Barnabas had everything against him when the new régime came to power in the 1970’s.  He wore glasses (indicating he was not just a peasant); he spoke English (showing he was part of the educated class); he had relationships with foreigners (making him suspect as a spy); and most of all he was a Christian (proving that he was not a true Cambodian).  As a result, Barnabas was taken away to the Killing Fields where he lived for the next four years.  One of his jobs was to bury the bodies of the prisoners when they died.  He would shovel the dirt and ask God, “When will it be my turn?  And who will bury me?”

Fortunately, his turn did not come.  He was one of the few survivors.  When he returned home, he discovered that of the 48 members of his extended family, only he, his mother, and one other survived those years.  Then, Barnabas had to flee his nation as the Vietnamese invaded to fill the vacuum created by the fall of Pol Pot.  For eight years he lived in a refugee camp in Thailand.

While there, Barnabas planted 15 churches in the refugee camp.  When he returned to his homeland, he knew that God had called him to see Cambodia won for Christ.  So he set out to plant churches across his war-ravaged nation.  As National Director of AFCI Cambodia, today Barnabas directs the Grace Center which has trained over 300 churches planters.  These churches have baptized over 30,000 new Christians and planted more than 300 churches..  Barnabas’ steady faithfulness serves as inspiration to not only the AFCI Cambodia team but the entire AFCI family.