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A Christmas Surprise

A drunken man was walking around our yard talking gibberish. What do you do in a situation like this?

by Syna Lao, an Alliance international worker serving in Cambodia

Naat with his younger sister, Pesey, her son, and Naat's mother

Two weeks before Christmas, weary after ministering all day in a village, my husband, Soeuth, was startled by an unpleasant surprise awaiting him at home. A drunken man was walking around our yard talking gibberish.

What do you do in a situation like this?

Soeuth’s initial thought was to call the police for help. Before he could do so, the man’s elderly mother approached. She told Soeuth that her son, Naat, had been in situations like this many times before.

“No matter what we tried, nothing has worked,” she said. “No one can free him from this bondage except the Lord Jesus!”

Road Trip

Naat (on the far left in the red shirt) celebrates his first Christmas as a new believer.

After consulting by phone with Pastor Dy, a ministry colleague, Soeuth reluctantly agreed to drive Naat and his widowed mother 53 miles to Srae Nouy village, where the pastor lived. Soeuth prayed throughout the hour-and-a-half drive that Naat would not behave violently or interfere with his driving.

After the three arrived in Srae Nouy, Pastor Dy said, “Just leave him here. We know what to do.” Since our family had plans elsewhere, Soeuth returned home.

Late in the afternoon on the following day, we received news that Pastor Dy and several church leaders had gathered around Naat, singing hymns and worship songs to Jesus. This was followed by hours of prayers for deliverance and casting out of demons.

Free at Last!

One of the Christmas services Naat attended, along with the Lao family

Naat is now a new believer in Christ! He prayed to receive Jesus immediately after being freed from the spiritual oppression that had plagued him for so long.

Several days later, Naat returned to our house. This time, he was walking and talking normally. He thanked us for not turning him away, and both mother and son expressed deep gratitude to Jesus.

“It’s just like the story I read recently in the Bible, where Jesus drove out the devils and sent them all into pigs [see Matthew 8:28–34],” Naat’s mother said. “Those evil spirits that tormented my son all these years came out of him, and they all went into a cat!”

Before he left our house, Naat asked if he could have some Christian tracts to read. We gave him a Khmer Bible and a hymnal with specific instructions on where to begin scriptural readings and how to pray.

Looking back, we thank God for having stopped us from calling the police the day Naat wandered into our yard. Had we done so, he would have lost the opportunity to know and receive Christ as his Savior and Lord.

After his deliverance, Naat started attending church and accepted an invitation to join the Christmas celebrations in Srae Nouy and Toul Prich villages. For Naat, his mother, and younger sister, Pesey—along with many other new believers in our community and surrounding areas—this year marked their first Christmas celebration ever. Praise God for His goodness! Continue to pray for them as they are discipled.

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