Place of Rescue

There are some places in Cambodia that never change as God’s presence and peace reigns continuously in those locations. Place of Rescue an AIDS orphanage is one such place. In 2003 when I went on my first visit to Place of Rescue, construction of 10 new orphan homes were just being completed. With each passing year when I return, I continually am amazed at how the Lord continues to enlarge His vision that He gave Marie Ens, a retired 75 year old widow who oversees Rescue. This year a school is being built on the grounds and another 10 new homes are being added.

Mat Yei (Grandmother) Marie Ens with Srey Nich

The Volleyball and basketball court

10 New orphan homes

The new school building

Genie and her kids
Sopheak and Srey Nih


In attending Place of Rescue’s monthly birthday party, it feels like an oasis in the midst of a desert. This is the one place where God’s light shines so brightly amidst the darkness. It is a place of hope for the grannies who survived the Pol Pot era, the factory girls who are pregnant and who have a choice to give birth to their babies rather than abort them; to the kids whose parents are dying of AIDS and those whose parents have abandoned them---each of these represent different stratas of society and yet God has a plan and purpose for their lives to redeem them, restore their dignity and repay the years the locust have eaten from them. He has not forgotten them.

Coming here after our two weeks in in Svay Pak, I am struck by the stark difference between the kids at Svay Pak and the kids at Rescue. It is like night and day. The kids at Rescue reflect a calmness in their spirit and despite the fact that they are orphans, they radiate God’s peace and love. They are not rowdy but are polite. Watching the older teens lead worship and hearing all the kids pray blessings on those whose birthdays were this month I can’t help but think how God must be so delighted with these young hearts who are worshipping Him in Spirit and in truth. As the evening progressed the teenagers began to dance to Christian worship music. Indeed they were dancing for Jesus and having so much fun in such a pure way. It was share joy just watching them. Some of our team participated in the festivities as the orphans taught them some khmer dancing.

It is a breadth of fresh air being here. The Spirit roams freely unlike the oppressive spirit that seems to hover over Svay Pak. Yet God does not discriminate. He is at work in Svay Pak through the ministries at Rahab house and so one day I look forward to hearing and seeing Him transform broken and vulnerable lives in that community into people who will follow hard after Him. People who will worship Him with the same freedom and joy as those we see at Place of Rescue.

On Sunday we travel south to Kep for a 3 day mini rest stop. I don't think we'll be having any internet access so for now its time to just chill and allow the Lord to minister to each of us from the experiences He has given to us.

Svay Pak - The Last Day

Saying our final goodbyes!

Kimsin from CEF



Cakes from Daughters Cambodia

Our last day at Svay Pak began with 15 of us piled into our van filled with all the backpacks, the decorations and crafts. We had a late start as our van got stuck in traffic as two different convoys of people representing two of the political parties were parading down the street as the Cambodian national elections are on this Sunday. When we finally arrived at Svay Pak the kids were already waiting for us. We were greeted with a large bunch of kids screaming with excitement as they swarmed around the van. We felt like celebrities with kids calling out our names and wanting to touch us as we made a way towards the entrance of Rahab. The challenge was getting all our stuff from the van into the building. Thankfully Clay from AIM along with some of CEF staff cleared a path for us as we formed a small assembly line to get all the gifts into Rahab house. We were not quite sure how the logistics would work given the fact that each day brought more and more kids and unexpected surprises. Organizing all the activities requires flexibility as each day we would take stock of what worked and what didn’t. Today however, the program was going to be different as our CEF partners would do a puppet show and the ‘plan’ was to have all the kids decorate their ‘crowns’ for our Kingdom Kids party. We would then hand out cake made by one of Ratanak’s partners Daughters Cambodia. Following that, the kids would line up to receive a backpack which contained a teddy bear made by Char’s student, a t-shirt with our logo ‘Kingdom Kids’ and a verse from Psalm 45:11 translated in Khmer which said: The King is enthralled by your beauty, honour Him for He is your Lord.” We also included a note pad, pen and pencil.

We were running late frantically putting up all the decorations and arranging the room in such a way to avoid any chaos for our ‘plans.’ Outside we would hear the kids chattering and knocking at the doors. When the doors finally opened up the kids came piling in and we had them arranged in circles but like everything else, the circles got larger, kids were wanting to move to another circle some didn’t want to sit down. I suppose one would call this ‘organized chaos’! It is easy to feel overwhelmed in this kind of setting as the noise and chatter of the kids adds to the frenzy. At some point the crowns were being handed out to decorate, pandemonium ensued…little hands grabbing and reaching out, wanting to make sure they were not left out or forgotten. Some getting up and coming to the front. I think I used the words ‘ah tay’ (which means ‘no’), somtoh (sorry) and ‘chop chop’ (stop) way more than I had for the entire week! Nonetheless, in the midst of that chaotic fun, it was neat to just watch each of these youngsters with the crowns on their head. I can’t help but wonder how many of them are wearing the crown of thorns right now and will one day wear the crown of glory.

