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Our Christmas in Cambodia
By Som Rasavanh
It brings a smile to my face when my Facebook memories pop up in December, reminding me of the pictures we posted when we were in Cambodia for Christmas in 2016. The scent of tropical flowers, hibiscus, and plumeria lingers in my memories. I love seeing the photos of our two girls, Victoria and Sarah, playing with the baby chicks that Ly and Sarin Mak, directors of LifeSong Learning Center (LLC), raised.
Another favorite is of the girls with the LLC youth with a caption that reads, “Clearly Sarah is the favorite here!” Although the trip was five years ago, it doesn’t seem that much time has passed. Perhaps it is still fresh in my mind and in my heart because every year when my husband and I talk about international travel again, specifically to Southeast Asia, we are determined that Cambodia LifeSong Learning Center will be one of our frequent stops.
To give a little background, my husband, Boun, was one of the seven men from LifeSong Church of the Open Bible in Des Moines, Iowa, that participated in a short-term mission trip to Cambodia in the fall of 2007. The men visited a few landmarks, walked through the villages, and prayed for the locals. They used some of the money raised by our church to build a playground for one of the schools. I cannot remember all the details, but it was after that trip that the vision for LLC began.
I remember wondering how our little church could raise enough money to start a school. Looking back, I see how little my faith was. Today LLC is another affirmation of how big our God is. As Jesus said in Mark 10:27 (NIV), “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
Ly and Sarin used to attend LifeSong Church with us. They are like a brother and sister to my family. My husband and I refer to them as such; our kids call them aunt and uncle. When the Maks moved to Cambodia to oversee the building of the new school, it was always the plan that we would see it in person.
The 2016 reunion with Ly and Sarin was as wonderful as I had expected it would be. The icing on the cake was that both our girls were able to join us. We had specifically traveled during their winter break so they could come along. Our eldest, Victoria, was a senior at Iowa State University in Ames at the time and our youngest, Sarah, a sophomore in high school.
The night we arrived in Phnom Penh we ate dinner at 1:00 a.m. local time, which is a slightly late lunch for Iowa people! Before we left for the trip, Sarin had asked my husband what he would like to eat while in Cambodia. He obliged her and named a few tropical fruits that he couldn’t wait to eat. “Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:7)! Sarin had her tropical fruits lined up. We tasted every one of them at about 2 a.m. that very first night!
We arrived in Cambodia only a few days before Christmas, prepared to get down to work doing whatever Ly and Sarin had in store for us to do to prepare for the Christmas day event. To our surprise, they had planned a few days’ fun trip to Siem Riep, about a six-hour drive from Phnom Penh, for eating, shopping, and sightseeing. Nothing perks up girls like shopping! But we were so grateful to be able to spend this time together with the Maks to catch up before heading to LLC.
I would have expected the Maks to be a little stressed out from planning the Christmas day event or to be frantically texting and calling people to coordinate the final details, but I sensed none of that. They were calm and present, one of many reasons I admire them so much. They are so grounded in their faith. They trust that God is in control.
Waking up on Christmas morning to the beautiful sights and sounds of more than 800 children moving around the Center, I felt like a kid discovering piles of presents under the tree on Christmas morning, only better. The LLC Christmas day event was everything that I had imagined it would be and so much more.
The night before, Christmas Eve, several volunteers had stayed up past midnight finishing up decorations and food and gift preparation. Ly and Sarin could not have slept more than a couple hours that night if they slept at all.
We were surprised to learn that children in the village apparently are early risers. They started arriving at the center at 6 a.m.! Thankfully, the Maks are experts by now. They have lined up trained youth leaders and a dozen friends from the city to volunteer each year. Their crew handled a crowd of 1,000 people with ease, an amazing sight to watch. The stage was decorated with fresh orchids and Christmas decorations. The children enjoyed typical Christmas programs, music, songs, and dances, and a short skit of Mary and baby Jesus at the stable.
When it was time to pass out the gift packages, Ly and Sarin made sure no child was left behind. A package containing a new school uniform, school supplies, and a lunch bag prepared with love was given to each one. The lunch bags contained a sandwich, dessert, and a water bottle. At first I was surprised that the kids didn’t immediately dive into their lunch bags to devour their treats, but then I learned that most of them wanted to take their bags home to share with their families!
