[wanabidii] Fw: He survived killing fields, led Pol Pot's murderous general to Christ

On Wednesday, August 20, 2014 7:25 AM, "ANS@Assist-Ministries.com" <ANS@Assist-Ministries.com> wrote:

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com Tuesday, August 19, 2014 He survived killing fields, led Pol Pot's murderous general to Christ By Mark Ellis Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- He grew up in the palace of the king, but after the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia he lost his privileged lifestyle and nearly his life. After he found Christ in a refugee camp, he became a soul-winner himself - bringing hope to one of the most notorious monsters of the killing fields. Christopher LaPel "I was raised in a Buddhist family," says Christopher LaPel, founder of Hope for Cambodia. His father worked in the palace of King Sihanouk and as a boy, he often spent time there. One day as he explored the palace he approached an engraver working in the basement. "Could you make a cross for me?" he asked the man. Christopher had seen the iconic symbol atop churches in Phnom Penh and in movies, but didn't know what it meant. He felt drawn to it, however, and was pleased when the man agreed to make one for him out of ivory, which Christopher began to wear around his neck. One evening at the dinner table with his parents, he leaned forward and the ivory cross slipped into view from the inside of his shirt. Christopher's father saw it for the first time and his face grimaced. With a low growl, he let out an expletive and then said, "I don't like you to wear that cross." Set back in his chair by his father's visceral reaction, the younger LaPel agreed to take it off. "Every meal I removed it, even though I lo ved it," he recalls. Khmer Rouge takes power In 1975, when Christopher was in his late teens, the Khmer Rouge came to power. Led by Pol Pot, they changed the name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea and began to model their governing style after Mao's China. They forced people out of the cities, and sent them on forced marches to rural work camps. Their aim was to refashion the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century and discard all Western influences. They even destroyed temples and libraries. They demanded that the entire population of 2.3 million vacate the capital city of Phnom Penh within three days, including the elderly, children, monks, doctors and nurses, hospital patients, wounded and sick people, even mothers who had just given birth. Christopher saw masses of people swarm through the streets and the entire city emptied. MORE     See all ASSIST News articles at www.assistnews.net Mark Ellis is a senior correspondent for ASSIST News Service and the founder of www.Godreports.com.  He is available to speak to groups about the plight of the church in restricted countries, to share stories and testimonies from the mission field, and to preach the gospel. mark@Godreports.com ** You may republish this story with proper attribution. Send this story to a friend. Note to our subscribers: It you really appreciate what we do through ANS and would like to make a donation to help us continue with this unique news service, you can do so in two ways. First, just go to our secure site at www.assistnews.net/assist/donations.htm, where you can sign up for a monthly gift or a one-off contribution (tax-deductible in the US). Second, if you prefer to send a check, just make it out to ASSIST, and mail it to ASSIST, PO Box, 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA (also tax-deductible in the US). Thank you so much for caring! Dan Wooding ASSIST News Service is Sponsored By

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