Our
friend Vanny was my age during the Khmer Rouge, and his family spent
most of the war in Thailand's refugee camps. Vanny began to trust Jesus
here, after Christian missionaries shared food, shelter, and Jesus' love
with him and his family.

When the war ended Vanny and his family
returned to Cambodia to begin a church and an orphanage. Vanny travels
around from village to village preaching and teaching the other church
pastors.

 

He
told me of one village in particular that he went to visit
this year - the Khmer Rouge village. This village is made up of
ex-soldiers and Khmer Rouge leaders, who have sort of been exiled to a
northwestern village where landmines still dot the territory. The locals keep
quite a distance. So when Vanny heard God telling him he needed
to go and tell this village about Jesus, everyone told him he was
crazy, but he went anyways.

 

 

With lots of prayer and a racing heart he
marched into the Khmer Rouge village and obediently preached the Gospel -
God allowed Vanny to find favor with their leaders and was not only
welcomed but also asked to come back. They seemed to be starving for any
contact from other people - and eager to find forgiveness for their war
crimes.

 

Don't you love to see God's redemptive plan taking on the worst that evil can do and winning? I thank God for heroes like Vanny who listen to God's voice and then dare to do what he asks. We are all capable of such heroism if we'll just take the time to listen to him and hear his heartbeat for even the most wretched of men.