Making Keys

Getting anything done in Cambodia is always quite interesting. You can learn a lot about a place by the way things are done and so it is with having an extra set of keys made. Today after doing some banking which I might add is becoming much easier as I know the routine now and long gone are the days I am in the bank for an hour just to make a deposit or withdraw funds or to get a bank statement. Now its in and out for the most part,  or at most it takes 30 minutes. All of these little things are reasons for rejoicing!

So with some time to spare, I was on the hunt to find a place that would  make me a set of new keys for the Ratanak office apartment. Who better to ask that my tuk tuk driver. After all, tuk tuk drivers are the human version of the yellow pages or the google website in Cambodia. They usually know where to find everything or any thing you need as long as you can explain it properly, they will find it. My tuk tuk driver is a sweet young man and so off we went on the hunt. Its not like you can go to a mall and find a store that copies keys. Rather, you go on a treasure hunt search, driving a long the streets of Phnom Penh looking for a small kiosk just like a street vendor that says ''Copy Key''---thankfully I just learned the word for ''key" the other day so the best way to practice the language is to use what you have learned right away so that you have a better chance to remember it all.  If any of you have ever seen the T.V show called Ámazing Race---that show best describes what it likes to enter into a new culture and new environment. You are constantly on the hunt to find stuff and search for the right people to help you.

Anyway, I digress, so after one unsuccessful attempt we found our copy key man. He pulled out his 'key machine' from his small cabinet/cupboard and went to work making my two extra keys.  He charged $1.00 per key which is about the same that I had paid previously and really, in the whole scheme of things there are times that bargaining for a 20 cent discount or less is just not worth the time nor the energy. While he got to work in making the extra keys, I was most amused at  how he was getting his electric power to use his machine. The wires were attached to a tree next to his vendor stand and they were crudely connected to the electric cables wires that were above the tree.

Unfortunately the picture above does not provide a great view of the "electric power" connection but if you look closely you can see the wires going up the street. In this part of the world, this kind of set up works. I'm not exactly sure if the vendor is getting free electricity this way but if anything, I am always amused at the innovative ways that Cambodian people have in getting the simplest tasks done. They really know how to make do with less and they teach me much about creativity---something that this left brain person is certainly lacking!

RATANAK UK TEAM - Hope Where There Is No Hope

Comments from Steve Norman, Ratanak UK Director

Today has been a long day. We set out this morning for a visit to Tuol Sleng Museum in the heart of Phnom Penh. This former secondary school was turned into a prison of torture during the Khmer Rouge campaign between 1975-79. Between 14 and 22,000 people of all ages were systematically and brutally tortured to admit crimes against the revolution they had not committed. Each victim was meticulously photographed before being subjected to unimaginable horror. As I walked around I read of the Buddhist belief that unless a person receives a proper burial then they will wander around as ghosts and not find rest. This is a huge issue in this nation and, given that over 2.5 million people died at the hands of this regime, it is understandable why the faces of many are downcast for their relatives who they believe are still in this place.

From Tuol Sleng we took a 15km tuk tuk ride to Cheoung Ek – a genocide memorial and the final resting place for the thousands of tortured victims. Walking around this is a peaceful environment with large colourful swallowtail butterflies and dragon flies in an assortment of colours. And yet – only a few short years ago, while I was a happy 11 year old, thousands of people met their end with the cruel blow of a bamboo pole to the skull and babies were smashed against a tree which still bears the marks. Along the walkway bones and teeth are visible as the earth gives up the dead after the rains. To imagine this place back then is beyond imagination. It is a necessary experience and yet an unpleasant one. I have walked this path before 2 years ago and was saddened the – today I am broken.

I thank my Lord tonight for the stability of the nation in which I reside.

Tomorrow we will be visiting NewSong and Svey Pak. In the afternoon we will be at the kids club where we will join 350 children – many of whom are being subjected to sexual assault as I type. We will also visit The Sanctuary and Rahab’s house and see that there is hope even in this darkest of places. A hope that Christ only can bring.

RATANAK UK TEAM - A Weekend in Siem Reap

Ratanak UK Team Visiting Siem Reap

Comments from Steve Norman - Ratanak UK Director
The two days spent in Siem Reap have produced so many memories and encounters. From the official dedication on the library through the majesty of Angkor Wat to a final farewell to children and university students working tirelessly to effect change not only on their own lives but also on their communities.