We did a headcount of the kids and realized that 150 food packets would not be enough. The numbers appear to be around 170 but that was easy to solve as it was easy to just ask the restaurant vendor to make more food packets and so we requested an increase to 180. The harder problem was how to decide who would get the 130 backpacks that we had. Another call for creative thinking of how to make our 5 loaves and 2 fish multiply --- help God! We took out some of the teddy bears from the teenage kid knapsacks and decided that the younger kids would get the bears. We had also bought extra note pads and pencils to give out as prizes and those became handy to give to the younger ones who didn’t receive a knapsack. Unlike previous times when we have handed out stuff, the kids didn’t complain or grumble. They accepted what we had to offer and seemed contented with the gifts they received. I am thankful to God for that in itself was a small miracle.

Saying goodbye to them was not easy as we gathered up in the front I found myself quite emotional and all I could utter out of my mouth in Khmer was that Jesus loved them and that we loved them too. At that point, my mind went blank as I was overcome by emotion. I am thankful to Char who God used at that very moment as she stepped up and spoke to them while Kimsin translated. She told them that we were here in Svay Pak because Jesus had sent us to show them His love. We had come in His name because we love Him and we hope that they will love Him as we do.

It is still too early to process all that transpired in Svay Pak but as I did my final walk around with the food packets that were left over from the Kingdom Kids party, some of the kids followed along still wearing their little crowns. They were the ones directing me on who to give the food to. Each time we do this we tell the person in Khmer that Jesus loves them. We trust that the Lord will take whatever seeds we have planted here and water them that they will ultimately know the One who wore the crown of thorns and who now wears the crown of glory. For now, our time here has ended but God’s presence remains there as AIM4Asia plans to start a school at the end of this month at Rahab House. While it is never easy to say goodbye, I am reminded of a quote I once heard from my favourite bible teacher Beth Moore---when we love in Jesus’ name it never fails. I trust that as we have sought to love these precious ones in His name that the aroma and fragrance of Christ has touched them in such a way that they will never be the same. And so we entrust them into His care and as I think of them, the song from Tommy Walker called ‘He knows my name’ is my prayer and my hope for them.

I have a Maker

He formed my heart

Before even time began

My life was in his hands

Chorus

He knows my name

He knows my every thought

He sees each tear that falls

and He hears me when I call

I have a Father

He calls me His own

He’ll never leave me

No matter where I go

Chorus

He knows my name

He knows my every thought

He sees each tear that falls

and He hears me when I call

On Saturday we will be visiting another set of kids at Place of Rescue. This is such a far cry from Svay Pak and I look forward to seeing Theary my 'little daughter'. More to come as we prepare to leave the city to head to Kep for a 3 day rest.

We need power!

Friday July 25th

I find it hard to believe that today was the last day - even though I have worked at many camps and I knew that the time would fly by! This camp was like no other experience for me. On a daily basis we didn't know how many kids would come, or if there would be electricity to run the fans and lights. We didn't know which CEF workers would join us, or what the day would bring. What I did know was that God would be faithful to supply all our needs and I can honestly say that I did not worry about the details. Today was a perfect example of that. As I mentioned the power has been less than reliable. With no fans running , limited airflow and no lights it has been very arduous to keep the attention of the children through no fault of their own! I found it hard to sit still in the dim light and 35 + degree heat. On Wednesday night we prayed that God would give us power for the morning and sure enough, the power stayed on for the morning - only! I thought to myself why didn't I ask specifically for the whole day?!!

So we prayed last night for God to give us power for Friday until we had to leave! As a special treat on our Last Day Celebration CEF brought a puppet display with sound and lights (I think you know where this is going!). It was more important for us to have power on the last day as we wanted it to be a great party. Our plan was to decorate the room with balloons and streamers before the children arrived, and then we would make the craft - paper crowns- that went along with our theme of Kingdom Kids Day Camp. CEF would preform their puppet show and then we would serve cake, say our goodbyes, and give them a lunch and a backpack filled with a t-shirt, a teddy bear, a pen and pencil and a notebook! This day had so much packed into it, and it depended in part on the power! When we entered the building the moment of anticipation ended when Joseph and Ratanak attempted to switch on the power - NO ELECTRICITY!

