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From Manila to Phnom Penh: An Interview with Efren and Becky Roxas
By Craig Greenfield
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Overview of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Cambodia is only slowly starting to recover
socially, politically, and economically from the
four years of Khmer Rouge rule from 1975-1979.
In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, political
and social unrest brought the Khmer Rouge to
power. Once they took control of Phnom Penh
in 1975, the Khmer Rouge began a gross
reorganization of the country. The entire city of
Phnom Penh was evacuated—its citizens sent to
work camps around the country. The Khmer Rouge
began to detain, torture, and execute people who
were educated, working professionals, and those
thought to be “traitors” to Khmer society. Religion,
family, and all things considered Western were
banned. During the four years under the Khmer
Rouge communist regime, nearly one-third of the
Cambodian population perished.
While the country is still trying to heal from the
emotional, physical, and spiritual devastation of
the Khmer Rouge regime, its progress has been
crippled by new challenges: rampant political
corruption, an increasing sex trafficking industry,
and a looming AIDS crisis, all while millions of
landmines remain unearthed and undetonated
around the country.
Only one percent of the Cambodian population is
Christian. Buddhism is a strong influence and is
closely linked to Cambodian national and personal
identity. There are small but growing Muslim and
Hindu populations. Many still practice animism and
idol-worship.
(Taken from Urbana’s Global Urban Trek overview
of Phnom Penh.)
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Efren and Becky Roxas grew up in impoverished rural Filipino families. After meeting Christ, they plunged into ministry among the urban poor of Manila. For decades following, they were pastors, mentors, and friends to many individuals and families. More recently, they sensed a call to move out cross-culturally—to the urban poor of a nation that has suffered more tragedy than any other country in Asia: Cambodia. Craig Greenfield, international coordinator of Servants to Asia's Urban Poor, interviewed them for this article.
Question: What influence did Servants missionaries and the Servants mission style have on your lives?
Becky: I was two years into my Christian walk when I first met a missionary from Servants to Asia's Urban Poor working in my community. Coming from a church that was preaching a health and wealth gospel, I was amazed to see how these “rich Christians” from the West were prepared to live among those of us who were poor and fully immerse themselves in the life of our community.
At first I thought they were crazy, extreme risk-takers of some sort. But then one day my oldest daughter fell sick and that missionary, Hugh Todd, came to visit our little home in the slum. We were in a needy situation, and he really helped us out. We became friends, and he would visit us often, and minister to us in so many ways. We really saw servanthood and a deep love for Christ being expressed in Hugh's life. As our friendship grew closer, his life began to challenge us. We began to ask the question: How can we serve our fellow poor using our gifts and abilities?
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Craig Greenfield is the international coordinator of Servants to Asia's Urban Poor. For the past six years he and his wife, Nay, have lived among the urban poor in the slums of Cambodia. They are now pioneering a new Servants team in downtown Vancouver, Canada. Greenfield is the co-founder and former director of Project HALO (Hope, Assistance, and Love for Orphans), a ministry of Servants Cambodia, which has helped Cambodian communities care for nearly one thousand children orphaned and affected by AIDS. Greenfield is also founder of Big Brothers and Sisters of Cambodia, a rapidly spreading youth movement mobilizing and training Christian young people in Cambodia to be mentors to orphans. He is the author of The Urban Halo: Hope for Orphans of the Poor. |
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