Cambodia 2010 Update #1 (note - some material is inappropriate for children)

"Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell;
I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

A number of you are probably familiar with this famous quote from C.T. Studd. This past week our team met a missionary couple here in Cambodia who are doing just that. Don & Bridget Brewster, along with a number of Cambodian Christians, run Agape ministry (their website is: www.aim4asia.org) which operates out of a former brothel (now called Rahab’s House) right in Svay Pak, an area in Phnom Penh which is infamous for being the worst area for human sex trafficking of prepubescent girls. When pedophiles come to Cambodia for sex (and many do), they come to Svay Pak. This is where the highly publicized bust which was featured on a Dateline special several years back occurred. To see transcripts & video clips from this episode online go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4038249/#fullstory

This visit was one of the most sobering of our trip, though, as heavy as it was to see the magnitude of suffering being inflicted on precious young girls, some of whom are the same age as my own nieces, there was a lot of encouragement in seeing the kind of impact that this ministry and some of the others we have been visiting are having. It’s an amazing feeling seeing girls, some of whom have been rescued through the raid that was publicized on Dateline and others like it, singing songs about Jesus in a Kid’s Club and knowing that there are believers here who are taking a stand for them, protecting them from the pimps, and seeing that they receive education, counseling, and other resources which will help them to live free from the bondage for which they once seemed destined.

Don & Bridget, and many of the other missionaries with whom we have had opportunity to visit, recognize that there is a spiritual element to all of this which can’t be missed. This is not just a social problem and it will take much more than humanitarian and legal intervention to combat it. Cambodia will not be delivered from the spiritual bondage which is holding her captive without intense prayer. There is a realization that it is not enough to rescue and restore those who have been victimized by this horrendous evil, though we obviously are mandated to do this as followers of the God who redeems and restores. The “demand-side” of trafficking must also be addressed. Don Brewster recognizes this and has begun an outreach ministry to the pimps through an exercise facility called “the Lord’s Gym.” Several former pimps have given their lives to Christ through this ministry and have gotten out of the sex industry. The numbers are relatively small and may seem like just a drop in the bucket in comparison to the enormity of the problem, but it is significant that the power of the gospel is compelling them to leave one of the most lucrative business ventures available to them in a place of such abject poverty.

As you can imagine, there is much more that I’ve experienced here in just one week than I can possibly describe in one update letter, but I’ll try to give a brief summary of what’s happened & what’s ahead. First of all, I need to apologize for taking so long to get an update out. I was very haphazard about getting out the final update from my trip last summer. If you did not receive one you can see it on my last post here. It is entitled "Cambodia 2009 Wrap-up" and I posted it on March 4, 2010. Also, I need to back up a little to let everyone know that since my last trip to Cambodia I have graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with a Master of Arts in Cross-cultural ministry. My sister and brother-in-law have graciously invited me to stay with them while I am in this transition phase preparing for long-term ministry in Cambodia. So, after being in Texas for nearly 18 years, I moved up to Minnesota in May and had a little time to settle in before traveling with my immediate family to attend a great family reunion in Colorado and taking off from there on July 10 to fly in to Phnom Penh & meet my ministry team for this trip. The purpose of this trip was to explore potential partnership relationships for long term ministry. I am in the process of applying for candidacy with WorldVenture, a great mission organization with whom I have been in communication for the past few years, and the team I have been with this trip is made up of other potential candidates and our leader, a World Venture missionary in the Philippines. We met with the following ministries during our week together: InterServe, Children in Families, Yejj Training Center, Chap Dai, Daughters, Agape/Rahab’s House, Hagar, and IJM. I could say so much about each of these ministries, but I will just say that I was so impressed with the people that the Lord has put in place here and the impact they are having. For me personally, I definitely felt that I had met some “kindred spirits” and I was very affirmed in my hopes to be able to partner with some of them using the gifts and passions the Lord has instilled in me.

The team’s time together has come to a conclusion. I am going to continue hanging out here until August 9, meeting with a few more organizations on my own to continue to develop a picture of what is currently being done for people with disabilities & their families, what still needs to be done, and what is needed to facilitate it. I also hope to continue to get a feel for what it will be like to live in Cambodia as I hope that will be a reality for me before long.

