Enjoying the Phat of the Land

07 Dec

Enjoying the Phat of the Land

Borrower in Cambodia with harvest
A visit to borrower Phat’s land during our September visit

Enjoying the Phat of the Land

Rejoicing in the transformation you made possible in Cambodia

Dear Family,

“[You] offer opportunity and hope to the men in our village in that they can finally meet the needs of their family” —Sopheak

Despite strong economic growth over the last decade, Cambodia remains one of the poorest nations in the world. There is a very high risk of major infectious diseases through water, food and insects. Life expectancy is 64 years old. Corruption stifles the ability of citizens to grow their own wealth. Parents often cannot provide for their children, so they often sell some into human trafficking. Alcoholism runs rampant as a means to deal with daily life. About 96% of the country is Buddhist. These people lack hope! But there is good news!

Sopheak, the Heaven’s Family micro-banker quoted above, works with us to provide loans to poor entrepreneurs in Stung Treng, Cambodia. Sopheak has also shared biblical business principles and the hope he has through faith in Jesus with many of the men in his area.

One of them is Phat.

Just two years ago, Phat was living a hopeless existence. Unable and unwilling to provide for his family, he frequently turned to alcohol to cope with life. Then he met Jesus. As the Word of God and the hope of life in Jesus spreads throughout Cambodia through people like Sopheak, lives are being transformed—and you are making that transformation possible.

Phat’s life was instantly changed the day he met Jesus. His alcohol abuse immediately stopped, but like all of us who walk with Jesus, he still experienced challenges. One of them was being able to adequately provide for his wife and daughters.

Phat owns land but didn’t have the resources or expertise to do anything productive with it. But with a loan from Heaven’s Family and mentoring from his neighbor Jan, a farmer and brother in Christ (and fellow HF borrower), Phat now grows a cash crop of highly-sought-after vegetables. Every week Phat harvests eggplants, gourds and chilis to provide an income stream that provides for him and his family.

Bountiful crop in Cambodia
Before and after: Phat’s land after being freshly cleared (left), and now producing bountiful crops!

On behalf of your brothers and sisters around the world, thank you for your generous investment of prayer and finances into the Microloan Ministry!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. The old is gone, the new is here! (1 Corinthians 5:17)

God’s richest blessings,

Steve Sifa

Microloan Ministry

Below: our micro-banker, Sopheak (middle), surrounded by men from the village, including our two borrowers, Jan (lower left) and Phat (upper right) on the steps of Phat’s house

Micro-banker and borrowers in Cambodia

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