Wow!  What amazing things can happen in 24 hours.  As you know, we flew down to Cambodia for a day because we were stranded in Bangkok and had an open door.  It was amazing.  We got to meet with a lot of kids and adults.  Cory shared with them what we do at MANNA and why we do it.  This allowed him to share the gospel with the group. Thank you FliteTest for allowing your planes to help impact the Kingdom.

Then Mara got up and shared with the group what it was like growing up as an orphan in our orphanage in Kampong Thom and what MANNA has meant to her.  Then Bimol shared with the group about her experience working at our projects and now going to nursing school with Kim and Mara.  It was hard to even keep my composure as they shared.  So cool to see what God is doing and how He is using them.  Then Lee took the plane to the air and the kids got to see it in action.  They really thought it was amazing. After Lee landed the plane, we took them and helped them make their own planes that they could glide.  The kids loved every minute of it and ran around playing with their planes.  It was so worth trip and investing time in the work there.  Here are some pictures of the day.

We made it back from Vietnam and are in Bangkok waiting to head to Nepal tomorrow.  Here is a gallery of pictures from Vietnam.  Cory took some of these pictures.  It was great to see Vietnam and the various projects we have there.  48 hours in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is quite a whirlwind tour.  We were running from the time we hit the ground until the time we flew out.  It is awesome to see all of the fruits of the labor there and to see the vision and potential ahead.  There is a great opportunity in Vietnam and I’m so excited to see what is in store.  I love the people and am so grateful for our friends there.

I just got back from Nicaragua and got to see the work there for the first time.  I appreciate everyone’s prayers and support during our trip.  I have included some pictures in this email from the trip.  As with any trip, there is more to share than the space or time possible.  So, I want to give a testimony about how the Lord used obstacles in Nicaragua to further the ministry.

One of our projects is in a town with no electricity or other services.  People are spread out along the countryside.  Most of the kids have to walk 2 km, in some cases up to 4 km, to the feeding center.  What we see as an obstacle, the Lord uses greatly.  The parents did not want their kids walking that far by themselves.  So, the parents started going with the kids.  Now, this project that started with 5 kids and 1 adult has grown to have 60 kids and 25 adults on the day we were there.  The missionary we work with down there has now planted 5 churches and trained up 5 national pastors to lead them.

It was a great reminder to me how we can look at obstacles and inefficiencies, but the Lord sees opportunities.  We can look from our Americanized perspectives, but the Lord sees the heart of the people and how to reach them. I’m sure glad He is in control and not me.

Here are some pictures from our trip.