I think it will do a world of good for the people who are supporting me to see what it is that I do and what it is like where I live.
First thing's first! What is Cambodia is like? I have to say it is entirely too difficult to describe. People come to Cambodia to vacation by the riverside in Phnom Penh, but that isn't what Cambodia is really like. People come to the beautiful beach at Kep to get away to a resort, but that isn't what Cambodia is like. I've been to both of these beautiful places where tourists flock, and it is not an accurate glimpse of what Cambodia really is like. Today I sat on a bus for close to five hours with dozens of Khmer people. I watched out the window as towns, villages, and provinces passed by. I have visited houses of girls that have been reintegrated into their homes, and I have seen what people really live like in the US. I have a couple of pictures that may help you see how people live:
Being in the city of Phnom Penh is very fast paced and crazy. A normal, four lane road of traffic will easily have 16 rows worth of traffic. Monks with their orange robes and yellow umbrellas go from house to house. Elaborate mosques, temples, and buddhist churches tower over the small shacks that are falling apart. It is common to see a family of five riding one motorcycle. Tuk tuks and motos jam the streets. People sell things on the side of the road, and people pull ox carts full of things on the roads. Markets are everywhere and full of smelly fish that sit out in the hot sun all day. It is blazing hot with insane humidity all the time. I never stop sweating. Horns are always honking, dogs are always barking, everyone stares at me because I'm white...oh, and did I mention that little girls are prostituted on the streets? Yep. You read that right. Little girls are prostituted on the streets. I've seen it with my own eyes. It is no secret in Cambodia that sex is a big thing that the Westerners want. Most of the time, it is safe to assume that a Western, white man with a younger Khmer girl is only using her for that evening. It is sickening.
I am in no way complaining about where I am. I know that I am in the center of God's will for my life right now, and I just want you to be able to see through my writing what it is really like over here. I want to remember how blessed I am and thank God continually for those blessings. I also want you to see how blessed you are. I want you to stop and thank God for the blessings that you have.
I also want you to be able to see the good that you are doing by supporting me on my Cambodian adventure...because some of the girls that have been used so wrongly have been rescued.
That is where you come in. That is where your support and your prayers are making the difference, because 23 little girls have become my Cambodian sisters over the last three weeks. There are 23 little girls that have been taken off of the streets and are no longer slaves to the sinful desires of evil men and women.
That being said, here is the answer to the second question! What does a day in Cambodia look like for me?
I work an 8 to 5 day Tuesdays through Saturdays. I arrive at my office at 8 AM and prepare for staff devotions with the Khmer office workers, social workers, drivers, and house mothers. The devotion takes place at 8:30, and then I ask if any of the Khmer staff would like help with their English. We help the staff learn more English, and then we spend the rest of our morning doing any preparation or office work that needs to be finished, as well as running any errands around Phnom Penh that need to be finished for the ministry. We have a lunch break at 11:30 and resume any tasks that may need to be finished at 1 PM. The girls are in school all morning, so I do not spend time with them in the mornings. Depending on the day of the week, the afternoons look different. I help the girls with their English at 2:00, and sometimes I spend my afternoons taking my 23 new little sisters to the pool for their swimming lessons. Nevertheless, at 4:00 every day we have devotion time. Today I led a devotion on 1 Timothy 4:12, and spent the rest of the afternoon telling stories to the girls and having them braid my hair. We just sat in a tight circle on the floor together and laughed at funny stories and silly hair styles. I love these girls. The evenings in Phnom Penh are quiet. I usually bike ride around the city a little bit, grab some dinner, spend some time with the others that I work with here, and then come back to my room to reflect on my day and spend some time with the Lord.
Here is a picture of my sisters:
Today was a day that has been seared into my memory. I spent about two hours with the girls in the home today, and I got to just sit with them and love on them. I was able to see how the Lord has taken such broken lives and restored them. Isn't God just great like that? It took coming all the way across the globe to Cambodia for my eyes to be opened to the fact that God can take something so tarnished and bruised and make it new.
The best way I can explain it is through sharing my experience with a little six year old girl. This girl came into the care of the She home just two weeks before I got to Cambodia. When I arrived, she was reserved and quiet...even with the other girls. When I came into the home to lead devotions today, I saw her little head poke out from behind the couch cushions and heard her squeal with delight as she ran to me to hug me and say hello. We sat together and played hand games today and she babbled on and on in Khmer as if I could understand every word she was saying.
Only three weeks ago, this little girl could hardly look me in the eye. Now I've seen her laugh and play with the other girls and heard her sweet little voice whisper her prayers to Jesus after we have done our daily devotions. Jesus has got His hands on this little girl's life, and seeing her restoration in the Lord has caused me to see that He can restore me, too! Nothing is too messy or too ugly for Him to clean up and make new.
I can't show you this sweet little girl's precious face...but just so you can get a glimpse of how adorable she is:
I can hardly believe my time here is almost halfway up. Thank you so much for supporting me with your prayers! I hope this update helps you to see what your prayers and support are doing! You are making a difference!
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