Cambodian pastor Rindo Nong describes his flight from the Khmer Rouge in 1979, his conversion to Christ in a Thai refugee camp and a journey to the Philippines and then to Fort Worth, Texas.
Cambodian pastor Rindo Nong gives his testimony in the Khmer language.
Cambodian pastor Rindo Nong gives his testimony in the Khmer language.
November 05, 2009
By George Henson,Staff Writer
Baptist Standard
FORT WORTH — Rindo Nong had no idea three decades ago God was leading him out of the killing fields of Cambodia so that years later, he could return, bringing the gospel to his homeland.
In fact, Nong didn’t even know God when his family fled to a refugee camp in Thailand to escape the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
“I grew up a Buddhist,” said Nong, now pastor of a Cambodian mission church in Fort Worth sponsored by Travis Avenue Baptist Church.
“In the refugee camp, they had a missionary who would go in and come out to spread the gospel. They had built one church for Christians and one church for Buddhists right across from one another.”
Nong’s mother and stepfather were curious and began attending the Christian church to find out more about Jesus. Ultimately, they made professions of faith in Christ, and they began to share their faith with other family members.
Nong began his own spiritual search, but it took him some time to leave his Buddhist roots.
One day, his mother and brother brought him a gospel tract to read.
“The tract talked about life, and it had a nice picture on it, and I liked that red flower. When I read through the whole tract, my spirit started to sing about life, what’s going on in life, and what happens when we die,” he said. “A new spirit came upon me. I didn’t know it was the Holy Spirit at that time, but I felt different.”
The next Sunday, when his mother went to church, Nong was by her side.
“When I accepted Christ, it changed my life. ... It changed the singing in my soul. Now there was joy,” he said.
That was 1980, and Nong began to spend a great deal of time with the Christian missionaries in the refugee camps, learning more about his newfound faith. He spent almost three years in refugee camps—two in Thailand and another in the Philippines—before he and his wife moved to Fort Worth, where his parents already were living.
In 1990, Nong began to feel a stirring to minister. Eventually, that sense of calling led him back to a place where he thought he never would return.
“I wanted to serve the Lord among Cambodians, but not go back to Cambodia. But one day, God called me back, and I had to go to Cambodia,” Nong recalled.
In 1994, with the help of Travis Avenue Baptist Church, he started his ministry to the Cambodians of Fort Worth. Three years later, Nong and his wife went back to Cam-bodia for the first time since his escape from the Com-munists years before.
“God told me I had to go back and start a church in my own village,” Nong said. Among his extended family, he found a readymade congregation who were eager to hear about Christ. In 2001, he led the construction of a church there.
He has made a trip back to Cambodia every year since, starting churches and constructing church buildings. Since 2003, a group from University Baptist Church, where he has worked as a custodian 25 years, has accompanied him to Cambodia.
“Now I’m involved with the whole country training pastors and leaders. The church there is really growing,” Nong said.
With help from his partners in Fort Worth, a Baptist center has been built in his home village of Batongbang to train church leaders.
While the people of Cambodia are closely tied to their family traditions and Buddhism, Nong said, they are very curious about Christianity. They have a thirst for more and are welcoming of Christians, he added.
“This is a good time,” Nong said. “We can’t wait too long.”
In fact, Nong didn’t even know God when his family fled to a refugee camp in Thailand to escape the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
“I grew up a Buddhist,” said Nong, now pastor of a Cambodian mission church in Fort Worth sponsored by Travis Avenue Baptist Church.
“In the refugee camp, they had a missionary who would go in and come out to spread the gospel. They had built one church for Christians and one church for Buddhists right across from one another.”
Nong’s mother and stepfather were curious and began attending the Christian church to find out more about Jesus. Ultimately, they made professions of faith in Christ, and they began to share their faith with other family members.
Nong began his own spiritual search, but it took him some time to leave his Buddhist roots.
One day, his mother and brother brought him a gospel tract to read.
“The tract talked about life, and it had a nice picture on it, and I liked that red flower. When I read through the whole tract, my spirit started to sing about life, what’s going on in life, and what happens when we die,” he said. “A new spirit came upon me. I didn’t know it was the Holy Spirit at that time, but I felt different.”
The next Sunday, when his mother went to church, Nong was by her side.
“When I accepted Christ, it changed my life. ... It changed the singing in my soul. Now there was joy,” he said.
That was 1980, and Nong began to spend a great deal of time with the Christian missionaries in the refugee camps, learning more about his newfound faith. He spent almost three years in refugee camps—two in Thailand and another in the Philippines—before he and his wife moved to Fort Worth, where his parents already were living.
