You can help Kim Bunthan bring God’s word to the Kavet ethnic minority.

 

My name is Kim Bunthan. I’m from a Kavet village in northeast Cambodia. As a boy I longed to be able to read and write but there were no schools or opportunities for Kavet people. 

 

The spirits ruled our lives and kept us ignorant, poor and hopeless.

 

Deal or no deal?

 

One year we were hungry for months on end. My brother and I made a 7.5 metre dugout canoe to sell for food. We dragged, pushed and paddled it for days until we reached a town. Nobody would offer us a fair price for it.

 

Finally, a policeman bought our canoe for just a bag of rice. He could see we were desperate and did not want to paddle it home upstream. 

 

In the policeman’s hut I saw a book for the first time. It was a Grade 1 reader. Seeing my excitement, the policeman agreed to sell it to me. I reminded him that I had no money. 

 

He suggested an alternative: “Do you have a chicken?” 

 

At home my mother was reluctant to part with a chicken. What would happen if someone got sick? We needed chicken sacrifices to appease the spirits. I eventually wore her down and she let me trade a chicken for my first book. 

 

Our language can be written!

 

The people who put my language into writing were Christians. In 1998 they began teaching volunteer health workers from each village to read and write. At night the volunteers taught the rest of us. 

 

Now, I can read and write in both Khmer and Kavet. I am the one training volunteer literacy teachers!

 

Jesus makes us wise

 

Literacy and numeracy have ripped open the curtain which stopped us from seeing the outside world and exercising our minds. We can negotiate fair prices for our produce. Our health and nutrition have improved.

 

Best of all we have received the good news about Jesus. Trusting in Jesus frees us from the power of evil spirits. Now we can trade our chickens for rice and medicine!

 

Our Almighty Creator God is gracious. He makes us wise in the way we live our lives.

 

Please pray that God will equip us to teach Kavet people about Jesus in our own language.

 

Kim Bunthan trains literacy workers with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Cambodia.

 

$15,000 will finance the publication of literacy textbooks, manuals, Bible stories and song books in the Kavet language.

You can help pastors like Srey Villa speak the word of God with confidence in rural Cambodia.

 

“My father took me to church but he would not let my mother go. In fact he never took her anywhere. He was a proud, violent and controlling man. I decided not to be like him.”

 

Things changed when Villa’s father died in a traffic accident. “Now my mother was free to go to church. She became a Christian. Because of her faithfulness, my brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and I all decided to follow Jesus.”

 

God gave us a spirit of power and love

 

“At church I was given many opportunities to serve and grow. The youth leader took me to a Bible college in Siem Reap to attend training workshops.”

 

One Sunday Villa’s pastor took him to visit a group of 53 new believers. “They met under a tree at the edge of the forest. Despite violent resistance, a fearless widow had led these 13 families to the Lord. Her name is Khem Rem. I was inspired by her energy and courage.”

 

“When Auntie Rem asked me to be their pastor I said “no”. I had just finished year 12 and married. I wanted to serve God full-time, but not as a pastor. Who was I to take up this responsibility?”

 

Feed my sheep

 

“But when my wife and I read the Bible and prayed together, we realised that we loved these people and wanted to encourage and teach them. In 2013 I agreed to be their pastor part-time and study theology part-time.”

 

“I felt too young to be a pastor. Others thought so too. But Auntie Rem continued to encourage me. She never stops praying.”

 

Jesus be my guide

 

“I have a lot to learn and am keen to benefit from the experience of other Christians. The Bible alone is the word of God, but Christian books give me the skills and confidence I need to serve the church.”

 

“Will you pray that I will mature as a leader and care for my church? To be a pastor I must support and nurture rather than control God’s people. I love my wife and I am proud of her. Pray that together we will share the good news and that I will do the will of my heavenly Father.”

 

 

Srey Villa purchased a package of Khmer-language books subsidised by SparkLit. He pastors an Assemblies of God Church in Skun, Siem Reap Province.