I called a couple of people to pray and we cried out to God who has all power to come and give us some! We had to begin and could not wait any longer so the children excitedly entered the room. There were so many of them! I was stationed in a corner to make crowns with them and the circle kept growing and growing and growing! In the end I had 40 + children circled around me all wanting me to staple their crown to fit their head and wanting more stickers to put on it! All the leaders were overwhelmed with the sheer numbers and what we would do under the circumstances.
Not 10 minutes into their arrival and the lights came on and the fans started to whirl! The room erupted with praise but I think my praise to God was the loudest! Why was I so amazed that God came through? He has shown me His faithfulness time and time again. What a great God we serve!

I am amazed that the entire day went seamlessly. There were so many details to attend to, but in the end all that needed to be done occurred. The room looked festive, we had enough food, we had electricity (praise God!), we had enough presents for all the children, and they knew that we came in Jesus' Name.

There is one more thing I would like to share with you. It was a gift to me from God. There is one boy that captured my heart. He is a ragtag vivacious, outspoken, somewhat ADHD kid that serenaded us on our lunch sometimes to our displeasure! He would sit on top of a ledge as we tried to rest in the heat of the day and would belt out this Khmer song about a girl that left a boy!!!! Oh my! I won't soon forget his voice! This boy only came to camp in the afternoons and while I don't know what he does in the mornings, he usually showed up around noon. I started looking for him today because I wanted to give him the present but there was no sign of him. I even put one aside for him but in the end it was needed to give to another deserving young girl. As we were cleaning up Cathy found a backpack that had fallen aside so I grabbed it and said this must be for him!!!! Still, he did not come and we were almost ready to leave. There was some food left over so Lisa and I decided to walk around Svay Pak to distribute the food to people in need. As we walked down a side street Lisa called out and said, " here he is!!!" I screamed his name which was slightly inappropriate but I couldn't contain my enthusiasm and joy in seeing him! He seemed to know that I had something for him and he left what he was doing and followed me back to Rahab's House. We talked the whole way back and I couldn't understand his Vietnamese, and he couldn't understand my English but somehow our hearts were speaking. It was so amazing to give him this little token of our love and I am thankful to God for not letting him be left out. My prayer is that he will one day sit on the rooftops and sing praises to the most High God who he knows as His personal Saviour. I pray that he will be saved from the "normal" of Svay Pak and be transformed into the wonderful young man God has made him to be. I am not naive to think that this will be an easy thing given all that we have seen and experienced, but if my God will come down and turn on the lights I believe that He will come down and make a way for this one.

The Men & Boys in Svay Pak

Each day as our van entered into Svay Pak there is a local hangout at the top part of the main street corner where groups of men from the community tend to gather. Their daily ritual appears to be sitting around, smoking and playing cards or billards all day long or sleeping. I have been told that the men and young teenagers in Svay Pak often act as pimps. It is hard not to judge these men and at times keep an open mind that they too are in need of a Savior. Initially when we first drove by the local area, we received a bunch of stares from them. It’s almost as if Satan had parked his own bodyguards at the entrance of his territory and was trying to intimidate us. But in recent days we started getting waves or smiles from these very men when we drove by. Yesterday I went with one of the AIM helpers Ratanak and walked over to where they were---the main reason really was that I wanted to get a photo of them so we decided to ask them directly if it was okay. Their reaction was positive and not what I would expect. But then again, the darkness disguises itself as light.

On a second street corner we have also observed another set of men who daily stand around and appear to take note of all who walk up and down the street. Each day I have passed them by enroute to pick up the food packets for the kids at the VBS. Both Ratanak and I usually smile at them and greet them in Khmer. I took a photo of them as well and they chuckled when I showed it to them. Interestingly enough there is one guy who deliberately avoided having his face taken. I can only imagine why.

Around Rahab House we have noticed that whenever the Newsong girls come by on Tuesdays and Thursdays there is a group of young men---probably around 18 years who are trying to get the girls attention. They usually play with a hackey sack just outside Rahab house but yesterday they peered into see what we were doing. At one point, some of them appeared to be taunting a couple of the Newsong girls through their comments. Fortunately Clay a young American guy who works with AIM was also around. He was acting as bodyguard outside the building and would act as a barrier between them and the girls. At one point I found myself quite irritated with these boys as they seem to be jeering the girls on---perhaps they were just trying to get noticed and obviously were not having too much success but something in my spirit told me otherwise so I took the liberty of also speaking a few words to them in Khmer. They laughed at me and said a few words. In this environment, there is a mocking mentality---we see that with some of the kids as they pretend to say ‘sorry’ but don’t really mean it as a few minutes later they will hit another kid. These young men act the same way. It is not surprising, and so one learns not to personalize their reactions to us. I figure the best way to respond to this attitude is to give them a dose from heaven---ie: pray for transformation of their hearts. After all, God is the One who knows their hearts and it is ultimately the only One who can change them.

