Support Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

A year and a half ago, I left a beautiful country and people. I longed to return, although my interim class had ended:

I want to come back to Cambodia, where I am leaving my Khmer sisters and brothers from Genesis Community of Transformation, New International Builder’s Community, and churches near Siem Reap. Many of them are about my age, and in Christ, truly feel like siblings, taking me in as a sister. They lead amazing, faithful lives of sacrifice to serve their God and fellow man:

Leaving family behind,

Working twelve hours a day on top of classes,

Studying harder than they ever had in school,

Memorizing the book of Romans in English,

Praying for the Buddhist mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers

who are persecuting them for their faith, and

Giving their lives to revive their country.

They have beautiful, golden-brown skin, which they are ashamed is so dark. They apologize for their English, which is light-years ahead of my Khmer, are patient with my poor capacity to understand them, and delightedly and graciously teach me to count and say my alphabet in Khmer. They beg me to come back to Cambodia and teach English. I want to come back so I can help and encourage them in the small ways that I can— teach English, computer usage, calculus?—and find my faith bolstered, surrounded by their open, passionate communion.

I have now graduated from college, and to my great joy, God has blessed me with an eleven-month internship in Cambodia with Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) from July 2011 to May 2012! Through this internship, I have the opportunity to go back and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ by volunteering for three partner organizations of CRWM, as you can read more about in the brochure.

Amidst the job-finding scramble of graduation, returning to Cambodia is the thing I am most sure is within God’s will for me. So I am planning to go and trusting that He will provide for me to go there, but I know that I cannot do this work alone. I will need both prayer and financial support to be effective in the work God has called me to. If you feel that God is calling you to participate in this ministry, please partner with me through prayer or financial support.

I plan to send out a prayer letter by email or snail mail every-other month to keep partners updated; if you would like to receive one, please email me. Between prayer letters, I will be keeping this blog.

The total cost for the eleven-month trip is $10,668. 80% of this must be raised, at least in pledge, before leaving the US. If you feel led to give financially, you can make a check payable to CRWM, including my name and the number 803802 on the memo line. CRWM's address is: 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560.

If you are interested and would like more information, I would love to talk more about Cambodia with you in person or through email:

Email: emailalhayes@gmail.com

Thank you for your time and consideration! I am excited to see how God will use you and many others to provide for his work through your prayers and gifts.

In Christ,

Amanda