What's God's Love Language?

Gary Chapman has changed all our lives with his book on love languages. He says there are five love languages and we all have at least two that make us feel love. They are physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time and gifts. Recently our young married small group examined our own love languages and how we utilized them in our marriages.

Often, Chapman says, we give love in how we like to receive love. If gifts is our love language, than we usually like to give gifts. However, if the person we're trying to love on doesn't interpret gifts as being loved, but would rather have quality time, than even though we've done our best to show them love, they may not be able to receive our love.

It made me think about God. Does God have a love language? Is there something that makes God feel loved? It came out of a conversation I was having with God one day. I wanted Him to know that I really, really loved Him. But I know that sometimes words are easy to say. We can say, I love you all day long, but unless we're doing things that show our love, the words can be meaningless. At least that's what I Corinthians 13 says. Love here is depicted in actions..."love is kind, love is patient, love does not envy, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs..." I don't hear any "I love you's" in this passage, at least not with words.

As I asked God this day, "How can I show you I love you?", Gary Chapman's love languages came to mind, and immediately I knew what God's love language was. Do you know what it is? Is it attending church? Serving in lots of ministries? Is it spending time in prayer and bible reading? What about abstaining from all the bad sins...like alcohol, movies and playing cards? (anyone raised Baptist:)? Or does something else come to mind for you?

To answer the question, let's look at what Jesus said about what makes Him feel loved. In John 14:15 Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

Obedience? That's God's love language? Yes, obedience. Although attending church, bible study, and eliminating sin from our lives is all part of a healthy Christian walk, and may even be something God is asking you to do...Jesus didn't quote any of these as a sign that we love Him. What He said is, "I feel loved when you obey what I say."

You see we can sit in church every week, hearing God's message to us, and then just ignore it, and not obey it. We can read our bibles every day and pray, and hear God's message to us loud and clear, and still blow it off. And while these things are wonderful and we should do them, none of them communicate love to God. His love language is obedience.

So what does it mean to obey? Sometimes that can feel overwhelming. I talked with someone who felt if she didn't obey everything God said in the bible, she was sinning. I replied, "You can only obey what you know, what God has asked you to obey." In other words, obey what God is asking you today...don't worry about all the things you don't know you're not doing...just start with the one thing He's asking you today.

God is so kind and gentle and gracious towards us. I've discovered that He doesn't bombard me with dozens of requests at once of things to obey...it's usually one thing at a time. Obeying God may seem difficult, but all it takes is staying close to Him so you recognize His voice when He asks you to do something, and then saying "Yes, God I'll do that." You may not want to do it, or even know how to do it, but that's okay. Because God will give you the desire to obey, and even the step by step process in how to do it. Your starting point is just saying, "Yes."

John 3:16 says that God showed His love towards us by sending us His Son as a Redeemer and Savior. Thankfully God doesn't ask the same level of sacrifice from us...only that we'll obey what He asks us to do. Do you want to show God you love Him? How can you make God feel loved today?

"If you love me," He says, "You'll obey what I command."

It's that simple.

10 Yr. Old Model's Grown Up Look--cute or sexy?

http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=14221160

Does she look 10 to you? I saw little girls like this in Cambodia. They would come all dressed up, with makeup and jewelry to the kid's club. They were petite, innocent, yet looked older than their years. The parents were preparing to sell them for sex, and this was how they'd dress them up to entice men to want to buy them.

Child pornography has fueled the market for little girls to be dressed as sex objects--and the sexualization of our girls. Just look at the clothing line marketed to little girls today. With a 3 yr. old granddaughter, I've seen what's out there, and its alarming. And yet, in the name of fashion and art, it all appears innocent and acceptable? Or not.

All I know is that pornography is progressive. It leads to increasingly more perverse and hardcore porn, including the most evil--child porn. Adults having sex with children, children having sex together. And studies show that people who view pornography are more likely to act out sexually, use prostitutes, buy children for sex, traffic children for sex, and abuse children. You can rationalize it all you want, but the truth is child porn is fueling child sexual abuse, and the sexualization of our children. And what we see here is a result of that.

