Cambodia - July 18, 2013

[The following post is an excerpt from my journal as I traveled to Cambodia. The inconsistency in the entry title and datestamp is due to limited internet access while I was on the trip. These experiences were documented in real time, and I am posting photoblogs now that I have returned. In order to protect all those involved with the organization that rescues children from sex slavery and works to prevent others from being trafficked, I have intentionally omitted specific names and locations.]

Thursday, July 18, 2013 - Somewhere in Cambodia

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

    because the Lord has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

    to proclaim freedom for the captives

    and release from darkness for the prisoners"

Isaiah 61:1

Today we traveled by bus to the town where the larger safe house is located.  This house is home to around 70 girls from ages 5 to 18 (roughly).  Most of these girls have been rescued from lives of being sold for sex. Others are prevention cases- either sisters of girls already at the house or girls from impoverished families who were highly at risk for being sold into sex slavery before coming to live here.

When we arrived, they welcomed us with open arms and threw a party for us, complete with songs, dances, and skits!  The fun we had nearly caused me to forget the reason these girls are here.  Then, a failed interaction with a girl who was standoffish in return helped me remember. She was not willing to let me into her world so easily. There are wounds here that I cannot comprehend.

I am mostly having trouble wrapping my mind around how young some of these girls are yet how much horror they have seen in their lives. Their innocence has been stolen and they have to relearn to be kids again. I cannot imagine being forced to "grow up" in such a harsh way, then being rescued and struggling to revert back to a normal life. I cannot imagine, as a child, having nightmarish memories of disgusting men who violated my body for their own pleasure, then having to learn to take these images captive to purge myself of the hurtful past.

For these girls, freedom is certainly NOT easy.  But after tonight, I can tell you what freedom IS...

Freedom is life-giving. Freedom is joyful. Freedom is beautiful.

Freedom is twirling your flexed hands while performing a traditional Khmer dance and wearing a Sampot Chang Kben.

Freedom is peeking through the windows to make sure you don't miss your "stage" entrance.

Freedom is giggling in embarrassment because you forgot your line during a skit, even though a majority of the audience doesn't understand the language anyway.

Freedom is having a wild and crazy dance party to various selections of Psy and Shakira songs.

Freedom is dramatically yelling (yet laughing at the same time) while the house mother helps you pull off your fake eyelashes from the traditional Khmer dance.

Freedom is touching a foreigner's heart to its very core.

Freedom is the ability to look to the future without fear, knowing that God has provided hope for the future.

Hallelujah, these girls are free.

[In order to protect the girls, pictures are not allowed at the safe house. The only pictures of the girls I have brought home with me are memories. Hopefully the words of this blog post were sufficient to paint a picture for you!]

Cambodia - July 17, 2013

[The following post is an excerpt from my journal as I traveled to Cambodia. The inconsistency in the entry title and datestamp is due to limited internet access while I was on the trip. These experiences were documented in real time, and I am posting photoblogs now that I have returned. In order to protect all those involved with the organization that rescues children from sex slavery and works to prevent others from being trafficked, I have intentionally omitted specific names and locations.]

Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

"If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish." Matthew 18:12-14

Today was devoted to the ministries of perhaps the most giving family I have ever met.  Our translator's father is a pastor on a nearby island with a bleak history. The island is referred to as "Women's Island" because nearly five thousand women and children were taken to this island to be massacred during the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's. The island has since been transformed into a peaceful village. We visited the church, took a tour of the island, and learned about the various outreach programs that the church leads for the community.

Next, we visited the Freedom Salon. The same family owns this salon which employs teenage girls, teaches them basic nail and hair skills, and allows them to earn an income.  This is a valuable program when it comes to preventing trafficking. The income they earn helps support their families and provides a source of income outside of prostitution.

Then, we had the privilege of experiencing my favorite of this family's ministries, Kid's Club.  Kids Club began when a few neighbor kids sat on the fence that surrounds the family's home and asked to learn a song.  This opened up the door for the family to teach a song about God.  From there, it grew into a full blown ministry where hundreds of neighbor kids of all ages come to learn about God, sing worship songs to Him, pray, and get a free meal afterward.  The coolest part is- most of the kids who come to Kid's Club are from either Buddhist or Muslim families! This family is so welcoming that kids of all backgrounds come to learn about our Lord and Savior.

While this list of the family's ministries is by no means exhaustive, it paints the picture of the sacrificially giving life that this family lives.  It amazes me how much this family has given up to build Christ's Kingdom!

Now, I consider myself a Christian- a "Christ-follower," rather.  However, when I look at the portion of time and resources in my life that I have held onto (and am still holding onto) for myself, it makes me want to look in a mirror and laugh in my own face: "YOU? A follower?! Yeah, only when it doesn't inconvenience you too badly."

