Leng Mao has become a pillar of Kompongsom B-P Church, serving as an elder and helping Pastor Ponlok Hor reach others for Jesus. Mao and his wife, Phos Dany, chose to follow Christ in 1993, when the United Nations came to Cambodia to oversee elections and they first heard the gospel. They came under immediate persecution from their Buddhist family members and friends. When some of their children became plagued with illness, Mao’s sister blamed his Christian faith and said she would consider him no longer part of the family if any of them died. Long-time friends abandoned them. They found comfort in Bible study and worship at a local church, and began to learn English.
Mao says he gained strength through one particular verse, Is. 43:19: “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” “Later on, I told myself that I will have a new life by worshipping the living God and trusting in Him. Moreover, I hoped one day I would have a new family living in the hand of God, even though they still did not know Him.” Eventually all five of their children became Christians, and Mao served God at Viel Thom Church.
In 2010, the family encountered a serious challenge when their third daughter Mao Lida developed an autoimmune skin disease. Surgery in Singapore would cost $20,000, an amount the family could not afford. But while staying in Singapore with a missionary, Dr Chhan, they prayed for God’s help. “Gratefully and with God’s blessing, we received from Dr. Chhan’s sister $5,000 and from the father of my son’s girlfriend $5,000.” His son, Chamnap, who had earned a scholarship to study in Singapore, also placed the need before members of his church.
Thanks to those generous donations, the family was able to afford the surgery. The operation was successful and she now goes to Singapore for check-ups twice a year. Mao is now serving with Pastor Hor as an elder of Kompongsom B-P Church. He opens the worship service, preaches occasionally and, with his wife, teaches children at the church. On March 30, 2016, he was officially ordained as an elder of the church. Elder Mao says that Is. 43:19 has come true for him and his family. “I have a new family who are in the hand of God. He has blessed my children and they all have good jobs. I am able to study the Bible nine hours a week. And we are joyful!” Pray with Mao that his family members who rejected him will soon come to know Christ themselves.