As the sun set over the former Siem Reap Airport, the tarmac where airplanes once landed was transformed into a place of worship and hope for more than 14,000 people.
To open the Love Siem Reap Festival with Franklin Graham, women in ornate dresses performed a traditional blessing dance. The routine is often given at the beginning of Cambodian events to offer a greeting and good wishes to the audience. Tonight, God’s hand of blessing was truly felt as hundreds of people decided to surrender their lives to their Creator.
“Did you know God made Heaven and He made this Earth?” Franklin Graham asked the crowd seated on the runway. “I’m speaking of the one true God. He created each and every one of us.”
To celebrate His love, the United Siem Reap Worship team led the crowd in songs of praise, prompting the enthusiastic crowd to jump and dance to the music. Young people were out at the Festival in full force, and for a country where 60% of the population is under the age of 30, many are looking ahead to their future—wondering if their lives matter.
“Maybe you feel like you’re little in the eyes of God,” Franklin Graham said. “You’re important to God because He made you and created you, and He loves you.”
Theara lives with her sister in Siem Reap, but ongoing conflict with the rest of her family has recently made her home feel less safe—and not a place where she feels loved and accepted.
Although Theara had been to church before and knew vaguely about Jesus, the message hadn’t clicked in her mind. Maybe God existed, but it didn’t seem like He could do anything about her family situation.
“I had a sad story, but I had nobody to tell,” she said. “I felt alone.”
But as she heard Franklin Graham share the story of Zaccheaus, she had the same realization as the tax collector. Jesus was interested in her and wanted a relationship with her.
“There are many of you here tonight—you would like to meet Jesus yourself,” Graham said. “He can change your life. He can give you eternal life.”
“I had a lot of feelings inside,” Theara said, choking back tears. “After I heard the Gospel, it touched my heart and made me feel peace.”
In an emotional moment, she hugged the woman beside her, a complete stranger, embracing now as sisters in Christ.
The story of the transformed tax collector also touched Chomnan—another young woman in her 20s—in a different way. As Jesus passed by Zaccheaus, perched in a tree, He gave him a serious command: “Hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5, ESV).
“The call was urgent—you may never have this opportunity again,” Graham urged the crowd. “Jesus is calling you tonight. Will you come to Him?”
Chomnan knew about Christ but was undecided—would she follow Him, or keep living her life as it was? There were parts of her past that she wanted to keep hidden.
Earlier in the evening, Christian recording artist TAYA shared the blessing of God’s revealing power from 1 John 1:5: “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (NKJV).
“Don’t hide tonight,” TAYA shared. “Bring every piece of your life and bring it to God. He sees it all and He still invites us in.”
“What’s preventing you from coming to Jesus tonight?” Graham asked—prompting Chomnan to decide.
“After I heard the Gospel, God cleared my mind,” Chomnan said. “There was nothing to hide.”
She grinned, gripping her new Khmer language Bible with both hands.
“I felt so happy!” she said.
The night ended much like it began when Christian band The Afters took the stage. Hundreds of Cambodian young people, from toddlers to teenagers, grabbed hands and spun around the stage, singing “As long as I’m breathing, I’ve got a reason to praise the Lord.” Hundreds now have an eternal reason to praise the Lord: His salvation has changed their lives.
Will you pray for all those who gave their lives to Christ? Ask God to give them strength to stand boldly in their new faith.
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