So, that’s what’s happening with me right now. Feel free to connect with me about any of the ministries I’ve mentioned or any other questions you may have. I’ll try to get another update out at some point and I do have pretty decent internet access if you want to e-mail me, Skype, or chat on Facebook (12-hour time difference from CST). I’ll conclude for now with some praises and prayer requests:

Praise God:

• For the willing hearts of missionaries we have met here. Many of them came when it was much less inviting than it is now. I admire them so much!
• For the work that God is doing in the hearts of many Cambodians and the way that change has begun to occur through His redeeming love.
• For safe travel and relatively good health for our team while we’ve been here.
• For the amazing connections we’ve been able to make while here.

Please pray:

• For the spiritual battle that is being waged in Cambodia. The light shines so brightly in places, but the darkness is thick.
  
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• For the work of the ministries that have been mentioned as well as many others.
• For safe travel for my team members as they return home. One member will be traveling into Vietnam & Thailand for about a week before returning to Cambodia for a few days & then traveling home.
• For continued guidance for me in making additional contacts and that I would really hear the Lord and be sensitive to what He would have me learn during the remainder of my time here.

Thanks so much for all of your support, love, and prayers!
Grace & peace,
Lisa

Cambodia 2009 Wrap-up

FINALLY! - a post-trip report. I really did need a little time to let the most significant things settle out in my mind, or this would probably be a 10-page letter. Overall it was an amazing experience and I saw God do some significant things in the midst of our circumstances and in my own heart.
Those of you who received my “on the field” updates already heard that the first few weeks were pretty rough. I thought I knew what culture stress was like from previous mission trips. I didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be this time around. The combination of heat, communication difficulties, frustration with trying to remember unfamiliar name pronunciations, loss of freedom & independence, and, among other things, trying to carry a Western schedule into a non-Western environment resulted in constant exhaustion. I told the Lord that I was willing to return to Cambodia long-term if that was His will for me, but He was going to have to make the calling clear because, at that point, I just couldn’t see how it was going to work! Bit by bit the Lord changed my perspective, however. I began to settle in and things gradually became less overwhelming. The puzzle pieces started falling into place so that within another week or so I was saying to the Lord & to myself, “Yeah, I can see myself living here.” At this point, I really do see it being a good fit with the calling the Lord has put on my heart, along with my skills, experience, and temperament. I’ve concluded that the Lord is indeed calling me back to Cambodia for long term ministry. I will graduate from Dallas Theological Seminary this May and I am praying for His direction in preparing myself for what He has prepared for me. As you have faithfully prayed for us during this two-month trip, please continue to pray for me in this preparation time, and also please continue to pray for Cambodia.

So, now for the trip highlights. I’ll break them down in list form:
The main ministries:
1. Logos International School – taught 5th & 6th graders for 2 weeks: devotions, science, computers, & arts & crafts. It was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to lean on the Lord.
2. New Hope School – taught English to Vietnamese high schoolers. It was a really great group of kids and we had such a wonderful time.
3. Daughters – worked with some dear young women who have left working in brothels to start new lives through this ministry: built relationships and helped with putting together a catalog to market their products.
4. TEEac – Assisted with data entry for a ministry providing theological education materials.