Boun, Victoria, Sarah, and I were given plenty of opportunities to help hand out the gift packages and lunch bags and to pose for pictures. It was such a heart-filled and blessed day for everyone, filled with happy faces and joyful sounds! My heart was so full, my spirit lifted. I was so thankful my husband and I were able to take part in the event, and most important, to have our girls be part of this unique endeavor.
The trip was a humbling experience for both our girls. It helped them understand the joy of giving and serving in any capacity and showed them they could bring so much joy to others. Afterward, Sarah joined the worship team at LifeSong Church and began helping with Sunday School when her schedule allows.
She shared her experience as follows:
At the time, I had just turned 16. I was young and didn’t have much interest in God; perhaps I was even skeptical of Him. I was aware that our church had these programs going on [in Cambodia] and that we continued to donate towards this cause, but that’s kind of where my contribution ended.When we went, I was able to witness the church’s, really God’s, work right in front of my own eyes. I think after spending so much time with the other kids and watching the preparations happen, I was able to better understand how God works in each and every individual. What these children lacked in resources was instead filled with God’s love and strength. I could see it myself. We in America think that these villagers have so little, that they are so poor, but they themselves don’t see it that way. To them, what God has given them is enough, and they are so grateful for it. It definitely changed how I appreciated the little joys in life and now recognize that they were given to me by God.
Victoria became a volunteer light/sound engineer for the church she attends in Minnesota. I can see both girls going on other short-term missions trips in the future.
Although Ly and Sarin didn’t outwardly display signs of stress, it is clear that so much work and so much love goes into their yearly Christmas programs. It takes a village, literally, to cook 1,000 meals, package 1,000 gifts, and coordinate an entire program.
I know Ly and Sarin have said this before, but it really could not have succeeded without much prayer, financial, and physical support from God’s army all over the world. I’ve taken part in fundraisers here in the States for this annual Christmas event in Cambodia since the inception of this ministry, and every year the number of children in attendance has grown.
At first our target was to raise ten dollars per child to cover the cost of a school uniform, school supplies, and a small lunch for each of the children. I believe it was the second year that the number of kids who participated grew to 300, and then we pretty much lost count after that. In 2016, the year we participated, Ly and Sarin reported around 900 participants.
As I’m writing this article, LifeSong Church is gearing up for a fundraiser for Christmas Cambodia 2021. With the COVID situation, the Christmas program plan for this year is still somewhat unclear, but the Maks and their ministry team always find creative ways to reach the children and their families in the villages. Ten dollars (equating to two Starbucks coffees) could help pay for a child’s school uniform, enough school supplies for a whole year, and a nice meal the students can share with their families. For many of them, this is their first encounter when they have knowingly experienced God’s love.
God is doing amazing work in Cambodia. I feel blessed beyond words to have seen this ministry in motion. If you ever want to participate through prayer or financial support or if God is calling you to be on the front line, I’m sure Ly and Sarin would welcome you with open hearts.
To learn more about the Maks’ ministry or to donate, go to: www.openbible.org/mission/global-outreach/missionaries
If you wish to give to help the Christmas outreach of Lifesong Learning Center, please send your check written out to Open Bible Churches and write in the memo, “Christmas Lifesong.”
About the Author
Som Rasavanh lives in Ankeny, Iowa, and works as an IT Application Development Manager for ITS Inc. (SHAZAM). She and her family are longtime members of LifeSong Church of the Open Bible in Des Moines, Iowa, where Som is currently serving as a board member. Som and her husband, Boun, have two daughters, Victoria and Sarah. Victoria has since moved out of the state for work, but you’ll find that Boun and Sarah are often part of the worship team on Sundays.
On August 1, 2026, three fast-moving wildfires swept across the Spokane area, fueled by a frightening combination of high winds and dangerously dry conditions. The Old Trails, Autumn Lane, and Fairview fires, collectively managed as the Spokane Complex, damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures and forced thousands to evacuate.
Seven Open Bible and Open Bible-affiliated churches serve communities throughout the Spokane area, and all were affected in some way by the fires. Three, however, found themselves in the immediate path of the most destructive blaze, the Old Trails Fire. Turning Point Church and Foundation Church were placed under a Level 3 evacuation, displacing members of their church families, while Riverside Real Life Church lost its building entirely. Pastors from Turning Point and Riverside share what they witnessed as fire swept through their communities and how, amid tremendous loss, they saw God provide through the generosity, prayers, and practical care of the Church.
