It has been our constant prayer for our children to receive a good quality Christian education. And now God has blessed our oldest son, David (Phan Rayuth) with the opportunity to attend St. Paul Concordia Lutheran High School in the USA. We, along with David, are so excited and thankful to God.
David, our oldest son, is 14 years old and is currently in 9thgrade here in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. As a young child, he was curious, eager to try new things and meet new people. Through his primary schooling, he quickly learned English along with Khmer. His secondary schooling has been in an international Christian school here in Sihanoukville where all teaching is done in English by foreign teachers. Because of his outgoing nature and fluency in both English and Khmer, he easily converses with native English speakers and has even helped with translation. David is a diligent student with academic awards for high achievement. But more importantly, David loves his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and is eager to discover more about God’s plans for his life.
As his parents, our dream has been for David to grow in his faith as he receives the best education available to him. Last year, David completed Lutheran confirmation training and boldly proclaimed his personal statement of faith. We are proud of the responsible, kind and Godly man he is becoming. David, along with us, are so thankful for this opportunity for him to complete his secondary education at a strong Christian high school in the USA.
Both Naomi and I are from hard-working poor families where education was not a top priority. At that time, Cambodia was recovering from the genocide of the Pol Pot Regime. Our parents were focused on the short-term goal of food for survival rather than the long-term goal of education. However, we are grateful to our parents who toiled day and night to feed us and encouraged us to attend school. Because of our parents’ sacrifices, we were among the few who finished high school. My own dream of going to college was not realized until God called Naomi and I into His service. Education transformed our lives. We strongly believe education is vital in shaping and molding a person’s life to be a positive impact on society.
However, we cannot afford this alone. David has received a scholarship from the school but we are responsible for $8000 as well as his travel costs, registration fee, visa application, and other fees. So, we are asking you to prayerfully consider donating toward David’s education and/or travel. If you are able to donate frequent flyer miles toward his travel, we appreciate that as well.
We thank God for this opportunity for our son, David, to receive a quality Christian education in the USA. Your prayers and support are not only appreciated but needed. Please join us knowing that you are not only impacting David’s life but also his home country of Cambodia as both David’s and our hope is for him to return and serve God in Cambodia.
Jesse, Director of Stronghold Cambodia
