Would you believe me if I told you that a formerly Buddhist taxi driver is now the hands, feet and most importantly heart of Jesus in his community? It might sound a bit farfetched, but it's the absolute truth.
Meet Vuthy! Instead of my words I am posting his testimony in his own words here. I have no doubt that once you feel his heart you won't be able to help but to fall in love with him and his ministry like I did!
Dear Friend,
I am Seneon Vuthy from Cambodia . I am 28 years old. I am from a Buddhist family in Kampot province, where my parents go to temples and fortune tellers on a regular basis. When I was 9 years old, I went to Phnom Penh to live with my aunt due to family issues. I returned to Kampot during 2004-2005 as a farmer after having some trouble in the city. I later returned to Phnom Penh where I became a motor taxi driver. In 2006, I started driving a Tuk Tuk- a common means of transportation for foreign tourists in Cambodia . Very often, I drove for many foreign Christian teams visiting Cambodia for outreach. This gave me many opportunities to observe and experience many of their Christian activities, which were all quite different from anything that I had seen in my life! What was very impressive was how they were dedicated to little children everywhere with a tremendous amount of love and compassion. I saw how truly these people loved and cared for those children. Khmer adults in general hardly ever play with children and this was a very special experience for me. Having been touched by their activities, I eventually wanted to be part of all of that!
Though my journey started with pure curiosity of the foreign activities, I got to know Jesus through the experience and I only wanted to learn more and more about Him! I went to church willing to learn and the pastor helped me understand who Jesus truly was. Before I met Jesus on May 17, 2007, I used to drink and smoke heavily, just hanging out. When I accepted Christ as my Savior and got baptized in Sprit, Christ changed me completely! However, change was not enough. I still wanted more of Jesus! That is when I decided to join the Discipleship Training School. Throughout the DTS courses, I learned that our God was good and big enough to provide for all our needs. I experienced how God always provided, and how he was really able to do anything!
A friend shared a vision with me and it confirmed what God had already been showing me. I was to return to my village, but this time with Jesus and His love. More than 2 years ago, I started teaching English to 25 children in my home village right at my parents’ house. The village chief and the entire community of 600 families are now supporting my effort for the children. Right now, there are more than 100 youth coming to learn English and interact with many of the visiting teams for short term mission activities. In the meantime, having been impressed with the change in my life through my relationship with Christ, my parents, brother and sister decided to follow Jesus as well!
Vuthy is one of thee most incredible men of God with whom I have ever had the privilege of living life. What he doesn't mention in his testimony is returning to his village as the only Christian and being shunned. Or his parents repeated refusals to allow him to use their home for his ministry and his persistance in the face of extreme adversity. Or how strange it was for him to teach English for free as the common practice is to charge huge amounts of money per hour for substandard lessons simply because you can due to lack of supply. This man walked into his hometown a crazy man on fire for Jesus willing to be outcast for His sake. Now he leads a team of local young firestarters burning with that same passion leading and loving 100+ kids everyday.
Our last month on The Race was spent serving alongside Vuthy in the absolutely stunning countryside of Kampot Province. His heart bursts with the love of Christ. His only focus and deepest desire is to walk with Jesus while helping others to begin their own journies with Him. Vuthy is an inspiration, a motivation, a brother, someone who I believe in deeply…I could go on and on. I am partnering with his Light of Hope ministry because I support what he is doing wholeheartedly. Something so simple as showing kids genuine love has literally redefined an entire community. Vuthy went from being the only Christian in his entire area to sending out mission teams to network churches in the surrounding provinces.
And this is only the beginning…
