The Road Less Traveled by Janelle Wilson

The last week of Vacation Bible School seemed to be more relaxed maybe because I was getting used to the heat or maybe due to the kids becoming more familiar with us.  Whatever the case our friendships grew stronger with each passing day.   My dear little friend and her sister that I grew so fond of will forever be in my heart and I hope to see them again someday.  As I sit here writing I can’t help but have great gratitude for all those who helped me get to Cambodia.  I know God had His hand on every part of this mission trip. 

We were able to provide many new items for the school, church, gym and foster care facility.  Some of them included a new suspension bar in the gym, soccer balls, reusable heavy duty water bottles and shirts for the children in the foster home.

My favorite part of our last day was when we realized the 25 plus kids in the temporary foster home had only 1 set of Duplo bricks for play.   As we had gone into this trip with intend to find needs in which we could help, I asked our Cambodian driver to take me to a toy shop.  For a couple hundred dollars I was able to purchase 2 wooden train sets, a kitchen set, several games, numerous books, 6 puzzles, 4 hand balls and 3 large ride-able rubber bouncy reindeer's (similar to the old school Hopper Ball with handle).  I was amazed at how many items I was able to get for the kids.  This was all paid for by the donations from so many of you!

We were sent this picture yesterday of some of the kids playing with the toys

Upon our final goodbye, we had the kids sit in a semi-circle of the foster care center.  The kids sat patiently as we brought in the pile of toys.   When they were able to dive in and pick a toy to play with, there was screams of joy and tons of laughter.  It was amazing to see the joy and excitement these toys brought to the room (children & helpers).  My eyes again filled and my heart was overflowed.  It felt like Christmas morning. 

As we climbed back into the van for the last time, I peered out the back window.  The sight of the dirt road, the moto’s, the villagers and the various smells will be greatly missed.  Again with tears in my eyes I realized that these people had blessed me far more than I could ever imagine.  I can say that these kids despite poverty and hardship, love Jesus with all their hearts.  And completely rely on Him for their salvation. 

Tim's Perspective: Chilling Moments

Our two weeks were full of chilling moments, moments that gave me chills, despite a climate that would never give anyone the shivers.  These are the top moments that gave me the goose bumps:

1. On our first day, we were given a tour of all (or at least most) that Agape International Missions (AIM) is doing in Phnom Pen.  It is quite mind blowing all that they are doing. My favorite thing though is the employment center where the girls who have been rescued and "rehabilitated" are working.  We walked in and were greeted with waves, smiles, and hellos!  So much joy! These are women who have been through hell on earth, however, they have been rescued and God has worked His healing power on them.  Such a beautiful, hopeful thing, it gave me chills!

2. Imagine 200 children, ages 3-11, in a room about 1500 square feet singing at the top of their lungs praises to our God. It happened most every day. On one particular day, it was especially boisterous.  I leaned over and said to Janelle, "I can only imagine how much joy God gets out of this."  It gave me chills!

3. As a leader of the team, you worry about how your team members are doing.  On two separate occasions near the end of our trip, two of my team members confessed to me that if they did not have families, they would not be going home.  It gave me chills both times!

4. Imagine sitting through a church service where 90% of what was said was in a language that you did not understand.  Boring, right?  Wrong! Almost everyone on the team said that one of their favorite things was attending church in Svay Pak.  Not that we could understand much.  But we shared communion.  And the presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable.  It gave me chills!

5. Near the end of the first week or the beginning of the second week, we are all a little bit weary.  I woke up early to prepare my devotional feeling particularly worn out.  As I open up my Bible, out fell a stack of 3x5 cards.  The night that we left, our church had a prayer meeting to send us off.  These cards were the things that they prayed for us.  At the end of the prayer meeting, when I was handed the cards, I thought to myself, "what am I going to do with these?".  When they fell on the floor and as I picked them up, I leafed through them.  I realized that God had answered EVERY SINGLE ONE of those prayers.  It was just the reminder and encouragement I needed. It gave me chills!

6. In the middle of the second week, we knew that that afternoon an altar call was going to be presented to the guys in the gym. As a team we prayed that there would be one, maybe two guys to accept Christ.  Later that day, near the end of the day, Clay came up to me and told me that not one, not two, but twelve guys had accepted Christ.  It gave me chills and almost made me cry.  Almost...

Twelve of these guys accepted Christ!

7.   Janelle astutely observed that the place that housed the foster children was devoid of toys. She asked the Pastor's wife about it.  She said that no one had bought the foster kids any toys for a long time.  Janelle took it upon herself to remedy that. During her lunch hour, she took $300 and went nuts.  You would not have believed all the toys she got for $300.  The very last thing we did was present those toys to the foster children.  It was better than the best Christmas you can think of.  It gave me chills!

8. Our last day, near the end of the day, we had a chance to meet with the Pastor and all of the Cambodian staff.  We thanked each other and we prayed over them. But then they gave us a Certificate of Appreciation.  When they handed it to me, I could not read it for several moments for fear of breaking down.  They were the ones that do the heavy lifting all the time. They were the ones that made us feel so welcome. They were the ones that prepared us lunch every day. They were the ones that blessed us.  And yet, they were thanking us.  It chocked me up, but also gave me chills.

Living in God's story is far from dull. When you have the opportunity to be a part of something where God is clearly working, it is so fulfilling and brings one such joy. I doubt there is any high like it. And in a country where people rarely experience goose bumps, I got the chills often! 

Tim

Tim's Perspective: Cambodia, The Land of the Unexpected

Cambodia is a very interesting place.  I had been to Thailand, so I thought I had a pretty good idea of what Cambodia would be like.  Although comparatively similar to Thailand, Cambodia was full of surprises.  These are my top ten (and maybe a couple of extras) surprising things:

1. Traffic!!!!!!!!!:  I have been in places with horrendous traffic.  For one thing, I live in Southern California.  But I have also been to Manilla, and I did not think that traffic could be more crazy than in the Philippines. But Cambodia takes the prize!  Traffic is unbelievable.  For those of you in Southern California, picture the 405 on a Friday with about 1 million motorcycles and tuk tuks thrown in.  There was one afternoon where we moved ten feet in one hour.  I decided to walk down the road to see what the problem was (an accident?; road construction?).  There wasn't any problem. It was just crowded and there is no intelligible right of way at intersections.  So it was just a logger jam! Traffic in Cambodia is absolutely insane!

This picture cannot even begin to exhibit how bad the traffic can get

2. Tuk Tuks:  I had never seen anything like a tuk tuk, the primary mode of transportation (besides scooters or motorcycles).  They are fun to ride in.

Clay with "our" tuk tuk driver

3. How Many Can You Fit on a Motorcycle / Scooter:  On our last night in Cambodia, I saw the record!  Six people on one motorcycle, including a naked baby being held by mama!  I never would have believed it.  Four people on a motorcycle is common, and a few times we saw five on a motorcycle!  We thought that could not be beat!  But low and behold, I saw six!  Oh, and all without helmets, by the way.

