I have had many new experiences during my time here in Cambodia. One of my most recent and memorable was attending a funeral. While funerals are often very tragic events I felt the story I heard of God’s faithfulness and the power of love needed to be shared, especially given it’s historic significance. I think most of you will understand why I haven't posted any pictures on this blog out of respect for the family.
The Ministry Team with Samaritan’s Purse Cambodia received a call notifying us the mother of one of our young Cambodian staff had passed away. The team here at Samaritan’s Purse is very close and cares for one another, so the Ministry Team prepared to travel to the next province to attend the funeral. Since I am working with the Ministry Team, I was asked to be a part of the delegation going to visit the family.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when we arrived at the funeral. I knew that funerals in Cambodia could last for three days or longer as the family waits for relatives to make the long trip from other provinces. One thing I definitely wasn’t expecting was to see old friends! When we arrived at the funeral and stepped out of the truck, we were greeted by the son of the lady who passed away. Moses was not only a Samaritan’s Purse staff, but a friend I met over four years ago on another trip to Cambodia. I was so surprised and excited to see him, but instantly deeply saddened to find it was his mother who had passed away.
We hugged and talked and spent time getting caught up on personal news and life happenings and then Moses invited me to go with him to see his mother. Funerals here take place at the family home, which in this case was a traditional Khmer wooden house on stilts. We climbed the stairs to the one room house and went in to see his mother, who was lying on her beautifully decorated bed. Moses’ brothers and sisters were decorating the casket next to her bed with beautifully colored, decorative material. Moses then introduced me to his father, Witsah. Witsah greeted me as if I were a member of the family and asked me to sit with him and talk. I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to hear.
As the conversation went on I asked Witsah how he met his wife. He described her as a “first generation Cambodian Christian” who owned one of the first translated Khmer bibles. This means she accepted Christ as a result of the first indigenous churches established after the introduction of the Gospel by foreigners in Cambodia in 1923! They actually met just as Pol Pot and the brutal Khmer Rouge regime had taken power. This is of great significance because being a Christian and especially one with a bible was an instant death sentence during the regime! To understand how significant this was you need to know that after the Khmer Rouge regime killed somewhere between 2 and 3 MILLION people in Cambodia, there were only 700 known Christian believers left in the entire nation!
After meeting, the couple decided to get married. Witsah asked the Khmer Rouge village leaders if they could wed. They were granted permission and were told when the next “community” wedding ceremony would be held. Nothing “individual” was done during the Khmer Rouge regime. On the evening of their wedding (weddings were not allowed during the day because everyone was required to work seven days a week) they joined 280 other people in the village center in the dark where 140 couples were married at one time. Witsah said “I looked so hard for her. There were so many people and it was dark. I was afraid I wouldn’t find her before the wedding was finished. But I did!”
With tears in his eyes he then told me how God’s hand protected this amazing lady throughout the reign of the regime. During that time Witsah and his brother Pitsah accepted Christ and subsequently accepted the call to pastor. After the regime fell both men planted churches where they still pastor to this day. Witsah declared the faithfulness of God as he shared with me how each of their children have gone on to serve the Lord in some form of Christian ministry. The miraculous life of a lady from a simple village has produced amazing fruit. I was seeing pioneering Cambodian church history right before my eyes!
As we concluded our visit Witsah asked that we continue to pray for him so he would have strength to continue the work of God. He said his wife had been a daily encouragement for him and on days where he did not think he could continue it had been her who had lifted him up and given him the strength to carry on.
This story is a bit longer than most, but one I felt needed to be told. No matter how hard any earthly leader tries to eliminate the story of Christ, God will always sovereignly protect a remnant. That remnant will often be a simple person who God will use to show His great love, wisdom and power through. I was deeply honored to be sitting in the presence of this precious family hearing their miraculous story.
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