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Volume. XXXVII, No. 14 Ministering in Kompong Som, Cambodia When I began my theological studies at FEBC, my Pastor and Principal Rev. Dr Timothy Tow asked where I would serve after graduation. At that time, I was still searching and praying for God’s guidance. I replied that my options were open. Rev. Dr Tow then advised me to pray for the third-world countries. After a few months, the Lord placed a burden for Laos in my heart. From that day on, Laos was on my prayer list. In the meantime, I was instructed by Pastor to help at the Indonesian service, which I did till my graduation. At the request of Dr David Cheong, I also assisted with the mission team to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in between my semester holidays. After graduation, I still did not receive any clear indication from the Lord regarding Laos, but I continued praying and waiting on Him. It was then that the door to Cambodia opened for our Korean brethren—Rev. Jonathan Lee, Rev. Moses Hahn and Rev. David Koo—and the urgent need for missionaries there became clear. After much prayer, I consulted Rev. Dr Tow and asked for his advice on Cambodia. He encouraged me to assist our Korean brethren in Cambodia while waiting for an open door to Laos. I immediately e-mailed Rev. Lee to inform him that I was available for Cambodian missions. However, he replied that he had enough workers and referred me to Rev. Koo. When I called Rev. Koo about helping him in his ministry, he responded joyfully and asked me to go over as soon as possible. After gathering as much information as I could about mission work from our B-P missionaries, a date was set for me to be commissioned by the pastors of Life B-P Church. I arrived in Phnom Penh on March 12, 1999. Rev. Lee warmly welcomed me to his mission station and the next morning, I caught a bus to my next destination, Kompong Som, which is about four hours away. Rev. Koo and his Bible students were on hand to greet and welcome me when I got there. On the first week of my stay at Rev. Koo’s mission house, I was given a one-week orientation of the classes conducted and the province churches. The following week, I was told to teach in the Bible school and preach at the churches. Thank God for exposing me to missions in my student days! This gave me the experience I needed to adapt to the various difficulties I encountered, especially in the water, the language and the Cambodian sanitary system. By God’s grace, I managed to overcome culture shock. I praise and thank God for His grace which is sufficient in overcoming every obstacle I face as a missionary. God has been so good to me all my days in Kompong Som. By guiding me each step of the way as I do His work here—pastoring the church members and seeing to their spiritual and physical needs—He has kept me safe and sound. The Lord has given the increase. Over a period of a few months, through weekly evangelism with the student body, the total number of churches has grown to 12. About 200 church members have been baptised within the year. The Cambodian mission field is vast, but manpower and resources are limited. There are still many villages that have not heard of our Lord Jesus. If only our brethren in Singapore were constrained by the love of God to come over as co-labourers to work in His vineyard!
by late Brother Surish Dharmalingam (Reproduced from Life B-P Church Jubilee Magazine, 2000)
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