Church and Old Friends

On Sunday we attended the International Church and were all blessed by a sermon we heard on Genesis 15 which talked about God’s covenant with Abraham. We were reminded that that submission and faithfulness are the roots of obedience. As we continue to submit to God’s agenda and trust in His faithfulness here, it has been such a blessing to see Him work through our feeble efforts.

Today 4 of our team members ---Brenda, Genie, Hiroko and Janice went off to visit the Killing Fields, while Char and I connected with our missionary friends Cathy and Kim as we were busy buying backpacks among other gifts that we plan to give to the kids at the end of the VBS this week. This coming Friday on our last day in Svay Pak we are having a Kingdom Banquet that will be our final celebration and end to the VBS. We can’t wait to see their faces as we hand out our little kingdom packages to them.

Our team got a bit of a taste of shopping in Cambodian markets as we spent the afternoon in Psar Tuol Tompong otherwise known as the Russian market. It is here that I get to hone my bargaining skills as we haggle with them. Often the vendors will say to us ‘cannot, I give you good price’ to which I reply ‘yes you can, you are my friend’! And so the banter goes back and forth. Some people find bargaining draining but I get energized by it.

In the evening we went to Soriya the one and only mall in Phnom Penh and probably Cambodia. Soriya has a lot of stores and eating places but you would not necessarily find your average Cambodian here as the prices are quite expensive than if one went to a local market. Our purpose for going there was to go to the Pizza restaurant to meet up with some old friends from Transitions Cambodia (TCI). Jaya who is the director of TCI along with Srey Neth who is a spokesperson for TCI and Sochea (not her real name). It was so good to see them all and to hear how they are doing. Srey Neth is about 21 now and God is using her to speak up and give a voice to many who have experienced the horrific atrocities of being sold into a brothel. I am so proud of her and as she spoke about her life in the brothel which consisted of servicing 10 to 20 men a day, being beaten or tortured with electric shock if she didn’t cooperate, I just smiled at her and put my hand over hers. She is a testimony that He who is in us is greater than he that is in this world. I cannot even fathom what it must have been like for her but as I listen to her speak, I can see that God is giving her strength ---that the horrible ordeal that she went through does not debilitate her. Instead her desire is to tell other girls who are at risk of being sold into prostitution about her journey so that they are aware of the darkness that so envelops a girl who enters that environment. What man intended for harm, God is using for good. One of the unexpected blessings of this dinner was that both Srey Neth and Sochea are now planning to join us for an afternoon to help with the VBS in Svay Pak later this week. I am looking forward to having them there with us and am excited to see what God will do in their lives as they offer themselves in service for His purposes