My pastor friend shared the other day that he belongs to a local medical fund that cost him $10 per year per person, but he did not pay it and that made him getting a loan of $20 000 to pay for medical costs. Now that makes me boil, but what can you do?? A small investment per month can cover all these hidden costs but we do not think about things like that.

Not much news tonight but we love to share to you what happens to us here in the Kingdom of Wonder.

Love

Rossouw-clan

 

Monday night prayers 13 October 2025

 

What a weekend this has been. We took the road to Phnom Chi again and in fashion, this time of the year there was severe mud and water. Not that we mind as this comes with the territory. We were literally side-swept at the Captain’s house as there were so many people. I sea of house jumped upped over this last month. Some say it’s people coming back from Thailand, the one I asked said they come from inside to stay here in the rainy season and go back after it stop rain. Never the less, they wanted some medicine. Joshua shared the Gospel to all of them with Curtis translating and Dim filling in on the end. We want to go back asap again to teach more about Jesus.

At one site, we called the “Wild camp”, the people were so accommodating. Lots more people this time in the jungle. Children got something as well as adults with some meds for all. They even asked Dim to come back and teach them more about this Jesus they hear about. This is amazing news as Dim shared this to us. Now Dim is already planning to come and hit the mountain with the Gospel. We want to see more believers around Phnom Chi. Please pray for future outreaches to spread the Word of God.

The small church in Rum Jopon is doing great. They shared about all their persecution they got and how God helped them overcome their fears. Now when Dim and Curtis share the word, they also participate with eagerness. I am amazed at these guys that is so on fire for the Lord. When they heard about other people around the mountain also want to hear about Jesus, they felt encourage. God is making a way where there seems to, no way.

The road was difficult with lots of mud and ruts from tractors but it did not kill our willingness to get around Phnom Chi. Anton shared to me that it was good for him to did this trip as it sets the path for him to go back to Malaysia to study. On the way back I felt that something was wrong with the truck but we pressed on. We made it back quite late in the night and parked the car. This morning I wanted to go and clean the truck and it got stuck right in front of my gate, tie rod broken. For you that do not know, you cannot steer the car even if you force it. So I got my work set out for me this morning. If you believe in miracles, this is one. It could have broken on the road and not in my driveway? Thank you Jesus for all the prayer for safety on the road. Got it fixed in no time.

Oom Jan is doing better but still in hospital. Pray for complete healing.

Srey Lynn had a baby this week and they are doing just fine. Thank you Lord for protecting her through this. Now there will be 2 babies to cradle in the office, so I wonder if they will get time to work.

Thank you very much for your continued prayers. It works as you can see.

Love

Rossouw-clan

Monday night prayers 6 October 2025

 

Wow what a week this was. Anton came to visit and I had a birthday. Becoming 60 is not for the faint hearted. All I can say is that the Lord gave me grace in abundance to get here. Looking back over these last 31 years, I can just stand in wonder of what the Lord did in our lives. We invited some close friends and had a small party with too much food to eat. I am still paying the prize for all the eating this weekend and the fridge is still over flowing from all the left overs.

I started this morning with packing of some meds for our outreach this coming Friday. Anton will be with us and it is soaking wet so we are looking forward to go in again to the jungle and give people the meds they need. We know now that when its rainy season, there are lots of sicknesses roaming around. Its been a while since we visited but I am sure it will be a good one. Curtis and his crew will join us again. Please pray with us for open minds and open doors as we not just take meds but also the word of God into the jungle. Pray for safe travels and bikes to survive all the mud.

River of Life Fellowship just finished a church camp with their students. Toinette had to keep some kids that was not part of the camp, busy, doing crafts. Anton went with and show the boys how to use a Dremmel (small drill for carving) for the first time. They made some wooden coasters that was drawn out by Anton and then the students could paint them or use the Dremmel to cut it nicely. So nice to have artsy Anton with us. I am sure we will have a better report next time about all the happenings at the camp. These kids are very serious with God.

Please continue to pray for Toinette’s uncle. Oom Jan is still in the ICU after an operation a while ago. According to the reports we get, he is up and down. Please pray that his body will fight whatever is the problem. Pray for Anti Anna, Janine and Arnelle.

Thanks for always praying with us. It is just God’s grace that we can be so fortunate to have so many people praying for us. We really appreciate it.

Love

Rossouw-clan

Monday night prayers 29 September 2025

 

I am busy here at home working with all my leftover wood. I am using old wood that is with me already for 12 years or more. On the outside it looks bad, full of mud and weathered really badly, but when you put it through a saw and sand it down, the true colors come alive. When Anton was here last time, he helped to collect some of the wood that was just lying here in the rain and I started to dry them. Now we can make beautiful little cars from the nice wood and bless children wherever we go or wherever some of my friends go. I make around 100 cars at a time and then call on some friends to give it out, for free off course. The children are sooooo happy to finally get a toy.

Working with wood, that is only use to cook rice in Cambodia, is very strange to the locals. Why would you go through all those trouble to clean the wood and make something like a car from it?? Go and buy new wood or better, just go and buy a Chinese plastic toy. Well, that cost money where my wood is for free. Is that not how God works? He uses us that are weathered really badly, and make us new again. Unfortunately, we cannot do much about our outside appearances, like we do with wood, but God is working on the inside. (lots of people try) He cuts and shave and sometimes need to hammer us down as we can be so stubborn to listen. In the end you can look rough as guts but your inside is washed clean by the blood of Jesus. I met some people, like my dad use to say, that is a Rough Sketch and not an oil painting, but the most beautiful person ever. These days we are so quick to judge people and condemn them for nothing.

