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Khemaras Center Contact: Hongly Grahim Khuy
2305 University Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
Phone: 808-947-5253 (office) or 808-542-9353 (Hongly)
Sort of Prophetic Dream? My nightmare? Angel?
First and foremost - why Khemaras Center ?:
The Khemaras Center was first conceived as a rest-stop “Sala-sam-nak” or cottage where exhausted travelers can find some refreshment, rest, comfort, friendship, help and direction before moving on to their destination – for us, Khmer refugees, students, tourists and locals who are interested in Cambodia alike.
It was, in particular, a landmark for the Khmer refugees who came to resettle in Hawaii in the early 1980s. That’s a place where we can fellowship and share our needs and our concerns. As such, we’d like our younger generations to remember their root.
Profiles of the first generation refugees from Cambodia will be kept and shared – a part of the Hawaiian history for years and generations to come. Good deeds of the United States of America, and the compassion of the citizen of this nation should be made known to our younger generation.
The principles and the governance that allowed us to start a new life - with education, liberty and justice in this country – should be revealed and taught to the younger generations to come.
The Khemaras Center will do what it can to perpetuate the goodness, kindness, love, and compassion that we have received so far.
The Center was the product of many like-minded people who have come to the end of a strenuous and arduous plight in search of a suitable refuge, physically and spiritually. The center finally came to realization with the encouragement of the mother church mission minister, Miss Frances Acoba. If you are curious, I’d like to welcome you to the Khemaras Center – whenever you have time. We usually meet on Sunday morning from around 10:30AM through lunch-time, the Cambodian time, till late afternoon.
Background / Introduction: Hongly in the papers/Honolulu Short Testimony
My name is Hongly Grahim Khuy. I am from Phoum Kbal Koh, Khum Tuk Vil, Saang District ( Prek Toach ), Kandal Province, Cambodia - used to be a remote and isolated district of the country a few decades ago. My father was a painting artist and farmer. My mother was a house-wife. She passed away at the age of 36 or so, due to lack of healthcare at that era. She left six children ( 3 boys and 3 girls ) for my father to care for. And my father did just that: caring for the six children as a single parent – never married again, a sacrifice on his part for the children. He was starved to death on October 25, 1977, in the Khmer Rouge communist regime. Click here if you are interested to read a little more about my life early on / a university student at ‘Faculte Des Sciences commerciales’ at Phnom Penh.
I, as many other Cambodians, never cared for any religions. I did appreciate very much what I was taught when I was a boy/youth: pray to my deceased mother and other spirits, lucky amulets, Neang Rom Cheik rom Charng, Ksair Changkess…etc. I am thankful that nobody introduced me to “love potion” or Kraseng Sneir, black magic…etc. If I were, I might have had many grand children already by this time ( 2003/now ). I have no regret, of course.
I’d like to state my position clearly that I am not a religious fanatic. I never was. And I won’t ever be one. However, I have a strong faith after I emerged alive from the communist regime of the Khmer Rouge from April 1975 to January 1979. Many phenomena / events pushed me to a little humble corner during my journey through life. You might term these phenomena / events as paranormal, mysterious and in-explicable. They were real and vivid, even today, as I thought about the time they happened to me.
As a professional and licensed electrical engineer for the State of Hawaii, computer programmer and system administrator, I should be able to explain things that have happened to me. I am sorry to say that I could not find the explanation to what had happened. I will detail more information as time permits.
I am now backed to a little humble corner – giving up on my personal attributes and knowledge - to admitting that there is an invisible world out there, angels and God, the creator and his entourage. I will post more information when I have some time.
Let’s now fast-forward to what I have been involved in the Khemaras Center:
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Born and raised as a country boy, a jungle boy, I am so grateful that I have been in this position to do a piece of work for God - sharing the message of Love ( not hatred ), Life ( not death ), Truth ( not deception ) and Hope ( not despair ) to my friends and family. The joy that I found is of two levels:
· On a social level: we can socialize / fellowship with sincere, heart-to-heart exchange of feelings / share of needs and concerns / sing songs / play music / enjoy luncheon / bless other unfortunate ones when we can…
· On a spiritual level: we can live with a purpose, and that is share or reciprocate the Love, Life, the Truth, and Hope to others. I am no more holy than any others. My existence depends on the grace and the mercy of the creator – as many phenomena / events have revealed these things to me.
