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.