It's been just short of a week since we arrived back in Vancouver. It's been a bit rough adjusting to the time change - not sleeping at night and making up for it at the office! It seems so long ago that we were melting in the sticky heat of Cambodia that it almost doesn't seem real. But then I wake up in the middle of the night (wondering where I am), and lie there trying to get back to sleep, the memories come flooding back. Or a picture pops up on my computer, and I remember.
I was asked by someone this week to sum up our experiences in three sentences. Being the non-stop talker that I am, I boiled it down to three words:
Amazing, Heartbreaking and Rewarding.
Amazing - I have not been anwhere like Cambodia before - a country of contrasts - the people of Svay Pak and Phnom Phen, of ARC and Rescue. The sights and smells, the garbage everywhere, the insane traffic, the food. The beauty of the countryside contrasted with the overcrowding of the city. The hot, sticky, humid air and the warm rain showers to the pounding torrential rain. The poverty and (for want of a better word) slums and the grandeur of the mansions, temples and government buildings. It is a beautiful, humbling place. We don't realize just how blessed we are in this country.
Heartbreaking - from the kids of Svay Pak, to the orphans of Rescue, to the girls at ARC, to the boy selling newspapers outside our hotel, to the girl carrying a huge plate of lotus seeds on the riverfront, to the boy dragging himself across the street begging because he can't walk. They are all children of God, but because of circumstances, they will not all have the same future. I got to know the kids of Svay Pak much better than the others. They are just ordinary kids who are looking to have fun, to be loved, to get attention- other than being yelled at or hit.
And yet they are in survival mode. They are 'sharks' - out for what they can get, because this is what they have been taught. This is all that they know. The only way they know how to behave. When a soccer ball that a boy has been given is taken away by an adult because they can make a profit by selling it, or they don't want kids playing in front of their home, or they just want it for their own child - what does that say to him?
Then there are the unspeakable things that happen to them at night. I don't want to believe that the kids I was playing with during the day were the same ones being abused at night - but I know that everyone is for sale in this place. Kids have no value here - except as a product to be sold. And when they no longer can fetch a good price, they are discarded with the rest of the garbage
You can see it in their eyes.
I really noticed it in the pictures. It was rare to capture their happy smiling faces. the eyes gave them away - sad, hard too old for their years. Their childhood has been stolen from them - just like the soccer ball.
Rewarding - Because the old, dark, horrible, evil building has gone!! the cubilcles, the ugly, cheap pink paint, the ceiling, even the nails are all gone. It has been replaced by a bright, open space, that can be used to redeem these kids and maybe give them a brighter future. Give some value and self esteem back to them.
I hope that our being there has left the door open to the kids and people of Svay Pak and that they will see it as a safe, welcoming place that they can go. With people like Clay and Ratna there, I am confident that this is the future of Rahab's House and the reason that God sent us there.
Rewarding because I have seen glimpes of the Kingdom in places like ARC and Place of Rescue and now Rahab's House, where the yeast is starting to spread and will keep spreading until evil has no place left to go. This has given me the proof that God is working to redeem his creation and there is hope for this world - and us.
I would like to thank everyone on the Field Team for making this such a memorable trip. and the Home Team for the support and prayers that made this trip a reality - and of course thanks be to God for giving us this opportunity and allowing me to be a part of it.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
The Team in Action
Do you want to know what the team did? The following video is the team in action, knocking down the walls during week one. Holy work!
First swings
Monday 5th May 2008, at Rahab's House in Svay Pak.
How it all started.
Due to network limitations whilst we where in Phnom Penh I was not able to upload these videos. The following three videos are the first swings of the hammers.
How it all started.
Due to network limitations whilst we where in Phnom Penh I was not able to upload these videos. The following three videos are the first swings of the hammers.
1. Helen from Chab Da Coalition
2. Christa from IJM
3. Grant
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Reflecting from Barb
It is Sunday evening in Taipei Airport and we are waiting for a 7 hour layover to end before the flight home to Vancouver. Some of us are just so eager to be on that flight home. And then there is me - I wandered aimlessly for a couple of hours, not interested in shops or people watching, but a little sad that this chapter is ending and wondering how the next one will begin. This past week I've met 9 people that I really didn't know very much about before this trip, but know without a doublt that God brought us all together in a way no one could have imagined. Yes, there were difficult days but we knew that God was with us giving us the strength necessary for each moment of each day. And that was only possible because David and the home team were praying for us non-stop. I could feel that every day but it was even more evident on Tuesday when Jeff and Kelvin weren't well. I spent my day on the sixth floor going between 2 rooms. As the day progressed I knew that Kelvin was out of the woods, but not Jeff. He really started getting alot worse as the team was coming back from Rahab's House and I just wanted Grant to come through that door so that Jeff could get better care along with an IV. Jeff went through so much. His inner strength was much more than any 18 year old I've ever had as a patient!