From Melissa Stelly,
Executive Pastor of
Turning Point Open Bible Church:
The pillar of angry smoke on the horizon immediately filled me with dread as I drove to the grocery store. High winds drove the flames across parched land so fast that one firefighter marveled that he couldn’t have outrun it, even if he tried. Hundreds of people desperately fled their neighborhoods, clogging the few roads out as flames appeared in their rearview mirrors. There were heartbreaking stories of people calling family members to say goodbye because they didn’t think they would escape in time
And yet, not a life was taken.
And yet, not a life was taken.
Our church was placed under a level 3 evacuation, and many of our people were displaced from their homes, either losing them completely to the flames or due to toxins that bathed their houses from the burning around them. Immediately, our church family responded with calls and emails, offering their homes to those impacted, along with gift cards, money, clothing, and even animal care. Spokane leaders met at the local high school, inviting faith leaders, non-profits, educators, and government to join together to streamline resources, establish a relief system, and collaborate. Since then, Spokane churches have recognized a deficit in crisis response and are organizing a network of churches to spearhead emergency and crisis response in our city.
I am proud of our church body’s immediate mobilization, which gave generously and put faith into action by meeting needs, opening homes, and volunteering at shelters and outreaches. One woman in our church, who lost her home to the flames, tearfully shared how overwhelmed she was by the support she received. The church family gave her stacks of gift cards, bought her clothes, generously gave to the church to meet her financial needs, and called her constantly to pray with her.
As a pastor, I witnessed this verse in action: “To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12 NIV).
From Kelly Armstrong,
Lead Pastor of
Riverside Real Life Church:
Our church, Riverside Real Life Church, and the entire surrounding neighborhood were destroyed by the Old Trails Fire that hit the Spokane community. Because of our location at the center of the damage, hundreds of people who call Riverside their church were displaced from their homes, at least temporarily. Praise God, most were able to return after one to two weeks; the number of homes lost in our congregation was in single digits. Many homes in the neighborhood my family lives in were destroyed, but thankfully, our home was spared, and we returned home after nine days.
The response of our community and beyond has been amazing. I’ve been contacted by hundreds of pastors and churches from all across the country and most significantly, from all across the Open Bible family. I am convinced that the prayer on our behalf has made a difference as God has opened one door after another. On September 6th, we had our first Sunday service since the fires at a middle school near where the church building was located. We came together, standing room only, to reconnect, worship God, and envision the future.
There are significant complications, but they are not barriers for Him.
Through the generosity of churches all over the country, we’ve been able to give significant financial assistance to families and individuals who’ve lost their homes, restart our small group system, launch a mobile Sunday service that we can be proud of, and continue our mission to “Reach the World for Jesus.”
I’m full of gratitude to every person and church who’ve supported through care, finances, and prayer. When church leaders ask how they can pray, I tell them, “Please pray for God’s favor in the rebuilding process. There are significant complications, but they are not barriers for Him.”
Thank you, Open Bible friends and family. I couldn’t be more grateful for your care and support; it has meant the world to me.
In the midst of tragedy, God’s goodness and glory were evident. As Pastor Melissa Stelly said when sharing her story, “The Lord preserved, the Lord provided, and the Lord used His Church to serve.” But nothing expresses God’s grace over Spokane better than Isaiah 61:3:
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
About the Author
Hannah Bemis currently serves as the editor and director of Message of the Open Bible. She always wanted to do too many things when she grew up, and God has been kind enough to let her do most of them in different seasons. Those seasons have included raising little ones at home, teaching, writing, and staff pastoring, with Hannah’s most recent adventure being planting and pastoring College Street Church in Newberg, Oregon, with her husband, Jordan. After Jesus and all her favorite people, she spends the remainder of her passion on pizza and dark chocolate in equal measure.
I am proud to have been a credentialed minister with Open Bible Churches for over four decades. What a privilege to have served in a variety of contexts across our wonderful family of several hundred congregations in the US, along with several thousand globally. Over those decades, God has gradually expanded my understanding of what it means to belong to His Church.
