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Group of Covenanters Heading for Cambodia
CHICAGO, IL (July 2, 2002) - For the past five years, Pastor Won Park of the
Antioch Korean Covenant Church has led mission trips to Turkmenistan, a
former Soviet republic in Central Asia.
He planned to go again this year, but with the ongoing fighting in
neighboring Afghanistan, Park changed his mind. At least for this year.
"After September 11, Muslim countries have been hostile to foreigners,"
Park said. "We will just pause one year [from going to Turkmenistan]. We
thought it would be wise to do that."
Instead, Park will lead nine members of his church, a doctor from Wheaton,
Illinois, and a college student from Wisconsin on a mission trip to
Cambodia. There they will train Sunday school teachers, show a
Cambodian-language version of the Jesus film and visit local
villages. "We will be going from village to village, targeting people who
have never heard of Jesus Christ before," said Park. The team will depart
tomorrow (July 3) and return in two weeks.
During the village visits, Dr. Song will treat infants and children who do
not have access to medical care. She will be assisted by David Park, the
student from Wisconsin. David is a leukemia survivor who will enter medical
school this fall.
"By the grace of God he was healed," says Won Park of David Park's
miraculous recovery. "He committed to God to become a doctor. He wants to
help to heal others like he was healed."
Cambodia, which has a population of more than 11 million people, borders
the Gulf of Thailand and is wedged between Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. From
1975 to 1979, at least 1.7 million people - 21 percent of the population -
were killed during the reign of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The country
still struggles with poverty and, in recent years, a growing AIDS epidemic.
An estimated 200,000 people have been infected with the disease, which has
caused 70,000 deaths in the county.
Park says Cambodia still has not recovered from the devastation of the
Khmer Rouge, who were not completely defeated until 1999. "The spirit of
death is really permeating the country," he says. "I just simply pray that
God will show his mercy and love to th
e (Cambodian) people."
Park asks that Covenanters pray for him, his team and the people they will
visit in Cambodia.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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