From generation to generation...

L toR: Sengyou (father to Chhem and all the kids at our BB1 home), Chhem, Davita, Kda and me on a recent Sunday in Battambang, Cambodia. (photo by Dylan Menges)

Young Chhem enjoyed a wonderful childhood at our Battambang 1 home. She’s excited to provide a loving family for the next generation of kids at our Prek Eng 2 home.

When I was in Cambodia a few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about Chhem, a young woman who grew up at Asia’s Hope. I’ve been waiting until now to tell you what, for me, is the most exciting part of this story.

Chhem and her husband Kda (along with their daughter, Davita) are joining the Asia’s Hope staff as the new home parents of the Prek Eng 2 home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia!

Prek Eng 2 holds a special place in my heart, and this transition is bittersweet, as it also marks the retirement of my dear friends and longtime colleagues, Narun and Sophal, who parented the home for 13 years. It’s always difficult to transition a home to a new set of parents, but the time is right, and all but a small handful of the PE2 children are grown and have gone off to university or the workforce.

With a bit of sadness we wish Narun and Sophal — parents at the Prek Eng 2 home for 13 years —congratulations on their retirement and prayer for the next chapter of their lives.

I encourage you to read the story of Chhem’s rescue, promised to her in her dreams by a God she’d never even met. It’s a real-life, miraculous tale that moves me to tears every time I tell it — not just because it’s intrinsically astonishing, but because I’ve known Chhem since she and her sister came to Asia’s Hope, and I’ve been honored by God to have played a bit role in her epic drama.

If you spend any time with Chhem, you’ll recognize that she is a strong woman. But she is also humble and compassionate. And when you hear her talk about her daddy Sengyou and her mommy Sokhean, you’ll truly understand what it is we’re trying to do at Asia’s Hope.

If Chhem and Kda are half the parents Sengyou and Sokhean were to her, we will have succeeded, and the current and soon-to-arrive new kids at PE2 will enjoy a loving home with a bright future. Of course, I believe that Chhem and Kda not only represent the best of our first generation of Asia’s Hope kids, but the future of our organization as well.

Please pray for Chhem and Kda and for the kids they’ll raise at Asia’s Hope.

May God continue to bless you and guide us all into courageous leadership on behalf of these kids.