Last night in church we had to pray for the turmoil in the world. You do not need a university degree to know that the world is in turmoil. We need to earnestly pray for each other daily as the devil is walking around amongst us these days.

We are waiting for Anton to come this Wednesday as we need to feel like a family again. Already started to plan on some stuff we need to do. Pray for him as he is very busy to finish all his work in these 2 days. Please pray that he will get his passport, tomorrow. Cutting it a bit close.

I leave you with this verse for the week:

Just hold on to what you have until I come. Rev 2:25

Love to you all

Rossouw-clan

Monday night prayers 22 September 2025

 

Good Evening

We are still enjoying rain pretty much every day or night over here. You can reach our home by 2 roads. The one goes through a smelly, very dirty, poopy, muddy slum area. The other way is a cleaner area BUT you now need a 4x4 to get through the ”lake” that used to be the road due to the rainy season. So Twans slip and slide through the slum area every day on her motorbike and I have fun driving through the “Lake”.

Thank you for praying for the Acts Camps. Last week was the Advanced Camp for the High school kids. 24 of them attended each day.  It was a full week with lots of teaching, activities and times to bond with each other. The students and teachers slept over at the center one night. They even roasted corn and marshmallows over a “Bon Fire” – due to rain, a few hot goals on a zink sheet. The next morning everyone was up at 4am –Ready for the day, cooking rice porridge. Clearly not city kids but village kids who get up early to do chores!  Students opened up during the small groups. Quite a few shared how they have a lot of pressure at home as their parents compare them with smarter more successful siblings or neighbors. During the lesson on Emotions and how to regulate our Emotions, many shared how they don’t have someone to talk to about problems at home. On the last day students were challenged to do something practical as part of their Social Impact lesson. Most groups planned to go out and pick up garbage in the neighborhood. One group will plant a tree. Twans came home very tired each day but excited for each student’s growth and progress. Please pray that more of our High School students would join our Sunday program and come to know Jesus. It is so clear to see the difference between those who are walking with Jesus and those who don’t have peace and assurance.

 

Pchum Ben is winding down and my friend Abraham was writing this:

Please do remember our Khmer brothers and sisters during this dark few days. As we reach the final days of the festival we also know last few days are the pinnacle of the festival.  It is specifically the very last day that marks the grand finale of the ceremony and the culmination of ancestral offerings.We witnessed in this week how tough it has been when they are surrounded by families members in the villages to join in this offering of hungry ghost.

 

It is nice to have my wife at home as they got a few days off, finally she gets time to cook for her hubby again, yummy “”kossies””.Nice to eat at the table and not alone and enjoy our time together. We are waiting for Anton to be home in a week and looking forward to be a family again.

Hope that this week is a blessed week for you all.

Love

Rossouw-clan

Monday night prayers 15 September 2025

Good evening dear Family and Friends

I’ve been reading “Grace Notes”by Philip Yancy for morning devotions. This touched my heart this morning: “Ron then mentioned a prisoner in India who had returned to jail scores of times over a 21 year span. The criminal simply could not break the cycle, until he found Christ. Puzzled by his absence in court, the local magistrate visited the man’s home and asked what had happened. “For the 1^st time in my life, someone forgave me,” the ex-prisoner answered.

 Thank you for praying for the The Acts program. We are conducting Camps during the school holidays. Last week it was for the Primary students and early secondary and this week is for the secondary and high school students. The theme of the camp is "Love yourself and others". The students enjoy all the different activities and open up during small groups. Today the lessons focused on Self Awareness. Many students share how they are compared to other better achievers in the family and feel like they are not good enough. They also share that they don't have confidence in school to share their ideas or speak up as others bully them.  The topics for the rest of the week are emotional intelligence, empathy, active listening, social responsibility and impact. Please pray that this will be a time of encouragement and growth for our students.

 

Pchum Ben is a public holiday in Cambodia that follows the period called “Vassa,” a kind of “Buddhist Lent,” and has been kept with great devotion by the Khmer people for longer than anyone can remember.

In essence, Pchum Ben is a time to remember, venerate, and present food offerings to one’s deceased relatives. Ancestors are honoured going back as far as seven generations, and offerings are also brought for those without living descendants or in place of those who could not attend the ceremonies. Celebrants rise early in the morning to cook rice balls and other food items, which they bring to the monks at temples and pagodas. The monks chant suttas (Buddhist scriptures) all night without sleeping, then conduct the colourful and complex food offering ceremonies. Some Khmer give the food to the priests, while others leave it at pagodas for their deceased relatives to eat or cast it into a field for them to find. The first fourteen days see many offerings made, but it is the final, fifteenth day, that is the grand culmination of the whole period.

Pchum Ben is also the time when the “gates of hell” are supposed to open and let out those imprisoned there to travel to the land of the living to receive food from their relatives. Some are let out only temporarily, while others are thought to gain permanent relief. Offerers believe they receive merits by helping the dead and blessings from them but curses if they fail in their familial duty.

Cambodians all over the country will travel to their home provinces for Pchum Ben, and there are services in many towns and villages. Most ceremonies involve processions around temples and crowds that wait outside with lit incense in hand as the monks perform rituals inside. There are also symbolic events where five mounds of sand or rice are formed and decorated in an effort to point to Mount Meru, where various Buddhist gods are thought to reside.

https://publicholidays.asia/cambodia/pchum-ben/

As you can see this is a very significant festival in Cambodia and for Cambodian Christians it can be a very hard time as they need to partake in festivities as this is big tradition. Pray for safety on the roads as so many people will travel this time.

Thank you for praying with us.

Love

Rossouw-clan