God is providing for church planters in Northern Cambodia through some of the most unusual and marvelous means.

“Creator God,” Daly prayed, “please bless us with meat for our younger brother’s birthday. We have so little, but you give us everything we need day by day, and—”

A piercing scream stopped her cold. 

She leaped to her feet and dashed toward the sound. With ten adopted children around the house, there was no lack of shrieks and shouts, but this one had a tone of terror that cut like broken glass. 

The other children came running to join Daly as she called for whomever had screamed. Finally, the little girl burst from the bushes on the other side of their field, her face locked in horror. 

“Sat pua!” she cried as she ran. “Snake—a big snake!” 

The older boys found sticks and waded into the bush. In the dense grass was a sleek black-scaled body over 10 feet long with a paler chevron pattern on its hooded neck: a king cobra. 

The boys finally managed to kill it with their sticks, and as calm returned, Daly praised God for protecting them all. Then she realized he’d also answered her prayers for birthday food; the snake had plenty of meat on it, and now they had double the reasons to celebrate.

A Life Lifted Up and Led North

Prior to becoming a ministry leader, Daly’s faith went through a series of intense testing. She was married to a non-believer who ultimately decided to leave her, and this was followed by a severe illness and time of deep despair. In that crushing darkness, she nearly abandoned her faith. 

However, God had other plans for her life. He brought spiritual and emotional restoration as other believers poured into her life.

Daly returned to God with whole-hearted passion. Despite continuing to battle with her illness, she felt God calling her to serve in one of the northern provinces. 

Thanks to the multiple wars that have swept the region, this area remains the most landmine-ridden provinces in Cambodia; there are few churches, and desperate poverty is widespread. 

In faith, she went anyway, and God provided a home and some farm land through the generosity of a local Christian businessman in Phnom Penh. 

She set about planting 5 house churches in the area and also opened her home to 10 orphans and a widow. The children and she began developing the land where they live so they could meet their own daily needs as well as provide a model of self-sufficiency for their neighbors to follow. 

However, Daly was still struggling with bouts of the sickness that had troubled her for so long. 

A Living Letter of God’s Goodness

As she struggled, Daly prayed fervently for God to not only bring healing to her body but also to provide her with another desire of her heart.

She wanted to marry a godly man, someone who would partner with her in her ministry. 

In the meantime, she and other church planters took part in World Challenge’s community education and leadership training programs, which are held in local churches and offer them more tools to facilitate transformation among the northern provinces of Cambodia. 

Then we received an overjoyed message from her that she had met a Christian man and they’d found treatment for her in Thailand.

Daly’s life is a living letter of the goodness of God. 

Please continue to pray for her and other ministry leaders in Cambodia, for their daily provision and a movement of God in the region.