In my opinion, this ten year old isn't a model, she's a victim.

Barbara

Is Casual Sex Worth It?

I write about sex. More specifically how causal sex is hurting our generation. How do I know? Because it hurt me. But even more, now that I speak and write and lead people through sexual healing, I've discovered that it hasn't just hurt me...but all of us. I help people find healing from their past sexual wounds, whether from abuse, trauma or their own choices, as in casual sex.

I found the discussion in this CNN article, "Is Sex Worth It?" very interesting. And I'd love to hear what you think? Has casual sex hurt you? If you had casual sex, do you regret it? Was it worth it? What would you advise a young person now?

You can click on the link Is Casual Sex Worth It? to read the article.

Blessings, Barb

TO CAMBODIA WITH LOVE

This is the email we received from Sophy, assistant to the Director of AIM after we left for the airport. This is a sample of the amazing, humble Christians working hard in Cambodia for God, but also how our service blessed them.

Dear Bayside Team;

It has been a wonderful blessing to be able to serve God with you. For the past two weeks, I have seen your eagerness to serve, to love and to be with us. It is so true that each of you was investing something else apart from material, time and your context back home. Each of you was a part of our Cambodian Heaven Community. By now, each of us may have already realized that you have stolen our heart, and your departure has left us a vision and a hope to make that heaven realm become even more realistic and sustainable.

Culturally, we have been raised with intimidations to help others, to use our ability for the benefit of others, to fix what have been broken and to heal the wounds and sicknesses we have put on ourselves. While individualism and the pursuit for merely worldly comfort is binding us, your team presence has helped us to see how we can untie it. The joy of being together as a community is what we lack or do not have and your presence let us tasted that, and it was good!

Some significant things I have heard, which we are proud of and appreciate include:

Kid’s Club ministry, “the team has been very patient in working with the children; they loved each kids equally; we had a great team work with them”

Computer Ministry, “the computer lessons were very clear and we were given full attention”

The Lord’s Gym, “each man and boy who came to the Lord’s gym felt loved and the joy of learning and the excitement in the competitions have been overwhelming”

The music ministry, “we were given full attention; the trainer was very patient with us; and, we have learned a lot”

The community, “the smiles and a sense that we actually have people that want to care for us”

On behalf of AIM, I would like to say, “Or Kun (thank you)” to each of you for providing a space for us to serve together with you and to show my people how much Jesus loves and wants for Svay Park community. I believe we have also stolen your heart too, and hopefully we will see you all again. We will remember you!

Abundant Blessings,

Servant Sophy & Rahab’s House

Cambodia Day Nine and Ten!

We've had a couple of very busy days here in Phnom Penh which is why I haven't had a chance to post an update. I've been enjoying the opportunity to teach trauma to the teachers in Svay Pak and the staff at the Hard Places Boy's home. Its been amazing to see God touch the hearts of the staff. As I teach them about trauma so they can help their students, God is using what I'm teaching to help them heal from their own trauma.

As a team we're starting to feel better from all our stomach issues as we adjust to the food here. We can't believe we just have two more days here in Cambodia. Monday we had dinner with Moses and Samantha, the original founders of AIM. Moses runs the church planting arm of AIM, and to date has planted over 1000 churches. Yes, you read correctly, 1000! He is the Billy Graham of Cambodia, and a modern Moses, leading his people to the Lord and the promised land. Before the Pol Pot regime in the 70s, Moses was high up in the military and government. He barely escaped with his life as the military and government people were first on Pol Pot's hit list. He came to America and was educated and then returned to Cambodia just 8 years ago and in that time has planted these 1000 churches.

Because of his contacts in government, Moses invited the Secretary of State, the Minister of Parliament, and the LT. Governor Adviser to the Ministry of the Interior to dinner with us. The Secretary of State expressed his appreciation to us for our love of the Cambodia children and our continued efforts to assist in helping rescue girls from the sex slave trade.