4. Good Food:  I was not ready for how good the food was going to be.  Yes, Khmer food is good. It is very similar to Vietnamese food.  But in Phnom Pen, there are tons of good restaurants.  While on our trip, we ate Khmer food, French food, Japanese, dim sum, in addition to several solid Western food restaurants.  My only regret was that we did not go to the Indian restaurant.  There are a plethora of food choices.  And, the local food has some interesting things to eat.  Frog was not as bad as I expected.  Most of my team loved it. I tolerated it.  Some of our team ate tarantula and said it was good. And then we all tried durian, a local fruit that is called the King of Fruits that most Westerners hate.  Most of us enjoyed it, although I will admit that one said it tasted like the bottom of her shoe.  Still, overall, I was blown away by the variety and quality of the food in Cambodia. 

The team at one of our favorite digs, The Grand River

5. WiFi:  There is WiFi everywhere! And it is fast! That was totally unexpected!

6. Gracious Cambodians: Cambodians should all be in service businesses.  They are so warm and friendly and anxious to help.  They are a kind and gracious people.  And it was not just the people we worked with. It was pretty much everyone from the hotel staff to our tuk tuk drivers.  They are so warm and anxious to please.

7. No Trash Systems:  If I was president of Cambodia for a day, I would establish some sort of trash system and install at least a million trash cans.  Phnom Pen is a very dirty city.  There is trash everywhere.  And finding a trash can is next to impossible.  Likely because even if you had a trash can, there is no place to take the trash once it is accumulated.

8. English and the U.S. Dollar:  Almost everyone in Cambodia speaks at least a little broken English.  English is taught in the schools.  You can go almost anywhere and find someone who speaks English.  And the U.S. Dollar is literally everywhere!  The tiniest street merchant will gratefully accept the U.S. Dollar and knows the exchange rate.  Most places show their prices in U.S. Dollars, not the Riel (the Cambodian currency).  There is never a need to change money in Cambodia.  In fact, you do not want to.  The Riel is $4000 to $1 U.S. Dollar. You can have a wad of Riel, and it will only be worth $10 U.S. Dollars.

9. Sleeping Arrangements:  First of all, there are very few actual houses in Cambodia. Most are places that also house some sort of business, in addition to bedrooms and a kitchen for eating.  Then there are quite a number of people who sleep in their tuk tuks.  Finally, there are a lot of people who simple string a hammock up and sleep in the hammock. 

10. Fancy Cars:  I have never seen so many Range Rovers.  I also saw more Rolls Royce in two weeks in Cambodia than I have in ten years in Los Angeles.  Lexus are everywhere.  Cambodia is an extremely poor country so it does not seem to make sense.  But the government is raft with corruption...  Need I say more?

Bonus Shocker:  One final thing was the prevalence of technology next to extreme poverty.  iPhone where everywhere.  It was not uncommon to see an absolute dump of a house with a satellite dish on top.  

Cambodia is land full of surprises.  It is a country of odd juxtapositions.  It is a country of great beauty that is, at the same time, full of trash.  It is an odd place. What surprised me most, however, was how much it stole my heart.

  

The Fight's Not Over

On our last day in Svay Pak, I was walking over to the gym when I saw Justin standing in the middle of street with a strained look on his face. When I asked him what was going on, he pointed to a westerner who was standing next to a Tuk Tuk, just a few buildings down from AIM's Rahab's House, where we have Kid's Club. I had never seen him before, but that doesn't mean much. Maybe he was here to see someone on AIM's staff. I am a police officer and I watch people walking down the street all the time. I'm looking for behavior that is out of the ordinary, or for ordinary behaviour that is missing. Watching him for a moment I did notice that he looked unsure; a bit lost. He walked back to the Tuk Tuk, said something to the driver, then walked back in my direction. Justin wasn't sure if we should approach him. I am a cop. I talk to dirtbags all the time and if this guy was a dirtbag, I wanted to know right away.

I walked up to him and I could see that he was a white male, in his early 40s. "Hi," I said, "You look lost, are you looking for someone?"

"No..." he replied with a German accent.

"So, what brings you here today?", I ask with my friendliest smile.

"Oh, I'm looking to drink a beer or soda. This place his changed so much. I haven't been here for 12 years. The cafe I used to go to is gone." Twelve years ago, this place was a pedophile's dream. There were several brothels with no shortage of children.

Ironically, this conversation was going on in front of the Kids Club building. Kids are running in and out around us. I am talking to a tourist-seeking-pedophile in front of AIM's Svay Pak Head Quarters and Church.

I told him that there is a cafe just next door, and he walks away. Justin and I quickly found Chad, one of AIM's staff members and told him what had just happened. Just 20 feet from us, the pedophile was sitting in the cafe, directly next door to Rahab's House having a drink. This scenario was right out of AIM's documentary, The Pink Room. I encourage you to see it if you havent already.

NOBODY comes to Svay Pak for a soda, nobody! This is a poor, nondescript area, 20 minutes away from the city. On our first day, our driver couldn't even find the turn off from the highway to Svay Pak. The only foreigners that venture here are those who know children can be purchased for sex here.

AIM's staff took over from here. They sent a Cambodian staff member to the cafe to strike up a conversation with the bad guy. Typically, a foreginer would go into Svay Pak, or some other area known for trafficking children, and sit in a cafe until a pimp sees him and arranges a child for him to rape. So, probably when the undercover AIM staff member talked to him he was assuming he was a trafficker. The foreigner freely told him that he was in Svay Pak six years ago and bought two young girls, and he was looking for some girls today.

After a while he gave up and got back in his Tuk Tuk and traveled back to his hotel in Phom Pen. This gave AIM enough time to gear up their undercover team; their "SWAT" team. They have an agreement with the goverenment to conduct investigations on suspected pedophiles and under certain circumstances, take them into custody. The SWAT team followed the pedophile back to his hotel and set up surveillance on him. They will follow him from there, and if they can show that he is buying children for sex, they will arrest him. While Justin and I watched this horrible human being sitting in the cafe (see photo below), waiting to buy and rape a child, we prayed against him. We prayed that God would protect the children in Cambodia against him and all like him, and we prayed that he would be outed and arrested. This will be my ongoing prayer.

Child Sex Predator Waits for Pimp

I asked Pastor Chanta (the head pastor of the AIM church) if this happens often. "Sadly, yes." he said. I really feel like God put this situation in front of me to remind me that it's not all fun and games over here. Even as you could hear the children singing from the open windows of the Kid's Club, a child sex predator drank a soda in the cafe next door. The fight is far from over. AIM has done so much for this area, but so much more is needed to be done. The wolf is not at the door, he is INSIDE, running among the sweetest children you would ever meet.

