Check out Mike’s update from his first post-pandemic visit! God continues to do great things through Sokhom, the students, and the generosity of so many Christian servants!
A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND MILLION WORDS
Some of Sokhom’s assistants checked on our Cambodia Preaching School graduates and sent the pictures below. This gives us a great visual image of the active ministry being done by our CBS graduates.
INDIANA SOKHOM
In 2015, CCM purchased 75 acres of land with the goal of the ministry becoming mostly self-sustaining. It was nothing but brush and trees. But over the past several years, we have cleared and developed the land. Sokhom and our students have dug fish and frog ponds, planted around 2,000 coconut trees, farmed rice, and even run cattle. We sell everything beyond what we eat with the goal of becoming truly Cambodian run and funded. We want the gospel to take off in the Cambodian culture, carried by Cambodian Christians!
But it’s a jungle out there! If you look closely, Indy… I mean Sokhom, has a snake and a rat on a pole! Some of the guys (excluding Sokhom) are going to eat well tonight. While he’s not big on snake and rat, Sokhom is having a blast serving the Lord with vigor, commitment, and great faithfulness!
While working the land will cover the fixed expenses at CCM Center, there will still be a need for help from faithful Christians around the world for medicine, orphans, and water wells. There are so many people we can reach through the generosity of others. Thanks for your support of this phenomenal work of the Lord!
Thankooo
Below is a 20-second video from one of the men who travels to Cambodia to help in the mission work there. Buddy Gray is one of the ministers at the Davis Park Church of Christ in Modesto, CA. His loving church sent him with some extra funds to feed some of the neighboring village kids a more nutritious meal than they are accustomed to. Here are Buddy’s thoughts:
Blessed are the children for they will show you God. One of the great moments of my life was spending time at CCM “Jesus Place” helping with a children’s day. Singing and teaching songs about Jesus to children who are hearing about Him for the first time was truly amazing. The enthusiasm and their gratitude was off the charts. The video was taken at the end of the day when they were about to go home. Tears of joy flowed from my eyes that day and still do when I watch the video. What a blessing to bless others who are less fortunate in the villages of Cambodia.
Let the Little Children Come to Me
…for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these (Mark 10:14).
One of the beautiful blessings of sharing Jesus in the remote villages of Cambodia is witnessing the
spiritual hunger and thirst of the young people. We praise the Lord always for the many Buddhist and Muslim adults who turn to Jesus for salvation, but seeing young Cambodians come to Jesus is especially exciting looking ahead. The spiritual landscape of Cambodia in the future will more and more be transformed into the image of the Son of God. These Christian young people will soon be leaders in this country, and our efforts now will pay spiritual dividends in the kingdom of God at an increasing measure. God bless you for being a part of saving precious souls in Cambodia!
Burn Baby Burn
In Acts 19:11-20 the Apostle Paul leads many to salvation in Christ in Ephesus. People carried handkerchiefs or aprons from Paul’s body to the sick, and they would be healed. Many brought their magic books and burned them in the fire as a sign that those powers were no longer necessary since they have Jesus in their life.
As we preach Jesus in the remote villages of Cambodia, Buddhists and Muslims will come to be baptized into Christ wearing superstitious bracelets and multi-colored belts to protect them from the evil spirits. Sokhom literally checks peoples’ wrists and waists as they come forward. When he finds a person wearing a religious-magic item, he talks to them about the uselessness of it compared to the real power of Jesus to work in their lives. Then he uses it as a teaching tool and talks to the crowd to help them see that Christ is all we need. These evil spirits have no power compared to Jesus! Others will then remove the bracelets and belts and we will burn them in a fire – just like Acts 19.
One year Sokhom held up his Bible in one hand and a lighter in the other and jokingly said to me, “This is all I need in the villages of Cambodia.”
BURN BABY BURN.
Cobra Soup Is Mm-Mm Good!
Campbell’s Cobra soup is mm-mm good!
Years ago, Sokhom and I reached out to an organization that helps with building projects in poor countries. On the questionnaire they asked if there were any poisonous snakes in the area. Sokhom had me write, “No poisonous snakes. We ate them all!”
That story rang true this week when one of our workers walked by the guesthouse where I stay when in Cambodia. He stepped over what he thought was a stick, but it turned out to be a five-foot long cobra!
Sokhom said they killed it with a rock, and then one of the students made some excellent cobra soup. According to them, it doesn’t taste like chicken but definitely tastes better than rat.
Sokhom has made a great sacrifice to serve the Lord as a missionary in his native country of Cambodia. As a result, God has blessed CCM in a monumental way. Together, we have physically helped over 200,000 poor people in villages since 2009. Greater yet, we are no longer able to keep track of the number of Buddhists and Muslims becoming Christians because of our CBS graduates along with several hundred house church leaders sharing Jesus in their respective villages.
Maybe cobra soup is not mm-mm good, but the mission work of Sokhom Hun and the CCM team is a sweet aroma and sacrifice to the Lord!
Hit and Run Won’t Stop Gospel
This brother got hit by a car while driving on his motorbike to come hear the gospel. He had minor cuts and scrapes, but the neighbor he brought with him broke her elbow and arm. Some of our students took her to the hospital in Phnom Penh and covered all the medical expenses. Then after he was treated by our nurses from abroad, he stayed with us to listen to the Bible lessons! What great faith is this?!
Our January Medical Mission Trip was full of precious souls like this coming for spiritual and physical healing. The staff of doctors and nurses and other helpers from abroad did an amazing job showing the love of God to people who have so little hope! When the gospel message of God’s love through Jesus is preached together with loving actions from Christian people, great things happen!
Cambodia and Coronavirus
As the Coronavirus spreads around the globe, some of you have asked how Cambodia Christian Ministries is handling the situation. The latest news is that there are less than 100 cases of Covid-19 in the country, but being a third world country, there is no telling what the exact number is. Also, being a third world country there is less medical expertise and fewer supplies to help those with the virus. All the schools in the country have been closed. Travel in and out of the country has been reduced greatly.
Sokhom and I have been visiting regularly about appropriate procedures concerning the pandemic and CCM activities. We have closed the front gate for the time being. The only exception is that two of our men go to the market daily to get food. When they return they wash their hands and change clothes. Our doctors are paying attention to the developing situation, but until more information and protective equipment becomes available, they are simply following the guidelines to slow the spread.
Sokhom’s spring trip to the US has been postponed. We continue teaching Bible via Skype to the Cambodia Bible School students. Thank the Lord for technology! And in spite of everything, construction continues on the fish pond, building up the levy, putting a better roof and walls on the multi-purpose building for future LeaderCare seminars, etc. Needless to say, there is still plenty to do and plenty being done!
Please include Cambodia and especially Sokhom and the rest of the people at CCM in your prayers. Feel free to contact me for any further information. God bless the friends and partners of Sokhom and CCM as we continue to bless the precious people of Cambodia with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Mike Meierhofer
January 2020 Medical Mission Trip
Keep this photo in your mind for future reference. Then, the next time you are getting grumpy as you wait to see the doctor, picture these precious Cambodians filled with joy as they wait their turn to receive medical treatment.
Click here to see the details of our recent medical mission trip to remote villages of Cambodia.
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