Duong Mey in Cambodia was contemplating suicide when Phan Sathea came to bring the Gospel to her village. She felt helpless to protect herself and her three young children.
Duong Mey and her husband are construction workers. Whenever they got paid, her husband would go out drinking with his friends. Then, when he came home, he would be argumentative and get violent with his wife and children. Sometimes, he didn’t come home at all. He would stay out gambling and committing adultery. Duong Mey didn’t know how to cope.
She wanted to understand the real meaning of life, so when she saw Phan Sathea preaching in the village, she squeezed into the crowd to hear. Duong Mey told him, “Today, I want to commit suicide, because in this life I have no hope at all."
Phan Sathea shared the words of Jesus from Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." He said that the God of hope was able to fill Duong Mey with all joy and peace as she trusted in Him.
That very day, Duong Mey asked the Savior to come into her heart and take control of her life. She and the children traveled every Sunday to attend church and worship God. He changed her life from sorrow to joy. Whenever her husband was quarrelsome, she kept her patience and did not retaliate.
Eventually, her husband noticed. He commented that she seemed different than before and asked what had caused the change. She replied that Jesus Christ was teaching her daily as she read the Bible that the pastor had given her. Then, her husband asked to borrow her Bible so that he could read it as well! He began attending church with them, and the person he had been before disappeared. Now, instead of fighting, their home is filled with songs of praise to God and words of encouragement to each other!
