After The Heavy Rain

S. Himm Sokreaksa

Description

Thirteen of Reaksa Himm's immediate family, including both his parents, were executed by the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot. The young killers marched them from the remote northern village to which they had been exiled, out into the jungle. One by one the machetes fell. Severely wounded, Reaksa was covered by the bodies of his family. His remarkable story of survival is told in 'The Tears of My Soul'. In this second book he describes how he tracked down his family's killers, one by one, embraced them, gave them a scarf of friendship and presented each with a Bible. He has also funded and had built a clinic, school and five churches in the area. This is an astonishing tale of the consequences of spiritual rebirth.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Camboya
• Cambodia
• History of Asia
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lion Hudson
• Date de parution: 07 mars 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780857214157
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright © 2007 by Sokreaksa S. Himm This edition copyright © 2007 Lion Hudson
The right of Sokreaksa S. Himm to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Monarch Books an imprint of Lion Hudson plc Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] www.lionhudson.com/monarch
ISBN: 978-1-8542-4824-4 (UK) ISBN: 978-0-8254-6181-1 (USA) e-ISBN: 978-0-8572-1415-7
First edition 2007
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover image: Lion Hudson
CONTENTS
Cover Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Glossary A Word of Appreciation Foreword Preface Introduction 1. Searching for My Family’s Killers 2. Marched to a Grave 3. Living with Anger and Denial 4. The Shadow of Darkness 5. Forgiveness 6. Reconciliation 7. Blessings Contact the Author Photo Section
DEDICATION
This book is affectionately dedicated to the memory of: My father, Soeum Himm My mother, Kimcheav Ry My oldest brother, Sophoan Himm My older brother, Pinith Himm My older brother, Piney Himm My older sister, Sopheavy Himm My younger brother, Sokmeth Himm My younger brother, Sopheak Himm My youngest sister, Somaly Himm My younger brother, Sophat Himm My youngest brother, Thlok Phirun Himm My sister-in-law, Sophanny Sar My nephew, Sophoan Himm Junior
All these close relatives were killed in 1977 under the Khmer Rouge regime. Then on 18 March 2004 my dear brother-in-law Chhunly Hourt was shot dead by two robbers who stole his motor bike.
GLOSSARY angkar
= organization angkar loeu
= higher organization bong
= older brother or sister chao
= grandson or granddaughter chlop
= Khmer Rouge secret agent or investigator Khmer Rouge
= Khmer Communist or Red Khmer khmang
= enemy mak
= mother mith
= comrade ‘new liberated people’
= those who lived in the cities or outside the Khmer Rouge’s zones before the country was liberated on 17 April 1975; also called ‘17th of April’s people’ ‘old liberated people’
= those who lived in the Khmer Rouge’s zones before the country was liberated on 17 April 1975 pa or papa
= father pook
= father ta or tata
= elder, elderly (male) ‘sent to school’ or     ‘sent to study’
= to be executed
A WORD OF APPRECIATION
First of all, I thank God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for sparing my life during the darkest period of the entire history of Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge ruled the country. He has brought me back to my homeland even though I vowed never to return, in order to meet my family’s killers and forgive them. Without God’s richest grace in my life, this would have been impossible.
I thank my dear wife, Sophaly Eng, my beloved son, Philos Reaksa Himm, and my beloved daughter, Sophia Reaksa Himm, who have brought me great joy in life. They have given me the freedom to sit down in front of my computer and write this book. I wish to pay tribute to my only surviving sister, Sopheap Himm, who has grieved with me for years and who encouraged me to be careful when making my trip to meet our family’s killers.
I thank my prayer supporters Cerintha Chia, Rebecca Lee, Emily Quek, Ramsay Chan, Dr Brian Stiller, Ron Apperley, Margaret Gilligan, Ammee Chung, Layswan Goh, Stephen Fong, Alvin Dahl, Ron Terry, Neel and Pam Reynolds, Randy Kimlin, Dr William Craig, Dr William Wan, Lee Wong, David Wong, Dr Nancy Craig, Dr Duc Nguyen, Dr Coung Nguyen, Kavin Nguyen, Mark and Doris Duesling, Ruth and Wayne Duesling, Rudy and Sharon Dirks, Henry and Tina Dirks, Art and Helen Andres, Dr Mark Sandercock, Sandi Sandercock, Dr Alan Kirk, Bob Kirk, Larry and Mona McGill, Scott and Cynthia Veals, Chuck Ferguson, Pastor Timothy Phua, Dr Gus Konkel, Dr Jon Bonk, Elizabeth Davey, Lionel Sloggett, Hwee Ping, Chiang Hai, Dan and Rose Blosser, David Robinson, Ivor Greer, Este MacGregor, Evelyn Armstrong, Solina Chy, Jim and Agnes Verners, Johanna Webster, Revd John Wallis, Kok Liang Tan, Carolyn Ulrich, Phil Ulrich, Simon Koh, Dr Sorpong Peou, Richard Botkin, Thomas Chau and James Bo, Seap Loeuy. I really appreciate their consistent prayer for my ministry in Cambodia. Without their prayer support, I would not be able to serve the Lord there.
