Cambodia

Background

Cambodia is a country rich in culture, ancient traditional values, and ritual practices. The country is predominantly Buddhist. However, although Cambodians are largely considered an unreached people group within the 10/40 window, the country has experienced a significant religious transformation, specifically with the emergence of Christianity.¹

This transformation is especially seen in the establishment of various Christian denominations. After the country recovered from the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge, during which religious rituals were banned and religious institutions persecuted, Christianity has taken root in Cambodia tremendously.

As Cambodia’s political stability and economic development have grown following the Khmer Rouge, the Christian movement has found new ways to conduct mission work. Local workers, international missionaries, and mission practitioners from various faith groups faithfully devote their time and even lives to the expansion of Christianity.² Among these faith groups, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has had a part to play in contributing to the movement of Christianity.

Early Adventist Missionaries to Cambodia (1930–1975)

The presence of Seventh-day Adventist mission work in Cambodia began in April 1930, with the arrival of General Conference missionary Fred L. Pickett and his wife, Ada Reeder, who had already arrived in Saigon, Annam a few months earlier before heading off to Phnom Penh, the capital of the province of Cambodia. They were immediately intent on learning the Khmer language,³ developing relationships with locals,⁴ assisting with medical needs, and translating materials. They hoped to build a church, but their attempts to obtain a license from the government to hold meetings failed due to political challenges in the country. However, Pickett did not give up. Instead, he established work in nearby Cochin-China, where there were already four Cambodians keeping the Sabbath because of literature they had previously received.⁵ As a result of the work there, several Cambodians were baptized.⁶ Eventually, with the help of church members, Pickett established a church of 32 members in the town of Tinh Bien, just across the border in Vietnam.⁷ Some of these new church members were Cambodian.⁸

In 1934, Pickett was appointed to be the director of the Siam Mission, but he continued to make trips back to Cambodia to maintain relationships. In 1937, the French Indo-China Mission was organized, and he was elected as its director. While there, he became very ill, but he was privileged to be given permission to be admitted to the French Military Hospital in Saigon and underwent surgical operations. However, on April 1, 1938, he passed away. Fred L. Pickett was buried in his beloved land of French Indo-China.⁹

On December 19, 1936, French citizens Robert and Martha (Brobecker) Bentz arrived in Singapore on their way to Cambodia.¹⁰ They began their work in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, by studying the Khmer language. On February 21, 1938, they were blessed by the birth of their son, Raymond Andre. A few months later, Martha tragically passed away due to a “baffling disease” that came on suddenly.¹¹

Martha Koempel arrived soon after to marry Robert. She had previously served in northern Africa for two years. She was a friend of the recently deceased Martha (Brobecker) Bentz.¹² The new Martha (Koempel) Bentz worked to establish a maternity hospital in Phnom Penh.¹³

As a result of the family’s outreach efforts, there was much interest from the locals. In 1941 the Japanese invaded Cambodia and the family had to leave Cambodia. They did not want to leave, but moved to Saigon, with Robert being elected as acting president and secretary-treasurer for the French Indo-China Mission.¹⁴

The Bentz family were the only ones who were allowed to stay in the territory of the French Indo-China Mission during this time.¹⁵ Six years later, they decided to leave for France for a long-overdue furlough, and they did not return. Their almost ten years of service in the French Indo-China Mission had come to an end.¹⁶

Although Seventh-day Adventist mission work in Cambodia was left with no foreign missionaries for nearly ten years, three Cambodian men—pastors and workers with the Christian Missionary Alliance—discovered the Sabbath truth through literature left behind by the Adventists, and they sincerely sought out the truth. L. G. Storz shared the story of how these men reached out to the French Indo-China Mission and requested that they send missionaries to Cambodia. As a result, in 1953, Chinese literature evangelist Tran Tran was brought to Phnom Penh and began mission work among the Chinese community.¹⁷

Ralph E. Neall and his wife Beatrice arrived in Phnom Penh in 1957. They immersed themselves in Khmer culture, learned the Khmer language, and slowly learned to adopt the Cambodian lifestyle.¹⁸ Their goal was to secure a permit for building a church and creating a space for evangelistic meetings, which they were ultimately successful in doing.¹⁹