I mean it.
I do not want to sound religious here. It is just my conviction, after several years in the pit of life and death valleys. I have analyzed, dissected, from different aspects of my individual being and my tradition and culture, and I have found a lot of truth, the whole truth in fact, in what Jesus taught. Read on if you feel that I am not a religious fanatic! If you don't want to see or hear the truth, from my perspective, please back off now!
The spark of my new faith started when a friend of mine ( Mr. Thach Sakarea ), a classmate in High School ( Lycee Sisowath ), invited me to his bible study group and then to his church - way back in the late 1960s when I was in "Class de Terminal". Reluctantly in the beginning, of course, however, later on I attended the bible class regularly, but I never really cared about Jesus or God. I just wanted to hang around with some American Christian friends and learned my American English ( “Big Thank-you from me” to Mr. John Kalabknow, Eddie More, Garry Wagner, Lee Man, and several others, if you are alive some place, all with SDA ).
I was in the "only business school in Cambodia" at the time ( 1971-1975 ) - only forty (40) applicants, the brightest ones ( out of thousands from the whole country ) were admitted every year. Each graduate had to choose from several positions offered by big businesses in the country. I think I was positioning myself to take over the world – the glittering world! That's about all I cared for. I was in the right place!
A few years went by.
Then in 1975 came the Khmer Rouge regime, the communist regime. The country was turned upside down. Nobody ever expected to see what was about to happen.
I could have left the country on US Marines helicopters with other government officials, embassy personnel, and other NGO when the US came to evacuate - several last flights just before the missiles landed where the helicopters landed. My English was good, and I was there, in the compound of the facilities for bankers, Front Bassac, talking to the US Marines securing the perimeter, the operation. After a few missiles exploded close by, killing a few people I knew, the US marine helicopters took off, and I thought the peace would come. I had no clues what would happen next.
I was just carefree - not thinking. So, when the Khmer Rouge soldiers finally walked in to the city, I had to go with the rest of the Cambodians, city dwellers; that's to suffer under the Khmer Rouge regime in the countryside ( For details, please see my other writing on my life ). In the ensuing years........ everybody in the country was in the firm grip of the Khmer Rouge regime.
I have seen the face of my own death many times. I was starved to a point of death, arrested for not obeying the communist rules, sent to death camps...etc. I know how it is like to be totally emaciated to just skin and bones. I have suffered the extreme hardships and cruelty of mankind - the Khmer Rouge ( in this case ). I will jot it down as time permits.
How did I survive? I didn't know. It's anybody's guess!
I’ve already come through many dangers, trials and snares of life. All I know now is that I have been kept alive by some divine intervention, as I alluded earlier. There was no doubt in my mind. You might say that it's just a coincidence. However, as I said, many phenomena and events in my life led me to a complete and full conviction on this "divine intervention".
Even in the middle of the communist regime, in September of 1977 to be exact, a sheet from the English Bible (Matthew 6 / Lord's Prayer in English, 3" x 4" approximately ) was (divinely?) dropped for me ( ? ) while I was asleep among others in my single collective section, in the middle of nowhere, muddy and wet. Note also that by this time ( deep in the Khmer Rouge regime ), I never touched a piece of paper, never saw any writing. And remember that everybody in the communist regime, at the time, was just like birds in a cage, not birds for pets as in America but birds for foods. The owner was looking as to which one to cook first ( Talk to me if you want to know more about the fear I went through during the communist Khmer Rouge regime 1975 - 1979 ).
Let's continue with the time I woke up, and saw a small sheet of paper by the end of my toes.