I also thank Pastors Narath Pann, Vansan Hong and Sokcheat Chea, who helped me to travel to the village where my family was killed and meet their killers to forgive them.
I thank many people in Northern Ireland who have encouraged me to write this book on forgiveness, based on my own experiences. My thanks especially go to Ian and Carol Little and Alan Little, Pastor Victor Maxwell, Trevor Watson and Ronnie Dawson and my friends Ken Rogers, Gwen and Roy, who helped me to share this message of forgiveness in many churches.
In addition, I thank my church-planting partner Pastor Pak Soon Lau, who willingly suffered with me after my brother-in-law was killed by robbers who stole his motor bike. Without his emotional support and encouragement, I would not have been able to stand firm in my ministry or even write this book. Finally, I would like to thank Pat Gerbrandt, who spent a lot of time polishing this book and Brenda Sloggett who helped with its final preparation..
FOREWORD
It was a great privilege for me to have been Sokreaksa’s professor when he was a student at the Tyndale University College. We lost touch with each other for many years, and when he finally tracked me down in Singapore, he told me that he had been searching for me relentlessly. That is exactly the person he is. If I may use one word to characterize Sokreaksa, the word ‘perseverance’ comes to mind. He simply does not give up!
Anyone reading his book Tears of My Soul will agree with me that Sokreaksa persevered against all odds when he found himself alive among the dead; decided to find refuge outside Cambodia; landed in Canada as a refugee; enrolled as a student in college and seminary; succeeded in establishing his own small business in Canada; dedicated himself to return to his birthplace as a church-planter.
Most of all, Sokreaksa persevered in getting to the root of his existential problems – he was imprisoned by bitterness, hatred and a desire for revenge – and he persevered in allowing God to release him from that psychological prison by forgiving those who had inflicted such profound pain in his life. He persevered in understanding the need to forgive, the desire to forgive and the actual act of forgiving his enemies face to face. More significantly, Sokreaksa genuinely attributes this perseverance to live, to learn and to forgive to the grace of the Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is a true story that must be read and digested by everyone who harbours any bitterness or anger or an unforgiving spirit. As Sokreaksa himself discovered, the lack of forgiveness is often excused by one’s sense of justice. Steve Asterburn labelled it ‘justifiable resentment’. When evil is so unmitigated, it would appear so unjust to forgive, especially those who are not even repenting of the evil they have committed. The injustice done to Sokreaksa and his family is truly unmitigated, and yet he forgave in the way God has forgiven us. In contrast, the injustices done to many of us who have suffered betrayal and ingratitude in the micro-politics in our churches – politics played by small-minded, ambitious and highly insecure people – pale into insignificance when compared to the magnitude of the injustices done to Sokreaksa and his family.
In the comfort zone of our cosy churches we sing with gusto songs such as:
 
God hath not promised skies always blue, Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through. God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
 
But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labour, light for the way; Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing kindness, undying love.
 
God hath not promised we shall not know Toil and temptation, trouble and woe. He hath not told us we shall not bear Many a burden, many a care.
 
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, Swift, easy travel, needing no guide; Never a mountain, rocky and steep, Never a river turbid and deep.
Words: Annie J Flint, 1919
 
But a little trouble, a little misunderstanding, a little unhappiness caused by others, and we become bitter and resentful. Reading this book should give one a right perspective to what a godly man means when he sings about ‘toil and temptation, trouble and woe’. What Sokreaksa has experienced and committed to writing should also help us to realize that ‘loving our enemies’ is never easy. To love our enemies implies that we must forgive them first. Forgiveness liberates us to love. That unforgiveness imprisons our spirit is now a psychiatric fact. Unforgiveness is detrimental to our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness. This phenomenon is now widely studied by the professionals in mental health. Ten years ago there were only 58 published studies on forgiveness. Today, there are more than 1,200.
When Sokreaksa, by faith, chose to forgive, he found himself freed from the shackles of nightmares and fear. He found himself stepping out of existential darkness into the marvellous light of possibilities and potentials. He found the truth that forgiveness is not so much about liberating the forgiven, but that the for