Tag Archives: Cambodia

Summary of Outreach to Cambodia

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I asked Josiah to write a report on his and Lynnette’s outreach to Cambodia. Here it is, along with some pictures of the trip.

Going to Cambodia was the best experience I’ve ever had. I learned so many things about myself. It was such a fun trip and I miss that beautiful country so much. I could have stayed way longer, but I had to come back to start High School. Thanks to everyone who donated and contributed to this trip, whether it was donating money, or giving by having me wash your car. I couldn’t have done this trip without you guys!

I’m definitely shocked as to the differences between here and there. I’ve also grown in my faith and my behavior. I met so many amazing people while I was there and got to do things that I wouldn’t be able to do here. Young guys like Sat and Lang were so amazing while we were there, and I got to know them very well.

We got to join in with two visiting teams from the U.S.: a team from Washington State. We did some amazing stuff with them. We got to play with a big group of kids at a school out in a village. We also got to join a team from Texas that arrived right after the Washington team left. For three days, we helpped build bathrooms for another village school. They were both such fun groups! I also got a chance to help at Café Eden with some of the new work being done upstairs. That was a lot of fun. If you are ever in Battambang, go to Café Eden, and try the French Toast and Syrup, it is the best. Also, try the Limenade! (Lemonade, but with limes.)

For fun, I also did something called the “Bamboo Train,” where you sit on a bamboo platform and ride this rail track. Luckily, we got the young guy as our group controller, so we asked him to go really fast, which probably wasn’t the smartest idea. (We gave him some extra money so we would go fast. Shhh, don’t tell anyone!)

My highlight of the trip was everything! Except for when I got sick the last few days of being there, but no worries. Once again, thanks to everyone that helped me and my Mom complete this amazing journey!

-Josiah

Josiah at the local market
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Josiah holding two baby crocodiles, just born that day!
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Our view out of the window of Cafe Eden, a ministry of YWAM Battambang
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This is how we got around every day
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Josiah and Lynnette in a TukTuk
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Josiah and Sat, one of the amazing Khmer guys he got to know
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Josiah with the Washington College missions team
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Josiah doing tricks with yarn with some kids
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Lynnette’s very favorite picture from outreach!
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Josiah with his “scavenger hunt” team
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Starting the foundation and floor of the toilet block for a village school
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Finding the “treasure in a basket” (candy) after learning about the hidden treasure story in the Bible
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Josiah and I on a Moped – Yes, there’s 3 of us!
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Josiah washing dishes at the YWAM base
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Group shot with Washington team, traveling in back of pick-up
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With the awesome Childers family
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Hanging out with 2 YWAM staff kids
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Lynnette with Sopheap, our contact while we were there
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Working on metal for the foundation
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Working at Cafe Eden
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Josiah with 3 of the Khmer guys he really connected with
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Lynnette and Suel Pratt – her amazing family serves with YWAM Battambang full-time
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Josiah and Lynnette with Anna Milligan – Anna is the founder, the heart and the mind behind Cafe Eden, an amazing cafe/ministry in Battambang, as well as a key leader there.
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Josiah and Lynnette, just left Cambodia, now on the Thai side of the border
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A quick update from Battambang

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Hi all, many of you have been asking how Lynnette and Josiah are doing. So, I asked Lynnette to write a brief update on their time in Battambang so far.

Josiah and I have been here for two weeks now! Wow…it is HOT. Yes, we live in Hawaii but it is HOT here!
We have two bicycles that we use to get around, and have enjoyed riding around different areas of the town. Last week, we worked at a home one day that goes and gets kids from the area that have very little and they take care of them for the day. They feed them breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then they wash the clothes that they come in so the children can go home in clean clothes. I was asked if I could share with the staff, so I shared with them on the topic of unity. It was a wonderful time!

Today, we started building a wall around two toilets. Hot, hard work, but rewarding to see the smiles on the kid’s faces to know they will have two private toilets!

Josiah is doing really well, and I am feeling blessed to get this special time to be with him. He is embracing the culture really well. I am very proud of him.

Please continue to pray for us while we are here that the Lord would shine from us and use us has He desires. Please also pray for Paul, Austin, Kyle and Tre as it is hard to be away!!