And then all of a sudden Friday came ..... the guys had worked so hard to get us all to this point - the scraping was done, painting got finished, inside and out. Kit put her last coat of paint on the door and on the cross, the loovered windows were all washed - at least the dirt was off them even though they didn't shine like when Windex is used. The kids kept calling for Richard for one last soccer game or being swung around as though they were on a ride at the PNE, only this was much more fun.
Sunshine came with her mom and little sister for one last cleaning of the wound on her forehead; it was looking better; mom was doing a good job - you could really tell how much she loved and cared for her little girls. Fortunately one of the fellows from Agape was helping us and he was able totranslate for me while I explained what to do with a tube of polysporing that we gave her from our first aid kit. It was difficult saying good-bye, yet on the other hand I knew that she would feel safe coming back to Rahab's House for all the activities that will be happening there.
I left Rahab's House on Friday afternoon, confident that God's love, grace, and compassion was now there and it will continue to be there because of people like Clay, Helen, Christa and the others. And some of the girls that were rescued from that terrible place are now going back and that is happening because of a miracle - they have Jesus in their hearts and lives. Only Jesus can change that dark terrible place. One of the highlights of my time in Cambodia was Thursday when Toph took me on a "walk about" around this little village. There are no words to describe how my heart felt, seeing such poverty, such darkness and deprivation.So, here I am reflecting on 2 weeks (I'd be here all night if I filled in all the spaces), wondering what it all means for me and for each team member. I can only think of the vers "commit your paths to the Lord ...."
Before I close, I would like to thank Kit for all of her patience, wisdom and love, taking me on as a roommate! God truly had His hand in bringing us together. And I would also like to thank all of the guys for all of their hard work and commitment, for their compassion, and their love for the Lord, and for the times of prayer and sharing - I will cherish those times forever.
It is now 10:30 pm so will close.
Many many thank yous for all of your love, caring and prayers that have followed each of us on this incredible journey.
BlessingsBarb
And then all of a sudden Friday came ..... the guys had worked so hard to get us all to this point - the scraping was done, painting got finished, inside and out. Kit put her last coat of paint on the door and on the cross, the loovered windows were all washed - at least the dirt was off them even though they didn't shine like when Windex is used. The kids kept calling for Richard for one last soccer game or being swung around as though they were on a ride at the PNE, only this was much more fun.
Sunshine came with her mom and little sister for one last cleaning of the wound on her forehead; it was looking better; mom was doing a good job - you could really tell how much she loved and cared for her little girls. Fortunately one of the fellows from Agape was helping us and he was able totranslate for me while I explained what to do with a tube of polysporing that we gave her from our first aid kit. It was difficult saying good-bye, yet on the other hand I knew that she would feel safe coming back to Rahab's House for all the activities that will be happening there.
I left Rahab's House on Friday afternoon, confident that God's love, grace, and compassion was now there and it will continue to be there because of people like Clay, Helen, Christa and the others. And some of the girls that were rescued from that terrible place are now going back and that is happening because of a miracle - they have Jesus in their hearts and lives. Only Jesus can change that dark terrible place. One of the highlights of my time in Cambodia was Thursday when Toph took me on a "walk about" around this little village. There are no words to describe how my heart felt, seeing such poverty, such darkness and deprivation.So, here I am reflecting on 2 weeks (I'd be here all night if I filled in all the spaces), wondering what it all means for me and for each team member. I can only think of the vers "commit your paths to the Lord ...."
Before I close, I would like to thank Kit for all of her patience, wisdom and love, taking me on as a roommate! God truly had His hand in bringing us together. And I would also like to thank all of the guys for all of their hard work and commitment, for their compassion, and their love for the Lord, and for the times of prayer and sharing - I will cherish those times forever.
It is now 10:30 pm so will close.
Many many thank yous for all of your love, caring and prayers that have followed each of us on this incredible journey.
