Killing Fields Living Fields A book review by Jim Kaufman - 3/23/02

   

Killing Fields Living Fields, by Don Cormack. Monarch Books, 1997 (updated 2000). 464 pp. $17.99.

I remember back in 1996 when Rev. Cliff Westergren, the featured preacher at the C-FWD youth conference in Ontario, spoke to the gathering of youth about the story of the Christian church in Cambodia. He told of how the C&MA sent the first evangelical missionaries into Cambodia, with two couples arriving back in the early 1920s. From there he briefly related the whole history from that first venture up to the reopening of the country to missionaries in the early 90s. I remember sitting there in awe as I listened, thinking how important it was for our Cambodian young people to hear about their Christian roots. Now something even better has come along--the book Killing Fields Living Fields by Don Cormack. It should be required reading for all Cambodian Christian youth. By following the stories recounted by Cambodian Christians interspersed with details of Cambodian history and culture the author weaves a fascinating and heartwarming picture of "the Church that would not die." Sure, it's a little long, weighing in at over 450 pages, but it is never boring. The writing is a bit flowery, idealistic, opinionated and sometimes not as well organized as it might be. But its all-encompassing scope and heart-rending impact cannot be ignored. I highly recommend it.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part tells the story of the church in Cambodia from it's beginning in 1923 until the takeover by the Khmer Rouge in April 1975. The second short part tells of what happened on that day, April 17, 1975 when the city of Phnom Penh was forcefully evacuated. Lastly, Part III recounts the story of the church from 1975 through 1996. In the latest edition a 2000 update was included.

One of the most fascinating sections was Part I. Cormack drops the reader into Khmer Christian history and traditional Buddhist culture as he describes Cambodia of 1923 and follows a small group of men walking the dusty road from their village to the Battambang Market to hear a strange, yet wonderful new teaching about the creator God of the universe with power to forgive sins. The man they met in the market that day was Paul Ellison's father, David Ellison, the first evangelical missionary to Cambodia. God worked in the hearts of these simple rice farmers as they listened to the teaching and excitedly pored over available Bible portions in the Khmer language and, by faith, began sharing the gospel with their families and neighbors. In 1925 the first Bible school was started and from there itinerant evangelists were sent throughout the far-reaching provinces. The church grew very slowly, however, during the first 45 years and persecution made life difficult. The leaders experienced feelings of discouragement, not unlike those that beset our leaders today, as they dealt with typical backsliding among the flock--apathy, immorality and dishonesty. Nevertheless, the stories of individual Cambodian Christians remaining resolute in their faith and full of joy are a great encouragement for us to keep moving forward despite opposition among the Cambodian people here in modern America, a society seemingly worlds away.

After a great persecution in the 60s, there were only about 300 committed believers in the whole country. Things began to change in the early '70s as the war began to intensify, creating floods of refugees into the cities as the Khmer Rouge advanced. The people opened up to the gospel and began seeking out Christians. Things started getting crazy. Preaching and Bible studies broke out everywhere as "old Christians" (those who had been saved for one or two years at most) led their own study groups. By the end of 1974 there were about 26 vibrant churches with more than 3000 members in Phnom Penh alone. Each week one hundred new believers were welcomed into God's family. These were turning to Christ as a result of the selfless love of the believers and the realization that Jesus was their last hope. Of course by the end of February 1975 all missionaries were evacuated as communist rockets exploded closer and closer to the city. Easter that year was a joyful time with great worship gatherings despite the feeling of impending doom in the city.

Eleven days after Easter the war ended. If you have seen The Killing Fields, the film that gave the world an awareness of Cambodia back in 1984, the events as depicted in Part II of this book follow true to form. The only additional detail would be the mention of what the Christians were doing during the exodus from Phnom Penh--praying together, saying farewell and shuffling out of the city along with the rest, dazed and confused.

Part III is more than twice as long as the other two parts put together. It is here where we see the majority of the individual testimonies of faith and perseverance as we follow some of the key Christian survivors who made it through nearly four years of slavery at the hands of Pol Pot, through life under Vietnamese occupation beginning in late 1978, escape to Thailand and, finally, for some, repatriation to Cambodia from the Thailand refugee camps in the early 90s.

