Shining the Gospel into the Darkness

About eight years ago, a SALT Savings Group started in Srerobang, a rural village in Cambodia. Many in this village are gripped by the fear of dark demonic practices, the most revered one being ancestor worship. Every year, when they plow the fields and start planting cassava, corn, and cashew or rubber trees, incense sticks are burned, and offerings of fruit, sweets, and gifts are put in the spirit house, all in hopes that the spirits of their ancestors will bring rains and bless their crops.

Most of the people in this group are farmers who grow only enough crops for their own use without much surplus to sell or trade for profit. Frequently they are challenged with volatile prices for their products and changing weather patterns. Families respond to these hardships in different ways. Some end up taking their children out of school in order to get more farm work done. Others sell their land and houses to try to pay back their debt, which seems to keep growing.

At the SALT Savings Group meetings, group facilitators Dara and Luich teach that the God of the Bible is who we should go to for guidance, not the ancestors. He is the creator and controller of the universe. They teach that Christ, through His resurrection, defeated death—He was not defeated by it like our ancestors. Praise God, this teaching is taking root in the people’s hearts! Despite the very real fear of upsetting the spirits of their ancestors, many SALT members ask Dara to pray for rain. On many occasions, God has sent rain to them within 24 hours of their prayers. They have called Dara different times to tell him of the way God had answered their prayers. The group now calls these rains that were prayed for “the rains of abundance!” In the midst of their difficult circumstances, these experiences bring hope and joy. They thank God for the way He is involved in and cares about their community.

Please join us in praying that God would change the minds and hearts of people still walking in deep spiritual darkness and physical poverty.


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