Cambodian Christian Related Articles

The Cost of Freedom – Chapter 2

Cry of the Gecko

By Brian Maher

The Cost of Freedom

Chapter Two

1947– After recuperating in the States for two years, the Taylors return to Cambodia with their third child, Judith Taylor. Miriam began a prison ministry for a while, and became friends with Princess Rasmey who was Norodom Sihanouk’s aunt who had raised the prince from childhood. Miriam was also instrumental in lives of first generation Christians, Pastor Chan Hom, Pen Dara[1], San Hay Seng, and Pastor Reach Yea[2]. Many of these pastors fled to Thailand when Pol Pot came to power and eventually relocated to the United States where they pastored churches in California and New York.

1949 – France secretly signs over Kampuchea Krom (Cambodian Mekong Delta) to the Vietnamese.

1950 – “On June 27, President Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean War following a call from the United Nations Security Council for member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North.”[3]

On July 26^th, United States military involvement in Vietnam begins as President Truman authorizes $15 million in military aid to the French. American military advisors will accompany the flow of U.S. tanks, planes, artillery and other supplies to Vietnam. Over the next four years, the U.S. will spend $3 Billion on the French war and by 1954 will provide 80 percent of all war supplies used by the French.

Barnabas Mam was born to a Buddhist family on [M1] January 1, 1950, in the village of the Stone Bridge (Spean Tmau), outside of Phnom Penh.  His father was a well-known achaa [M2] (a Buddhist Master of Ceremonies) and a traditional healer. Barnabas became a ‘traditional healer’ successor at the age of 7.

1951- The Khmer People’s Party, the first communist party in Cambodia forms. The founding fathers of this party will be claimed both by the Khmer Rouge and by today’s CPP party.

1952 – The C&MA had decided that it was time to let the national church take responsibility for supporting their pastors and planned to phase out the missionary subsidy at the rate of one tenth per year over a decade, beginning in 1952.  This was also the year that Rev. G. E. Roffe and Merle Graven engineered a literature drop over the towns and villages of Battambang using a Lao Mission plane. It had been reported that governor of the province accompanied the American missionaries on their flight.

1953- In November, Sihanouk returns from France, having secured freedom, and a national day of Independence is celebrated on November 9^th, 1953. Norodom Sihanouk becomes King of an Independent Cambodia as well as Head of State while Pastor Seang Ang moves on to Takeo, where his evangelism gets him thrown in jail, and he is somehow miraculously released.

Pol Pot, Kheiu Samphan, and Ieng Sary leave to study in France.

Because of opposition in Cambodia, the Foreign Department of the C&MA decided to set the type for the Hammond Bible in Nyack, New York. The Cambodian type font was purchased in France and the students of Nyack College, including Cliff Westergren  and Helen Ellison Ellenberger printed, set the type, and printed the photo-offset originals under the supervision of Dr. Hammond and Rev. Harold Sechrist at Nyack College during the summer of 1953. Several thousand copies of the Bible were printed in England and were set at $2 per copy. With this translation, there were now 201 languages in which the Bible could be read.[4]

In Kompong Cham, the Taylors lead a young San Hay Seng (Lim Chong)[5] to Jesus in a vacation Bible School in their neighborhood.  His father, an idol maker  kicked him out of the house and his brother in law was kind enough to take him in.

1954 – In 1922, a group of Cambodians among the two and a half million Cambodians living in Kampuchea Krom became Christians. They were being ministered to by the C&MA over the years, but in 1954 they were attacked and persecuted by another religious group called the Hoa Hoa, and fled to Takeo and Battambang provinces. Both groups that were settled were sizable groups and helped strengthen the church and Christian Witness in those areas, similar to a Jerusalem/Antioch situation.

Rev. Paul Ellison tells us that from group of believers that settled in Moung Russei, Battambang, God raised up leaders such as Voich, Rev. Sem Boun, and Rev. Chau Uth. The wives of Rev. Neak Hom, and Pastor Uorng Oun came also from this group of dispersed Christians.

