They sit on a grassy mound, smiling and laughing, as two teenage sisters – Phan and Pot – tell them Bible stories, sing worship songs, and lead them in prayer.
‘When I am teaching the Scriptures to the children in the Sunday school, I teach them with all my heart,’ says Pot. ‘I am happy when the children understand. It gives me joy in my heart and makes me want to teach them further.’
Phan and Pot’s big smiles and infectious laughter delight the children. Their love for – and knowledge of – the Bunong New Testament shines through as they teach the children about Jesus.
The joy that the sisters have in the Lord is contagious. For Phan and Pot know the transforming power of the gospel. They have experienced Jesus changing lives – their own and those of their family – and the desire of their hearts is for all Bunong people, young and old, to know Jesus in the same way.
Pot and the transforming word of God in the Bunong language ‘Previously, before we were believers, our family had difficulties,’ Pot says.
‘We had no father to take care of the family, so we lived with our grandparents. Back then, our grandfather was a heavy drinker, it wasn’t a good family life. There was fighting and hitting, so the kids had to work to be able to have food to eat.’
Then a young teacher came to work at the school in Phan and Pot’s isolated village in the Bunong countryside.
‘This teacher served God,’ Phan explains. ‘He taught God’s word to us and after that all my family – my grandparents, my mother, and all the children – entered into the trust of God.’
Coming to faith in Jesus changed everything for Phan and Pot’s family.
Phan and Pot learnt to read and write Bunong in literacy classes that were part of the Bunong Bible translation programme ‘After we became believers, my grandfather stopped drinking, he was no longer like he was before,’ says Pot.
‘He recognised that he was doing wrong by us, his grandchildren. Then he thought, if he didn’t allow us to go to school, then for our future, we wouldn’t have any work to do.
‘So it was only after we became Christians that we went to school.
‘Now because of his faith, our grandfather has love for us. Now he is a good person.’
As part of their education, Phan and Pot learnt to read and write Bunong in literacy classes being run as part of the programme to translate the Bible into Bunong. Indeed, the Bible translation team were the first people to write down the Bunong language.
‘I am very happy because we have the Bunong language written down,’ Phan says. ‘At first I could only read a little bit. But now I know how to read the New Testament for myself. In my heart, I am very happy to have the Scriptures in my own language.’
Getting an education... Pot, Serate and Phan The Bunong church has set up dorms in the grounds of Zion Church, which is a Bunong church in the town of Sen Monorom, the main town in the Bunong-speaking area of eastern Cambodia.
These dorms, which Phan and Pot, along with their younger sister Serate, live in, enable the children of families from distant Bunong villages to continue their education in the Sen Monorom schools.
‘Living here at the dorm versus living in the village, it’s not the same,’ Pot says, her voice breaking with emotion. ‘In the village, there’s not enough food to eat, we don’t have a motorbike to ride to school to study. Whereas here, at the dorm, we have everything. There’s food to eat, and for school I have everything I need. But our family does not have this.’
Teaching the children through Sunday school Phan and Pot are heavily involved in the life of Zion Church. They particularly love the vibrant youth group.
Another part of church life they feel called to be part of, even if they don’t find it easy, is teaching the children in the church Sunday school.
‘At the beginning I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to lead the children,’ Phan recalls. ‘But a young woman in the church encouraged me. She said: “If you want the children to know God, even if it’s hard, you need to persevere in teaching.” After that, I wanted to teach the children.’
Phan and Pot take the responsibility of teaching the children seriously.
They didn’t have the chance to go to church when they were younger, so they want to give other children the opportunity to learn about God.
‘Teaching children is difficult, one has to be patient,’ Pot explains. ‘But I want to serve God and I know that God wants me to help the children who do not yet understand the Scriptures.’
Pot and Serate enjoy the Bunong New Testament At the moment Phan and Pot can only teach the Sunday school children from the New Testament.
They long to be able to read all of the Bible in Bunong and – thanks to the hard work of the translation team and the giving and prayers of people like you – a time is coming soon when Phan and Pot will hold the full Bunong Bible in their hands.
‘Having both the New Testament and the Old Testament in Bunong is very important to me so I can understand all of God’s word,’ explains Phan. And Pot adds: ‘God’s word is good. If we have the whole Bible in Bunong we’ll be able to know so much more about God.’
Phan and Pot have much to sing about Phan and Pot have big dreams for the future.
They are doing well in their education – Phan is about to begin a two-year Bible school programme, and Pot has passed her school Grade 9 exams and will start Grade 10 this November.
They also have big dreams for their Bunong people and the Bunong Church.
‘One day in the future,’ Phan says in conclusion, ‘I hope that all the Bunong children, the youth, and the older people will be able to read all of God’s word in Bunong. I also want to see Bunong people have increasingly strong faith and grow in their understanding of God through having the full Bible in their own language.’
‘God’s word is good’ in the Bunong language Watch the video of Phan and Pot here.
For more on the Bunong community and translation programme, see the story about Lonh’s hope.