The opening ceremony was attended by nearly 300 people from all walks of life including Government officials, the Chief of Police, community elders and the children. To have a celebration with such an overtly Christian content amongst such dignitaries is in itself unusual. Here I was able to present the Chief of Police with a speed radar which was kindly donated for me to bring over. What followed was a radio call and an impromptu training session to around 15 members of the local force! We all stood in the middle of a dirt track whilst they took it in turns to ride up and down so each could observe and learn. The hope is that with some official endorsement lives will be saved on the surrounding roads.

The community library project provides opportunities for up to 10,000 children in the catchment area to access the internet and use the library and sports facilities. This is the only internet anywhere in this area and for the first time children are able to experience the wider world. They work tirelessly to perfect their reading and computer skills as well as enjoying the recreational facilities. These children live in some of the poorest situations imaginable so readily grasp these opportunities to change their situations.

I also had the privilege to meet the two young men who we  are sponsoring through university as they sat and shared devotions and a personal time of worship. Both are doing well in their first term.

Today we visited Angkor Wat, a world  heritage site and location of some 1200 year old temples. As I looked at these  vast monuments with their intricate carvings all I could ponder was how much  time and energy was put into building these over centuries. Then I reflected on  how much time I sometimes put in to my relationship with God and stood ashamed.

Now we are back in Phnom Penh and the  tougher second week begins with a visit to S21 – a prison during the Khmer Rouge reign where between 14 and 22,000 people were ritually tortured. It is then on to Cheoung Ek – the killing where each of these individuals were executed including children and babies. To see this is to begin to understand the tragedy experienced by the majority of the populous.

The team are doing great and this evening we have been joined by Jason from Australia who has fitted right in. Thank you again for your messages of support and ongoing prayers

RATANAK UK TEAM - Only In Cambodia

Steve Norman, Ratanak UK Director is visiting with a team of 5 people from the UK. Here are some of their blog postings from the last couple of days.

Today was the first full day for the UK team in Cambodia. Having spent 17 hours on 3 different aircraft over some 8000 mile we boarded yet another plane to head up to Siem Reap. Thank fully this was a mere 50 minutes! The temperature on leaving Phnom Penh was 34 and on negotiating customs I was asked to surrender my deodorant as it exceeded the maximum size – you can only imagine! Thankfully things cooled down to a lesser 30 degrees by Siem Reap though the crisis remained. Somewhat ironically my other luggage carried speed detection equipment consisting of battery, wires, etc. and this was not questioned…!

Cambodia is a beautiful nation and this is no different when in the air. From this point we were able to observe the extent of the floods which have claimed 147 lives since September and left many homes damaged beyond repair. As the paddy fields emerge from the flood waters the extent of the damage is being discovered. In amongst this devastation there may be still time if additional crops are planted quickly. With rice forming a significant part of the staple diet this action is so drastically needed to avert a crisis in the coming months.

After a short freshen up we were than away to the Hotel Mondial to experience an evening of traditional Khmer dance. The beauty and grace of the dancers is quite special. With a 7am start ahead, and the need to catch up on jet lag, it was time for an early night – or so we hoped. Inserting the card into the reader brought a definite lack of any form of response. Several attempts later with the same response drew the attention of a member of hotel staff. She too had no success until there were 4 all trying different cards and methods of entry to no avail. Eventually we were alerted to the sighs of relief and headed to the room to find a sight that will remain with me for many years. One of the hotel staff standing in the doorway with something resembling a washing line around his waist…! Yes – he had indeed abseiled through the window from the room above on the third floor on little less than string! Looking a little bemused he calmly picked up the string and walked away with it still coiled around him as if this was a normal everyday task. So – we are now in another room with a key that works, oh and another can of deodorant.

Tomorrow  we all leave early for the dedication of the Library and the presentation to the district governor of the aforementioned speed equipment. We are then challenged to a game of ground hockey outside in 30 plus degrees – no sweat! Sadly the plans to head out to Kopreach village with Reaksa on Saturday is cancelled as all the roads have been washed away – I guess that’s quite a good excuse!