The Bible School begun by David Ellison in 1935 was transferred (1953) from Battambang to Takhmau, just south of Phnom Penh where it would train many pastors.  Pastor Seang Ang attends the Bible College in Takhmau, Kandal Province, for four years. Some of his class mates in 1954 are Ngov Vonn, Chau Uth, Reach Yea, Ngeth Choy, Neak Hom, San Hay Seng, with instructors John Ellison, Harry Taylor, and Cliff Westergren. (The only CMA trained pastors in Cambodia who survived the Khmer Rouge were Seang Ang, Ngov Vonn, and Reach Yea). Seang Ang graduates and works with the C&MA as an evangelist.

After nearly a century under French control, Cambodia had gained complete independence from France under the leadership of King Norodom Sihanouk on November 9^th, 1953 with the recognition of the Geneva Conference in May 1954, and during this time, the Viet Minh agreed to remove all their forces from Cambodian soil. King Sihanouk declares freedom of religion in Cambodia, although the Evangelical church was still not officially recognized.

A beautifully bound special copy of the Hammond Bible was prepared for King Norodom Sihanouk in England and when it arrived in Phnom Penh a special audience was requested of the King.  Word was sent to the King of the presentation, and a silver platter was sent to receive the Bible during the presentation. Rev. H. Curwen Smith of the Bible Society and Rev. David Ellison, mission chairman for the C&MA were ushered into the audience chamber, placing the Bible in the hands of the King with the hope that he might read his new Bible. The King showed a genuine interest in the new Bible, and asked who translated into his language, how long it had taken, and where it had been printed and bound.  It was apparent that he was pleased with his new gift and expressed great pleasure and sincere thanks to the Bible Society for preparing him a special copy.[6]

Fall of the French at Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva Cease-Fire Conference splits Vietnam into non-Communist South and Communist North along the 17^th parallel.

1955 –C & MA cuts subsidies to pastors.

On March 2, 1955, the King announces his abdication from the throne, in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit, and assumes the title of Prince. Sihanouk wanted the freedom to be involved in politics, and so he created his own political entity called Sangkum Reastr Niyum[7]. He serves as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1955-56).

In May of 1955, three years into the program that as scaling back subsidized salaries of C&MA national pastors, the subsidy was cut entirely. This took place just after the National Executive Committee met at the National Conference and had reassigned many pastors to other congregations.

This was a difficult time for relations between foreign missionaries and nationals, as many congregations determined that they could not possibly support a full time pastor. According to Paul Ellison, a number of senior missionaries had to work very hard in their districts to demonstrate that a circuit pastor, by delegating other work to the elders and young people, could sustain their pastor. He attests to the fact that although it was a difficult time for Khmer-Expat relations, most of the churches came through the issue intact and much better able to handle leading their churches when American missionaries were forced to leave Cambodia in 1965.

1956- The now Prince Norodom Sihanouk becomes a permanent representative to the United Nations.

1957- Cambodian national, Arun Sok Nhep was born in Phnom Penh in February of 1957.  His father and mother, both from Svay Rieng province, had been living in Saigon while his father served in the French Army up until the time of Cambodia’s Independence (November 9^th, 1953), and returned to Phnom Penh in early 1954 when he was transferred to the Royal Cambodian Arm Forces.  Shortly after Arun was born, they moved to ‘Romeas’ in Kompong Chhnang Province, southeast of the provincial city near the railway to Battambang. His father had enlisted in the service in the Sihanouk’s Army during the ‘Sangkum Rhea Neyome’[8] or Kingdom of Cambodia era, and they lived close to the American Military base built in 1962 before the Americans were asked to leave by Prince Norodom Sihanouk in 1965, as the Prince had been becoming increasingly influenced by the Chinese.

