One recent Saturday morning, I was back at my local Parkrun. As usual, at the finish line I was greeted by Frank. “How was Cambodia?”

“Exciting!” I told Frank that I had spent two weeks in the forests of northeast Cambodia. I visited Christian literacy teachers and teacher trainers working among the Kavet people. I was inspired by their dedication and enthusiasm. I attended their classes and ate in their homes. I saw how they were empowering individuals, transforming villages and elevating an entire ethnic minority.

“And sobering.” The Kavet people suffer from malnutrition. The men are five feet tall and the average life expectancy is 45 years. The Kavet are subsistence farmers. They hunt and gather fruit and nuts in the forest. In clearings, they cultivate rice and cashew trees. They raise pigs, ducks and chickens, but can’t afford to eat them. They sacrifice their live animals to appease the spirits. The Kavet people are paralysed by fear and chaos, and tormented by spirits, ghosts and bad dreams.

Frank’s eyes widened. “That’s appalling! What can be done about it?”

I hesitated. In my mind there was a clatter of falling dominoes. My conviction surprised me as much as it surprised Frank. “Unless they believe that Jesus rose from the dead, nothing can be done.”

…

On Easter Sunday I visited a Kavet church. On a bamboo platform beneath the house next to the church, a woman lay dying. Mourners gathered. The village shaman had been summoned.

As I was making myself as comfortable as I could on the timber floor, someone whispered in my ear, “Can you preach?”

I got to my feet and stood next to my two interpreters. One interpreter translated from English to Khmer. The other translated from Khmer to Kavet. I introduced myself and prepared to preach as the story of the women at the tomb from Luke 24:1–12 was read in Khmer and retold in Kavet. Together, we walked through the passage.

“Jesus is risen! Today, I want to share with you three gifts of the resurrection.”

My interpreters conferred and then looked at me. “Can we say ‘fruit’ instead of ‘gifts’?”

“Of course. That’s much better. Here are three fruits of the resurrection!”

“First, because Jesus is risen we do not need to fear death. Jesus conquered death. Jesus is alive. Where Jesus has gone, we will follow. Jesus has prepared a place for us and is waiting for us.”

Next door, people began to wail. The neighbour had died.

“Second, because Jesus is risen, we do not need to fear dead people or spirits. Through him all things were made. Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus is more powerful than the spirits. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the boss of everything.”

“Third, because Jesus is risen, we are never alone. Jesus is alive. Jesus is the perfect friend. Jesus knows the worst about us but loves us just the same. Jesus promised to be with us always.”

“Are there any questions?”

Yes, there were.

“Who made the evil spirits?”

“If I am a Christian, why are ghosts still so terrifying?”

“Every night, I have bad dreams. What is God trying to tell me? Should I obey the dreams?”

…

This is the natural state of humanity. The only reason Frank and I are not tormented by spirits, ghosts and bad dreams is because we have ancestors who believed that Jesus rose from the dead. And that changed everything.

Today, in the West, we enjoy the residual fruits of the gospel. But, as every gardener knows, there are no fruits without roots. If we do not believe that Jesus rose from the dead, this is not sustainable. Indeed, the epidemics of anxiety, addiction, loneliness and tribalism gripping Western societies suggest that we are rapidly returning to a pre-Christian culture of fear and chaos.

Our project partners believe that Jesus rose from the dead. And that is changing everything.

Michael Collie is the National Director of SparkLit. Please pray that he will encourage our partners with fresh stores of joy, creativity and wisdom.

You can help Mok Sophanny communicate the saving grace of Jesus to a new generation.

I was born in December 1979, nine months after the defeat of Pol Pot.

I grew up in a land without books. The Khmer Rouge had burned every book. They killed every teacher. They closed every school.

When I was ten, I began working with my father. During the rainy season, we rose at 3 am to take our buffalos out to graze before ploughing the rice fields. We finished before dawn and avoided the heat of the day. In the dry season, I followed my father to the coffee shop where he reminisced with other war veterans. Their stories of escape and survival transported me to distant events and places.

Our neighbour had the only radio in our village. At midday, I begged him to turn up the volume so I could hear the serialised book reading. Our school had few books. My friends and I would borrow a book and sit together under a tree to read it. We took it in turns to read aloud until we finished the book.

My favourite subject was geography. I dreamed of travelling and exploring the world. In order to become a pilot, I concentrated on mathematics and physics. However, during my final year at school I realised that no matter how hard I studied, flying would remain a fantasy.

Surprised by joy

At university in Phnom Penh I studied literature. I ­graduated with a degree in literature and a diploma in ­pedagogy. I began teaching Khmer and English literature at a secondary school in Siem Reap. I love teaching. Awakening young minds to the power of words and stories is thrilling.

During the school holidays, a friend got me a job teaching foreigners the Khmer language. Cambodia was in ruins and our future was bleak. Why did these foreigners want to live in my country and learn my language? I watched them closely. I was envious of their joy and sense of purpose. I confronted them: “Why have you come to my country?” The foreigners had come to Cambodia to tell me how much Jesus loves me. I was gripped by the good news and overwhelmed by this same joy and purpose.

Powered by purpose

I have always kept a journal but now I have something to write about. My people are hungry for hope. Believers need to grow and mature. Without firm foundations we are so easily deceived and swayed.

This year, at a Fount of Wisdom workshop for writers conducted by Michael Collie, I learned how to write from the heart for young readers. I learned to write with empathy and grace. I now have the opportunity to help write a series of books for teenagers about sex, friendship, vocation and relating to parents.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit will use these books to show young people the joy and purpose that only Jesus can give.

Mok Sophanny lives in Siem Reap and has participated in two Fount of Wisdom writers’ workshops.

Lean not on your own understanding

There were no schools in our district, so when I was about eight my parents sent me to evening literacy classes in the village. In those days, we saw and heard evil spirits everywhere. After dark, they would shriek like banshees from the treetops. I cursed the spirits as I ran through the forest. I am not even five feet tall; I was even shorter then and certainly not big enough to fight a wild animal or a ghost. I was too young to appreciate the opportunity for an education. Instead of going to the literacy class I watched videos. I couldn’t pay, so I climbed a tree to see the screen. 

We were empty-handed

We were cursed

When I went to Phnom Penh to study at university, I could no longer help my father, so he began to plant fruit trees and grow crops. My landlady in Phnom Penh was a Christian and every Sunday she took me to church. The pastor explained how the Christian God created all things and came to earth to pay for our sins and rescue us. Jesus did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. This answered many of my questions, so I began to read and study the Bible. After two years’ research and thinking, I made Jesus my Lord and Saviour.

After graduating with a degree in business administration, I joined the production team at Voice of New Life Radio. I received training in journalism and was asked to edit scripts that had been translated from English. When one of the translators told me that Christian publisher Fount of Wisdom was looking for an editor, I prayed for one week then applied for the job. 

We moved to the village when I was 13 years old. While walking to our plot in the forest I searched for wild pigs, porcupines, monkeys and pythons to sell. Still, my family often went hungry. With envy I watched the other children go to school.

When YWAM came to choose literacy teachers, the village leaders recommended me. My parents were proud of me, but I was surprised. I didn’t know how to read Kavet at all. The YWAM staff encouraged me, “If you can write your name, we can teach you.” I joined my first literacy teacher training workshop in 2019, and learned to read and write Kavet.

Now I am planting churches in three villages. I begin by teaching English and Bible stories to children. We start sitting on the ground until a parent invites us to use their home. One family offered to sell us land so we could build a simple residence and classroom. This is where we meet each Sunday.