 

$15,000 will enable the publication in Phnom Penh of five new books written in Khmer by local Christians.

 

When our National Director Michael Collie visited Cambodia in 2019, Vann Menghoeun told how reading has sparked and ‘fanned the flames’ of his faith.

 

As a young Buddhist, Menghoeun was prevented from joining a monastery.

 

“I wanted to become a Buddhist monk. But because I have only one arm the head monk said ‘no’. I was not surprised. I knew this taboo was consistent with Buddhist teaching, but I felt angry. I decided to change my religion. I began to study Taoism until I again discovered that having an incomplete body made it impossible for me to enter a monastic order.”

 

Fearfully and wonderfully made

 

But when Menghoeun met Jesus he knew he was welcome.

 

“A Christian friend included me in his social circle. Together we went to the beach for picnics. He invited me to church and gave me a Bible. I am by nature curious, earnest and thorough so I started to read the Bible beginning at Genesis chapter one verse one. God spoke to me when I read Psalm 139:13. ‘For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.’ I was overwhelmed by gratitude and joy. I decided to trust in Jesus.”

 

Books make us strong

 

Menghoeun thanks God for many blessings. “My father was a labourer and couldn’t afford to send me to university, but God enabled me to do tertiary study, have a computer, get a job, marry and find a house.”

 

“Christian books have made me strong. If we want to become more like Jesus we first have to know him. Reading helps us to know and follow Jesus. Christian books help us to understand God’s word and put it into practice. Books are especially useful for young people making big decisions and church leaders teaching and caring for their people.”

 

Sharing the gift of reading

 

“In my spare time I distribute books published in Phnom Penh by Fount of Wisdom. These books are published in the Khmer language for people from a Buddhist background. I sell books in universities and churches. I choose books to complement each conference, lecture or sermon. Before I recommend a book, I read it so I can explain what it will teach us and how it will help us. Once people discover how useful books can be, they ask me what they should read next. They ask me to tell them when I think a new book might be important for them.”

 

“Reading is good for you. Reading is encouraging and makes us strong. Christian books even helped me choose and court my wife. Love and Courtship is a book I can recommend from personal experience! Please pray that books will also help me become a faithful and loving husband and father.”

 

For five years, Vann Menghoeun has distributed books published by Fount of Wisdom in Cambodia.

 

$3000 will enable the publication of a new book written in Khmer by a local Christian.

There was a surprise in store for Tithmakara Chim at the Fifth National Book Fair in Phnom Penh.

 

Would people throw stones at us? Or provoke an argument? Fount of Wisdom had never exhibited at the National Book Fair so we didn’t know what to expect. We were excited but apprehensive. Experience has taught us to be cautious. We decided to pray.

 

We registered at the National Library and were given a plan of the fair. Our booth was number 24. We were delighted to discover that Alliance Literature, another Christian publisher, also had a booth. We would not be alone.

 

Stand up

 

Which books should we display? Which books would sell? How would we staff the stall? I brought these questions to the Fount of Wisdom team. I consulted our partners and sponsors. Together we started planning.

 

On the evening before the fair opened, Sipha Phon, our sales supervisor, and I went to check our booth. Compared to the other stalls our booth seemed plain and unappealing. We decided to print a banner. There was no time to create a new design, so we enlarged the cover of a brochure. This features our mission statement and would make it clear who we are and what we stand for: “We publish and distribute biblical and socially relevant literature in order to strengthen church leaders, build up believers and help the church grow in faith, love and service to Jesus Christ for the glory of God.”

 

I recalled Jesus’ promise in Matthew 10:32: “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”

 

Tell me more

 

Visitors were undeterred by rain or thronging crowds. Everyone saw that we are a Christian publisher. Some ignored us but most were interested in our books and asked questions about Christianity. Young adults and students found our books about love and managing money especially attractive.

 

People were surprised to see Christian books in Khmer. “It is good to know that Christians publish literature in our language. I thought that Christians only have the Bible.”