My 4 favorite things about Cambodia:
1. The beautiful, warm, friendly people – The people are outwardly friendly, in general, though at first it felt difficult to connect because of the language barrier. I did not make friends here as quickly as I did in Russia (with Russians who spoke English). Once I did have the chance to develop friendships I quickly felt the kind of connectedness that is a big help in feeling at home in a place that’s not my home.
2. The culture – Though it certainly has negative aspects, as all cultures do, I appreciated the relaxed, community-oriented nature of this place. Everywhere I looked I saw people gathered together. They even get together by the hundreds to do aerobics at Olympic Stadium.
3. The food – Okay, I know that’s not very spiritual, but it is a relief whether you’re living some place for two months or for a number of years to find that you not only can tolerate the food, but you really like it!
4. Seeing God at work – God’s activity was very real to me in our own circumstances as well as the testimonies of numerous first generation believers. When I asked how it was going from Buddhism to Christianity, time and again I heard them say that Buddhism didn’t have answers and Christianity did. As Christians we might presume that what is reasonable to us would be reasonable to them, but this has not always been the case for Buddhists presented with the claims of Christianity. I believe it is clear that God has been at work in breaking down the stronghold of Buddhism which has blinded the eyes of these people for so long. In terms of our personal experience there was an event which took on tremendous significance for me. During our final days in Phnom Penh a baby was brought in to Daughters. She was being cared for by her aunt who was trying to save her life. The baby was just five days old and had spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal column does not close correctly around the spinal cord, leaving it protruding out in a pouch and causing paralysis below that part of the spine. The baby was unwanted by her mother & no one in her family was willing or able to pay for the care she needed, so the hospital had sent her home to die. Being a PT, I was asked by the ladies at Daughters to take a look at her and see what we could do to help her. I fell in love with her within moments but was struck with a feeling of helplessness as I realized that what she needed went way beyond what we could offer her. I was able to do dressing changes and a little massage and movement of her legs, but she still had an opening where her spine had not fused that was leaking cerebrospinal fluid. I didn’t know how long her body could keep up with producing more to replace what she was losing, but, aside from that, she would surely develop a deadly infection before long. I was reminded of II Chronicles 12:20 where Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, receives word that they were about to be attacked by a combined force of three different armies. They were ridiculously outnumbered. With all the people assembled, Jehoshaphat prays to the Lord for their deliverance, concluding the prayer with, “…For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” Exactly! All we could do was look to the Lord, our resources were completely insufficient. And the Lord came through – a day or two and many prayers later this precious baby was back in the hospital and receiving the care she needed. (Ask me if you want to hear the full story). Looking back at the account of Jehoshaphat, it is interesting that, though the Lord promised Judah that He would fight this battle for them (which He did), they were still instructed to take up their positions. Seems like an analogy for missions in general – we are insufficient for the task on our own, but He calls us to “show up” and watch Him accomplish things that we never would have imagined.
Some specific praises and current prayer requests:
1. Praise God for answering your prayers! We had a great team who worked together well and came to really love each other, we were all kept safe and stayed relatively healthy. All of these were specific things that I asked you all to pray for. So, thanks for the prayers and thanks be to God for His gracious response!
2. Praise God for how He has been and continues to be at work in Cambodia, building His church.
3. Pray for God’s guidance in choosing a mission agency for the long term. I’m considering staying with CrossWorld or going with World Venture. They are both great organizations but, since it is a long-term commitment, I want to choose the best fit. This is my number 1 prayer request right now because I need to be able to get going with the application process.
4. Pray for my perseverance to finish well at DTS now that I’m in the home stretch.
5. Pray for God’s direction for the “in between time” following graduation from DTS and prior to returning to Cambodia.
6. Pray for people to partner with me in this ministry through prayer and financial support.

Grace & peace!!

Scenes from Cambodia: Teaching English at New Hope School

Cambodia Update #6

Hello Everyone!

Well, amazingly enough, there are now less than two weeks left of this mission adventure. We taught at the Vietnamese school again tonight and I was really sad thinking that we only have two more times with them – I’m going to miss them! Only God knows what He has accomplished through us for the people He loves in Cambodia while we’ve been here, but I know He has accomplished a lot in me. It has been a good refining process: dealing with pride, learning to be slow to speak and quick to listen, finding my strength and security in Christ. All of these are areas in which He has already been at work in my life prior to coming to Cambodia, but it seems like the process has been stepped up a notch – always a good thing, whether I like it or not!

Since my last update our team took a weekend trip up to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat and some of the other famous ancient temples. It was quite interesting (and really good exercise as well). Siem Reap is a lot different than Phnom Penh. It is much less congested & more geared toward tourists. One of our tuk tuk drivers while we were there is a solid believer. His name was Van San (though I’m not sure if that’s how it is spelled). The other is not a believer, though he seems to be searching. He speaks English pretty well so we were able to have a few good discussions. It is clear that he has a lot of respect for Van San and that his friendship has had an impact on him. We gave Van San a Khmer Bible before leaving which he immediately gave to the other driver. Pray that God continues to draw him to Himself and that he will respond to the truth he sees lived out in Van San’s life. While we were in Siem Reap I also had the opportunity to meet up with a couple, David & Lara Narita, who are friends with my friend Kathy (Smith) Phelan. Kathy and Lara were in medical school together at the University of Iowa while I was in PT school there. They are involved in church planting in the Siem Reap area and both are doing medical work part time. David is a doctor at Angkor Hospital for Children. It was very encouraging talking with both of them. I enjoyed hearing about what they are doing in Cambodia and learning that we even have some common Cambodian connections (including that their kids went to Logos when they lived in Phnom Penh and they know Kim, our connection with the Vietnamese students we are teaching English). Also, they gave me very positive feedback regarding the prospects for someone with my particular set of skills and experience finding a place to plug in here in Cambodia.

Over the last two days I got to tour the Veterans International center and the Cambodian Trust center. Both provide physical therapy services as well as prosthetics, orthotics, wheelchairs, and other equipment for people with disabilities. Both seem to be fairly well-equipped and are really great resources for people living in the areas they serve. I got to visit with a Cambodian physiotherapist and watch her treat the cutest little boy with cerebral palsy yesterday. It was so fun!