Looking around, most were still asleep or occupied with other things, and I saw nobody noticed the sheet of paper. I grabbed the sheet and rolled it, stuck it in the seam of my pants. It's no coincidence, to me anyway - a passage from the Bible for me in the communist regime? ( Whenever I was by myself, I sneaked the sheet out, memorized the passage. I would be dead if I was caught knowing English. ) Anyway, the Khmer Rouge eventually fell to the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia toward the beginning of 1979.
As mentioned, many signs in my life point to some divine intervention. That's my personal conviction, just to repeat it. I will add those in my life diary as I have time.
The experience of my life was not pleasant during the communist regime, but I am thankful to God for showing me the troughs and valleys of life. Without the hardship I have been through I might not be the person I am today. If the communist Khmer Rouge did not take over the country, by now, I might be heading a banking industry in Cambodia or leading some big firm some place. Very possible. As I said in my testimony, I was looking up to nice cars, beautiful wife, nice mansion….etc. as a graduating business university student in 1975.
If you want to read a little more about me, please follow/click here on this link!.
A U-turn in life?
The Mission / The Khemaras Center:
Straight talk:
The Khemaras Center cares about life. It ‘s all about life, knowledge and wisdom.
I have learned so far that things that I planned for with my own effort might not come to fruition - there are always things to do ahead of me. I have to believe that the creator, omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscent somewhere with me has a plan. I don't know what He has in mind. To be honest, nobody knows the future! And that includes you! You just do not know what is in store for you tomorrow, next week or next month. [ I plotted along the course of life to Business School....... in the early 70s but I ended up in the Khmer Rouge regime.... ... .. near death.... survived....refugee.. .. .. .. sent to Hawaii... ... ].. I look at the invisible world more closely after that.
Knowing that God is with me, I have learned to put God first, and to have faith in Him - doing good deeds for Him because I am grateful that I have a life!
I did return to Cambodia for the first time in 2000 after twenty years in Hawaii.
In the first trip back to Cambodia, I felt very emotional, especially just before the plane landed in Pochentong International Airport. My thoughts went to my parents, my brother, nephews and nieces, other relatives who passed on, starved to death....etc. When I walked down from the plane to the tarmac, I felt I had to kneel down and kiss the ground of Cambodia, a place where I never thought I could come back to see again. The country was then very much in bad shape. Socially speaking, the power struggle among warring factions was still on-going, especially in the remote places. Many in rags roamed around to find foods to survive. The country's communication infrastructure was destroyed by factional fighting and neglect. In town, the houses that were left standing reflected a lot of sadness and distrust - barbed wires and sharp pointed objects on high walls surrounding the living quarters. Many roads, streets, in the countryside as well as in town, tossed you around to the ceiling of your truck whether you drove slowly or fast.
My team stayed in Cambodia for about two weeks visiting several places throughout the country. It was a sobering time for me to reflect, ponder on life in general. Then we wrapped up our short term mission trip and we left.
What I saw reminded me that I was very fortunate to be just living in Hawaii, even though I was not rich. The plane ride was long each way from Hawaii to Cambodia and back. Just to think of the time to fly to Cambodia I feel resigned, reluctant. But in my heart I felt I need to do something; I felt the urge to do something to help my fellow countrymen, or at least my friends and other people that I know.
Sorry to blurt out so many things... . . . now, let's go back to what the Khemaras Center is all about.
After several mission trips to Cambodia . . .doing humanitarian and relief services, encouraging my fellow countrymen to hang on to hope and a bright new life ahead, I feel encouraged to dare my countrymen who are now resettled in Hawaii to seek new knowledge, wisdom and faith in Jesus Christ as well. This is an invaluable knowledge and the wisdom, a treasure that will give you a true joy ( and in your family as well! ).
Some friends of mine say that religions are the same – “our religion versus theirs” attitude. It's true to a certain extent.
