Village Mom

“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Jonah 2:8, NIV.

In the Khmer (pronounced Kă-mī’) language the village chief is Mai Poom. The literal translation of that word is “mother of the village.” At an eye clinic being conducted by believers a Mai Poom was asking many questions about living as a Christian. He asked so many questions that people began to grumble, because they wanted to get their eyes checked!

He said, “I know idols are something you should not worship, and I believe that what you are sharing is the truth.” Instinctively he knew that his revelation about God would mean changes on every level of how the village should live. How do you do funerals and weddings? How do you handle persecution? How do you celebrate rites of passage? These and many other questions swirled in his mind as a community leader.

Christian workers gave the Mai Poom a Jesus Film and Bible in Khmer and promised to visit him at his village to talk more about his questions of living out the truth. What an exciting encounter! One leader sees truth, and his entire village is opened to being led in paths of righteousness for the sake of Jesus. But then again, it is never boring when you are doing the work of the Kingdom!

Pray that:

God will reveal truth to many Mai Poom in Cambodia that results in entire villages following Jesus.

God will grant wisdom to this particular Mai Poom as he seeks to teach his community to follow the truth and turn from following idols.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.