I’ve enjoyed the enriching experience of embracing so many of the distinctives of what makes Open Bible, well, Open Bible: our unwavering commitment to Scripture as the inspired, authoritative Word of God; our resolve to plant and sustain healthy, vibrant local churches; our passion for the fullness and gifts of the Holy Spirit operating in our daily lives; and so much more.
And yet, with the beauty of these ecclesial distinctives so evident in our movement, I believe I have come to realize that what we share together as our core values and practices are not completely unique to us. As a matter of fact, when we take a step back and consider just who is a part of the Body of Christ, we can discover that we have much in common with our brothers and sisters across the US and around the world. It took one unexpected friendship to deepen my understanding of what it means to belong not only to Open Bible Churches, but to the Church.
A humbling experience for me has been to receive grace and love from others who are different than me even before I was prepared to offer the same to them. One example for me comes from my years as a participant in the International Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue. This ongoing annual conversation was begun in the 1970s by David du Plessis, the Pentecostal known as “Mr. Pentecost,” and Father Kilian McDonnell, a Catholic theologian, and continues to this day. When I attended a session of this Dialogue for the first time in 1993, I was so focused on my disagreement with Catholic doctrines and practices that I was not in a place to show much hospitality. But over the next several decades I got to know the Catholic co-chair, Father Kilian, quite well. I was amazed at how well he knew Pentecostals like me, how much he wanted to learn more, and how much he cared for us. He was respectful, honest, and compassionate. We didn’t agree on everything, obviously. But he became a mentor to me, showing me how to treat others who were different than I was. And we became friends. He passed away last year at the age of 100, and I was honored to attend his memorial service. That experience changed how I think about the global Church.
The following numbers paint a remarkable picture of the global family that shares our evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic faith. According to the 2026 Status of Global Christianity report, more than 1.1 billion Christians around the world identify as Evangelical, Pentecostal, or Charismatic. Of those, approximately 676 million are Pentecostal or Charismatic believers.
That global family is wonderfully diverse, including classical Pentecostal denominations like Open Bible Churches, independent charismatic networks, Catholic Charismatics, and charismatic believers within many Protestant traditions (Anglican, Methodist, etc.).
So why do these numbers matter? They remind us that we are part of something much larger than ourselves. We are not alone, and we are certainly not “small.” Along with our evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic brothers and sisters around the world, we are a fierce contingent in the Lord’s army. It’s both humbling and encouraging to remember that we belong to the CHURCH in all its vastness.
But that doesn’t mean we have to give up our wonderful heritage, culture, and beauty that make us Open Bible Churches. We have something to contribute to the rest of the Church. I’m reminded of the prophetic word delivered a few decades ago at one of our conventions: “Open Bible Churches is a vital organ in the Body of Christ!” That statement has never been more true.
“Open Bible Churches is not ‘the Church.’
Open Bible Churches is part of the Church
— a wonderful part,
but a part.”
And yet, we also do not want to be guilty of isolation or sectarianism. Open Bible Churches is not “the Church.” Open Bible Churches is part of the Church. A wonderful part, but a part. So, it is healthy for us to remember our brothers and sisters in other denominations and networks, to pray for them, and even to cooperate with them in community and regional initiatives so that together we may faithfully steward our callings and responsibilities to advance the Kingdom of God on the earth.
One of the most important ways we can grow in unity as believers is to start by acknowledging and valuing diversity in the Body of Christ. God didn’t make us all the same. Unity is not uniformity. The old adage still rings true: “in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; and in all things, charity.” May we agree to disagree with one another with clarity, respect, and most of all love. We can embrace grace and truth at the same time, and indeed we are called to it.
No doubt you know some followers of Jesus in your community (and probably in your own family) who do not belong to Open Bible Churches. The invitation for us all is to love them, to be grateful for all that we share with them, and to offer some space (and some grace) for our differences. This is not easy. In fact, it is hard work. Remember the words of the apostle Paul: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3 NIV). If maintaining unity was easy, Paul wouldn’t have needed to admonish us to “make every effort” to do so.
Jesus reminds us that unity isn’t just for our benefit: it’s one of the clearest testimonies to a watching world.
But if we are willing to pay the price of seeing God’s big Church, and loving it the way He does, we’ll be more Christlike, and we’ll participate in being an answer to one of the last prayers Jesus prayed before He went to the cross on our behalf: “…that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22-23 NIV). Jesus reminds us that unity isn’t just for our benefit: it’s one of the clearest testimonies to a watching world.
