Believing Less in Spirits, More in Jesus
Cambodia has known some prosperity and much difficulty. This Southeast Asian country has experienced monarchies, colonization, independence, genocide, invasion, and the return of monarchy. People who live there are literally survivors.
As for religion, the country is 97% Buddhist. For most Cambodians, their belief systems are a blend of Buddhism and animism. Jesus is a name seldom heard.
The Cambodian women were amazed at the clean water produced by the filter.
But Filter of Hope is helping to change that. Church planters from several organizations in Cambodia are now partners with Filter of Hope to bring clean water and the gospel to their people.
That’s how Sarat and Moha heard more about that name—Jesus.
About six months ago, Filter of Hope staff member Colten Bryant and his wife Jenna traveled to Cambodia. “We were tasked with finding stories, recording video, and taking photos of the filter distributions and the people that received the filters. It was an amazing time.”
The women posed for a group photo with their filters.
They soon heard the story of Sarat and Moha. Early in 2025, the couple received a water filter when a church planter came to their village and shared the gospel.
Maybe the Spirits Had Cursed Them
Colten says Moha was super excited about the filter, but also cautious. “Moha had lost one of her three daughters to sickness that may have been caused by contaminated water. She wasn’t positive the filter worked as well as they said it would.“
“She also believed that the spirits had caused her daughter’s sickness and cursed them.”
Both Moha and Sarat were Buddhists and it was a new thing to hear about Jesus. But that didn’t make any difference to Sarat. “He immediately believed the things that were said and received Christ. He even started being discipled by one of the church planters.”
But Moha says she wasn’t ready. “I couldn’t abandon my beliefs and jump into something new. I hadn’t really heard of Jesus. I just thought Jesus was part of a foreign religion.”
Sarat was all in and he was talking to Moha about the gospel and other things he was learning about Jesus. Moha was also seeing changes in Sarat. He seemed happier and had more purpose in his life.
The filter proved effective, too. No one got sick after they started getting clean water.
Moha and Sarat
Trusting the filter and putting faith in Jesus
Gradually Moha says she started warming to Jesus. “I started to believe in the filter to make the water clean and that helped me start believing in Jesus more, too. The more I believed in Jesus the less I believed in the spirits and things like that.”
She finally accepted Jesus as her Savior and her life changed as well. “I no longer have any fear of animistic spirits. I have so much peace and fulfillment.”
Colten says the local church planter also saw that Moha naturally attracted people and suggested that she invite other new believers to her home to learn more about Jesus.
Jesus is for Cambodia, Too
“Moha is very hospitable. Their home now has become a meeting place for many. When we were there, a group of 10-12 adults had come for lunch and a bunch of children showed up, too.”
“She’s talking to many people in the village about the gospel.”
For a growing number in Cambodia, clean water is now readily available through a water filter.
And because of church planters and new believers like Moha, Sarat, and others, Jesus is no longer foreign. He is living in Cambodians and offering living water to all who believe.
Many in the village also responded to the gospel.
