Sokhon founded Evangelical Mission Association in Cambodia, and ANM is one of his proud partners. In July, writer Sue, Southeast Asia administrator Joann, and I sat down to learn more about the mission work he and his wife Esther are currently doing.
Rebecca: I know that one part of your ministry is providing wells. I would like you to describe what goes into a well provision. How do you pick an area to receive a well?
Sokhon: We go into 24 provinces [Cambodia has 25 provinces, including the capital city Phnom Penh, which is an autonomous municipality]. We pick one at a time. Sometimes we already have a missionary there. If we have a missionary already there, it’s easy.
If we don’t have a missionary there, we talk with the pastor there. Some are from different denominations. We say, “In your area, is there any need for a water well?” If they say yes, we have requirements for how to select the place we drill the well.
Number one: if there is a church already and they need a water well, we will drill in front of the church. But there can be no fence, so [anyone] can come in and get the water.
Number two: if there is no church but there is a Christian or a pastor or a church worker that [has moved] into the village and started preaching the Gospel and they’re planning to start a Bible study or a church plant, we give them the well. Then they can use the well as a means to evangelize in that area.
Number three: we focus on a Christian family and we put a well in front of their house so that when people come, the owner of the house can evangelize them.
We used to not care — Christian or not Christian. If they needed a well, then we gave it. But this year, 2024, we changed our strategy. So everyone can come draw water and hear the Gospel.
Also, we don’t just cooperate with the Christians or pastors. We need to work alongside the local authority as well. For example, I gave a well to a village. The pastor, before we would put the well there, had to go to the village head and say that we’re Christians and we’re asking for your support to drill a well here. So at the well dedication, I myself came to the village to dedicate the well, and the village or community leader had to join with us and invite the people to come. Then I can come and speak the Word of God and dedicate the well.
Sometimes it’s not only the local village head, but also I invite the provincial governor or the deputy governor to come be with us.
Sue: That’s intentional, right? You do that because you want them to hear the Gospel.
Sokhon: Yes, the Word of God is most important.
Sue: So the wells really open the door.
Sokhon: Yes, very open.
Sue: Where do you get the funds for the wells?
Sokhon: Joyce Meyer Ministry. My godfather has an organization that works with Joyce Meyer, and he works with me. ANM helps us with some wells.
Rebecca: What are the challenges to your ministry?
Sokhon: There are many challenges — let me find the main ones. We have money to do the mission, but we lack the budget for operations. I get paid, as the leader, and this goes to my family. But to travel places we need a lot of money for gasoline. It’s very challenging because I have a heart to go around Cambodia. To keep going on and on, we need more money.
Right now, I work as a government officer, so I have a salary also. I take some for my tithe to the church, some for my family, and the rest is for myself and for gasoline.
Prayer is important. But we need money to keep working. Sometimes we sacrifice and we use the money from our family for pastoral training. The number one struggle is low budget.
Another challenge is that we have 200 churches. Our ministry is growing, and I need someone who is like a coordinator for the whole country who can speak and write English. We need financial support to hire this person.
Sue: Esther, how are you involved in the ministry?
Rebecca: Yes, describe your role.
Esther: My role is helping him [Sokhon] with everything. To help staff, workers, and projects with operations. I need to take care of my stuff too. Home, ministry, everything.
Sokhon: I asked her to do financial expenses. I work directly with our missionaries. If something is related to finances, then I have to let her do it. She’s very organized.
Sue: You told me earlier that you have 165 pastors.
Sokhon: Yes, in 12 provinces.
Sue: Is there anything else you would like to share about what God’s been doing in the last year?
Sokhon: Yes. Sometimes we have these challenges, but God is so good to us, especially through ANM. You give us a big amount and we divide it down, sometimes to just $20 [for each missionary], but we are thankful for the help. Sometimes I can get a little bit from another organization too. So one partner helps us with the feeding program and so on like that. God is doing good through us.
The ministry keeps going on through the grace of God.
We thank God and we thank ANM and we thank all of our donors, so that we can do the work. It’s not for me, but it’s for God’s Kingdom. My heart is for the whole of Cambodia and beyond. I want to start with Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand because I have connections there. I want to help the people there if I can, but right now, God put me in Cambodia, so I do what I can for Cambodia.
If we focus just on money, we might cut down some of the work we’re doing somewhere. But we look to God and our heart is for God. We believe God will provide. We don’t know how, but we believe.
Joann: They’re tremendously faithful servants. They always give tremendously good reports and send beautiful pictures. They do a good work. They’re so accountable for all the things that they do, very transparent.
Rebecca: Thank you.
