So far so good. It is really really hot here but wonderful. The people are amazing, sweet, gentle, helpful, and beautiful. The Cambodian people are a very beautiful people, especially the children.
This morning we went to church with CHO {Cambodian Hope Organization}, it is humbling to worship God in another country with another people. One of the members of our team, Jamey Dickens, spoke this morning - the tradition here seems to be to have guests teach at service. Jamey's message was very encouraging to me, and we hope that it was encouraging to the people here. He talked about "Walking Like Jesus Walked". When we look around and wonder where God is when we see the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, and the needy we need to look in the mirror. God is in us, we are the ones to help the poor, the oppressed, the hungry and the needy. We are the hands and feet of God. So look around you, and ask yourself: What can I do?
I was encouraged and challenged. Because sometimes the need is so great that I tend to get overwhelmed and don't do anything. So I just need to start with what I know. What would it look like to walk as Jesus walked in that moment?
So we are here to learn, how can we as a church come along side of these people, how can we help them? What CHO is doing is amazing, but the need here is SO great. As I walk the streets I am overwhelmed with the filth. There does not seem to be a central waste management system. Trash is everywhere.
It is hot, and most of the homes that we have seen are exposed to the elements. Some people appear to not even have homes. Some of the men who are Tuk Tuk drivers seem to sleep in their vehicles.
The clothing some of the people are wearing are filthy and torn. I saw a man this morning working and his shirt had a big hole in the back and his pants were very torn. There does not seem to be a lot of knowledge about hygiene and medical care. We are dealing with a culture where some people believe that if you have AIDS you can be cured by having sex with a virgin. So in order to guarantee that you are "getting" a virgin the men have sex with younger and younger girls. Some as young as five - see the picture at the top of this email for a reference of a young innocent Cambodian girl. So not only are they ignorant in that but what about the little girl? What about the value of her life? Even if we were not dealing with the fact that having sex with a child is inconceivable what about the person these men are using to "cure" themselves. What about the fact that now you are passing your disease onto someone else. Is their life not valuable? Why is this mans life more valuable than hers? What makes this country think this way? Why is it ok to sell your child because you are hungry? As a mother myself, I would sell myself and give the food to Maggie. As a mother, I think that this is the way it should be. Why is this not the thought here? Why are there 14,000 to 24,000 street children here in Cambodia? Where are the parents of these children? We are not talking teenagers who have run away from home. We are talking about young children who live on the streets. How did they end up here? Where are the mothers of these children? How can a mom live with herself knowing that her child is living on the streets in danger every minute of every day? I just don't understand this. I would die for my child.
So as we are here learning and observing and experiencing the world that these people live in, pray for us. There is a big need here, an overwhelming need that seems impossible to meet. But in the midst of this, we know that we serve a big God and nothing is impossible with him. We are his hands and his feet and we must press on and continue to walk as he would walk.
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