1959 – The Second Indochina war begins as San Hay Seng finishes High School, and pleases his father when he secures a government job. Shortly after while reading his Bible he felt God call him to attend Bible School and into ministry. He struggled with the Lord over the issue until the night he came down with an extremely high fever and thought he was dying. He prayed for deliverance, and if God granted it, he would go bible school, which God did do the very next day. Once again, his parents disowned him. Penniless, he left for Takhmau Bible School and studied there for four years. Eventually San Hay Seng became director of the Bible School. While furthering his studies in the Philippines, Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge, and San Hay Seng and his wife were repatriated to the States where he continued to be involved in ministry. San Hay Seng also helped FEBC for many years as well.

1960 – King Norodom Suramarit died and Prince Norodom Sihanouk became King. The United States, having had an agreement with Cambodia since 1955 to provide resources to build up Cambodia’s military machine, are feared to have in inordinate influence on the Lon Nol’s officers, who were seen as becoming too powerful. This same year, Sihanouk signed a treaty of Friendship with the Chinese and begins to suspect that the United States wants to engineer his replacement, as he discovered a plot to overthrow him the previous year by the Khmer Serei[9] in Kampuchea Krom.

1961 –An intense two years for God’s green earth as the cold war causes humanity to teeter on the brink of destruction. First Gary Power’s U2 flight is shot down over Cuba on May 1^st, 1960. In those days it seemed like one thing after the other –the fiasco called the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961, the Berlin Wall, the intensity of Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, and then the assignation of JFK in November of 1963-meanwhile, America is slowing being sucked into a war with Indochinese Communists in a country called Vietnam which most Americans never heard of before, let alone could actually find on a map.

Something of what the world might count as insignificant was that a young man named Chuck Keller graduated from High School. I first remember meeting Chuck Keller at the CCS[10] conference in San Jose, CA, in March of 1991. Some people you never forget, for whatever reasons, and even though Chuck is an unassuming type of guy, he makes an impression on you. It wasn’t even because I bought two books from him; Helen Penfold’s, Remember Cambodia, and Franklin Huffman’s, Modern Spoken Cambodian, Level I. Chuck Keller is a humble and Christ-like man and that is what made the impression on me.

Chuck was born in Portland, Oregon in 1943 and grew up there as well. Amazingly enough, Chuck attended the first kindergarten class at Portland Christian School and continued there for grade and high school, graduating in 1961. He then enrolled in Portland State College where he studied a bit of everything, but French and German were his strongest and most lasting interests. In the last quarter, before graduating, he took a course in linguistics which really piqued his interest. He had already heard about Wycliffe* through its’ book, Who Brought the Word?  He knew Doris Walker from his home church in Portland from when he was about age 11. She went to Vietnam in the late 50’s as a Wycliffe member where she married David Blood who was also from Portland. At age 13 or 14, Chuck met both David and his older brother Hank at a church service. Hank and his wife Vangie were also members of Wycliffe and served in Vietnam. Hank died in 1968 some months after being taken prisoner during the Tet Offensive in January of 1968.

1962 – The US finishes Route Four and the port, Prince Sihanouk traveled to China again returning to Cambodia with an increased anti-American sentiment. The population of Phnom Penh is around 400,000.

Future Christian Academic and leader of the Cambodian Bible Society, Son Sonne, who had studied in a Buddhist temple in Kampuchea Krom from an early age in order to seek enlightenment, stumbles across the book of Proverbs and was struck with the sheer profundity of the wisdom contained in the book. It led him to seek the one true God, but, he continued to be troubled about certain concepts pertaining to sin and heaven. This persisted until he and his fiancé attended a church service at the Cambodian Evangelical Church on Christmas day, 1962.  It was there that he made the decision to follow Christ, and his fiancé a few months after.[11]

At a Leprosarium in Ban Me Thuot C&MA missionaries, Rev. Archie Mitchell,

Dr. Eleanor Vietti, and Daniel Gerber were taken prisoner by the Vietcong

and never to be seen or heard from again.

Pastor Yorng Soth

Yorng Soth was born in 1946 in Kompong Thom. His mother was a faithful Christian woman; the neighbors looked down on his family because of their beliefs and shunned them in most areas of community life.

