Paul Mok's Comeback Story
No sooner had I sent out the update last month than on the night of May 31st our rice farm manager, Paul Mok, suffered a stroke. His blood pressure spiked to 230. He was given medication to lower the pressure to 165 and transported to a Phnom Penh hospital for treatment. Paul has had a miraculous recovery and returned to the farm on June 10th. He continues to improve but has so much "catch up" work to do it is hard to talk with him. He says his walking, "Is about normal except that I feel a little 'drunk' when I walk too fast." The worst is all the people we borrowed from while he was recovering wanting payment with nothing in the bank. God provides and He did through a generous donor that helped us stay alive on June 28th. Paul Mok is a mechanical genius. He can fix anything and does it right. Not only that, but he learned how to raise pigs, repair farm equipment and grow rice better than I ever could. He is valuable to me and I cannot spare him! I met him early in 1999. Here is a brief explanation of why he is so valuable.
One of the first things I did upon arrival in Cambodia in 1999 was to purchase a vehicle. Since few cars were available in the country, I ordered a 1994 Kia Sportage through a Korean-American car dealer. It was a good, low mileage car, but the roads were so bad back then that it would cost me about $700USD every time I went on a trip. Shocks, springs, batteries, radiators, and electronics were all at risk. I knew I was being ripped off by mechanics who were selling me used parts for new prices and switching my good parts for cheap faulty products. I needed an honest mechanic. I went back to the Korean auto broker and asked him, "Do you know of any Christian mechanics in Cambodia?" He laughed and said, "There is no such thing as a Christian mechanic!" I fired back, "Well, who's the best mechanic in Cambodia?" Without hesitation he said, "That would be Tang Sunleng!" I pleaded, "Take me to him!"
Tang was already softened up by his older sister who had come to know Christ. As he worked on my car, I shared Christ with him. He was very interested so, I left a Cambodian Bible with him. After my next trip, I brought the car in for the usual repairs and he casually told me that he read the entire Bible and wanted to become a Christian. I was astounded and asked him, "You read the whole Bible in 10 days?" He responded, "It didn't take me that long. I also want to change my name!" Puzzled, I told him that it was not necessary. He objected saying, "No, I did a lot of bad things as a soldier and I want to be like Paul!" I said, "OK, what name do you want?" He came back with, "I want to be Paul Mok." I was curious, so I asked, "I understand Paul but, why Mok?" He shot back, "Because the toughest general I ever fought was, Ta Mok!"
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