By Syna Lao
In the late 1970s, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians poured into the refugee camps along the border of Cambodia and Thailand. They came to escape the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime and to find a better life. My family and I were among them.
Like most Cambodians, we were persecuted by the Khmer Rogue regime from 1975 to 1979. Although more than 30 close relatives were murdered, my family miraculously survived the Killing Fields. In October 1979, we fled to the Thai border in search of safety.
Inside barb-wired refugee camps, we were surprised to find ourselves in the caring hands of people who came from faraway countries to serve us. We experienced the love of Jesus through Christian workers who used their skills and abilities to help us. As a result, my family and thousands of other refugees came to believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
On May 12, 1982, my whole family (all ten of us) came to America through the sponsorship of a community Bible church in Long Island, New York, which had received help from World Relief. We adjusted to the culture, language and many more changes. I got a good job working as a registered nurse, and life in general was good for me in America. But as I continued to grow closer to God, I knew that He had something even better in mind.
I met Soeuth, and we married on May 30, 1992. Godly friends introduced us to The Christian and Missionary Alliance, and we soon began the process to become missionary candidates. While doing our four years of home service with the Cambodian church in the Bronx, Soeuth was taking classes at Alliance Theological Seminary (ATS) in Nyack, New York, in preparation for future ministry.
In July 1998, we returned to our beloved homeland to serve with the C&MA as career missionaries in Siem Reap Province. We are now at the end of our third term in Poipet, planting churches with the focus on leadership training and discipleship.
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I really enjoyed my time with the Lao family. I realize many Americans don't like Christian missionaries and their work because of the "cultural" impact, but clearly Christian efforts saved countless lives from Pol Pot's Killing Fields. Soeuth pointed out that he does not consider his service a "sacrifice," rather it is an honor and opportunity to serve God and his people.
Their work in Cambodia meets physical and spiritual needs of people in dire need of help. It seems to me there is scarcely a more appropriate candidate for meeting a people's spiritul and physical needs than one "of their own."
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More on Poipet: http://kampucheacrossings.blogspot.com/2005/02/wild-wild-west-of-poipet-cambodia.html
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing their story, Dan. It broadens our understanding of other cultures and shows what a lasting impact relief work can have in oppressive societies.
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