Thankyou for your prayers. This week we've had so much opportunity to bless the families at the Brick Factories with mosquito nets, shoes, school uniforms and school supplies, as well as toothbrushes and toothpaste. Pray that these families will begin to trust Pastor Chantha and want to come to church to hear more about Jesus.

love and blessings,
Barb

Cambodia Day Eight

Today is Sunday July 3rd. We were up early and heading out to Svay Pak for church by 7am. This week three of us shared a short message with the people, and AJ had his music students play a song while we sang with them. It was a great service. All three of us talked about how we were a big family. And regardless of our address, or where in the world we lived, if we knew Jesus we were all part of the same family.

After church, we ordered in pizza, hamburgers and cokes for approximately 75 of us. The Cambodian staff, our team, and a team from Michigan here working at the Hard Places boy's home. The Cambodian's loved the pizza and hamburgers, although for us, it didn't taste quite like home. Our little lunch turned into a huge party with singing, games and dancing. It was an amazing celebration of the fun, unity and spirit we have in Christ together.

Its been a busy week followed by two full days of weekend. We're up early again and back to Svay Pak to work tomorrow. We're tired, and many are not feeling 100%. Please pray for renewed energy and passion this week, our last 5 days in Cambodia.

The triad arrived last night and it was great to see them finally here. For those who don't know, the triad is two girls and a guy from Bayside who are moving to Cambodia to work with Agape for a year. One girl, Jayme is Roma's (my co-leader) daughter. The two girls, Jayme and Kaitlin are here for the second time, but this is Isaac's first time to Cambodia. They all have an adjustment to make, so please keep them in your prayers. We'll have them with us this week in Svay Pak.

Well, its been a long day and I'm ready to get some rest. God's blessings to you, and thank you for your continued prayers.

Barb

Cambodia Day Seven

Its Saturday night here and we're just getting home from a busy day. Today we went to the Agape Restoration Center and put on a Fourth of July party for the 60 girls who've been rescued from sex-trafficking. 60 girls who've experienced the horror and evil of sex-trafficking, but are in the process of being transformed by the love and healing of Jesus. It never ceases to amaze me that these bright, smiley, joyful girls have been through so much. Its a testimony of what love can do, especially the love of Jesus.

It was a day of music, dancing, pizza, games, crafts, cake and gifts. The girls sang, danced, laughed...but most importantly, felt treasured, loved and beautiful as we lavished on them.

Then we were lavished on at Bloom Cafe...a professional bakery where the girls from Agape learn the skills and creativity of professional cake decorating. The girls have made cakes for the highest officials in the government, including the King and the Prime Minister's daughter.

Our next visit of the day took us to Hard Places Boy's Home where we toured this new facility that will be a center of hope, healing and freedom for sexually exploited boys. We learned today that the little boys who scour the streets looking for customers to sell their basket of books to, have to meet a quota every day for their parents or pimps. If they don't make the quota, they are required to sell themselves for sex through the night. That heartbreaking truth compelled me to over-pay for a bracelet from one of these lads--a small, young one, in hopes that for this one, his quota would be met, at least for tonight.

Tomorrow is Sunday, and we will leave for the 3 hour church service at the early hour of 7pm to arrive by the 7:30 start time. We'll be sharing in the service and singing for them. Afterwards we're putting on another lunch party for the staff at Rahab's House. Along with our team and the team from Hard Places, and Rahab's staff, we will be sharing lunch with 75 of our Cambodian and American brothers and sisters. Pizza, hamburgers and coke is on the menu...which the Cambodian's are very excited about. One of the girls at Rahab's house told me that she'd only had pizza one time in her life, and she's 28 years old.

Thankyou for your prayers. We have several sick with stomach issues due to the different food here. Please pray for strength and health as we prepare to start another busy week at Rahab's house.