Many of you that are reading this blog have given generously to AIM, me, and the other members of the Newsong team. I would encourage to "Like" AIM's Facebook page and stay up on what is going on over here in Cambodia. Include them in your daily prayers. If you heart leads you, go to their webpage and DONATE.

Amazing End to an Amazing Two Weeks

I am writing this post while still trying to process everything that has happened over the last two weeks. In the boxing gym, we went from complete strangers to brothers.

Our last workout was well attended and I made it a pretty hard one. By the end of two weeks, they had our basic routine down, now it was time to crush it. And, crush it we did! After the workout a couple fighters took naps on the floor of the gym. That's what I like to see.

Our afternoon devotional was lead by Justin. Justin did a great wrap up, discussing the importance of being focused daily on Jesus and using their coach, or each other, as accountability partners. Justin and I finished by giving our heart felt thanks to each member of the gym for their respect and friendship. Then, I wasn't ready for this: They went around and individually told us how much our time there meant to them, and they hoped we would come back soon. I was deeply moved. Coach SomKhan closed in prayer. He prayed for us and our families at home.

The fighters took turns giving us hugs and wanted to take pictures with us. What a great group of young men. I will miss them very much. I do however plan on continuing my support of the gym though producing training videos on Youtube and advising them on the future expansion of the gym. I even see a Skype workout in the future!

 

 

Good bye Cambodia. Hope to see you next year!

- Clay Cranford

 

Don't Small Ball God

Every day, Justin, Eddie (a member from a different missions team), and I have been building relationships with the fighters in the Gym. We have been leading devotionals after their boxing training, talking about our personal journey's to becoming Christians, who Jesus is, and how to have a relationship with him.

On Wednesday, instead of doing the devotional, we asked the fighters who wanted to invite Jesus into their hearts. Earlier that morning we prayed as a team. We asked for God to soften their hearts to his word. We meekly prayed for one, maybe two men to accept Christ.

Sitting in a circle on the floor, we asked who would like to invite Jesus into their heart. Out of the 16 men there, about 12 hands went up. I was blown away. Eddie and I glanced at each other in amazement. With heads bowed and eyes closed, these men asked God to forgive them and to make Jesus the center of their lives. Smiling faces and applause from the men followed.

The following day I gave a short devotional on 1 Cor 9:24-27. Paul compares the Christian life to running a race or training for a boxing match. This was an analogy these men understood very well. We had some fighters in attendance that weren't there for the previous day's invitation. So, again, I asked if anyone wanted to pray to invite Jesus into their hearts. A couple new hands went up. Again, I was amazed by what God was doing in this gym. We prayed holding hands sitting on the floor.

I can see now that when we prayed and asked God for one, maybe two hearts changed, we were low balling God. What I learned from this is not to put God in a box, and not to project my insecurities onto the God of creation. It seems silly now that we every did. He is faithful even when we are small minded.

 

Tim's Perspective: Putting God In A Box

Every morning, as a team we have a devotional and then spend some time praying.  Yesterday morning, we knew that someone was going to be presenting the gospel and an altar call at the Lord's Gym in the afternoon.  We praying earnestly that "one and maybe even two" would come to know Him.  Imagine our shock when twelve of the sixteen present accepted Christ!

We have had an incredible trip, but the salvation of twelve souls blew us all away.  This is the reason why we are here. This is the reason why Agape International started the Lord's Gym.  These are twelve teenage boys and young men who would likely be up to no good without a positive outlet like the gym.  Now these twelve young men will be mentored by mature Christians who are their coaches.  Our hopes and prayers are that these young men will grow up to be might warriors of Christ Jesus and will alter their community here.

The work that Agape International and the local church are doing here in Cambodia is, frankly, pretty mind numbing.  It is hard to take in.  Their ministry is so multifaceted.  It is transforming an entire community for Christ.  The other day the pastor shared that as he looks out on his congregation, he says that he sees former pimps, former brothel owners, and former abused girls all worshipping together!  Crazy...

As a team, however, as we reflected, we laughed about the grace and majesty of our God who likely laughed at our prayer for TWO to be saved.   That is how our God rolls.  He is able and does do so much more than we can ever hope or imagine (Eph. 3:20). 

Our God is so big. Too often we put Him in a box.  Thankfully, sometimes He ignores the box that we try and build around Him, and blows our puny hopes to smithereens.

Praise God with us for TWELVE young men who have given their lives for Christ.

Twelve of these young men committed their lives to Christ!

Much To Share from Shawna

Our trip is is quickly coming to an end.  We have made so many friends and have learned so much from the people of Svay Pak.  While I miss the comforts of home I know there are many things I will miss here as well.

It amazes me that singing, dancing, and playing with children in an over crowed room, in the 96 degree heat with no air conditioning and humidity that feels like rain, is a joyful experience.  I know, it sounds awful, but it was truly one of the highlights!  The words to "Who's the King of the Jungle" and "You'll Never Be Alone" along with the accompanying dance moves are etched into every cell in my body.  In case you were wondering, the Chicken Dance is universal!

I've enjoyed much of the food.  I was too  'chicken'  to try the frog legs, snake, fire ants, or duck eggs, but the rest was pretty tasty.  I even got brave and sampled the "stinky fruit ".  Lucky for me the smell is much worse than the taste!  I do crave a cup of good coffee and being able to drink water without worrying if the ice is safe! I'm looking forward to a home cooked meal that doesn't include rice.

Daily commuting was truly an adventure! The traffic here looks like a birds eye view of recently disturbed ant hill.  It is total mayhem!  There are posted signs which are merely suggestions and they are truly comical when I wasn't gripping the handle of the Tuk Tuk and praying.  Supposedly they drive on the right side of the road, occasionally.  The number of people on a Moto designed for one can exceed 5! And don't even get me started on the lack of people who choose to obey the helmet law. We actually passed a "Safety Driving School; they were out of business.

Our Van rides to and from Svay Pak each day were a time to share, laugh, sight see and compare the culture with home.  The question of the day,  "if you could start one business in Cambodia, what would it be?"  Answers from team members varied ranging from;  favorite fast food restaurants, manufacturing  and installation company for combination mister/ceiling fans (needed on every patio/balcony/corner), and Triple A Towing for Tuk Tuks (AAA TTT).

There is so much more but I must sign off!  Enjoy the pictures!

