Monday night prayers 2 November 2026

 

Why , o why , do we have such small faith. All God is asking of us is to have faith like a mustard seed. I think my faith was less than that these couple of days. We lived on stress these last days as Anton need to get cleared from University to come back home to leave with us for home. He assured us that the people will let him know on Monday and today he phoned and say that he will make it in time to fly with us. We jumped for joy and praise God for His mercy once more. O yea of little faith, hmmm. So now we will fly on the 18^th November to go home to Namibia. Anton will be here on the 16^th just in time to join us. Cutting it close but that’s good.

I joined Isaack and Steve to Waiting village. This village with 20 000 refugees has been built by the government in order for the people to live in due to the war. They still cannot go home to the border as the troops are still there and then Thailand soldiers are watching. The future looks bleak for all of them. There are a few villages around the country.

Here in the village they got a house and a small yard to plant some veggies. The problem here is water and hearing from Steve about the water situation just makes me sad. They drilled a lot of holes but did it in rainy season and only went 60m/120feet. There they got water and left it like that. Add big tanks and water purification systems and left. Then dry season came and the water was gone, why?? There is only surface water and you need to go deeper to find the aquifer. Steve drilled a hole of over 200m/400feet and got the real water that will last. Well now people do not have water or only when it rains and need to buy water from outside with a double or triple price tag on it.

Isaack got a donation of 6000 little pink sweaters for girls in all sizes. Everyone that came got one and we had happy customers. The staff of Hope Center was there as well as children from PCL and they helped to distribute all the sweaters. It was fun to take pictures of people arriving on their bikes as well to see all the vendors with their little cards there to make a small business. There are people from all classes, rich and poor that lost everything in the war. Glimmer of hope is to see they build a Clinic as well as a school and we can just hope markets will be soon there as well. People are resilient and plant flowers or some veggies in order to eat. One thing is for sure, these people knows how to survive.

We drove around the frontline and could see the damage being done and the absolute silliness of this war. The question is why would people fight over rice fields? Why would Thailand want to occupy 500m of rice fields from Cambodia?? Really!! Now that land and more inside lays barren as there are so many unexploded little bombs around, from all the cluster bombs, that it is not even safe to get out of the car and pee next to the road. This is a real sad sake of affairs. Cambodia is trying to negotiate with Thailand but nothing happens. Continue to pray for this problem.

Quite a lot to say tonight but pray with us for Cambodia to get out from under this ongoing problems.

Love

Rossouw-clan

 

Monday night prayers 26 October 2026

 

Good evening all you beautiful people.

I am pretty busy here in my workshop, making some tables for a friend. In the meantime, I got a lot of small toy cars to finish as well and some other stuff I am working on as well and then to keep my house also intact. It is a privilege to still be able to work hard as so many people, my age, cannot work anymore, that is why we thanks the Lord every day for health that only He can give.

Toinette is doing good and is at a bible study with some friends. She will go again to work soon, she says she is missing them so much and want to be with them a little bit. It was great to be in church yesterday and see them all and even the small ones as well. David and Princesses are getting big and too cute for words. Such a shame that we do not see each other so often and they quickly forget who we are. My poor heart.

In just 2 days, Anton will be finish with his 2-year Diploma in Multimedia Design. His internship ends on the 29^th and then he must wait to finish off his visa papers. Please pray with us that the university will help him to get his results earlier then he can be home around the 15^th of November as we fly out on the 18^th. If not, then he can only be here on the 23^rd Nov. and we need to change our tickets to later. He will hear tomorrow what is the case.

Just talk to my friend Curtis and he say that Dim and his whole family is still under the weather with very bad flu. This bad strain is around here and everyone got it. I was really sick with it but after 2 weeks, I am good again.

I will join my friend Isaack to the refugees on the border in order to give them some needed warm clothes for the “winter “that is upon us. Yip it gets cold here, many people said that is impossible but many people also had to change their minds. Please pray for our travel there and forth. Pray that God will go ahead of us and prepare the place for us. Please continue for peace on the border. All the border post is closed and peace looks like a far off thing. These people we will visit got new housing and a piece of land to live on while waiting to go back to their homes.

Thanks once again for praying with us.

Love

Rossouw-clan

Monday night prayers 19 October 2026

 Hey there

We come to that time of the year where we need to start making backups of all the stuff we did over the years. O my, getting all the old drives out and dust them off and see if they still work and shuffle this file over there and this one on that drive, you know what I mean. These days we can just click the button and save it all in the cloud but if you are old school like me, I do not trust all that stuff. Luckily we are in a place where all the old stuff still works, I can get attachments to all the old drives even the old Cd’s still work here.

It is almost like looking for glasses. I need a pair for the computer, a pair to read and then another to drive with, seems to me I need to get to an eye doctor and get 1 pair that includes all these functions, but in the meantime, I have glasses all over the house and workplace. Our lives are so full of small things that just hinder us to do what we need to do. The best that I sorted out by now is, just keep your eyes on the Lord and He will guide you wherever you need to go. Basta all these small irritations in life.

