The Story of Chom Rong: Once forgotten and now found

There is a story in the Bible about Christmas where a baby was born in an animal manger. You would think a baby born like that would be hopeless but He wasn’t. His name was Jesus and this baby showed me that I wasn’t hopeless either.  My name is Ith Chom Rong. At 5 years old my mom died of cancer and left 3 kids behind. After this, I felt hopeless, especially after my father married another woman. I didn’t want my father to marry another woman because I thought she might hurt us. Unfortunately, that is what happened!We needed parents to care for us but they didn’t care about us! My father did not care and even joined in with my stepmother by not feeding us.  When we would come to eat, my father would take our plates and throw them against the wall. He would even throw them on the floor. We were treated like dogs having to look for garbage to eat on the floor.My youngest sister, Srey Derng, was a baby and I would take her on my back around the village. I would beg other people to give her food. Some people gave us cold rice. Even with other people’s help and the little food we had, it was not enough for Srey Derng.  Srey Derng died at five moths old due to starvation. When she died I was so sad and cried for many days. I didn’t understand how my sister could die!We didn’t only have empty stomachs but we were also beaten and forced to work. My step mother hit us everyday. While we were being beaten she yelled at us. One day she beat Lina, my sister, so much that she got brain damage. She would also say, “You work, you work everyday.” I had to take care of the 10 – 20 cows and take care of the fields.  Lina, my sister had to carry water from a big tank every day. We worked so hard for them to help them but my parents never helped us.We were always forgotten and felt hopeless, especially when my step mother and father had a new child. They loved the new baby and gave him so much love! We were forgotten, even during the holidays! During the water festival and Khmer New Year Ceremony, we wee completely left alone in our village. Nobody cared if my sister and I went or what we did. One day my step mother said, “Go somewhere, but you cannot be here anymore, GET OUT!”  She collected all of our clothes and threw them outside like trash. Before we knew it, we were homeless and had to find somewhere else to live.We knew we had an uncle in a different village and lived with him. However, it was like a bad dream that never goes away.  My uncle’s wife was just as mean as my step mother! They made me work so hard! I did everything from working in the fields to selling things in the local village. When I worked in the fields I had to drink the same water the cows drank. My aunt and uncle also took me out of school, which I was hardly going to anyways. The same thing happened to me again, my uncle’s wife kicked us out. I was homeless. Outside as I was all alone, I cried out  “God help me, God help me!” even though I didn’t believe in God. I was thinking I was forgotten by the world again. I didn’t know at that moment, that the baby born in the manger Jesus Christ, did not forget about me.One day, my father visited me and told me about a church at Kampang Speu province that takes orphan boys.  I began living in this home.  I accepted Jesus Christ and He started giving me hope! Before I lived in the Phdau Penn church, my life was hopeless and forgotten. I lived in a home where my family would hit me and not give me any food. At the church home, I had a new family with love and food. I learned English, the computer, and even had a bicycle. I learned to pray, sing, and read the bible. I prayed for people who had bad spirits in their bodies and Jesus did not forget about them either! He set them free and I shared the good news of Jesus with them. Now I have a full time job in an office and I am studying at the university. I’m so thankful that Jesus Christ came on Christmas to give me a new life and a new hope!