Many people have read ‘Killing Fields Living Field’, the harrowing and uplifting account of the Church in Cambodia. Chris Padley went one better and worked there. Here is a snapshot of her experience.
“ Cambodia, where’s that?” was my first response when OMF suggested that I spend the following year there. Having been born at the end of the horrific Khmer Rouge time and missing the Blue Peter Appeal that everyone else seemed to have watched, I had to admit that I was quite ignorant about the country. I had just finished a music degree and was beginning to explore God’s direction for my life. Cambodia was to be the next step.
After two months language study, I began teaching music in pigeon-Khmer at Phnom Penh’s Royal University of Fine Arts. With two other OMFers, we met with 2-12 Christian students weekly for prayer and bible study. At times, not being able to participate in the Khmer Bible study proved frustrating, but I learnt an importance in the role of encouraging and praying. My time was split between teaching and language learning. After a shaky start, God really helped me with the language. With their script of loops and twirls and their throaty, nasally and rolled-tongue sounds – it was a challenge! I praise God for the friendships and opportunities that came as a result: being invited into students’ homes, attending a wedding, being taught a Khmer instrument, praying with Khmer friends, being involved in a group of factory girls’ Christmas outreach. I also saw four young adults baptized in the local river. A high percentage of the Khmer church is under 25 years old. There is a desperate need for mature Christian Bible teachers, particularly men, to get alongside these young eager Christians.
Life in Cambodia is not easy, but the perseverance and the long-term vision of the OMF team never ceased to impress me. Juggling young children, family back home, pressures of being married, single and widowed, these people were there in obedience to God and with a heart that very much wanted to share Jesus with the people around them. I felt privileged to be a part of that. Cambodia is slowly rebuilding itself and it is exciting to see new infrastructures being developed, but the poor are still poor, AIDS is rampant and many people still have not heard about Jesus. Ultimately, only the Gospel will change this nation. Please pray for God to raise up more godly men and women committed to teaching God’s saving grace.
(Chris Padley served with OMF from July 2001 to July 2002. She is now a member of the London IFES team. OMF has many ministry opportunities in both Cambodia and other countries. See www.omf.org.uk for details).