We are off to Phnom Pehn again tomorrow. Toinette need a checkup after a week out of hospital. She is doing very well and move around the house without any trouble. It is me that is sick with cough and barking like a dog. Like they say, that will also pass. So we hope to see the doctor on Tuesday and hope to get back home the same day.

I booked our tickets for going home to Namibia but now we got a slight hiccup with Anton. He finishes his internship on the 28^th October and then need to get a letter from the University to give to the immigration and they need to cancel his student visa in order for him to fly out of Malaysia. Pray with us that he can get everything done before we need to fly otherwise I need change the tickets. Our flight is on the 18^th November so we hope and pray he can get his paperwork done.

Please pray for the people staying around Phnom Chi. They say that the authorities are chasing them out of the jungle as the ground belong to other people. We all know what is the reason but we are not allow to talk about it. Such a shame that things are done in such a manner and the poor people are always the ones drawing the short straw.  It creates more opportunities as well closer to home, so we look at the bright side of things. Pray for Ps.Dim and Curtis to see how we can help the small church in such a way that best fit their position.

Thank you for always standing with us in prayer.

Love

Rossouw-clan

Monday night Prayers 12 October 2026

 

We are still here inn the hospital in Phnom Pehn and hopefully tomorrow will be the last day to get out of this place. Nice hospital but 7 days in a small room with your wife is not for babies. I am ready for a home cook meal and my own bed. To put the cherry on the cake, I, Mordegai, got a real bad flu with coughing a lot, so much that when the surgeon came to visit, ask me if he can take an Xray of my chest. Feeling a bit better today but now Twans most properly got it as well.

By the way, Toinette is doing just fine. She is as tuff as nails, like they say. No more painkillers and no infection, Praise the Lord. We are so thankful for a good hospital team to work with as well as staff that are super nice. That makes our time here so much better. We hope to get back home tomorrow. Isaack brought us his car and we can take out time going back to Siem Reap. Please pray for a safe journey as everyone will be on the road tomorrow as it is the end of Pchum Ben, the biggest holiday on the calendar.

Please pray for Anton as he is nearing the end of his Internship. It is a real challenge for him working with these guys. We believe that he is really challenged at the moment and that the Lord is preparing him for bigger things later in his life. He learns now in fast forward what life is all about in a foreign country working with non-Christians. Praise God for good Christian friends and a good church to attend, that makes a big difference.

Just a short reminder what Pchum Ben is all about, so you can pray for Cambodia as well:

Pchum Ben (Khmer: ភ្ជុំបិណ្ឌ) is the culmination of this period, often referred to as the “Festival of the Dead” or “Ancestors’ Day.” The name literally translates to “gathering” (Pchum) of “rice balls” (Ben), reflecting the central practice of the festival.

This 15-day religious festival also fuses with the Buddhist Lent period known as Vassa, which has been practised since ancient times. During this time monks will take retreat in the pagoda during the 3 months of the rainy season, just as the Buddha himself had done. As the monks rarely venture out during these days, Pchum Ben is an important time for making food donations to the pagoda. These donations are taken as an act of merit which is passed onto the ancestors.

Spiritual Significance

Pchum Ben is deeply rooted in Cambodian Buddhist cosmology and beliefs about the afterlife. It’s believed that during this time, the gates of hell open, allowing spirits to receive offerings from their living descendants. A concept that can be linked to Yama, the Buddhist god of death and the judge of souls, who is commonly depicted on the temples of Angkor.

The festival is a time when Cambodians pay respects to deceased relatives of up to seven generations. It’s thought that some spirits may be able to end their period of purgation, while others might temporarily leave hell before returning to further suffering through the prayers and meritorious acts of their siblings. Interestingly, relatives believed to be in heaven or other realms are also thought to benefit from the ceremonies.

Pchum Ben is more than just a religious observance; it’s a time for family reunions, community gatherings, and reaffirming cultural identity. Many Cambodians return to their hometowns during this period, making it one of the most important social events of the year. https://helloangkor.com/events-festivals-and-holidays/pchum-ben/

 

Next time we can write again from Siem Reap. Hope you have a great week.

Love

Rossouw-clan

Monday night prayers 5 October 2026

 

Ok we booked into the hotel, sorry hospital. Almost look like a hotel, right on the 16^th floor and we can see the whole of Phnom Pehn. Let me think back when we came here first and there were no high-rise buildings, now there are so many of them. Wish I could open n window…..

Sitting in the hospital and write to you makes me think when we always had to rush small Aprillyn to the hospital and how many newsletters I wrote from there. Like they say it was many moons back but feels like yesterday. Hospitals are definitely not my favorite place to be but over the years I spend plenty of time in various hospitals in the Philippines as well as here, either being the patient or sitting with my patients and their families through the nights, waiting on doctors to get some answers.

