Hello friends, family and supporters! As always we hope this finds each one of you well in whatever circumstance you find yourself in. The beginning of November we took a trip south to some well known travel destinations in Cambodia called Kampot and Kep. We were so blessed to be invited to join a small group from the Antioch Church that we serve with. Our family along with the Pastor and his wife and several church members took a bus eleven hours south for a few days.
We enjoyed a boat ride on the river, a day trip to Bokor Mountain, fresh seafood, a day trip to Rabbit Island and lots of special time getting to know the church members better.
Here is our beloved brother and sister, Chumno and his wife Srey Pic. We met Chumno in 2016, but became very close friends when we moved to Battambang. We are looking so forward to their baby arriving Lord willing this Spring! They are a very special part of our lives. They are very attentive to each one of our children. We thank God for the gift of knowing them both.
Here we are picking our seafood for a yummy dinner!
So many beautiful sites and lots of opportunities for pictures!
Rabbit Isand is about a 45 min boat ride from Kep. Its a small lazy island great for swimming in the ocean and relaxing. We had a wonderful time and we thank God for a closer bond with those we serve with.
Britton and Kristy joined a fitness competition at the YWAM base. The YWAM base has a CrossFit gym as part of their ministry. The Crossfit gym, a few other gyms in Battambang and a local Taekwondo group competed to raise money for the recent flood victims. Together we raised over $1000. It was a great way to involve the community and we were glad to be apart!
Our very special Khmer friend and brother David came to visit us from Phnom Penh. We always love when David comes and joins our daily life.
Sometimes we bring village children up to Battambang to the Catholic Hospital when they are sick. Usually a hospital is to far or to expensive for a family to afford in the village.
We brought these little ones up for ear infections, skin infections and some infection on their scalp.
Savanna celebrated her 7th birthday the end of November. She was quite excited to invite all her little friends to a small birthday party.
She is growing up so fast! Savanna has many friends here in Cambodia. She has learned to play with the khmer children even if they don't speak the same language. She does first grade, three days a week and on her off days she has reading homework. She does very well in Math and continues to grow in her reading skills. Every Monday she joins all her little friends at the YWAM CrossFit gym for an hour of fun games and exercises. Keeping up with her family usually has her falling asleep during devotions every night.
A fun Sunday evening hacky sack game with some children and house parents from Antioch.
Some game that they both understand. Hours of chasing each other and laughing together has been done since weve been back. New sidewalks instead of dirt is so nice!
This sweet girl! She loves to ask for candy or ice cream and its always hard to turn her down!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This was our third Thanksgiving to celebrate in Cambodia. We were invited to some dear friends home for an evening celebration. Brysen is helping peel the sweet potatoes to bring for later. Brysen seems to grow taller every week. He is always the first one awake in the morning ready for the day with lots of energy. He is very teachable and willing to help Mom or Dad with whatever may be going on. He is very reliable as far as finishing chores completely.
They didn't ask us to bring pie, but what is Thanksgiving without the smells of pumpkin pie? We had found a can of pumpkin in the city we were saving it especially for Thanksgiving pies. Oh happy day.
We took some time to set up our little tree and our manger. It is often hard to find the words to explain how grateful and thankful we are for this opportunity. The last five months have been so good. We are so grateful our children are thriving and doing well, school is going good and our ministry work is going well. We want to THANK all of our very generous financial supporters! Again we don't always have the words to thank you. We wish we could bring each of you here so we could show you all the amazing things God is doing here.
On our way to Thanksgiving dinner! Carter is holding a hot crockpot full of sweet potatoes as we barrel down the road on our Moto.
Here is Gracie enjoying some yummy American food with one of her best friends, Nika. Gracie has a small group of friends she meets once or twice a week. Having friends here makes a huge difference! Gracie does very well in school. We have decided to hire her to grade the school books in the afternoon. She is very happy with a little bit of money to spend when she meets her friends.
Sunday morning in Svey Kong. Beautiful jungle days, lots of new children, singing songs for the upcoming Christmas program and lots of big hugs from little brown arms.
Carter is picking out Khmer words and numbers. They always hand us a Bible written in Khmer. Carter is doing so well. He studies very hard for his tests in school, always a willing helper especially in the kitchen and he recently joined the soccer team at Antioch.
Savanna and one of her dearest friends.
A special Sunday afternoon set aside specifically for decorating Christmas cookies!
Britton and a favorite of ours, Hosea. Hosea is apart of Antioch. He was allowed to spend the day with Britton helping clean up construction materials and ended the day playing video games and eating lunch in our home.
The boys are helping our good friend Watt build a desk for his new gym ministry. Britton is teaching Watt how to work with wood.
The last two months have been quite busy for Britton. He has spent much time drawing plans, working on project details, preparing contracts for different construction projects, and overseeing the current construction process. He usually spends a few hours a day in Svey Kong doing various things. Here he is signing a contract with Pastor Saran and a builder for a new Kitchen project funded by Cambodia Impact.
Here is another Discipleship training two hours away in Sereysapon.
A new Kitchen behind the church in Svey Kong will be a wonderful addition!
The builders are doing a great job and the new kitchen will be finished soon. Britton is making sure that everything is done right and done according to the original plan. Sometimes, because of cultural differences, it is easy to have misunderstandings as far as to how things should be built. Daily check ins are very helpful to make sure the builders are following the plan.
The Antioch church site and Orphanage is looking so good! The builders are finishing up a few final touches and the project will be completed soon.
Due to Covid the turf was delayed in China. It finally arrived a couple weeks ago and the children are loving it! Just in time to start the soccer team again and begin competing in a couple weeks!
Cambodia Impact funded new soccer uniforms! Lots of trips to the local shop to get everyone fitted just right. Our boys will have the opportunity to join as well. Our dear friends Watt and Shenae will be helping Britton, through Cambodia Impact, teach the soccer team. This is a highlight for these young boys.
Looking so fresh in their uniforms. We are so excited this ministry start again! They will have plenty of opportunities to meet fellow young men in their community through soccer and show Gods love through sportsmanship.
We were blessed to join the Antioch group this week for some baptisms. We drove two hours to a Durain fruit farm. Five young people were baptized on this beautiful day.
We had such a special day. Building relationships and earning trust is important to our family, and days like this day is a good opportunity for both.
Thankyou to everyone one who faithfully invests in what God is doing through our family here in Cambodia. Thankyou for the encouraging emails, the FaceTime calls and words of encouragement that are sent our way!
PLEASE PRAY WITH US
*for our marriage
*for our children
*for our health and safety
*for our continued fruitfulness in our ministry
*revival in Cambodia
CONTACT US:
* Brittonfilbrun@yahoo.com
* Kristyfilbrun@yahoo.com
FOLLOW US:
* Monthly updates here on this blog
GIVING
Online at Cten.org/filbrun
or mail checks to:
Commission to Every Nation
PO Box 291307 Kerrville TX 78029-1307
Phone: 1 (830) 896-8326
