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Cambodia UBF

July 15, 2013

Proverbs 3:5 &6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Cambodia Mission Report

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Many Cambodians do not have even one meal a day. This country suffers from poverty and disease. 80% of the country does not use electricity or indoor plumbing. Very rarely do university students own a pair of shoes. The country cannot be sustained without UN’s help. 90% of population’s religion is Buddhism. Every house has an idol. The political corruption is severe. Have you heard of ‘The Killing Fields’? The cruel pogrom lasted from 1975-1979 under the Khmer Rouge regime. During this time, one third of the country’s population was killed. Now over thirty years later, there is frequent gun fighting with bordering countries. Cambodia is called the land of sorrow, no hope, and killing fields.

Currently, I am working at Khmer University of Technology and Management(KUTM) as a part-time lecturer. KUTM campus is a small building where the library is one small room with books and a parking lot for three cars. We have class during the hot summer (April and May) without any fan. The generator only gives light at night. Often times up to half of the class is missing because many students work during day, and only some of them can come to school afterwards. Their major problem is that they do not have any hope for their life and future. Most young people have never heard the gospel.

Despite the country’s endless problems, God is mightily working in Cambodia. Praise God! The work of the gospel has started here. People are humble and open to the gospel. This field is ready for harvest. Thank God for using me for his great mission for Cambodia.  I have been studying Bible regularly with three students: Rebeuh, Soryyoung, Ruthtana, Sophieum. Many other students want to study Bible. Regardless my poor language skills, Mighty God worked himself for Cambodia with his great compassion and love. I am so grateful to be used by him as his instrument to teach Bible. May God send many missionaries to Cambodia to experience the great work of God and be used by Him for the work of the Holy Spirit. May God bring many students to salvation by the blood of Jesus, and may He raise them up as His disciples, and may God plant hope in the kingdom of God.

Life testimony

I was a son of a poor farmer in Korea born in 1969. I was a country boy without any dream or vision and became fatalistic. However, God saved me from my poverty, sorrow, and fatalism through Bible study at UBF in my college age. I praise God for his almighty power to set me free! I truly thank Jesus for his precious blood and the power of his blood. The cross of Jesus led me to know who I was and who Jesus was. The more I meditated on the secret of the gospel—that is, the cross—the more I loved the suffering of Christ. I love the cross. I began to know the greatest gift, the secret of the cross, in my 20s.  

In my 30s, God gave me a dream to develop as an expert in the IT field. I worked in IT company in Korea, but many co-workers looked down on my lack of knowledge. I had to receive extra training but I took it as God’s discipline and worked hard by faith for a decade. One question I started to consider was how to live for the glory of God. I wondered if I should work as an IT forever or live for God in turning to my 40’s. By God’s one-sided love, God gave me a holy fear to come out of my selfish life and replaced it with a vision to serve others. I praise God for his almighty power that gave me purpose and hope in him instead of my selfishness.

Four years ago, I had a chance to study English in Singapore as a divinity school student. Honestly, I went to divinity school primarily to learn English and the tuition was affordable. For a year, my English did not improve much although I attended every class. Thinking of my wife and my children in Seoul, I had to somehow find a job after the program ended. I decided to ask 1000 times in prayer for a position in which I could give a lecture in English for two years. Miraculously, God answered me exactly as I prayed. God opened the professor job at the University of Life in Cambodia. Thank God for listening to my prayer and bestowing me his abundant grace. While preparing lectors in English, I cried out to God because my English was so broken that no student could understand my lesson. Through this struggle I learned that everything is possible in God! God sent a student ahead of me who understood my lecture fully and was able to translate my English to Cambodian language. Above all, I learned that there is no fatalism in God. We lack nothing in Jesus! Although I fell short in many ways, God’s provisions were enough to cover all my weakness. I praise this God who is a works for those who live by faith. 

After my two year contract ended, I needed to find a new job. I searched but I did not hear about any job offers. I was so fearful but I started to pray for job and asked for prayer support from S. Doyoung Choi. God heard our prayers and granted me another job. It was another miracle. In my all desperate moments, God answered me with his unfailing love and grace. God is living, faithful and his grace is countless! I thank God for training me to depend on him alone. I thank God for giving our family a spirit of thanksgiving in needy place. I also learned that without faith, I cannot please God while studying Cambodian language. I thank God for giving graceful, meaningful family devotion time every morning and night. I thank God that I could serve the message in the every SWS. My son Dream is now correcting my English. My wife Grace is studying English at Life College, hoping to be a professor shepherdess after her PhD study. Thank God for protecting her from Dengue fever earlier. I praise and thank God for using us to win Cambodian people to Christ.

Personal Prayer Topics

1. Becoming a full time professor at KUTM
2. Fluent English skills
3. Disciple ministry through faithful one to one Bible study and establishing an ancestor of faith
4. Fruitful family devotion time with my wife, M. Grace, and our son Dream

By M. Doyeol Lee