By David Manfred, serving in Cambodia
In recent months, the church in Cambodia has experienced some severe spiritual attacks, particularly against key younger leaders. There is an intensity to these onslaughts that we have not seen before.
Nguon Chamroeun was to lead the “next generation” church in Phnom Penh. The day after his installation service, he drowned at a waterfall. One of his friends was there. He said that although no one else was around, it appeared that Chamroeun was pushed.
Later that month, a leader from one of our churches in the north was walking his cattle home in the evening and was bitten by a snake. He died as a result.
The following day, Tum, a Bible school graduate in northeastern Cambodia, was in a serious motorcycle accident. His leg was badly broken, and he remained unconscious for two days.
Amid this season of attack, we’ve also sensed the Lord is at work, and we have seen many touches of His grace. Although Chamroeun’s body was in the water for more than 20 hours, because it was cool, he looked like the same man we knew and loved. His mother was so thankful to see her son before the ravages of death had disfigured him.
Over the course of three days, hundreds of people attended five different services to celebrate Chamroeun’s life. Many shared testimonies of how he had impacted their lives.
During the first service, 14 young people answered the call to take up his unfinished work. One of them was his fiancée.
Chamroeun deeply loved Jesus and God’s Word, was gifted in discipling university students, and had an excellent mind—he was one of the finest followers of Christ I have ever known. Please pray that God will raise up hundreds more to take his place. Also, pray for God’s comfort for Chamroeun’s family, fiancée, and friends.
“I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).