Kate's Perspective: Highs and Lows

          How do I even begin to describe how I am feeling right now? I tend to do this thing where I am able to bottle up my emotions until I burst. And after my hour long sob fest, I realized that might not be the best way to handle my feelings.
          Today was a day of extreme highs and extreme lows. Not only are the kids getting very comfortable around us, but the staff is as well. As I mentioned in a previous post, the staff, or disciples, are for the most part teenagers, which makes it really fun for me. In the Cambodian culture, interaction between genders (except for children) is kind of limited. But within each gender. It's a sort of free-for-all. As in, there's no such thing as bubble space, and there are an endless amount of pranks. I feel like my all-girls highschool really prepared me well for this dynamic. Here it's perfectly normal to (lightly) kick someone (of the same gender and age group) behind their knees and then run away and pretend like someone else did it. I'm really liking this whole hit and run thing. I'll probably be doing it even when we get back home and get labeled as the crazy person who hits people and then runs away.
             One thing that's funny about Kid's Club is that there are usually at least three to four kids completely asleep, conked out on the floor for the whole session. So when we go down to lunch, my mom points out a cute little girl about four years old sprawled out in the corner near our table. I didn't really give it a thought except for: it's crazy how these kids can sleep with so much noise around. After lunch is served and our meal is prayed over, my mom motions me aside with tears in her eyes. She tells me that she found out that the little girl who is sleeping was just rescued from a home where she was physically and sexually abused. And I physically feel sick. We pray over the situation and I do that thing where I bottle up my emotions. The rest of the day goes smoothly and I enjoy my time with the kids and staff. We get into the van and Clay and Justin start telling us about their day at the Lord's Gym. Clay tells us about how he basically witnessed a guy inappropriatly touching a young boy. And how in America, Clay would have arrested the guy then and there, but here, after talking to the people in charge, he found out they can't do anything until they investigate further. Meanwhile, there is this guy on the loose who might be molesting children. And the pit in my stomach grows as I continue to push my emotions down. We get back to our hotel and I feel so sick all I can do is sleep. I get woken up to have dinner on the balcony. After we are finished the others go back to their rooms. I grab my Bible and my notepad and go back out to the balcony. Where I immediately break down. I don't understand. I don't understand why anyone would want to hurt another human being like that. Especially a child, an innocent. I don't understand how anyone becomes so sick, so twisted. Do they not get the damage it causes? Doing something like that to a person literally breaks them. It robs them of joy, of peace, of hope, and sometimes, of the ability to love. It takes a lively and vibrant child and turns them into a ghost of who they once were.
              This is why I'm here. I want to come back here after college and stay for a year and be one of the people who protect these children from this evil. Who restores, and acts as a vessel through which they can feel God's love for them. To show them that they are intrinsically valuable no matter what's been done to them or what they've gone through. And to give them hope, for themselves, and for the future of their country.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

So each night at dinner we each share our favorite thing from the day, one thing we are most thankful for from that day, and the worst thing for that day.  Today my favorite thing was quite funny and I just had to share.  So I figured I could throw in a few more favorites to give you a little taste of our time here.

Do you speak English?... Today the translator, Ratanak tells Tim that one of the disciples had asked if Cody spoke English.  Apparently Cody is a man of so few words that the locals figured he couldn't speak English! I'm still chuckling at that one :)

Tuk Tuks and Traffic...  The roads are a mess, but it's all great fun if you're not in a hurry and you're riding in a tuk tuk.  Driving on the wrong side of the road is totally fine as long as you give a courtesy honk, road signs and painted lines are only suggestions.  Five on a moto, no problem

Punch-A-Monk... No we are not harming  the men in orange.  It's a fun new car game!  Whenever you see a  monk getting. Ride on a moto or in a tuk tuk you yell punch a monk and lightly hit the person next to you.  Don't sit next to Shawna, she's not so good at the lightly part of the game.

Bal teat...  Soccer! (It's a big thing here) we get to play with the guys and kids after kids club on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Just like home for me.  Well except  the field is an actual field  and the goals are two logs sticking out of the ground wth a string tied across.  And keep away from Justin and Cody, they're a little intense.

Mexican food in Phnom Penh...  There is food everywhere.  You can't walk five feet without running into a food vendor!  Okay that may be a bit of an exaggeration, more like eight and a half.  Restaurants, cafés, carts, converted motos, you name it.  And it's anything you  can imagine.  Frogs, bugs, coconuts, durian, popcorn, cotton candy and the ever popular baby chick in a hard cooked egg.  Who would have thought you could get a taco in Cambodia?  Not me.

Rock A Bye Baby...  Mary found the nursery and  has secured herself  a position there.  She helps out first thing in the morning until lunchtime everyday.  The babies are handled a little differently here though.  For example diapers  seem to be optional and  Mary's pant leg fell victim to a stinky surprise.  We stopped by a market on the way home that day and Mary bought two packs of diapers for the nursery.

This list could go on and on, but I must get some rest.  Can't wait to see what's in store for tomorrow. Because as we were told when we arrived here, "everything's written in jello."

My Heart Breaks

If you were to ask any team member the most often spoken word on the trip, the 9 of us would agree, "awesome". And by most accounts this describes my experience on this trip. Today found us at the beginning of week two of Kid's Club, the Lord's Gym, Serving in the nursery, leading Bible study, and serving on the medical team.  After minimal sleep as we stayed up late into the night to Skype with our church during service (the joys of a 14 hour time difference), the van was a bit quieter on the way to Svay Pak.  Morning VBS went well. The guys had a powerful experience in the gym that I'm  sure they will write about in another blog and of course, Mary tended to the babies.  After morning Kid's Club and then staff care session that I lead with Janelle, our team gathers downstairs for lunch with the AIM staff and foster children.  I would say that there are easily 50 plus that  the 2 house moms cook for.  I enjoy this time of the day as it allows us to interact individually with the staff and really get to know them, plus the food is yummy!
As I approach my table I notice a toddler aged child that has fallen asleep on a carpet near my table and I smile at the Pastor and motion to the child.  The Pastor stops me from reaching out to touch the little girl.  He tells me that she was recently rescued with her siblings and that the children were all physically and sexually abused in the home.  Apparently she sleeps better amidst all the noise and confusion and she needs sleep now more than lunch.  I choke up and nod at the Pastor, I can't speak.  I have so many questions, but honestly, they are not important.  This safe moment that this poor little child can sleep is more important than my curiosity.  During prayer I tear up.  I look across the table to Kate and motion for her to join me outside.  I hugged her close & tried to tell her the story through my tears.  Kate & I prayed, and I have prayed many times since.
The sad thing is that this goes on all over the world.  If it was only here I know that it would be easier to rationalize, to explain.  Before this trip our team was required to read about the history of Cambodia and the  destruction of their society under the Khmer Rouge only 40 years ago.  Saturday we visited the Killing Fields, a powerful memorial to the many who were tortured and killed during the reign of Pol Pot. So I understand why this society is broken and hurting.  But what I just can't understand is why the children? Not just here, but all over the world.  How can people hurt these 
innocent children, how can parents and families hurt their children?
Right now on our balcony, my beautiful daughter is sobbing.  I've held her, consoled her, spoken words of love, and cried with her.  She is suffering from a broken heart and I feel her pain.  To witness this really hurts.

During  our afternoon Kids Club I wondered how many of these children were suffering in the same way? My heart is breaking for these children........

Another Great Day

Bear with me here on this post.  I'm tapping it out on an iPhone and I'm not much of a wordsmith, so I'll make it brief.