 

Buddhist monks were curious about Christianity and intrigued by our theological titles. One monk asked for a Bible. I took him to the Alliance Literature booth where he could buy one.

 

A turning point

 

The three-day book fair exceeded our wildest expectations. We were constantly engaged in conversation and sold over 500 books. There is a great hunger for God’s word. This was a turning point for Fount of Wisdom. Next year we will book two booths!

 

Please pray that we will reflect the character of the God we serve. Pray that God will use our books to show people in Cambodia the true hope found in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to change lives.

 

 

Tithmakara Chim is the director of Christian publisher Fount of Wisdom in Phnom Penh.

 

$10,000 will enable the publication in Phnom Penh of five new books written in Khmer by local Christians.

You can help Dith Savy touch hearts and minds with books written by Cambodian Christians.

 

My husband’s family closed their eyes and spoke to someone I couldn’t see. “What are you doing?” I asked.

 

“We are praying to the Lord Jesus.”

 

I looked at my husband Sal with horror. I had married a Christian! We could all be killed for this. I was bound to honour my mother’s choice of a husband. But how could I possibly live with this man?

 

Do you have a daughter?

 

On the track leading south from our village my mother was greeted by a stranger. “Do you have a daughter?”

 

This was peculiar—but then we lived in peculiar times. “I have four daughters” my mother replied. My mother invited the stranger home and showed her photos.

 

“Last night I prayed for a wife for my son. In a dream God showed me the path to this village.” The woman took the four photos home and arranged them on a table. Her family prayed. A son and daughter pointed to my photo. “This is God’s choice.” Their brother accepted the decision.

 

When the woman returned to our village to meet me she was appalled. To get rid of lice I had shaved my head. A hairless daughter-in-law was out of the question. The deal was off. When he heard the news, her son protested. “The hair will grow back!”

 

His mother was unmoved. “Well, go and see for yourself.”

 

He was shy. We exchanged a few words. We met a second time a year later on our wedding day. I noticed that he didn’t eat the food my family had offered to our Buddhist idols. I was seventeen years old.

 

My husband was different

 

I decided to be strong and defiant and resist this foreign religion. I ignored my husband’s talk about Jesus. I didn’t want to know. I was resentful and mean to him.

 

I compared my husband’s family to my own. My father was a despot, my mother a slave and their children silent. My husband and his family were generous and gentle. They listened to me patiently. Sal was not like my father. Despite my abuse of him he loved me. He told me I was beautiful.

 

Three months after moving to my husband’s village the Khmer Rouge killed my family. I was safe with my husband’s family but I felt alone and empty. My brother-in-law prayed with me and told me that Jesus could save me and give me hope. After three days I accepted Jesus.

 

I am no longer alone

 

My husband was forced to carry rocks. I worked in rice paddies. We saw each other once a month.

 

I missed my mother. One day while planting rice I was overwhelmed by sorrow. Expressing dissatisfaction or sadness was not permitted. Because it showed that a person might be unhappy with the regime, crying was fatal. So, I went into the forest to cry. For the first time I tried to pray. As I lay on the ground sobbing I felt a big hand touch me. My husband had told me many times that Jesus loves me but now I knew that God was with me. I no longer felt alone. Hope grew in my heart. I now knew that I could endure the chaos and the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge.

 

My brother-in-law had a Bible. He had removed the covers and hidden it in a pillow. I started to read the Bible and discovered that God speaks to us. I wanted to know everything that God says to us in the Bible.

 

How can I serve the Lord?

 

With the fall of Pol Pot we returned to Phnom Penh. I followed the example of my sister-in-law and trained to become a Sunday school teacher. A missionary saw me taking notes. She asked me to write lessons for teachers and students. I wrote eight volumes of lessons. Despite being crippled by rheumatoid arthritis I became an editor in 1993 and in 2004 began working with Fount of Wisdom publishing house. My testimony was published in 2004 and I am currently editing the Khmer edition of the New Bible Dictionary.

