Phola's story

In many ways, Phola’s story is not unusual. Like so many other young Cambodian Christians, she has found a wondrous escape from the oppressive ‘musts’ and ‘oughts’ of being a good Buddhist and discovered instead a deep and personal passion for knowing Jesus.

It all began when Phola was invited by her friend to attend a Young Life meeting on a Saturday night. Her eventual decision to trade her nominal Buddhist beliefs for an active Christian faith was taken in the knowledge that such a decision would have consequences.

For Phola, the consequences were immediate. Her father, a respected local Buddhist leader, denounced her for her newfound faith and ordered her to leave the family home. She ended up at the doors of the Young Life centre in the south of Phnom Penh, alienated from her immediate family and forcibly evicted from her home.

Although she has since been allowed back into her home, Phola faces a difficult time of rebuilding relationships. Like many others within Cambodia, her family view her decision to become a Christian as an act of betrayal – a rejection of what it means to truly Khmer.

NATION, RELIGION, KING. These are the words enscribed underneath the Cambodian national emblem and the values that are enshrined within Cambodian culture. As our neighbour put it the other day: “I am a Cambodian so therefore I am a Buddhist. It’s that simple.”

The challenge for Phola and the thousands of other young Christians across the country is to demonstrate a rightful allegiance to the values and traditions of Cambodia while also acknowledging that, ultimately, their real identity is now found elsewhere.