2011 Cambodia Trip

Posted on November 1, 2011

A team of 5 people from the UK will be heading to Cambodia for a 12 day trip on 8^thNovember 2011. To start the team will be travelling north to Siem Reap to join with our partner Reaksa Himm for the formal dedication of the rural library. Here we will present speed detection equipment to the regional governor kindly donated by Unipar. This is the first device of its kind anywhere in Cambodia and it is hoped that it will help in reducing the number of road deaths in the area. Later the team will travel with Reaksa to Kopreach village.

On return to Phnom Penh we will be visiting the Foster Care centres, NewSong, Transitional Living and the Elder Care programme together with having meetings with Chab Dai and Prison Fellowship. A highlight of the trip will be on Wednesday evening when we will be privileged to take the girls from the two foster homes for tea together with their chaperones. The team, consisting of Liz, Susan, Tim, Debs and Steve, will be aiming to post regular updates on the blog pages – be sure to keep in touch

Water Festival

Since this past Wednesday, we have had a three day holiday in Cambodia although I was working for the past two days. These 3 days are the annual water festival (known locally as Bon Om Touk) where many tourists and people from the countryside come to the city to watch the boat races along the Tonle Sap river. However, as many of you know there has been a lot of flooding especially in Thailand but Cambodia has had its share. As a result, the Cambodian government decided to cancel the boat races this year and use the funds that were designated for the Water Festival to help those who have experienced losses as a result of the floods. The festival is also known as the reversing current. It is a celebration each year of the river reversing from its course upward towards the Tonle Sap Lake to flow downstream allowing the Tonle Sap lake to empty its waters to the Mekong river leaving behind fish in abundance.  

Nonetheless, the three day holiday is still on and as I live near the downtown core, close to the Independence Monument and a 15 to 20 minute walk down to the waterfront, the streets are buzzing with traffic and many people. Some of the main streets have been closed off as many people head down to the water to just hang out with their friends and families. It really is a beautiful site to see all the different little street vendors that appear from nowhere suddenly selling their food items. Others were selling fake designer handbags in the middle of the sidewalks not far from the police station. Its like an outdoor  market as you walk along the parks. There are the street photographers who will take your photo at the park. There is an outdoor concert where there are a variety of cultural dances. Many families bring their mats and camp out in the park or alongside the boardwalks having what appears to be a picnic. All of this creates a carnival atmosphere.

Tonight some of my 'Khmer Family' from Svay Pak came to visit me so that we could hang out together and walk down to the waterfront. I was trying to figure out what I could feed them and thankfully my friend Catherine came over to help me go shopping at the New Market (Psah Thamie) so that I could buy some local treats. One of the vendors we went to made some stir fried noodles with beef so we ordered 21 packets each costing just over $1.00.

 The 'Noodle Shop'

'BBQ squid and shrimp'

I wanted to buy some BBQ squid but the price was a bit high so we ended up buying some other deep fried rice and onion cakes and for dessert a coconut rice cake wrapped in banana leaves. Anyway, my entire meal for 20 people came up to $1.60 per person. It pays to shop locally and to eat locally!

Some of Pastor Chantha's disciples eating in the living room

 Night Concert

 Vendors selling green mangoes with a hot sauce---a local treat

Traffic on one of the main streets

After our meal we went for a walk down to the park and were headed to the local 'Disneyland' called "Dreamland'but there was quite a crowd to get in and decided that it was too much of a hassle so we opted to walk around but there were people every where.

Typically during the annual water festival, about 4 million people come to Phnom Penh ---either locals coming from the province or tourists. Well tonight as I walked around, I had never seen it so busy. The city really comes alive at night.  One of the things I am getting to enjoy is crossing the street. That in itself seems like such a silly comment to make but in this environment, on a busy day the streets look like the photo above and crossing them is like trying to navigate yourself through a traffic puzzle as you walk in between the motos and cars. It is actually quite a lot of fun trying to figure out what path you are going to take. In some ways its actually better being a pedestrian as the vehicles literally drive around you. But you have to be willing to jump into the fray of the traffic otherwise you will never cross the street. Tonight is the end of the water festival and tomorrow its business as usual. 