BlessingsBarb
Week 2 in pictures - by Paul
We're all in Taipei at the moment. It is 10:00 p.m. Sunday night, so most of Fairview folks are just waking up and getting ready to worship together. It's strange to think that by the time we land in Vancouver at 7:25 p.m today, our Sunday will have already been 43 hours long.
I've uploaded a number of pictures, which will give some context to the blogs that have been written this past week. Enjoy them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/rahabshouse.paul/Week2InCambodia
I've uploaded a number of pictures, which will give some context to the blogs that have been written this past week. Enjoy them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/rahabshouse.paul/Week2InCambodia
on our way- Jeff
well today is the day. we come back home.
it really has been an interesting trip home. this morning i woke up and with all excitement started to pack up my things. i made my bed and found something i would rather have not seen. a BIG HUGE UGLY cockroach was in my bed. who knows it could have been there all night. this is when my thoughts were, "I need to get out of this country". don't get me wrong, Ive loved this experience and would do it again in a heartbeat, but this was just a little too much, and i would like to sleep in my own bed tonight.
we finished packing and went down for some breakfast. this was the first big plate of food that i have been able to eat since Tuesday and it was GOOD. i think I'm getting mostly better at this point in time. we finished up breakfast and did some last look arounds at our hotel rooms and headed off for the van to take us to the airport. we went through the city taking in the last few minutes of Cambodia that we would see.
when we got to the airport we found a Dairy Queen. so some of us had blizzards and then it was time to board. we got on the plane and arrived safely at the Taipei airport. this brings us to the now. we have to wait 7 hours for our last plane to arrive to take us home. we are all a little anxious to get on that plane. i think its the only time when we are dying to get on a plane that will take us 14 or so hours, but it will be worth it.
see you all soon
Jeff
it really has been an interesting trip home. this morning i woke up and with all excitement started to pack up my things. i made my bed and found something i would rather have not seen. a BIG HUGE UGLY cockroach was in my bed. who knows it could have been there all night. this is when my thoughts were, "I need to get out of this country". don't get me wrong, Ive loved this experience and would do it again in a heartbeat, but this was just a little too much, and i would like to sleep in my own bed tonight.
we finished packing and went down for some breakfast. this was the first big plate of food that i have been able to eat since Tuesday and it was GOOD. i think I'm getting mostly better at this point in time. we finished up breakfast and did some last look arounds at our hotel rooms and headed off for the van to take us to the airport. we went through the city taking in the last few minutes of Cambodia that we would see.
when we got to the airport we found a Dairy Queen. so some of us had blizzards and then it was time to board. we got on the plane and arrived safely at the Taipei airport. this brings us to the now. we have to wait 7 hours for our last plane to arrive to take us home. we are all a little anxious to get on that plane. i think its the only time when we are dying to get on a plane that will take us 14 or so hours, but it will be worth it.
see you all soon
Jeff
Transcendant and Imminent - trying to pull it all together (by Grant)
The first thing that I have to do while sitting here in the airport in Taipei is to aplogize for the use of big churchy words. I recently preached on the need for the church to use language the world can understand. I used the words Transcendant and Imminent in the title to this blog because those are the only words that would come to mind.
Transcendence is that quality of God where we see Him as being above us, greater than us, far away from us. It speaks of God's power and Lordship as He oversees all things.
Imminence is that quality of God where He comes close to us - Jesus is God come close. The Holy Spirit is the imminence of God where He is with us and even a part of us.
I chose these two concepts because that's the way I am processing the last couple of weeks. We have been very involved in the small picture, the closeup, the imminence. In the midst of thinking about that I am also thinking about the big picture, the wide angle view, the transcendence.
God sees everything in both views all of the time. God sees and loves the individual child in Svay Pak and He sees and loves all those trapped in the child sex-trade around the world. We have difficulting doing both at the same time which is not unreasonable. When we look at the big picture we can end up throwing our hands up in the air because the problem is too big to tackle - the evil is too fierce to confront. But when we look at the closeup as we've done the last couple of weeks we see the individuals, we see the victims and the abusers and those who profit from the trade. In seeing only the closeup we can become so focused on what we see that we can forget the bigger issues.
The first time I was in Cambodia in 1995 I met a girl named Kim who was living in an orphanage in the north of the country. She was 14 and had escaped from the pimps who bought her from her parents. She couldn't go home because her parents had sold her - she couldn't trust them and honour plays a twisted roll in this. I was disturbed by the story by glad that this girl was safe and was being protected. That same trip I chose to leave for home from Phnom Penh rather than spend a few days in Bangkok with Brian and Louise McConaghy partly because I just wanted to get home to my family and partly because I didn't want to go to a place that was so well known as a destination place for those who sexually abuse children.
