In August, writer Sue, Southeast Asia Regional Director Marlou, and I had the opportunity to interview Petros and Hannah from Hug Cambodia Ministry. Sue’s previously written about the impact of this new Cambodian ministry partner. We were excited to interview them in person, especially to learn more about Hannah’s involvement with the multifaceted ministry.
Rebecca: Hannah, would you share about what you’re doing with the ministry?
Hannah: I love the children. I’m involved with the children’s ministry and the Sunday school. I’m so happy to have my part helping the children. I thank God that I have the opportunity to serve Him with the children and with the women, especially the widows.
God always hears our prayers. He always keeps us in His hand.
Marlou: By the way, she’s a big help to the ministry. When the pastors come for training [at the missionary training center], she’s the one in the kitchen.
Rebecca: Very important!
Marlou: Yes. She makes big pots of food.
Petros: We don’t have a big kitchen, but we thank the Lord that ANM gave us the funds to build an open-air kitchen so we can cook outside and serve the missionaries and pastors who come [for respite and training].
Hannah: I love cooking and serving people. I’m never tired. I’m so happy that God gave me a heart to serve missionaries. To see the smiles when they come together, have fellowship together, and eat together, makes me so happy and peaceful.
Rebecca: Wonderful. Now what does the ministry with women and widows look like?
Hannah: I have a dream for women and widows. Women and widows who don’t have jobs in my area have to go away from their family to work, and they face a problem with sex trafficking. It’s so painful. We help the children, but I also dream of helping the women, the widows, to have an opportunity to learn to make coffee or cake or use sewing machines. So they can work in their local place, they don’t have to leave their family. They can get an income and take care of their families.
Sue: So do you want to use the ministry training center as a training center for the women too?
Hannah: Yes, in the meantime but we need to have our own place as the present missionary training center is also being used as classrooms for the school children during the week. Having our own women’s training center will be such a blessing to the women’s ministry.
It’s very hard, very difficult for women in Cambodia, especially close to the border with Thailand.
Sue: Are you training ladies now?
Hannah: Not yet.
Sue: What do you need?
Hannah: We need our own building and we need to equip it with sewing machines, cookware, stoves, and other training equipment and materials. Please pray for this vision.
Marlou: Absolutely, we will. Oh, you haven’t touched on the prison ministry.
Petros: Hannah comes with me. She takes care of the ministry to the women inmates, and I take care of the ministry to the men. We thank the Lord, who makes this possible. Before, we didn’t have resources to go every month. But the prisoners need us to train them, to teach them, every month. Now with ANM, we can go regularly to the inmates in the jail. Now it’s going well, and many inmates come to Christ. We have special Bible study in the jail for inmates who want to serve the Lord.
We have about 300 converts and around 30 of them are being discipled and we see them as future leaders to disciple the rest of the converted prisoners. Some, when they’re released from jail, want to go and serve the Lord. So we want to thank you, ANM, for helping us and making this possible.
We must understand that Jesus said for us to visit people in jail, so we do that. God our Father is very happy when we don’t forget His Word.
Sue: Yes. Hannah, what do you do with the ladies?
Hannah: I love the women’s prison ministry. I want them to know that they’re valuable, even though they’re in this situation. I teach them that God never looks down on them. He can change you and give you a future. In God, we are the same. We have hope. I encourage and teach them how God leads.
Rebecca: Wonderful. Thank you.
We were blessed to talk to Petros and Hannah about Hug Cambodia Ministry.