Our last week here in Cambodia was so amazing and as Friday came to a close, I was a little sad.   It flew by so quickly and I could only expect the second week to do the same.  I was reminded of our youth pastor, Connie lannom's pep talk at the beginning of vbs a couple of weeks ago.  She had done some math and figured out we had 90,000 seconds to invest in our youth that week!  Which sounds like a lot but those seconds sure do fly by.  I'm not sure how many seconds we have been given with our kids here, but I know already that I wish I had more.  I'm doing my best to be intentional with every second I am given with these little ones.

And with that I am sure that I am learning more from them than they are from me.  To remove all the distractions of the world, like the phone and the to-do lists and be like a child.  To worship God without abandon, smile and giggle because it's fun and feels good, and not be stingy with love.  We came here to bring aid and refreshment to a hurting community, but I feel we got so much more in return.  So with four days left, those seconds are sure to disappear quickly.  But mark my words I will make everyone

A piece of my heart will surely stay in Svay Pak.

The End of an Amazing Week

This first week has gone by so fast.  Although I'm glad to be adjusting to life in Cambodia I realize there's only 1 week left to spend time with my new family!

I won't ever complain about the comforts at church again as this morning I sat for 2 1/2 hours with approx. 150 people in 1 room, no open windows, 103 degrees interior heat, 85% humidity and no air conditioner.  The only air flow came from the same 6 fans we use in VBS.  I believe my sweat was sweating!  Crazy yet to experience worship in 2 separate languages sung in unison was priceless.  It's amazing how the love of God has no language.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I could be so physically miserable yet so spiritually cheerful.

I've fallen in love with a group of children that on the exterior appear as filthy rags yet their little hearts and souls are as beautiful and pure as the most brilliant diamond.  I'm so thankful to have this opportunity to experience Gods love outside the traditional idea of Christianity.

On Friday one of the "brick children" (poorest of the poor) came up to me with a red marker and motioned that she wanted to write something on my arm.  I hadn't seen any other child do this before so I was a bit apprehensive yet I stuck out my hot, sticky, stinky arm for her.  She started to write (see picture) I Love You followed by a heart and with a very sweet soft voice said she wanted to bless me everyday.  My throat hurt trying to hold back the tears.  All I could feel was pure love for this precious baby girl.  This will be marked as an all-time favorite for me during this trip.

Thank you for your love, support and prayers,

Janelle

Great Way to End the Week!

Today was trully an amazing day. I am forever changed.

We began at AIM's Church in Svay Pak today for Sunday morning service. I had no expectations. The service started with a twist on the, "Stand up and greet someone sitting near you." Instead, we (the mission team), stood up and walked around the room greeting everyone while they remained seated. In Cambodia, like many Asian countries, it is customary to press your palms together in front of your chest when saying hello or thank you. So that's what we did. As I went around and bent down to the congregants and said "good morning," I was greated by the brightest happiest faces I have ever seen. Many grandmothers reached up and put their hands on the outside of may hands, smiling and saying "God bless you" in Khmer. Children reaching up with their little hands high-five'd me. I was overwhelemed with the love and sweetness of these fellow believers in Christ. Tears welled up in my eyes. There was no stopping it. By the time I got back to my seat, I was a mess. I looked down the aisle and saw my teammates also wiping the tears from their eyes.

Then the worship started. The worship team was made up of about 15 young members of the church that work at AIM. It was the most heart felt worship experience of my 42 years in the church. The joy and love that flowed from the worship team and the congregation pierced my heart. Imagine you had one last opportunity to worship God on this planet. They held nothing back. Many of the songs were sung in Khmer. It didn't mater. I was blown away. Again tears. In that moment I thanked Jesus for allowing me to experience this. Just beyond the walls of the church lies abject poverty, and a culture that sells their own children. A culture decimated by the Khmer Rouge only 35 years ago. That beautiful grandmother who held my hands lived that nightmare. But, here we are, crying out to God, praising his name together.

The singing was followed by a powerful message by Pastor Chanta. We were joined by english speaking disciples that translated his words. It was a message of love and forgiveness. Two things so sorely needed here.

At the end of the service I considered the irony of this situation. I came to bless these people, and I am the one who was blessed!

I recorded one song from the service. When I listen to it. I am still moved. People rejoicing and declaring their love for Jesus in their own tongue.

 

God Bless,

Clay Cranford

Funny Thing Happened at the Gym

Funny thing happened when I was setting up the gym a couple days ago. It was one of those, "You know when you are not in America moments." I was moving some truck tires that the guys use to stand on to reach the pull up bar. As I was moving one of the tires, behind it in the corner was a blue bag. It moved! "Whoa!" I jumped back and looked a little closer. The bag began writhing around. My brain was not comprehending what I was looking at. Then, from a hole in the bag out popped a roosters head. "Whoa!" Again I jumped back and called Cody over. "Hey, Cody come check this out! There is a ROSTER in this BAG! Cody came over and we started laughing at this rooster's head bobbing in and out of the bag.

Sopaek, the assistant coach, came over and said, "Oh, I picked that up for Sumkan (the head coach). Just then, Sumkan showed up on his scooter, snatched up the bag, slung it on his handlebars and road off home to drop it off to his wife before practice. We had a great time retelling that story to the rest of the team.

Clay Cranford

Tim's Perspective: Prayer Works

As of today, we have been here in Cambodia one week.  I cannot imagine this week going any better. We have so much to be thankful for.

I have been telling the team from our very first training meeting that the success of this trip depends on prayer.  We have all been praying for this trip for close to nine months.  I told the team that they each needed to recruit at least five people, who were NOT family members, to pray for them.  We started our trip with a prayer meeting send-off at our church.

The things we have been worried about have been non-issues.  Mary was worried about having a bathroom attached to her room; she has a great bathroom just steps from her bed.  Marissa was worried about access to good clean water; AIM has a cooler full of bottled water that we can access at any time.  As the leader of the trip, I was mostly worried about team unity and about the team member's spiritual vitality; the team has been great, has treated each other with love and respect, and have been strong spiritually.  We were all worried about getting sick; no one has had any issues.

At the end of the first week, we have so much to be thankful for.  Our God clearly went before us.  And we clearly feel like He is with us.

I believe there is one prayer that God always answers positively.  Everyday, we have begun the day with the prayer that asks God to "further His kindgom and that He be glorified."  This trip is not about us. Or even the Cambodians.  Or Agape International.  This trip is about God, His kingdom being furthered and about He being glorified.

I truly believe that our trip has been so successful because it has been completely bathed in prayer.  This is because He gets the credit and the glory when He answers our prayers.

And He deserves all the honor, and all the praise, and all the glory.  God has taken care of us.  God has blessed us.  God has used us.  

Many of you have been praying for us.  We thank you and ask that you continue to do so.  We want only one thing, and that is that He be glorified.  And we give Him honor when He has answered our prayers so powerfully.

