Before we began ministry, our contact wanted us to learn about the Cambodian culture. We were told we were going to visit the “killing fields,” which I’d never heard of.
Immediately after the Cambodian Civil War, the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979) killed and buried those that were suspected of having connections with former or foreign governments and professionals and intellectuals.
There are an estimated 20,000 mass grave sites and somewhere between 1.7 million to 2.5 million victims, which includes those who died of disease and starvation. As we walked in Choeung Ek, words could not express the pain and hurt that we all felt. We walked on the paths that the victims last walked. To think that countless men, women and children were killed in the very field where we were standing was unbearable. A burning desire to reach the people surfaced as we learned more and more about the culture.
We were given the opportunity to reach out to those lost and searching for hope. We were sent to Kampot to live in a church and love the people in the village. While there, we were able to help the youth improve their drama and dance routines, preach, share our testimonies and take part in home visits where we prayed for people in their homes. Our daily act of living was pumping water from a well, taking bucket baths, hand washing our clothes and burning our trash. We also learned how to fish using bees and their eggs as bait, help the pastor harvest rice, clean the church and help cook our meals. As a team we grew emotionally and spiritually.
We visited a couple’s home and the pastor told us that the husband is hard of hearing. In order to be heard we would have to yell very loud for him to hear us. So we sat with him for a while; a few of us felt this heavy spirit there. Come to find out, the husband says that he believes in our God and the other gods. He is also in charge of the village.
As we sat and the pastor started talking to him and his wife walked in and sat down. She started to tell us that she would like us to pray for healing because the last time the pastor prayed for her she was healed. We asked her if she knew Jesus, she said, “No, I’ve heard of him but I don’t know him.”
We proceeded to tell her about Jesus, how he is the son of God and how he came down to earth to die for our sins so that we can be one with God again. Jesus is our redeemer, our peace, our healer, our comfort and our joy. Jesus is the ultimate healer. We asked her does she want to accept Jesus, she said “Yes.” We asked her, “Do you want to accept him for healing or as your savior?” She said, “Both.” We prayed the prayer of salvation with her and you can see the change in her face.
We were able to give the people hope and joy. Though we left sooner than expected due to some unforeseen circumstances, I would like to believe that we gave the people the hope they were seeking, through our conversations, work and the love we showed them. Cambodia has been one of the darkest places that I’ve visited, and I will continue to pray that hope and peace shall reign in that country. May the ashes be transformed into beauty in Jesus’ name.
This picture was taken by my teammate Kasey! I absolutely love it! Great job Kasey!
