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