One young man’s persistent testimony to his family, despite persecution and resistance, eventually saw God bring his mother to salvation.
The village where Sorm lived in Cambodia was like most others. People worshiped Buddha but also a wide assortment of elemental spirits and ancestors’ ghosts. Sorm’s family was no different; everything was connected in some way to the influence of a ghost or spirit, karma from a past life, and a successful or failed sacrifice. Mantras and prayers needed to be constantly offered to protect the family from the supernatural.
When Sorm’s son came home and said he believed now in Jesus, a foreign God who protected him from all spirits, Sorm was appalled. This was the kind of nonsense was exactly the kind of thing that made you and your family a target for evil spirits.
A Stranger’s Testimony
Her son tried to talk to her about this Jesus, but Sorm was having none of it. He was young and didn’t know what he was talking about with this God. She firmly set herself against his discussions and attempts to make her believe too. As he grew older, she began to harass him more, hoping to bring him back to the family faith.
Eventually, her son moved away from the family, but he still came back to visit and would talk about his God, to Sorm’s disgust.
When her husband passed away, Sorm moved in with one of her other children. She recalled that time soberly. “My family’s life was filled with many griefs and problems such as arguments with neighbors, sickness, poverty, hopelessness, no self-esteem and fear of evil spirits.”
One day a pastor who was passing through the village began to talk about the God named Jesus who had died to set people free from spiritual oppression and heal their wounds. Sorm recognized the story that her son had often told her. The pastor recognized her because of her son. He was volunteering with World Challenge’s partners, teaching health lessons and spreading the gospel in other villages. The pastor praised the young man Sorm had raised and his diligent goodness, then the pastor asked Sorm if her son could teach some of these trainings in this village where she lived. Flattered and curious, she agreed.
Brought to the Son of God
Sorm’s son returned with trainings on disease prevention and hygiene; meanwhile, he also shared Bible stories and explained their importance to everyone who came to the trainings. He prayed for his family and for his mother, particularly. As always, he asked Sorm to accept God as her Savior and keeper. Sorm resisted but less vehemently, as she saw the help he was giving to the village and the way people were beginning to have hope for their futures.
Finally, it dawned upon Sorm that the only way she would be free from the weight of her past and her misdeeds was by this God, Jesus. She decided to trust in him and be born again. “When I believe in him, my life was fresher, full of harmony and hope without demonic spirits to disturb me. Many believers often visit me now to pray and encourage me. I really enjoy and love them.”
Soon, she joined her son in leading health trainings and Bible studies, leading people in their community to a God who can change their lives both spiritually and physically. The joy she has in Christ and in her renewed relationship with her son shines through as she shares the gospel and prays for the light of God to soften people’s hearts.