Thank you...God's blessings on all of you at home!

barb

Cambodia Day Six

It's rainy season here in Cambodia right now. We've had some tropical rain and thunderstorms here the last few days. Its really refreshing and I love letting the rain cool me off. Today I had a moto ride home in the rain. Pretty amazing! And scary!

I have a new job starting today in the afternoons. I'll be teaching trauma education to another mission group called Hard Places. I met the Director of this group two years ago on my first trip to Cambodia. She is the counselor who helped start the kids club program in Svay Pak. She then went on to become the head counselor at Agape's Restoration Center. But her dream has been to open a boys home to reach the sexually-exploited boys in Cambodia. Well her dream came true this past month with the opening of a new boy's home. She asked me to come and teach her staff trauma education, and help them learn some healing techniques for the boys. As well, educate them on how to help the boys with their on-going trauma. So every afternoon I'll be heading back into Phnom Penh from Svay Pak to spend two hours training her staff, and equipping them to help these children heal from their trauma.

My class had 16 people in it. It included four Khmer staff, plus two American staff as well as several American college students on a work mission trip. In addition we had a woman who works with some of the girls from the Agape Restoration Center. Also next week, I'll be teaching this trauma curriculum to the teachers in Svay Pak in the mornings. I'm really excited about this opportunity and ask you to pray for me that God will anoint my words, and give me wisdom and discernment as I teach them.

Its Friday night here and our team is feeling tired and drained. Please pray for renewed strength and rest this weekend. We have a busy weekend putting on a fourth of July party for the girls at the restoration center...these are the girls who've been rescued and live at the home for exploited girls.

Happy Birthday America! We celebrate with you on the other side of the world!
Love and blessings,
Barb

Cambodia Day Five

God began performing miracles for our team long before we left the United States...especially in the area of finances. This team of 12 rocked this year in the fund-raising department. But we give all the credit to God. He is the one who compelled others to support this mission trip. It's His money we give, which is why we carry out our stewardship responsibilities with careful consideration and prayer. But the first miracle is that this year's team of 12 raised far more than last year's team of 14. How to go Team Cambodia 2011. And people are continuing to give! Thankyou so much!

At the end of our two weeks last year after all our expenses were paid, and we'd spent thousands of dollars on medicine, rice, shoes, supplies, and giving the ARC girls a fourth of July party, we still had $6200 left over to leave with Agape International Mission for their ongoing expenses.

This year our team of 12 raised so much money that we were able to cut a check for $8000 to give to AIM before we even left the country. The rest of our money was budgeted to include expenses, as well as buying medicine, mosquito nets, school supplies and uniforms, and supply the ARC girls with another rocking fourth of July party.

But then our first day in Svay Pak, the Cambodian team presented us with several unexpected needs and we wondered how we'd find this extra money to be able to say yes to all these requests.

Well God has been rearranging our budget day after day, helping us find extra money in places we'd never expected--allowing us to supply more needs than we could have imagined. First, the same food for the fourth of July party this year is half of what it cost last year, freeing up several hundred dollars. Then the school supplies we bought today for the brick factory children cost us a fifth of what we budgeted, freeing up $400 dollars to buy new flip-flops for all the brick factory children.

Every day it's exciting to see what God has in store for us, and how He will provide. I love the child-like trust the people have here in God. They don't worry about money, or where their next meal will come from...because they know that all they have comes directly from the hand of God. And He has yet to disappoint them.

Their faith reminds me of David's prayer in Psalm 131: "My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore."

Childlike faith does not concern itself with things beyond it's control, or matters it doesn't understand. Instead in the middle of uncertainty, or when circumstances are cause for concern, those with child-like faith choose to still and quiet their souls like a child totally dependent on their mother. Like the quiet confidence a child has knowing they'll be protected and provided for always.

Our brothers and sisters in Cambodia may not have much by America's definition, but they have something many of us have yet to possess..the humble, still, confident child-like faith that releases the power of Almighty God into their moment by moment lives. And that my friends, is pure faith...the kind of faith that pleases God.

