The children of the village of Svay Pak are more used to us now. This is both good and bad… the familiarity means that they try things they didn’t before. Any gesture might have another motivation. Several kids end the day with our empty drink containers, each earned one at a time, through grabbing gestures, pleading eyes, or whatever.
The tension of their poverty is confusing. They are all thin, barefoot, with terrible teeth behind their (often) broad smiles. And yet there is money in the village. We see an occasional expensive car. Yesterday a young boy, perhaps seven, had a wad of US and Cambodian bills carefully folded in his pocket. As he asked for a drink canister.
This was one of my wheelbarrow helpers on the first day, and we are by now a familiar sight to him. He introduces himself, but an hour later is using another name, which might be Paul. He becomes anyone I might want.
Today he wears only shorts. He has bright intelligent eyes, but the language barrier is apparent. We try counting together, and some other kids join in, but there is no real exchange, beyond the smiles. We trust these children have some sense about what we are doing here.
“Mynyemiz Paul. Mynyemiz?” he asks, pointing first at himself, then at me.
“My name is Toph.” I answer. He repeats: “Mynyemiz Taw”.
He will shout “Taw” at me several dozen times throughout the day, as indeed he shouts the names of many of the team.
Before I begin scraping, in the front room of the former brothel, Paul and a little girl (the same one Richard described yesterday blowing kisses) point at coloured images of Bible stories. “I did this one” they each seem to say, and, as I nod and smile, the girl seems to understand.
She is perhaps five, and, apparently, is Paul’s sister (“may” and “(k)om” are the words he seemed to use). She has long earrings on, and wears only shorts. She also has some scarring around her mouth, which interrupts the smoothness of her young face.
When she sees me show approval at her colouring skills (sure, the people were blue, and I like it when people colour outside of the lines), she starts laying claim to other ones, until she has taken possession of a dozen of them. I don’t know when she stopped pointing at her own work. She too will spend most of the day in the front room, close to her brother (“Taw…Taw...” I hear as I am on a ladder scraping). He is calling her a name I hear as “Gail”. At lunch, it is explained that the marks on her face might be genital warts, or an STD. This had not occurred to me.
Both these kids, and the others with them, are trapped. They smile, and are bright eyed, but are thinking things, and living things, which leave me speechless. So I scrape scrape scrape scrape scrape.
In the afternoon, some of the girls who work at Rahab’s House arrived. These include girls who had been rescued from the building when it was a brothel. The sort of courage that it takes to come back to a place like this is beyond reckoning.
The opportunity to meet them had not been a planned part of the trip. We had not expected they would want contact with any white men. They look nothing like the urchins I have tried to communicate with. They walk with grace, stand with poise. They are smiling, and respectful, and radiate joy. We all awkwardly introduce ourselves, over the course of a few minutes, before we quickly leave them to their work, in the building we are renovating, and which they, through their work, and God, though His, are transforming.
These girls, women, are in their early teens. When rescued, they might have been eight. And they have unmistakable joy.
As we are leaving, one of the girls makes a respectful gesture, and in perfect English says, “It is very nice to meet you.” I am taken aback for a moment, at the impeccable pronunciation, and at the sentiment. (This is the one Marty calls Hanna.) Then she points at my bald head and giggles. “I’ll remember you.”
There is an immense warmth at being teased in this way. She is comfortable here. This is their building, her building. And she has let us in.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The best of times, the worst of times (Kit)
(Yesterday as I was attempting to write this blog, it suddenly sent itself. Today I just want to give it a title, and write a bit at the end, so that I can get along with a new blog. So if it looks different...).
Some members of our team have already posted tonight, so I will not go over the events again except to say that having the young women arrive at RH- just ordinary lovely young women like yours or mine - was an extremely emotional experience for me. After spending rather a lot of time this week in the nauseating and hideous Pink Room - now a glorious sunshine yellow - and hearing some of the unspeakable atrocities these kids have experienced (to say nothing of the horrific medical conditions some have acquired from their abusers: AIDS, HIV, herpes, inflicted injury, etc.), it was very profound just to meet them in person, to see their eyes widen with delight at what has happened to this hellhole, to see them smile shyly as we all met each other. Although our visit was short, it will stay with me for a long time. When I climbed into the van, and we headed on our way, the tears flowed.
So maybe I will tell you some of the other aspects of our life here in Cambodia. Barb and I are with eight great guys, men of God who are really affected by this place.
We meet in Grant and Jeff's room every morning at 0620 for a short devotional time, followed by the buffet breakfast in the hotel. The coffee here is an acquired taste, let me tell you. I have switched to tea. Rice, a variety of nice looking egg dishes, something that looks meat-ish, etc. I have clear tea, fresh pineapple and a chunk of French bread every morning - a perfect breakfast for me.
At seven we all pile into a van and head out to Svay Pak. We have a wonderful driver who weaves through the traffic with astonishing skill. The traffic is something else. As well as cars there are thousands of mopeds on the road. Some have a driver, some a driver and a passenger (women ride side saddle, more often than not with no helmets) or a driver and five passengers, or a driver and six live ducks, or a driver and a passenger holding an IV bottle up in the air (we have not been able to determine which individual is being treated, though we have seen a number of these now). I saw a driver this morning riding along through the crazy traffic with about 30 dozen eggs balanced on the front of his moped. Food, clothes, kids, furniture, machinery, whatever, it gets transported the same way. And it never seems to stop.
We leave the city and drive forever along the river, and eventually we turn off the highway - and here we are. Svay Pak . As we drive a couple of blocks into the village, I cannot say we are treated with a roaring welcome. Clearly we are damaging the livelihood of a number of people in this little community - the brothel owners for instance, and those who run strange dark little coffee shops, etc, where men with money wait ...The homes here are tin roofed shacks, often windowless, and none seem to be detached from the next. Garbage goes out on the street.
As we arrive at Rahab's House, however, the little urchins arrive, cheering, waving immdiately, playing games, and keeping a sharp eye on anything that might be of value.
Clay has had Vietnamese coffee awaiting us every day since Tuesday. Basically they put a tablespoon or so of sweetened condensed milk into a coffee cup, then pour in some very strong coffee (tastes like about 6 shots to me). Stir it ...or not....wow!
Then we work.
Until today lunch has been Vietnamese noodles with vegies, etc. I am getting used to this, in fact I prefer it to any other lunch. We also have a big box of ice cold Coke around and I have started drinking coke for the first time in about 25 years. Today was pizza! - it went over very well.
We leave Svay Pak in the early afternoon for a couple of reasons. One is that the heat is sometimes overwhelming (we have taken to buying sixty liters of water every couple of days). But the village heats up in another way by mid afternoon, when it settles into the business of the evening.
We climb into the van, and depending on the emotion of the day and our level of energy we laugh and talk and tease, or we just sit silently. Without exception we are all filthy - covered in dust, in paint scrapings (old and fresh), in sweat. Back into the incredible traffic, back into the city , and finally back to the hotel. If you hear about a water shortage in Phnom Penh, that's just the Fairview team showering. The lukewarm water feels so wonderful.
We meet at 5:30 in 'the suite' and have a check-in as to how the day has gone for us individually and as a team.
And then dinner - we have found a couple of nice restaurants in the area, and we are reminded again how many choices we have. We not only get to anticipate a meal, but we can decide what...and where.
And after dinner ...well, I don't think we are a very exciting crowd. When we have to get up at 0530 in the morning and we know the work that awaits, we are almost zombies.
Barb and I have had some real problems with our computer, and cannot use it in the room at all, so we sincerely apologise if you have yet to hear from us. We long to write to you, but we also want to get these posts out...and then the computer crashes...or there is tropical storm... or.. or...So thanks for understanding, and know, once again, this comes with our love and huge gratitude to the whole Fairview family and all those friends and family who are also supporting us.
Kit
Some members of our team have already posted tonight, so I will not go over the events again except to say that having the young women arrive at RH- just ordinary lovely young women like yours or mine - was an extremely emotional experience for me. After spending rather a lot of time this week in the nauseating and hideous Pink Room - now a glorious sunshine yellow - and hearing some of the unspeakable atrocities these kids have experienced (to say nothing of the horrific medical conditions some have acquired from their abusers: AIDS, HIV, herpes, inflicted injury, etc.), it was very profound just to meet them in person, to see their eyes widen with delight at what has happened to this hellhole, to see them smile shyly as we all met each other. Although our visit was short, it will stay with me for a long time. When I climbed into the van, and we headed on our way, the tears flowed.
So maybe I will tell you some of the other aspects of our life here in Cambodia. Barb and I are with eight great guys, men of God who are really affected by this place.
We meet in Grant and Jeff's room every morning at 0620 for a short devotional time, followed by the buffet breakfast in the hotel. The coffee here is an acquired taste, let me tell you. I have switched to tea. Rice, a variety of nice looking egg dishes, something that looks meat-ish, etc. I have clear tea, fresh pineapple and a chunk of French bread every morning - a perfect breakfast for me.
At seven we all pile into a van and head out to Svay Pak. We have a wonderful driver who weaves through the traffic with astonishing skill. The traffic is something else. As well as cars there are thousands of mopeds on the road. Some have a driver, some a driver and a passenger (women ride side saddle, more often than not with no helmets) or a driver and five passengers, or a driver and six live ducks, or a driver and a passenger holding an IV bottle up in the air (we have not been able to determine which individual is being treated, though we have seen a number of these now). I saw a driver this morning riding along through the crazy traffic with about 30 dozen eggs balanced on the front of his moped. Food, clothes, kids, furniture, machinery, whatever, it gets transported the same way. And it never seems to stop.
We leave the city and drive forever along the river, and eventually we turn off the highway - and here we are. Svay Pak . As we drive a couple of blocks into the village, I cannot say we are treated with a roaring welcome. Clearly we are damaging the livelihood of a number of people in this little community - the brothel owners for instance, and those who run strange dark little coffee shops, etc, where men with money wait ...The homes here are tin roofed shacks, often windowless, and none seem to be detached from the next. Garbage goes out on the street.
As we arrive at Rahab's House, however, the little urchins arrive, cheering, waving immdiately, playing games, and keeping a sharp eye on anything that might be of value.
Clay has had Vietnamese coffee awaiting us every day since Tuesday. Basically they put a tablespoon or so of sweetened condensed milk into a coffee cup, then pour in some very strong coffee (tastes like about 6 shots to me). Stir it ...or not....wow!
Then we work.
Until today lunch has been Vietnamese noodles with vegies, etc. I am getting used to this, in fact I prefer it to any other lunch. We also have a big box of ice cold Coke around and I have started drinking coke for the first time in about 25 years. Today was pizza! - it went over very well.
We leave Svay Pak in the early afternoon for a couple of reasons. One is that the heat is sometimes overwhelming (we have taken to buying sixty liters of water every couple of days). But the village heats up in another way by mid afternoon, when it settles into the business of the evening.
We climb into the van, and depending on the emotion of the day and our level of energy we laugh and talk and tease, or we just sit silently. Without exception we are all filthy - covered in dust, in paint scrapings (old and fresh), in sweat. Back into the incredible traffic, back into the city , and finally back to the hotel. If you hear about a water shortage in Phnom Penh, that's just the Fairview team showering. The lukewarm water feels so wonderful.
We meet at 5:30 in 'the suite' and have a check-in as to how the day has gone for us individually and as a team.
And then dinner - we have found a couple of nice restaurants in the area, and we are reminded again how many choices we have. We not only get to anticipate a meal, but we can decide what...and where.
And after dinner ...well, I don't think we are a very exciting crowd. When we have to get up at 0530 in the morning and we know the work that awaits, we are almost zombies.
Barb and I have had some real problems with our computer, and cannot use it in the room at all, so we sincerely apologise if you have yet to hear from us. We long to write to you, but we also want to get these posts out...and then the computer crashes...or there is tropical storm... or.. or...So thanks for understanding, and know, once again, this comes with our love and huge gratitude to the whole Fairview family and all those friends and family who are also supporting us.
Kit
Conflicted emotions - by Paul
Today was a day of conflicted emotions. I was pumped being back at Rahab’s house after a day’s absence, yet was physically weak from not having eaten much the day before. I was glad to be working again, but feeling worthless as I started the day on the simple task of sweeping out the ruts left by the walls in preparation for the concrete. All the loud sledgehammer and shovel noises of the first few days have disappeared, to be replaced by the sound made by paint scapers, paint rollers and trowels. No more loud cheers as walls get demolished… everyone is quietly finding work to do as the real renovation starts.
The children are still hanging around the front entrance of Rahab’s House… our very own fan club. Today I shared my name with the most outgoing boy, I would guess an eight year old. After a few tries I was able to pronounce his name, Tao, and he was able to pronounce mine, Paul. This may seem to be a trivial task, however the Khmer language has different sounds, so it takes a few attempts each way for us to get our names pronounced properly. Within a few minutes, all his friends were introducing themselves to me and asking for the names of the rest of the Field Team. Richard is the only name they couldn’t manage, so he elected to go by the name of Tom. These children get so much joy out of interacting with strangers, it makes you wonder why some people come here to abuse them.
