After worrying for several months about how this open house was going to happen, it finally came and was great. The Branch members did a great job preparing and presenting during the day. It started at 10 am with the arrival of the government officials and people who came representing other religions. The governor did not come but did send one of his lieutenants so that was good. We had H.E. Uong Vibol come from Phnom Penh as a Representative of the minister of religion. He also came to the open house in Siem Reap and spoke both times. He is a good friend of the Church and a good man. He is also a Baptist minister. Also at the open house was the minister of religion from Kampomg Thom who spoke as well. Flowers were ordered and sent from Siem Reap for the table in front of the VIPs as is required by protocol here. Three big chairs are also provided for VIPs which included President Moon. During President Moon's talk he showed the video "The Church at a Glance" which is dubbed into Khmer and also the Church video about the birth of Christ. After the program, the VIPs participated in the ribbon cutting and then took a building tour and visited the different stations. After the tour, lunch was provided for everyone and we were pleasantly surprised that all the VIPs stayed and seemed to enjoy the food and visiting with each other very much. The members from Kampong Cham had come together in two buses to support the open house so there was a great crowd. Seventy kids from a local school came in the afternoon with one of their teachers who is a member of the Kampong Thom Branch. We had hoped to see the principal from the high school next door there but were sorry he did not come. We think the students from the high school will come to the Church because of the volleyball courts in the back of the Church. The Church grounds near all the buildings seem to become a gathering place for local kids which is great.
Sunday was the building dedication and that also had a full audience. It was followed by the baptism of a young man, Seyha, who has been very active in Branch activities ever since the missionaries started teaching him. He spent the day before the open house helping to clean and set up.
It was a very successful event and a bonus was that we were able to collect all the receipts the day we left which doesn't usually happen in Kampong Thom!!
I don't know why we worry so much - The Lord knows what is happening and always blesses us and the members here who work so hard.
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