Waking up early in the morning, the Grace Church in Battambang made a three-hour bus trip to Siem Reap, the third-largest city in Cambodia. The church made the long trip because six of their students wanted to get baptized to celebrate God’s work in their life. So, to make the day extra special, the church decided to make the excursion.

Their first stop was a huge man-made lake six miles west of the Angkor Wat Temple. When they arrived, they worshiped and sang to God. After 30 minutes or so, the students who wanted to make their profession of faith stepped into the water with Pastor Chhay and were baptized. It was a beautiful scene.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the lake and exploring the Angkor Wat Temple.

Being one of the most prized areas of the nation, many Cambodians visit Angkor Wat annually. In fact, the temple is on the Cambodian national flag. The lure also extends to foreign tourists, which brings in a lot of foot traffic throughout the year.

The temple stands as a stark reminder of the spiritual darkness of Cambodia. With less than two percent of the country professing Christ, the richness of having six young students be baptized brought the group a little peace as they walked through the temple grounds.

Seeing the ancient man-made walls of the temple crumbling with age created the perfect contrast to accentuate the baptism that took place six miles away. Like 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Thankfully, we worship a God who made the world and everything in it, who being Lord of heaven and earth does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life, breath, and everything (Acts 17:24-25).

Please, take some time today to pray for the gospel witness in Cambodia.