Sureyah's off to Canada!

Have you ever felt attached to a total stranger? It's one of the cool and surreal things about life at Logos. There are a few former teachers and students about whom I've heard such extensive praise that I honestly care about them. Sureyah Tach is probably the strongest example. A full-scholarship student who commuted from an orphanage far across town, he was deemed "Student of the Month" for this past April and earned the admiration and friendship of students and teachers alike. All the teachers have told me how motivated, warm-hearted, and spiritually mature he is. He's a gifted leader, strong in academics, who aspires to study medicine and help address the myriad gaps in Cambodia's medical care. But at graduation this May, he had no money and no plans for college.

The Logos administration fought hard to get him a full ride at Trinity Western University in Vancouver. This summer, Trinity finally agreed, and Sureyah was able to start the slow process of obtaining a Canadian student visa. He arrived in Bangkok, Thailand nearly two weeks ago. After a successful interview and piles of paperwork, he had his medical forms sent to be signed in Singapore: a process that could take up to 6 weeks. Until then, he had to wait alone at a hostel in Bangkok, since he didn't have money to fly back and forth. Meanwhile, orientation starts Saturday, and his flight today was looking impossible. With funds dwindling and no familiar faces, he was getting pretty discouraged. Praise God - on Wednesday, the paperwork arrived, giving Sureyah 24 hours back in Phnom Penh to pack and say goodbye before flying out this morning! (He stopped by my British Literature class to say goodbye to my juniors and seniors, and we laid hands on him and prayed for him. I felt as though I was meeting a celebrity!)

Pray for Sureyah on his flights and during his adjustment to Trinity. It's miraculous to see how God has already taken him from an orphan doomed to poverty, to a high-achieving high school student, to an international at a top Canadian university. But Sureyah's needs will be great in the next few years...emotionally (apart from his siblings and the only home he knows), academically (as an English language learner), physically (he's going to freeze!), spiritually...and we at Logos will be continuing to count on God to supply his every need.