Daniel and Suzanne Prak

Church planters in Cambodia

Daniel grew up in a Buddhist home in Cambodia. He survived Cambodia’s “killing fields” and escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand in 1979. It was in the refugee camp where he first heard the message of God’s love and forgiveness. He accepted Christ as his personal Savior at the beginning of 1980 and arrived in the United States as a refugee in 1981.

Suzanne was raised in a Christian home in Oregon. She grew up in a small non-denominational Bible church. Suzanne remembers attending a Billy Graham crusade with a church group when she was five years old. It was at that crusade that she clearly understood the salvation message. She went forward that night and invited Christ into her life. Suzanne graduated from Faith Bible Christian school in 1978.

Daniel and Suzanne met in 1984 while working together with a Cambodian congregation in Clackamas, Oregon. They were married in 1985 with the goal of serving the Lord together. At that time, Cambodia was closed to missionaries, so the idea of going to Cambodia seemed far-fetched. Together they served the Lord, ministering in Cambodian churches. Daniel attended San Jose Christian College in 1988 and 1989, taking classes in Bible and missions. During this time, they started their family: Peter was born in 1985, Michelle in 1987 and Andrew in 1991. Suzanne received her nursing degree in 1997 from Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, California. In 1999 Daniel and Suzanne adopted Josh and Sarah, a brother and sister. They were Suzanne’s second cousins who needed a loving home. Josh was born in 1994 and Sarah in 1996.

Time passed, but Daniel and Suzanne never forgot their desire to serve the Lord in Cambodia. In 2001 Daniel returned to Cambodia for the first time since his escape in 1979. While there, he planned to visit his sister and do some sightseeing, but the Lord had other plans. Daniel was privileged to be able to share the gospel with people in his home village; seven people made professions of faith.

Daniel returned home excited to share his experience with the family. God used that trip to rekindle Daniel’s desire to serve Him in Cambodia. In September 2004 the family took a short-term trip to Cambodia and were there for three months through OMF’s Serve Asia program. It was exciting to see the many ministries and ways the family could be used there. God used that trip to confirm their call to serve Him full-time in Cambodia. The Praks’ desire is to work in a church-planting and leadership-training ministry in western Cambodia. They are currently preparing to return to Cambodia, initially returning to the ministries which were established during their short-term trip. In addition, they will take monthly trips to western Cambodia to begin ministry there.