FAIRYTALE WEDDING FOR SOTHEA

On Saturday 24th February, Sothea Ken and Sokka was married in the Church which meets in RTC Cambodia’s premises. This was something Sothea never would have believed possible when she first came to work at RTC Cambodia. Attending them were the best man, Kimsan & bridesmaid Tepy, both amputees and staff members of RTC.

Sothea was born in Kampong Speu Province and is 47 years old. All her family except her two older sisters and one younger brother were killed by the Khmer Rouge. In 1979, when she was 19, Sothea was sent to the border of Cambodia (near Thailand) to cut down trees in the forest. Poor people from Phnom Penh were sent by the Cambodian Government to work in the mountains, removing the forest and the hiding places of the Khmer Rouge. Many people died as a result of contracting malaria, dinghy fever or stepping on landmines.

While she was working there, Sothea stepped on a landmine and lost her right leg. A friend called Sokha came to help her and carried her eight kilometers to get medical help. She lost touch with Sokha after the accident. When she recovered from the amputation, Sothea was very upset and felt that there was no hope in her life. She had no parents to look after her and she didn’t want to do anything. Sothea was very shy with people and hated to have to go outside her house and have people pity her, so she cried a lot of tears.

Sothea went back to Kompong Speu after she was fitted with prosthesis and tried to make enough money to live, buying some fruit and making cakes and selling them to passengers on the train when it stopped at the station, once each day. This did not make enough money for her to live properly and she was painfully thin, miserable and depressed.

In October 2004, a friend of hers, who lived near her home and who had also lost a leg in a mine accident, found a job at RTC Cambodia, so she asked if Sothea could apply for a job too. Sothea was overjoyed to be successful and was one of the first ladies to be employed in RTC’s factory as a cook. Her heart was very open to the Gospel because she learned that Jesus loved her and had provided a job for her and she was so very thankful. She was the second person on the staff to believe in Jesus. The depression and hopelessness left and she became radiant with joy.

Late last year she met Sokha again. He remembered helping her after the explosion and they fell in love. When he asked her to marry him and their families agreed, she was ecstatic. Sothea’s dream of getting married was finally realized.