Cambodia Mission

The goal is to raise $60,000 for three new vehicles to replace
the unreliable vehicles that are being used. (Duration: 3 minutes)

Friendly URL: www.cnumc.org/cambodia

In 1989, there were three Methodist congregations in Cambodia. Today, there are more than 150, most served by indigenous ordained or lay pastors. Since 1998, Methodist mission groups from five countries – the U.S., Korea, France, Switzerland, and Singapore – and the World Federation of Chinese Methodist Churches, have worked together, moving toward what is expected to become an autonomous Methodist Church in Cambodia.

United Methodists in California and Nevada have a long connection with the effort to develop congregations and leaders in Cambodia – an effort that has been spearheaded by Cambodians who learned of Christianity through Church humanitarian aid in refugee camps. Four of 10 United Methodist missionaries sent by the Church's Global Ministries agency are from California: Joseph and Marilyn Chan, Katherine Parker, and Romeo del Rosario, who heads the group. The missionaries engage in a broad range of church development, education, and health/social service ministries. Several missionaries work specifically with women and children.

The 2011 Annual Conference Session offering was designated for the Methodist Mission in Cambodia with a goal to raise $60,000.

A February 2010 visit to Cambodia by a California-Nevada leadership team led by Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr. revealed a specific and urgent need for three new vehicles to replace the mechanically unreliable, dilapidated, and ancient trucks that are currently used for travel on unpaved roads. Safe and reliable vehicles are critical for connecting the far-flung Cambodian congregations with each other for mutual support and for connecting the distant rural communities with health, education, agricultural, social service, and development resources that are only centrally available.

The photographs on this page are by Paul Jeffrey. The first picture is a street scene in the Cambodian village of Char. In the second, Irene Mparutsa, on the right, a United Methodist missionary, discusses the proper use of a water filter with women in the Cambodian village of Talom. In the third picture, at right, United Methodist mission personnel join with local church leaders to pray for a sick man in the Cambodian village of Pheakdei. The missionaries work with the Community Health and Agricultural Development program of the Methodist Mission in Cambodia.