When Elder David B.J. Hoare of Melbourne, Australia, met Sam Sophon on the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 1999 as a young missionary, the two had no idea the ripple effect their first conversation would have.
Now, 26 years later, Sophon and his wife, Chan Sovan, have been the means of bringing hundreds of Cambodians to the gospel, according to the Church’s Asia Newsroom.
Their story has come full circle as the former Elder Hoare has returned to Cambodia, this time as the Cambodia Phnom Penh West Mission president. He now serves with individuals brought to the Church by Sophon and Sovan, whom he taught years ago.
Protected by a higher power
Sophon and Sovan grew up in Cambodia during the communist rule of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.
Sophon and Sovan witnessed many atrocities during the Khmer Rouge’s time in power — including deaths of family members — but both recall feeling personally protected from harm.
Although they had not yet learned about God, both believed in some kind of higher power.
“God protected both of us many times,” Sophon said years later in an article on the Church’s Asia Newsroom.
In 1979, Sophon’s and Sovan’s families were both forced to move into a large house near Phnom Penh with several other families. It was here the two met and fell in love.
Shortly after Sophon and Sovan met, the Khmer Rouge retreated under Vietnamese attack, and the couple married. In 1980, their first child was born.
Finding truth
Throughout his life, Sophon hoped “someone with all power” would help him find the true religion.
His desire was realized when he met Elder Hoare and his companion, Elder Clint Rogers, in 1999.
After learning who the young missionaries were, Sophon invited them to his home to meet Sovan and their five children, ages 12 to 19.
Sophon admitted to asking the elders many difficult questions. The missionaries told him he needed to pray to God to have them answered.
“So I started to pray,” said Sophon. “One night after praying and falling asleep, I had a dream. I saw two angels from God who told me this is the truth. It was a shock. I woke up numb and shaking.”
Sovan received her answer from God in a similar manner. In a dream, she saw many people walking down a road together. A man came to her and pointed to a smaller path off the main road. He indicated she should take that path instead of staying with the crowd.
“It made me feel what the missionaries were teaching us was true and I needed to go down that path,” she said. “There were fewer people, and it was hard, but it was the right way.”
On June 12, 1999, roughly three months after meeting the missionaries, Sophon, Sovan and all five of their children were baptized.
Faithful despite challenges
Sovan’s dream of walking a lonely road became somewhat of a reality after the family’s baptism.
Church members in Cambodia were few in number at the time, with the Church having received official recognition in the county just five years prior.
“It felt lonely at times,” Sovan said, recalling how some extended family members were disappointed by her family’s conversion.
But disapproval from others didn’t stop the family from living their faith.
“It was a wonderful blessing to raise our children in the Church,” Sophon said. “It helped guide their lives so they became good people.”
In 2004, the family traveled to the Hong Kong Temple to be sealed as a family. Their oldest son, Laen, was serving as a missionary at the time and received permission to join them. Hoare also joined them, traveling from Australia to attend the sealing.
A growing circle of influence
Soon the family’s influence extended beyond the walls of their home.
All five of Sophon and Sovan’s children served missions, and now their grandchildren are serving as well.
Additionally, Sophon and Sovan introduced many of their extended family members to the gospel.
President Samnang Sea, president of the Phnom Penh Cambodia North Stake, compared the couple to early pioneer families who settled in Utah and now have thousands of descendants in the Church.
Throughout the years, the couple invited 16 of their nieces and nephews from rural areas to live with them in Phnom Penh for better education and employment opportunities. Most of them joined the Church while living there, and many served missions with support from Sophon and Sovan.
It was one of those nephews who found the gospel through Sophon and Sovan who now serves as President Hoare’s first counselor in the mission presidency. The couple’s son-in-law serves as President Hoare’s second counselor.
“We were just two wide-eyed 19-year-olds riding our bikes down the street,” said President Hoare, describing himself and his mission companion. “We had no idea what impact the baptism of Sam Sophon and Chan Sovan would have on the Church in Cambodia.
“The Lord has ways of making ‘small things’ turn into ‘great things,’ as the scripture says,” he continued. “This happens all over the world. There are Sophons in every country. And there are more here in Cambodia.”
Joyfully enduring
Sophon and Sovan continue to faithfully serve in the Church in many capacities.
Sovan has served as a branch Relief Society president, and Sophon has served as both branch and district president.
They have also hosted Church meetings, seminary classes and missionary discussions in their home.
The couple now eagerly awaits completion of the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple, for which ground was broken in September 2021, where they hope to serve as temple ordinance workers.
“We are so excited and thankful for a temple coming to Cambodia,” said Sophon. “It will be a great blessing for Cambodian people. It shows that God is aware of us and loves us.”
Sophon believes the temple will help heal some of the grief and suffering still felt by families who lost relatives in the Khmer Rouge civil war.
“We will gather scattered Israel on both sides of the veil. I know it is God’s plan. It is the work of the Lord for our salvation and for our ancestors. It will be a pleasure and a blessing to be ordinance workers and help our Khmer people make their covenants and be sealed and feel the Spirit in the temple.”
Sovan’s counsel to her posterity and all those they have influenced is simple: “We should always trust God and do what He wants us to do. Follow God’s plan, and we will get through hard times and be blessed.”
Sophon added: “Let God prevail in your lives. Follow His plan, not your plan. If we obey the commandments, we will receive the Spirit and guidance to do things that will make us happy and keep us safe.”
