Genie's Prayer Letter

As you know, I’m going to Cambodia…on a missions trip!!! This is truly a God-thing! As many of you know, I have always had an unhealthy apprehension about going on missions due to my past history of being chronically ill. Some of you know the story behind my decision to take this plunge, in what would seem to many, a commonsensical and natural experience for any Christian. For those with whom I haven’t had the opportunity to share, my testimony will be found near the end.

When and with Whom?
I will be leaving on July 10 and returning on August 2 with five amazing and individually unique women, each of whom have an incredible story of their own; please visit our blog to read about their personal stories…you will definitely be inspired! When I return from my trip, you will hear me talk a lot about my Cambodia teammates: Brenda, Charlene, Janice, Hiroko, and Lisa (Team leader).

Where and Why?
Our purpose, priority, and objective will be to spend time with the Cambodian children, just loving them and imparting in them the love and saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We will be running a kids’ club outreach program for which we have planned a variety of activities such as crafts, games, music, food and Jesus! The theme of our program is “The King’s Kids” and we’ll be having a “Kingdom Banquet” at the conclusion of the program. (pretty neat, eh?) Through this program, we’re praying that each precious child will individually experience the joys of simply being a “kid” again, with all that it “should” mean to be a kid. The children we will be working with are ones who have tragically been sold into the sex-trade or are at serious risk of being sold. We will be staying in the capital city, Phnom Penh, and working in a brothel area in Svay Pak at an outreach centre called “Rahab House”. When we arrive, I’m so excited about seeing the faces of all the kids when we give each of them a teddy bear to have as their own. These teddy bears are particularly special because they were hand-made by Charlene Pollock’s high school students with the specific intent of blessing these Cambodian children…isn’t that awesome!!! Additionally, we may have the opportunity to partner with some Cambodian girls at an aftercare centre funded by Ratanak called NewSong. What is truly exciting and praiseworthy about this is that these girls are former child prostitutes who are now Christ followers! Also, we will be visiting a number of other organizations, e.g., International Justice Mission, and Daughters Cambodia. At the heart of these organizations is the mission/desire to help the victims of the sex-trade.

Prayer Requests:
1) Team unity (that we love each other and serve each other with Christ’s love)
2) Safety of team members and team members’ families
3) My health before, during, and after my trip
4) The safety, health, and protection of my friends and family here
5) For the Holy Spirit to fill us with God’s love, strength, protection, compassion and power to make a positive difference in the lives of each Cambodian we meet (adult and child alike)
6) Ongoing protection of our spirit, mind and bodies.

Testimony (how I decided to go to Cambodia)

I have a spiritual mentor, Lisa Cheong, who has blessed my life in ways beyond articulating. She was someone who was always giving of her time, resources, wisdom, prayers and pouring richly into my life. Naturally, I wanted to find a way to return to her some of the love that she had shown me, so when I found out that she was putting together a conference that aimed to bring awareness of sex-trafficking of children (“Slaying the Giant”), I immediately took this as an opportunity to return some of the blessings she had given to me. Despite my strong aversion to hearing about all the gruesome and heart-rending facts/stories about the sex-trafficking of children, I told Lisa that I would be her personal gopher and serve and support her in any capacity she needed. Well, Lisa, in her Godly way said that I was not serving her, but rather serving God and that He would use this experience to bless me. Well, Genie, in her worldly way thought, “sure, sure, my mission is to bless you Lisa.” Around that time, Lisa asked me if I wanted to go to Cambodia with her. Without pondering the idea, I forcefully responded with an unequivocal, “NO!” Little did I know what God had up His sleeve. At the conclusion of the conference, I felt a sense of accomplishment on two fronts: 1) I was able to be there for Lisa and 2) I was able to avoid attending the seminars that would cause me to feel “uncomfortable”. Well, was I ever wrong. Lisa asked me to bring home some things from the conference and give them to her the following day at my church as she would be there with Brian McConaghy (one of the speakers at the conference). Brian McConaghy is the founder of a non-profit organization called Ratanak. (This foundation’s principal objective is to help bring healing and the love of Christ to the suffering people of Cambodia.) I told Lisa that I would meet her the following day with her things. Well, the next morning, I woke up and had a terrible realization—Brian McConaghy would be the guest speaker at my church! That would mean that he would be talking about the child sex-trade…and I would have to listen!! I was so bothered by this that I prayed in my spirit and told God that I didn’t want to go to church that morning because I really did not want to hear Brian McConaghy speak. I continued to grumble about that in my spirit while getting ready for church. While I was blow-drying my hair, I heard God say to me, “Genie, it’s not up to you to decide what breaks your heart.” I didn’t understand at all what that had meant, so I simply dismissed those words. I arrived at church and sat near the front. Brian McConaghy spoke and immediately I was enraptured by what he had to say. He is an eloquent and gifted speaker who recounts stories in such a vivid and tangible way. I was absolutely engrossed in what he was saying up until the point he started talking about two girls named New and Song. Well, at that point, I felt tears streaming down my face and as well my nose was running. How embarrassing I thought. As I tried to suppress my tears, my entire body started to shake. I was absolutely mortified, but I couldn’t stop myself from crying and shaking. At the conclusion of Brian’s talk, I was reminded of what God had said to me while I was blow-drying my hair. At that moment, I told God that if he wanted me to go to Cambodia, that I would go. However, I told God that he would have to show me a clear sign that He indeed wanted me to go as I didn’t want to go based on the emotional experience I had. As I was prepared to leave the church with a friend, Brian McConaghy walked in our direction. I took the opportunity to talk with him and tell him about my fears about going on missions. Brian McConaghy shared some uplifting stories that served to reassure me about the idea of possibly going on missions…some time in the distant future, so I thought. Well, a few days later I received an email from Brian McConaghy in which he shared some inspiring Bible verses along with words of incredible encouragement about being strong and simply trusting in our big and good God. The email challenged and fueled my spirit, and at that point I slowly opened up my heart to going to Cambodia with Lisa. A short time later I began to get sick again. I was filled with fear and decided against the idea of going. However, through a series of events, (books I read, people I talked to) it was clear that God wanted me to go. As I’m writing this now, I’m trying to fight off an ear/throat infection. Admittedly, in the recent past, I have been suffering from bouts of doubt and fear about going. Nevertheless, the Cambodian team (my prayer princesses) have been interceding for me and I feel encouraged and spurred on to fight the good fight! Hence, I’m still going to Cambodia…on a missions trip!!

Thank you so much for reading this letter. (yes, it was very long!) I have written this letter with the hopes that God would lead you through his Spirit to cover myself and my team as we go into a very dark place where, only through Christ’s power, are we able to shine His light.

With love from Christ Jesus,
Genie