Brian Elliot

Brian (right) Pastor Samdy translating (left) and a guy in church testifying about hearing out of one ear again after some years of it not doing too good. Sorry about the pic quality ...

Over thirty years ago I read a remarkable book entitled 'Anointed for Burial' - the remarkable story of Todd and Deanne Burke and their ministry in Cambodia immediately prior to the Khmer Rouge take-over. We still have this book - it is a Bonnevie treasure!

Last week we had Brian Elliot in town - a warm-hearted American who was doing a week of teaching at church on the subject of prayer ministry to the sick. Of course the timing of this overlays perfectly with our preperation for the Healing Home. Jesse had me share for a few minutes one night about what we are doing, and he too spoke to the congregation about his desire that, out of these meetings, many people would come forward and volunteer to be a part of the Healing Home ministry.

Anyway, back to Brian. He and his family worked on the Thai border in 1979, following the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge by the Vietnamese. Then for four years from 1992, he lived in Phnom Penh and worked among the believers here. His language skills are still very impressive - way ahead of Susie and I.

Following a meeting one night, we went out to dinner with Jesse, Soar and Brian. Somehow the subject of Todd Burke and the book came up. 'That is how I came to love this country' he said. 'Todd Burke was our pastor. He was always showing slides about Cambodia and talking about this country - that is what brought us out here all those years ago'. How amazing was that ...