Around this time, a Chinese minister, Giang Tu Minh, came with his wife to join the Mission workforce with Tran Tran to reach out to the Chinese community. As a result of Giang Tu Minh’s work, they gained some solid Chinese Bible study interests²⁰. Giang Tu Minh also collaborated with Ralph Neall to develop Bible correspondence schools using the Voice of Prophecy course. They also worked on translating the Voice of Prophecy lessons into Khmer.²¹ As a result of their collaborative ministry, they received tremendous interest from both the Chinese and Cambodian communities, and this led them to conduct public evangelistic meetings.²²

In August 1959, the Cambodian government granted the request of the Seventh-day Adventists to build a church in Phnom Penh. That same year, the Church in Phnom Penh was organized mainly with the Chinese community of eleven members, and the process of building a new church began.²³

During that time, there were colporteurs, Bible correspondence schools, and multiple public evangelistic meetings happening in both Chinese and Khmer. New pastoral families also arrived from the Philippines and Singapore. There were a couple of new baptisms within the Chinese Khmer community. The first church building, built in Phnom Penh, was completed in 1962 and contained 150 seats. This was a big milestone of Seventh-day Adventist mission work in Cambodia.²⁴ However, by 1965, due to political challenges, all missionaries were required to leave the country.

In 1970, Seventh-day Adventist Mission work in Cambodia was restored. An Indonesian pastoral family, Pastor and Mrs. Johann C. R. Adam arrived, and they were able to unite with church members, repair the church, and resume services.²⁵

During 1972–1975, we see student missionaries from Union College in the United States organizing an English Language Center in Phnom Penh, under the direction of Ed Moore, then Gary Wagner.²⁶ Gan Theow Ngand his wife Ivy also arrived from Singapore as a pastoral family. At the time they came, there was no church system or structure. Gan Theow Ng was the pastor of the Khmer and Chinese churches, and Ivy helped to teach English at the Center.²⁷

In 1973–1975, as these efforts were taking place, the Khmer Rouge regime was beginning to come to power. In August 1973, a recommendation came from the U.S. Embassy that all foreign missionaries leave the country by August 15. However, 22 days later, they were allowed to return.²⁸

There were more than 300 students who attended English classes at the English Language Center. Besides these classes, under the leadership of Gary Wagner and other student missionaries, they also held evangelistic meetings at the Center. As a result of these meetings, baptisms took place²⁹. There were also Khmer literature evangelists who went out in Phnom Penh, selling Cambodian books such as Guardian of Health and The Prince and Rebel, written by Ralph and Beatrice Neall.³⁰

Due to the effects of war, humanitarian organizations like Seventh-day Adventist Welfare Service (SAWS) were also involved with the mission work in Cambodia. SAWS had a great need for assistance, so these student missionaries were pulled in to assist in giving away food and clothes to refugees.³¹

In March 1975, all foreign missionaries were required to leave the country a final time.³² When the Khmer Rouge finally took over the entire country in April 1975, the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its members dissipated completely. It did not reappear in Cambodia until 18 years later.

Disruption of the Khmer Rouge (1975–1992)

During the time of the Khmer Rouge, a significant number of Cambodians immigrated to Thailand’s borders. There were several major and minor refugee camps along the borders of Thailand and Cambodia, including Khao-I-Dang, Nong Samut (also referred to as “New Camp,” “007,” or “Rithisen”), Nong Chan (later moved to Site II Camp), and Sakeo I and II. According to Michael Vickery,³³ Khao-I-Dang was the largest refugee camp, with a population of 136,000.³⁴ This camp was run by the Supreme Command of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the UNHCR within various services. The camp was purposely prepared as a place to make arrangements for refugees to either repatriate to their home country or resettle in a third country.