Lunch came quickly. Clayton had ordered pizza to celebrate our progress. He also mentioned that the girls undergoing rehabilitation at the Agape Restoration Centre (ARC) were going to be dropping by today. They come by twice a week to do community outreach, and as you read in some of Tuesday’s Blogs, they elected not to come that day because of the constructions. We focused on filling in the wall ruts with concrete (a job I find very therapeutic) and cleaning up as much of the mess as possible. This would be the first they would see how this former house of despair and oppression had been changed. Gone was the pink from the walls, gone were the pictures depicting what sexy girls should look like, gone were walls that entrapped them with sexually depraved men… maybe this would be part of the healing process for them… removing the physical reminders of the terrifying times they spent here.
As I stood with the rest of the team when the girls stepped out of the van, a stream of conflicting emotions flowed through me… so fast that none of them really registered on my face.
We will have the opportunity to meet these girls again tomorrow when we visit ARC, and many of the other who have been rescued by IJM since the first raids in 2003. This is why we have been called to do this work, not just the ten of us here in Cambodia, but all in Fairview Church, and all of our friends who have heard of this mission and are supporting it through donations and prayer. We are all making a difference in this world. Praise God.
Here is part of a song by Matt Redman, maybe this best expresses my gift to these girls.
The children are still hanging around the front entrance of Rahab’s House… our very own fan club. Today I shared my name with the most outgoing boy, I would guess an eight year old. After a few tries I was able to pronounce his name, Tao, and he was able to pronounce mine, Paul. This may seem to be a trivial task, however the Khmer language has different sounds, so it takes a few attempts each way for us to get our names pronounced properly. Within a few minutes, all his friends were introducing themselves to me and asking for the names of the rest of the Field Team. Richard is the only name they couldn’t manage, so he elected to go by the name of Tom. These children get so much joy out of interacting with strangers, it makes you wonder why some people come here to abuse them.
Lunch came quickly. Clayton had ordered pizza to celebrate our progress. He also mentioned that the girls undergoing rehabilitation at the Agape Restoration Centre (ARC) were going to be dropping by today. They come by twice a week to do community outreach, and as you read in some of Tuesday’s Blogs, they elected not to come that day because of the constructions. We focused on filling in the wall ruts with concrete (a job I find very therapeutic) and cleaning up as much of the mess as possible. This would be the first they would see how this former house of despair and oppression had been changed. Gone was the pink from the walls, gone were the pictures depicting what sexy girls should look like, gone were walls that entrapped them with sexually depraved men… maybe this would be part of the healing process for them… removing the physical reminders of the terrifying times they spent here.
As I stood with the rest of the team when the girls stepped out of the van, a stream of conflicting emotions flowed through me… so fast that none of them really registered on my face.
- Shock at how young they were and innocent they looked… much like the girls in my daughter Megan’s class.
- Joy that they were no longer subject to the oppression of the past.
- Sadness for the many girls, many lying sedated in huts around the village, still slaves to this awful trade.
- Relief that they are getting the best help possible to heal their emotional and physical scars.
- Grief for the burden they must be carrying and the guilt they feel for what is not of their doing or their fault.
- Hope for their future, as they experience the immeasurable love of God, who heard their cries, cried with them and called us all to take action..
We will have the opportunity to meet these girls again tomorrow when we visit ARC, and many of the other who have been rescued by IJM since the first raids in 2003. This is why we have been called to do this work, not just the ten of us here in Cambodia, but all in Fairview Church, and all of our friends who have heard of this mission and are supporting it through donations and prayer. We are all making a difference in this world. Praise God.
Here is part of a song by Matt Redman, maybe this best expresses my gift to these girls.
Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring
To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?
Savior, what can be said, what can be sung
As a praise of Your name
For the things You have done?
Oh my words could not tell, not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed
By this thankful heart
I will offer up my life
In spirit and truth,
Pouring out the oil of love
As my worship to You
In surrender I must give my every part;
Lord, receive the sacrifice
Of a broken heart.
Heroes - Richard
Today was a day that put everything into perspective. No matter how big our problems seem to us - no matter how tired or sore my muscles are - no matter how much work we did or still have to do - no matter what the temperature is - no matter how dirty and grungy I am. Today was what it was all about.
We met some of the girls from New Song today - just briefly. Young girls who come back to the place where they were held prisoner, tortured and abused, to help minister to other children in the same village - possibly in the same situation.
What a humbling experience!
Words cannot describe my feelings or the myriad of emotions that were rushing through me when I stood before these normal-looking but courageous girls. They are the real heroes. All else pales in comparison.
We introduced ourselves and then left immediately so as not to stress them out too much.
As I left the building, I noticed one little girl, standing just outside the door - obviously too nervous to come in and meet us.
The silence on the bus as we pulled away spoke volumes
We met some of the girls from New Song today - just briefly. Young girls who come back to the place where they were held prisoner, tortured and abused, to help minister to other children in the same village - possibly in the same situation.
What a humbling experience!
Words cannot describe my feelings or the myriad of emotions that were rushing through me when I stood before these normal-looking but courageous girls. They are the real heroes. All else pales in comparison.
We introduced ourselves and then left immediately so as not to stress them out too much.
As I left the building, I noticed one little girl, standing just outside the door - obviously too nervous to come in and meet us.
The silence on the bus as we pulled away spoke volumes
It is for such as these... (by Grant)
Can you imagine meeting some young teen girls who had been rescued from slavery in the child sex-trade and who are working through the emotional and physical and spiritual trauma and have the strength of character to go back to the village in which they were abused to help the children there?
I can do more than imagine that now because I met them. It almost doesn’t matter what we did today – we scraped walls, painted walls and patched walls and floors with mortar - because all that work pales in significance to that 5 or 6 minute meeting when we were leaving Rahab’s House and the girls and a couple of staff members arrived to do their twice weekly ministry to the kids of Svay Pak.
How do you feel reading this? I’m not sure how I feel. It is a wild mix of emotions. In meeting these girls my soul ached because of the abuse they endured but my soul also soared in the knowledge that they were rescued and are free and are healing. Utter distress mixed with profound joy.
I am also incredibly struck by the power of hope – these girls expressed such joy and hope. Such hope.
I will need some time to think and pray all of this through but I won’t have too much time because tomorrow we meet the rest of the girls at ARC (NewSong).
I thank you Lord for these girls; for your rescue of them and for their hope in you.
Grant
I can do more than imagine that now because I met them. It almost doesn’t matter what we did today – we scraped walls, painted walls and patched walls and floors with mortar - because all that work pales in significance to that 5 or 6 minute meeting when we were leaving Rahab’s House and the girls and a couple of staff members arrived to do their twice weekly ministry to the kids of Svay Pak.
How do you feel reading this? I’m not sure how I feel. It is a wild mix of emotions. In meeting these girls my soul ached because of the abuse they endured but my soul also soared in the knowledge that they were rescued and are free and are healing. Utter distress mixed with profound joy.
I am also incredibly struck by the power of hope – these girls expressed such joy and hope. Such hope.
I will need some time to think and pray all of this through but I won’t have too much time because tomorrow we meet the rest of the girls at ARC (NewSong).
I thank you Lord for these girls; for your rescue of them and for their hope in you.
Grant
I met an angel today
Marty's Daily Diary #5
"Thank you God, Thank you."
As usual we all headed off to Rahab's House just after 7 and when we got there, grandpa was standing guard at the door and Clay had those scrummy coffees ready and waiting, and the kids appeared soon after. Having prayed we decided which jobs needed done and who was going to do what. I went upstairs with Barb and Kit to start some painting in the front room. Sunshine Yellow, but it looks sooo good. Bright, warm, welcoming, and most importantly it is completely away from the sordid pink that permeated the place.
The paint is water based and when we started it looked as if we had a disaster on our hands. There appears to be a white chalk-like filler on the walls beneath the old paint and as soon as we applied any pressure to the walls with the paint roller huge chunks of stuff were coming off and leaving a right mess. But I was convinced that if we could get a coat of paint on the walls it would act as a sealer and prepare the walls for a second coat. I ploughed on and got one coat on in the front room and by the end of the day, it is drying nicely and looks ready for tomorrow.
Just outside the upper front room, at the head of the stairs is a concrete shower area. I have included a photo of what this looked like on Monday. This is where the girls where showered. This awful concrete thing stood directly outside the pink room where a virgin was taken and also pornography was shot. (I really can't believe I wrote that and that I was standing in it today) Well, this afternoon I had the holy privilege of painting that shower area. The pink is gone.
I was sweating buckets but I continued to paint as I thought about the disgusting and inhumane acts that had occured in and around that shower. I praised and worshipped God for allowing me to accomplish this task.
But then I met an angel. Clay told us that some of the girls from ARC where coming so we needed to clean up and prepare to leave. All of us where nervous. What would we say? What should we do? How would we react? Then they arrived and walked in to the place which is soooo different from the last time they saw it last week. They said hello and introduced themselves to us and we to them. They all could not have been much older than early teens and they glowed. One girl, Hanna, (this is not her real name but to protect her I have decided not to use her name here.) spoke some English and she shone with pleasure and innocent beauty. These girls were rescued from brothels, some definately from Rahab's House in 2003. Was Hanna one of the girls from RH? Did she endure the horror of upstairs? I am sick to my stomach with the thought that she had to stand in that shower, and perhaps endured that pink hell. I want to scream out to the men who forced her to do such evil acts. I want to swear and to be honest I have this week but I won'y on this diary. BUT then I see Hanna's eyes - what an angel! She is smiling. She is being cared for. She is safe. She is discovering true love, unconditional love. Praise God. Thank you God for allowing me the privilege to meet one of your angels. Thank you for rescuing her.
I am so looking forward to the remaining days of work in RH. All my pain, tiredness and thoughts are now in a whole new perspective. Hanna and the others are worth everything I am doing. They are all angels!
Marty
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Rice or Banana - by Paul
For those of us with children, you know that the recommended diet to pull out of a gastro-intestinal warzone is called the BRAT diet… Bananas, Rice, Apple sauce, Toast.
So does Cambodia have very small bananas or very large grains of rice?
So does Cambodia have very small bananas or very large grains of rice?
Thanks for the emails
I want to thank everyone who has been emailing the team while we are here. You can't imagine how much it means to us to have so many people expressing their concern and promising to continue to pray for us, for Svay Pak and for the little ones of Svay Pak. Tiredness and time make it really difficult to get back to everyone. So if you haven't heard directly back from us please still know how much your messages mean to us.
Grant
Grant
"Oh, that's nice" - reflections from Grant
8 of us crawled into the van this morning heading out to Svay Pak because both Paul and Kelvin were not well – certainly not well enough to deal with the heat and pain of Svay Pak. I was dubbed construction leader and when we arrived we got to work. Most of the heavy lifting was done on Tuesday but much of the kitchen still had to come out. We also wanted to get scraping the walls and prep them for paint – Toph expressed the experience of scraping far better than I can.
By the end of the day – which arrived early – the kitchen was out, many of the walls were scrapped, the stubs of the walls were chipped off of the floors and we are one more step forward in the transformation of Rahab’s House – from horror to hope. By 1 pm two of the 8 of us were down with heat exhaustion or just regular exhaustion. We called it a day and headed “home.”
No walls came down today – that work is done. There was no huge sign of progress because we are now in the finicky stage where the work doesn’t show as much. So I’m not going to talk so much about the job today rather I want to reflect on the village and its people as some of the others have done.
I’ve seen villages in Cambodia that “look” very much like Svay Pak. My experience in those villages is how the children come running out to look at and touch the white people. I’ve been in villages where soon after arriving I have a child sitting on each foot having to lift one of them with each step forward. I’ve been greeted by open bright faces and even though these children live in poverty there is a joy in just being a child. Not so in Svay Pak. The children, boys and girls are much more guarded. In fact, the first couple of days there weren’t that many children who stayed to watch and it was only on the second day that some of them began to open up to some of the team members. Yesterday (Tuesday) some of the pimps were out to check us out – 17 year old thugs who look as hard as stone and walk with an arrogant swagger.
Today more little girls seemed to be around. One of them was blowing kisses to some of the men on the team, including me. In another context it might be considered cute – but not here. There is nothing cute about Svay Pak. It is ugly in its poverty and it is even uglier in its trade in children. Clay told us that the prettier the girl and the more they are made up – blonde streaked hair, earrings etc – the more likely they are victims of the child sex-trade in Svay Pak. It was so hard to look at these little girls and think about what likely happened to them last night and what will likely happen to them tonight – even as I am writing this message.
Marty and Jeff and I walked around part of the village today. We’ve been here long enough that most people know we are at Rahab’s House; they’ve seen what we are doing and some of them have profited from the bricks we discarded. It is hard to gage what the people thought of us – white Westerners who were not there to abuse the children.