Today I had lunch with some of the Cambodian Christians who work for Daughters. It was so encouraging to hear their stories. Most of them have come from a Buddhist background. One of the girls said that her father had been a very strong Buddhist but he was the first in her family to come to Christ. After that all the rest of her immediate family eventually became believers and some of them are now pastors, including her dad.

There is much more that I want to write, but I’ll never get this sent if I do. I look forward to filling you all in on the rest later, maybe after I’m back in the states and, for some of you, in person – it won’t be long now! Thanks again for all your prayers & support!

• Praise God for how He is at work here in Cambodia and pray that we will be sensitive to how He would have us participate for the rest of our time here and make the most of every opportunity.
• Pray that I will be able to finish the work I’ve been doing on the catalog for the cakes and cake decorations that are made at Daughters. It seems to be coming along, but time is getting short.
• Praise God that we have continued to stay healthy for the most part. Pray for continued health & safety, particularly that everyone would make it home safely.
• Pray for the Christians in Cambodia. It is very difficult for many of them because their culture demands strong family loyalty and many of their families are not happy about their being Christians.

Grace & peace,

Lisa

Some Ministry Pics

Cambodia Update #5

So, after almost 3 weeks pretty much packed with activities, I was happy to have a little more laid-back Saturday today. I slept in (until 8:00), called my parents (my first venture into the wonderful world of Skype), got some laundry done, and then went with a couple of my teammates to a café to eat & do some computer stuff (like uploading pics & working on this update). After a while we ventured into the nearby Russian market and within 5 minutes I was experiencing major sensory overload. There is an almost unbelievable amount of stuff for sale per square foot, making shopping for souvenirs a nearly overwhelming task. There is so much cool stuff and all of it being offered “cheap for you” that I just start to shut down. After looking for a while at the textiles & such, I wanted to find a particular coffee that I know someone sells around here but I haven’t been able to find in the grocery store. That took me to the area where food of all sorts is sold, accompanied by a barrage of smells from ripe, raw, and cooking foods. The blend of smells, as well as the increased heat from the cooking, finally drove me out of the market and back to the refuge of the air-conditioned café. It is operated by a Christian organization which provides work opportunities and experience for at-risk Cambodians, those who might otherwise be forced to seek employment in exploitative situations for survival. There are a number of places offering this much-needed type of ministry.

Finished up at Logos on Friday. Kind of sad & happy at the same time. Sad leaving my sweet students, but happy to be freed up for some other opportunities (no more planning & preparing for lessons). My CrossWorld team leader is planning to schedule time for me to meet with PTs who are working with some of the organizations with which she has been making connections so I am cautiously excited about that. I say cautiously because, as I mentioned before, things here are always subject to change – it’s hard to make plans very far in advance. So I’m praying for the right things to open up as well as for patience and trust in the Lord’s plans for me which might be different than I think they should be. If I don’t have a lot of PT opportunities I’m praying that the Lord will help me to know where it would be best to focus my time. I like to hang out with the women at Daughters, though the communication can be a little awkward because of the language barrier. I'm thankful that love does not always require words to be communicated, but it's hard to feel so limited sometimes. They are so sweet - when we're having fun with them it's hard to think about what they've endured in the past. So grateful that they have been given a chance at freedom. Please pray for the Daughters ministry. They are really working on making the businesses in which the women are working self-sustaining so that they can continue to reach more women. Right now they are doing beautiful work making cakes, sugar flowers to top cakes, jewelry, photography, artwork, and textile products. The problem is in finding a big enough market for them. This is something that my team is working on in addition to building relationships with them.

Now for the prayer points:

• Praise God for sustaining our team as we adjust to the heat, schedule and Cambodian way of life. Continue to pray for our health - still just minor stuff at this point (another praise) and for energy, rest, and wisdom to know what we need when.
• Pray for the Lord to open up the opportunities that He wants for me while I'm here. I really want to get a taste of what ministry might look for me if it is His desire for me to come back long term. I'd really love to get to see some physical therapy opportunities. At the same time, I want to be yielded to His plans if they are different from mine.
  
• Pray for the Daughters ministry, that they would be able to develop their businesses so they can be self-sustainable and allow the ministry to grow and for the women involved to experience the Lord's provision. Pray for the salvation of those who have not come to know Him.
  
• Pray for wisdom for the Christians working in Cambodia, both native and ex-pat. There is so much need here and the problems are not easy to tackle. Pray that the Lord would be magnified here and that an outpouring of His love would bring healing to this part of the world.