In 1990, Nong began to feel a stirring to minister. Eventually, that sense of calling led him back to a place where he thought he never would return.
“I wanted to serve the Lord among Cambodians, but not go back to Cambodia. But one day, God called me back, and I had to go to Cambodia,” Nong recalled.
In 1994, with the help of Travis Avenue Baptist Church, he started his ministry to the Cambodians of Fort Worth. Three years later, Nong and his wife went back to Cam-bodia for the first time since his escape from the Com-munists years before.
“God told me I had to go back and start a church in my own village,” Nong said. Among his extended family, he found a readymade congregation who were eager to hear about Christ. In 2001, he led the construction of a church there.
He has made a trip back to Cambodia every year since, starting churches and constructing church buildings. Since 2003, a group from University Baptist Church, where he has worked as a custodian 25 years, has accompanied him to Cambodia.
“Now I’m involved with the whole country training pastors and leaders. The church there is really growing,” Nong said.
With help from his partners in Fort Worth, a Baptist center has been built in his home village of Batongbang to train church leaders.
While the people of Cambodia are closely tied to their family traditions and Buddhism, Nong said, they are very curious about Christianity. They have a thirst for more and are welcoming of Christians, he added.
“This is a good time,” Nong said. “We can’t wait too long.”
15 comments:
May God continue to bless cambodia, god has said if there's one believer in the whole country, he will heals the lands....
Be a blessing to God's people in Cambodia and everywhere
khmer mean chom nua prea: put,
min kua phler chua tam a kbot mea ouv nis te...!!!
Oh man, Cambodia is not a god land...you are brainwashed by baptist Mr.Rino Nong
Mr. Nong you are lucky enough to brainwashed poorest Khmers under HunSen Tyranny; you may not do in Irak or Aghanistan.
Khmers are already divided to youn to Chen.
Do not trying to divide between religious Budhism and Christian.
Oh! Poor Khmer we better wake up to believe in yourself, help yourself until God can help you.
Mr. Nong if we grew as Buddhist and are still Buddhist and having a happy life, healthy, wealty; why need to be converted for what?
Please let Khmer to be Khmer just brainwash the Khmer leaders stop to be corrupted and serve the people.
All religious believe could live together if you are teaching that your belief better than one. Then the hate between religious are inflamed one day we never have peace.
Pastor, hold fast to your faith in Jesus. i myself also became a christian when i arrived in the west. i accepted alienation from my own mother and family after i met Jesus in person. this event changed my life completely. so how can i go back to buddhism? May i dare you my readers to kneel down and humbly ask Jesus to help you in your unbelief. Pray something like this: "Lord Jesus i don't even believe that you are God, but in case you are real please help me to come to know you, because i want to know you as my Lord and Saviour..". If you pray this prayer with an earnest heart you will be surprised about what God can do. Then don't blame me if you end up with your sins forgiven, receiving life everlasting and see your life changed completely for the better.
I knew a few Refugee came to west change to Christian pleasing their sponsors then biased their religious, cultures...
Then now they are comonig back to their original belief.
Help yourself first god will help you.
You committed a sin, breaking law, doing harm to other, then you will receive bad karma or may go to jail..
The reality in your life any god is teaching good practice enlightement for your life.
Find faith in Buddhist since I was 6 year old make my family and myself even more bright, open mind,
good leadership, get along with everyone.
God Spelled Backwards
Most people believe dogs are very close to God. Why? Because after all DOG is God spelled backwards.
Claimed your self as buddhist converted to christian to be a changed person for better is a phony one. Believe or not you are not a thrue buddhist.
Just play game to be hero welcome in your church.
Your right to choose to believe want you want, you are hero in one side but not admire in another side where you are belong.
Let unite Khmer do not divide because your moneys and materials;
Indeed people run to you because they are hungry no food in their stomach, they need to survivre one day. Thus who give them foods or materials to survivre day by day they choose to change side.
In the old day mostly khmer having good standard of life they were not easily converted to any religious at all beside Buddhism.
If Church can change the sin of many big Brothers in Hun Sen Government to serve the poorest people in cambodia to be better life tomorrow, we may switch to church right now.
Mr. Duch Khmer rouge human massacre killer who also claimed himself to be ex buddhist change to a born christian, he was a phony lyer.
The real belief in buddhism not even dare to intentionally kill one animal or even fish alive.
