My feet have landed on American soil, but a part of my heart remains in Cambodia. I am aware that once our souls have been awakened to the plight of others in such an up close and personal way, we can no longer hide our heads in the sand (or the myriad of other distractions available to us in our culture.).

While in Cambodia I had a vivid dream and it stirred me. It showed me going back to my old lifestyle, forgetting what I saw, and promising that I’d do more when I “had time.” I don’t want to be lulled into apathy through busyness or the distractions so readily available in our culture. I am asking the Lord what I can do now that I am home for the plight of the 27 million victims of sex trafficking around the world. I am thinking and praying…

We felt covered in prayer our entire time in Cambodia. Thank you for going shoulder to shoulder with us in prayer and partnering in this way. We experienced good health, safety, ministry opportunities, and even the joy of the Lord and laughter amidst the sad circumstances of the people.

We made great connections with the girls we were there to minister to – we thoroughly enjoyed them, and they really seemed to enjoy us, giggling, laughing, and telling us they would miss us when we left. We had a special time of prayer for them at the end of our journey and the needs were many, but their hearts are opening to the Lord as He brings more and more healing to their lives.

Now home, my biggest prayer will be that God invades the hearts and morality of the nation of Cambodia and that He would raise up Godly men who would put an end to the abuse of women, and that those men would be fathers that would protect their children instead of exploiting them.

If your hearts have been stirred for the plight of children and women who are victims of sex trafficking, can I challenge you to pray and ask how you can help these victims? Maybe the answer will be to pray, or to give of your resources, or to help with a local organization in your area that is advocating, or possibly to go yourself.

“…whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto Me…” Matthew 25:45

In Him,

(Read more stories from Sara’s amazing work in Cambodia on the Cambodia Team Blog)

Tears streamed down our faces as the girls at the home, our new friends, shared a song with us. The words are from the Lord to them….

I will change your name;
You will no longer be called
wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid.
I will change your name;
Your new name will be
Confidence, Joyfulness, Overcoming One
Faithfulness, Friend of God,
One who seeks My face.

I love to see these girls coming into a new identity. After the song, one of the girls held the hand of one of the ministry leaders, laying her head on her shoulder….safe, loved.

It is hard to believe we have already been in Cambodia for over two weeks and will be leaving shortly. The time has flown by and we don’t feel ready to come home yet. The past few days have been filled with a mixture of emotions. We have been able to spend some extended time with the girls at the home. We played games and laughed. We loved seeing the innocent giggles coming from them. We danced together (or tried to ).

We met another couple who responded to God’s call to make a difference here. They have a business that roasts coffee. They employ Cambodians who might otherwise not have the opportunity to be employed. The proceeds from the business go to the ministry that houses the girls we have been working with. As we listened to their story, we cried again (basically, we’ve needed a lot of tissue on this trip ). If anyone is interested in a bag of coffee that will directly help girls get off the streets, let me know and I will try to bring some back. It is $6 per bag (dark or light roast, whole bean or ground).

A Cambodian home built upon water. (Note: this photo not taken by the author)

We also visited an area right outside of Pnomh Penh. There a wealthy land owner is allowing the villagers to live on his land – but only in the water (filthy, rubbage and sewage filled water). Their homes, built out of wood poles, are submerged during the 6 months of rainy season and the people have to move to a field. Many of the homes are destroyed and need rebuilding. In all of my travels, I have never seen such poverty. Yet, God’s light even shines into the places of rubbish. A lovely woman from South Africa has made her way into the village’s heart, and she is gaining their trust. Many have given their lives to Jesus. Her desire is to purchase homes for them that are on barrels, so that when the rainy season comes the homes will simply rise rather than be submerged. Each home will cost $600 to build, which is an enormous amount to them, but not to God. While there, we were able to pray with a sick elderly woman. She desires to walk again, and as we lifted her desire to God she wept.

We watched the children play. They were delightful and were ingenious in coming up with games to play. Close by women were weaving jasmine into small wreathes that the children would go and sell in restaurants and clubs late into the night. We are praying that the landowner would change his mind and allow them to build homes on the land, and also that the Lord gives them ideas for work so they can climb out of this poverty.

Please pray as we wrap up our time in Cambodia. We have many projects we want to help finish for the girls’ home and we need God speed in order to do so.