There were no pastors or churches at that time in their province so his mother would occasionally take him to the Takhmau church in Phnom Penh.  Sometimes when his mother would visit the church in Phnom Penh, his father would attend the local Pagoda with his young son.  Although he was raised in a Christian influenced home and was familiar with many Bible stories and spiritual songs, he was not a believer.  His mother would faithfully pray that one day he would become a strong leader in the Christian church.  He heard those prayers and thought it was highly unlikely.

After high school Soth went to study in Kompong Cham. He was excited to be on his own with many other youth and to finally be free of the “Christian family” stigma.  Although his friends were typical college students looking for thrills and excitement, his mother’s influence somehow led him to live a responsible and not a reckless college life.

After Soth finished school in 1968, his marriage to Kang King was arranged by his mother.  King was a Christian, which was extremely important to his mother.

He soon left to fulfill his government [MI3] issued job in Rattanakiri. It was a job in rubber manufacturing.  It was quite a hardship to live in this area, which had a very high malaria rate, and the work was quite difficult as well. He was not happy and decided to walk out on his contract, which of course during that time had severe consequences.

He managed to get a taxi heading back to Kompong Thom. When the taxi approached one of the checkpoints, the driver asked him to get out and meet them up ahead.  Soth would have needed permission forms for traveling as contracted workers were expected to remain in their work locale except for certain holidays.  The driver did not wait for him. He was forced to walk out of sight and off major roadways.  This unexpected detour took him into a very dense and dangerous forest area for one full day.  There were tigers, snakes and assorted sinister creatures, and Soth was afraid and fearful of all around him. He was so afraid of dying and yet constantly thinking that he would.

He removed all of his clothing.  He cried out to God, praying for forgiveness.  Soth promised to serve God if he lived, and if by chance he should die he pleaded that God would receive him. He felt such a peace and suddenly realized that this moment represented an answer to his mother’s prayer.  It also was the beginning of seeing God’s grace and provision in his life.

He got dressed and began walking out of the forest–no longer afraid, no longer alone.  He walked for ten minutes before coming to a nearby road.  He realized that coming up behind him was a man on a bicycle.  Soth felt both relieved and suspicious.  This person might somehow know that he was fleeing and have him arrested.  He wanted to ask him if he had been following him, but he did not.  The man offered a ride on his bike, and told him he had no reason to be afraid. Soth still felt uneasy, but was amazed how during the conversation the man would answer his questions before he asked them, as if he were anticipating them. This was reassuring.  They rode for many hours.

The mysterious stranger spoke of the various modes of transportation up ahead.  He assured him that should taxis be unavailable or if the drivers would refuse to take him, then Soth would be welcome to stay at his place for the night.  He pointed out his house, a beautifully painted house in the near distance.

It was clear that he was a man of wealth.  As it turned out that a taxi parked up ahead was the same one that had left Soth stranded the day before.  The driver explained that he had no choice but to leave him because they would have been shot had the security officers seen him pick up a man without papers.  Soth turned to say good-bye to the man on the bike and thank him but, to his amazement, the man was nowhere in sight, and the beautiful house had vanished as well.

Soth and his wife began farming in Kompong Thom. This was initially difficult for them as he was a student inexperienced in farming.  Despite much opposition, theft of crops, and ridicule because of their faith, they managed to learn how to grow sugar cane and jack fruit.  This period was bittersweet.

Even though the Soth family watched the Lord miraculously bless their harvest, they had trouble from Kang King’s mother, who was passionately opposed to her daughter being married to a Christian.  She hated Christians.  She threatened to take all of her daughter’s possessions if she did not leave her husband and renounce her faith.  King returned to her mother everything she had ever received from her and trusted fully in the Lord for her needs.  In 1969, Soth and his wife, Kang King, moved to Phnom Penh.

In 1970, Yourng Soth attended Bethany International Church. Norman and Marie Ens were members and were quite influential in his life.  In 1972, he began a three-year course of study at the Takhmau Bible College. He later became an assistant Pastor at Sereptha Church, helping with the youth and evangelism. At this time there were many churches in Cambodia.  There were also missionaries who were quite faithful; Andy Bishop (WVI), Alice Compain (OMF) and Don Cormack (OMF) to name a few.