When we got back to the hotel we were again covered in grime and paint scrapings and dust. The team headed to the rooms for the much needed showers. I stayed in the lobby just a couple of minutes longer than the others. A young man at the counter of the hotel asked what we were building. How do I answer this? What is he in Cambodia for? I said, “We are demolishing a kiddy-brothel and turning it into a school in Svay Pak.” Pause. He responded, “Oh that’s nice.”
By the end of the day – which arrived early – the kitchen was out, many of the walls were scrapped, the stubs of the walls were chipped off of the floors and we are one more step forward in the transformation of Rahab’s House – from horror to hope. By 1 pm two of the 8 of us were down with heat exhaustion or just regular exhaustion. We called it a day and headed “home.”
No walls came down today – that work is done. There was no huge sign of progress because we are now in the finicky stage where the work doesn’t show as much. So I’m not going to talk so much about the job today rather I want to reflect on the village and its people as some of the others have done.
I’ve seen villages in Cambodia that “look” very much like Svay Pak. My experience in those villages is how the children come running out to look at and touch the white people. I’ve been in villages where soon after arriving I have a child sitting on each foot having to lift one of them with each step forward. I’ve been greeted by open bright faces and even though these children live in poverty there is a joy in just being a child. Not so in Svay Pak. The children, boys and girls are much more guarded. In fact, the first couple of days there weren’t that many children who stayed to watch and it was only on the second day that some of them began to open up to some of the team members. Yesterday (Tuesday) some of the pimps were out to check us out – 17 year old thugs who look as hard as stone and walk with an arrogant swagger.
Today more little girls seemed to be around. One of them was blowing kisses to some of the men on the team, including me. In another context it might be considered cute – but not here. There is nothing cute about Svay Pak. It is ugly in its poverty and it is even uglier in its trade in children. Clay told us that the prettier the girl and the more they are made up – blonde streaked hair, earrings etc – the more likely they are victims of the child sex-trade in Svay Pak. It was so hard to look at these little girls and think about what likely happened to them last night and what will likely happen to them tonight – even as I am writing this message.
Marty and Jeff and I walked around part of the village today. We’ve been here long enough that most people know we are at Rahab’s House; they’ve seen what we are doing and some of them have profited from the bricks we discarded. It is hard to gage what the people thought of us – white Westerners who were not there to abuse the children.
When we got back to the hotel we were again covered in grime and paint scrapings and dust. The team headed to the rooms for the much needed showers. I stayed in the lobby just a couple of minutes longer than the others. A young man at the counter of the hotel asked what we were building. How do I answer this? What is he in Cambodia for? I said, “We are demolishing a kiddy-brothel and turning it into a school in Svay Pak.” Pause. He responded, “Oh that’s nice.”
Scraping, sledging and sweating .....(Kit)
Hi
Wednesday evening in Phnom Penh. As you will have read from the others, we are all adjusting to this new country and new culture. Despite the fact that we are drinkng liter after liter of water (and green tea, Coke, Gatorade, and rehydration salts, etc.) on a regular and frequent basis, we have had a few outbreaks of dehydration and heat effects. And when it comes it arrives - zing! - without warning. All of us have blisters, bruises, bites, aches, queasiness (or worse) and aches and pains. Everyone seems to be recovering though. We are tired, and we are sometimes simply overhwelmed by this small wretched village, and its main form of revenue.
The kids show up the minute we do. Some of the boys are nine or ten and are known pimps. This is the life they know. They stay all day, love to play catch, love to do those weird macho hand shake things (I learned fast) and I love spending time with them. We have noticed, though, that they can get pretty aggressive when they choose to. They also have their eyes on our empty pop tims, water bttles, rubbish, etc.
Toph was right - that 'pink room' had to go. We have now got all the cheap, lurid, hideous pink off, and we can start painting this room soon. Some of the things that happened in this room are unspeakable, unimaginable. Getting that paint scraped off was a nightmare....and worth every scrape.
I am pretty tired today. Feeling a bit queasy earlier, but all things considered, I am in pretty good shape. The headaches have conveniently arrived in the middle of the night, and they wake me up. This is a good thing in many respects - it meansI can take the medication and go back to sleep and usually wake up feeing okay.
Dinner with Marie Ens tonight, and now back at the hotel.Marty and Richard and I are trying to send our posts to this blog but we are having difficulty getting through.....
This comes from me, with love
Kit
Wednesday evening in Phnom Penh. As you will have read from the others, we are all adjusting to this new country and new culture. Despite the fact that we are drinkng liter after liter of water (and green tea, Coke, Gatorade, and rehydration salts, etc.) on a regular and frequent basis, we have had a few outbreaks of dehydration and heat effects. And when it comes it arrives - zing! - without warning. All of us have blisters, bruises, bites, aches, queasiness (or worse) and aches and pains. Everyone seems to be recovering though. We are tired, and we are sometimes simply overhwelmed by this small wretched village, and its main form of revenue.
The kids show up the minute we do. Some of the boys are nine or ten and are known pimps. This is the life they know. They stay all day, love to play catch, love to do those weird macho hand shake things (I learned fast) and I love spending time with them. We have noticed, though, that they can get pretty aggressive when they choose to. They also have their eyes on our empty pop tims, water bttles, rubbish, etc.
Toph was right - that 'pink room' had to go. We have now got all the cheap, lurid, hideous pink off, and we can start painting this room soon. Some of the things that happened in this room are unspeakable, unimaginable. Getting that paint scraped off was a nightmare....and worth every scrape.
I am pretty tired today. Feeling a bit queasy earlier, but all things considered, I am in pretty good shape. The headaches have conveniently arrived in the middle of the night, and they wake me up. This is a good thing in many respects - it meansI can take the medication and go back to sleep and usually wake up feeing okay.
Dinner with Marie Ens tonight, and now back at the hotel.Marty and Richard and I are trying to send our posts to this blog but we are having difficulty getting through.....
This comes from me, with love
Kit
Day # 3 - Richard
Today did not start off very promising. Kelvin and Paul both stayed in the hotel today as they were not well.
How much would we be able to do with 2 people down - one of them the only guy with experience in what we are doing?
When we arrived Clayton was there waiting with coffee for us! What a GREAT guy!
We started ripping out the kitchen. It was much harder than we anticipated, and after 1/2 hour, my shirt and pants were soaking wet and the sweat was dripping down my face. It felt really like I was in a sauna where the temperature had been turned up to the max.
I felt good though good though to be doing the physical act of destroying everything about the 'old Rahab's House'. With each stike of the sledgehammer, I felt that I was striking a blow for those girls against their oppressors.
My first uncomfortable moment came today as I was wheeling more of the rubble out to the dump. A girl who could not have been more than 5 years old was sitting on her bike at the entrance, and as I went past, she blew me a kiss. In any other context, this would have been weird, that a stranger would do that. But in this situation, in this place, I was disgusted and embarrassed - and completely thrown off. How do I react to something like that. Anything that I could say to her would not have any lasting effect after I had gone - even if she could understand English.
I also wonder about all the young boys that are hanging around. What are they being groomed for? Are they pimps in training? Or is there a market for them in this place too?
I can only hope and pray that God has a plan for the New Rahab's House to rescue these children from a life of abuse and violence that is rampant in this place.
How much would we be able to do with 2 people down - one of them the only guy with experience in what we are doing?
When we arrived Clayton was there waiting with coffee for us! What a GREAT guy!
We started ripping out the kitchen. It was much harder than we anticipated, and after 1/2 hour, my shirt and pants were soaking wet and the sweat was dripping down my face. It felt really like I was in a sauna where the temperature had been turned up to the max.
I felt good though good though to be doing the physical act of destroying everything about the 'old Rahab's House'. With each stike of the sledgehammer, I felt that I was striking a blow for those girls against their oppressors.
My first uncomfortable moment came today as I was wheeling more of the rubble out to the dump. A girl who could not have been more than 5 years old was sitting on her bike at the entrance, and as I went past, she blew me a kiss. In any other context, this would have been weird, that a stranger would do that. But in this situation, in this place, I was disgusted and embarrassed - and completely thrown off. How do I react to something like that. Anything that I could say to her would not have any lasting effect after I had gone - even if she could understand English.
I also wonder about all the young boys that are hanging around. What are they being groomed for? Are they pimps in training? Or is there a market for them in this place too?
I can only hope and pray that God has a plan for the New Rahab's House to rescue these children from a life of abuse and violence that is rampant in this place.
Barb's blog
It is hard to believe that we've been in Phnom Penh for 3 working days. Each day has been filled with a million different emotions running all at once. But what has stood out the most to me in all of this poverty,is that God is definitely here with us - caring for us, giving us the strength to meet each task. I'm not even sure where to begin and I"m supposed to keep it short!1. Monday - we drove down Highway 5 9not quite like our highways in Canad). It's more like being on an exciting ride at an amusement park and there is just so much to see that you don't know where to look next. We arrived at our destination and there was the building in reality that we had seen in photos. We had about 15 minutes to wander through the various corners and then we all gathered together with Christa, Helen and Clay. We all sat down and just before Clay spoke I was sure that David Horn was standing beside, so the point that I turned to say "hi David" but of course he wasn't there. And then I remembered our last conversaton at the airport = David was so excited thaat at the time we would be having our small service at Rahab's House, Fairview would be having their Sunday evening service and prayer time for us. I just really felt the Home Team there with us at that moment - The Lord had brought us all together for that very special time. The following morning an email came form David and he told us the time that they were all praying for us - the exact same time that I felt David's presence. How beautiful is that! Thank you Jesus and thank you David!2. Tuesday - The fellas made amazing progress on Monday, knocking down walls and halling away debrie. I've never seen such team work from 8 guys who have never worked together and certainly not in the situation that we were working in. Martin wanted to take a video of us all taking a turn at wacking the wall, to send to you all. When my turn came, I walked up to the spot to swing the sledge hammer. Written on the wall were the words "I love you". I just wacked away until that part of the wall tumbled down. It was a very humbling moment. I could hear God's voice telling us how much he loves us and couldn't help but parallel God's wonderful, unconditional love compared to the false conditional love these little ones had to endure.3. In between scraping walls and sweeping floors, I've had the wonderful privilege of helping the guys by bandaging blistered fingers and toes, and pouring water over heads that have become extremely hot (a new meaning for "hot head"). I would happily stand and do that all day as these guys have just been relentless in getting all this heavy work done.4. There have been many children hanging around watching every move we make and wanting our empty water bottles and pop cans, which we give them. But there has been one little girl that has totally entered my heart and thoughts - she has the saddest face and most hauntingly sorrowful eyes. The other kids laugh and play, but she just stands and watches and when you go near her, she moves away. We prayed for her last night that she would see us as friendly people and not a threat. This morning she smiled and actually returned a wave!There is so much in my heart that I can't express on a blog or piece of paper. But one thing is sure, God is now at Rahab's House. We feel his light and love shining through all that was so dark.
Many thankyous Fairview for this incredible opportunity.
Many thankyous Fairview for this incredible opportunity.
Just another day of opportunity
Marty's Daily Diary #4
A day of sickness in the team, dehydration, heat exhaustion, copious amounts of sweat, an enormous amount of drunk water: basically another good day at the office. We have entered a phase in the work were everything seems to be "slowing down." Are we? Health wise, physically, mentally or perhaps emotionally? The work seems to be, becasue we are not making such dramatic changes to the place as we did on the first 2 days. But yesterday I felt that I wasn't being the ambassador that I could be at Rahab's House. Yes, I was working and accomplishing the physical stuff but what about the people? Well, this morning Grant prayed for us when we arrived at RH and he mentioned the word "opportunity." I have no idea what he actually prayed, I just heard that one word. It caused me to remember the movie "Evan Almighty." In it, God (Morgan Freeman) appears to Evan's wife and says (paraphrased) "if someone prays for courage, do you think God will just give you courage or will He provide you with OPPORTUNITIES to be courageous?" Well? What do you think Marty? Today was full of opportunities. The kids came on mass to the front of RH and they wanted to sing and shout and "yahoo!!!!!" I think, day by day, each of us is getting more and more opportunities to interact with the kids and with the people in Sway Pak. Now, the REAL work is starting. "God, help me to use these opportunities to show you love, and mercy, and grace, and faithfulness, and hope with all these folks, especially these little kids." That is my prayer tonight. Please pray for me and the team to use such God-given opportunities.
Marty
A day of sickness in the team, dehydration, heat exhaustion, copious amounts of sweat, an enormous amount of drunk water: basically another good day at the office. We have entered a phase in the work were everything seems to be "slowing down." Are we? Health wise, physically, mentally or perhaps emotionally? The work seems to be, becasue we are not making such dramatic changes to the place as we did on the first 2 days. But yesterday I felt that I wasn't being the ambassador that I could be at Rahab's House. Yes, I was working and accomplishing the physical stuff but what about the people? Well, this morning Grant prayed for us when we arrived at RH and he mentioned the word "opportunity." I have no idea what he actually prayed, I just heard that one word. It caused me to remember the movie "Evan Almighty." In it, God (Morgan Freeman) appears to Evan's wife and says (paraphrased) "if someone prays for courage, do you think God will just give you courage or will He provide you with OPPORTUNITIES to be courageous?" Well? What do you think Marty? Today was full of opportunities. The kids came on mass to the front of RH and they wanted to sing and shout and "yahoo!!!!!" I think, day by day, each of us is getting more and more opportunities to interact with the kids and with the people in Sway Pak. Now, the REAL work is starting. "God, help me to use these opportunities to show you love, and mercy, and grace, and faithfulness, and hope with all these folks, especially these little kids." That is my prayer tonight. Please pray for me and the team to use such God-given opportunities.
