Exciting news about Asia's Hope, and some prayer requests for me...

This is a two part email... the first part is a Facebook posting that was written about what Jesus has been doing in and through Asia's Hope in 2008... very encouraging and exciting to be a part of... toward the bottom, there are a few prayer requests for me... Thanks for reading! Graham

Part 1...
"Grassroots. Multi-denominational. Indigenous. Asia’s Hope is truly a unique organization that God is using to unleash hope to orphans in Southeast Asia.Thanks to the generous support of churches and individuals from all over the world, 2008 has been our most exciting year yet. Here a few facts you may not know about Asia’s Hope:

In 2008, God grew our organization from 4 orphan homes to 14. That’s 350% growth in just one year! At capacity, these homes will serve 500 orphaned children. This year alone, we rescued 233 new orphans from a life of poverty and abuse.

13 of our 14 orphan homes are sponsored by individual churches or organizations. That’s 93% of our projects in long-term relationships with a diverse group of Christian communities.

More than 91% of the money donated to Asia’s Hope goes directly to work in Southeast Asia. Less than 10% goes to administration and communications.We have more than 90 workers from Cambodia and Thailand, and only one American on staff.

Asia’s Hope is a truly indigenous organization that is responsible with its financial and human resources.All of our orphan homes are run by responsible, accountable and well-trained pastors. Our children are well-loved, well-educated, and enjoy all of the benefits of a stable, Christian home.

Asia’s Hope is investing in long-term, capital projects that will provide care for generations of orphans. Thanks to your generosity, in 2008, we completed 3 new orphan home buildings that we own, are occupied and are paid in full. We’re currently building three new orphan homes, which will be completed by February. We’ve also purchased three new pieces of property which will provide homes to even more children. We have spent more than $340,000 on these projects in 2008 alone."

...Part 2
1. As many of you know, Seda and I have been in limbo as regards getting married due to a temporary Cambodian law that says foreigners may not marry Khmer women. Due to the fact that there seems to be no end to this temporary status, we have decided to take a leap and apply for a tourist visa to the US. It is characteristically difficult for Khmer people to get visas to the US, but we are going to do everything that we can to make a case for it. It will take several months, so please keep us in your prayers. We would love to come around March or April, but it is hard to say with immigration issues.

2. For anyone who has known me for more than about 20 minutes, you know that I sometimes struggle with discouragement. I have had a bout of this in a few different ways lately, so please keep me in your prayers so God will help me to keep my mind on His plans and purposes and encouragement.

3. I continue to need your prayers in regard to support raising. I know that things in the US have been tough lately, and I am very grateful to those people who have sacrificially given to the work God has given me here, but please continue to pray for me that God will raise up monthly sponsors that will help to make my work here effective! If you know of someone who may be interested in helping me, please send them my email address.

4. Finally, Seda and I have begun working on a project of Values Education that was proposed to us by Dave Atkins at Asia's Hope. There are SO many things that we consider common knowledge that we take for granted as Americans, but that Cambodians in poverty often know nothing about. These topics range from how to make right and wrong choices, to personal hygiene, to how we should recognize and respect authorities. I am excited about this because it really incorporates all of the Christian school education philosophy that I learned when teaching at Mansfield Christian School. Not only are we teaching the values that are important for developing citizens of Cambodia, but it also will be under girded with an understanding of where these things are derived from in God's character... for me these are really cool things.

Okay, that is all for now... God bless you all, and I look forward to talking to you soon!