Cambodia Day Four

Today was a lot of fun in Svay Pak as I became more accustomed to the medical lingo. My team is calling me Dr. B now which I'm loving:)! Our team is already working together so well. It's wonderful, but not surprising because we've been asking God for that very thing.

During our lunch break everyday we are visiting 9 local brick factories where entire families live and work. Most are indebted to the brick factory owner and barely make enough to eat, let alone pay back their debt. While there today Pastor Chantha shared the story of one of the families. The husband died and left his wife and three children. She didn't have any money to bury him, so the brick factory owner took his body and threw it off the property onto the road. Devastated, the wife came to Pastor Chantha and he provided funds to purchase a coffin so they could bury him with honor. But the family was still in debt. Their debt meant a life sentence at the brick factory because they owed the owner $507. A debt they would never be able to pay.

Pastor Chantha shared the family's plight with friends in Canada and someone donated money to pay the debt. Can you imagine the family's delight and surprise when Pastor Chantha came with the $507 and set them free? I can, because I've seen how they live. I've witnessed the filth, poverty, pain and desperation they're surrounded with every day. $507 is not very much money for many of us in America, and yet for this family, it meant life, it meant freedom. It meant breaking a cycle of debt, dishonor and poverty. It meant returning to their home province to see family they hadn't seen in twenty years due to their debt.

Why would someone pay a debt they didn't owe and didn't deserve for someone they didn't know? Because Jesus paid our debt...a debt He didn't deserve, for us...to set us free. And when you know Jesus, and discover the delight of having your debt cancelled, you can't help but do the same for others.

Why do we desire to see others set free?
Because Jesus' love compels us...it's the only answer that makes sense.

Cambodia Day Three!

Today was a better day in Svay Pak for all the team. It takes that first day for everyone to get used to the new faces and for us to adjust to how things are done here. I had the opportunity to work in the medical clinic diagnosing and treating patients. I know, that's scary! But we had a doctor and nurse to consult with plus a list of things to ask and common ailments.
Each of us had a translator. I caught on fairly fast to the protocol and really began to enjoy myself.
There are several common problems here all associated with poor eating, dehydration, vitamin deficiency and sexually transmitted diseases. The conditions I saw that would never be allowed to exist in America were heart-breaking. There is no health care here. Everything costs money and so people suffer for years with common, curable ailments.
But they come by the dozens and they come for miles to Rahab's clinic. Many travel past other free clinics just to come here. Why? "Because at Rahab's house they feel better," they say. They feel love and hope and are treated with genuine care and dignity.
They all hear about Jesus, the One, True Healer. Many are prayed over, everyone prayed for. But all leave touched by the hands of Jesus through those who serve at Rahab's house.
I read of a man who prayed every day that he would see Jesus. One day a knock on his door revealed a dirty, ragged, sick, and scraggly old man. He wreaked of alcohol, human odor and days of filth. He was homeless, broken and penniless. As he stood there looking at this man he heard His Savior say, "You wanted to see Me. Now you have."

Today I had a glimpse of Jesus in these precious people. I got a glimpse of the burden He bears for them, and the love He feels. Even more amazing is that Jesus would be willing to let me see Him in them today, and share His burden for them with me.

Cambodia Day Two

Before I talk about Cambodia I need to wish my husband happy anniversary! Today is our 30th wedding anniversary! Eric, I thank God for you! You have blessed my life and given me more than I could ever have imagined. I love you so much.

We had an incredible first day. Everyone jumped into their assignments with great enthusiasm. As always the first day opens our eyes to the needs around us, and helps us readjust our American thinking of what will or will not work. We do the best we can to prepare, but then once we're here, we have to let go of all our expectations, and allow God to work. That means being flexible, patient and gracious regardless of what happens. Its such a great lesson for us to learn.

There are so many needs, and now we are trusting God to stretch our dollars to be able to provide for the needs that are being placed before us. None of it is a surprise to God and so like last year, we trust Him to provide for all He has planned for us to do on this trip.