Marty
"Just a sip"-Jeff
today was a very interesting day for the team. some of us were not feeling up to going to work today so Paul and Kelvin had to stay back at the hotel and rest up while the rest of us went to work.
The day started off really well. i can see that our presents in Svay Pak is welcome at least by the children, as the van turned to corner just down the street from Rahabs house i saw one of the little boys that was hanging around yesterday and as he saw us he was quite exited and i heard him give a big "YAY!" as the bus went by. Many of the other children were quite happy to see us again. i think that we have been around a couple of days that people are becoming more comfortable with us being there and more children are coming by the say hello
i did see probably one of the most disturbing things I've seen so far on this trip. some of the children wanted to talk to me and we just sat outside and chatted (or as best we could with the language barrier) for a bit. one of the boys showed me a scar on his stomach, it was about 7 inches long and took up most of the space on his little tummy. I'm assuming it was his brother but one of the boys told me that someone went and cut the young boy who couldn't have been older then 6. it probably happened when he was around four or five because it was fully healed and it was just a scar but i couldn't imagine someone who could do such a thing to a little child.
But all the children have been through they still are very happy and energetic kids. we have a special Svay Pak handshake that the kids will do with us endlessly and they just have a great time doing it.
Today i think was the hottest day yet. we finished breaking down the walls and started scraping the paint off of the walls downstairs and filling in cracks with mortar. after lunch though things got REALLY hot. Martin myself and Grant (daddy =P) went for a walk in the town just down a couple of streets and came back, but by the end of the walk i was feeling really overheated. i took some time and sat in front of a fan and drank some water. i ended up feeling absolutely miserable and dizzy and started to feel numb in parts of my body. i ended up drinking 3 litres of water and i still wasn't able to sweat so we decided that we should head back to the hotel and call it an early day. I'm feeling much better now that I've gotten liquids and some dinner into me but i think the team is going to have to keep hydrated and make sure that we don't over do it like today. i also figured out that it only takes a sip to figure out how thirsty you are and i really need to keep on top of that.
All in all today was a low but we are still doing something great and its something to be proud of. i would like to that you all for your continuing support and prayers for the team. we'll try to keep healthy and strong and get ready to get back to it tomorrow
The day started off really well. i can see that our presents in Svay Pak is welcome at least by the children, as the van turned to corner just down the street from Rahabs house i saw one of the little boys that was hanging around yesterday and as he saw us he was quite exited and i heard him give a big "YAY!" as the bus went by. Many of the other children were quite happy to see us again. i think that we have been around a couple of days that people are becoming more comfortable with us being there and more children are coming by the say hello
i did see probably one of the most disturbing things I've seen so far on this trip. some of the children wanted to talk to me and we just sat outside and chatted (or as best we could with the language barrier) for a bit. one of the boys showed me a scar on his stomach, it was about 7 inches long and took up most of the space on his little tummy. I'm assuming it was his brother but one of the boys told me that someone went and cut the young boy who couldn't have been older then 6. it probably happened when he was around four or five because it was fully healed and it was just a scar but i couldn't imagine someone who could do such a thing to a little child.
But all the children have been through they still are very happy and energetic kids. we have a special Svay Pak handshake that the kids will do with us endlessly and they just have a great time doing it.
Today i think was the hottest day yet. we finished breaking down the walls and started scraping the paint off of the walls downstairs and filling in cracks with mortar. after lunch though things got REALLY hot. Martin myself and Grant (daddy =P) went for a walk in the town just down a couple of streets and came back, but by the end of the walk i was feeling really overheated. i took some time and sat in front of a fan and drank some water. i ended up feeling absolutely miserable and dizzy and started to feel numb in parts of my body. i ended up drinking 3 litres of water and i still wasn't able to sweat so we decided that we should head back to the hotel and call it an early day. I'm feeling much better now that I've gotten liquids and some dinner into me but i think the team is going to have to keep hydrated and make sure that we don't over do it like today. i also figured out that it only takes a sip to figure out how thirsty you are and i really need to keep on top of that.
All in all today was a low but we are still doing something great and its something to be proud of. i would like to that you all for your continuing support and prayers for the team. we'll try to keep healthy and strong and get ready to get back to it tomorrow
Day 4 - Tim
What have I seen, with my own eyes, so far, in Svay Pak? Snapshots:
- One teenage boy with HIV-like nodules on his face.
- Old Vietnamese women who must have seen much suffering dating back at the very least to the Vietnam War and probably long before that.
- Stinking cesspools with raw human sewage in the vacant lot/garbage dump just across the dirt street (we filled in some of them with broken bricks from the walls of Rahab's House).
- A clearcut out back (not that there's anything intrinsically wrong with clearcutting as a tool in terms of forest science as long as it's used properly (much the same as a scalpel); but here the poaching and international sale of valuable timber is a highly corrupt business, the money probably enabling additional crimes).
- A daycare, of sorts, with many very young children playing in a wet, fetid yard.
- A moribund, if not outright deceased, Roman Catholic church not 60 yards from Rahab's House.
- A Toyota Landcruiser (a $90,000 vehicle in BC) parked in its owner's garage where it had no business being in.
- Many young pretty girl teenagers. Many babies on hips (their own, or their mothers'?)
- A western white middle aged pedophile.
- Large cockroaches running for cover when we busted their concrete bunkers.
- Pimps galore on mopeds.
- Five, six and seven year-old girls pulling at my shirt as I empty the wheelbarrow. I kid you not.
- Our beautiful 3-4 year old Baby Doll, to whom the entire team was immediately drawn, with the sad eyes and yellow dress, hanging around the door to Rahab's House all yesterday.
- The hand of God beginning to move.
My arms are pink -- Toph
For the second day in a row, I have returned to the hotel with pink and white paint flecks coating my arms. More than coating. As I drive the scraper along the walls, sometimes the paint separates easily: a two-inch wide scar running along the wall for the length of my arm, showering me in tiny particles of pink and white dust, which covers my gloves, my forearms, my head, my shirt, my trousers, my shoes. Sometimes it won’t leave the wall, so I spray some water on it, let it sit, and work at it more slowly, pressing extra hard, gaining new territory for the underlying concrete, inch by inch. This victory over the recalcitrant paint doesn’t yield the celebratory shower of flecks to the same degree, but they still do fall.
And the dry pink and white dust stays on my arms, until I notice my sweat causing it to congeal. And there is so much sweat—my shirt and trousers haven’t been dry since 8:30 in the morning—and now the sweat is caking the paint flecks into a chalky mass on my arms. It gets under the gloves, and at lunch I find my hands finely dusted with the remnants of the brothel’s paint.
Regretfully, I understand the colour. There is no doubt that the pink is meant to signal to Western pedophiles a girlish playfulness, an innocent femininity. It doesn’t. It is not a bright princess pink—it is not a clean colour at all. It is various hues of nauseating rosiness that I imagine can only symbolize Western expectations of what was once in these rooms. The colour begins eighteen inches off the floor: the hard wooden bed was not moved when the painting was done. And it reaches up about eight feet, but not to the ceiling; that would have been too much work.
Above and beneath the pink, is a dingy grey with brown streaks. Perhaps it was once white, but now it is stained with so many substances, and with time. This colour is harder to remove, less willing to yield to the metal scraper.
Nothing about these colours is wholesome. Nothing about them is innocent. We have knocked down the interior walls, but the colour remains on the perimeter walls, and upstairs, and so we scrape scrape scrape scrape scrape.
When I wash the paint flecks off back at the hotel, I notice that my arm has reacted to the paint, and I have small allergic splotches. I am grateful for this: my body rejects the colour as does my mind. I've spent today thinking about pink: this colour is there because of my culture, because Western white men used to come to this building for sex with children. Nobody on the team suggests that we simply paint over the walls; the unspoken understanding from everyone is that this colour must go.
And so my arms are pink.
And the dry pink and white dust stays on my arms, until I notice my sweat causing it to congeal. And there is so much sweat—my shirt and trousers haven’t been dry since 8:30 in the morning—and now the sweat is caking the paint flecks into a chalky mass on my arms. It gets under the gloves, and at lunch I find my hands finely dusted with the remnants of the brothel’s paint.
Regretfully, I understand the colour. There is no doubt that the pink is meant to signal to Western pedophiles a girlish playfulness, an innocent femininity. It doesn’t. It is not a bright princess pink—it is not a clean colour at all. It is various hues of nauseating rosiness that I imagine can only symbolize Western expectations of what was once in these rooms. The colour begins eighteen inches off the floor: the hard wooden bed was not moved when the painting was done. And it reaches up about eight feet, but not to the ceiling; that would have been too much work.
Above and beneath the pink, is a dingy grey with brown streaks. Perhaps it was once white, but now it is stained with so many substances, and with time. This colour is harder to remove, less willing to yield to the metal scraper.
Nothing about these colours is wholesome. Nothing about them is innocent. We have knocked down the interior walls, but the colour remains on the perimeter walls, and upstairs, and so we scrape scrape scrape scrape scrape.
When I wash the paint flecks off back at the hotel, I notice that my arm has reacted to the paint, and I have small allergic splotches. I am grateful for this: my body rejects the colour as does my mind. I've spent today thinking about pink: this colour is there because of my culture, because Western white men used to come to this building for sex with children. Nobody on the team suggests that we simply paint over the walls; the unspoken understanding from everyone is that this colour must go.
And so my arms are pink.
Kelvin's post #4 "Disappointment"
Today was a very disappointing day for me because I could not go to work with the team. Paul and I did not have a very good night, he woke up not feeling well and I woke up with the worst case of dizzyness I have ever had. I have to admit that I have had mornings where I woke up feeling like this but that was in my teenage years which I am not too proud of. This was much worse and Kit and Barb both feel it is a case of dehydration and exhaustion. It is now afternoon and the team has returned after another successful day. I am feeling a lot better now, not 100% but better and look forward to getting back to work tomorrow, I hope Paul feels better as well.
kelvin
kelvin
Not the day I was anticipating - by Paul
After yesterday wonderful progress, today was a disappointing day for me... not because of the work accomplished by the team today, but because I stayed at the hotel managing a whomping gastro-intestinal protest.
Kelvin was also fighting his own ailment - dizziness, so we agreed with our Kit, Barb and Grant that we would keep each other company. What a pair...
I think mine might be a combination of exhaustion, a bit of dehydredness (is this actually a word?) and maybe something I ate. I'm feeling much better now (lunch stayed at designated destination and is not jumping around), but still feel weak.
Maybe this was not the Blog entry you were looking for... however we all knew that this mission trip was going to come with some known inconveniences, which is why we all have been inoculated to the gills before heading out.
This will not be the last report of a team member having health issues, and although I'm very relieved to spend the day recovering in a cool hotel room, I look forward to gettting back to the job of transforming Rahab's House into a place of hope.
Kelvin was also fighting his own ailment - dizziness, so we agreed with our Kit, Barb and Grant that we would keep each other company. What a pair...
I think mine might be a combination of exhaustion, a bit of dehydredness (is this actually a word?) and maybe something I ate. I'm feeling much better now (lunch stayed at designated destination and is not jumping around), but still feel weak.
Maybe this was not the Blog entry you were looking for... however we all knew that this mission trip was going to come with some known inconveniences, which is why we all have been inoculated to the gills before heading out.
This will not be the last report of a team member having health issues, and although I'm very relieved to spend the day recovering in a cool hotel room, I look forward to gettting back to the job of transforming Rahab's House into a place of hope.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Kelvins post #3 "The walls are down!"
As we pulled up to Rahabs house this morning we piled out of the van with our tools and water in hand ready to hit the bricks again. Thinking about our progress yesterday I was figuring it would take all of today and most of tomorrow to finish demolishing the cubical walls. We felt good but 2 hours in our energy levels were dropping fast along with the hope to have the walls down in the next 2 days. The heat was taking it's toll, I could see it in the sweat staining our cloths and dripping from our faces, this was going to be one tough day! We took more water breaks, paced ourselves and one by one the walls fell down. God gave us the strength to work today and by the time we stopped at noon only 3 of the walls were still standing, it was incredible. After lunch we made short work of those 3 remaining walls. The next few days should be a little less physically demanding seeing as the heavy hammer work is over but there is still lots that needs to be done.
It is an honour to be working along side of the other 9 members of this field team. Despite the heat, the blisters, the bruises, the cuts and scrapes, the discovering of muscles we didn't know we had and the shear exhaustion, the team stayed focused and we got the walls down. Well done team!
Thank you home team and to all of you for your prayers and support, we could not have made it through the last few days without it.
