A friend shared this link with me and I wanted to share it with you. It's a very real depiction of what the sex industry and factories are like here in Cambodia. It is heavy and sad but, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5

https://news.vice.com/video/the-high-cost-of-cheap-clothes

"In the World of the Speech That is New" -Head and the Heart

     It's been quite a while since I've updated (sorry). I want for people at home to be able to know how my time here is going but the longer I'm here, the harder it has been to make time to do that. 

What I've been up too..
 

     I have begun teaching English at a college dorm, which is a ministry hosted by GCF, the church plant I attend. The Cambodian girls are all so eager to make “foreign” friends and improve their English, God has given us an easy in and an open door for building relationships with them. On different evenings of the week we help them with their studies, teach English, and attend some “fellowship meetings” with the college men’s dorm. I can already tell it is going to be a lot of fun. Most of the dorm girls attend GCF for church each week so I see them there each Sunday as well! 

     I’m helping with our team’s branch of ministry called the Cambodia Freedom Project, which is seeking to help serve those in this country who are sex-trafficked, but also seeks to connect them to and educate the Cambodian church as well. I’m on a planning committee for a justice conference that our Project will help host alongside of International Justice Mission. The point of the conference is to connect to pastors and churches to help educate and challenge them to care about God’s heart for justice. 

     I’ve also had the chance to learn more about this country’s problem through a trafficking outreach evening with a local anti-trafficking ministry called Precious Women that I've been getting more involved with. The way an outreach generally looks is this: one evening, a team gathers and goes out together to a local club or bar where Khmer girls are known to be sold. Most of these women entered this line of work originally because they were sold into it by one of their own family members, and usually at a very young age. Our teammates pair up and invite a couple of the girls to sit and talk for a bit - a simple attempt of friendly conversation. If the opportunity presents itself, we have a chance to offer these women a way out - to tell them that Precious Women has job training and counseling programs and a job that would allow them to work in the light of day with fair pay and integrity. If they are interested, we leave them Precious Women’s contact information. While you can imagine the heaviness these nights bring to my heart, I’m actually also thankful, I’m thankful because now I have specific names and specific faces to pray specific prayers for. These women are no longer an idea. They are my friends.

Other events along the way...

 This is my whole team at our retreat during a Cambodian Holiday.

Phnom Penh at sunset with friends

 Took a road trip out to the village for a couple of days

 Janice (fellow intern) protecting herself from the sun.

 We took a bike ride to a dam with a beautiful mountain view

 Janice and me on our way back to the city. Hard to tell from this picture but there were SEVEN OTHER people in the car. Learned on this trip that there is a seat called, "left of the driver".

 Susan let us abuse her to teach some vocabulary in English class

 Sunset from the roof of my apartment building

 

Thailand

     Coming to Cambodia was my first time leaving America so it's hard to believe I've already been to a third country now as well.  I got to spend a few days in Thailand with many other women missionaries in the Asia Pacific area. It was humbling to hear the stories of women who have been on their fields far longer than I can imagine at this point. When I think about staying overseas for a longer period than this year it seems scary, but on the flip side I also see so many needs that thinking about leaving makes me sad. I recently heard a song for the first time with the lyrics, "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders" and that is my new prayer for myself whether that is in America or anywhere else in the world. 

     I got to see some pretty beautiful things in Thailand and do some pretty neat things too. In Phnom Penh there is hardly any grass and not much green so it was wonderful to be in a part of Thailand that included a beach, mountains and greenery everywhere. I think this is the first time I've ever missed grass! Here are some pics from the trip... 

View from my bedroom window

My wonderful students and coworkers in Greenville made me a "Guidebook to Cambodia" before I left, so I wanted to make sure that was something I did before I went home. 

After the elephant trek we went for a little hike to a waterfall.

We stayed a few minutes away from the beach

Susan is on my team in Cambodia and getting to know her better was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

     Three weeks in and my life here is starting to feel more familiar. I go to language class three days a week where I study Khmer with a 19 year old girl named Retsmee. I've loved getting to know her and she has been very patient with me and my insecurities in learning a new language. I met with the dorm leader this week and we talked about me doing some conversational English with the dorm girls and hopefully building in some class time on specific things they need help with. I'm excited about just getting to hang out with them to start with and hoping this will be a helpful avenue for me to better learn the language as I try to help them with my own. Here in Cambodia learning English really helps with job opportunities because you are able to communicate with locals and foreigners. I also found out this week that there is an anti-trafficking ministry here that helps people who have physical handicaps and have been emailing with that ministry hoping to volunteer with them some. Other than that I've been studying, hanging out with Carrie some at Daughters and doing a variety of other things to learn more about the culture and to get to know the team here. This next week I will leave for Thailand for a women's retreat which should be a pretty neat experience. As promised here are some pictures to get a better feel for life here...

The girls who work with Carrie (my roommate) at Daughters, an anti-trafficking NGO, are making these for the rooms at the White Linen Hotel. They made me this bouquet and taught me how to make the flowers. Mine didn't turn out nearly as well. If you'd like to learn more about Daughters you can go to their website at: http://daughtersofcambodia.org/about-us/what-we-do-why

Carrie and I went to dinner one night and excitedly ordered egg rolls... they brought us this omelet :)

This building is a memorial at one of the more well known Killing Field sites, Choeung Ek. It used to be an orchard but became a killing site for the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979. 

One of many views on the way to our team meeting.

This is the street that goes in front of my apartment. 

The Russian Market is about a block from my apartment and a few of us took a stroll through it yesterday.

Something I haven't captured yet but is pretty fascinating is moto's driving with live chickens hanging on the back upside down. Pretty sure this is their fate.

        

You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello

It's Tuesday night here in Cambodia which means I've been here for only three days. In walking the streets, riding a tuk tuk, (the taxi system here) eating in a few restaurants and speaking with a few locals, I've wondered how I could describe Cambodia. It's a place filled with extremes of both poverty and places that feel like home. The locals here have been very kind and any attempt to speak their language (Khmer) has been received with a graciousness that is very humbling. I think the best way to portray Cambodia will be with pictures so I will try to post plenty of those. A lot of my time so far has been getting oriented and settled with the team and with Phnom Penh. I will update soon with more information about what I'll be doing while I am here, but for now here are some pictures of my first few days...

My first tuk tuk ride

The view from our front balcony

Setting up my room

My guide in the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. Getting to hear her own story of what life was like during the Khmer Rouge is something I will hold preciously. 

Thanks to everyone for all of the encouragement and prayers. They mean the world to me. 

“May your adventures bring you closer together, even as they take you far away from home.” 

-Trenton Lee Stewart

In route to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and I'm so grateful to be here at this point. I'm so thankful God has called me to work with young women in Cambodia and for the ways my family, friends and church have loved me as I've prepared to go. There have certainly been days when I'm more fearful or sad than thankful but not today and I am thankful for that too.