Van Lang was baptized prior to the Khmer Rouge as a result of attending the English Language Center and was then sponsored by the Far Eastern Division to attend Southeast Asia Union College and later the French Adventist Seminary in Collonges, France. Soon after her graduation in France, she accepted an invitation from the SAUM to serve with refugees on the Thailand-Cambodia border. She was assigned to an existing group in Nong Samet camp.³⁵ The group was led by Sameth Lem, who had also accepted Adventism through the English Language Center in 1973.³⁶ Van Lang was the first pastor who helped to increase membership through baptism in 1982. Van Lang eventually left for personal reasons and returned to France.³⁷

Judy Aitken was an American who became the founder of ASAP Ministries. After four weeks serving at the Bamboo Hospital in Khao-I-Dang camp, she became convinced that the Lord had called her to serve suffering and hopeless people in the refugee camps. As she worked, Judy realized that the refugees also needed spiritual food. She used nursing treatments to connect with the locals and began to give Bible studies. Eventually, she formed an Adventist group in Khao-I-Dang camp. Over the course of seven years, Judy helped to establish 17 churches within the camps.³⁸ Sophat Sorn was one of her converts who became a pastor. He mentioned that Judy purposely traveled from camp to camp to help and strengthen the local Adventist leaders.³⁹

There are no accurate numbers of how many Cambodian Adventists were baptized during that time, but there was one possible record written by Marc Coleman, who was a pastor at the church in the Site B refugee camp.⁴⁰ He mentioned that there were 14,000 Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese people baptized during that time. Evidence that these members could have been added to the Thai Mission records is that Sarith Touch and Mara Men shared their baptismal certificates indicating that their memberships were added to the Thailand Mission.⁴¹

Eventually, the news of resettlement and repatriation plans came to happen at last. While most Cambodian refugees took asylum in the United States, France, Australia, and Canada, the remaining members of these Cambodian Adventist groups were encouraged to keep in contact with each other when they arrived back in Cambodia.

Rise of the Adventist Church Organization in Cambodia (1993–2013)

The Paris Peace Agreement was signed in 1991. As a result, Cambodia’s civil war came to a close, and the Khmer Rouge movement was shut down. Refugee camps in Thailand or on the Thailand-Cambodia border were completely dissolved. Some refugees received asylum in new countries while others chose to return to their home villages in Cambodia. Cambodia officially became an independent government, and over time, the aggressiveness of political tensions and religious challenges subsided.

As a result of this new reality, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, through the work of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), was approved to begin constructing offices and work on other projects. On July 24, 1991, Elder George Johnson, the SAUM president at the time, came to Cambodia and, along with ADRA Director Charles Tidwell, signed an agreement with the Cambodian government⁴². Additionally, in 1994, Daniel Walter was able to register the Seventh-day Adventist Church entity as separate from the ADRA organization. These agreements have allowed ADRA and the Seventh-day Adventist Church to expand their projects and mission work within Cambodia to this day.⁴³

The Cambodia Attached District began to take steps to enter every major city and province of Cambodia. While the District did not have many pastors due to human resource and financial limitations, they mitigated this problem by assigning pastors as regional directors in some provinces and having church planters oversee local church work. This strategy was funded by both Global Outreach and Gospel Outreach ministries. The provinces that this strategy was implemented in were Kampong Saom, Koh Kong, Preah Vihear, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, and Banteay Meanchey.⁴⁴

Around 1999, the Cambodia Attached District wanted to expand to the northeast. When they could not find anyone, Chantha Ungoffered to go. He was relocated from Kampot to the northeast (Kratié, Preah Vihear, Steung Treng, Ratanakiri, and Mondulkiri provinces), and he was appointed as the regional coordinator. He focused on the three important areas: registering churches under the government, purchasing land, and recruiting young people to each province.⁴⁵

Though the Cambodian government had signed the agreement for religious freedom and supported the mission of the Cambodia Attached District, every time that the District sent a pastor into a new mission field, that pastor always found a way to connect with and introduce themselves to the local provincial authorities. Each pastor wanted to make sure that they cooperated with the government and developed a good relationship with them.⁴⁶

The Cambodia Attached District also began to build their own facility buildings such as churches; the mission headquarters, which was completed in 1999; a Bible training center, which was completed in 2003 and opened for pastor, teacher, and church planter trainings; and Cambodia Adventist School (later Cambodia Adventist International School).⁴⁷ They also developed several departmental ministries. In 2001, the Cambodia Attached District was reorganized as the Cambodia Adventist Mission.⁴⁸

By the year 2013, the identity of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission movement had a strong presence within Cambodia. The Church membership had exponentially grown to over 6,000 souls⁴⁹. Over time, the Cambodia Attached District/Adventist Mission received a supportive group of long-term missionaries who came from Australia (Tim and Wendy Maddocks arrived in 1993) and the United States (Gareld and Sharon Rogers, Tim and Fay Scott) as well as supporting ministries such as Adventist Frontier Missions (AFM) and Adventist Southeast Asia Projects (ASAP). These missionaries and ministries worked in various aspects of need, including church construction and the development of Adventist education, agriculture such as rice and irrigation systems, and theological and practical evangelism training for local pastors and Bible workers.