When I returned home there was word of Canada writing a new law to prosecute Canadians who committed crimes against children in other countries. With Kim in mind I wrote to the Minister of Justice and urged him to press forward with the legislation. I thought that for me that letter might be the end of my involvement in the issue of child sex-trafficking and abuse. I was wrong.
Through becoming more involved in Cambodia through Fairview's involvement in funding the original orphanage building at Sunshine House and later our adoption of Sokna I learned that Thailand had begun to crack down on the child sex-trade - much of it moved to Cambodia. I have had an obvious connection to Cambodia for the last 13 years and the child sex-trade has been like a thorn in my soul ever since meeting Kim in 1995.
Marty loaned me a book by Bill Hybels and told me it helped him understand me - it is about "holy discontent." Holy discontent is that thorn in the soul that just won't go away until you do something. The child sex-trade in general and that trade in Cambodia particularly is my holy discontent.
I have known God's grace in this trip as I've had the opportunity of addressing my holy discontent in an "imminent," hands-on sort of way. Will I ever do something like this again? I doubt I will ever have the opportunity to do a job like this again but still I can speakout, I can make people aware and I can support those who are on the frontlines in the battle against the sex-trade.
I need to look at this issue with God's eyes as much as possible and see the individual child and the whole of the problem - transcendent and imminent.
May our Lord bless us all as we deal with our own "holy discontents" and as we see the issues through God's own eyes.
Grant
Transcendence is that quality of God where we see Him as being above us, greater than us, far away from us. It speaks of God's power and Lordship as He oversees all things.
Imminence is that quality of God where He comes close to us - Jesus is God come close. The Holy Spirit is the imminence of God where He is with us and even a part of us.
I chose these two concepts because that's the way I am processing the last couple of weeks. We have been very involved in the small picture, the closeup, the imminence. In the midst of thinking about that I am also thinking about the big picture, the wide angle view, the transcendence.
God sees everything in both views all of the time. God sees and loves the individual child in Svay Pak and He sees and loves all those trapped in the child sex-trade around the world. We have difficulting doing both at the same time which is not unreasonable. When we look at the big picture we can end up throwing our hands up in the air because the problem is too big to tackle - the evil is too fierce to confront. But when we look at the closeup as we've done the last couple of weeks we see the individuals, we see the victims and the abusers and those who profit from the trade. In seeing only the closeup we can become so focused on what we see that we can forget the bigger issues.
The first time I was in Cambodia in 1995 I met a girl named Kim who was living in an orphanage in the north of the country. She was 14 and had escaped from the pimps who bought her from her parents. She couldn't go home because her parents had sold her - she couldn't trust them and honour plays a twisted roll in this. I was disturbed by the story by glad that this girl was safe and was being protected. That same trip I chose to leave for home from Phnom Penh rather than spend a few days in Bangkok with Brian and Louise McConaghy partly because I just wanted to get home to my family and partly because I didn't want to go to a place that was so well known as a destination place for those who sexually abuse children.
When I returned home there was word of Canada writing a new law to prosecute Canadians who committed crimes against children in other countries. With Kim in mind I wrote to the Minister of Justice and urged him to press forward with the legislation. I thought that for me that letter might be the end of my involvement in the issue of child sex-trafficking and abuse. I was wrong.
Through becoming more involved in Cambodia through Fairview's involvement in funding the original orphanage building at Sunshine House and later our adoption of Sokna I learned that Thailand had begun to crack down on the child sex-trade - much of it moved to Cambodia. I have had an obvious connection to Cambodia for the last 13 years and the child sex-trade has been like a thorn in my soul ever since meeting Kim in 1995.
Marty loaned me a book by Bill Hybels and told me it helped him understand me - it is about "holy discontent." Holy discontent is that thorn in the soul that just won't go away until you do something. The child sex-trade in general and that trade in Cambodia particularly is my holy discontent.
I have known God's grace in this trip as I've had the opportunity of addressing my holy discontent in an "imminent," hands-on sort of way. Will I ever do something like this again? I doubt I will ever have the opportunity to do a job like this again but still I can speakout, I can make people aware and I can support those who are on the frontlines in the battle against the sex-trade.