Kelvin
It is an honour to be working along side of the other 9 members of this field team. Despite the heat, the blisters, the bruises, the cuts and scrapes, the discovering of muscles we didn't know we had and the shear exhaustion, the team stayed focused and we got the walls down. Well done team!
Thank you home team and to all of you for your prayers and support, we could not have made it through the last few days without it.
Kelvin
If it's Tuesday, this must be Svay Pak (Kit)
Hi
My apologies for the 'radio silence' - we've had some computer problems.
I think that almost everyone who has posted a comment tonight will have mentioned the exhaustion. Yesterday we poured our strength, hearts, emotions and adrenaline into the work, and today every single one of us was feeling pretty depleted in terms of physical energy. We are , however, being careful, staying hydrated, taking breaks, etc. The guys on this team are amazing - and they are all so strong. You should see those sledgehammers flying!
At the end of our workday, we are a pretty grungy, sweat- soaked team - staggering to the van covered in grime, dust, spiderwebs, paint, mud and the unrelenting dust which gets in every nook and cranny, every skin pore.
On the whole we are staying pretty healthy. The weather, jet lag, humidity, heat, lack of air conditioning and food differences are not great for the migraine people on the team, and a couple of us have had a fairly challenging time with this. There have been some cuts and bruises, some dizziness, and suchlike....
The team members work really well together, and we are all so grateful for KVE, our excellent leader. Everyone seems to have an important role in making this team work - I love to see it all clicking together.
Well, it's late( just after nine in the evening, but under the circumstances , it's late here - we all meet in Grant and Jeff's room at 0620 ) and if I don't get out of this hotel lobby and back up to my room, my roommate will be wondereing where I am.
Marty has talked about the kids - one little girl in particular, who is very curious about us, very young (five?) very wary, very suspicious, has the lithe little body of a child - and the eyes of a twenty five year old. She breaks my heart. She has yet to smile at us but she watches us all day.
Okay, that's it for tonight. This comes with my love - we are SO conscious of your love and praers and support. Thanks so much.
K
My apologies for the 'radio silence' - we've had some computer problems.
I think that almost everyone who has posted a comment tonight will have mentioned the exhaustion. Yesterday we poured our strength, hearts, emotions and adrenaline into the work, and today every single one of us was feeling pretty depleted in terms of physical energy. We are , however, being careful, staying hydrated, taking breaks, etc. The guys on this team are amazing - and they are all so strong. You should see those sledgehammers flying!
At the end of our workday, we are a pretty grungy, sweat- soaked team - staggering to the van covered in grime, dust, spiderwebs, paint, mud and the unrelenting dust which gets in every nook and cranny, every skin pore.
On the whole we are staying pretty healthy. The weather, jet lag, humidity, heat, lack of air conditioning and food differences are not great for the migraine people on the team, and a couple of us have had a fairly challenging time with this. There have been some cuts and bruises, some dizziness, and suchlike....
The team members work really well together, and we are all so grateful for KVE, our excellent leader. Everyone seems to have an important role in making this team work - I love to see it all clicking together.
Well, it's late( just after nine in the evening, but under the circumstances , it's late here - we all meet in Grant and Jeff's room at 0620 ) and if I don't get out of this hotel lobby and back up to my room, my roommate will be wondereing where I am.
Marty has talked about the kids - one little girl in particular, who is very curious about us, very young (five?) very wary, very suspicious, has the lithe little body of a child - and the eyes of a twenty five year old. She breaks my heart. She has yet to smile at us but she watches us all day.
Okay, that's it for tonight. This comes with my love - we are SO conscious of your love and praers and support. Thanks so much.
K
What are we doing?
Marty's Daily Diary #3
Everyone is exhausted. We worked until 2:00pm today and to be honest we could have stopped earlier. Our energy levels were completely shot as we pounded wall after wall after wall, and wheeled out wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow. But what joy! Slowly over these past 2 days Rahab's House is being filled from back to front with light. The darkness has NOT overcome and light has broken through. AMEN!
But amidst the joy and the light is my confusion and sorrow. I encounter face after face of young girls and women as they wade through our rubble and every single one of them causes me to wonder about who they are and what happened to them last night. I am so confused becasue I don't know if I am looking at someone who has been victimised by that young pimp who is sitting smugly on his chair only 20 feet away or whether she herself is part of this awful place. Yet, each of them cause me simply to smile and pray that perhaps they will know that there is something different in these white folks they see hauling rubble. Perhaps they will see in me and the others a love and respect which they have never encountered before. Perhaps they will see Jesus standing smiling on them from the entrance to Rahab's House beckoning them in.
I am also acutely aware of my sorrow. I so want to play with the little kids. I want to give them something to fuel their smiles and childish behaviour. I want to spend some time encountering these people rather than being so caught up in the art of rubble dumping that I am falling way short of the opportunity God has placed before me to be His ambassador. Perhaps I am beating myself up and expecting too much from myself? I am so tired right now. My body aches. (Not my head thankfully today!) My hands are sore. (Yes I have soft hands) I have scratches and bruises from all the work but in some respect I think the real work is to act and speak in a way that these folks have never encountered before. (Apart from the wonderful people like Clay, Helen and Christa, who really are awesome folks!)
But at the end of this very hard day 2 I am also full of HOPE. The light has broken in and despite the fact that I was part of a team that hammered down walls etc, the real Light is breaking in to that place and I truly believe that Jesus is working and His will is being done, right now as I write, as you read, in and around Rahab's House.
All I can say then is "Come, Lord Jesus, COME!"
Marty
How much water can you drink - by Paul
We all knew that we put out a lot of energy yesterday, being the first day, being all excited to finally start the work we were called to Cambodia to do. By last night, we also knew that the day's work had taken a toll on us. I don't think we realized how much it took out of us.
I started the day wondering how I would be perceived by the other team. Thirty minutes later, having shoveled a ton of bricks into wheelbarrows, I felt like I used up my energy store for the day. I was hot, my shirt was already saturated with sweat, and my body was screaming for water.
We knew that our water consumption was going to be pretty impressive. On the way home yesterday we did a detour to Lucky's Market to pick up water... 60 1.5 litre bottles, figuring that it would last a couple of days. By the end of the day, I had finished off nearly 4 bottles, or just under 6 litres... of which most exited through my skin pores.
Despite the heat and the initial feeling that I wouldn't be pulling my weight today (a sentiment expressed everyone else on the team when were back in the hotel), it was amazing how much our team accomplished today. We may have actually completed more work today than yesterday, when we were fresh as daisies.
Which brings me to the end of my entry today. I know that we could not have accomplished this without all the prayers of our families and friends back home. Your prayers are being answered by a very gracious and loving God.
Make me wonder what miracles God will be performing tomorrow at Rahab's House. Time to go to bed so that he has a fresh body to work with :0)
Good night, Paul
I started the day wondering how I would be perceived by the other team. Thirty minutes later, having shoveled a ton of bricks into wheelbarrows, I felt like I used up my energy store for the day. I was hot, my shirt was already saturated with sweat, and my body was screaming for water.
We knew that our water consumption was going to be pretty impressive. On the way home yesterday we did a detour to Lucky's Market to pick up water... 60 1.5 litre bottles, figuring that it would last a couple of days. By the end of the day, I had finished off nearly 4 bottles, or just under 6 litres... of which most exited through my skin pores.
Despite the heat and the initial feeling that I wouldn't be pulling my weight today (a sentiment expressed everyone else on the team when were back in the hotel), it was amazing how much our team accomplished today. We may have actually completed more work today than yesterday, when we were fresh as daisies.
Which brings me to the end of my entry today. I know that we could not have accomplished this without all the prayers of our families and friends back home. Your prayers are being answered by a very gracious and loving God.
Make me wonder what miracles God will be performing tomorrow at Rahab's House. Time to go to bed so that he has a fresh body to work with :0)
Good night, Paul
A Hard Day - But a Good Day - Richard
Well today was a hard day - but a really good day.
We accomplished a lot today - all 9 cubicles are gone! It was hard physical work and exhausting, in unbearable heat - but also so rewarding. To know that all the horror that went on in those rooms is a thing of the past, and that this building will be used for good and healing instead of evil, fill s my heart with joy!
There is still lots to do - but most of the hard, heavy work is done.
We are all exhausted - hot and tired. But I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it is a good, happy tired.
The kids were back today, getting more confident and friendly, with bigger smiles and more laughter, wanting to help out. I hope that they can come to see this place as a safe place and can visit often.
Heat, Exhaustion and the joy of the Lord
So it's hot here! We were told that inside Rahab's House today was 34 degrees C. Along with a humidity of about 500% we were certainly in a humidex of 40 + degrees. Did I mention that it was hot? The work we are doing is very physically demanding - much more than most of us are used to - and the heat makes it really difficult to keep going.
Yesterday was such a great day and we accomplish a lot but we had changed our estimate
for the demolition from 2 to 3 days. We worked on so much adgrenaline yesterday and we knew that would be gone today as we got down to work. But we are almost entirely finished. All but one of the cubicals no longer exist. ARC wants to keep one room intact as a museum of sorts. We got so much gone because we are working really well together. There are so many things to do from swinging the big hammers to hauling the bits and pieces to chipping out the remains of the walls from the floor to scraping the walls to prepare them for repair and painting (and a bunch of other things I am likely forgeting because of exhaustion. Did I mention that it was hot?
I am even more tired today than yesterday - of course that's because yesterday was pretty exhausting too. But with today almost all of the really heavy work is done. Even with the exhaustion today we couldn't help but know the joy of the Lord upon this place and even upon
us. We got more done that we should have been able - God's grace is at work in so many ways. With the emotion of yesterday behind us I asked everyone today if they still saw our work as spiritual work and every hand went up.
Did I mention that it was hot - I mean really hot?
Today was the day for some of the girls from ARC (NewSong) to come and do ministry with the little kids in the village. We were all looking forward to the visit with a mixture of excitement and fear - how would we respond to these girls who have been through so much but are now doing so well. Clay told us that we were not to respond with an outpouring of emotion - no tears - because the girls would think they'd done something wrong to make us cry. It was also concerned that we not look at them like wounded animals we feel sorry for - rather he wanted us to greet them with pride in how well they are doing.
We were preparing for their arrival by getting all the debris cleared up and sweeping the floor. I even had the opportunity to scrape some of the pictures from magazines that adorned the walls. In Canada they would have been appropriate but here it is just one more sign of how pathetic their situations had been. I scraped those walls with real joy. I wondered why I found such joy in taking those pictures down. I finally realized it was an expression of love for these girls. I wanted to make the place as perfect as it could be - just for them. It was something i think we were all feeling.
Of course real life arrived again when we were told that the girls decided not to come because they thought the construction would be in their way. We didn't get to meet them but that doesn't diminish the act of love. Much to our suprise and humble joy we have all been invited to go to ARC on Friday. We feel so honoured by this.
We are going to be having supper with Marie Ens on Wednesday evening and are looking forward to that.
It was hot (did I mention that?), we are exhausted and we truly know the joy of the Lord.
Peace in Christ,
Grant
Yesterday was such a great day and we accomplish a lot but we had changed our estimate
for the demolition from 2 to 3 days. We worked on so much adgrenaline yesterday and we knew that would be gone today as we got down to work. But we are almost entirely finished. All but one of the cubicals no longer exist. ARC wants to keep one room intact as a museum of sorts. We got so much gone because we are working really well together. There are so many things to do from swinging the big hammers to hauling the bits and pieces to chipping out the remains of the walls from the floor to scraping the walls to prepare them for repair and painting (and a bunch of other things I am likely forgeting because of exhaustion. Did I mention that it was hot?I am even more tired today than yesterday - of course that's because yesterday was pretty exhausting too. But with today almost all of the really heavy work is done. Even with the exhaustion today we couldn't help but know the joy of the Lord upon this place and even upon
us. We got more done that we should have been able - God's grace is at work in so many ways. With the emotion of yesterday behind us I asked everyone today if they still saw our work as spiritual work and every hand went up.Did I mention that it was hot - I mean really hot?
Today was the day for some of the girls from ARC (NewSong) to come and do ministry with the little kids in the village. We were all looking forward to the visit with a mixture of excitement and fear - how would we respond to these girls who have been through so much but are now doing so well. Clay told us that we were not to respond with an outpouring of emotion - no tears - because the girls would think they'd done something wrong to make us cry. It was also concerned that we not look at them like wounded animals we feel sorry for - rather he wanted us to greet them with pride in how well they are doing.
We were preparing for their arrival by getting all the debris cleared up and sweeping the floor. I even had the opportunity to scrape some of the pictures from magazines that adorned the walls. In Canada they would have been appropriate but here it is just one more sign of how pathetic their situations had been. I scraped those walls with real joy. I wondered why I found such joy in taking those pictures down. I finally realized it was an expression of love for these girls. I wanted to make the place as perfect as it could be - just for them. It was something i think we were all feeling.