It was estimated that 90% of the Christians in Cambodia died under the hand of the Pol Pot regime. Only three pastors survived. There were, however, some amazing works of God during those dark, hidden years. I am thankful that so many inspiring stories have been preserved for us--stories set in conditions that we have a hard time imagining. One touching story is of a young man named Radha. He came to Christ in 1973, had steadfastly kept his faith, kept his Bible hidden and lived through many deaths in his immediate family. One day in 1978 it was announced that a number of the young men and women in his workers' commune would be joined together in a mass wedding ceremony. How could he be forced to marry someone that he didn't know, likely a Buddhist who wouldn't love the Lord as he did? He was saddened by the whole idea. After the ceremony, as he carelessly bowed his head in prayer before his new wife at mealtime, she exclaimed, "You are a Christian!" "D'oh!" he must have thought. Had he given himself away? He didn't have to worry long since his wife's next words were, "I too am a Christian just like you, husband!" What can you say? It was truly the hand of God in action.

Another moving story was that of the death of a Christian teacher named Haim. The teenage Pol Pot soldiers were coming for him, of this he was sure. He could see them, clothed in black, walking along the rice paddy embankment toward him. After he and his family were rounded up, they were able to spend the night together, praying and comforting each other. The next morning they dug their own grave and were granted a moment to prepare for their death. They knelt down and cried out to God, exhorting those looking on to repent and believe the gospel. Suddenly, his young son ran off into the adjoining woods in a last-ditch escape attempt. Haim convinced the soldiers not to go after him and instead he called out to his son, "What comparison, my son, stealing a few more days of life in the wilderness, a fugitive, wretched and alone, to joining your family here momentarily around this grave but soon around the throne of God, free forever in Paradise?" Eventually, his weeping son walked out of the brush and rejoined his family. Haim told them they were now ready to go, but none of the soldiers present had the heart to follow through and strike the backs of their heads with the hoe. That task had to be done by the commune chief who had not been present. Needless to say, word of this great testimony of Christian faith spread throughout the countryside and eventually the confirmed story found its way to Don Cormack.

If you are curious about what life was like for Pastor Chan Hom of Long Beach CEC as a young boy growing up in a loving Christian family in Battambang Province you ought to read this book. He is a major character in the narrative. Cormack speaks glowingly of Kruu Hom, how, from the time he was ten years old, he read the Scriptures faithfully every day, grew into a committed Christian youth, graduated from Bible school and became a young pastor. He tells of how he survived during the time of Pol Pot (he was very good at catching rats), even ministered to advancing Vietnamese soldiers and then served tirelessly in the refugee camps. There is even a photo of him in Khao-I-Dang holding open the Bible that he had managed to hide away from the Khmer Rouge throughout those long years from 1975 to 1979. The book also mentions briefly others familiar to us, including venerated Christian leaders Dara Pen and San Hay Seng.

In making the decision to invest your time in writing a book, it helps if you have something to say. Your opinions based on your experiences with a subject, smoothly integrated into the narrative, are what make a book unique. This is something Cormack does particularly well. I could list so many stands that he takes on the issues. He writes of things he doesn't like about certain situations in the Cambodian culture and doesn't spare the church either. But he doesn't only focus on criticism; he also offers encouragement, with compassionate solutions to a number of upcoming problems he sees on the horizon. He comments on the whole sad refugee situation--disdain for opportunistic large relief agencies in the various camps, but admiration for Khmer Christians who eschewed a large ecumenical celebration with resultant severe persecution in Khao-I-Dang. He is wary of the introduction of modern praise choruses translated into Khmer when compared to the beloved songs in siewphov tmey (the new songbook) and concerned about the Cambodian culture of bribery, prostitution and cheating and its legacy for the young people of the country.

Space doesn't allow for more stories. I hope your appetite was whetted and that you will read it yourself and then lend it out to others in your congregation. You can buy Killing Fields Living Fields online for a healthy discount at such sites as amazon.com or christianbook.com.

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