Friday is our final day at Rahab house...we are already having mixed feelings of leaving as our time with the kids here have been very meaningful. We see their joy and enthusiasm each day whenever we arrive as they run after our van on the main street screaming and waving and then crowd around us when the van's doors open. Each of them wanting us to notice them as they call out our names and touch us. It will be difficult to leave here as we have grown attached to them and they to us.

Physical and Spiritual Food

In the past few days I have been thinking how often we come to God with our own agendas. We think we know what we need and we come asking Him to meet that need. Yet God knows far better what we really need versus what we want. With each new day we continue to see an increase in kids as well as their mothers coming for the morning program. Yesterday we provided 125 lunches and we believe many of them are coming perhaps for the physical food. In the eyes of the kids and their families in this community, this is the immediate need…to satisfy the physical hunger. This is their agenda. But God is using that medium to draw them in for something better---the spiritual food that only He can provide. His plans for us are so much bigger and larger than what we envision for ourselves. We are seeing the unfolding of the holistic aspects of the gospel to provide an environment where both the physical and spiritual components work hand in hand. Jesus said that He is the Bread of Life and it is our prayer that as much as the children and adults are coming for physical nourishment, that God is feeding their souls with His spiritual food that will satisfy the deepest longings within their own hearts. Indeed may each of these who come taste and see that the Lord is good.

Partnerships in the Gospel

Our AIM Friends Ratanak and Yosef

A picture of Kimsin and Gannaya from CEF Cambodia teaching the morning VBS lesson.

One of the many blessings we have experienced on this trip is the local Cambodian partnerships that God has given us as a team. We could not accomplish much if it were not for these different partnerships. We are grateful for the two young men: Ratanak (yes what a name) and Yosef who are currently in a discipleship training program for pastors by AIM4Asia Founder Moses Seth. Both Ratanak and Yosef are sons of pastors and they were assigned to help us out at Svay Pak since they have spent a lot of time ministering in that community. They both have different gifts yet work so well together. Yosef helps us with the bible story time and leads the kids in worship in our afternoon sessions. He is very talented and has a natural ability to connect with the kids. Ratanak stands at the door and welcomes the kids and monitors the kids behaviour while we are doing our activities. He also ensures that Rahab House is kept clean and each afternoon any one of us on the team will follow his lead as he will go outside of the centre and pick up the garbage that is littered all around the front of the building. The kids also notice his servant heart and some of them will offer to pick up the garbage as well.

Yesterday Ratanak, Yosef and I along with three little tour guides who were no more than 3 feet tall led us along the narrow alley ways in Svay Pak to deliver a little lunch packet to one of the little girls who had attended the VBS in the morning session but left early as she had a bruise on her head. I had taken her home with some of the other little ones earlier that morning which gave me the perfect opportunity to pray for her and the two other girls who directed my path to her home. When we all got to the little shack where the family lived Ratanak took the opportunity to pray for the family and also to let them know about the VBS at Rahab House and to invite them to the church service that has started there. It was such a precious moment for me as God was using all of us in different ways to be His salt and light.

Our other partners have been the team from Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) in Cambodia. The teams from CEF have had an amazing ability to engage the kids and to manage their unruly behaviour in such a way that the kids calm down and participate in all the praise and worship and listen to the bible lesson. We have also noticed what a blessing that CEF is for Josef and Ratanak as there has been indirect mentoring going on as both young men observe how the CEF workers lead the kids in the morning activities. IN some sense I cannot help but wonder that our main purpose for this VBS is really to connect the AIM workers with our CEF friends. God has used that particular partnership to enhance the program and allowed all of us to gain a greater understanding of how to minster to kids in this context.

Svay Pak - Pastor Lap?

There are some kids who stand out in their kindness and their leadership skills. Over the past few days we have observed Lap and one thing that stands out about him is his thoughtfulness and the way he looks after the other kids. One morning when he arrived he took the initiative to arrange the slippers of all the kids so that they lined up properly. Most of the kids would tossed their slippers aside but not Lap. He has a very sweet and gentle spirit and each day we see him listening to the bible stories. He is the one who lines up the kids for us when we are playing games. Other times he is helping the little ones as seen in this photo. One day he and a few boys led my teammate Genie to the Catholic church which is down the street in Svay Pak and showed her a statute of Jesus. He wanted his photo taken with that statue.

Following that, the Lord spoke to Genie about some of the boys who had displayed leadership tendicies. As Genie and I were praying one night for the boys and particularly ones that we had connected with him, the Spirit seem to give an impression to me to pray for Lap as the Pastor of Rahab House. Since that day as we watched him, he seemed to exhibit those shepherding qualities. We don't know what the future is for these kids in Svay Pak but God knows and we have felt the need to pray into what we see. For Lap, we see the attributes of a servant heart, a tender spirit and leadership qualities.