By Grace Smith, UBS Project Manager for Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos

Chea Thida and her husband, Seng Lim, a pastor in the Assemblies of God Church, run the Bible Society in Cambodia’s Scripture distribution centre in Siem Reap City – a task they undertake with great enthusiasm. Here, Mrs Chea describes why she is passionate about making God’s Word available.“

I became a Christian through my cousin in 1989, when I was 20,” she says. “At that time, Cambodia was under communist rule and the Church was oppressed. Christians lived in fear and it was very hard to get a Bible – the Bible Society had had to close back in the 1970s.

“There were 50 people in my church and we only had one Bible between us. This meant that the only time we could hear the Word of God was on Sundays, when we met for the service.

Worn and falling apart

“At one point, the church acquired a further two Bibles, which was wonderful. The pastor kept one copy, so the congregation shared the other two. People used those Bibles so much that they were soon very worn and falling apart.

“A couple of years later, Scriptures began to be brought into the country. My friend got hold of a New Testament, which I would borrow often. However, I desperately wanted my own copy and was frustrated that I could not afford one. At that time, Bibles cost around US$3.00, which was a huge amount of money for most people.

“To my joy, some time later, my friend had managed to save enough money to buy her own Bible and she gave her New Testament to me. I treasured it so much! I still count the day I received my very own New Testament as one of the most significant of my life.

Not supportive of my Christian faith

“The only problem was that my mother was not supportive of my Christian faith. In fact, she was furious about it and I had to hide my prayer and devotion time from her. I was responsible for cooking for the family, and found that the best time for me to read my New Testament in secret was

 when I was preparing the food, so I used to hide it under the stove.

“One day, however, my mother found it and threatened to throw it in the fire. She didn’t in the end but this reinforced for me just how precious the Scriptures are, and it prompted me to read my New Testament even more often than before.

Cherish the Bible

“These experiences have made me cherish the Bible so much. The Bible Society in Cambodia re-opened in 1993 and has been working hard to make the Bible available to everyone. But the task is huge and there are still so many people in Cambodia who cannot afford to buy Bibles or who cannot read them anyway.

“I share the Bible Society’s vision to make the Bible available to everyone - rich and poor, literate and illiterate – so that everyone can hear God’s message of love and salvation.”

Click here to read about how Mrs Chea and her husband are ministering to some of the country's poorest people in a floating village near Siem Reap City.