Most of us consider crickets as pests or, at best, as bait to use for fishing. No one I know wants to hear (or find) a cricket inside their house. However, this is not the case for new believers in this Cambodian village.
Over the past few months a church planter has been coming to this village with the Gospel of Christ. It all started with a burden in the heart of a Christian worker to reach out to these villagers along the river bank in the Mekong delta of Cambodia. This particular village had never heard the Gospel. His local church recommended this man to enroll in Local Church Planting.
He began to get to know the local community, listening to their needs and assessing the spiritual hunger. Local villagers quickly invited him into their homes and he began to open the Word of God with them and share Bible stories. He soon shared with them about a Creator God who loves them and wants to bless them. Buddhists do not believe in the existence of a Creator God.
Over 20 people have responded to the Gospel and have regular Bible studies with the church planter. There has been little resistance in this village to the Gospel. The wife of one of the village leaders was among the first to believe. They meet regularly to pray, study the word and learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
One of the major sources of income in this village and for these new believers is raising crickets. Crickets can sell for about $1 per kilogram and are a part of the diet of Cambodians. Crickets are grown in cement cubes or containers covered by nets. This house church is surrounded by crickets! The demand for crickets is growing and God is blessing this new church with lots of crickets!
Cambodians first began eating crickets during the starvation experienced under Pol Pot from 1975 - 1979. More than 1.5 million Cambodians were executed or died from disease and malnutrition during the days of the "killing fields".
Pray for church planters and new believers to be blessed in their efforts to bring the light of the Gospel to every village in Cambodia. Help us provide Bibles and training to those who wait for hope, healing and the salvation Jesus brings.
