I am amazed by the strength of the Khmer people I’ve had the pleasure to get to know and hear from. I want to share two stories. The first is of my new friend Eunice. She is best friends with my awesome hosts and helps with many of our daily activities.Below she is pictured standing in the doorway of the church. I had her read this before posting to make sure I had the details right.
Sophanit (Eunice) grew up in a poor far out village like some of the ones we have visited. People struggle to have food and an education–life is very difficult. When she was about 15, some missionaries like my group came to her village and she started her faith in Christ after learning from the missionaries. Around that time, she had to quit school to help provide for her family since she was one of five children. She went to work at a clothing factory for very very low wages–about $100 per month. The hours were long and the workers are treated badly with no breaks. Her father was a moto taxi driver and her mother was a housewife. She grew up gathering reeds and sticks and shaving them down to be used for building. She stuck around to help provide for her siblings. One day she was home for lunch and her father was also which wasn’t the usual. She said thank you to Jesus for the food and was slapped hard enough to draw blood, being told not to ever thank her God in front of him. She and her brother went to church together, but did not get to share this with their parents. She worked at the clothing factory for about five years. She would carry with a her a daily devotional book with the book of John. She would read of God’s love and was super encouraged. One time when she was about 20, her dad became ill (because he smoked and drank a lot) and they thought he was going to die. Eunice and her pastor went to pray for her dad, he felt God’s presence in a new and incredible way. He felt that he was healed and he actually got better. He now had faith in Jesus and ended up becoming a pastor himself!! Now Eunice’s family is Christian and her brother is a pastor too, and her dad is still alive today!! Around that time, Eunice was given the opportunity to learn how to be a teacher and she ended up teaching in a village like her own for about 10 years! She was given the opportunity to go back to high school and learn, and she has a huge passion for people. It’s been my extreme pleasure to call her my friend and to serve alongside her! <3
When we stayed in the village a couple days, I shared a preaching about forgiveness and shared some of my hardest things I’ve been able to forgive, with God’s help. We asked the people to share their story and everyone was pretty shy. But one boy came forth to be heard.
He told us that he loves to sing–his dream is to be a singer. His voice is amazing and he sings with such passion. He told us that he is the second of four children. His father is a rice farmer. He is 15 and had to quit school during grade 7 to help provide for his family. His mother left and has not returned (it’s unfortunately very common for either the father or mother to leave and abandon their children). He told us how he hunts for mice and bugs for food for his siblings. How he does odd jobs in the village to help his family. As he told this story, other people talked of how he is a good boy and such a caring brother. He wants to learn English. My teammate Carolyn encouraged him by telling him the story of David, how he is like David, a young man hardworking and humble who aspires to be a singer and she encouraged him to write songs. He sang us two songs. One about a boy who went on the wrong path and disrespected his family and then realizes how Jen messed up and asks for forgiveness and the second is called “I am only your fan” in Khmer. Meeting him was very special.