Much love from Cambodia,

Tim

Some of the prayer cards from the prayer meeting send-off at church:

Kate's Perspective: Everyday is my Favorite

           I feel like every day of this trip I have said to Marissa, "This is my favorite day".  And I'm not even lying. There is something about the simple, pure, and unadultured joy about this place that is addicting. I absolutely adore Kids Club. Everyday is pure chaos, you have at least four kids hanging on you (except if you're Cody, the walking jungle gym, in his case he's holding ten kids minimum.), and someone let the little girls know about my hairstyling skills, so I've been doing everyone and their cousin's hair. But if I'm being entirely honest, there is a part of the day I like more than Kid's Club. My favorite part is staff care. It's where we get to bond and make crafts with AIM's staff. The disciples are mostly in their teens and twenties. Although we have a bit of a language barrier some of them speak English quite well. The feeling of peace I get by being with that group is indescribable, and I'm not even sure how to explain it. Worship music plays (in English!!) and everyone just sits in a circle and talks, makes crafts, and sings together. It's so simple and yet I get a calming feeling by just being in the room.
            After five days of scoping it out, figuring out who to ask, and finally getting the guts to ask that person, I have finally found someone willing to teach me how to ride a moto(moped). Actually, that was a lie. I made Marissa ask for me. Anyways, one of AIM's childrens' pastors, a nice guy named Rahtunuk (I don't know how to spell it) agreed to let me use his moto and to teach me how to ride. Poor thing obviously didn't know what he was getting into. Kimloi (Kimmy for short), who is a year younger than me and extremely feisty and fun to be around, drives the moto with me on the back down to the soccer field where Rahtunuk will attempt to teach me how to drive this contraption. They explain the ligistics to me and it seems pretty simple so I give it a go, shoot forward and then proceed to move at a pace of .1miles per hour. I think Rahtunuk gets fed up with me because he has me scoot to the back and then drives me out to a less crowded area of the field. He sends me off again and in my opinion I seem to be doing amazing until I almost drive it into a pond. Thank The Lord Almighty I stopped in time because that sure would have been awkward, and it probably would have scarred him for life. Long story short I need to get me one of those awesome devices because that was definitely more fun than a car.

Day Five and Six in the Gym

Over the past two days, the gym has been transformed. We bought them nine new mats (red and yellow squares), which as dramatically improved the workout/sparing area. We are building a great relationship with the coaches and the fighters. The coaches are good Christian men who are encouraging these young men to choose an upright life while sharing Jesus with them. A team from Summit church (Reno, NV) is here too. One of their members is doing a daily devotional after boxing training. Justin and I will be doing three devotionals next week.

Below is a video of different training sessions over the last two days. You will see a workout that we lead in the mornings. I told the fighters that I know Jiu Jutsu, so after every class they ask me to teach them something. You will see me and Som-Mien throwing each other around as well as me sparing with a couple fighters. These guys are young, but they are tough professional Muy Thai kick boxers. They were very gracious and took it easy on me. Then, you will see them being typical boys, competing in some fun games after sparing.

 

The people of this village have been incredibly welcoming to us. We are forging wonderful friendships with them and the AIM staff.

Sometimes you find delicous food in strange places. We get roaving food carts pushed through our neighborhood full of local treats. Frog on a stick anyone? Guess what? It's delicious! It is stuffed with somekind of lemongrass concoction. Bottom line, I didn't get sick. Shoot, I had two!

Yum!

Clay Cranford

 

Shawna's Perspective: Thursday's Work

Thursday found us all getting comfortable to venture out and do our own things.  It is interesting to see how each team member finds his or her own niche.  Clay and Justin were joined by Cody in the gym.  Marissa,  Janelle, Katie, and Tim worked kids club.  Mary is in her element in the morning working in the baby room and teaching John English.  We are happy to have her back for afternoon kids club.  Tim leads a Bible study just before lunch for some of the leaders here. Bible Study, as well as other activities, also become English lessons.

I served at two medical clinics yesterday.  For the first, we packed medical supplies, tables, chairs, and cases of water on a Tuk Tuk, (I should have taken a picture & inserted here!) and headed out to one of the local brick factories.  These brick factories surround the boarders of the village of Svay Pak.  Here you find some of the worst working conditions in Cambodia.  The workers are paid a small wage, but significantly under what is needed for living.  Often the workers will borrow money from the owner for necessities or medical care, the owners are then able to exploit the workers through debt repayment.  Children under 10 are not allowed to work in the factories, however the locals say that many children do work, or "train" which is working without pay.  The factories are mostly outside "brick yards" and are very hot and dusty.  The owners do not provide filtered drinking water so the workers will drink from the river or water troughs that run through the yards.  These workers are at a much higher risk for disease.

The clinic ran smoothly, we treated mostly mild symptoms of coughs and colds and a few minor injuries.  We are able to dispense medications that these people would not be able to afford, otherwise. The people are very patient with me as I struggle to understand my translator.  Cambodians are very polite and every patient was very thankful.  As we cleaned up the clinic, we purchases donuts from a street vendor, they were a real treat. Watch out Donut Man!

After clinic it was back to AIM for lunch.  Each day the 2 house Moms cook lunch for 50 and we eat together on the first floor of the AIM house.  The food is simple and yummy.  I enjoy this time to sit with the AIM staff and learn more about their lives.  The foster kids that live in the two AIM houses are at risk youth that come from a home where a sibling has already been trafficked.  AIM takes these kids in to keep them safe.  The pastor and his wife are so involved with these kids and this community and are truly examples of what it means to serve God in everything you do.

I helped in the afternoon clinic while the team headed back to the gym & kids club.  While seeing patients I found myself shouting over the music from the kids club upstairs, what a joyful noise.

We ended our day with a soccer match. Janelle and I opted out & bought green mango and other snacks from the street vendors.

The ride home was an adventure all it's own.  I'm sure others will share the details later.

Last night, as I sat around the table with the team sharing my least favorite, most favorite and most thankful moment of the day I reflected on the volunteers at AIM.  Most are missionaries from other parts of the world who come to Cambodia for the same reasons we did.  I thankful for each of these people who come here to care for and fight for the least of these.

