March 1, 2009

Connecting the dots

In response to the stirrings of God’s Spirit, six members from Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church in Richardson, Texas, made their first trip to Cambodia in January of 2003.  As evangelism facilitator for Southeast Asia during that time, I became aware of their travel plans and connected them to the leaders of the Khmer Presbyterian Fellowship. Their stated goal for the trip was to identify existing Christian ministries and discern God’s will for engaging in ministry through Cambodian partners. As a result, a partnership with the Khmer Presbyterian Fellowship resulted. Their shared vision is to bring the gospel of Jesus and health care to areas lacking in basic of life—clean water, food, and medical care—through a non-profit foundation called HANDS, which stands for Health and Neighborhood Development Services. As a result, five clinics have been conducted and another has been scheduled for the early part of 2009.

Dr. Thong’s story

Dr. Nidamony Thong tending to mountain villagers in October 2008.

One October afternoon, a Cambodian husband and wife sit under a tree and pray to God for their sick children. Suddenly, in the distance they see a man on a motorbike going up and down, crossing trails and rice fields. They wonder why the motorbike continues to come their way.

“When one of them recognized that it was I who was riding the bike, they all came to greet me and surrounded me with words of praise while they were weeping at the same time. They all said, ‘God did answer our prayers! Our Living God did answer our prayers!’ and they didn't stop on crying. I too began to cry with them, and soon everyone else was weeping without stopping.

“I have never cried for so long, but because of their tears, I too cried with them. After our tears had been wiped away, I started to unpack my medical bag and began to treat them. There are so many of them—200 to 300 patients on just that one day. After that long day of serving these dear farmers and villagers, I was exhausted and I had mixed feelings over those sweet tears. I blessed them and headed home to Phnom Penh.”

Pray for my next trip to Cambodia, March 13 to April 16. I will be meeting with leaders of the Khmer Presbyterian Fellowship and Dr Thong in Phnom Penh. Pray that God would give insight and wisdom into ways we can strengthen and expand this ministry.

Serving together,

Paul Friesen

The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 234