A few days before the fall of Phnom Penh, there were some warnings from friends with newspapers from outside the country.  When the Khmer Rouge entered the city and it was clear that the foreigners would be leaving, Yorng Soth’s immediate family was offered the chance to leave as well.  He decided that if all of his family couldn’t leave then he really must stay.

He was encouraged by a dear friend to leave all nonessentials behind even though there were medical supplies, literature, clothing, and food he could have used along the way, but Soth believed that God would provide all that he needed. This advice probably saved his life because if he were caught by the Khmer Rouge with such items, it would be all the proof they needed to accuse him of being a ‘city person’ who would be targeted for elimination.

When the Khmer Rouge finally entered Phnom Penh on April 17^th, 1975, Soth and his family were relocated to his native Kompong Thom.  His simple dress and his background of farming removed suspicion. Many Cambodian Christians died for their beliefs, so it was interesting that Soth’s relocation officers never asked about his religion.

Because he was able to return to his former home in Kompong Thom, he was also able find his old Bible.  He was able to secretly read daily, and he hid it, tucked inside his pillowcase.  This gave him much strength and encouragement during this tragic period in Cambodian history.

When asked how the years of the Khmer Rouge affected his faith, he said; “my faith was made stronger.” His most intense time was when a certain official sought to kill him and posted an arrest warrant with the security staff.  He decided that he would not run.  If the man did kill him he would be with the Lord.  The Lord provided Yorng Soth with an assignment in another part of the province and the two men never met.

Today Yorng Soth is the pastor of the Tumnop Tek Church.  He has held leadership positions in this church since 1990.  He and his wife King have 8 children ranging from seventeen to thirty-four years old.  His children have followed in their parents’ faith and are involved in various ministries in Phnom Penh. The church has several outreach programs for youth, their immediate neighborhood, and also in the provinces. There are women’s groups who do hospital visits to the sick to offer encouragement and hope. There are sports programs to encourage youth involvement, bible studies and evangelism. There are men’s programs as well, and Christmas and Easter celebrations, held each year to reach those in their community.

He believes the greatest strength of the Cambodian church is that it is strong and independent.  As Christians develop good study habits and discernment of God’s word, they will be able to continue to grow and not be confused by the many cults that bring their false messages to Cambodia.  Prayer for those who have been led astray is also essential.

In discussing how new missionaries can best support the church in Cambodia, Soth felt that those who work alongside existing Cambodian churches, and those who seek wisdom and input from Cambodian Christians, are probably the most effective. Those foreign missionaries who arrive and start churches without the balance of cultural and historical wisdom will have a tougher time adjusting and will be easily deceived by Cambodian nationals assisting their ministries for the wrong reasons.

Yorng Soth’s prayer for Cambodia is that God would give clear understanding of His word, and of the true meaning of service.  Soth also hopes that God would share his light and wisdom and that Cambodians would seek God’s Will.  He would also pray for religious freedom and that the politicians would not make laws that prohibit religious freedom and worship.

Yorng Soth has seen the Lord’s hand of protection, provision and miraculous grace.  He has also witnessed the amazing outcomes of a faithful mother’s prayer.  He has been the President of the KEC, Khmer Evangelical Church, which is under the C&MA, and Second vice Chair of the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia, and the President of the EFC Board of Directors.[12]

References

A Country Study, United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army. 1990.

Hand-Out and Lecture, Translation of the Cambodian Bible. CCS meeting at San Jose California, March 1991.

Penfold, Helen, Remember Cambodia, Published October 1979.

Taylor, Harry and Miriam, Edge of Conflict, Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, Inc. 1993.

Yorng Soth, Interview by Brian Maher, Swang Dara Restaurant, Toul Kork., Phnom Penh, 2005.

Yorng Soth, Interview for Training of Timothies by Debbi Maher, 2000.

Yorng, Soth. Interview by Brian Maher, EFC Central Office, 2005.

Website: http://vietnamresearch.com/history/vntimeline.html