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A whole round of family sickness has kept me from the blog these last 2 weeks...

Meet my friend, Na Ling.

She was born the same year as me, but we couldn't have more contrasting life experiences.

She was born the youngest of 8 children in Cambodia, two years before the Khmer Rouge came to power. During their heinous reign of destruction and killing, 5 of her siblings died of starvation. Na Ling survived, because being the youngest, her mother would slip her extra food portions. Her parents, as well as all her older-generation relatives, were murdered.
(At this point in the story I stop and think-- If this were my daughter Kathryn, she would have already lost both her parents by age 3.)

After the death of her parents, Na Ling was "adopted" by Khmer Rouge foster parents, which was a practice of the regime in an attempt to "re-educate" the youngest of the youth. Being harshly treated, she quickly learned how to survive on her own, hiding in the forest in the day and living in the homes of the deceased at night. (She discovered these homes were the safest because they believed it was back luck to enter them and would leave them empty.) After some time, she learned that her oldest sister was still living and went to live with her.

When she was 16, Na Ling became a Christian through some American missionaries who came to live in their village. Because she had worked hard to learn English, the missionaries quickly took note of her and asked for her help in translating materials into her native language.

Na Ling is now 31, attending a local seminary in Singapore. She is training to return to Cambodia to work with the same missionary agency through which she came to Christ.

As I hear her testimony, I am taken back. I am humbled. I am thankful for this dear sister, and drawn to share her life story with you.