KILLING FIELDS, LIVING FIELDS

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SCROLL DOWN FOR 'TEN STORIES FROM THE KILLING FIELDS'

A modern classic, now in its eighth and final edition.

This book tracks the history of the church in Cambodia from its early beginnings to the present day. Paris-educated Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge army turned the country into a death camp between 1975-1979. Up to two million people died — of starvation, or shot or hoed-down in the killing fields, or tortured to death in the extermination centres. 

Don Cormack entered Cambodia five months before the country fell. After that he worked in the refugee camps along the Thai / Cambodia border. Cormack's fluent Cambodian enables the West to receive first-hand accounts ion endurance and faith under one of the most brutal regimes in modern history.

Map. Photo Gallery. Timeline. Index.

Author description

Don Cormack lives in East Sussex, where he grew up as a boy. He served with OMF International from 1972-1996 in Malaysia, Taiwan, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore. After being forced to flee Cambodia in 1975, he worked among Cambodian refugees in the camps which sprang up along the Thai border. He married Margaret Lockhart in 1979, and they have three adult daughters. When the camps closed, Don and Margie moved to Singapore, first teaching at the Discipleship Training Centre and then ministering among heroine addicts. Don and Margie returned to Phnom Penh in 1992, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, when Don was invited by the Bishop of Singapore to begin The Church of Christ our Peace. 

CONTENTS

Foreword by Sharon James

Preface to the First Edition by Peter Lewis

Author's Preface 

Map 

Prologue

PART I 1923-1975

1. The Fallow Ground

2. The Implanted Seed

3. The 'Seminary'

4. The Pestilence, Drought and Destroyer

5. The Late Rains

6. The Thinning 

7. The Fields White unto Harvest

Photo Gallery

PART II

8. The 17 April, 1975

PART III 1975 to present

9. The Seed Falls into the Ground

10. The Seed Dies

11. The Scent of Water

12. The Seed Produces Many Seeds

13. The Harvest of Wheat and Tares 

14. The Gleanings

15. The Fallow Ground: An Epilogue

Photo Gallery

Afterword: The Kingdom of God in the Kingdom of Cambodia

PART IV APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Postscript on Duch 

Appendix 2 1995: A Sermon for VJ Day

Timeline 300 BC - present

Index

'There is a kind of suffering so heinous it is beyond telling. Yet when Christ's redemptive grace floods the scene, that same suffering takes on an exalted glow of glory. Be blessed as you read these stories from what has become a classic work.'

Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends

A hundred years of history from the Cambodian church's earliest beginnings, on through its own Neronian persecution, to the present day. It has much to teach us. The stories of the grace of God, and of costly love for Christ,are riveting, powerful, disturbing, even overwhelming.'

Lindsay Brown, Former General Secretary, IFES; Former International Director, Lausanne Movement

We Western Christians who know so little about sacrifice and martyrdom urgently need to heed the lessons from this vivid and harrowing account: that the first principle of church growth and missionary fruitfulness is still that which Jesus predicted and exemplified - the seed must die before it bears much fruit.'

Jonathan Lamb, Minister-at-Large, Keswick Ministries

'Convicting, inspiring, and sobering. These stories pierced my soul. Let your heart, spirit and mind be moved as you read of those who did not count the cost of what it means to follow Jesus.

Sarah Breuel, Director, Revive Europe

A marvellous story of grace and hope from a near-forgotten country. An attach on soft-option' Christianity, and an unmistakeable call to sacrificial faith.

Stephen Gaukroger, Vice President, Bible Society

From any High Street store or internet retailer

Ten compelling stories from the killing fields. 

These ten stories are 'powerful, riveting, compelling, even overwhelming'. They come straight from the Christian believers who endured one of the worst periods of mass killing in the 20th century. Here we glimpse profound spiritual truth through their lives, courage and faithfulness. They are stories for our own times, as evil tyrants continue to emerge.  110pp.

Map. Photo Gallery. Timeline.

Author description

Don Cormack lives in East Sussex, where he grew up as a boy. He served with OMF International from 1972-1996 in Malaysia, Taiwan, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore. After being forced to flee Cambodia in 1975, he worked among Cambodian refugees in the camps which sprang up along the Thai border. He married Margaret Lockhart in 1979, and they have three adult daughters. When the camps closed, Don and Margie moved to Singapore, first teaching at the Discipleship Training Centre and then ministering among heroine addicts. Don and Margie returned to Phnom Penh in 1992, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, when Don was invited by the Bishop of Singapore to begin The Church of Christ our Peace. 