I need to look at this issue with God's eyes as much as possible and see the individual child and the whole of the problem - transcendent and imminent.
May our Lord bless us all as we deal with our own "holy discontents" and as we see the issues through God's own eyes.
Grant
Leaving ... but it is not over.
Marty's Daily Diary #14
Having spent 2 weeks in Svay Pak and seeing and experiencing evidence of the atrocities that have occured, and are still ocurring, there, and having visited the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng, one could be forgioven for crying out with the Psalmist ...
Is God here? Correction, there? (I am currently sitting at gate C8 in Tai Pei, Taiwan waiting for my flight back to Vancouver) As I reflect on the past 2 weeks and particularly the "colliding worlds" which are so evident throughout Phnom Penh and Svay Pak I could be forgiven, I hope, for answering 'yes.' I have a very limited knowledge of the history of Cambodia, but I have read some of the stuff surrounding the events of 1975. Did God leave Cambodia before then? After all, how could He let the Khmeer Rouge do what they did? How long has the abuse of children been going on in and around Svay Pak? Despite the incredible work of IJM in 2003, 5 years on brothels are still operating. Kids are still being violated in the most unimaginable ways. Surely, if God was present this stuff would not be tolerated one more night.
Then I hear one word resounding in my head, over and over and over again - 'grace.' It is so easy for me to judge the animals who live in Svay Pak and run these brothels, and of course it is even easier to judge the animals that pay to come in to these brothels, but if I am going to do that then am I not judging myself as well? I am drawing lines in the sand and that is a very dangerous thing to do. Am I to declare that I am better than these people and as such I don't really need a merciful loving Saviour? I would be a fool to even think this way and so if I am openly in acceptance of grace then I must believe in my heart, despite how hard it is for me to accept the fact, that God wants to offer grace and forgiveness to these people also. As such, that explains why God has not obliterated the village by clicking His fingers. But where is He?
If you have been reading our diaries over these past 2 weeks then I would urge you to read one other thing. Gary Haugen's book "Terrify No More." I think Gary has the answer to my query. He rightly suggests that I am asking the wrong question. Instead of asking "where is God?" I need to be asking "where are God's people?" Why are we asking God to act when He has given us the resources and means, and moreover the opportunities to get involved in God's in-breaking kingdom. As Gary says ...
"In such a fallen world of wickedness and pain, there is joy to be extracted by getting into the saddle with our Lord, gripping the reigns, and riding in to the battle. ... We were created for good works." (page 243)
"Not me," I hear you cry. "God is not asking me to ride in that saddle." "I don't have the skills to do it."
You are right. Kelvin, my new found buddy and the only construction person on our team, reminded me that it is not about us. He reminded me of just how "ordinary" we are. Ten ordinary people from Vancouver who God used to do His work. Perhaps God wants more and more ordinary people to realise just how ordinary they are. Are you ordinary?
I have no idea what the future beyond this trip holds for me and my wonderful wife in Vancouver. I have finished my training to be ordained in to The Presbyterian Church in Canada, and I pray that that will occur in the near future. But even more than that I pray that I will live every day as an ordinary person. I pray that I will see the world through God's eyes and act in the ways that God has prepared for me to act.
My time at Rahab's House is over but the work in Rahab's House will continue, every single day. And I know that there is a desperate need for Rahab's Houses all over this world. Perhaps we need to open our eyes and see them.
God Bless.
Marty
Having spent 2 weeks in Svay Pak and seeing and experiencing evidence of the atrocities that have occured, and are still ocurring, there, and having visited the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng, one could be forgioven for crying out with the Psalmist ...
Why, LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
Psalm 10:1
Is God here? Correction, there? (I am currently sitting at gate C8 in Tai Pei, Taiwan waiting for my flight back to Vancouver) As I reflect on the past 2 weeks and particularly the "colliding worlds" which are so evident throughout Phnom Penh and Svay Pak I could be forgiven, I hope, for answering 'yes.' I have a very limited knowledge of the history of Cambodia, but I have read some of the stuff surrounding the events of 1975. Did God leave Cambodia before then? After all, how could He let the Khmeer Rouge do what they did? How long has the abuse of children been going on in and around Svay Pak? Despite the incredible work of IJM in 2003, 5 years on brothels are still operating. Kids are still being violated in the most unimaginable ways. Surely, if God was present this stuff would not be tolerated one more night.