Of course real life arrived again when we were told that the girls decided not to come because they thought the construction would be in their way. We didn't get to meet them but that doesn't diminish the act of love. Much to our suprise and humble joy we have all been invited to go to ARC on Friday. We feel so honoured by this.
We are going to be having supper with Marie Ens on Wednesday evening and are looking forward to that.
It was hot (did I mention that?), we are exhausted and we truly know the joy of the Lord.
Peace in Christ,
Grant
Rays of light in the darkest of places
the past two days have been quite an experience. yesterday was our first days being at Rahabs house and it left some fairly strong first impressions. as we were walking around before we started smashing we looked through all of the rooms and it was absolutely one of the hardest things i have done. All of the beds were still there and all of the posters on the walls and other filth. As we walked through though there was a sound coming from the kitchen. i ignored it in the beginning and just kept walking through the rooms but my curiosity got the best of me and i went to investigate what the sound was. a few members of the team were in there and i looked down at what they were looking at. in one of the corners there was a little kitten who could have not been more then a couple days old. it was meowing and looking for its mother but she was no where to be found. Helen from ARC had taken it and put it in a little hat. she tried to give it some water but the kitten was still so young it didn't know how to take a drink of water. the kitten was then taken to ARC to live. this just reminded me of how the girls at Rahabs house were rescued. They were so helpless and didn't know what to do and were rescued from such a horrible place where who knows what was done to them. We worked until two that day and we were able to destroy a couple of walls and the ceiling upstairs.
Today we were able to destroy the rest of the rooms and half of the kitchen had gone out as well. many of the people in the town are quite happy that we are there because right when we throw the rubble out into the street, there is an army of people running to get the rubble to grind it down and sell it. it is quite a thing to see, seeing something that we would find in Canada to be garbage and useless has such a high value in Cambodia.
the kids have been great too. Many of them are exited to see us and like to help as well. wheeling out the rubble in the wheel barrows the kids always try and help us wheel it out into the street and like to take rides in them on our way back to get more bricks.
so over all it has been a hard but very rewarding first two days working a Rahabs house and i can't wait to keep things going and finish the project
Today we were able to destroy the rest of the rooms and half of the kitchen had gone out as well. many of the people in the town are quite happy that we are there because right when we throw the rubble out into the street, there is an army of people running to get the rubble to grind it down and sell it. it is quite a thing to see, seeing something that we would find in Canada to be garbage and useless has such a high value in Cambodia.
the kids have been great too. Many of them are exited to see us and like to help as well. wheeling out the rubble in the wheel barrows the kids always try and help us wheel it out into the street and like to take rides in them on our way back to get more bricks.
so over all it has been a hard but very rewarding first two days working a Rahabs house and i can't wait to keep things going and finish the project
Monday, May 5, 2008
Kelvin's post #2
Today was a hard day phsyically and mentally. I new the work would be hot, dirty, and sweaty and believe me it was all of that and then some but I did not expect to feel the way I did today. We saw all the pictures of Rahabs House, the drawings on the walls and we read the books telling us the terrible things that go on in places like this but to actually be here and walk through this place is humbling. We sometimes think we have it so hard and that life is not fair but we have no idea how blessed we are. I don't think I can go back home and look at life the same way again.
I have 2 daughters that are around the same ages of most of these girls that are trapped in the sex slave industry and when I saw a guy drive in on a motto looking for someone like them to use for his pleasure it made me sick to my stomach. What is worse is knowing that this guy is only one of many who make the trip to Svay Pak.
May God bless the work that we are doing that it may become a shining light in a place full of despair.
Kelvin
I have 2 daughters that are around the same ages of most of these girls that are trapped in the sex slave industry and when I saw a guy drive in on a motto looking for someone like them to use for his pleasure it made me sick to my stomach. What is worse is knowing that this guy is only one of many who make the trip to Svay Pak.
May God bless the work that we are doing that it may become a shining light in a place full of despair.
Kelvin
Rahab's House - the first day - from Grant
How can I possibly convey what we experienced today - what I experienced today?
Dark...
Dust...
Dirt...
...a bead...
Clayton unlocked the gate to Rahab's House and I stepped inside. I have been living and breathing Rahab's House for months now. From the time the project was first proposed I knew it was something I wanted to do - something I wanted to be involved in. For months now I've thought about the many girls who were viciously abused here. I've thought about the girls who have been rescued and have a chance at a real life and I've thought about the girls who have not be rescued and just moved to another brothel in SvayPak or another village. For months now I'd been preparing for this moment wondering what I would feel - wondering what it might do to me...
I stepped inside and put my bag down and took out my flashlight and began walking through the building stepping into each of the 10 cubicals. I looked at the walls and the space. I looked at many drawings and words I'd seen in photographs. I recognized so much.
So how did I feel?
I expected to feel devistated with the pain of the place washing over me like waves...but it didn't happen. I went into each of the rooms and I stopped and I prayed. The overwhelming thing I felt was our Lord proclaiming, "This is Now MY place." I wasn't devistated rather I felt joy and a sence of God's Kingdom breaking into the evil of Svay Pak.
Clayton led us in devotions that matched very much what I was thinking and feeling...then it was time...time to break down the walls...time to begin to remove all that represented the evil this place was. I had hoped to take the first swings of the hammer to the wall but there were two women there - Helen Sworn from Chab Dai Coalition (Christian organizations committed to ending sexual abuse and trafficking) and Krista from IJM (International Justice Mission), the organization that worked to close down this brothel. I was my joy to watch as these two women who have done so much took the first swings at the wall.
Then it was my turn...each swing of the hammer broke away something of the old evil - both figeratively and literally. The walls are hard - they are made of brick but the brick is covered in a cement plaster that is as hard as rock. It took many swings of the hammers by many people but finally the first wall was down and more light came farther into the building - more light broke into Rahab's House.
One after another walls started to come down. The debris was carted away where the locals scavenged it all.
As I was chipping away at the last bits of a wall something caught me eye...it was a bead...a small plastic gold bead...the kind a child has on a child's braclet. I held the bead in my gloved hand and just looked at it thinking about the little girl it belonged to. Was she one of the ones rescued? I do not know but that bead was a reminder to me of the very real people - children - who suffered there.
But they won't suffer there any more.
We didn't get as much done as we'd hoped because the walls are so much harder than we expected but as each wall came down more and more light broke in.
What a team this is. God chose well with each one bringing their own abilities and passion, their own reasons for wanting to do this and pouring everything they are into the work. I am so proud of this team and so proud to be a part of it. And I am so thankful that the Lord has given us this privilage and honour.
Dark...becoming lighter
Dust...what is left of the old evil being taken down
Dirt...all over us from head to toe because doing God's work often means getting dirty
...a bead...a child
God is Good!
Dark...
Dust...
Dirt...
...a bead...
Clayton unlocked the gate to Rahab's House and I stepped inside. I have been living and breathing Rahab's House for months now. From the time the project was first proposed I knew it was something I wanted to do - something I wanted to be involved in. For months now I've thought about the many girls who were viciously abused here. I've thought about the girls who have been rescued and have a chance at a real life and I've thought about the girls who have not be rescued and just moved to another brothel in SvayPak or another village. For months now I'd been preparing for this moment wondering what I would feel - wondering what it might do to me...
I stepped inside and put my bag down and took out my flashlight and began walking through the building stepping into each of the 10 cubicals. I looked at the walls and the space. I looked at many drawings and words I'd seen in photographs. I recognized so much.
So how did I feel?
I expected to feel devistated with the pain of the place washing over me like waves...but it didn't happen. I went into each of the rooms and I stopped and I prayed. The overwhelming thing I felt was our Lord proclaiming, "This is Now MY place." I wasn't devistated rather I felt joy and a sence of God's Kingdom breaking into the evil of Svay Pak.
Clayton led us in devotions that matched very much what I was thinking and feeling...then it was time...time to break down the walls...time to begin to remove all that represented the evil this place was. I had hoped to take the first swings of the hammer to the wall but there were two women there - Helen Sworn from Chab Dai Coalition (Christian organizations committed to ending sexual abuse and trafficking) and Krista from IJM (International Justice Mission), the organization that worked to close down this brothel. I was my joy to watch as these two women who have done so much took the first swings at the wall.
Then it was my turn...each swing of the hammer broke away something of the old evil - both figeratively and literally. The walls are hard - they are made of brick but the brick is covered in a cement plaster that is as hard as rock. It took many swings of the hammers by many people but finally the first wall was down and more light came farther into the building - more light broke into Rahab's House.
One after another walls started to come down. The debris was carted away where the locals scavenged it all.
As I was chipping away at the last bits of a wall something caught me eye...it was a bead...a small plastic gold bead...the kind a child has on a child's braclet. I held the bead in my gloved hand and just looked at it thinking about the little girl it belonged to. Was she one of the ones rescued? I do not know but that bead was a reminder to me of the very real people - children - who suffered there.
But they won't suffer there any more.
We didn't get as much done as we'd hoped because the walls are so much harder than we expected but as each wall came down more and more light broke in.
What a team this is. God chose well with each one bringing their own abilities and passion, their own reasons for wanting to do this and pouring everything they are into the work. I am so proud of this team and so proud to be a part of it. And I am so thankful that the Lord has given us this privilage and honour.
Dark...becoming lighter
Dust...what is left of the old evil being taken down
Dirt...all over us from head to toe because doing God's work often means getting dirty
...a bead...a child
God is Good!
Recycling -- Toph
The first load of debris brought out in a wheelbarrow attracted some attention: the woman across the street was gesturing enthusiastically that we dump it beside her establishment (a restaurant, I suppose, based on the long table with chairs around it, though there are no real indications of this). So we did. And the next few barrows, before the woman three storefronts down on the left notices and wants a barrow full. So we started alternating between the two. Until a third showed up.
By lunchtime, children want to help. Two or three boys in particular, all under ten, taking the handles as soon as the barrow hit the street. The first few loads were taking the waste bricks and concrete within sight. But soon, they were being led by adults, out of sight. We dare not follow them, but feel anxious, knowing the barrow is conceivably gone forever.
It’s a long wait, as I stand helplessly watching a road with no returning children, with the image of the boys steering the barrow out of sight, one of them glancing back over his shoulder.
But then they do return, about five minutes later, cheering and screaming and smiling. (At the same time, I am cheering and screaming and smiling, knowing that I have not lost the wheelbarrow. Relief.)
So it continues. Whatever waste we produce, we put out, and by the end of the day one can see little piles of bricks everywhere. People are picking through the piles throughout the day… I find it hard to believe that this refuse can be of use or value. But clearly it can. Some of the stuff is gone instantly. Other parts stay, until we are driving away. My final image of Svay Pak today is seeing the pink doors we wrenched out of the building early this morning, being carried by two barefooted men across an empty lot, away from the building where there used to be cells that these doors guarded. Beautiful.
By lunchtime, children want to help. Two or three boys in particular, all under ten, taking the handles as soon as the barrow hit the street. The first few loads were taking the waste bricks and concrete within sight. But soon, they were being led by adults, out of sight. We dare not follow them, but feel anxious, knowing the barrow is conceivably gone forever.
It’s a long wait, as I stand helplessly watching a road with no returning children, with the image of the boys steering the barrow out of sight, one of them glancing back over his shoulder.
But then they do return, about five minutes later, cheering and screaming and smiling. (At the same time, I am cheering and screaming and smiling, knowing that I have not lost the wheelbarrow. Relief.)
So it continues. Whatever waste we produce, we put out, and by the end of the day one can see little piles of bricks everywhere. People are picking through the piles throughout the day… I find it hard to believe that this refuse can be of use or value. But clearly it can. Some of the stuff is gone instantly. Other parts stay, until we are driving away. My final image of Svay Pak today is seeing the pink doors we wrenched out of the building early this morning, being carried by two barefooted men across an empty lot, away from the building where there used to be cells that these doors guarded. Beautiful.
First day at Rahabs House - Richard
Well it has been an amazing two days. After arriving safely through customs and immigration - we jumped in taxis for an exciting but nerve wracking ride to the hotel. It was just likeyou see in the movies. Cars, mopeds, tuk tuks and pedestrians everywhere - everyone completely ignoring the rules of the road. Driving on the wrong side of the road, cutting people off, The only rule seems to be - whoever is in the space first - has the right to that space.
Motos or mopeds are really the way to get around. There are some very unusual site. 5 people is the record so far on one moto.
We have seen babies hanging on, panes of glass being transported. And today there was a guy with an intravenous drip that he was holding up so the the drip would still work.
After getting settled in the room and grabbing a lite lunch - we took a tour of Tuol Sleng. The used to be a French school in the middle of the city before the Kymer Rouge took over the country. They turned it into a interrogation and extermination centre. It is now a museum to commemorate the abuses that happened there. It never ceases to amaze and appall me of the evil that we do to each other - and get away with.
Today was our first day at Rahabs House. We had an early start being picked up at 7am. The village was very quiet when we arrived with only a few people sitting outside their places.
There was silence as we wandered around the building. Our first real look at the place up close. It was almost surreal after seeing the pictures for so long - to actually be there.
