The Western Cham are a Muslim people group with their own language who have lived in Buddhist majority Cambodia since the 17th century. Traditionally fishermen and farmers, they were severely persecuted under the Pol Pot regime, with more than a third of their population massacred in the 1970s. They now number about 600,000.
Mei is an elderly Cham woman in her eighties who lives in a small village about 3 hours from Phnom Penh with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The gift of a New Testament in her own language on a small audio player fed Mei’s curiosity about the gospel and she began working through the Bible narratives with two believers who visit her village regularly. Then, one night Mei had a vivid dream about Jesus judging the people of the earth, sending them to heaven and hell. This convinced her that He was the way the truth and the life.
Today she is eager to share her faith whenever she meets family and friends. Two daughters and two great granddaughters regularly join with her and the two believing visitors to pray, eat and study stories from the scripture. The meetings are open for others to join. Sometimes one of their husbands joins them. Recently around ten more people were baptized so the small community of faith is growing.
How Can We Pray?
- That God’s spirit will use Cham language resources like the audio Bible and study material to speak powerfully into the hearts of Cham people.
- For Mei as she shares about Jesus with the people she meets at weddings and funerals and other special occasions.
- That more family members will join this community of faith and that it will grow spiritually.
During the 30 Days of Ramadan, The Global Mission is taking time to pray for different people in the Muslim World. The stories and prayers we are sharing are taken from World Prayer Guides. Visit their website to purchase a printable version of the guide that includes 30 different stories and prayer points.