 

My husband is a pastor of the Khmer Evangelical Church and since 2001 I have been the president of its women’s ministry.

 

I love books. Books are so important because they can be read by present and future generations. Books transmit the experience of one generation to another.

 

Please pray that God will give me good health and wisdom so that the books I write and edit will be a blessing to many people.

 

God blessed me through my husband. God is good. All the time.

 

 

Dith Savy is married to Pastor Young Sal. She is president of the women’s ministry of the Khmer Evangelical Church and an editor with Christian publisher Fount of Wisdom.

 

$10,000 will enable the publication in Phnom Penh of five new books written in Khmer by local Christians.

You can help pastor Buth Nhorn lead believers to maturity in Christ Jesus.

 

I killed many, many people. I laid countless land mines. I built and ran an orphanage for the purpose of raising child soldiers. As a Buddhist, I calculated that I was beyond redemption. What could I possibly do to compensate for what I had done?

 

I was once a warrior

 

On 18 March 1970, young Vietnamese guerrillas with black teeth marched me into the forest to join the Khmer Rouge. Because I was opposed to Lon Nol and loyal to Prince Norodom Sihanouk I stayed. In fact, I became a commander and even continued fighting underground after the overthrow of Pol Pot in 1979. I survived numerous injuries. As you can see, my body bears the scars of battle.

 

At first Reth resisted my advances. But in 1978 we married. The following year we escaped to Thailand. In 1987 my wife became ill and for a whole year could not straighten her fingers. A neighbour took her to a church. They began praying for my wife and after six months she was healed. Reth became a Christian and even hosted a Bible study in our home. In 1991 we returned to Cambodia.

 

Too good to be true

 

I rejected this foreign religion and was cruel to my wife. Yet, the more I abused her the more she loved me. She returned good for evil. This seemed too good to be true. But, why would she lie to me? I watched my wife carefully. For eight years she prayed for me.

 

One day I beat my wife until she was unconscious. But still she loved me. I was a drunkard and a killer. My life was a disaster.

 

Secretly, I began to read the Bible. I was confident that I would finally expose my wife’s delusion. When I read John chapter three, verse sixteen, I was overwhelmed by God’s love. I knew I was sinful. I wanted a new life. I too believed.

 

For several months I questioned every pastor I met. I needed to know, was I forgiven or not? If we believe, God will forgive us. This is what the Bible says. I believe in God’s promise.

 

At church I played the guitar and studied the Bible. I love the way that the Abundant Life course helped me to understand the Bible. In 1999 I was made a pastor.

 

Reading makes us wise

 

When I look at my congregation, I can tell who is reading and who is not reading. The faith of Christians who read is real and active. Reading Christians are growing Christians; they are learning and doing things. I encourage Christians to read. Books enable us to benefit from the experience of Christians in other times and places. I know that the Holy Spirit uses books to encourage us and help us to grow more like Jesus.

 

I want to be faithful and obedient to Jesus. Please pray for me.

 

 

Buth Nhorn pastors the Phsar Leu Church and distributes Fount of Wisdom books in Siem Reap.

 

$15 will subsidise the purchase by a pastor in rural Cambodia of a three-volume book package.

You can help Channa Touch feed the minds of pastors in Cambodia.

 

My mother resisted invitations to go to church. But one day, to appease her sister my mother sent me instead.

 

Everything about it was weird and unacceptable. After the service, there was a meal. I was given rice, tracts and a Gideons New Testament. I ate the rice and threw away the tracts but I kept the New Testament. This book was my passport to a weekly meal.

 

After three months I started to read it. I noticed that the New Testament constantly refers to older stories. The pastor said that the Old Testament was not for beginners. First I had to read the New Testament.

 

I wanted the whole Bible

 

I was finishing secondary school and preparing to be a Buddhist monk. By reading the whole Bible I was confident that I would expose faults and prove that this foreign religion was a fraud. So I stole a Bible from the church.

