There is a brother in the Lord at the Phnom Penh Church who was baptized about 3 years ago. He has been married for about 5 years, and his wife is the adopted daughter of an American missionary couple.  They live with the missionaries, and they have 2 lovely daughters too.  Every morning they have devotions together and attend Sunday worship regularly.  This brother works in a factory as a cook's helper with low wages; however, they are happy because they have close bonding as a family.

Recently, I felt a little strange because I noticed that this brother did not pay much attention in the worship services.   Most of the time, he would go outside during worship, and quickly left the church after the service with his wife and daughters, without staying long to fellowship with others.  This brother gave me the impression that he likes to have fun and could not stand boring stuff; so I thought he might be bored by the sermons or the program.

Last Sunday, we had a guest speaker to preach at the church.  He shared about the devil, who is the father of lies and deception.  He encouraged us not to fall under his tricks.  After the worship service, this brother came to me and told me about his struggles.  I feel that his story is not an extraordinary one, but it is very real.  His coworkers cheat the factory regularly by keeping some of the rice to sell for their ‘fringe' benefits. He has participated in this - maybe due to peer pressure.  Actually this is quite common in Cambodia, as most people take advantage of their work place.  However, I think that the Holy Spirit was touching his heart and he had struggled about this for these months.  This struggle would not let him attend worship while pretending nothing had happened.  Normally, Cambodians do not like Christians, especially national Christians, because they are considered as ‘betrayers' of the national religion.  On the other hand, some Christians follow worldly ways and take advantages for themselves, which makes non-Christians think that they are hypocrites, or Christianity is nothing special. 

This brother told me that he had decided to tell his coworkers that he would not cheat the factory with them anymore.  Consequently he may face hardship and malice from his coworkers.  It is not easy for him because he has very few friends in Phnom Penh, plus those ‘fringe' benefits really made living easier, especially as the cost of living in the city keeps increasing rapidly.  I admire this brother because he has the courage not only to say ‘no' to the bad deed, but also to challenge the whole work ethic culture here in Cambodia.  Some may think he is a fool, and some may even threaten him if he does not ‘cooperate' with what they do.

I encouraged him that God is trustworthy and faithful; He will open an outlet for us to face the difficulty if we stand firm in our faith, even though the consequences may not be positive.   It is always easier to say that than to act on it, especially when all the people around you have a totally different perspective.  However, God says in Matthew 5:10, ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'

As a foreigner, it is easier for me to say ‘no' to something that I think is against the teachings of the Bible because the local people will also accept that we are ‘different.'  For the local Christians, they always face challenges from their relatives, friends, colleagues and the authorities if they stand firm for God.

Please pray for the local Christians in Cambodia that God will protect His precious children from temptation and   evil.

Prayer points

1. Praise that this brother and his family are willing to stand firm, and pray that God grants him strength to witness to Him in daily life.
2. Pray for the church that it can become a ‘family' to support and encourage brothers and sisters who face challenges everyday.
3. Pray for the preparation work for campus outreach and Vacation Bible School which will be held in August.  There is an American team coming to help. 
4. Pray for the animal raising project in Coconut village that has had around 10 piglets die.  May God grant the local committee members patience and hope.
5. Pray for the funding of development projects since the loss of the piglets leaves a deficit.