Translate Faith-Building Survival Story!

I feel so privileged to know this faith-building true story of a family who dared to love one another when love was outlawed by a cruel regime. It's a story of grief and miracles, trauma and budding faith, darkness and light.

It's been a team effort to get this book written, edited, and published--the next step is to translate it into other languages and to get the word out, so this story can bless and challenge others!

Read on for more about background behind the story and to find out how you can help!

Warmly,

Abby

A God of Love

When Sovath was a little boy growing up in Cambodia, his mother told him an old Buddhist poem about a "God of love."

"In the palms of his hands and in the flat of his feet

Will be the design of a disc,

In the side will be a stab wound; and his forehead

Will have many marks like scars."

But when Sovath was 10 years old, the black-clad Khmer Rouge army overthrew the government of Cambodia, and love was outlawed. Sovath was forced from his home, forced to think of survival over the promised God of love.

A God He Did Not Know

At 11, Sovath was separated from his family and sent to a children's work camp, where food was scarce and death imminent. With the help of a friend, he ran away, determined to find his family. But after 70 kilometers of walking with no food, Sovath knew he was finished. He looked around him at the identical-looking roads flanked by rice paddies. Then he looked up.

"If there is a God, please help me find my family... so I don't have to die alone!"

In the end, his family miraculously found him, and because of their love and care, he survived--though not without scars.

Meeting the God of Love

Several years later, Sovath faced a new struggle. While evading soldiers as undocumented refugees in a Thai refugee camp, Sovath's sister became a Christian.

And she wanted him to do the same.

Sovath could not leave Buddhism! It was an integral part of his identity, a way to stay connected to the family the Khmer Rouge had tried to take away from him.

Yet he was drawn to Jesus, whose stripes and marks were inflicted because he loved Sovath and wanted to save him.

In the midst of Sovath's struggle, Jesus, the God of love, appeared to him in a vision. He bid him to follow, and experience deliverance not just from the black-clad soldiers of his childhood, but from the inner wounds they had inflicted.

Why This Fundraiser?

Sovath left Cambodia and married. His daughter later returned to Cambodia as a missionary to her people.

Soon, Sovath’s family began to realize just how much God had done for them. Sovath and his family wanted their testimony written down as a book.

Meanwhile, I was praying they would ask me to write their story.

One day, they did.

Will You Help Us?

This fundraiser has already helped to cover the cost of researching, editing, and marketing! Our next goal is to translate and market the book far and wide.

It is the dream of Sovath and his wife that God be glorified through his story.

Will you help make their dream a reality?

Who Am I?

In short, I’m Abigail Follows, author and overseas gospel seed sower. Here are a few kind words about my first book, Hidden Song of the Himalayas:

"Memoirs are not usually my genre . . . But this one absolutely blew me away . . . The story flowed like a novel, but it was achingly, breathtakingly real." - Amanda

"Hidden Song of the Himalayas is a work of art with a purpose of the highest order." - Kody

"I was profoundly moved and impacted and inspired by the reading of this book . . . She opened up another world to me and pulled me in." - Melvin

"As someone who struggles with following Nonfiction and trying to concentrate and absorb everything, this one was a dream. I got sucked in as though it (were) a novel . . . I was fully aware that it was real life, but the author is a natural storyteller." - Aryn the Librarian

"As someone who has read a lot of missionary memoirs, I'm going to say this is one of the best I have read. It's funny, honest, and deeply spiritual; fast-paced and well-written. Abigail quickly pulled me into her world and made me feel part of her journey . . . " - Mercy Maude

Fine Print:

This fundraiser is not affiliated with my mission sending organization, but is a personal project I'm undertaking during my free time. <3

Feel free to email me at abigailfollows AT gmail.com if you have any questions!