Our History
In 2019, Pastor Ravy made the decision to return to his hometown of Siem Reap, purchase a plot of land, and build a home. This is also the area where his parents live, and as culture strongly encourages one to do, he will be here now to care for his aging parents.
They, in turn, are active, praying, and encouraging supporters from the ground up in this ministry. And so a neighborhood is formed in His plan, here and now, and its name is Taros Village Hope Church and School. For those of you who have not graced the grounds of this village, it is located about 30 minutes out of town, heading out on Highway 6. It is nestled into the remoteness off a secondary road; a nest of homes scattered about on a one lane dirt road that has single lanes and paths to the homes there.
It is a marginal community, very common around the province. There is electricity, wells, and some sanitary facilities. It is a daily struggle to provide necessities (rice is now $50 a large bag). Some families have members who labor in the city, some who travel to Thailand to work, or there is local recycling. Some make baskets to be sold to the tourist community in town. Life is tough. Folks do not have vehicles. There are some motos. And some bicycles.
The kids are scattered throughout the area for school, often traveling 4km distance back and forth each day. As of this date, here at Taros there is a combined church and school enclosed foundation nestled in the overhang of the front porch area of Pastor Ravy’s home. Church services are held weekly with a mix of adults and teens and a sprinkling of little coming to hear the message. There is an order of service to follow, bibles to use, and so much love flowing out of these new walls.
There have already been seven baptisms. His talent for being a motivational speaker of the ‘word’ is the best here. Those who come, listen intently. At this point, I want to interject a personal point and opinion of what is going on around me. I am only a minute speck in this ministry picture, and yet from this vantage point I can report of the completeness of this neighborhood of love, faith, stability, and passion of the gospel message being proclaimed day in and day out.
The flow of the words, examples, and animated presentation captivates the attention of the audience at hand. The love and transparency are obvious. While the woes of the community will always be with us, the opportunity to share eternal life and love permeates and flows from here and draws each person in when the correct time is there. God has a plan. Pastor Ravy is learning and showing each one of us that path. Hope School now offers English class five evenings a week. Before and after self-reading, class learning times are in place.
One hour of teaching for two classes is in place, using the ‘GO’ books as the basis for learning, interjecting independent topics sprinkled throughout the week. Class sizes are about 22 and 15, respectively. Ages vary from age 7 into the 20’s. The students are consistent in their attendance, and their learning is contagious.
They love to be challenged with competitive moments and collaborative games. At least once a week, there is a Bible lesson and worksheets and/or paragraph writing to match. Pastor Ravy has recently played Peter and told the Palm Sunday story both in Khmer and English for the students to hear. “Jesus is here to be our neighbor. He lives here through each of us. We are His hands and feet.” John 1:14
In 2019, a new chapter began with the purchase of this piece of land to share the gospel. This is the day I became a true landowner. Even out in the open, our eyes and ears hear the English language and God’s grace and love.
In 2024, a church building for the sole purpose of sharing this ministry into the community as a permanent footprint into eternity.