Shawna

Kate's Perspective: You Make Beautiful Things Out of Us

          Yesterday, Janelle, Marissa, Mary, my mom, and I went over to AIM's factory to hold the babies in daycare. Right next door to the baby room is the room where some of the formerly trafficked girls that have gone through AIM's rehabilitation program/center work to make bracelets. Janelle goes in there and after I've had my fill of babies, I do too. In there, most of the girls are sitting in a large circle, chattering and laughing amoungst themselves. I walk through the door and hear a chorus of "Hi!"s and "Hello!"s. The rest of the crew is checking out the bracelets so I walk over next to the girls. "What is your name?", a girl near me asks. "Katie", I reply. I love that everyone I've met in Cambodia wants to know your name and all about you. They all giggle as I sound out my name and teach it to them. The girl who asked my name tugs on the hem of my shirt and says, "Katie, you are beautiful." I kneel down beside her in the circle and say, "Thank you. You know, you are all very beautiful too." They all blush and giggle and I laugh at their reactions. Now, you might be thinking, "So what, a girl in foreign country gave you a complement. Yippee for you." But this complement stuck with me. All of these girls, who by the way are all around my age, are Trafficking victims. They all have lived a life of endless torture, with no mercy, no love. And yet THEY were affirming ME. They have been told over and over again through words and actions that they have no worth or beauty, and yet they still want to show love to a complete stranger.
             It's hard learning that the people you have been fighting for have faces. What I mean by this is that my fight becomes much more real when I actually interact with those I'm fighting on behalf of. It hurts me beyond belief when I think of anyone wanting to hurt these beautiful souls. But it is amazing to see how God is changing and healing them. He truely does have the power to make us new.

Day 4: Janelle's Perspective

Today was our 2nd day of running the Vacation Bible School for over 200 precious Cambodian children ranging from 1 1/2  -  14 years old.  Never did I expect to have such an overwhelming feeling today as I was melting from heat, dripping with sticky sweat and watching my feet continue to swell.

I'm afraid yesterday was so miserably hot and humid that all I could do was gasp for air while under one of the 6 oscillating fans of the stuffy, smelly, hot, 3rd floored, non-conditioned room.  But today I was ready and prepared for the heat.

As I enter into the building I start to get excited for what the day may bring.  The smiles on the kids faces are contagious.  The unexpected small hand that just wants to hold your hand,  the warm strong hugs that never end and the non-stop high-fives remind me as to why I'm here.  To show the love of Christ to these kids who live a hard life.  To many of them the few hours they spend at this VBS means time away from a brick factory where they are forced to work long hard hours to financially help their family.  However during VBS they sing, laugh, make fun crafts and dance.

The highlight of my day was having the opportunity to sit with the girls in the bracelet factory.  It was my hope to meet any of these sweet girls that have actually made one of my bracelets.  I've always keep the 3-Strands signed removable ticket so to get to meet them was an honor.   Having these tickets in my bathroom has always reminded me to pray for them.  So getting to sit and watch her make me a bracelet right there on the spot was priceless.  All of these girls have been rescued from a life of sex trafficking and now get to learn a new trade that will ensure a self sustaining future.  I'm reminded again as to why I'm here and that's to support Agape International Missions in their fight against the sex trafficking of young girls.

As I reflect back on my day I'm overwhelmed with tears.  Not tears of sadness for the incredible poverty and wickedness in this city but rather tears of joy as my cup is utterly overflowing with the love of God and for His people in Cambodia.

Back to the Basics

Yesterday was Day 2 in Svay Pak. During the afternoon I joined Carla, the resident physician with AIM and three nurses  from Reno, NV as we ran a medical clinic for the women and children of the village.  The clinic is open a couple of afternoons a week.  We are each assigned a translator, my translator is is training (1st day,  a bit rocky for both of us).    The women had been waiting for over an hour to have a chance to see us & receive  care. Each visit would take about 10 minutes, the translation is slow and painful.  We checked vitals, blood glucose levels, and recorded subjective data.  This was the easy part.  Discovering the problem took some skill.  The Cambodians describe their symptoms differently.  Having a hot chest can mean a tight chest or a cough.  It is important to know the occupation of the patient ( yes, even some 7 year olds have an occupation here) Brick factory workers are seeking care for pain of the back, neck, and hands. Grandmothers who carry large kettles of soup to sell, shoulder and arm pain.   Some brought their children with cough & runny noses.  A couple of times I was faced with a description of symptoms that seemed to have no basis, and no findings.  That's were Dr. Carla comes in.  You see, Carla gets it.  She listens and then dispenses some medication, not always what fits the ailment. When I question her later she explains that for some of these women, they come with symptoms not their own.  They come for another who cannot not come, is too ill to come, someone who might be denied permission by their "employer" (owner) from seeking even the free care we are offering.  They CANNOT return empty handed.  The consequences would not be good.   Carla gets it.  She left her position in Brazil as a critical  care physician  to serve here in Svay Pak with AIM. She fosters one of the rescued girls, a beautiful young lady who now provides translation services as we serve these women and children.  It feels good to be doing what I know, to feel that I am of help. Today I'm most thankful that I can be a small help alongside Dr. Carla and these three other nurses who "get back to the basics"  and truly get the meaning of being the hands and feet of Christ.

Day Four: DYI in the Gym

Svay Pak

We found that the bar that the suspension trainers and heavy bag were attached to was becoming unstable. The bolts that anchored it to the wall appeared to be coming out. It's not good when you are doing pull ups under a bar that might come crashing down on you.

Lord's Gym, Svay Pak

I was very concerned because this would mean the equipment that we brought over would be unusable. I began brain storming with Justin, one of my team members, and Sophy, the gym ministry director, about what we can do. We came up with an idea for installing a completly new bar in an area that would make the equipment even more accessible. With the help of their maintenance man, Sochiit, we got all the necessary material. This was made possible with the money that many of you donated to this missions trip. We made a huge improvement to the gym.

We are looking forward to a great day tomorrow with the boys in the gym using our new equipment!

 

Kate's a Perspective: Generosity

       I thought I knew the meaning of the word generous. It turns out, I didn't. As Americans, most of us live a life of excess. I've heard people complain because they "only" have the IPhone 5, not the 5s, and I've never thought anything of it. Our culture is all about obtaining something bigger, something better. Nothing is ever good enough. In this environment, is it ever possible for one to be completely satisfied? I thought I was a fairly generous person. I gave 10% tithe to the church out of every paycheck, I gave money to homeless people I saw. But as I've learned, I'm not. I've never given away more than I could afford. I've always had leftover money to purchase unneeded material items. Today, a seven year old girl taught me what it really means to be generous. She came up to me, pointed at the braid in my hair, and then pointed at her head. So I braided her hair, and then she stayed by my side throughout the rest of the morning session, smiling brighter than I have ever seen anyone smile every time I looked at her. This little girl lives by this place AIM calls "The Brick Factory". The kids there are by far the poorest out of all of them. They have dirt smeared on their skin and most only have one pair of clothing. Her jeans have rips and her little shirt is coming apart at the seams. We sing, dance and play and I am just so amazed at her radiance. Then she tugs on my hand and motions me to bend down. In American families it's common to kiss another family member's cheek to show affection. In Cambodia, their version of that is touching their cheek to the other person's. It's one of their highest forms of affection. I kneel down and she takes her hand, slips her tiny silver ring off her finger and onto my pinky finger. Then she touches her cheek to mine, smile, and says "Me to You". I'm used to getting handed stuff from kids. They like giving stuff like rocks and drawings, but her gift made me tear up. This little one could very likely only possess the clothes in her back, which are literally falling apart, and that ring. And she was trying to give it to me. I slip it off my finger and try to give it back to her but she shakes her head and says more firmly: "No, Me to You", puts it back on my finger, and hugs me hard. Generosity is continuing to give even if you have nothing, a lesson she learned before the age of seven and that I'm just now learning at the age of seventeen. She came back to the afternoon session and when she saw me, ran to me, put her cheek to mine, and hugged me. I thought I came here to bless the Cambodians , yet they continue to bless me so much more.

