Together There Is Hope 

 in Cambodia 

Together WE Can 

Make A Difference 

THEN I HEARD THE VOICE OF THE 

LORD, SAYING, “WHOM SHALL 

I SEND,  AND WHO WILL GO FOR 

US?” THEN I SAID, “HERE AM I. 

SEND ME!” 

ISAIAH 6:8 

F ALL, 2013 

The missionary team members we have assembled here in Cambodia are ready!We are about to embark on an ambitious project to bring hope, stability, and JesusChrist to the poorest of the 5,394 people within the Baku Commune and Village of the Kondalsteng District, Kondal Province, Cambodia. 

With your prayers and financial support we are planning to buy a piece of propertywhich measures one hectare. (In the USA that would be the equivalent of 2 ½ acres.)On that prop-erty we will place three buildings during our first year of operation followedby two additional buildings before our first three year budget cycle is concluded. Our budget goal for the three year period of 2013-2016 is $551,240.00.  

Yes, that sounds like a lot of money, but I am convinced that the Lord will provide these

funds somehow, especially with your help. We wi l l begin our fund rais ing project by 

asking fr iends,  fami ly and acquaintances to con sider giv ing us a jump star t by 

don ating $50.00 for ou r first year of op eration whic h wil l start us out w ith $150,000.00.

From there we are going to ask you to spread the word to people you might know who could

provide us with the remaining $401,000.00. Talk to your friends on our behalf. The donat ion 

is USA tax dedu ctible, and tel l  people we wil l name individu al bui ldings, and even the 

comp ound af ter them i f they want to buy one of our m ajor bui ld ing projects. 

WHAT ABOUT THE AMERICAN POOR? 

Friends and family back in the United States have asked me, “Why are you working with

the poor in Cambodia, when there are so many people of poverty in America?” The an-swer is quite simple. In America, all human beings are in some way covered, with regardespecially to food, by the government, churches, family, friends, and/or neighbors. InCambodia there is no safety net available of any kind. If a family or a person does nothave money, they cannot eat for that day. There is no government support, not even for the people starving to death. There are no food shelves; there are no churches or shelters available to provide food to the population. 

Cambodia is a vast country of contrasts. There are many wealthy people livingin man-sions comparable to American movie stars, but what we see most is theprofound poverty of the majority. People in Cambodia die each day because of starvation. That does not happen in America. 

Cambodia is what is referred to as a Third World country. That’s just a phrase thatidenti-fies this land as primitive, and for the most part, lacking industrialization. Theonly hope for succeeding generations is to insure that children are educated as astrategy to break out of this life threatening poverty. The irony in this land is thateducation is compulsory and free theoretically, but the reality is that most families of extreme poverty cannot afford the uniforms, the supplies, and the required teacher enhancement fees. School is four hours a day and six days a week, but we are toldthat school is often shortened so that teachers can go someplace else to earn aliving wage themselves, which they can’t do on their teacher’s salary. 

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS 

Our administrative costs are anticipated to run about 12% for the first year, andremem-ber that the Executive Director (me) of this project works withoutcompensation. I have been in Cambodia for one year getting acquainted withthe culture, and have received no funding for transportation or living expensesduring that time. That status will continue for the rest of my life. 

 

THE BAKU VILLAGE COMPOUND OF STS  

We plan to build three buildings for this project in our first year, and this is what it looks like. 

Pur ch ase of 1 Hectare o f land ...$50,000.00  

Bu ild a Rec ept ion Cent er ................ $75,000.00  

a. Dining Room and Kitchen for breakfast, lunch, and

din-ner 

b. Recreation Facility (Basketball/Volleyball)

c. Student Lounge for Homework

d. Student Lounge for Television/Board Games

e. English classrooms

f. Computer Lab

g. Bathroom stalls

h. Shower facilities

i. Individual storage for regular participants

 j. Medical/Nurses Station

k. Dental Office

l. Administration Office

m. Chapel

Transit ional Housing Unit  – Gir ls ...$17,000.00  

a. Temporary residential housing for ten girls.b. Apartment for House Mother 

c. Bathroom shower facility

d. Small kitchen and refrigerator 

Transit ional Housing Unit  – Bo ys ... $17,000.00  

a. Temporary residential housing for ten boys.b. Apartment for House Mother 

c. Bathroom shower facility

d. Small kitchen and refrigerator 

FUTURE PLANS WITHIN THIS 

BUDGET PERIOD 

In the second half of year two and into year three of this

budget period we will be adding two buildings directed to

Vocational Training. 

Promi sed Lan d #1 ....................................  $45,000.00  

a. Vocational Training Classroomb. Library facility

Promi sed Lan d #2 ....................................  $46,000.00  

a. Vocational - Hands on Experienceb. Training Lab

This is an ambit ious project , but we are convinc ed that with your prayers, your f inan- 

cial support , and referrals to phi lanthropist typ e people that we wi l l see this project 

develop as planned. To make a donat ion, see the bottom of this page for giv ing o pt ions. 

THANKS FOR CARING  

Dick Erickson 

Sharing The Son 

Sponsor A Child

for $50.00 a Month 

This is Song K hoy Ma, and we cal l him 

Daniel . He is six years old and was b orn 

on November 13, 2006. He is one of three 

s ib l ings who l ive wi th us at the orphan- 

age. I f you wou ld be interested in spo n- 

sor ing h im (or any of the others) , we wi l l 

send you qu arter ly reports on his act iv- 

i t ies as wel l as forward pictures so th at 

you can see his growth. 

TO GIVE  Give by PayPal or credit card at: www.i-m-f.org ~ Missions ~ IMF Agency Missionaries ~ Richard Erickson dba: Sharing the Son  

  Call IMF Accounting at 952-346-2464 to set up ACH or credit card payment(s)

  Make the check out to IMF and mail tax-deductible financial support to: IMF, PO Box 100, Navarre, MN 55932-0100 (Do not write

Richard Erickson’s name on the check ~ write Acct #1087 on the Memo line.) 

® 

IMF is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, donations are tax-deductible. Contributions are requested with the understanding that IMF has completediscretion and control over the use of all donated funds. In order for supporters to receive a tax deduction, checks must be made payable to IMF and NOT contain the name of a specific mis-sionary.Checks made for individual missionaries are not tax-deductible. On a separate piece of paper note who the donation is for or send this bottom portion along with your donation.