A Look Ahead…

Wow! What a wild ride the last few weeks have been! I’d be lying if I claimed that a significant portion of my brainpower and energy over the first part of January hasn’t been consumed with trying to make sense of the events in Washington DC and with the Covid crisis. Sometimes it’s difficult to stay focused and not get weary with all the storms surrounding us!

In the midst of all this, though, I’m genuinely excited about what God has in store for us as a CGI community in 2021. God stretched us in 2020 and I’m sure He’ll continue to stretch us in the coming year. I’m convinced that in the midst of all the chaos, doubts, and difficulties around us, God is purifying us and honing us to become the people he has designed us to be: faithful, strong, and full of His mercy and love for those around us and around the world.  So today I want to share with you a brief summary of what we think 2021 will look like for CGI:

First, our main concern will be to continue strengthening our existing programs. For example, we’re starting classes in Battambang with a brand new cohort of culinary students. Our project to help victims of flooding in Cambodia get their homes and farms back on track will continue throughout the first half of 2021. And in Phnom Penh and stateside, BYTAVI continues to grow sales and keep women and their families employed, even while other clothing companies are going bankrupt during the Covid-related economic upheaval. God has blessed us and sheltered us during the difficulties of 2020, and we will continue to invest in our ongoing programs to keep them healthy and strong in the new year.

Second, we will be rolling out a number of new donor programs. We want to cultivate a deeper sense of community for our supporters here in the United States. In 2021, you can expect to receive more relevant information from us on a more regular basis. We want to help you discern and pursue God’s personal mission for your life. So we’ll be rolling out a number of initiatives and events for our donor community, and offering multiple ways for you to connect more meaningfully with CGI. As one example, we hope to offer Vision Trips to Cambodia (and potentially elsewhere) in late 2021, if God allows and Covid quiets down enough.

Lastly, we are continuing to look for new opportunities that God is opening for us to expand our ministry and build His Kingdom in Cambodia and beyond. We’re excited about the doors he began to open in 2020 and we look forward to building on those pilot programs in 2021, especially as the Covid crisis begins resolving.

Thank you for being on this journey with us! Thank you for your support and your prayers over the years. Thank you especially for your continued faithfulness in the difficult year 2020. I want to encourage you to trust Jesus more and more as 2021 unfolds. 

He is good, He is faithful, and He is with you and me in the midst of it all! 


Yours in Christ,

Todd M. Durell, MD
Executive Director
Center for Global Impact
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