Connecting Prayer Webs in Cambodia
“All over Cambodia, there are many prayer groups but only in the different churches”—Pastor Paulerk, one of Cambodia’s senior Christian leaders and a survivor of the Pol Pot regime, commenting on the country’s prayer movement.
Cambodia, a deeply traditional Buddhist country, is infamous for the genocide of almost 2 million people during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. The capital city of Phnom Penh became a ghost town, most citizens fleeing to the provinces or the neighboring countries. Those who were not able to escape were driven to communal labor fields.
During those dark times, only about 200 Christians were known to have stayed in the country. People who came to the Lord kept their faith secret. Many received Jesus Christ as savior in the refugee camps at the border with Thailand. Underground churches of 4-5 people started to form and spread.
The tragic period was followed by 11 years of internal conflict among political groups, requiring a United Nations intervention in 1990 to start the country on the road to democracy.
At that time Christians gained the freedom to assemble. Churches were given permission to hold services. From 10 known churches, Cambodia now has over 2,000 registered churches and 300,000 Christians. There are many independent house churches meeting in remote areas.
Throughout these growing years, prayer has been the lifeline of the Church in Cambodia. For a country that is still healing from the wounds of wars, there are small, scattered groups forming tiny webs of prayer, interceding for the salvation of the nation.
In 2016, EAM held a consultation with 8 prayer networks for the 5K Movement, which is the mobilization of 5,000 churches to engage in intercession for the Indo-China region. Comprising the 5 mainly Buddhist countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Cambodia, Indo-China is the largest Buddhist bloc in Asia. West Malaysia, the 6th country, is majority Muslim.
The leaders of the prayer networks recognized that the Body of Christ in Cambodia need strong interconnections among the few and far-between prayer groups scattered in each province, to form one voice on behalf of their nation and the nations of Indo-China.
They worked out among themselves a resolve to overcome deeply-rooted cultural practices that hinder cooperation, and move forward with the vision of reaching the 250 million people of the 5 Buddhist countries in Indo-China.
Let us in prayer and constant remembrance strengthen the leaders of the prayer networks as they face the complex demands of bringing the tiny webs of prayer groups in Cambodia into connection with each other, to form a united body that intercedes for the nation and the whole of Indo-China.
A Beautiful Dream from Learning ABC
“During a visitation one day, the parents shared that their children were praying before meals, before going to bed and even praying for them when they’re sick.” This account came from Buddhist parents, retold in the annual report of the Functional English Center in Cambodia, more endearingly called the FEC.
More than 4 years ago, such testimony was only a dream as we prayed for the children of Cambodia.
In mid-2014, we held a week-long English camp in a poor Buddhist village in Siem Reap where people wanted nothing to do with the Christian faith. Some 50 children sat on old plastic mats under the shade of trees in a vacant lot. They intently listened to visitors teaching them the English alphabet, songs and stories. Pleased to see their children having fun while learning, the parents wanted their children to learn more in this kind of program.
So at the start of the academic year in October 2014, the Functional English Center also inaugurated its program of teaching English integrated with Christian values, health and hygiene. More than 60 children, ages 4 to 9 years old, were brought by their parents to the house of a pastor.
The energy of the children challenged the young staff but they remained diligent and patient, loving the children more each day.
Staff visits to children’s families helped strengthen the parents’ trust in the Christian school and they allowed their children to be taught about Jesus. Children’s voices and noises, laughter and cries filled the air on weekdays, until the first 30 children came for Sunday school, making the center a lively place 6 days a week.
Diligence and patience paid off. A mother infected with HIV decided to trust Jesus. Through times of physical weakness, she proved that her life was in the good hands of the Great Physician. Her family became the first members of Pathway Church, formed as new believers come to worship and grow in the Word together.
Ten regular members joined an outreach team. Twice a month they visit a village on the Cambodia-Thai border, 151 km from Siem Reap. Twenty children and 10 adults had begun to gather for Bible study and worship.
In its 5th year, FEC’s enrolment has grown to 150. In answer to prayers, FEC moved to space with more facilities for Nursery, Kinder 1, Kinder 2 and Level 1 classes at daytime, and Levels 2 and 3 at night for older children. A Friday night Bible study has begun for young teenagers.
The children work hard as the foreign staff teach without a translator. “The children are improving in their communication and reading. Sometimes if it is really needed we seek help from other kids who can now interpret. There are 3 students from Level 2 assisting us in Nursery Class. Our goal is to develop more translators,” a staff said in her report.
Learning ABCs at FEC is giving way to a beautiful dream—that of children more confident to walk to their future, that of giving Cambodia a new generation founded on the values of Christ and that of a community living in the abiding love of God. The destination is still ahead but God has shown that the dream is reachable because it is also His dream.