“I am also a Christian!”
Last week, we went out to eat at a place that serves typical Khmer street food. After we finished eating and paid, the waitress, curious, asked where we were from and how we knew how to speak Khmer, the local language. We explained that we were missionaries living in another province in Cambodia.
Excited, she told us that she was also a Christian. After serving a few more customers, she returned and continued talking with us. She shared that she studies the Bible at home, and when she visits the capital, she attends church because there is no congregation in her hometown.
I told her that there actually is a congregation in her town. She became even more excited and asked me questions about the church’s teachings: “Do they live according to the Bible? Do they keep the biblical rest day?”
“Yes, they follow the Bible and keep the seventh day—Saturday—as the holy day of rest, just like the Bible says.”
She looked shocked and concerned because she had been unsure if the Sabbath was really on the seventh day, Saturday. I explained to her that God chose the seventh day as the Sabbath, and that it is clearly stated in the Bible.
However, she did not seem entirely convinced and brought me her Khmer Bible, asking me to show her where it says this. As I tried to find the verses I knew, I began to realize that something was different; this was not a Bible like I had thought, just interpretations of biblical passages. Only later did I fully understand that we were looking at the Book of Mormon, but at that moment, I began to gently explain to her that the book she had was not God’s complete and correct teachings. She was shocked—she had been studying that book for 20 years, thinking it was the true Bible because that is how it was described when it was given to her.
We showed her some verses from a Bible app on our phone and gave her a few passages to read. She still seemed a little confused, trying to process everything. We talked about how God wants a relationship with us and how He desires us to know the truth, not to be like lost sheep without a shepherd. In the end, we prayed together, asking God to reveal Himself to her, to show her the whole truth, and to send the right people to mentor her.
We wanted to give her a genuine Khmer Bible, but we did not have one with us. Since this was a different province, quite far from where we live, we exchanged contact information. We also connected her with the local Adventist church and told her that they would be happy to give her a Bible and study it with her.
We are praying that she will accept the true gospel, become a faithful Adventist follower of Jesus, and share the good news with her friends and customers.