Kate's Perspective: The Call

       The red light district doesn't look like I imagined it would. How can such beauty, such joy, survive in the heart of darkness? I can still vividly picture the look in most people's faces when I told them I was going to Cambodia on a missions trip instead of a senior/graduation vacation. It was the look of: "Oh my God, this chick is crazy". And I would get a lot of comments along the lines of: "Why would you want to go THERE?". I never understood their reaction. Now I do. It would have been much easier to stay home. To stay safe. To not have to witness this much pain. To not feel like throwing up as I think of what happens to some of these baby girls. But if I had never gone, I would have never have gotten to witness this garden growing out of a graveyard.  I see people back at home broken, for no reason.  But these children possess a resilience I have never seen before. They have been through unimaginable horrors, yet when I first walked into the room where VBS was being held, they surrounded us. Smiling, tugging on our hands and clothes, wanting to show us something, to play with us. They are so loving despite never having a proper example at home of how to love.
          On our tour of AIM's multiple facilities we pass a room full of hammocks and Marissa calls me over to check it out. We discover that those hammocks are holding babies and Marissa, Mary, my mother, and I (the baby Nazis) are welcomed inside by one of the two workers taking care of about twelve small children. The man greets us with much kindness and laughs as I obsess over the adorable infants and toddlers. "Want a baby?" He asks while handing a little girl to Marissa. "YES!!!" I practically yell while shoving my water bottle at her and snatching the little girl from his hands. I am so in love. I swear, these children areTHE most precious human beings I have ever interacted with. Marissa is still bitter about the baby snatching and it's been a few hours. Whatever. You snooze, you lose.
            Seeing all these amazing, bubbly, bright children makes me wonder at who could ever want to hurt them. It angers me that the only time they get a childhood is for a small part of their day at Kids Club. It's really easy to be angry at God. When people hear stories about things such as trafficking and poverty  it is not uncommon that they get mad at God and complain that He does nothing. They question why He doesn't just "eradicate" the problem. Poverty is a man-made issue. Trafficking is a man-made issue. God has done something. He put us on this Earth and it's up to us whether we decide to answer The Call or do nothing.

A PG13 Walk At 4:30 A.M.

I woke up at 4 a.m. and could not go back to sleep, so I decided to go for a walk / run.  It crossed my mind that it might be a little bit dangerous, but I tower over the Cambodians, so I figured I would be safe enough.  Our hotel is located in a little bit seedy area. The hotel is surrounded by bars and night clubs and massage parlors, all of which are fronts for sex-trafficking.  Even at 4:30 in the morning, a few of the places are still open. As I pass one of the massage parlors a group of Cambodian men are sitting in front of the entrance.  As I pass, one of them says, "you want a girl?".  I politely tell him no, and press on.

I was not ready for the next proposition.  About a mile after the massage parlor, a scooter approaches me and slows down. I note that there are two young women on the scooter, dressed in short skirts.  The rider in the back greets me and strikes up a conversation.  Once again, I am propositioned and asked if I want to go somewhere.

The two propositions shook me up.  I have trouble getting it out of my mind the rest of the day.  How can this happen?  

This is why we are here.  One cannot even walk down the street at 4:30 in the morning without getting propositioned twice.  These people need Jesus....

Please keep us in your prayers.

Tim

Day Three: First Day in Svay Pak

Boarding the van to Svay Pak

Today was an amazing day. It was our first day volunteering with Agape International Missions (AIM) in Svay Pak. We had breakfast, read a devotional, prayed, and got on a short van ride to Svay Pak. Today was a real eye-opening learning experience. Svay Pak is the epicenter of child sex trafficking in Cambodia. This particular area is known for providing pre-pubescent girls for sex. Not only that, if it could get any worse, the brothels in this village cater to sex torture fetishes. Poverty is rampet. I expected to see darkness and dispare. What did I see? Joy. I saw hundreds of joyful children coming to AIM's Bible Kid's Club. Many of these children have or possibly are currently being trafficked. The room was packed with children as young as a three, up to young teens. It was awesome seeing these beautiful children singing and playing in a safe place.

Svay Pak. Picture taken from top floor of AIM's Building

The Kid's Club is one of many community out reaches that AIM uses to impact the root causes of child trafficking. AIM works with the local government to identify children in the sex trade and then rescues them. They shelter them in one of their rehab centers, providing therapy, medical aid, and the love they desperately need. AIM helps reintegrate the girls back into their community with vocational training. If the girls can earn money legitamately, they are seen by others as having value and honor and are not likely to be trafficked again. We toured three such facilities where rescued girls are working in a garment factory, T-shirt screening facility, and a braided jewelry facility. These girls are paid considerbly more than their Cambodian counterparts, and they are treated with dignity and respect. Additionally, AIM is providing K - 3rd grade schooling for children for only $1.50 per child per month. That may sound cheap, but many families cannot afford even that. As many as 80% of the students at the school (about 350 students) are on some kind of financial aid scholarship. This is made possible by people donating to AIM.

Today, I got acquainted with the Lord's Gym. This is another one of AIM's community outreaches. It is a kick boxing gym that is a place where young men can come to train, learn to box, and get mentored by Godly men - their coaches. These young men are jobless, and without intervention, they will likely be enticed to traffic or pimp to make money.

I met Somkan, the head coach, and gave him some new equipment for their gym. The equipment was purchased with your generous donations. We provided three suspension trainers and four super bands. When I showed them what you could do with them, they about lost their minds. I, by the way, have a home gym where I've been training people for the past couple of years. In the video below, you will see me demonstrating a one-leg burpee to Somkan. He thought it was amazing.

 

After training the fighters for a couple hours, we had lunch. All the children and staff at the Kid's Club were fed lunch by AIM. We had a delicious meal of white rice and a clear broth soup with vegetables. I sat at a table with a bunch of young Cambodian boys and girls and had a great time talking about where I am from and ping pong, a passion of many of the young boys in the village. I have a ping pong tournament in my near future. I think I'm going to loose.

Tomorrow we are back in Svay Pak. I am going to be training more fighters in the gym and helping out at the Kid's Club.

What an honor and privilage to be here in Cambodia serving The Lord. I can't thank those that help get me here enough. I'd like to especially thank my wife, Gretchen, who has been an amazing source of support and encouragment every step of this journey.

Clay Cranford