MAGAZINE.pdf Summer 2014 | Page 7

SOKCHEN PLOK AGE 14 By Pastor Chuck McCaul and Retkrong Thet New Life Fellowship - Phnom Pehn, Cambodia S okchen Plok is 14 years old and attends public school in Cambodia. He is one of the children who attends the Potter’s Field Kids (PFK) program in Roloch Village, in the province of Kratie, which is 400km from Phnom Penh, in the northeast area of Cambodia. Roloch is a remote village and it is a home to mostly tribal people, the majority of whom live in poverty. Sokchen lives with his parents next door to the church that runs the PFK program. He has five siblings and his parents are farmers. Two of his brothers had to move to a neighboring country to find work. Sokchen has been attending the PFK program since August 2013. It has been a real blessing to watch the transformation in this young man over the last year. Through his involvement in the program, the church has become like a second home for him. It has not just provided the assurance of a meal, but the additional education he gets at PFK has helped him to excel in school. He has become one of the top 10 in his class, which never happened prior to PFK. Because the quality of education in the rural areas in Cambodia is quite poor, the church considers the PFK program a huge blessing to the community because it gives them the chance to change their future. In the PFK program Sokchen studies English, the Cambodian language, Math, and the Bible. He has a dream to be a scientist and his teacher in the program said that he is really interested in electronics. His favorite subject, however, is Bible Study and he is a very faithful student. The PFK programs in Cambodia are not just bringing food and education to the kids but, through them, we are bringing hope to communities. Because of your love and support, children like Sokchen have been given a chance to dream again. They are learning that there is a God who loves them and has a plan for their lives. They have a renewed hope that they can rise out of poverty and reach the destiny that God has for them. You may wonder sometimes if your monthly donation can really make a difference. Sokchen, and the kids like him in the PFK programs in Cambodia, would tell you that you are absolutely making a difference. You are transforming lives that will one day change the nation. 6