Together, let’s allow the Lord to give us eyes to see the breadth and beauty of His Church, recognizing and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ in such an obvious way that we actually become answers to the prayer of Jesus in John 17. Amen?
Here are a few resources that explore some of these issues related to Christian Unity:
That They May Be One – Podcast
That They May Be One – Film
PCCNA Christian Unity Commission
Forum for Unity
International Charismatic Consultation
Global Christian Forum
About the Author
David Cole has been a credentialed minister with Open Bible Churches since 1984. He is currently Professor of Historical Theology at The King’s University in Southlake, Texas. He is also involved in a variety of initiatives related to his calling to encourage the pursuit of unity among believers in Jesus, and to that end currently serves as chair of the Christian Unity Commission with the Pentecostal/
Charismatic Churches of North America. He and his wife, Julie, are parents of four, grandparents of ten, and are currently located in Newberg, Oregon, where they attend College Street Church.
I woke up unable to speak. A breathing tube filled my throat. Machines surrounded my hospital bed. I was confused, intubated, and lying in an ICU room with no memory of how I got there. But strangely, I was not afraid. In the middle of the chaos, God gave me an unexplainable peace.
I motioned desperately for paper and pencil so I could ask two questions: What happened? And where is George?
My son’s father explained that I had been in a serious car accident. The car was completely destroyed. I had been found trapped beneath the steering wheel with severe facial injuries.
That morning — January 22, 2026 — had started like any other Thursday. I got ready for work, buckled my 18-month-old son George into his car seat, and pulled out of the driveway expecting an ordinary day.
It became anything but ordinary.
My neighbor, who had left home at the same time I did, later explained what happened. We were both driving around fifteen miles per hour when the car I was driving suddenly lost control. I still do not know why, and I have no memory of the moment itself.
By the grace of God, George was almost completely untouched.
The car hit a cement light pole, crossed into oncoming traffic, and was struck head-on by another vehicle. Both vehicles spun, and the car I was driving slammed into another cement light pole.
By the grace of God, George was almost completely untouched.
The back windshield shattered directly above him, yet the glass never harmed him because of the position his car seat landed in. The entire back left side of the car was crushed inward, but George had been seated on the back right side. Even now, I can only thank God for His protection.
I was taken by ambulance to the hospital and admitted into the Trauma ICU. Doctors told my family that I had suffered severe head trauma resulting in a brain bleed. I was also bleeding internally in my abdominal area, and they began preparing my family for the possible loss of my pregnancy.
… the doctors did not know the God my family and I serve — and how merciful He is.
But the doctors did not know the God my family and I serve — and how merciful He is.
My family immediately began to pray. Members of my church, Open Bible Church of Homestead, began arriving at the hospital, and soon an entire army of people was interceding for me.
During those first two days, I drifted in and out of consciousness and remember very little. But one moment remains clear in my mind: I heard the song “I Surrender” by Hillsong Worship playing in my hospital room. The lyrics, “Like a rushing wind, Jesus breathe within, Lord have Your way, Lord have Your way in me,” stayed with me and brought a deep sense of comfort in the middle of everything happening around me. In that moment, those words became my prayer as I quietly prayed, “I leave this in Your hands.”
After three days in the ICU, I was successfully extubated and began making remarkable progress. Ultrasounds showed a happy, active baby, and the bleeding had stopped.
On the fourth day, I was transferred out of the ICU into intermediate care before eventually moving to the medical-surgical floor. Doctors then began preparing me for maxillofacial surgery to reconstruct my face after multiple fractures.
On January 30, I underwent an eight-hour surgery. By God’s grace, the procedure was successful, and another ultrasound afterward showed my unborn baby remained active and healthy. On February 3, I was finally discharged and able to return home.
Since then, my recovery has gone smoothly. I am now twenty-eight weeks pregnant and waiting expectantly for the arrival of my baby. Through every frightening moment, God gave me strength and peace, and I never doubted His mercy.
Today, I am a living testimony of His grace.
About the Author
Thammy Castro is a behavior technician living in Miami and a soon-to-be mother of two. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her family. She is a member of Open Bible Church of Homestead, where her parents, Jose and Maria Castro, serve as pastors.