It was great to meet Christa from IJM and Heather from the Chab Dai coalition - who played such important roles in the shutting down of these brothels.
We made a good start in the demolition work - but there is so much more to do. We tore down 4 of the rooms and the dreaded 'pink room' upstairs.
It was hard hot work - someone said it was 30 degrees in that building - but with the humidity it must have been about 40.
We also went through a lot more water than we thought. Thanks to Clayton for thinking ahead and bring some more.
As the day progressed more of the villagers - curious as to what was happening at this notorious place - poked their heads in to check it out. As we carted out all the rubble from the walls (brick and plaster) - everyone wanted the rubble dumped by their place. Most of it ended up in the dump just across the street - where they brought pails and baskets to cart away, It was very strange to see the doors to the rooms with all the writings being carried away.
And the kids - they were hanging around all day. Kids who should have been in school - kids who our activity was the highlight of their day. Kids who with their angelic faces but whose eyes told a different story.
Some of them were quite bold and others were very shy and guarded.
Two pictures stand out in my mind from today.
One is the garbage dump across the road - that had people rummaging through it all day long.
The other is a face of a little girl - about 4 or 5 in her pjamas and a lollipop, She was very curious as to what was going on - but would back away if anyone approched her.
One encouraging sign - In the morning when we first arrived - it was quite dark inside. But asthe walls came down - it became lighter and lighter. It was like God was bringing light and hope to this place. And we are a part of it!
How amazing is that?
Motos or mopeds are really the way to get around. There are some very unusual site. 5 people is the record so far on one moto.
We have seen babies hanging on, panes of glass being transported. And today there was a guy with an intravenous drip that he was holding up so the the drip would still work.
After getting settled in the room and grabbing a lite lunch - we took a tour of Tuol Sleng. The used to be a French school in the middle of the city before the Kymer Rouge took over the country. They turned it into a interrogation and extermination centre. It is now a museum to commemorate the abuses that happened there. It never ceases to amaze and appall me of the evil that we do to each other - and get away with.
Today was our first day at Rahabs House. We had an early start being picked up at 7am. The village was very quiet when we arrived with only a few people sitting outside their places.
There was silence as we wandered around the building. Our first real look at the place up close. It was almost surreal after seeing the pictures for so long - to actually be there.
It was great to meet Christa from IJM and Heather from the Chab Dai coalition - who played such important roles in the shutting down of these brothels.
We made a good start in the demolition work - but there is so much more to do. We tore down 4 of the rooms and the dreaded 'pink room' upstairs.
It was hard hot work - someone said it was 30 degrees in that building - but with the humidity it must have been about 40.
We also went through a lot more water than we thought. Thanks to Clayton for thinking ahead and bring some more.
As the day progressed more of the villagers - curious as to what was happening at this notorious place - poked their heads in to check it out. As we carted out all the rubble from the walls (brick and plaster) - everyone wanted the rubble dumped by their place. Most of it ended up in the dump just across the street - where they brought pails and baskets to cart away, It was very strange to see the doors to the rooms with all the writings being carried away.
And the kids - they were hanging around all day. Kids who should have been in school - kids who our activity was the highlight of their day. Kids who with their angelic faces but whose eyes told a different story.
Some of them were quite bold and others were very shy and guarded.
Two pictures stand out in my mind from today.
One is the garbage dump across the road - that had people rummaging through it all day long.
The other is a face of a little girl - about 4 or 5 in her pjamas and a lollipop, She was very curious as to what was going on - but would back away if anyone approched her.
One encouraging sign - In the morning when we first arrived - it was quite dark inside. But asthe walls came down - it became lighter and lighter. It was like God was bringing light and hope to this place. And we are a part of it!
How amazing is that?
Day 2 Cambodia - Tim
Yesterday, flying over the absolutely beautiful beachfront coast of Vietnam (at Da Nang I believe) on the way to Phnom Penh was, for me, strangely gripping, very emotional. I think because as a kid of 12 in 1968 in Libya I remember listening to US Armed Forces radio every day, all summer (the only English language broadcast available locally), relentlessly announcing American casualties - I did not know those memories had made such a profoundly sad impression on me. Then, touring the Tuol Sleng torture prison yesterday afternoon brought back all those news stories of genocide in far- off Cambodia. I was o.k. until I saw the pictures of the 2 and 3 year olds killed there. There is still blood from victims on the stairways (I checked with Barb, a nurse) - and I had walked on it. I can not honestly say I believe God could have been in that place during the time of the Khmer Rouge. Today, Cambodia is still eating its (and its neighbours' eg. Vietnam's) young, only this time through sex trafficking. We smashed down four or five rooms in about 6 hours - minibrothels- a frenzy of destruction, until we were all exhausted. We have more to go, but it's going well. Little girls, perhaps only 2 or 3 years old, milling around us all afternoon and Clayton says that if they're cute, they're on the market. This afternoon, we saw a western pedophile, his face and bearing arrogant and impassive, ride on his moto right below us being led by two Svay Pak pimps. Can God actually love this guy?
The sweating starts - by Paul
Today I woke up after a very good night's sleep... although 30 minutes later than planned as I set my alarm clock for 5:30 p.m. instead of a.m. I was far too tired to post anything coherent on the Blog last night. Megan noticed :o), which really touched me, as it let me know that she is following her Dad's during this mission.
The trip out to Rahab's House was not along the route I had followed so often on Google Earth. We took slightly more inland route before connecting to Hwy 5... which is nothing more than a two lane road. The left turn into the village took me by surprise, and all of a sudden I was traveling along the very same streets that I read in Gary Haugen's book "Terrify No More". Surreal is a word that gets used a lot in our conversations.
We took a good 45 minutes to wander inside the building before gathering for a short devotional lead by Clayton. Christa Hayden, IJM Coordinator for after rescue care and rehabilitation, and Helen Sworn, of Chab Dai (a body of 40 Christian organizations that are fighting sexual slavery in Cambodia) came out to participate in the demolition. For both of them, this was an opportunity to swing the sledgehammer at a symbol of the evil they have been fighting for many years. We all took turns throughout the morning to do our inaugural wall bashing.
By 11:00 a.m. we had been working for about 2 hours and were starting to feel the effects of our hard labour. We figure that the temperature was in the neighbourhood of 30 degrees, without adding the humidex. By 2:00 p.m. I was hitting the wall. I had already consume about three litres of water and green tea. I was hot, my CoolMax shirt and jeans were drenched in sweat, and I was breathing heavily. So like any good worker, I took a break, sat under one of the fans, applied a cold can of pop to my neck and allowed my body to recover.
It was then that I realize what a privileged life I live. Thirty three years ago, the Khmer Rouge marched people out of the cities into the country and used them as slave labour to farm and construct massive dams. These poor people worked for up to 20 hours a day, through the heat of the day, with no water to drink and sustained by watery soup and whatever other food they could find or steal. They were weak, beaten physically and continuously threatened with death. Many never lived to see the 'liberation' of their country by the Vietnamese three years later.
As we finished our first day, our progress was encouraging. We knocked down the wall of about four rooms, half way there. Jeff and I also tore down the ceiling in the pink room upstairs, which was previously used to make videos, and will eventually be used to house the live in pastor. Tomorrow we will continue the wall demolition, start prepping the walls for painting, and maybe deal with the kitchen.
I know that many asked how we would dispose of the materials we removed. Out here, you just have to wheelbarrow it to the empty lot across the street and the villager will recycle the material. Most of it will be crushed and used as aggregate for cement. At the end of the day, you couldn't tell that we had dumped four rooms worth of walls out there... and tomorrow another four rooms worth of brick and mortar will magically disappear.
I'm looking forward to another day of hard labour tomorrow. The sunlight that is now flowing into the building is very symbolic of God's light filing Rahab's House, and it will be His light that will transform the village into something that will bring honour to the love he has for the forgotten and abused people here.
Please pray for the girls locked away during the day, and who are brought out at night to be sold to satisfy weak depraved men's desire for power. It is so painful to think of the terror they live every day. I know that God has heard their cries of terror... this is why he brought us here.
Paul
The trip out to Rahab's House was not along the route I had followed so often on Google Earth. We took slightly more inland route before connecting to Hwy 5... which is nothing more than a two lane road. The left turn into the village took me by surprise, and all of a sudden I was traveling along the very same streets that I read in Gary Haugen's book "Terrify No More". Surreal is a word that gets used a lot in our conversations.
We took a good 45 minutes to wander inside the building before gathering for a short devotional lead by Clayton. Christa Hayden, IJM Coordinator for after rescue care and rehabilitation, and Helen Sworn, of Chab Dai (a body of 40 Christian organizations that are fighting sexual slavery in Cambodia) came out to participate in the demolition. For both of them, this was an opportunity to swing the sledgehammer at a symbol of the evil they have been fighting for many years. We all took turns throughout the morning to do our inaugural wall bashing.
By 11:00 a.m. we had been working for about 2 hours and were starting to feel the effects of our hard labour. We figure that the temperature was in the neighbourhood of 30 degrees, without adding the humidex. By 2:00 p.m. I was hitting the wall. I had already consume about three litres of water and green tea. I was hot, my CoolMax shirt and jeans were drenched in sweat, and I was breathing heavily. So like any good worker, I took a break, sat under one of the fans, applied a cold can of pop to my neck and allowed my body to recover.
It was then that I realize what a privileged life I live. Thirty three years ago, the Khmer Rouge marched people out of the cities into the country and used them as slave labour to farm and construct massive dams. These poor people worked for up to 20 hours a day, through the heat of the day, with no water to drink and sustained by watery soup and whatever other food they could find or steal. They were weak, beaten physically and continuously threatened with death. Many never lived to see the 'liberation' of their country by the Vietnamese three years later.
As we finished our first day, our progress was encouraging. We knocked down the wall of about four rooms, half way there. Jeff and I also tore down the ceiling in the pink room upstairs, which was previously used to make videos, and will eventually be used to house the live in pastor. Tomorrow we will continue the wall demolition, start prepping the walls for painting, and maybe deal with the kitchen.
I know that many asked how we would dispose of the materials we removed. Out here, you just have to wheelbarrow it to the empty lot across the street and the villager will recycle the material. Most of it will be crushed and used as aggregate for cement. At the end of the day, you couldn't tell that we had dumped four rooms worth of walls out there... and tomorrow another four rooms worth of brick and mortar will magically disappear.
I'm looking forward to another day of hard labour tomorrow. The sunlight that is now flowing into the building is very symbolic of God's light filing Rahab's House, and it will be His light that will transform the village into something that will bring honour to the love he has for the forgotten and abused people here.
Please pray for the girls locked away during the day, and who are brought out at night to be sold to satisfy weak depraved men's desire for power. It is so painful to think of the terror they live every day. I know that God has heard their cries of terror... this is why he brought us here.
Paul
Cesspool
Marty's Daily Diary #2
Sway Pak is a "cesspool." There is no other word that I can use right now. We arrived there around 7:45 this morning and had some time to walk through Rahab's House to allow the place to soak in to our souls. It was totally unbelievable. I can not fathom that human beings could possibly pay money to travel to this place and then pay more money to do the things that have occured throughout the history of this building.
As I walked through each room, despite the fact I was taking photos of the drawings, writings and symbols on the walls, one image from yesterday continued to resonate in my head. The last painting I encountered at Tuol Sleng depicted a man holding a baby by the ankles in his hand and he is about to smash the baby against a tree, as if it was nothing more than a fish. (I have decided not to upload this image.) The painting vividly shows pure evil. As I walked through Rahab's House I wept because of the horrendous acts of evil that occured in there prior to 2003.
BUT the Kingdom of God is in-breaking - literally today - with each swing of a sledgehammer. As I stepped up to hammer that first wall as hard as I could I sensed that amidst my anger, God was smiling. Moreover, in our devotion time before we bagan the work, Clayton mentioned that one girl who lost her virginity in this place is now regularly coming back as a teacher to share the love of God with the kids that litter Sway Pak. That is God's Kingdom.
(One last wee thought for today - I wish my dad was here! I imagined throughout the day how he would have been in the midst of the demolition and he would have worked as hard as he could all day long. That makes me proud and I hope I made him proud today.)
May God continue to "break-in."
Marty
Sway Pak is a "cesspool." There is no other word that I can use right now. We arrived there around 7:45 this morning and had some time to walk through Rahab's House to allow the place to soak in to our souls. It was totally unbelievable. I can not fathom that human beings could possibly pay money to travel to this place and then pay more money to do the things that have occured throughout the history of this building.
As I walked through each room, despite the fact I was taking photos of the drawings, writings and symbols on the walls, one image from yesterday continued to resonate in my head. The last painting I encountered at Tuol Sleng depicted a man holding a baby by the ankles in his hand and he is about to smash the baby against a tree, as if it was nothing more than a fish. (I have decided not to upload this image.) The painting vividly shows pure evil. As I walked through Rahab's House I wept because of the horrendous acts of evil that occured in there prior to 2003.