We have a powerful Loving God who I am so excited to serve!
Blessings,
Lynnette and Josiah!

And some pics:

Josiah and Lynnette building a wall to create private toilets

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Josiah helping to prepare lunch at a village

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Josiah and Lynnette at the all new University of the Nations Battambang Campus

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Josiah and Tyler from YWAM Kona! It’s a small world sometimes!

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Josiah on his own initiative, started helping with the dishes.

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Josiah with one of the YWAM Battambang staff children

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Grace falls down like rain

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As I look outside, rain is coming down hard. When you live in a climate that doesn’t change much, a sudden down-pour, with a massive temperature drop, is cause for celebration…..It’s also motivating me to do a blog update, something that we haven’t done all year. Here’s a picture of Austin, who just returned from a run, soaked! See, I told you it was raining!!

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The first 3 months of this year have just flown by! Paul staffed the Justice Ships DTS at Port YWAM under the leadership of our close friend, Sean Murphy, who we’ve known since 2002. This DTS role was in addition to Paul’s normal role, not instead of. And because the school was at Port YWAM, not at University of the Nations, this meant many trips back and forth. Fortunately, Port YWAM is only about a mile down the road!!

The school had a total of 43 students, and 24 staff, from many different nations, including one Kiwi and a few Aussies, which was fun for Paul. The “lecture phase” of the school focused on personal discipleship. Speakers taught on topics like hearing God’s voice, God’s Father heart, Spiritual Warfare, Evangelism, etc.

Paul’s role was to take care of the school finances. Sean, the school leader, commented that he’s never had a school with such clean finances! 🙂 Paul also had 2 “one on one’s”, which was a weekly time of discipleship with Isaac & Pete, two of the students. Here’s a picture of Paul with Isaac, shortly before Isaac left for outreach. Below that one is a picture of Pete and his family, on their way to the airport. It was so fun getting to know both of them better, and to be able to encourage them in their faith.

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After 3 months of “being transformed by the renewing of our minds”, the outreach teams began departing at the end of March, with the last team leaving April 7th. They are now spreading the gospel in 8 nations: Cambodia, France, Haiti, Micronesia, Panama, Thailand, Togo and Vanuatu.

The team to Vanuatu was a response to the category 5 storm “Cyclone Pam” that devastated that country on March 13th, with winds of up to 200MPH. Within days of the storm, we were able to mobilize a team of 7. The team is helping to bring physical relief in terms of restoring shelter for some of the thousands of people who have lost their homes, and spiritual relief, bringing the good news of Jesus Christ.

Here’s a cool video about YWAM Ships, which features Nick Mason, one of the students from our DTS. For his outreach, he is spending 1 month in Vanuatu, and then going on to Haiti.


The teams will return to Kona at the end of May, for a time of debriefing and graduation from the school. We are so excited to hear their stories and testimonies of all that the Lord has done through them in the nations.

So, what now? It’s back to our normal schedule. Because of the hectic schedule during the DTS, we’ve been intentionally laying low for the past few days, trying to recover from what was an intense season.

For those on our email list, you will know that Josiah and Lynnette are in the midst of planning an outreach to Cambodia this July. The purpose of this trip is to give Josiah a solid foundation in his walk with the Lord before he starts High School next school year. They will work alongside the YWAM ministry in Battambang. Ministries there include orphanage, sports, youth center, teaching English, cafe; tons to be involved with. They can’t wait to be part of it. If you’d like to be part of making this 4-week outreach a reality, we’ve set up a GoFundMe page: www.gofund.me/ryk5dzg.

We were also hoping to make a return trip to Washington this Summer, in June. However, the financing for that has not eventuated. We are bummed, as we were very much looking forward to visiting family and friends. But we feel it is the best choice, to avoid going into debt.

For those of you who are part of our support team, we are SO APPRECIATIVE of you. Literally, we cannot serve in YWAM without our financial partners. So, you share in all the things the Lord is doing around the world, through the ministry of YWAM Kona. If you would like to join our support team, please visit our partner page at www.RandersonOhana.com to find out how you can join our team. And since it’s April 15th, I will remind you that donations to our ministry are tax deductible for U.S. taxpayers.

Thanks for reading! God Bless you!