A First for Cambodia

Nhem Nivath from the kingdom of Cambodia was the first delegate to arrive in Manila, the Philippines, for the 6th Asian Baptist Congress, April 19-23 [2002], and the first representative of his country ever to attend an Asian Baptist Federation (ABF) meeting. Indeed this was a historic moment for Baptists in Asia and the world, since as the ABF Congress newsletter wrote, "his participation was a breakthrough in the history of Christianity in the region." Once a Communist nation, more than three million people died there under the regime of the Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. Nivath now serves as general secretary of the Cambodia Baptist Convention with 210 churches and approximately 9,500 believers. "The older people still feel much pain and suffering and it is difficult to be a Christian," Nivath says. Now with membership in the ABF, he knows the love and support of Baptists in Asia.