Then I hear one word resounding in my head, over and over and over again - 'grace.' It is so easy for me to judge the animals who live in Svay Pak and run these brothels, and of course it is even easier to judge the animals that pay to come in to these brothels, but if I am going to do that then am I not judging myself as well? I am drawing lines in the sand and that is a very dangerous thing to do. Am I to declare that I am better than these people and as such I don't really need a merciful loving Saviour? I would be a fool to even think this way and so if I am openly in acceptance of grace then I must believe in my heart, despite how hard it is for me to accept the fact, that God wants to offer grace and forgiveness to these people also. As such, that explains why God has not obliterated the village by clicking His fingers. But where is He?
If you have been reading our diaries over these past 2 weeks then I would urge you to read one other thing. Gary Haugen's book "Terrify No More." I think Gary has the answer to my query. He rightly suggests that I am asking the wrong question. Instead of asking "where is God?" I need to be asking "where are God's people?" Why are we asking God to act when He has given us the resources and means, and moreover the opportunities to get involved in God's in-breaking kingdom. As Gary says ...
"In such a fallen world of wickedness and pain, there is joy to be extracted by getting into the saddle with our Lord, gripping the reigns, and riding in to the battle. ... We were created for good works." (page 243)
"Not me," I hear you cry. "God is not asking me to ride in that saddle." "I don't have the skills to do it."
You are right. Kelvin, my new found buddy and the only construction person on our team, reminded me that it is not about us. He reminded me of just how "ordinary" we are. Ten ordinary people from Vancouver who God used to do His work. Perhaps God wants more and more ordinary people to realise just how ordinary they are. Are you ordinary?
I have no idea what the future beyond this trip holds for me and my wonderful wife in Vancouver. I have finished my training to be ordained in to The Presbyterian Church in Canada, and I pray that that will occur in the near future. But even more than that I pray that I will live every day as an ordinary person. I pray that I will see the world through God's eyes and act in the ways that God has prepared for me to act.
My time at Rahab's House is over but the work in Rahab's House will continue, every single day. And I know that there is a desperate need for Rahab's Houses all over this world. Perhaps we need to open our eyes and see them.
God Bless.
Marty
Counting the hours...(Kit)
I am sitting in Taipei airport as we count down the hours of our seven hour layover - before we head home on our nearly eleven hour flight. I will be home at 7:30 Sunday night - but...it's already 7:00 Sunday night here.....
So we are done. It is hard to put into words what a complex experience this has been. We are all tired, and all looking forward to seeing you all again. I can guarantee you none of us will be asking for rice or noodles for a while, but having said that, I am more aware than ever of the fact that we have choices in these things, when so many people would be glad to have rice at all.
And now that we are so near to home, my words seem lame. I type some thoughts and feelings, delete them, start again. Maybe I will do what some of the others have done and just jot a few memories:
We had ten on the team, but when we arrived, we met Clayton, and we suddenly were a team of eleven. We thank God for this terrific young man who was so helpful to us. I was really impressed with his deep faith, his respect for the people of Cambodia, his sensitivity in difficult circumstances. And those Vietnamese coffees!! Clay, if you are out there, we talk about you every day, as if you were an old friend. Please keep in touch. I'm sure Marty will be writing to you.
And at home, there was Dave and the Home Team, keeping in touch, the glue that held this Home/Field Team together
"Eight strong men and two ancient nurses". And it clicked.
Yoda
My Little Sharks: wary, cautious kids who had never had a chance to learn what trust is. Did we make a blip? Will they remember that there are people who do not want to abuse them? I see their faces before me....It was so great that after the first few days they started to smile, then to laugh, then to play with us. Leaving them was hard. Their faces, some beautiful, some tough, some already beaten by life, flash before me as I walk through this glitzy airport selling stuff to the affluent.
I remember a couple of the older boys (ten years? eleven?) who followed Richard around. ("Tom!" "Tom!" "Tom!" "Tom!"). It was great to watch them come to trust him, confused at first that there was no 'deal', then delighted that he liked them back, knew their names, kicked a soccer ball around with them, swung them on his strong arms. I was there when he said goodbye to these rough little guys. I think Richard was the best thing that has ever happened to them. The clean, healthy affection between them as they hugged good-bye was very moving.
I can still hear the kids at Place of Rescue singing, can still see them playing soccer with the guys on the team and the tuk tuk drivers, and hearing the shrieks of laughter and cheers.
