Cambodian minister, educator hit by drunk driver and dies

ERIK TRYGGESTAD | The Christian Chronicle

PHOTO VIA RANDRDOLAN.BLOGSPOT.COM
Minister killed by drunk driver - Tawn Lork and his wife, Navy.

Tawn Lork, Cambodian minister and educator, died Dec. 26 from wounds he suffered when a drunk driver struck his motorcycle days earlier.

Lork, 33, was dean of students for Cambodia Bible Institute, a ministry training school in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, affiliated with Lubbock, Texas-based Sunset International Bible Institute.
“He was a devout Bible student as well as effective preacher and teacher,” said Rich Dolan, the Cambodia institute’s director. “God blessed him with a great personality, capable of reaching many with his kind words, smile, encouragement and belief in God.”

Lork served as translator for Dolan and his wife, Ronda, who moved to Phnom Penh in 2007.

Lork also worked with Bill Singleton, a church member who helps Cambodian Christians in church-planting efforts.

“He is one of the greatest Cambodian warriors of the faith,” Singleton said of Lork, “and I will always love him for that.”

After the wreck, Lork underwent surgery in Phnom Penh but showed no signs of improvement. The Dolans were making plans to transport him to a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, when “his heart gave out,” Rich Dolan said.

“I know that he walks with the King,” Rich Dolan said. “But please remember all of us who are left here with broken hearts — especially his sweet wife, Navy, and all our students.”