Day Off - Richard

I like to think of myself as a pretty optimistic person, always looking for the good or redeeming quality in every situaton. This past week has put that outlook to the test. From the genocide and torture at Tuol Sleng, to the disgusting cesspool that was Rahabs House, when we arrived on Monday. From there came the joy of seeing the walls coming down and the light coming in, and interacting with the kids in the village - till I remembered what was happening at night. From the horrible pink colour on the walls to the humility and awe of the girls from ARC and the New Song. It has really been a week of ups and downs for me, where I have really struggled to maintain the glass half full outlook.
Today was another such day. After the high I felt after meeting the girls at ARC, we made the trip out to Choeung Ek by tuk-tuk. I felt like a tourist riding out to the site, taking pictures and joking with the other team members in the two other tuk-tuk. Then I started to see the poverty and then we got to the centre. Choeung Ek is the site of the killing fields where almost nine thousand bodies were discovered in mass graves after the fall of the Khmer Rouge.
I was brought back down again, appalled by the horror and humiliation and evil that humans can do to each other and that the world allows to happen.

I have to keep reminding myself that God brought this team together and to Cambodia for a reason. To bring a light of hope to the people and kids in Svay Pak and help further God's Kingdom in this lost village.
If I can keep the faith, and keep looking for Jesus in the eyes and faces of these people, keep reminding myself that God loves these people too, and asking God to give me eyes to see and ears to hear the opportunities that present themselves and the courage to act - then maybe I can regain my hopeful, optimistic outlook.
Keep us in your prayers