At Saving Susan Ministry, we connect children in need with loving Parent Partners, One Child, One Step at a time. Parent Partners commit to this relationship through high school, but what happens with our children and their education when they graduate? We began featuring each of our Next Steps Students in April, starting with a young man from Guatemala. If you haven’t had the chance to read his story, please do so!
The Next Steps Program ensures that each orphan Parent-Partnered through Saving Susan Ministry has the opportunity to pursue their next step in education through the Baskin-Bowler Scholarship, named after Pastors Jack Baskin and Craig Bowler. We currently have 9 students enrolled in University or Trade School in Guatemala and Cambodia, and are committed to working alongside them to ensure they achieve their dreams.
Today we’d like to introduce you to a young man from Cambodia. His formal name is Sothirith Yorn, but he goes by Pov (pronounced Pow.) Pov graduated from high school with the mighty ambition to attend Medical School. He is 20 years old and currently in his 3rd year at the University of Puthisastra in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
When asked why he wanted to attend Medical School, Pov said “becoming a Doctor is my dream that I wanted to achieve when I was young. I love studying to become a Doctor, and through this major I can help people to know Jesus Christ.” The main of our mission at Saving Susan is to share the love of Christ with the children that we serve, and to see them mature and turn around to begin sharing Jesus’ love is one of the biggest rewards we could ever see this side of Heaven. Pov loves Jesus and will be a better Doctor and care taker because of it!
Like all of the children in the Scholarship Program, Pov has two amazing Parent Partners who have loved and served him for many years now! William Robert (Bubba) and Sarah Green met Pov in the summer of 2016 while on a Field Trip to Cambodia. “At the time we were just on a trip to Cambodia just to support Saving Susan Ministry and had no intention of sponsoring anyone. My wife and I were young and newly married and did not think we had much to offer other than our time.” That relationship quickly bloomed into a loving family, and since Bubba and Sarah are still young, they think of each other as Brother and Sister relationship more than a Mother and Father. “During the trip we spent a good time at an orphan community in Phnom Penh where Pov lived ("Pov" is his nickname, pronounced "pow" and literally translates to Pumpkin, how great is that?). Pov was starting his senior year of High School but without a sponsorship that's as far as he'd be able to go. We talked a lot about his time in school, he loves Math and Science like I do, he loves to play soccer with his friends like I do, and he had a passion for medical missions. He shared his desire to go on to be a doctor and return to his home province to care for the people he grew up around. After hearing so much about him we knew in our hearts that we wanted to help him and so we adopted him as our "Brother Pov” - William Robert.
The Green’s have such a beautiful relationship with Pov, being that they’re closer in age, and are able to relate in different ways. “Initially this was the kind of stuff we talked about with Pov: school, lessons, some hobbies, etc. But over the years our conversations have gotten so easy and we've learned so much more about him. We get to bond over what MCU (Marvel Cinematic) movies we love and who our favorite superheroes are (mine is Doctor Strange, his is Thor), we talk about what scares him about his school and future, we talk about what it's like having so many Buddhist friends, and (my favorite) we celebrate with him when he gets a chance to share Jesus with one of them! Which brings me to something I look forward to most in my conversations with Pov, his love of Christ and people.”
Pov says “My relationship with brother Bubba and Sister Sarah helps me with my studies through prayer and support, and encourages me to study hard and also connect with the word of God.” A Parent (Brother/Sister) Partner Relationship is the fundamental part of what we do at Saving Susan, and provides the orphaned children a sense of family and belonging.
While the Baskin-Bowler Scholarship does support a portion of Pov’s college and living expenses, there is also another key player to his college success. One of our Board Members and his wife, Dr. Wesley & Meredith (Marty) Wetherington, were touched by his story one night during a meeting, and having never met him, decided to fully sponsor his tuition costs. “Marty and I have been together since our early twenties, and we have always felt it is good to share with others and to help those less fortunate. When Jay and Tracy told us there was a young man in the ministry hoping to attend medical school, it was an easy, almost spontaneous decision to offer to pay for his education. We learned about what a good young man he is from Jay, Tracy and his Parent Partners, and we are happy to be able to help him learn to help others for the rest of his life. His work will help many others in his community, and it is our hope that Pov, as well as any other budding medical students we are able to provide financial assistance, will begin a tradition of physicians helping others to achieve their dreams.” Dr. Wetherington is the Medical Director at PodPath Solutions and has served on the Saving Susan Board for 4 years. His wife Marty serves on our Tennis Committee.
To say the Green’s and the Wetherington’s are making an impact in Pov’s life would be an understatement. They have made a huge dent in eternity by choosing to serve in obedience God’s word in James 1:27 which says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows.” We, as well as Pov, are so grateful for their commitment.
Pov is almost finished with Medical School and is excited to step out into his country to help those in need. “When I become a doctor, I will use this major to help people who do not have enough money, or the people who live far and need help. Also, through this major I can help them to know about Salvation through Jesus Christ. This is why I want to become a doctor: to help people with flesh, and especially the spirit so they can have life in Jesus Christ.”
Saving Susan, alongside the Green’s and Wetherington’s, are incredibly proud of Pov and can’t wait to see him accomplish his dreams. We all are committed to coming alongside these orphaned children for life to help them achieve their goals, One Child, One Step at a Time.