Love,

(Read more stories from Sara’s amazing work in Cambodia on the Cambodia Team Blog)

Toul Sleng Prison

It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through our time here. Daily our hearts are gripped by both heaviness at the pain we see all around as well as hope, as we see God’s faithfulness through the people he has called to serve here. We visited the prison of Toul Sleng where thousands of Cambodians were imprisoned during the Khmer Rouge. We also saw the Killing Fields, where 20,000 souls were slaughtered during this time. Mass graves were everywhere. It is still common to find decaying bones of the victims. This tragedy has caused so much pain and the people still bear the emotional scars (especially being a culture that does not value sharing and processing their pain). We have been delighted to meet some Christian social workers and counselors who have been called here to help in that regard, and to share the hope of Jesus’ love with them.

We would have liked to have shared some of the personal stories of the girls we have been getting to know, but due to the confidential nature of this work we are unable to share details. The place we are assisting is literally a safe house, and keeping the girls safe from those who have exploited them in the past is THE priority. So the missionaries who lead this work have asked us not to share details. But know that God is transforming lives and changing hearts and healing these young women. It is beautiful to see.

We have been able to spend time teaching the girls new crafts to sell here in Cambodia as well as stateside. They are very receptive to new ideas to help them earn money. They are fast learners, and are even teaching one another. We had a ball interacting with them. The Cambodian people are industrious, hard workers. It has been our privilege to work alongside them.

Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I am passionate about financial responsibility and helping others work within their budget. One aspect is the cash envelope system for weekly spending. I was delighted to find that the girls make and sell similar envelope systems. I have had the pleasure of writing material advertising the benefits of the system and how to utilize it.

We are living day to day here, never knowing what each day might hold. But we are encouraged that no matter the task, regardless of how big or how small, we do it all to the glory of God.

Thanks for joining me us on this journey through giving, praying, and following our story…

(Read more stories from Sara’s amazing work in Cambodia on the Cambodia Team Blog)

Click for larger image

If you’d asked me a year ago if I would find myself in Cambodia, coming face to face with the ugly industry of sex trafficking, I would not have believed you. Yet, through a series of divine circumstances I am here. It could only be God that three middle class American women would board a plane knowing that they would be exposed to the reality of such terrible sin. But our hope and prayer in coming is that these lovely women we have the privilege of working with will be exposed to the reality of an incredible loving and redemptive God.

It didn’t take long for us to come face to face with what goes on here. It made our hearts sad and very angry as we witnessed a sex trafficking transaction in our hotel lobby (even though the sign said no trafficking allowed). It only took three days and we found ourselves relocating to a guest house run by a Christian pastor. We have felt very blessed there.

We have been getting to know many people, both Cambodians and expats. Many foreigners hearts have been stirred by the horrors the Khmer people have lived through — such as the Khmer rouge and genocide. Our hearts have been moved by the many wonderful people we have met who have given up their comfortable lives to follow God’s call to help the Khmer people.

It is estimated that ONE OUT OF FIVE girls in Cambodia are, or have been, involved in the sex trafficking trade. Some feel they have no other way to support themselves. Most are exploited and controlled by pimps. In some cases they are sold by their family as it is seen as their only option.

One of the ways that people here are trying to help these women (as well as other Cambodians who are lacking resources) is to teach them trades so that they can make a living. We have had the honor of working with an organization that provides alternatives to the sex trafficking lifestyle. They provide a safe house for the girls to escape from the industry and find an alternative way to earn a living. These girls (and I do mean girls–they range in age from only 12 on up) are loved with the unconditional love of Jesus and self-worth is spoken into their lives. The ministry has a salon offering manicures, pedicures, shoulder massages and facials. We have been trying to find ways to make it an even more inviting space for people to come, attracting even more business for the girls. We have even been able to enjoy some of the services.

In spite of the language barrier, we have been able to interact with these girls, put a smile on their face by telling them they did a great job, or that they are beautiful. We are looking forward to spending even more time with them over the next couple of weeks. In addition to wanting to be a blessing to these girls, our desire is to serve as a support and encouragement to our hosts, who have worked tirelessly in this ministry for many years (leaving their comfortable lives to devote themselves to this cause) praying with them as they share their burdens with us, and trying to lighten their load even a little.

Even though there is palpable darkness where we are, we are confident that God’s light overcomes the darkness. Please continue to pray that we can find unique ways to be a blessing to our hosts and these lovely girls.

(Read more stories from Sara’s amazing work in Cambodia on the Cambodia Team Blog)