“God’s heart breaks for His creation, yet we have his peace and joy”: Singapore missionaries in conflict-stricken Cambodia

While the rest of the world was gearing up for Christmas, Thailand and Cambodia were locked in a conflict that began on December 7, 2025. It was only on December 27 that both sides signed an agreement that effected an immediate ceasefire.

The three-week conflict saw hundreds of thousands of Cambodians displaced. According to news sources, while some 160,000 have returned home, more than 500,000 remain displaced. On Thailand’s side, more than 150,000 have been displaced.

It is traumatising for many Cambodians who survived the civil war of the 1970s, which saw some 300,000 people killed and 25% of the population displaced.

Heather Lim, a volunteer with YWAM Singapore who was on the ground in Cambodia during the conflict said: “Cambodians are heartbroken because this will be the second time an entire generation needs to live through a war or conflict. 

“We met a lady, Chak Riya, in her 50s who is from a border town called Poipet. She fled from Poipet, but her son stays behind in Poipet because he needs to continue to work, to support the family to cover the loan she took for her breast cancer surgery. She is very worried for her son. 

Heather added: “She is also in a lot of pain because she knows that Cambodia cannot win the war. And she is very grieved because she knows what it is like to live through the pain of the Khmer Rouge and really does not want her children to have to suffer another war.”

Love in a hopeless place

The situation in Cambodia seems dire, but long before the conflict started, God had already been doing a work in the land.

Andrew Scarborough, founder of missions organisation Fire & Rain International told Salt&Light: “In our first year (2022), we did a Gospel festival in Indonesia, and saw 14,000 decisions for Jesus. We thought we would just keep ploughing in Indonesia, but then there was a real sense that now was the time for Cambodia, and we couldn’t understand why.

“So we pivoted to Cambodia, and by the grace of God, we’ve had favour all the way: The national leaders, the heads of church, local missionaries. Somehow we’re connected, and now we’re helping to strengthen the local church, to bless the nation of Cambodia, to see Cambodia know the love of God.”

Fire & Rain Cambodia director Samedi Ang (right) ministering to a refugee. Photo courtesy of Fire & Rain International.

David Neo, head of Outreach and an evangelist with Fire & Rain Asia, told Salt&Light: “The Cambodian Church is really coming together right now. When we hold a festival, it unites the churches because across all denominations they come, they volunteer because it’s a massive effort that requires many people.”

Fire & Rain conducted the Love Kampong Cham Christmas Festival from December 4 to 6, 2025, which drew some 18,000 people and saw miracles, signs and wonders. Shortly after the festival, the December 7 conflict broke out.

The ceasefire sees some Cambodians returning home but there remains half a million who are still displaced and need support. Photo courtesy of Fire & Rain International.

There is a movement called Love Cambodia, said David, which brings together all the leaders of all the denominations, and all the churches are united, and coming together to work on a joint response to love on the refugees that are streaming into the camps.

“It’s all a Kingdom effort,” he said. “This is the Body of Christ coming together to respond to what is happening. Over half a million refugees that have been displaced, and daily (before the ceasefire), 30,000 to 40,000 are added to that number.”

The situation may be physically challenging, but David recalls how God once turned evil for good. “Many of the Christian leaders and believers in Cambodia first encountered the love of Christ while living as refugees during the (1970s) genocide. So this situation actually brings them back in history. One of them cried and said it reminded him of where he was when, that in the moment of deepest suffering and loss, the Gospel brought him hope, healing and new life. And that’s what a lot of them wish for: To bring hope, healing and new life to people who have lost all hope and face a grim future because they’ve lost everything,” he related.

“I think that the nation is therefore at a crossroads again, and history is unfolding itself. This really is a sacred opportunity to respond with love.”

Refugees being provided food supplies and mosquito nets by Fire & Rain Cambodia. Photo courtesy of Fire & Rain International.

Fire & Rain were in the right place at the right time. Having established a presence through the festival and outreach efforts, the team, led by Samedi Ang, was able to respond swiftly to the crisis, supplying basic food and mosquito nets to the refugees in camps, and sharing the hope and love of God with them.

There is ongoing need for food, medical aid and Christian outreach to the campsites, in spite of the ceasefire. To support Love Cambodia’s response efforts, email David Neo at dneo@fireandrain.international or find out more here.

Pain and purpose

Singaporean volunteers with YWAM, Heather Lim and her husband Jethro Koh spoke to Salt&Light about the condition of Cambodia on the ground, where they and other YWAM teams were serving after the conflict broke out. 

Jethro and Heather (2nd row from back, in white caps) with their fellow YWAM missionaries from across the world as well as some of the refugee children. Photo courtesy of Jethro Koh and Heather Lim.

The couple had already planned to be in Cambodia when they heard about the border dispute. 

Jethro told Salt&Light: “We decided to continue with the trip, because this is what Jesus would have done. He lays down His life for His sheep, and has called us to do the same (Revelation 12:11, John 21). We have friends in Cambodia who have been deeply affected by the conflict and we just wanted to be there for them.”

“Local Cambodians are displaced and need to flee – some even on foot as some families don’t even have a vehicle,” said Heather, who returned to Singapore on December 28, 2025 with Jethro.

A refugee camp occupied by displaced Cambodians in Srei Nam District in the Siem Reap province. Photo courtesy of Jethro Koh and Heather Lim.

“Living conditions are bad in the refugee camps but YWAM has begun sanitation projects including building toilets. Temporary schools are also being set up by YWAM.”

The bombs hit residential areas and schools, forcing Cambodians out of their spaces and into refugee tents.

Heather added: “The people we were ministering and reaching out to are people who have gone through so much as children in the Khmer Rouge, and the repercussions of that throughout individual lives, the economy, and government continue. Cambodia is still facing and recovering from the repercussions of the Khmer Rouge, but with this conflict, the nation is again hit.”

The couple served alongside YWAM Cambodians, who themselves are affected by the conflict. “They have continued to serve faithfully while personally going through pain and loss,” she described. “Some of these staff members have themselves lost homes, some of their own families are in refugee camps.”

Still, in the midst of all the suffering and danger, God is moving.

Heather related: “We visited a refugee camp which was five miles away from a bridge where an F16 had just dropped a bomb about an hour before we arrived. 

“While the refugee camp was not affected, at the sound of the bomb, the refugees started to flee again, moving out of this camp to head further inland. 

“Amidst all these heartaches, our whole Singapore team of seven encountered the ‘peace of God that surpasses all understanding’. By human understanding, we should have been anxious or worried for our lives just like the rest of the refugees, but instead we were filled with God’s peace, and God showed us how His heart breaks for such pain in the world.”

She continued: “While we caught a glimpse of God’s heartbreak for His creation, we also encountered His peace, and the joy of the Lord!

“We testify of Philippians 4:4-7.”

With the ceasefire on December 27, there is some reprieve but much work remains to be done. “While some have started to move back to their villages and provinces, homes have to be rebuilt, and YWAM Siem Reap is working a plan to assist in rebuilding,” said Jethro.

The YWAM base in Siem Reap rented trucks to bring supplies to the displaced, as well as the love of Christ. Photo courtesy of Jethro Koh and Heather Lim.

YWAM Cambodia is making a difference on the ground by the grace and power of God. Heather shares that they are praying for “funds to help those affected by the conflict and are looking for teachers, doctors and nurses to come and serve and live among the last, lost and least in these camps.”

If you would like to donate, you can give at this link.

If you would like to volunteer, contact YWAM Singapore here.

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