Sorry for the lack of communication these days, but
let me tell you, we had a lot of things going on. God blessed us beyond
measures. Friends of mine from Down Under (Australia) planned a trip to
Cambodia and as usual they stopped in Phnom Pehn to shoot some guns at the
shooting range as part of their tour. I wanted to get rid of my little Tico-car
for a long time now and offered it to them, just to be blown away by an Rpg 7
rocket. They bought my little car and I drove it all the way down to PP. Never
thought it will make it. Not even stopped by police and without any hiccups, I
was there, just to see what destruction that little rocket can do,hahaha.
They offered me a free 4-day bike tour as one guy
could not make it and I said yes without any hesitation. This trip was out into
the jungles on rough roads and crossing paths with many ancient temples and
beautiful landscape, which pictures cannot give justice too. Just what I
needed, a perfect time for clearing my head and with great fellowship with real
guys, set myself focused again for the last bid of the year. It was nice to
share our experiences as missionaries to the guys that I did not know and it
was nice to sit and listen to my good friend Steve telling me about the “real life”,
out there. We get so focused on the herein Cambodia that we forget there is a
world outside with the same problems. It is good to listen to people living in
other countries and what they experience in their daily lives. Sometimes I am
glad about staying here…..
Some of you may think this is just another way of
having a holiday for me but let me tell you, this was a really good break for me
to see another side of Cambodia that we never see. Talking to these guys, I
just realize that we need to pray more and be more serious about telling people
about the Lord. Time is precious and few. So many locals are lost and do not
know the living God but it opens my eyes also to pray more for our friends in
the West that are lost. Pray with us that all of us here in Cambodia will get
more serious about our work to further His Kingdom. We praise God for all the
extra support we got from our friends and can really say that God is looking
after us.
I am gearing myself up for my best friend Grahame to
come, tomorrow. We will go bush off course for a week and enjoy being together
and do what we do best and that is to serve the people that we love so much.
Pray for safe travels and open hearts as we will go and do some medical
outreaches in the remote. A lot of bike riding to see people in very remote
parts of the jungle and just having great fellowship with the people.
Please pray for the following people:
Anti Pami Gregorio just finished her 4th radiation
and need to do 26 more. It is her 69th birthday today. Please pray
for strength at this time.
Please pray for small Ratana ( 8 years) On Sunday,
Anton was playing with the kids at church and he fell on a boy and he broke his
leg. Twans got him into the hospital and he is currently at home in plaster.
Pray for good healing. It was an accident that could happen to anyone. The
parents were very understanding and we helped with all the finances.
Continue to pray for Annerina. She will continue her
chemo in Namibia as they will stay in Swakopmund for a while.
It is Water festival at the moment:
Bon Om Touk, also known as the Cambodian Water
Festival, is a three-day festival celebrated on the full moon in October or
November.
History
of the Cambodian Water Festival
The festival marks a reversal of the flow between
the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. Due to the amount of water deposited during
the rainy season, the Tonle Sap river becomes so swollen with water that it
reverses the direction of its flow and flows upstream to Tonle Sap lake.
The festival marks the switching of the flow back to
its normal direction, signifying the end of the rainy season. Essentially, the
festival is a time to give thanks to the rivers as they provide the region with
fertile farming land and plenty of fish.
The festival is focused on boat races and concerts.
The roots of the boat races can be traced back to the times of the Angkorian
kings who would train and evaluate the fighting skills of their water-based
warriors by holding competitions on the river. These trials in turn honored
the naval victories of the Khmer empire under the leadership of Jayavarman VII
in the twelfth century.
How
is the Cambodian Water Festival celebrated?
The festival is one of the largest and most popular
in Cambodia. Almost every town and village across Cambodia takes part in the festival, but by far, the most popular place to be is Sisowath Quay in Phnom
Pen, the capital of Cambodia, where up to four million tourists, locals, and
foreigners will converge to watch the boat races.
The celebrations carry on night and day for the
three days of the festival, with the river illuminated by fireworks and
numerous brightly-lit boats under the full moon.
Ork
Ambok
A traditional Khmer delicacy popular during Bon Om
Touk is Ork Ambok, a rice dish where rice is fried in the husk, then crushed
and mixed with banana and coconut and banana.
Thank you very much for all your special prayers. We
need them more and more these days. For the past 2 days, we had a funeral next
door and believe me, the music is really demonic, to say the least. We could
feel the spiritual attacks as Twans became really sick and now that it’s over,
she is well again. Pray with us against the evil that is out there.
Love
Rossouw-clan
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