Presidents and Their Contributions

Daniel Walter (1993-1997)

Daniel M. Walter, from the United States, had served in Brazil for a few years and five years in the Sarawak Mission in Malaysia. The Southeast Asia Union Mission’s plan was for him to establish the organization of Adventism in Cambodia. He was the District’s first mission president, from 1993 to 1997.

Daniel Walterbegan to engage and connect with existing groups that were formed through ADRA and its workers, since ADRA was the main contributor to securing a legal agreement with the Cambodian government.⁵⁰

During this politically unstable and life-threatening time, Daniel Walter, with his cultural awareness and overseas experience, was able to help track down specific Cambodians who had accepted the Seventh-day Adventist faith in the refugee camps and had been lay Bible workers and church leaders while there. These men had received some basic Bible training on how to reach Buddhists from Marc Coleman, who was working as a missionary with Adventist Frontier Missions.⁵¹ Scott Grisworld, a pastor from the United States who became a missionary to Cambodians, also helped with this training. He commented, “We challenged them to be the church wherever they went, to start one in their homes.”⁵²

After the exponential increase in membership and the growth of his team of pastoral trainees, Daniel Walter began to establish the Church as an organization. First, he registered it separately from the ADRA entity so that the Church could expand its territory and spread the gospel more rapidly. Second, he appointed Vanthon Nhen to be the secretary of the Cambodia Attached District. This assignment was based on Vanthon’s skill in English and personal experience. Daniel Walter could not find a local Cambodian, however, who had knowledge of accounting and English skills, so he requested that the SAUM send him a treasurer, and Reno Ng was sent. He also appointed Dara Hang, who later went to Spicer College for a Theology degree, as the field secretary of the District.⁵³

Daniel Walter’s vision of ministry in Cambodia was to organize the Seventh-day Adventist Church structure and train local pastors with ministry and church leadership skills and an in-depth Bible knowledge since these pastors had very little formal education. He envisioned securing land for churches in prime locations around the country. He furthermore helped to design a Khmer-style church building structure. He also relocated the first batch of pastors to their own home provinces.⁵⁴

When it came to leadership, Daniel Walter was not only a leader, but he was also like a father to the people. He understood what the Cambodia Attached District really needed. He knew when to make directive decisions and when to allow things to happen. Lim Pheng commented, “My memories of [Daniel Walter] as a leader [are] of one who [was] caring, and [had] a father attitude. This quality can go a long way with Cambodians. Pastors and local church members were very appreciative of him.”⁵⁵

Bruce Bauer (1997-2000)

Dr. Bruce Bauer, a now-retired professor in the World Mission Department at Andrews University, was the second president of the Cambodia Attached District from 1997 to 2000. He came with extensive overseas missionary experience in Japan and Guam/Micronesia⁵⁶.

As a mission practitioner and missiology professor, Bruce Bauer was invited by Daniel Walter to teach missiology to the Cambodian pastors. While there, Daniel Walter sat down with him and expressed the need for a new leader of the District since he was planning to leave. Immediately, Bruce Bauer mentioned that he might be interested. A few weeks later, he received a call to serve in Cambodia.

Bruce Bauer and his wife arrived in Phnom Penh on September 5, 1997⁵⁷. At the time of their arrival, Cambodia was still facing difficulties with roads and electricity, which were underdeveloped. Land mines were still present and people with lost legs were not an uncommon sight.

