Cambodia (MNN) – Cambodia wrote much of its 20th-century history in blood. Between Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge, the scars of the recent past run deep.
Hope and healing from the past
Cambodians are a resilient people, observes John Pudaite of Bibles For The World. The ministry launched a scripture distribution project roughly 15 years ago and, “it’s been on our hearts to come back, circle back around and see how things are going.” Today, there is a growing, maturing body of Christ in Cambodia, but at the same time, the country remains one of the least reached countries in the world; just under 2% of the population follows Christ.
Hope infuses that resiliency and makes it an excellent place to plant some seeds. “Franklin Graham is having a ‘Love Phnom Penh’ festival there December 7-8. The local churches have come together in a really strong way around this event. We’re really excited to be partnering with the Graham organization, and along with the local believers, the body of Christ, there in Cambodia.”
In the days since the fall of the Pol Pot regime, Cambodia’s experienced an economic revitalization of sorts, explains Pudaite. “After nearly 15 years, Chinese investment has come in huge and really transformed that country. They’re investing in land, real estate; they’re getting involved in a lot of different aspects of business.”
He goes on to say, “Among those Chinese, there’s a fair amount of Christians. So the Chinese Christians coming alongside this, Franklin Grahams’ Love Phnom Penh’ festival, have decided to do a special outreach to the Chinese people who are in Cambodia, in and around the festival.”
Reaching China through unexpected means
He’s especially excited about this aspect of the project. “Even at a time we hear of all the restrictions and tightening down of things inside China, we continue to work there as many other ministries continue to do. We were very excited to have another opportunity to reach the Chinese people for Christ, and here in the country of Cambodia.”
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