Using the analogy of jewels which are formed under intense pressure and obtained at high costs, Brenda Slogget tells faith stories of lives transformed under equally intense difficulties and high costs but the end results are truly gems, hence the title of the book.

She skillfully intertwined historical events such as the earlier hard years of mission work, the genocide years and the refugee camps with stories of lives touched and changed by the Gospel. Although she had never lived in Cambodia per se, she first traveled there in 1991 and since then had traveled there on various occasions meeting both Khmer Christians and expatriate missionaries recording their stories.

One such person is Rev Heng Cheng, born in a Chinese-Cambodian Christian home and in the 1960s worshipped in a church planted by the first missionary to Cambodia, David Ellison. From being in the Lon Nol army to selling medicine in Vietnam, Rev Heng is now the General Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia (EFC) under which umbrella is 101 churches.

Other testimonies told in this book include that of Barnabas Marm, Sokreaksa Himm and Uon Seila who have become well respected leaders in the Cambodian church.

Stories of the work and lives of missionaries who arrived in the early 90s are also found in this heart-warming book. One such couple is Rev Jim and Mrs Agnes Verner who arrived in Cambodia in 1993 with the SAO (Southeast Asian Outreach) and was used by God both in planting churches, training the national leadershipas well as in many development projects. The Verners even started the Khmer School of Language at which many present day missionaries were first exposed to the Khmer language.

The other beautiful life story told in this book is that of Marie Ens. Marie and her husband Norman were missionaries with the Christian Missionary Alliance and were sent to Cambodia in 1961. They, together with all missionaries, were expelled from Cambodia just before the war. After her husband went home to be with the Lord, Marie made the bold decision to return to Cambodia in 1994 to work with a local church, ministering to the AIDS patients in a military hospital. I had the privilege of meeting this petite elderly sister in Christ and she exudes the love and compassion of Christ.

For me to read through this book is not only enriching but often I smiled between the pages for the names of both the Khmers and the missionaries are real life people I have the privilege of meeting. The places mentioned too are familiar.

There are so few books about the church and the Christians in Cambodia and sometimes it is so hard to recommend books to short term mission trippers. The only other book is Living Fields, Killing Fields by Don Cormack. And so, I would strongly recommend this book to all those who are thinking about spending time in Cambodia, even if it’s for a few days.

Avoid what Rev Heng Cheng described as “many foreign missionaries want to plant churches … they have the right and freedom to do so, but it would be more effective and wise if they work along side the nationals, ... rather than hiring a few translators and going out on their own.”

The church in Cambodia and the people there is not a clean slate as if nothing has happened before the 21st century of Asian Mission era. Read about what God has done to be a part of what He is doing!!

Note: This book is available from Amazon.com at USD12.24

1 Sloggett has another book on Cambodia : A Voice in the Night: A Challenging True Story of Mission Work With the People of Cambodia and Vietnam
2 Sokreaksa Himm’s own book, Tears of My Soul is available from Amazon.com
3 Marie’s own stories are told in two books, Journey to Joy and A Time for Mercy
4 Available also from Amazon.com and the OMF Malaysia office in KL. The Chinese translation is available from there. Contact Connie at my-admin@omf.net
5 P. 106

Lenita Tiong
SCAC Missionary
Cambodia