Gospel Hope and Healing in a Cambodian Village

A sick day can spell disaster for any rural family in Northern Cambodia.  That’s why Sokha was gripped by fear when her working husband fell ill.  She watched his limbs swell severely—a condition that worsened for over a year.  Desperate for a cure, the couple spent all their money seeking help to no avail.  They watched helplessly as their children went hungry day after day.  With no income and no answers, all the couple could do was cling to survival. 

Their plight was desperate—but not unusual.  In their village, barefoot children play amid garbage-strewn pathways and emaciated dogs.  Sickness is rampant—and its tragic grip can spiral families like Sokha’s into abject poverty.

But then Chamreun came into their lives.  A house church planter and ministry partner with World Poverty Solutions (WPS)—an outreach of World Challenge—Chamreun knew people in the village.  When she learned of its unsafe drinking water, she helped villagers install a clean-water well.  Then she used her training with WPS to teach people simple ways to prevent water-borne diseases.  Chamreun also shared the gospel from house to house, seamlessly pointing out God’s loving care for people.

Sokha soaked up the message—and she embraced Jesus with joy.  A few nights later, she had a dream that God would heal her sick husband.  When she told this to Chamreun, the women prayed for his healing—but he dismissed them saying, “I’ve tried all kinds of medicine.  How can your prayers help?”

Then, two days later, his swelling dissipated.  The husband put his faith in Jesus—and he threw out all the wine that mired him in alcoholism.  Sokha testified to Chamreun with tears of joy, “We still face many unpaid debts—but God will meet our needs.  We will always turn to prayer.”

In a village dominated by witchcraft and sorcery, joyful praises now radiate from a house church where 10 new Christians gather each Monday morning.  Thanks to your prayers and support, impoverished villages like this one are seeing their destinies change with gospel hope and healing.  If you’d like to help, make a donation using our secure online form.  Your gifts are helping transform some of the world’s most impoverished communities, in Jesus’ name!