As a missiologist, Bruce Bauer emphasized the importance of contextualization. He helped local pastors to contextualize the funerals and weddings they conducted. He also led biblically based discussions with the pastors on how they could adopt the idea of contextualization and what parts of Cambodian culture the pastors should maintain and what parts they should drop. He addressed the need for Khmer-Christian hymns with a Cambodian tune and having local pastors dress in Khmer attire so that people would recognize them as a lukro (teacher). Another important contextualization he addressed was church building structures. He, like Daniel Walter, wanted to see the local churches look more like Cambodian churches than following a Western style.⁵⁸

During Bruce Bauer’s time, he also helped to facilitate sending pastors to the unreached territories of Cambodia. He was able to expand mission work to the six remaining unentered provinces. As a leader, he frequently traveled to the field, visiting and encouraging local pastors to focus on outreach. He carried on Daniel Walter’s vision of training pastors for their work. He allowed the local workers to grow the Church according to the needs of the local people—in other words, he gave them freedom to contextualize the gospel. Bruce Bauer introduced critical contextualization to make the gospel more attractive so mission [could] be more propagated.⁵⁹

Garth Anthony (2001-2008)

Garth Anthony was a British missionary who worked in Pakistan for some time. He came to Cambodia during 2001–2008. He was the third president of the Cambodia Attached District/Adventist Mission. According to Lim Pheng, he had good administrative management skills.⁶⁰

Garth Anthony’s focus was mainly on city outreach around Phnom Penh, as there was a large population of Cambodians who had moved there for work. He reorganized the city’s territory into three districts: North, South, and Central⁶¹. During his presidency, Pastor Ney Khut was a Bible worker in the North District under Pastor Thonsovan Nhean.

Lim Pheng providedthe rationale for this focus on city evangelism: 1) People living in the city would bring the gospel to their relatives in the provinces, 2) city people had great influence on people in the rural provinces, and 3) a stronger tithe base would be established in the area.⁶²

In 2004, as part of Garth Anthony’s city initiative, a massive public evangelistic series was held in the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh. This was funded by the Denzil McNeilus family, whose son and daughter were the main speakers for the series.⁶³ As a result, about 800 people were baptized, and the membership of the Cambodia Adventist Mission was greatly increased.⁶⁴

During the eight years of his presidential ministry, Garth Anthony was unable to visit many churches because of a back injury. He mainly stayed in Phnom Penh, and as a result, he operated the Cambodia Attached District/Adventist Mission through its pastors and leaders. Garth Anthony empowered local leaders to grow churches with their own knowledge, and he allowed them to conduct church from their own perspective and context.⁶⁵

In 2008, Garth Anthony returned to the United Kingdom for health reasons. The Cambodia Adventist Mission was left under the leadership of Lim Pheng, who served as acting president for about six months and made sure that Mission operations ran smoothly. ⁶⁶

Deane Jackson (2009-2015)

Deane Jackson, an Australian, was the president of the Northern Australian Conference for seven years.⁶⁷ In 2009, he and his wife arrived in Cambodia where he began a new presidential ministry. Deane Jackson’s leadership of the Cambodia Adventist Mission ended in December 2015, and he was later called to serve in Vietnam as the director of a Center of Influence in Ho Chi Minh.

As someone who came from the developed world and a conference that was more organized and structured, Jackson had high expectations for the Cambodia Adventist Mission. He brought a strong, continuing training emphasis for local pastors and church planters. He also began to solidify the importance of following the church policy. He spent much time in the field visiting workers and remote churches and was also focused on the development of church infrastructure including church buildings and the Battambang Urban [Center] of Influence, thus helping to consolidate the work thus far achieved with a physical permanence.⁶⁸

During his more than five years of service in Cambodia, Deane Jackson traveled to every church in the country. He focused on members’ spiritual growth, and had daily devotionals written or translated, along with a weekly Bible memory text. He also encouraged outreach through the work of church planters and schools.⁶⁹

Conclusion

Although there have been political tensions and economic challenges, the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Cambodia has come a long way since its initial entrance. The unwavering faith of local pastors and their church members, as well as their desire to share the truth and hope in Christ, have grown remarkably. The Cambodia Adventist Mission is now a permanent presence in the country.

Note: Part 2 of this article is upcoming. -- Editors

Sources

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Armstrong, V. T. “Tidings from Indo-China.” Far Eastern Division Outlook, July 1947.

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Coleman, Marc. “Pen Chenda Prepares for Home.” Reaching the World With the Gospel Mission, April–June,1993.

Crisler, C. C. "A Visit to Annam." Far Eastern Division Outlook, July 1930.

Far Eastern Division Outlook. “Malayan Union News Notes.” January 1937.

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Fernandez, Gil G. Light Dawns Over Asia. Silang, Cevite, Republic of the Philippines: Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies [AIIAS] Publications, 1990, 267.

