Go Beyond

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum | Phnom Penh, Cambodia | 13 October 2010

Chum Mey was in his late forties when the ultra-communist Khmer Rouge arrested and detained him and his family at Security Office 21 — a school converted into a center for the detention, interrogation, and torture of those deemed a threat to Democratic Kampuchea. By some estimates, as many as 20,000 men, women, and children were killed at S-21. Those who entered through the gates of S-21 found themselves in a lose-lose situation. The Khmer Rouge’s regulations made hope of survival impossible. Today, these regulations are posted at Tuol Sleng or S-21. Imagine yourself having to abide by the following regulations (as posted at Tuol Sleng, unedited):

1. You must answer accordingly to my questions. You must not turn them away.

2. Don’t try to hide the facts by making pretexts this and that. You are strictly prohibited to contest me.

3. Don’t be fool for you are a chap who dare to thwart the revolution.

4. You must immediately answer my questions without wasting time to reelect.

5. Don’t tell me either about your immoralities or the essence of the revolution.

6. While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all.

7. Do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet,when I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting.

8. Don’t make pretext about Kamouchea Krom in order to hide your secret or traitor.

9. If you don’t follow all the above rules, you shall get many lashes of electric wire.

10. If you disobey any point of my regulations you shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge.

The interrogation process was slanted toward the side of death. The Khmer Rouge needed little excuse to torture or to kill detainees. A friend who survived imprisonment at another location spoke to me about the capricious nature of the interrogators. He told me that even a “right” answer was no guarantee that you would be released. And so, in a period of three years, more than two-million Cambodians were brutally tortured and killed at the hands of other Cambodians. Of the thousands who were detained at S-21, only seven survived. Today, Chum Mey is one of only three remaining survivors.

I met Chum Mey when I visited S-21 in August of last year. He is a quiet men with a gentle but sad countenance. He lives in Phnom Penh and returns to S-21 several times a week to tell his story. He speaks just above a whisper in one of the rooms where an old black and white photograph of him and the other survivors is on display. I had an opportunity to meet him again this week. With the assistance of Karony, my interpreter, I learned a little more of Chum Mey’s story. Standing in a corner of the room, he shared that his wife and four children died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. As he spoke, I looked over at a young British girl who was listening to our conversation. She was weeping.

My heart sank when Chum Mey talked about his family. Because of the brutality of the Khmer Rouge, Chum Mey is an 89-year old orphan in every sense of the word. He has been alone for the past forty years, robbed of the opportunity to grow old with his wife and to bounce grandchildren on his knee. He has no one. For the past forty years he has returned to the place where he was tortured and where he lost his family. He returns to this sad place in order to tell his personal story to visitors from around the world. This has been his consuming mission, passion, and purpose in life. As we said our good-byes he said one final thing— “Please tell others what happened here so that it will not happen again.” I promised him that I would.

Chum Mey has been on a mission for the past forty years — a mission to promote the sanctity of human life. He personally knows what can happen when you live in a place where those in power have no regard for the value of life. He has thought about it for forty-years of lonely nights and eating meals alone in a quiet house. He is motivated to get up every morning to use his voice to tell a story that must be told again and again. Speaking to audiences of one and two or a few at a time, he has repeated his story countless times. As Christ-followers, we too have a story to tell — the story that life is a precious gift from God and should be handled with love and care. May we be as intentional and faithful to tell our story as Chum Mey has been to tell his.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I am in Cambodia with a team from Life International to assist in training church leaders about the sanctity of human life. Five years ago, Kingsland’s missions ministry worked with Life International to start a pregnancy help center in Kampala, Uganda. This center has played a key role in working with churches in Uganda to spread the message of life. Over the past five years, more than nine-hundred women who have visited the center have chosen to keep their babies. We are working with Life International once again and Steve Hyde of Asia for Jesus to start a pregnancy help center and to spread the message of life in Cambodia.

Cambodia’s recent history is saturated with the blood of more than two-million of its own people who died at the hands of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. The evidence of this heinous crime is still here — preserved at places like Security Office 21 and killing fields around the country. However, the evidence is also preserved in the memories of those who survived that terrible period or lost family and friends during the Pol Pot years. This morning, as I was teaching about why world-view is important, I talked about Pol Pot’s world-view. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge had no regard for the sanctity of human life. As a result many Cambodians suffered and died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. By a show of hands, I learned that almost everyone in the room had been personally impacted by the nightmare that Pol Pot unleashed on Cambodia more than thirty-years ago.