BUT the Kingdom of God is in-breaking - literally today - with each swing of a sledgehammer. As I stepped up to hammer that first wall as hard as I could I sensed that amidst my anger, God was smiling. Moreover, in our devotion time before we bagan the work, Clayton mentioned that one girl who lost her virginity in this place is now regularly coming back as a teacher to share the love of God with the kids that litter Sway Pak. That is God's Kingdom.
(One last wee thought for today - I wish my dad was here! I imagined throughout the day how he would have been in the midst of the demolition and he would have worked as hard as he could all day long. That makes me proud and I hope I made him proud today.)
May God continue to "break-in."
Marty
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Kelvin's post #1
Well we made it, the flights were long but the most interesting part of the trip has to be the taxi ride from airport to hotel. I think the traffic lights and the lines on the road are just for show, they look nice but that’s about it!
I am looking forward to a good night’s rest so we can hit it hard in the morning. Sledge hammers will be a swinging, can’t wait!
Kelvin
I am looking forward to a good night’s rest so we can hit it hard in the morning. Sledge hammers will be a swinging, can’t wait!
Kelvin
A BUSY start for the team- Jeff
so after the first 14 hours of fun in the air we got to wait a little bit on the ground in Taipei. we got a good 6 hours in before we had to fly again, but by the time it hit the 4th hour i think we were ready to get out of that airport.
so we got into Cambodia very smoothly, customs went right by and we were ready to head to the golden gate hotel. The drive over was really something, we cut through parking lots and ally ways in true Cambodian fashion and got settled in no time. after getting all settled in we went out for lunch with a visit to Toul Sleng afterwards. it was a very emotional and heart renching experience to see all the horror that had occurred in those buildings. it is much more powerful to see those rooms in person then to see them in a movie or picture.
so now were just getting ready for bed after having dinner at a nice little restaurant down the street from the hotel and are prepping ourselves for the adventures that tomorrow will bring us
so we got into Cambodia very smoothly, customs went right by and we were ready to head to the golden gate hotel. The drive over was really something, we cut through parking lots and ally ways in true Cambodian fashion and got settled in no time. after getting all settled in we went out for lunch with a visit to Toul Sleng afterwards. it was a very emotional and heart renching experience to see all the horror that had occurred in those buildings. it is much more powerful to see those rooms in person then to see them in a movie or picture.
so now were just getting ready for bed after having dinner at a nice little restaurant down the street from the hotel and are prepping ourselves for the adventures that tomorrow will bring us
Postcards of Cambodia -- Toph
A few hours after we arrive, having checked into our hotel and had a bite to eat, we visit a genocide museum.
Tuol Sleng had been a high school in Phnom Penh, before it was turned into a prison, where thousands were killed. Room after room is filled with black and white photos of those murdered -- row after row, room after room. I am embarrassed that I notice the one white face amidst the thousands of people killed and carefully documented.
Another building has hastily-built brick cells on the main floor, wooden cells on the upper floor, and larger rooms for group detention at the top. The buildings are ordinary, suburban. The grounds are well-kept, with benches, designed around two quads. It would have been a beautiful school, before they put up the barbed wire. The horrors humans perpetrate on each other can indeed happen anywhere; they don't need specially built places.
On the way out, we are given the opportunity to buy postcards, old coins, and books of Cambodian history. Yes, the genocide museum has a gift shop.
Our work at Rahab’s House begins tomorrow, where we shall be destroying a site of atrocities, of a different kind, and helping turn it into a school. Yes. Let's begin.
Tuol Sleng had been a high school in Phnom Penh, before it was turned into a prison, where thousands were killed. Room after room is filled with black and white photos of those murdered -- row after row, room after room. I am embarrassed that I notice the one white face amidst the thousands of people killed and carefully documented.
Another building has hastily-built brick cells on the main floor, wooden cells on the upper floor, and larger rooms for group detention at the top. The buildings are ordinary, suburban. The grounds are well-kept, with benches, designed around two quads. It would have been a beautiful school, before they put up the barbed wire. The horrors humans perpetrate on each other can indeed happen anywhere; they don't need specially built places.
On the way out, we are given the opportunity to buy postcards, old coins, and books of Cambodian history. Yes, the genocide museum has a gift shop.
Our work at Rahab’s House begins tomorrow, where we shall be destroying a site of atrocities, of a different kind, and helping turn it into a school. Yes. Let's begin.
Day 1 and/or 2 - by Grant
So we are approaching the end of day 1 or is it 2??? It wasn’t that long ago that we gave our final hugs to our families and friends who gathered at the airport to see us off but it feels like such a long time ago. So much has happened and so must distance has been created. The flight from YVR to Taipei was good if a 12 hour flight can be good. I think just about all of us slept and I got about 4 hours of sleep which is just about unheard of for me on a plane. We had a few hours in the airport in Taipei which was spent sitting, talking, working on the computers and thanks to Toph’s hunting, sipping mocha frappachinos from Starbucks for Jeff and me.
Then there was 3.5 more hours of flying until the plane began to settle over Cambodia and Phnom Penh. The landscape is so familiar to me and yet it is so foreign. Kit and I looked through the window wondering if we were seeing Svay Pak in the villages that went by.
Getting through immigration and customs was a breeze. Some of the team felt a little uneasy working through the process but having done it a number of times now it was great with no problems and all or bags arriving safely. We were met by Clayton Butler of AIM who is overseeing the development of Rahab’s House in Don Brewster’s absence. He’s a great guy and we are all looking forward to working with him. We had lunch together and then went to Tuol Sleng the prison through which 21,000 people were processed, tortured and killed.
This was my third visit to Tuol Sleng. It is in much better shape than it has been in my previous visits and I found myself thinking about what a beautiful school it must have been before it was turned into a torture prison. Then it hit me, we are doing something of the opposite – where a beautiful school was turned into something terrible, we are working at turning something terrible into a beautiful school and ministry centre.
By God’s grace we are “redeeming the land.”
Grant
Then there was 3.5 more hours of flying until the plane began to settle over Cambodia and Phnom Penh. The landscape is so familiar to me and yet it is so foreign. Kit and I looked through the window wondering if we were seeing Svay Pak in the villages that went by.
Getting through immigration and customs was a breeze. Some of the team felt a little uneasy working through the process but having done it a number of times now it was great with no problems and all or bags arriving safely. We were met by Clayton Butler of AIM who is overseeing the development of Rahab’s House in Don Brewster’s absence. He’s a great guy and we are all looking forward to working with him. We had lunch together and then went to Tuol Sleng the prison through which 21,000 people were processed, tortured and killed.
This was my third visit to Tuol Sleng. It is in much better shape than it has been in my previous visits and I found myself thinking about what a beautiful school it must have been before it was turned into a torture prison. Then it hit me, we are doing something of the opposite – where a beautiful school was turned into something terrible, we are working at turning something terrible into a beautiful school and ministry centre.
By God’s grace we are “redeeming the land.”
Grant
What a day?
Marty's Daily Diary #1
It is now 6:15pm PP time. I slept for 5 hours on the flight to Taipei. So that means I have had a day of 45 hours with only 5 hours sleep. So, I am not sure that these thoughts will be very coherent.
I watched Rambo 4 on the plane. It was the story of a group of Christians who went in to the Burma to help the people and they got kidnapped amidst a huge amount of brutality. Rambo had warned them previously that THEY would never be able to change anything. "There is nothing we can do" is Rambo's view on life, despite the fact he seemingly 'saves' the day by killing all the bad guys. The story has little, if any redemption, in it.
Then I reached in to my bag and started to read "Terrify No More:" (my 2nd time through) IJM's story of the raid that rescued the girls from the brothel that once was Rahab's House.
Gary Haugen states the 4 aims of IJM :-
1. Free victims
2. Prosecute the perpetrators
3. Provide safe after care for those rescued, and
4. transform communities so that injustice isn't acceptable any more.
That's it - that's what Rahab's House is all about, and it is totally the opposite of what Rambo proclaimed. God is about the work of redeeming this land I am now in and from our perspective this is happening via through the faithful actions of the IJM and ARC folks over these past several years. I had never thought of it like that before. Converting this evil house into a place for ministry is all about beginning the work of redeeming Svay Pak and beyond.
I am profoundly humbled and privileged that I am a small and insignificant part of this. Tomorrow is a huge day for me. Tomorrow I will come face to face with a buidling that in the past has been nothing more than pure evil. Tomorrow the physical (and I believe the spiritual as well) transformation begins.
God, give me the strength to do your will in Svay Pak.
Blessings to you all, and thanks for your continued prayers.
Marty
It is now 6:15pm PP time. I slept for 5 hours on the flight to Taipei. So that means I have had a day of 45 hours with only 5 hours sleep. So, I am not sure that these thoughts will be very coherent.
I watched Rambo 4 on the plane. It was the story of a group of Christians who went in to the Burma to help the people and they got kidnapped amidst a huge amount of brutality. Rambo had warned them previously that THEY would never be able to change anything. "There is nothing we can do" is Rambo's view on life, despite the fact he seemingly 'saves' the day by killing all the bad guys. The story has little, if any redemption, in it.
Then I reached in to my bag and started to read "Terrify No More:" (my 2nd time through) IJM's story of the raid that rescued the girls from the brothel that once was Rahab's House.
Gary Haugen states the 4 aims of IJM :-
1. Free victims
2. Prosecute the perpetrators
3. Provide safe after care for those rescued, and
4. transform communities so that injustice isn't acceptable any more.
That's it - that's what Rahab's House is all about, and it is totally the opposite of what Rambo proclaimed. God is about the work of redeeming this land I am now in and from our perspective this is happening via through the faithful actions of the IJM and ARC folks over these past several years. I had never thought of it like that before. Converting this evil house into a place for ministry is all about beginning the work of redeeming Svay Pak and beyond.
I am profoundly humbled and privileged that I am a small and insignificant part of this. Tomorrow is a huge day for me. Tomorrow I will come face to face with a buidling that in the past has been nothing more than pure evil. Tomorrow the physical (and I believe the spiritual as well) transformation begins.
God, give me the strength to do your will in Svay Pak.
Blessings to you all, and thanks for your continued prayers.
Marty
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Stop 1 - Taipei - by Paul
Here we are, sitting in Taiwan International Airport at 6:24 a.m. local time. Hard to believe a short 15 hours ago we were saying goodbye to our family and friends in Vancouver. It was a thrill to see so many people come out to send us off, and for Brian McConaghy praying for the success of this mission. We’ll miss you all.
We all had a good flight. Everyone was able to sleep 3-8 hours, although the sleep was not one contiguous snooze. I did wake up much more refreshed, although by the end of the day, I really felt the effects of my sleep deprivation. Seven hours of sleep over a 48 hour period is not enough to keep me coherent.
We landed in Taipei in clouds and fog, and as I compose this entry, the sun is burning off the fog. Much warmer and humid than Vancouver… I have already stripped off one layer, and looking forward to the heat of Phnom Penh.
Taiwan has very strict laws about importing plans, fruits, vegetables and animals. Check out their ‘drop off your restricted items here’ container. Thankfully I didn’t bring along any pet hamsters.
We found a free Internet booth and most of us checked out the Blog and our emails. It was interesting using a keyboard with four character sets. Thankfully I am a touch typist… I pitty the poor hunt & peck typists. We eventually discovered that we could hook into a wireless network from the airport corridor... so we are all taking advantage to compose our first ‘away from home’ entries.
God bless, Paul
Greetings from Taipei - Richard
Well here we are at Taipei Airport, after a long night on the plane. It is 7 am Sunday morning - what happened to Saturday??
Not feeling too bad - although I managed to sleep on the plane (which was a nice surprise) - I'm sure I could sleep some more.
Barb and I found some decent coffee - so I am all set for a while
We are all in good spirits - but looking forward to getting to Phnom Phen and getting started.
Not feeling too bad - although I managed to sleep on the plane (which was a nice surprise) - I'm sure I could sleep some more.
Barb and I found some decent coffee - so I am all set for a while
We are all in good spirits - but looking forward to getting to Phnom Phen and getting started.
And we're off
Friday night, 11:30pm, and the team, plus family and friends are at the airport ready to go through security.We are full of emotions - excitment, overwhelmed, gratitude, and profoundly humbled.
Thank you all for your support, prayers and encouragement.
May God richly bless us and the work which awaits us.
Blessings
Marty
Friday, May 2, 2008
So it begins -Jeff
well were just about ready to head off to the airport and i think that it is finally settling in that we are going. We (the team) appreciate all of your love and support to make this all come together.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
28 hours and counting - by Grant
So we are just 28 hours away from gathering at the airport to begin the trip. It is a strange feeling because we have been so busy for so long getting to this point but now we are about to begin. Of course so much has already been done by so many people. The support we've experienced from Fairview and from outside of the church has been truly amazing. We truly see God working through this whole process.
I am mostly packed now. My bags have a strange combination of clothes and tools. This is a very different trip than my previous experiences in Cambodia - I am so looking forward to doing this work.
I am mostly packed now. My bags have a strange combination of clothes and tools. This is a very different trip than my previous experiences in Cambodia - I am so looking forward to doing this work.
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