2021
Saving Susan Ministry
TRACY ARNTZEN JOINED SARA BETH FENTRESS ON THE ...

Saving Susan Ministry Co-Founder, Tracy Arntzen, joined Sara Beth of the Simply127 podcast to share about the ministry’s origins and our unique approach to orphan care.

Cambodia Team Trip Highlights

Thank you for your prayers and support of our 2024 Cambodia team trip! God immensely blessed our trip, and we couldn’t have done it without you! 

First of all, I want to express my gratitude for our incredible mission partners. The staff and volunteers that serve at our partner children’s homes work tirelessly to care for, educate, and advocate for these special children. They allow us to be part of these kids’ stories, which is a tremendous blessing and privilege.

As I reflect back on the two weeks of our trip, I remember the faces and stories so vividly. These encounters and the relationships built are so difficult to put into words. Instead, I would like to share a few of the highlights of the trip, with photos that capture a handful of these special moments. I hope this gives you a glimpse of the impact you had through partnering with our Cambodia team!

Trip Highlights

  • In a country that is 95% Buddhist, exactly 100 people gave their life to Christ for the first time through 3 separate evangelism-sharing opportunities, led by team member Pastor Stephen Peeples




  • 44 children participated in a guided art project led by team members AGB Bowler and Lavinia Bunyasaranand. Each child drew a mountain range picture of their testimony and expressed the highs and lows in their life as they reflected on God’s hand and how He is guiding them past the trauma and difficulties of their young lives

  • 4 Parent Partners were on the team and spent precious time with their partnered children, including 2 Parent Partners that met the child in-person for the first time



  • Over 50 children were encouraged to share the gospel with their friends and classmates through team exercises designed to share practical evangelism skills

  • 3 worship sessions with our team and Music Director Oliver Rafael - one each with the kids at Bileg, Imparting Smiles, and our Next Steps college students

  • Meals, devotions, fun, and games with the children and mission partners - including taking the kids to swim at the pool, playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball, and several other times of building deeper connections

  • Gifts and love offerings were given to over 60 children and mission partners that we serve. Thank you to everyone who generously donated to help us bless them!

  • We served in two church services, a medical mission, dumpsite mission, and more, as God led our team to be His hands and feet.

Grateful,

Adam Reiley

Director of Operations/2024 Cambodia Team Trip Member

Green Tie Gala 2023

The Green Tie Gala was such a special gathering. We look forward to sharing with you soon the amount raised this evening.

Please enjoy the special video we showcased from the Cambodia Music Academy.

We also heard a special message from Discipleship Leaders in Guatemala, Keren and Weslye Salguero, who spoke from their hearts about the “One Child, One Step” approach.

“How would our lives have been different if we had felt and believed that no one ever cared for us? That no one loved us, that no one believed in us? That we had to face the world alone? Many orphaned children feel this way, and because of that, they struggle in life and cannot succeed… Saving Susan is answering God’s call to love and care for these orphans. They are committed to walking with them as they grow and navigate their lives… we have an opportunity to win a medal, but it won’t begiven to us here on earth, but in heaven. We have this opportunity today, we can do this together one child, one step at a time.” — Keren Salguero

Will you invest in these special orphaned children and bring them hope?

A Special Blessing in Cambodia and a Family Reunion

By Team Leader Allyson Overstreet

The Saving Susan Team Trip to Cambodia has gone to a new level. It was 10 years ago that Jay first stepped foot in Cambodia as part of Sanctuary Church and met Vichika (Susan) for the first time. This week they were reunited after 18 months, and the reunion was just beginning.

Since the moment we arrived, our trip has been all about ‘reunion’. One of our parent partners, Doreen Buben came, to celebrate the graduation of her Parent Partnered child. Her last visit in 2019 was for Srey Pov’s high school graduation. We began with a special dinner with the Next Steps kids in Phnom Penh along with Pastor Sihok, Dr Nop, Steve & Noit Hyde and their children. Mike Gurick, a co-laborer working on a different mission from Sanctuary church, joined us as well. That was a divine appointment. 

While traveling to Imparting Smiles, we were joined in Siem Reap by the kids from Bileg. This was a planned surprise for our founder, Jay.  At lunch we were joined by Debbie Sheffield, who had been visiting her daughter, Katie and her family. Katie’s husband, Sokion, is our Cambodian discipleship pastor for the Next Steps students. Our team of 12 was now complete. The Bileg kids followed us on the Saving Susan bus to Imparting Smiles, where all the SSM family shared a  wonderful dinner hosted by Steve and Noit Hyde.

Early the next morning, five of the Next Steps students arrived at our hotel in Poipet. They had ridden the night bus from Phnom Penh to join us for worship on Sunday.

Did I mention that our music teacher, Oliver, came up with the Bileg kids? He is from the Philippines and met us in Cambodia to be a part of our August 2022 trip. He has spent the year teaching music at Imparting Smiles and Bileg. His first part of his year was spent at Imparting Smiles and now teaching at Bileg. This has been a tremendous blessing for the children, and the concert performance with all the children on stage was simply amazing.  

 
 

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