Phin Phary watched as a stranger approached her mother and father in the hospital. The doctor had just told her parents “If your son survives the accident, he will live with permanent brain damage”. While they were trying to comprehend this devastating information, the stranger started to speak with her parents about a man named […]

Phin Phary watched as a stranger approached her mother and father in the hospital. The doctor had just told her parents “If your son survives the accident, he will live with permanent brain damage”. While they were trying to comprehend this devastating information, the stranger started to speak with her parents about a man named Jesus. Phin Phary’s mother prayed “Jesus if you save my son, I will follow you”. Her son survived. His brain was healthy and four years later, both Phin Phary’s parents were baptised.

Meanwhile, Phin Phary moved from the countryside into the city of Phnom Penh to work in a factory. She enjoyed her work and the income it provided. Phin Phary did not want to leave her job, but her parents asked her to return to her home village and she wanted to honour her parents, so she obeyed them. Back in the village, she realised how involved her parents had become in the community of the Lutheran Church in Cambodia. Her parents asked her to be baptised and join them in the life of the church. She obeyed but she had many questions about this God they were worshiping. She did not enjoy the Sunday worship services and yearned to be back working at the factory.

When she was a practising Buddhist, Phin Phary’s home had six or seven places set up for worship and prayer. When she prayed to Buddha, she was also required to provide an offering to accompany the prayer. Sometimes she received answers, however there were times when she would forget the offering and she would then get a stomach-ache. This way of praying felt poisonous, complicated and messy.

After becoming a baptised Christian, Phin Phary prayed to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, however she did not instantly escape the difficult moments in her life. Phin Phary began a relationship with a man she wanted to marry. She prayed to God “if you want this man to be my husband, please give him to me.” Although sensing God was not pleased with this man in her life, Phin Phary became engaged to him. This was the choice Phin Phary wanted to make, however after making the decision, her heart was troubled. She discovered he was not a nice man, and he did not treat her kindly. Phin Phary prayed to Jesus, rested in his mercy, and broke off the engagement.

One day Phin Phary’s mother told her to pray and ask God if he wills her to go back to working in the factory in Phnom Penh, or begin an internship with the Lutheran Church in Cambodia. Phin Phary did not want the internship, but after she prayed and started work at the factory, she felt lazy and unwilling to work hard. Sensing this was not God’s plan for her life, Phin Phary applied for the internship and was asked by the church to serve their children’s program.

As she began the internship, she worked more closely with the church staff. Phin Phary began to form friendships with those who reminded her of Jesus’ command to not let her heart be troubled. Unlike the surface-level friendships she had had with the factory workers, her friendships with the church members were deep and vulnerable. These were people she could lament with and be honest with when she found it difficult to trust God. These were people who continued to encourage her to rest in Jesus’ loving and faithful presence. She began to notice that when she stopped praying to her Heavenly Father, her heart felt dry and her head felt messy.

Phin Phary had not completed a high level of education and the teaching she had received had not been of a quality standard, yet she was tasked with the role of teaching the children English. The Holy Spirit gave her joy as she met with the children each day and formed a close relationship with them. She began to yearn to share as much as she knew with the children, and to teach them all she was learning about Jesus.

Although Phin Phary still faces challenges, she now has a peace which sustains her when her heart is troubled, and it is this peace which she wants the children in her care to know too.

Many of our partner churches are working in new territory for the kingdom of God; therefore, spiritual attack is their everyday reality. As a member of a congregation, school, or family, or a couple or individual, you are invited to commit to praying for our partners in mission. For regular prayer point updates, go to www.lca.org.au/international-mission/act-now/pray

Read more stories about our partner church in Cambodia at www.lcamission.org.au/category/stories/international-partners/cambodia/