At our last Story of Hope training in Stueng Treang, Cambodia, we had over forty attendees from around the province. At the end of the training, Pisey, one of the pastors, called me over to chat. Over the next twenty minutes, he proceeded to tell me about his ministry and his background. His mother is from Laos while his father is Khmer which gives him a unique opportunity.

Pisey's ability to speak Laos and the fact that Laos is closed gives him a heart to minister to the Laotian people. He has no shortage of opportunities. There are pockets of Laotian villages along the border of northern Cambodia. He travels during the week to these villages to share the gospel with anyone willing to hear. During one of these trips, Pisey was questioned by a village chief regarding what he was teaching. Upon hearing that Pisey was talking about Jesus, the village chief asked him to explain what the Bible was all about. Pisey was shocked and lost for words. After all, that was a large question. Where does he begin?

He then remembered that Sitha and I sent him a digital copy of The Story of Hope that he had saved on his phone. So, using his phone, he began to tell the village chief the Bible’s big story using The Story of Hope as his reference guide. Three hours later, the village chief stopped Pisey to process what he had just heard. A few moments, the village chief nodded in agreement indicating that what Pisey was explaining to him was probably true. He then invited Pisey to come back to the village to teach the rest of the people about the Bible and Jesus.

When Pisey finished telling me the story, he looked me in the eyes and in broken English said, “Keep doing what you are doing…This is how important The Story of Hope is and how helpful this training is to my people.” Overwhelmed with awe and wonder at how God has been working unbeknownst to me, we prayed and shared some tears of joy and praise. God is working and He is using your prayers and resources to further His kingdom. To God be the glory forever!