Davao’s original government hospital was the place I learned to be patient. I wonder how many books I read under the big mango tree, waiting to be helped. I was always there the first with my Badjao friends but because of the stigma of the Badjaos, we always got in last, so that is why we had to wait. No harm done, I could enjoy reading books while on the job hahaha.I can say for certain that I was the only “Joe” (white American) that always ran around in the hospital. They know me well and we could build such good relationships with everyone inside the hospital. Remember I was a missionary and had to behave and that was difficult when you always had to fight for justice. Many years back now, I can use all that difficult experiences in and out of the hospital to work better with people. God had to shape me first.

I celebrated my birthday with good friends, Curtis, Brea, Long and Katherine. We cooked nice lunch for them and ate together with great fellowship. It is such a blessing to have so many good friends here in Phnom Pehn.

Please pray:

Tomorrow at 9am, Toinette will be in for the operation. Please pray for a successful operation and that God’s glory will shine. Pray for the surgeon to perform a good work.

Pray for Curtis as he will go out to Dim and ride the jungle trails in order to see the people at the church.

Love you all

Rossouw-clan

Monday night prayers 28 September 2026

 Dear Family and Friends

 

Greetings from the big city again. Sitting in our room in the hotel, I can see a storm moving in again that will drench this place once more. This morning we could see all the water all around the highway from Siem Reap. Lots of places experience flooding as heavy rains continue to fall. Thailand is experiencing severe flooding in Bangkok and surrounding provinces.

 

We talked about pain this morning and how we mostly belief that there is true joy in the absence of pain. But  having gone through pain or going through pain brings forth a deeper joy and peace in the Lord. What a faithful God we serve!

 

We left for Phnom Penh this morning. On the way we received the news that Moose , our dog , passed away. Zeek, our other dog passed away 2 weeks ago. They were very close to us and each other. Gideon always said they are his children. It feels like another precious connection with our Gideon is gone. So sad. Thanks to Abraham that took up the challenge to bury him in the same pit than Zeek. Luckily the ground was still soft. Thanks Boet, you are truly a good friend.

 

Thank you for all your support and prayer for Twan's surgery. The next 2 days will be clearance and prep for surgery on Oct 1. Please pray that all will go smoothly. Pray for us as the clouds start to get dark again and worries is in full supply.

 

Thank you for praying for the youth , Joshua Generation at the church. They are joining faithfully and growing in their faith. Please pray also for the staff who put in much time and effort to help them on their path. One of our newer staff, who was not a believer at first is also now joining in during devotion and open to hear more about the Word of God and what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Praise God.

 

Thank you everyone for all your prayers.

Love

Rossouw-clan  

Monday night prayers 21 September 2026

 

Home again after a grueling ride in and out of the jungle. Dim called and asked for some help with people that need meds and I thought it good by joining him only for 1 day in and out……mistake…. How this little man does this weekend on weekend, blows my mind, it takes me a week to recover after such a ride, man we are softies.

I met Dim as usual in Tom Rieng and he had 2 bags of rice equals 100kg and 2 bags of bread flopping around on the back of the bike. All this needs to be transported through serious water and mud to some hungry villagers at Phnom Chi. They asked Curtis to help as they are short of food due to some restrictions where they work. Hard times are here and when it will stop, I am not sure. More and more people push to seize the opportunity to get gold and our “”small eyed friends”” are in their always presence trying to take over the land to gain riches. Once that happens its game over for the local people as they come in and use big machines and take everything. Now people can at least make enough for a living.

We stopped at Rum Jopon and Dim preach a hot message to the believers and then give them rice and bread and also medicines. Then we ride further to visit my friend with really bad sugar problems. His count is around 570 mg/dl or ??mmol/L where normal is 108 mg/dl or 6 mmol/L. this dangerous high as he experiences numbness all over his legs. He went to the doctor and need to be back in a week as 2000mg Metformin a day do not do the trick.  My advice was just to go back to the same doctor and get different meds till that count gets down. Shame he is sitting out in the sticks but far from help. Thanks to Dim that always ride there and share to them about God’s love.

We came all the way back to Som Poom and had a beautiful lunch with our favorite uncle and anti. Pheakday’s dad got bumped by a cow and broke some ribs and in the meantime, his dog bit him very bad as well. Shame he is not doing well. I could bring him also good meds for the pain, hope it lifts his mood a bit as well. We made it out by around 3pm and I drove to Kampong Tom and was just in time to catch a car back to Siem Reap. The bike fitted in the boot. Love Cambodia this way. Was back home by 9pm while starting the day at 6am. All in a day’s ride and Dim do this all the time, eish.

Tomorrow we commemorate Gideon’s 5^th anniversary being with the Lord. Still sad to think that he is not here but he lives in our hearts daily. We so much miss him and even Anton is feeling it these days. We pray that the Lord will mend our hearts.

Toinette’s operation is now scheduled for the 1^st October. We need to be there already by the 29^th and hopefully get cleared for operation. Please pray with us this week that Toinette will not get ill as everyone got flu around us.

Thank you for standing in prayer with us this week. Next time, I write from Phnom Pehn.

Love

Rossouw-clan