Midnight Murder Attempt

Lydia and her husband had accepted Jesus and were determined to raise their six children to love the Lord in Cambodia. Lydia was still a new believer when word about her conversion reached the remnant forces of the still brutal Khmer Rouge who controlled her village. The soldiers’ presence made it difficult to share Christ. Everyone feared the régime, and Lydia and her husband knew that becoming Christians would attract unwarranted attention, but they were undeterred. Lydia longed to be true to Jesus and had unflinching hope that He would protect her even when soldiers burned down her house to the ground leaving nothing but ashes. Her family escaped the fire without injury and her faith was strengthened further. Her confidence in the Lord grew and she began sharing his love with more and more people in the village. One night, she heard God speaking telling her to wake up. She opened her eyes and saw that soldiers had pried opened her roof and had guns trained on her and her family. However, her screams for help ended up scaring the men away. Later the next day, Lydia shared with her neighbors how God protects those who believe in Jesus, and many began turning to Christ immediately as they heard her testimony. In just a few years, 180 families accepted the Lord through Lydia’s passionate preaching of the Gospel. One day, the Khmer Rouge came back and took all the Bibles in Lydia’s community. They threatened believers with death and then promised to return to kill someone. Almost all the Christians in the area fled to other villages for safety and they began sharing Jesus with their new neighbors, resulting in even more committed followers to Christ. Lydia has since established many churches and continues to serve the Lord faithfully with great zeal in all that she does. She embodies the following verse and encourages all those who follow Christ to do the same.

Romans 12:1 says: Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship.

Lydia knows each day is an opportunity to please the Lord, and so she offers her body as a sacrifice for the Kingdom reaching others with her uncompromising faith.