Stories

Well, we've had a wonderful but hard week. We're spending a lot of one on one time with the children and their families. We are learning their stories. The children bless us...but it is so tough. Sometimes I wonder if I'm strong enough for this. Up until recently I had been handling things pretty well, but sometimes I just break down. They tell us about being abused, about being left, about being starved. And the way they live...these children live in trash, literally. Most of the houses only have one room (two if they are nice), yet they have up to 10 people living inside each of them. All around is a watery, soupy muck--moldy trash floats in the shallow water, but the children run through it barefoot. The strong scents of decay and sewage are in the air. You feel horrified, disgusted, furious, heartbroken, and helpless, a stream of emotions hitting you one after another in quick succession.

A lady came into the school the other day with two children. She lives just outside the school's walls in a small, flimsy shack. She was so, so thin. And she had two children. One appeared to have cerebral palsy. He didn't have clothes. She wanted me to hold him.

Meanwhile, her little girl keeps speaking to her in Khmer, crying. Her mother speaks sternly to the child, motioning "No, no". Then the boy on my lap starts asking her for something. She answers him, too, "No, no". I look at her, and she signs that they want food. A little while later, the girl starts to eat the mud on the ground. I just couldn't take it.

It is unbelievable here. I want to help, but sometimes it is all I can do not to say, "Please don't tell me anymore stories right now".

Please pray for this place. And pray for us.

Cambodia

Enoch and I are in Cambodia right now. We have been here since last Friday, and we're just thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

First off, Cambodia is actually a little cooler than Vietnam. Since Phnom Penh is closer to the equator than Danang, my only explanation is that it must be less humid here. Either way, it is nice.

This is the rainy season in Cambodia, so it rains every afternoon for 1-3 hours. The rain is pretty intense, but afterwards the air is so cool...I love it.

Whereas religion in Vietnam was subtle, behind the scenes, Buddhism is everywhere in Cambodia. The streets are full of monks in their full garb--orange robes, shaved heads and all. All of the public places that I've been in (with the exception of the church and Orphan Voice's school) have little shrines to Buddha in them. People will actually burn incense, kneel, and pray right in the middle of public places.

There is so much poverty in Cambodia. For those of you who are familiar with Orphan Voice's ministry in Phnom Penh, you know that we are specifically ministering to children who live and work in dumps right outside of the city. We've been with them all week in a Bible Camp of sorts. Thanks to the work of Meng Aun and Rady, our Cambodian contacts, most of the children have already accepted Christ as their savior. We're hoping that during our time here we can meet their physical needs (including providing them with a good education), disciple them, and teach them how to share Jesus with others. In most cases, the families of these children do not yet know Jesus. Next week, Enoch and I are going to visit many of the homes. We're praying that we'll have opportunities to share God's love with them when we go. Please pray with us.