The hardest part of the day was going to the brick factory. The people working and living there are the poorest of this society. Working at slave labor prices, they are seldom able to rise above this level of poverty. We are able to provide them with some basic needs as rice, mosquito nets, soap, wound care, tooth paste and tooth brushes, and some food for the children. But even more than basic care we give them love, hope, laughter and dignity.

Thanks for your prayers...
Barb

Day One in Cambodia

First full day in Cambodia! It was a great time of reconnecting with old friends here from Agape. We went to church in Svay Pak and then toured the killing fields and Toul Slang prison. We got a historical picture of the horrific genocide that the Pol Pot executed back in the 70s massacuring a third of the Cambodia people. It is really overwhelming the capacity for evil we humans are. Tomorrow we get to work first thing in the morning. We're down for breakfast and devotions by 6:45. Then in the vans to Kilometer 11 or the community of Svay Pak. I will ltell you all about our first day tomorrow.

Please pray for our safety. I almost got hit tonight by a moto. Pedestrians do not have the right of way here! Blessings and thankyou for your prayers!

Barb and team Cambodia 2011

Cambodia 2011--Here we go again...

For the third summer in a row, I'm heading to Cambodia to work with Agape International Mission,(AIM) a group that helps rescue, heal and restore girls sold into the sex slave trade. Cambodia is a well known global hub for sex-trafficking. And Svay Pak, the community where Agape ministers, is well known as a place for pedophiles to come and have sex with very little girls. Although having sex with a child under the age of 16 is illegal in Cambodia, law enforcement and the government have closed their eyes to this evil. But God and AIM are changing that. AIM has exposed the evils of sex-trafficking of little boys and girls in Cambodia through their investigative work, as well as the success in being able to rescue so many girls out of harm's way. At their restoration home in Phnom Penh they've brought love, joy, hope and healing to scores of young girls who otherwise would have no hope. As well, Svay Pak, once a place of oppression, evil, darkness and poverty, now has a beacon of light and hope in their community at Rahab's House, a former brothel, turned community center, church, school, and medical center--all free services ministering to the entire community of Svay Pak.
This year I'm taking a team of 12 men and women from Bayside Church and we will spend two weeks working in Svay Pak at Rahab's house, diving into all the outreach ministries AIM is involved in every day. We'll be working with about 300 children from the community who are currently being sold for sex by their parents.
Please pray for us as we bring the love and hope of Jesus into this community and work alongside the Cambodian team of brothers and sisters who tirelessly serve God and this community every day. We ask you to pray for our safety, unity as a team, opportunities to share God's love through action and word to all God brings our way, and the finances to support all the needs God brings to our attention. God has blessed our team financially because of many of your faithful gifts, and because of that, we'll be able to pour much needed funds into the community as God leads. Some of the things we'll be able to do is...buy rice and mosquito nets for local brick factory families, medicine for the clinic, and food and school supplies for the children who come to kid's club.

I'll be blogging at this site during my stay...we leave Thursday June 23rd. Look for my blogs starting June 25th once we arrive in country.
thankyou for your support and prayers,
Blessings, barb

Married to One, but in Love with Another

I recently wrote an article for Family Life Canada and received this question: How can you be in love with one person, but marry another?
This was my reply:

When we have sex we bond with them, physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally, as well as chemically. We release chemicals and hormones that creates a bond or attachment with that person. God says He makes 'two into one flesh' through sexual intimacy. Both men and women release a hormone called oxytocin which is the bonding hormone, causing men and women to be glued together. Oxytocin is what creates that love feeling.

And in marriage as you have sex over and over...you bond more and more and your love deepens and matures. But when we have sex outside marriage and then break up, we start to damage our bonding hormone...we release less and less with each subsequent partner. Eventually if we've had enough adverse romantic experiences involving sex (where we love and then break up) we can inhibit our ability to bond fully the way God intended in marriage.