I ‘d like to clarify on this point. On a social level, all religions tend to lead people to doing good deeds. However, the practice differs for many reasons: ignorance, wars, ambition, poverty, sins, pride in life, hardship in life…etc. In other words, people manipulate the teaching to fit to their ambition, their want and their desire. After a while, people are lost in this mess of life, in short. The true knowledge in life was lost. It was replaced by corrupted teachings and values: people are lost! We have to refer back to the original word of God. And I have experienced, seen, and believe that what Jesus taught, why he came to this world........ really pointing us all back to God himself! - the truth of life.
At least in practice, I can see that Jesus set a path to Life, Love, Truth, and Hope. You might not see it. Again, those who seek will find.
Jesus provides his teaching and principle, the truth in its purest form, to the lost. The knowledge and wisdom that you can find in Jesus is priceless if you care to dig deep for it. Find the truth! The truth will set you free, indeed.
Some close friends of mine told me the story of “The Lost crocodile / Krapoe Vong Veng Beng”, a sarcastic term for adopting a new religion and forgetting his or her own. Those buddies of mine live abroad ( New Zealand, USA, Australia… ). I told them that we are lost ( Vong Veng ). We are lost! At some point in our life, we just could not return to our homeland. We are stuck in this new country. Better or not, it is up to you to decide. I am lost? Or are we lost? Or did we find a new way of life? Did we find a new knowledge in life?
If you get lost, and could not go back to your old little, almost-dried pond ( beng ), and in the meantime, if you find a bigger pond with clear water, lots of food, lots of freedom, I am not sure if you would want to go back to that old little pond. I still love and cherish my childhood, the old way of life... tradition and so on. I am not sure if you would want your little ones to just live in that old little pond. If you get a chance, you might want to tell other friends of yours to come to the bigger pond, too, I think ( that's just me ).
It is all about life, my friends! Many do not see that aspect of life at all.
I always told my friends to think hard when we said, “Vong Veng Beng”. Which beng do we talk about? Beng meaning the “Truth” in the teaching of God? If so, many people are surely lost - in the “mess of life”.
Jesus points us all to the “Truth” in practice and in life to come. Those who seek will find!
Back to what we are doing at the Khemaras Center again:
Some might say that Hongly is going out of his mind. He is going Coo Coos! He is from a muddy swamp and he thinks like a swamp people. In a way, that is true because I don't know what is happening next ( tomorrow? Next month? Next year? ) - and so are you! I have made a decision to follow God's commandments ( hopefully, God's Grace and Mercy are there for me ). I have seen the light and the truth in the teaching of Jesus.
I remember that I have been saved ( seeing the truth, real and full life, and thus starting to propagate the blessing to others ). I have seen the light because of a caring friend - a friend who cared for me, about me and my soul by sharing what he learned with me. He is gone, but his legacy is still with me. I have now chosen to do the same to others because I want them to be saved as well. I want others to be able to enjoy life to its fullest.
Let's make it clear! If I am going coo coos, all true Christians - millions and millions of them - around the world must be coo coos as well. Many might think that I am a Christian fanatic. ( I want to make it clear, I am no fanatic. ) The truth in the gospel ( of Jesus Christ ) convicted me into this new spiritual path of mine. I am sure there are Christian fanatics out there. I am sure there are the so-called Christian extremists out there. I am sure there are wolves clothed with sheep-skin out there.. . . My friends, Jesus did not teach mankind to be Jesus fanatic. Jesus did not teach mankind to be Christian extremist. My friends, the happiness and the joy of life await you if you properly follow the teaching of Jesus! It's something that you might want to check out for your life, your family life, your children's life. The truth will set you and I free, indeed!
I have consciously chosen to do what I am doing these days. The Cambodian Church known as the "Khemaras Center" would not exist without the support ( not financial support, just to make clear / I am not a "rice Christian/ I am not doing this because of some financial compensation / I received no compensation / it is my pure heart conviction " ) and the encouragement of my Christian friends, indeed. Without their support and your encouragement, the mission to Cambodia would not have happened at all. And above all else, without the Holy Spirit within each one of us, the Cambodian Church and Mission just would not have happened.