About the author
Map
Foreword by Julia Cameron

PART 1: SETTING THE SCENE
The flight from Phnom Penh
The fall of Phnom Penh

PART TWO: TEN STORIES
1. Van Rean's story
2. Chen's story 'How beautiful are the feet'
3. Events on the third anniversary
4. Pastor Reach Yeah
5. Haim and his family face their execution
6. Christmas!
7. Pastor Hom, his flock, and his personal grief
8. A boy whose brother is dying
9. A Khmer Rouge soldier finds forgiveness
10. A mother's love

Afterword
Timeline

'Riveting, powerful, disturbing, even overwhelming stories of the grace of God, and of costly love for Christ.
Lindsay Brown, Former General Secretary, IFES and former International Director, Lausanne Movement.

These are stories the world needs to hear, and Christians need to know. Don Cormack knew and loved and served so many of these brothers and sisters who loved Jesus more than life itself. With depth and compassion he brings us their voices first-hand, tracing the beautiful fruit borne out of the killing fields.
Mark Ellis, CEO Keswick Ministries

There is a kind of suffering so heinous, it is beyond telling. Yet when Christ's redemptive grace floods the scene, that same suffering takes on an exalted glow of glory. It's what I experienced in reading these powerful stories. Be blessed as you read them, letting them whet your appetite for the larger classic work from which they are drawn.
Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

Convicting, inspiring and sobering. These stories pierced my soul. Let your heart, spirit and mind be moved as you read of those who did not count the cost of what it means to follow Jesus.
Sarah Breuel, Director of Revive, Europe; Member, Lausanne Movement Board

From any High Street store or internet retailer, or from dictumstore.com.

Practical and spiritual guidance for anyone facing the challenges of dying and death — whether their own death or that of a family member or friend.

The authors draw on their personal stories, as well as on years of medical and pastoral experience. Their writing is full of sensitivity, empathy and wise understanding.

Each chapter focuses on a  different area or question, so you can find what you need with ease. The final chapter concludes  with a clear message of hope.  

The book carries a full index, and a list of resources. 

Elaine Sugden worked in Leeds in the 1970s as a doctor of children with leukaemia before moving with her family to India for six years. From 1984 she worked in adult oncology in Oxford, and from 1995 as a consultant treating adults and children with cancer. She wrote her contributions to this book after retiring in 2013, based on her years as a practising doctor. Elaine continues to be involved in a European organization working for those treated for cancer when children. Her booklet Caring for People with Cancer, based on a series of seminars in India, was published in 1998.

Philip Giddings taught at the University of Reading from 1972 until his retirement as Head of the School of Politics and International Relations in 2011. Philip was an elected member of the Church of England General Synod from 1985-2015, and of Archbishops’ Council from 2001-2015, and he chaired its Mission and Public Affairs Council from 2003-2011. He has twice been widowed. His other publications are in the field of Parliamentary affairs and the Ombudsman institution.

Martin Down is an Anglican priest who served in country parishes in Lincolnshire and Norfolk until 2012 when he retired to live in Oxfordshire. Martin is author of several books including The Best Is Yet To Be: Being happy in retirement and old age (2012) and The Christian Hope: A guide to life after death (2016).

Gareth Tuckwell was Medical Director of Burrswood Christian Hospital, and CEO from 1986-2012, and Medical Director and Clinical Director at Hospice in the Weald from 2003-2007. He has been involved with Macmillan Cancer Support as both a regional director and trustee. Until 2020 he chaired Sanctuary Trust and the ME Trust. He remains vice-president of Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care. Gareth contributed to ‘A Time to Heal’, a report for the House of Bishops in 2000, A Question of Healing (Eagle, 2000) and Transforming Health (MARC 2005).

Foreword to the first edition by Lord Mackay of Clashfern

Start here

Why and how we need to talk about dying

Philip Giddings

Chapter 1

Coping with life-threatening illness

Elaine Sugden

Chapter 2

Difficult decisions

Elaine Sugden

Chapter 3

Talking about dying: When? Where? How?

Elaine Sugden

Chapter 4

Coping with the unexpected

Philip Giddings

Chapter 5

Suicide

Elaine Sugden

Chapter 6

The death of a baby

Elaine Sugden

Chapter 7

Talking to children

Elaine Sugden

Chapter 8

Talking about life after death

Martin Down

Chapter 9

Facing up to fear

Martin Down

Chapter 10

Praying for healing

Gareth Tuckwell

Chapter 11

Practical Matters

Martin Down

Chapter 12

Suggestions of ways to help

Elaine Sugden and Philip Giddings

Endpiece

Where to find more help

Useful Websites 

Bibliography

Appendix 1

Advance Care Planning

Appendix 2

Preparing for an expected death at home

Appendix 3

What to do after a death at home

About the authors
Index

'This is one of the most practical books I have come across. The compassion, experience and faith of the authors shine through. I commend it very warmly indeed for the guidance it offers and the hope it provides.'

Michael Lloyd, Principal, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

From any High Street store or internet retailer, or from dictumstore.com.