Native missionary Jesu Das was horrified when he first visited one village in India and found no believers of Jesus there. The people were worshipping hundreds of different Gods, and four pagan priests controlled them through witchcraft.
Stories were told of how these priests could kill people's cattle with witchcraft and destroy crops. People were suddenly taken ill and died without explanation. The destruction and bondage the villagers were living in is hard to imagine. Scars, decay and death marked their faces, because they were totally controlled by the powers of darkness.
When Jesu Das told them about Christ, it was the first time they ever heard of a God who did not require sacrifices and offerings to appease His anger. As Jesu Das continued to preach in the marketplace, many people came to know the Lord.
But the priests were outraged. They warned Jesu Das that if he did not leave the village, they would call on their gods to kill him, his wife and their children. Jesu Das did not leave. He continued to preach, and villagers continued to be saved.
Finally, after a few weeks, the witch doctors came to Jesu Das and asked him the secret of his power.
     "This is the first time our power did not work," they told him. "After doing the 'pujas', we asked the spirits to go and kill your family. But the spirits came back and told us they could not approach you or your family because you were always surrounded by fire. Then we called more powerful spirits to come after you- but they too returned, saying not only were you surrounded by fire, but angels were also around you all the time."
Jesu Das told them about Christ. The Holy Spirit convicted each of them of their sin of following demons, and of the judgment to come. With tears, they repented, renouncing their gods and idols, and received Jesus Christ as Lord. As a result, hundreds of other villagers were set free from sin and bondage.
-"Revolution in World Missions" K.P. Yohannan
Gospel for Asia www.gfa.org

 “Men are gold and women are cloths. Gold can be washed, but cloths are stained.”-Khmer proverb
The killings of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge killed nearly 2 million people (out of a population of 7 million) during the years of 1975-1979. People of education including teachers, doctors, college students, and even those who wore glasses were either shot or died in a prison camp amongst the 'killing fields'.
In 1979, survivors returned to Phom Pehn (the capital) when the Vietnamese Communist party invaded Cambodia. In 1998 and 2003 Prime Minister Hun Sen was re-elected.
Cambodia is still in the process of trying to rebuild itself, which is a daunting task since all government and social structures were demolished by the Khmer Rouge.
65% of the adult population (35-40yrs old)are women who face the task of working more than 12 hours a day, mostly in factories.
Many women are widowed and struggle to make enough money to feed their children for even one day. Women with partners often face abuse and polygamy. Girls are forced to discontinue their education to join the work force. Girls as young as 5 years old are lured into brothels where they are forced into prostitution.Children are lured by what they think are legitimate job offers like waitressing, but then are forced into prostitution. Children are often held captive, beaten, and starved to force them into prostitution.
These are the desperate situations and the hearts of despair, where God implores us to go. Most of us in North America have no grid to put such a lifestyle of despair and labour on. It is so easy to read about the destroyed and hopeless lives and feel that they are very far away and have nothing to do with us. These people are very important to God and He longs for them each moment. They may feel forgotten, uncared for and thrown away, but they are His treasures. Wont we care for these precious people, and be truly rich?

'You cannot live low enough. That is where the freedom is; that is where the joy is.
-H.A. Baker