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Southeast Asia Union Messenger. “New Mission Director for Cambodia Mission.” July–December, 1997b.

Storz, L. G. “Come Over to Cambodia and Help Us.” Far Eastern Division Outlook, November 1956.

Thompson, James. “Born Again and Again: Cambodian Evangelicals Celebrate 100 Years.” Christianity Today, January 25. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/january/cambodia-evangelicals-100-anniversary-protestant-missionary.html (accessed May 6, 2024).

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Notes

1. Joshua Project, “Country: Cambodia,” accessed May 6, 2024, https://joshuaproject.net/countries/cb.↩

2. James Thompson, “Born Again and Again: Cambodian Evangelicals Celebrate 100 Years,” Christianity Today, January 25, 2023, accessed May 6, 2024, https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/january/cambodia-evangelicals-100-anniversary-protestant-missionary.html.↩

3. C. C. Crisler, “A Visit to Annam,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, July 1930, 6–7.↩

4. F. L. Pickett, “Cambodia,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, October 1930, 14.↩

5. F. L. Pickett, “Work Getting Foothold in Cambodia,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, October 1932, 2.↩

6. Gil G. Fernandez, Light Dawns Over Asia (Silang, Cavite, Republic of the Philippines: Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies [AIIAS] Publications, 1990), 267.↩

7. D. A. Roth, “No, No Hear of Jesus,” ARH, July 4, 1968, 1–3.↩

8. F. L. Pickett, “Malayan Notes of Progress: Cambodia,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, August 10, 1934, 6.↩

9. E. A. Moon, “Life Sketch,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, June 1938, 6.↩

10. Far Eastern Division Outlook, “Malayan Union News Notes,” January 1937, 8.↩

11. W. P. Bradley, “Life Sketch,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, October 1938, 7.↩

12. R. H. Wentland, “Words of Welcome,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, April 1939, 12.↩

13. Le Huu, “A Historical Study of Seventh-day Adventists in Vietnam 1929–1959” (master’s thesis, Philippine Union College, 1969).↩

14. Le Huu, “A Historical Study of Seventh-day Adventists in Vietnam 1929–1959” (master’s thesis, Philippine Union College, 1969).↩

15. V. T. Armstrong, “Tidings from Indo-China,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, July 1947, 1.↩

16. Le Huu, “A Historical Study of Seventh-day Adventists in Vietnam 1929–1959” (master’s thesis, Philippine Union College, 1969).↩

17. L. G. Storz, “Come Over to Cambodia and Help Us,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, November 1956, 4–5.↩

18. Beatrice S. Neall, “Homesick for That Country,” The Youth’s Instructor, January 6, 1959, 12–16.↩

19. Ralph E. Neall, “First S.D.A Church Building in Cambodia,” Southeast Asia Union Messenger, September–October 1962, 2.↩

20. Ralph E. Neall, “New Church Phnom Penh, Cambodia,” Southeast Asia Union Messenger, December 1958, 4–5.↩

21. Ralph E. Neall, “Phnom Penh Effort,” Southeast Asia Union Messenger, July–August 1960, 7.↩

22. Ralph E. Neall, “Cambodia District,” Southeast Asia Union Messenger, March–April 1962, 7.↩

23. Ralph E. Neall, “Cambodia District,” Southeast Asia Union Messenger, February 1960, 4.↩

24. Ralph E. Neall, “First S.D.A Church Building in Cambodia,” Southeast Asia Union Messenger, September–October 1962, 2.↩

25. Southeast Asia Union Messenger, “Reopening the Work in Cambodia,” July–August 1971, 9.↩

26. D. A. Roth, “Union College Student Missionary Survives Year in Strife-torn Cambodia,” Central Union Reaper, June 11, 1974, 2–3.↩

27. Gan Theow Ng, interview by Ney Khut, “Gan Theow Ng: Missionary to Cambodia.” January 16, 2020.↩

28. Jane Allen, “UC Student Missionary in Cambodia,” Central Union Reaper, October 9, 1973, 2–3.↩

29. D. A. Roth, “Union College Student Missionary Survives Year in Strife-torn Cambodia,” Central Union Reaper, June 11, 1974, 2–3.↩