We respect your belief but do not under estimate that Khmer never know how to read Bible. In the west
many paster used to knock khmer door step almost every month trying to convert Buddhist to Church.
In fact there were not many Khmers had been converted but Khmer are so polite with mutual respect your belief. Khmer learned and educated themselve also in the western mainstream. We know what we are doing. Please do not insist too much, leave our belief alone.
1:30pm, you wrote that my claim of conversion is a phoney one. you mean i lied, right? why would i lie if one of the 10 commandments we khmer christians stick to is "do not tell lies". you also wrote "Please do not insist too much, leave our belief alone" as if you feel khmer buddhism is under attack by khmer christians. if you know what you believe, why are you scared of khmer christians? i met Jesus as a real person - that's why i can say all other religions are false. i rather choose the truth, even if people call me "Ah phleu teou chheur sassna boratess" because once upon a time i used to jeer at khmer christians too. BUT the main thing is, is JESUS real and alive today or not?? and you can only find out if YOU ask HIM yourself!! that's why i suggested the prayer above. in fact you readers might be scared stiff when Jesus answers your prayer.. because, like me, you will have to ask yourselves "will i follow Jesus or not?"
http://sdhammika.blogspot.com/
http://dhammaprotector.blogspot.com/
http://yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org/
http://muni-vision.blogspot.com/search/label/From%20Christianity%20to%20Buddhism
Hi, please visit the link above to read the review from the Western Monks who wrote in order to defend the Dhamma by exposing slander, deceits and lies written in articles, documents posted on the net and books published by unscrupulous and propagandist writers especially by Christians.
Also please see video clips on Did Jesus Die on the Cross or...??? (BBC Documentry)and Did Jesus Study Buddhism? (BBC) Did Jesus learn what he knew from India? Where was Jesus and what was he doing from ages 12-30? from the link below: http://jesustobuddha.blogspot.com/
It is interesting while the Western Christians are convert to Buddhism, the ignorance Khmer convert to Christian. Please visit: Buddhism Roots Deeply in the Western World at: http://muni-vision.blogspot.com/search/label/From%20Christianity%20to%20Buddhism
and Buddhism in the Eyes of Intellectuals at: http://muni-vision.blogspot.com/search/label/Buddhism%20in%20the%20Eyes%20of%20Intellectuals
I am buddhism I will not scare to any of your god belief this is a freedom of one to choose. We are not Pol Pot to dictate Communist utopic.
I will be scare because Khmer are already dividing. Some Khmer who believe in Christian blash Khmer buddhism that they are ignorance as such.
Why are you telling me that you are buddhism, do you know really know buddhism, just like Mr. DUCH killing field murderer, said he was a buddhism, Sic
What is that meaning to propoganda ??
I had a lot Christian, and catholic friends. They are not trying to convert me to their religious at all. I was admired and mutual respect for who I am.
They told me since they knew me well they even adore more Buddhism.
We encountering strees at work, I told him if I could help to meditate buddhism yuga to release stress, it is working for them. I could convert my friends to Buddhism but I choose not, but mamny of my christian and catholic friend are so interesting to read Dalai Lama books and Buddhism in internet.
I am sucessful at works, my children are well discipline and educated.
However I am still khmer buddhism who is believing that GOD could help you until you could help yourself.
You are learned from mistake if you committed a sin many times god can not help you in real life now.
Venerable Shravasti Dhammika wrote: Guek Eav Kiang, alias Comrade Duch, is a nasty piece of works by any standards. He is charged with 'personally overseeing the systematic torture and killing of 15,000 people' at the notious Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh during the Khmer Rouge period and we await the court's verdict. When I visited Tuol Sleng a few years back I noticed a slight but distinct smell emanating from the wooden partitions that divided one prisoner's space from another. It smelt like a combination of sweat, cold vomit and marigolds. 'Where have I smelt that before?' I asked myself. Then suddenly it came to me. It is the same odor I had smelt in the barracks at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp outside Berlin - and it is the smell of terror. Whatever Comrade Duch's future here on earth, paradise awaits him in the next life. You see, Duch is saved; he has become a 'born again' Christian. In fact, he was working with the Christian aid organization World Vision when he was identified and arrested. During his trial, he tearfully said he was sorry for what he had done, an admission that was, like his conversion, apparently genuine. It must be very comforting for him to know that despite his monstrous crimes, he, unlike his Buddhist and communist victims, is destined for eternity in heaven. No doubt he will enjoy it.
Source: http://muni-vision.blogspot.com/2009/10/from-killing-fields-to-heaven.html
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