If you visit the CCM Center these days, you’ll find one room where it’s suddenly very quiet. That’s because the Jesus Children orphans now have a library of their own, and it’s quickly becoming the quietest (and one of the most loved!) rooms on campus.
The new library holds 2,200 books, and Kevin Carson, of Alberta, Canada, set up the entire library! The books were paid for by Kevin and Catharine Carson, Kevin’s mother, and a few other generous Christians who wanted to bless these children. Books don’t last long in Cambodia’s heat and humidity, so Kevin made sure the room is climate-controlled. That way the pages stay crisp and the stories stay safe for years of little hands to come.
The Carsons’ love for Cambodia goes back many years. From 2005 to 2014, Kevin and Catharine made yearly short-term mission trips to Cambodia, teaching English and the Bible with Partners in Progress. Then, from 2014 to 2016, Kevin and Catharine served as missionaries aboard the Ship of Life. It was a medical clinic ship that traveled up and down the Mekong River, bringing care to remote villages along the water. The ship’s doctor and the entire crew were Cambodian, and the Carsons were the only foreigners on board! Catharine, a nurse, treated many people who had nowhere else to go. Today, their love for the Cambodian people is still going strong, and now it fills the shelves for 94 precious Jesus Children.
The children attend public school for half the day, but their learning doesn’t stop there. When they return to the CCM Center, they do their schoolwork right in the library, with plenty of help nearby. Some of our CCM young adults tutor them, and our English teacher, Reagan Ashley, teaches them as well. Kevin and Catharine now live back in Canada, but they travel to Cambodia once or twice a year for extended stays, and they help teach the children while they’re there. Many of these children had never even heard the name of Jesus before coming to CCM. Now they are growing in knowledge of both their schoolbooks and God’s Word.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6
We are so thankful to Kevin and Catharine, Kevin’s mother, and other generous Christians who made this wonderful gift to the Jesus Children possible. What a blessing it is to watch these kids pull a book off the shelf and get lost in a story! Kevin also helps potential sponsors of the Jesus Children match up with a child. If you would like to help provide for the Jesus Children, please contact Kevin Carson at kevin@cambodiaministries.org.
So the next time someone “shushes” you, don’t take it personally. It might just mean something wonderful is happening!
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