The door that ate the paint
The garbage everywhere
The unrelenting red dust
The girls who returnd to Rahab's House....the delight on their faces made all the work worthwhile
The moped fuel in pop bottles being sold roadside
The shoe store....
The insane traffic
New Song..
Jeff's hospital
Riding in tuktuks, feeling the sun, wind, dust or rain on my face, and even better, riding on the back of a moto. Now that was fun!!
The yellow Cross
The market...if I stopped to seriously think about it I would probably turn and run. Tough survivors there too, like the young boys who shadowed me, made sure I did not get lost (How'd they know that I could get lost in Safeway parking lot, let alone this dank, dark twisted maze of a market?), fanned me, took me to booths to buy things, treated me like a cherished grandma (hoping for, and receiving my pathetic monetary thanks )....and who offered their bodies and sexual services to the guys on the team.
Our early morning devotional times, and our evening check ins.
The girl in the yellow dress.....
Seeing pink turn to yellow......that was so wonderful
"What did your last slave die of?" That's young Marty speakin'.
So many memories, and they are crashing in on me now, but I better go find the guys before they send out a search party.
Thanks to each of you for your prayers, your emails, your love.
Alll praise to Him.
K
So we are done. It is hard to put into words what a complex experience this has been. We are all tired, and all looking forward to seeing you all again. I can guarantee you none of us will be asking for rice or noodles for a while, but having said that, I am more aware than ever of the fact that we have choices in these things, when so many people would be glad to have rice at all.
And now that we are so near to home, my words seem lame. I type some thoughts and feelings, delete them, start again. Maybe I will do what some of the others have done and just jot a few memories:
We had ten on the team, but when we arrived, we met Clayton, and we suddenly were a team of eleven. We thank God for this terrific young man who was so helpful to us. I was really impressed with his deep faith, his respect for the people of Cambodia, his sensitivity in difficult circumstances. And those Vietnamese coffees!! Clay, if you are out there, we talk about you every day, as if you were an old friend. Please keep in touch. I'm sure Marty will be writing to you.
And at home, there was Dave and the Home Team, keeping in touch, the glue that held this Home/Field Team together
"Eight strong men and two ancient nurses". And it clicked.
Yoda
My Little Sharks: wary, cautious kids who had never had a chance to learn what trust is. Did we make a blip? Will they remember that there are people who do not want to abuse them? I see their faces before me....It was so great that after the first few days they started to smile, then to laugh, then to play with us. Leaving them was hard. Their faces, some beautiful, some tough, some already beaten by life, flash before me as I walk through this glitzy airport selling stuff to the affluent.
I remember a couple of the older boys (ten years? eleven?) who followed Richard around. ("Tom!" "Tom!" "Tom!" "Tom!"). It was great to watch them come to trust him, confused at first that there was no 'deal', then delighted that he liked them back, knew their names, kicked a soccer ball around with them, swung them on his strong arms. I was there when he said goodbye to these rough little guys. I think Richard was the best thing that has ever happened to them. The clean, healthy affection between them as they hugged good-bye was very moving.
I can still hear the kids at Place of Rescue singing, can still see them playing soccer with the guys on the team and the tuk tuk drivers, and hearing the shrieks of laughter and cheers.
The door that ate the paintThe garbage everywhere
The unrelenting red dust
The girls who returnd to Rahab's House....the delight on their faces made all the work worthwhile
The moped fuel in pop bottles being sold roadside
The shoe store....
The insane traffic
New Song..
Jeff's hospital
Riding in tuktuks, feeling the sun, wind, dust or rain on my face, and even better, riding on the back of a moto. Now that was fun!!
The yellow Cross
The market...if I stopped to seriously think about it I would probably turn and run. Tough survivors there too, like the young boys who shadowed me, made sure I did not get lost (How'd they know that I could get lost in Safeway parking lot, let alone this dank, dark twisted maze of a market?), fanned me, took me to booths to buy things, treated me like a cherished grandma (hoping for, and receiving my pathetic monetary thanks )....and who offered their bodies and sexual services to the guys on the team.
Our early morning devotional times, and our evening check ins.
The girl in the yellow dress.....
Seeing pink turn to yellow......that was so wonderful
"What did your last slave die of?" That's young Marty speakin'.
So many memories, and they are crashing in on me now, but I better go find the guys before they send out a search party.
Thanks to each of you for your prayers, your emails, your love.
Alll praise to Him.
K
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