Yes, I'd like to assure you that the mission to Cambodia did touch many hearts and souls. We do not emphasize on spiritual aspect of the mission while on the mission trip. People are so poor and hungry that they just don't care. We believe that our fellow countrymen will know us by our actions, the love that we share to them. Period. And yes, the local mission here at the UABC is indeed touching the lives of many of my fellow countrymen and friends, Cambodians and locals alike.
What is the target/goal/Vision of the Cambodian Church, the "Khemaras Center"? THE ULTIMATE AND FINAL GOAL?
1. The Khemaras Center has a vision and a mission to share the teachings of Jesus Christ ( the truth in life, Wisdom ) to others - beginning in our own Cambodian ( and local ) Community in Hawaii. While there are many churches around, the Khemaras Center has been the only and the first one for the Khmers resettling in Hawaii.
2. The Khemaras Center is a channel of God’s love to the Cambodians in Hawaii - first and foremost – and others. It is where the students away from home, the hurting, the depressed, tourists to Hawaii, the dispossessed, the frustrated, and the confused can find love, joy, acceptance, help, hope, forgiveness, guidance, and encouragement.
3. The Khemaras Center is a church where Christ ( the Truth of life, God's love, God's Grace, Wisdom ) is proclaimed as Lord and Savior - not only to the Cambodians but to all.
4. The Khemaras Center will turn out people with spiritual maturity through Bible studies, small groups, and mentoring/encouraging one another so that every member becomes a humble minister.
5. The Khemaras Center will share with others in sending out missionaries to the ends of the earth - beginning from Honolulu, Hawaii to other states of the United States, then to Cambodia, and then elsewhere in the whole world.
Application: W. F. D. M. E.
( Those of you who are not Christian, please do not be scared of Hongly. I am just a person who has seen and understood the truth of life - what Jesus taught )
Purpose #1: Worship, Praise, Love & Obey the Lord, God,with all your heart.
Purpose #2: Fellowship with Him, Love your neighbor as yourself ( Life's focus )
Purpose #3: Discipleship / Learn to be Christ like ( Serve & Teach the truth to others )
Purpose #4. Ministry - serve & reach out to others ( baptize - completely burying the past sins / or die to the old sins, and starting a brand new life, clean and godly as Jesus taught - a new light in life - and start own ministry (serve others ) ).
Purpose #5: Evangelize - tell others the truth - Teaching them to obey the commandments and understand God's Grace - so they can share the Good News, God's love, the light of truth .. to others as well (Evangelism). If they do not accept, it's their choice. Your job is still complete.
The sowing of seeds:
The planting has already started. The seeds have been sown to various spots in the field. Several families have been led by the Holy Spirit to come regularly and join the Khemaras Center. I am most grateful to be able to share with the Students who are now working on their master degree, PhDs, leadership training….etc. at the University of Hawaii. They are the leaders of tomorrow. Some of them will surely grow spiritually healthy and strong in the light of our Savior. And some will grow to produce fruits. That's the foundational need in Cambodia – the fruits of the spirit. That's what's needed to eliminate the cycle of poverty, sadness, and destruction in that country. The truth will set people free.
CONCLUSION:
I cannot do it alone. The Cambodians cannot do it alone. At this particular juncture, you - brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the state, especially the UABC - are the source of strength and encouragement. Your prayer, your support and your encouragement are much needed.
As for me, I have made up my mind to serve God and to do His Will. The time has come for me to respond to His Calling – Now!
Through troughs and valleys of life,
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come. He brought me safe thus far, and His Grace will lead me home. I’d like to lift up this new mission to Him for His blessings! I am just a servant of His.... now!
With the Holy Spirit moving among us, nothing is impossible!
May we all remember to pray for the Cambodian Church - the Khemaras Center. May God bless us all in this endeavor! Amen !
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If you have ideas, comments, compliments... please email Hongly G. Khuy at
Honglykhuy@gmail.com (click here).
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