 

While reading Romans the Holy Spirit lovingly taught me that I was sinful and unable to save myself from my rebellious spirit. I knelt down and asked Jesus to forgive me. I fell in love with God’s Word. By day I devoured the Bible. By night I slunk outside and preached to the trees.

Free at last

 

Hinduism and Buddhism came to Cambodia thousands of years ago. They’re in our blood. They permeate and determine everything.

 

No one wants to become a stranger to their own family and be mocked and rejected. But I now knew that I had been released from a trap. I had been living in fear and trusting in lies. ‘Perform this ritual and you will be protected.’ ‘Make this offering and you will prosper.’ ‘After enough reincarnations you will become perfect.’ I saw that all this achieved nothing.

 

Jesus gives us freedom from fear and a full and meaningful life. Even if they killed me, no one could take this away from me. I couldn’t get away from this truth.

 

My wife never stops reading

 

God has blessed me with a wonderful wife. Together with the Holy Spirit we pastor a church in Tameang village. Books give us access to other people’s experience and enable us to help people with problems that we have never faced.

 

I am often asked to preach spontaneously, without warning. People ask me, ‘How can you do that?’ I reply, ‘I am always prepared, because I am always reading.’ If I don’t expose myself to new ideas I will run out of things to say. Every time I read I discover something new.

 

To apply biblical truth to daily life I always tell stories. People ask me ‘Where do all these stories come from?’ I say, ‘Here! Read this book!’ If they read they can know more than me. I encourage my people to read. If necessary I pay for the books myself. I want them to grow and to work for God’s kingdom.

 

We are here but for a short time. To advance God’s kingdom we must multiply ourselves.

 

Channa Touch and his wife Simy Srean pastor the Heartland Church and distribute Fount of Wisdom books in Kampong Cham Province.

 

$55 will subsidise the purchase by a pastor in rural Cambodia of a $70, eight volume theological and pastoral library.

You can help Tithmakara Chim restore education, knowledge and trust with Christian books.

 

The damage done by the Khmer Rouge in a short time will take a long time to repair. During its three-and-a-half-year rule the Pol Pot regime destroyed everything. They burned every book, killed every teacher, and closed every school. No one trusted anyone any more. Thirty-six years later we still suffer from an acute shortage of teachers, books and writers. Our literacy rate is very low. While the number of Cambodians who can read is increasing, few are in the habit of reading.

 

Everything we do is a first

 

This is a challenging climate in which to publish Christian books. Pastors are hesitant to write. So, Fount of Wisdom relies heavily on translations. Printing books is expensive and capital intensive. Distribution is complicated.

 

The challenges are daunting but the possibilities are endless. We are publishing in the Khmer language the first Bible commentaries, the first Bible handbook, the first Bible dictionary. Everything we do is without precedent. We persevere because with books we can proclaim the Good News and equip and train pastors and leaders.

 

Where there are no teachers

 

Many pastors have only a Bible and have yet to learn how to trust other books that will help them to teach and care for their people. While most pastors will never have the opportunity to study, we can provide them with training and teaching resources. With your support we have been able to publish and distribute suitable books to pastors in rural areas. They thank you for your solidarity.

 

Long-term encouragement

 

During his two visits to Phnom Penh, SparkLit director Michael Collie began to understand the challenges we face and help us to find ways to become independent and sustainable. We are determined to do what is necessary to grow and to serve the church in Cambodia. Introducing changes and applying new ideas is not easy. Michael has encouraged us to find Cambodian solutions to Cambodian problems. We are helping to recreate our national literature. We are doing this with Christian books. This is a long-term project. SparkLit understands what we are trying to do and shares our commitment. We appreciate that. It is encouraging to know that we are not alone.

 

Will you continue to support us by praying, training our staff and investing in local writers? Not just this year or next year but long term? Please pray that our books will enable Christians to become more like Jesus.

 

Tithmakara Chim directs Fount of Wisdom publisher in Phnom Penh.

 

$6,000 will enable Fount of Wisdom to publish five new books written by Cambodian Christians.