Hypothetically if someone had sex with a first love, she bonded with him. Then when they broke up, she was wounded...as she moved to her next relationship, she fell in love again, but wouldn't have bonded as much in the next relationship. Depending on how many sexual partners she bonded with before marriage would depend on just how well she bonded with her husband.

Just because we get married doesn't mean the past is all wiped away. We bring all those past partners into marriage with us, and in fact stay bonded to them without really knowing it. Then when we begin to experience difficulties in our marriage, and our love wanes, our attachment to past partners can cause us to still feel love for them. Also oxytocin increases the recall of the positive events of past relationships and decreases the recall of the negative. So when her marriage began to have cracks, she began to fantasize about the good in the last relationship...and began to wonder if life would have been better with him.

But unfortunately it's fantasy and not reality. All marriages experience struggles and sometimes we have days when we don't 'feel' love for each other. But when we've bonded well, the difficult times help us grow closer together and our love deepens. But if we are still attached to past lovers, we will stay in the past, and resist the work needed to grow our marriages. But when we let God heal us and break us from past relationships, we can fully love and bond with our spouses. Which is why I encourage young people to go through healing for all past sexual partners and experiences so that they don't bring anyone else into their marriages and are able to fully bond with their spouse.

Science is showing that God can heal the brain, and restore our ability to release oxytocin even if its been depleted because of past wounding. God has done this in my own life and marriage, and in countless others as I've led men and women through sexual healing the past 7 years.

So I guess what I'm saying is that this scenario doesn't have to be...with healing, we can be fully bonded and love our spouse regardless of past relationships. I'm praying that God gives you hope that what you long for and desire is really what He desires for all of us in marriage, and that when we trust Him, its also possible.

Cambodia 2011

STOP THE SALE OF CHILDREN FOR SEX

Having my eyes opened to the global tragedy of sex-trafficking on my first trip to Cambodia in 2009, has changed me forever. Since then God has led me to serve in many ways to help rescue and restore the victims of sex-trafficking. Here I am speaking at the United Nations, Conference on the Status of Women in Feb 2011 on how to help women heal from the trauma of sex-trafficking. This past year I’ve also begun to help in a local ministry called Courage House that is providing a loving, healing home for victims of sex-trafficking in Sacramento.
But the children of Cambodia still have my heart.

This year I’m leading the team again from Bayside church as we go to serve Agape International Mission (aim4asia.org) in their on-going, successful mission to rescue girls from the streets of Svay Pak who are sold by their parents for sex. In addition to the home where the rescued girls find love and restoration, as well as educational and vocational training, AIM serves the community of Svay Pak by offering a free medical clinic, kid’s club, school, gym, computer classes and church. Because of AIM, God is changing the hearts of the people in this community and girls are being rescued and restored.

Your generous support will allow us to pour needed funds into all these ministries. Last year we were able to supply some of the poorest families at local brick factories with rice, shoes, and medicine. Rahab’s house in Svay Pak received funds for medicine, kid’s club, the gym and computer classes. We also put on a celebration 4th of July party for the girls at the restoration home. After all this, there was still enough to leave AIM with $6,200 for ongoing operational costs.

I’m asking you to support me with prayer and finances once again as God takes me to Cambodia to serve Him in the work of rescuing, caring for and restoring these victims of sex trafficking. In addition, we’ll provide love and care to those who’ve yet to be rescued in Svay Pak.

Thankyou for partnering with us in this vital mission work. If you’re receiving this as a hardcopy, you can mail in the enclosed card. Please do not put my name anywhere on the check. To do so will mean you won’t get the tax deduction.

You can also give online with Bayside’s Global new online giving at http://bit.ly/ha1PYW. You’ll find my name under the Cambodia heading for trips. If you’re receiving this as an email, print off the attached card and mail in, or use the online link. This is time-sensitive, as I'm still in need of $600 in the next two weeks in order to meet my financial needs.

Thank you and may God Bless you for blessing us…

Barbara