The tough-to-swallow truth? I would consider 200 children coming to my home once an inconvenience, let alone have it occur on a regular basis.  I would consider it even more of an inconvenience if I had to figure out a way to feed all of them once, let alone multiple times a week.  In this light, I can see very clearly that I am not using my God-given resources effectively. I have begun to view loving others as a burden!

Now, I do realize that not every ministry involves reaching hundreds of people.  Sometimes, God prefers to work with smaller numbers.  But the beautiful thing about engaging in a smaller ministry is that the number one is such a large number when it comes to God's Kingdom.

One.

If a single soul is saved through my ministry, then the time and resources were worth it.  If out of the thousands of people that I sing worship before each year, one life is moved toward God through me, the effort was worth it.  One thousandth might sound like an awful success rate to the world, but to God, it means one of His children has found the way home- the prodigal son has returned! Thousands may sound impressive, but one is reason enough to rejoice!

Here's what I am sure of: I may not ever start a ministry that grows to have the numbers or reputation of Kid's Club.  However, you can bet your sweet behind that I am going to start trying to change my perspective and look at people through the eyes of Our Father.  I don't want to feel inconvenienced by a brother or sister in need.  Instead, I want to have vision to see the number one that is written on their identity.  I want to remember the importance of that one.  Most of all, I want that one to be joined with the word more.

One more... believer.
One more... saved.
One more... follower.
One more... baptized.
One more... to experience Paradise with!!

“I never look at the masses as my responsibility. I look at the individual. I can love only one person at a time. I can feed only one person at a time. Just one, one, one."   - Mother Teresa

[The following are pictures of Women's Island, the Freedom Salon, and Kid's Club.]

Women's Island from a distance

Approaching the church on Women's Island by boat

On the wall inside the church :)

A kiddo playing on the church property on Women's Island

A typical house on Women's Island

Fun fact: the yellow fluid in the glass bottles is gasoline for motos

Kid's playing on the church property on Women's Island

Getting a pedicure at the Freedom Salon

Freedom Salon!

Kid's Club

The most beautiful sight ever

Teaching the devotion at Kid's Club

Cambodia - July 16, 2013

[The following post is an excerpt from my journal as I traveled to Cambodia. The inconsistency in the entry title and datestamp is due to limited internet access while I was on the trip. These experiences were documented in real time, and I am posting photoblogs now that I have returned. In order to protect all those involved with the organization that rescues children from sex slavery and works to prevent others from being trafficked, I have intentionally omitted specific names and locations.]

Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 

As I walked up to the plain cement building covered in barbed wire, I felt it- a heaviness. I sensed there was something evil inside.

I am spending the morning at the Teoul Sleng S-21 genocide museum, a former school which was transformed into a prison used for torture and mass killing during the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's.  This particular building still had the individual prisoners' cells sectioned off inside. There were chains attached to the walls and blood stains on the floor. Some of the cells were made of brick, and others were made of wood.  However, despite the different building materials, they had several commonalities among them- they were all small, dark, unwelcoming, and lonely.

As I walked into the building, my heart grew even more heavy.  I could feel the fear, pain, and hopelessness.  Somehow, although there were several others visiting the compound that day, I had peeled away from the crowd and walked through this building completely alone.  There was literally no human in sight.  For a moment, I believe I felt a glimpse of the exact same solidarity and fear the prisoners of S-21 felt.  Satan still had a presence in that place, and he was trying to weasel his deceitful emotions into my soul.

My heart dropped to my feet, and I immediately started to pray.

Then the Lord helped me to remember.

I never have to feel that type of fear for myself!  I never have to experience solidarity!  I never have to experience hopelessness!  The Lord Our God made these promises to me, and He is the greatest promise keeper of all!  In fact, He made these promises to anyone who will follow Him!

Reality check.

Now, I may feel fear from time to time.  I may feel alone from time to time.  I may even feel hopeless from time to time.  But once I finish getting over myself and quit buying into the evil one's lies, I will gratefully remember that those emotions are not from God.  Once I turn toward Him and seek His face, these emotions will subside, as they have so many times before.  His faithfulness is overwhelming.

[The following pictures depict the cells.  Keep in mind these were taken with flash to capture the structure of the cells. To the naked eye, hardly any natural light creeps underneath the covered hallway and into the small windows. The darkness is threatening.]

[The following are additional pictures taken the same day from both Teoul Sleng S-21 Genecide Museum and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, which is a genocide memorial that contains mass graves of victims of the Khmer Rouge. Several of the images are graphic in nature, so proceed with caution.]

Building B with graves in front

One of the rooms where murder occurred

The picture on the wall depicts the final murder that took place in this room

The picture on the wall depicts the final murder that took place in this room

The courtyard with the graves of the final twelve victims

Pictures of the victims

A mere child

Methods of torture

Each number marks the place where a person was shackled to the wall

The bone room

No shoes allowed inside. :)

Human bones still coming up from the ground

Victims clothes still washing up from the ground

Memorial building with bones and clothes inside

Two of the levels of skulls within the memorial building

Victims clothes within the memorial building