Boprek. She full time staff in the Joy Center, where she works every day and lives in Center.. She is 20 years old. Boprek was born here in Takeo, Cambodia, in a small nearby village. She is the 2nd child of 3 sisters and 2 brothers. She loves her parents, and her parents love her.

Her younger sister was taken away by her aunt and uncle when she was only a few months old. They forced Boprek's parents to give her to them because they were wealthier, and wanted a child. She doesn't see that sister very often because of it.

When she was very young, Boprek started going to a local community center (the Joy Center, ) run by a husband and wife named Seth and Samol. They were Christians, and they provided English classes, bible studies, and youth groups to the community. Boprek said she didn't know Jesus at the time, but she liked going to the center for the snacks and the games. Her parents are Buddhist, but they were pleased that she was learning English.

When her family moved, they were even closer to the church/Joy center, so she began going more often. She was taking more English classes and continued to hear about the gospel. Over time, she came to know Christ through this ministry and through Seth and Samol. She felt the love of God there, and she made the decision to follow him. Boprek's parents began to notice her changing as she continued to go to the Joy Center. Her mother warned her not to believe in the Jesus that they preached, but to strictly focus on studying English there; however, her heart was already won over.

It is common in Cambodia for children to stop studying and start working around age 13 in order to make money to support themselves and their families. When she reached this age, Boprek's mother urged her to start working in the factories; however, she wanted to go to school and study. So she did, but her family wouldn't support her at all financially. She decided to run after her passion and continue studying. In order to make enough money to pay for her uniforms, books, and enrollment, she worked for 3 months out of every year during school vacation. She would stand in the back of a truck all the way to Phnom Penh every day at 4 am, work in the factory all day, and not arrive home until 11 or 12 at night.

After a few years of juggling school and work and wearing herself down to the bone, she was tired. The day before her final exams, she fell and hit her head in the bathroom. It caused a lot of damage to her memory, and she couldn't remember anything for her exams, so she was unable to pass. Her father was hard on her. He wanted the best for her, but he was not capable of helping her in any way. He had nothing to give.

So there she was- young, without money, wanting to study, but also wanting to honor her family and support and love them well. She was undergoing pressure from them to go to work and "get her life started", and pressure from her heart to pursue her dreams. Instead of giving up, she decided to lean into the Lord.

She felt a calling to go to a preschool training school and a DTS (discipleship training school) in Siem Reap. The DTS would be 6 months long, followed by a long term outreach trip in Vietnam. It would cost a lot of money that she didn't have. It would cost her family's contentment with her. It would cost every bit of trust that she had in His exact words in response were, "you are not my daughter. Don't call me 'Dad' anymore". He told her she was crazy for believing in Jesus. His words broke her heart; but she remained strong in her faith. Boprek finished her DTS and outreach in Vietnam in 2016. After that, she went back to school and passed her exams. She then came back to the Joy Center, where she now runs a preschool, teaches English classes, does bible studies and community outreach, and helps to maintain the center. She works here on no salary. She lives here during the week days, and stays at her home with her family on weekends. "A lot of people really look down on me", she said. "They think I'm crazy for following Jesus". Her family continues to disapprove of her life as a Christian. They still want her to marry the rich man in Phnom Penh and work a job that will give her a salary.

She decided to listen to God, and she was soon in Siem Reap doing her preschool training, and later, her DTS. In order to make money to pay for her schooling, she was cleaning homes and nannying children while studying at the same time. Her days were filled to the brim-but she wasn't making enough to pay for her expensive school and passport fees, which cost hundreds of US dollars. "God provided it all", she told me. Various people gifted her checks, and the exact amount of money was given to her as she needed it.

In the middle of her DTS, she got a call from her father. He told her to come home. He wanted her to work, make money, and marry a rich man that he knew from Phnom Penh. This is customary in Cambodia, and he told her that because he loved her, he wanted her to do this. In that moment, she had to decide who she was going to follow. "I love my father, and my father loves me. I want to follow him. But when I became a Christian, God showed me what I should do with my life", she said to me. She knew her calling, and she knew that God wanted her in DTS. He had brought her there and he had provided everything she needed to be there. So she rejected her father's wishes. They compare her with girls her age that are wealthy and married, living comfortable lives. Her sisters and brothers don't call her or visit her anymore.

"Sometimes I want to give up" she says, "but I can't do anything without God and I am serving him with no salary. Sometimes I really worry about my life, but I just give it all to Jesus. Jesus is always with me. He gives me a strong faith and hope even when it gets hard". Boprek's dreams for her future are to have a family centered around Jesus, and to someday travel the world. She lives by her favorite verse, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11)

Boprek is one of the most beautiful, faithful, joyful, powerful, amazing women I have ever met. Getting to know her and become her friend has been so encouraging to me. She is an example of a woman of God. She fights for the gospel every single day, and she does it with all joy, boldness, and authority. She is a warrior, and she is unstoppable- and it's all because of the one she is working for. Boprek's story has blessed me in so many ways, and I pray that it blesses you as well. Please be praying for her and the other incredible people here at the Joy Center.