HeartCry Missionary Society wants to thank Pastor Jason Jesuroga for traveling and teaching the HeartCry Missionaries in Cambodia. Jason’s report is below, sharing the highlights of the trip and the blessing of the fellowship he experienced with the Khmer pastors. 

I just enjoyed the distinct privilege and pleasure of going to Cambodia through HeartCry 
Missionary Society to train local native pastors there for the work of the ministry. I am a Reformed Baptist pastor from a small church in Fort Worth, Texas, called Sovereign Joy Community Church.

My time there was nothing short of amazing for several reasons. First, I found myself personally challenged with forsaking the comforts of the United States for a third world country where there is much poverty and hardship. I was reminded of what the Lord Jesus did in leaving the status and privileges of heavenly glory and coming in likeness of a servant to save a people for His own glory (Phil 2:5–11). For me, this ministry required much dependence on God to get me through each and every day. It was difficult and taxing physically, mentally, and spiritually, but I found every teaching session very gratifying and thoroughly loved it.

Second, this time was amazing because the Cambodian Christians hunger to know the Bible. Their many questions kept me from going through all of the teaching material I brought, but the interaction was worthwhile. I taught for four hours each day. They would not let me stop before my time was up. God was doing a great work. Many times in the USA, people complain that the sermons are too long or require too much thinking. Nothing like that happened in Cambodia!

My two subjects were “An Introduction to the Pentateuch” and “The Doctrine of God.” In the first, I used a biblical-theological methodology to highlight the major themes of each book and how they all fit together with the rest of Scripture. My students said they enjoyed seeing the big picture as we traced the great promise of Genesis 3:15 through the Pentateuch. One of the things I stressed was that the purpose of the Scriptures is ultimately to point to Jesus Christ (Luke 24:27).

In the doctrine of God course, we discovered what God is like. Nothing is better than studying our great and glorious God! Buddhism is the prevalent religion in Cambodia, so it is very important for these pastors to have an accurate understanding of the nature and attributes of God.

The questions they raised were very relevant. An example is one pastor who asked me about meat that had been offered to idols, since his extended family often offers him such meat. He wondered about the best way to respond. I showed him 1 Corinthians 8 and we had a good discussion with all the men.

In conclusion, the men were very thankful for this ministry and the many answers to their questions. They were amazed that I could answer these questions using the Bible and asked how I gained so much knowledge. I thought about the many advantages we have in America. We should be thankful for them all, both spiritual and material.

Thankfully, they have a Bible in their native language of Khmer. Without this I could not have opened the Scriptures as I did and trained these men. I heard that the translator was an American missionary who produced a very accurate rendering by 1920. This was a great service to this people as now they have a Bible they can understand.

I would love to return to Cambodia and continue teaching these men, but I also know that if I get to go, the blessing will be all mine.