During a teaching break this afternoon, I took my friends Mary and Sandy to Security Office 21, located just ten-minutes from where we are teaching. I gave them a quick tour of this interrogation center where many people were sentenced to death and where many of those who were tortured died. It was a sobering experience. Because the Khmer Rouge took so many photographs of the people they tortured and killed, there is ample evidence of what can happen when those in power have no respect for the sanctity of human life.

Today was my third visit to S-21 but the first time that I noticed two small paintings on display in one of the rooms. These paintings depict the fate of the babies whose mothers were tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge. One painting depicts the infamous killing tree located at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, one of the many killing fields in the country. There is a sign in front of this tree with these sobering words: “Killing Tree Against Which Executioners Beat Children.” Pol Pot’s henchmen took small children from their mothers and smashed them against the killing tree. The other painting depicts the Khmer Rouge tossing babies up in the air and then shooting them. To save ammunition, they also tossed babies in the air and impaled them on the bayonets on their rifles. This is the ultimate depraved expression of where disrespect for human life can lead.

These two sobering paintings offer a glimpse into what was a horrific period for Cambodians and illustrate why what we believe about the sanctity of human life matters. When it comes to the sanctity of human life, Christ-followers must side with life, stand against death, and fight for justice. It is not enough to say that we are passionate about matters of injustice and then do nothing. Passion must lead to action on behalf of the weak and oppressed. We must continue to work toward the day when the womb is no longer a killing field. Anything less is a betrayal of our Christian worldview.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Cambodian Worship

One thing I enjoy most about traveling around the world is the opportunity to worship with Christ-followers in other countries. Over the years I have experienced worship on the steppes of Mongolia, in the African bush, in house churches in China, with persecuted believers in India, in small groups in Kashmir, with Muslim-background believers in Bangladesh, near displacement camps in Darfur, with Spanish-speakers in Mexico and Central and South America, on the island of Trinidad, with the international community in Dubai, among the Kurds in northern Iraq, with prisoners in Cambodia, quietly and in secret in Morocco, in old buildings in Ukraine, and a few other places.

This morning, I had the opportunity to worship with believers in Phnom Penh. There is a simplicity and purity that characterizes worship in so many of the places I visit, including Cambodia. Here are a few observations about today’s worship experience.

W = The Word of God plays a central role in worship here. Scripture passages and sermon outlines are not conveniently displayed on large screens. The absence of technology and PowerPoint means that people must actually use their Bibles. And, nobody seems to mind long Scripture readings or long sermons. Years ago I preached for more than an hour (two-hours with translation) in a church in Ukraine. When I finished, the pastor thanked me but said that the people had walked long distances and had come for more than a one-hour sermon. So, he preached for another two hours. The Cambodians must be related to the Ukrainians because they don’t seem to mind long sermons and lots of Scripture readings.

O = There is an openness in worship here. This morning, one lady left the comfort of her hard plastic chair during a worship song and began to praise God in the aisle. Soon, everyone was in the aisles with outstretched hands. No embarrassment because everyone was focused on praising God.

R = The order of worship here is flexible and the leaders are responsive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. This morning, things changed when the church leaders noticed many unbelievers seated in the congregation. Instead of proceeding with Plan A, they adjusted and abandoned the sermon for a simple presentation of the gospel. As a result, some of those in attendance came to faith in Christ.

S = I love to hear people sing songs of praise. Even though I can’t always understand the words, I can understand the heart. It’s inspiring to look at the faces of those who are singing, knowing that they are expressing their praise to the same God who loves us and sent His Son to redeem us.

H = People come to worship with the expectation that they will receive mercy and find grace to help them in their time of need. This morning a woman who was deaf in one ear asked for prayer. And, this morning she was healed. No fanfare. Folks here have no health benefits, no steady income, and no bank accounts. When they have a need they turn to God first and then watch expectantly for Him to answer. The once partially deaf lady was not disappointed this morning.

I = Worship here is an interactive experience. There is lots of interaction during worship. Nobody is bothered or distracted by the children playing in the aisles or beneath the hard plastic chairs. At the conclusion of the message, everyone is encouraged to ask those seated around them if they know Jesus. And, when folks walk forward to make a decision, others come forward to pray for them. There are many opportunities to interact with others in meaningful, helpful, and encouraging ways.

P = There is a freedom and openness in prayer during worship. When it is time to pray everyone prays aloud at the same time. What sounded like a cacophony to those of us in the room this morning was a symphony to God. He is able to sort out each request with no problem.

I enjoyed worshiping with Cambodian Christ-followers this morning. Experiences like this remind me that God is not an American. He is God and He loves the worship and praises of His people from every nation, tongue, and tribe.