About Mount Pleasant Centre
Partner: Mount Pleasant Baptist Church
Centre 16, sponsored by Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Western Australia, welcomed 100 kids in 2012. Ours was the third Centre to open in Phum Chamraeun Phal village – after Centres 10 and 13 – when we recognized great need in this area. Many families in our neighbourhood live in slums where hunger, violence, and hopelessness are endemic. Since our Centre opened, we’ve seen our kids grow into joyful, faith-filled young people. And they’ve discovered some great gifts – from singing and dancing to playing musical instruments and creating art – we even have some kids who perform comedy, and one who entertains us all with beat-boxing routines! We love that our kids now have the freedom to pursue hobbies, along with realizing their God-given potential and living a more purposeful life. In Transform, it is our mission to reach not only the kids but the whole community – sharing God’s love and grace to those who have received so little. One of our parents shares how his family’s life has been transformed:
“Before we joined the Transform community my family had many problems. My wife was very sick almost every day, so we prayed to monks and gave offerings to a shrine in our home. The monks told us that evil spirits were causing my wife’s illness, so we gave offerings over and over again, but she was not healed. We lost almost all our property, and I felt very hopeless. One day, hope returned to me when I heard that a new Transform Cambodia Centre was opening, and my son was selected to study there. When I joined for Family Day each month I heard the word of God – I had never heard anything like this before. I joined small groups with other parents and heard their testimonies. I didn’t know God yet, but already I felt that the environment of my life was changing, and people were so loving and kind. People in my small group encouraged me to attend church so I and my family started going every week. Every week, the pastors prayed for my wife, and eventually she was healed. We accepted God as our savior, and when we returned to our home we destroyed the shrine and invited the Holy Spirit into our home. We received freedom and joy in God. I realized that even though I am poor, I can give – so I started to serve at church. Now I am working in ministry to share the Good News with others who face a hopeless situation, so that they too can find freedom.”
— Chai Hoth, 45