30. Southeast Asia Union Messenger, “Cambodia District News,” May–June 1974, 10.↩

31. Jane Allen, “UC Student Missionary in Cambodia,” Central Union Reaper, October 9, 1973, 2–3.↩

32. Far Eastern Division Outlook, “From Cambodia,” October 1975, 2.↩

33. Michael Vickery, “Refugee Politics: The Khmer Camp System in Thailand,” in The Cambodian Agony, ed. David A. Ablin and Marlowe Hood (New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1988), 293–331.↩

34. Ney Khut, personal knowledge from working in the Adventist Mission in Cambodia between 1993–2013. This number is reflective of the year that Vickery wrote this material. When Site II was opened later, it then became the largest refugee camp.↩

35. Marvin H. Reeder, “Young Woman Becomes First Cambodian Missionary,” ARH, July 2, 1981, 14–15.↩

36. Gary Wagner, “Cambodian Baptisms,” ARH, September 28, 1995, 2.↩

37. Van Lang, interview by Ney Khut, San Bernardino, California, December 29, 2023.↩

38. ASAP Ministries, “Meet the Founder,” https://www.asapministries.org/node/180/who-we-are/meet-founder (accessed May 6, 2024).↩

39. Sorn Sophat, interview by Ney Khut, Stockton, California, December 27, 2023.↩

40. Marc Coleman, “Pen Chenda Prepares for Home,” Reaching the World With the Gospel Mission, April–June 1993, 7–8.↩

41. Sarith Touch, interview by Ney Khut, Battambang, Cambodia, October 25, 2023.↩

42. Kenneth R. Wade, “Adventists Establish an Official Presence in Cambodia,” Southeast Asia Union Messenger, September–October 1991, 5.↩

43. Daniel Walter, interview by Ney Khut, Denver, Colorado, January 20, 2024.↩

44. Lim Pheng, interview by Ney Khut, Saraburi, Thailand, January 5, 2024.↩

45. Chantha Ung, interview by Ney Khut, Kampot, Cambodia, December 2, 2023.↩

46. Thonsovan Nhean, interview by Ney Khut, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 5, 2023.↩

47. Lim Pheng, interview by Ney Khut, Saraburi, Thailand, January 14, 2024.↩

48. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, “Cambodia Adventist Mission,” accessed December 5, 2023. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=13089.↩

49. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research. Cambodia Mission. 1929–2013.  Accessed February 7, 2024. https://adventiststatistics.org/view_Summary.asp?FieldInstID=3653.↩

50. Daniel Walter, interview by Ney Khut, Denver, Colorado, January 18, 2024.↩

51. Marc Coleman, “Pen Chenda Prepares for Home,” Reaching the World With the Gospel Mission, April–June 1993, 7–8.↩

52. Scott Grisworld, email message to author, February 7, 2024.↩

53. Daniel Walter, interview by Ney Khut, Denver, Colorado, January 18, 2024.↩

54. Lim Pheng, interview by Ney Khut, Saraburi, Thailand, September 21, 2023.↩

55. Ibid.↩

56. Bruce Bauer, email message to author, December 27, 2023.↩

57. Southeast Asian Union Mission, “New Mission Director for Cambodia Mission.” July–December 1997, 3.↩

58. Bruce Bauer, email message to author, December 27, 2023.↩

59. Lim Pheng, interview by Ney Khut, Saraburi, Thailand, September 21, 2023.↩

60. Ibid.↩

61. Ibid.↩

62. Ibid.↩

63. Ibid.↩

64. Bettina Krause and Ansel Oliver. “ANN Feature: Breakthrough in Cambodia, Hundreds Baptized at Phnom Penh Outreach Series.” ANN English, January 27, 2003. https://adventist.news/news/ann-feature-breakthrough-in-cambodia-hundreds-baptized-at-phnom-penh-outreach-series (accessed May 6, 2024).↩

65. Tim Scott, email message to author, December 8, 2023.↩

66. Lim Pheng, interview by Ney Khut, Saraburi, Thailand, January 24, 2024.↩

67. Barry Oliver. “Northern Australian Conference, Australia.” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, January 29, 2020. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=A81N (accessed May 6, 2024).↩

68. Tim Maddocks, email message to author, September 9, 2023.↩

69. Lim Pheng, interview by Ney Khut, Saraburi, Thailand, September 21, 2023.↩