Cambodia is located in South East Asia and is bordered by Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. The official language is Khmer. For most Westerners, writing and pronouncing this language proves confusing and difficult. For over a century, the second language of choice among educated Cambodians was French, which is still spoken by many people who grew up before the 1970s. However, English is generally spoken in business circles and by attendants at supermarkets and hotels and is increasing in popularity.
Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia - only 20% of the population is officially employed. The other 80% are involved in the agricultural parts of the country. All fuel and most raw materials, capital equipment and consumer goods must be imported.
The first Veritas training in Cambodia was started in April 2005 by Alta Glas. The training was facilitated on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in a rented house which is large enough to house the participants from the villages for four days of training. An equal number of men and women were trained.
As participants are first generation Christians with a limited knowledge of the Bible and limited reading skills, each Module needs to be divided into about eight training blocks a year. The participants vary in age, come from different churches and include church planters.
Working hard
In December a church planter from Kampong Cham arrived at the Veritas office. He had travelled for four hours with a broken motorbike to find out more about Veritas and if he could attend Module 1. He shared that Christians came to his village and after praying for him, he was healed from bondage that had masked as madness. Consequently he had become a lay pastor and his desire now is to grow in understanding God's Word.
Feedback
Uhm Cohn (Elder)
His is the oldest from the group trained in 2006. He always speaks of how much he has learned and how he appreciates the opportunity to learn more of the Bible. His preaching improved so much that even his congregation commented on it.
Neksrey Phi (Elder)
Pastor Sok says: 
"Nobody taught me how to read in context. Before I was afraid of the Old Testament, now I lost my fear. I was told to preach but nobody ever gave me guidelines. My preaching has now improved."
(Pastor Sok is now working as a facilitator within Veritas)
Sok and his family
Please contact our office for any enquiries.
PO Box 2421
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Tel: +855 (0)12 942304