Reflections. A layover in Taipei’s Chiang Kai-Shek (CKS) International Airport provided me with “a moment” to reflect on the
events of the last few days. One of the residual benefits of the resurgence of various world religions has been the number of
reconfigured international airports with prayer rooms. CKS is no exception and has a wonderful prayer space. So as darkness
turned to dawn, I slipped into a prayer room and shut the door. In the quietness of the moment, one image after another rolled
through my mind as I recalled people I’d met and activities I’d been involved in during my time in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Under
the auspices of the Cambodian Christian Embassy (CCE) and in partnership with Church Partnership Evangelism (CPE), I connected
with a North American colleague and with Ernest Ung to carry out an outreach ministry with a team of 12 North Americans, who are predominately
second-generation Cambodians. We teamed up with 10 local Cambodian churches to engage in Kingdom work!
Unbelievable Beginnings.The son of an upper class family, Ernest’s father was a wealthy man and a military general in King Sihanouk’s army during the 1960s.
As a “son of privilege,” Ernest grew up in one of the largest homes in the city, not far from the King’s Palace. His mother, a well-educated
woman, was a Professor of French in a Phnom Penh University. During that same period, his uncle had been the Minister of Agriculture,
further evidence of his family's influence in the country.
Ernest remembers those days with great fondness! In fact, with
the exception of the three or four pictures, memories are all he has left of his childhood! Everything else was taken away
by the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime. Probe a little deeper and Ernest will acknowledge that his teenage years were also a spiritually
dark period for him. In fact he sadly recalls his first brush with the Gospel. Somehow he had found his way into a church where
a pastor asked him if he wanted to know Jesus. As an arrogant 16-year-old kid, he spat in the pastor’s face, rejected the offer,
and walked out of the church.
Unspeakable Tragedy. During the April 1975 forced evacuation of Phnom Penh, his family was taken
away to a tragic and untimely death in the Cambodian “killing fields.” Under orders from the Khmer Rouge, all the educated
people of society were either systematically killed or forced to do arduous work in labor camps in the countryside. During that
time, Ernest’s mother and six of his seven siblings died of starvation. Last he heard about his father was that he was up along
the border with Viet Nam with his troops. Miraculously Ernest survived, fled, and made his way to the Kao I Dang Refugee Camp,
where he slowly began to rebuild his life after losing everything.
Unimaginable Grace. Over the next three years, several events
transpired that changed the trajectory of Ernest’s life. At the refugee camp, he met Jesus, and that began a process of radical
transformation. Unlike the first time, Ernest accepted the invitation to be a follower of Jesus---a commitment that he continues
to steadfastly pursue. It was also during this period that he met Yvonne, the one he would subsequently marry. Together
they’ve ministered to the Khmer people for over 15 years, both in Brooklyn, New York, and now in Cambodia. In 1982 Ernest, Yvonne,
and her family were granted refugee status and moved to the United States.
This move provided them with the opportunity to pursue
various interests, not the least of which was Ernest’s desire to prepare for the ministry. Following graduation, Ernest
and Yvonne formed part of a church-planting team that established a Cambodian (Khmer) church in Brooklyn, New York. There they
served the church humbly and with integrity, while Ernest began to reach out to the Khmer United Nations Embassy staff. It was
through the UN ministry that Ernest was reconnected with his birth country and began to dream with Joel and me about the Cambodian
Christian Embassy. I hope someday you can meet my friends Ernest and Yvonne. Both of them are humble, gentle people whose
approach to all that has transpired in their lives could be summarized in Joseph’s response to his brothers: “…You meant it for evil—God
meant if for good” (Gen.50:20).
Lessons from God. The lesson from the Ung’s lives and the message reiterated in scripture
is poignant! Though God is often imperceptible, He is always indomitable!
He is always orchestrating the events of life
toward His desired end! I don’t know about you, but I tend to pigeonhole God, create a nice neat formula as to how He works.
The truth is that He seldom conforms to my framework or to what I consider to be conventional wisdom! His ways are mysterious---so
far beyond mine! But that’s okay! For it is only as I recognize the mysterious nature of God, that I can appreciate His mysterious
ways. So here in the comfort of this CKS prayer room, I’m reminded of a number of areas in which scripture acknowledges the
mysterious nature of God.
One area revolves around the mind of God, the recognition that God’s judgments are so far beyond anyone’s
ability to fully plum their depth or breadth. “…My thoughts are not your thoughts,” He writes, “neither your ways My ways….” (Isa.
55:8-9). Likewise, the will of God is shrouded in mystery---so much so, that it caused the Apostle Paul to remark “…who
can know the mind of the Lord” (Ro. 11:33-34).
Then of course there is the power of God, the reality that God does what He desires,
regardless of our feeble attempts manipulate the events of life. “…He [God] does according to His will in the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of earth and no one can ward off His hand...” (Dan. 4:35). The mysterious nature of God is also revealed
in God’s invisible providence---His ability, in spite of apparent chaos, to guide the events to a “God ordained end” (Ecc 7:13-14).
So I’m again comforted by the reality that while God may be invisible, he is not indifferent (Ps.46; Isa.40:6-8). I take great comfort
in God’s providence “…the beneficent outworking of God’s sovereignty whereby all events are directed and disposed to bring
about those purposes of glory and good for which the universe was made” (Ferguson, Wright & Packer 1988).
As the “Sovereign
of Heaven,” God orchestrates the events of the globe, invisibly working behind the scenes so that a Joseph who was sold by his brothers
and treated unjustly by his owner, becomes a leader over a nation and his family. God mysteriously takes an Ester, shifting
her from anonymous life as orphan, to the palace life of a queen. Similarly Moses encounters a burning bush and is commissioned
to lead, and David, a simple shepherd boy, is anointed by Samuel and becomes a great King. It is the same God that takes my
friend Ernest and makes him an Advisor to the Office of the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Can you see the
hand of God in your life? Pull back from the hustle and bustle of life and listen and examine the way in which God is orchestrating
the events of your life. God’s way is unique, and while He may be imperceptible, is not indomitable. Tozer wrote: “Whoever will
listen will hear the speaking Heaven." This is definitely not the hour when men take kindly to an exhortation to listen, for
listening is not part of popular religion. We may take heart. To a people caught in the tempest of the last great conflict,
God says, “Be still, and know that I am God,” and still He says it as if He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie not
in noise but in silence.” Join “D” and me in the journey!
Gratitude.
- I am grateful for the significant ministry in Cambodia (10
churches; 48 professions of faith).
- I am grateful for my safety during my travels.
- I am grateful for the reception that Ernest has
garnered within his sphere of influence.
Prayer.
- Pray for resources for the purchase of a vehicle for Ernest & the
CCE. A pastor said to me: “We know that Ernest is a humble man and God has placed him there for this time. But he needs a vehicle;
we want him to be accorded the same respect as other government officials… he shouldn’t be riding on a motorcycle.”
- Pray for
Ernest and Yvonne’s spiritual and physical protection as they minister in the rarefied context of government leadership.
- Uphold
the Phnom Penh pastors along with their congregations as they do intentional follow-up of the recent professions of faith.