Pastor Chakra*, who is 67-years old, and his 65-year-old wife, Davi*, are fairly typical church leaders of the incredible revival happening in Cambodia. Neither of them has a formal education because they were born into a time of great upheaval, war, and genocide in Cambodia.
Chakra only finished 2nd grade, and his wife, typical of many Khmer women, could not read or write. As the wars swept through their region, Chakra was confronted with a choice: join the Khmer Rouge, the radical communist movement, or die. He chose to live. They were not immune to the violence, though, as both of them lost many siblings and family members in the wars. Like nearly all Khmers, they were Buddhist, and it was deeply tied to their ethnic identity. Both had family members who were Buddhist monks and lay leaders in local temples. “To be Khmer is to be Buddhist” was the prevailing belief.
Yet now, things are changing. Ten years ago, the impoverished couple did what they could to provide for their four children and many grandchildren. Chakra used to make ice cream from coconut milk and sell it to children. He noticed, however, that on Sundays in a village a few kilometers away, there was a large gathering of children attending a “Jesus meeting.” He made his best sales of the week there. Sometimes, the head of the house would buy all his ice cream and give it away to the children. That man also shared with Chakra about Jesus, and he was perplexed by this new religion. It was nothing like Buddhism. Why were the children so happy – playing, singing, and eating ice cream? It was all very strange to him.
One day, the pastor asked Chakra if he wanted salvation from his sins. Reflecting on his life, he asked what he needed to do. The man, a simple village pastor, prayed with Chakra, and he just had a feeling in his heart that Jesus was the true God. When he shared this with his wife, she rejected the idea immediately, saying it was foolish. However, over the next couple of years, she observed how Chakra’s heart, disposition, and character were changing for the better. She said she had always wanted salvation from her sins, and eventually, she too accepted Christ.
Chakra, knowing his wife well, insisted that she read the Bible. But she couldn’t read. She would stare at the words, and he would try to sound them out with her. Slowly, each day, she learned to read a few words, then a sentence, then a paragraph, and then a chapter. Soon, she was reading the Bible like a high school student. It’s one of those simple miracles often observed among new rural believers. Today, she reads the Bible for hours every day.
Chakra insists on doing most of the housework and caring for their four grandchildren who live with them, so Davi can study the Bible and help him as he shares the Gospel with others and teaches small groups in emerging churches. They have no regular employment; they’ve never met a missionary and don’t know any big-city pastors. They only know Christians and pastors like themselves: simple, uneducated village people who talk about Jesus, pray for people’s needs, and see Jesus changing their communities one home at a time.
One of their friends, who leads another group of believers an hour away, told them about Antioch Institute, which trains pastors across the country and was willing to hold training in their province. They jumped at the opportunity and have been studying for the last two years. Every two months, they attend pastoral training that includes biblical teaching, practical ministry, and spiritual disciplines like Bible study, evangelism, praying for healing, and listening to God.
When asked about the value of Antioch Institute, Chakra and Davi said, “We have started three new churches and baptized more than 20 people in the last year.” When encouraged to raise up leaders in their new congregations, they immediately pointed to their disciples who are also being trained by Antioch Institute trainers. Through such simple people, the church continues to grow and spread across Cambodia. The Holy Spirit continues to pour out His blessings and miracles on the Cambodian church, which has come close to extinction many times but now is changing the trajectory of the nation. As they shared where they had shared the Gospel and their plans to start new churches in two more villages, it became clear that they had systematically (without even trying) saturated their entire district with the Gospel, near the Vietnam border. Maybe they will even send missionaries into Vietnam.
Davi added that, although she has never faced persecution, she would never persecute anyone else for their religion. And even if she does face persecution in the future, even if it’s from her own family or community, she would never turn her back on Jesus Christ.