Here We Go Again!

Two years ago in the summer of 2009, I met a young girl in the brothel district who I shall call Srey Neth (not her real name). At the time she was about 9 years old and she had come to the pastor letting him know that her father was coming to take her to a brothel the next day.  This was not a new experience for her, in fact she had been seen in undercover video tape, being sold for sex as a tiny girl. The investigators were unable to catch the pedophiles, as a Khmer man has to actually be “in the act” of sex with a child in order to be prosecuted. Every day, Srey Neth would come to the Kids Club and every night, she was forced to sleep with grown men.  It had been going on for years. That day, I laid hands over her along with my team members and many people prayed for God to intervene in her life. At night I fasted for the first time in my life, pleading to God to spare her life. After all, she was in the kids choir singing weekly about her love for Jesus and her desire to serve Him. I gave her my necklace with a cross telling her that Jesus loved her and that whenever she felt scared to call on His name for protection. I also gave her a pendant with my name in Khmer on it and told her that I loved her and would pray daily for her and then I left not knowing whether I would see her again. God was challenging me to drink the cup of brokenness, the cup of suffering and the cup of faith – all at once as I entrusted Srey Neth into His safe keeping He was challenging me that in drinking this cup of investing in the lives of child sex slaves, we have to be willing to enter into their pain, their sorrow and their struggles.


Since that day in July 2009, Srey Neth had never been sold again. Her father never showed up to take her to the brothel. She is a cheeky eleven year old student, enrolled in not one but two schools, learning both English and Khmer!  Srey Neth's grandmother who attends the church in this brothel community stood up to the pedophiles and said, “No!” It was Srey Neth's story that inspired me to pray big and bold prayers to the Lord as I and many others witnessed His intervention in her life. So when I arrived in Cambodia 3 months ago, whenever I would visit Svay Pak, I always made it a point to see her and say hi and whenever she saw me, she would run up and just give me the biggest hug and would just hang onto me as we walked about the village. She was and is one of the spiritual children that I believe the Lord has blessed me with in this brothel community. 


This past Sunday as I was sitting with Pastor Chantha asking him how each of my little friends were doing, he told me that Srey Neth's grandmother was no longer living here and had moved to Vietnam last week. She had wanted to take Srey Neth and her sister Channa (not her real name) with her but their father was against that. Srey Neth and Channa have now been taken by their parents to live in Siem Reap. Pastor Chantha echoed my sentiments that he was worried and felt she was now at risk again of being sold given that her parents own a brothel in Siem Reap.


So here we go again. This little girl who God used in my life to deepen my faith and prayer life has disappeared. For two years, she was on a journey of freedom---free from abuse, free to be a child again and most importantly free to worship the Lord she has come to know and love and who she so wanted to serve. So what do we do with this? How does one cope with this news? After all, this is the ongoing issue for all of us who serve in this ministry. We constantly face bitter/sweet experiences --- one child rescued and then one child sold. How do we deal with the emotional rollercoaster of such a visible reality? How do we keep on going in the face of such news? How do we avoid being discouraged?

Earlier tonight, I shared with Melissa my Ratanak colleague that there are some burdens that we are called to bear and there are other burdens that we are called to give to the Lord. So in the face of this news, God once again is calling me to get on my knees and pray for Srey Neth. This is how He is challenging me to 'invest' in her life. To stand in the gap for her life, to not give up despite the unknown and the uncertainty surrounding her whereabouts. This is the 'burden' that I am called to bear---to be faithful to the process of praying for her but to leave the outcome to the Lord. The burden that I am called to give to the Lord is to entrust her safety into His care. It is times like this, we are called to stand in the truth in the midst of the darkness. God still sits on the throne. God is sovereign, God is in control of this situation, God knows exactly where Srey Neth is. God is faithful, He never changes, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Do we believe that in the face of this present reality? Do we believe that God can once again intervene in Srey Neth's life? Do we believe the Lord is mighty to save and deliver her from the hands of those who are seeking to destroy her life?

This ministry will challenge our faith in Christ at the very core as we 'walk' with these young girls because we are called to Hope against all hope just like Abraham did. We are called to take God at His word that He can and is able to do the impossible in their circumstances. How fitting it is that tonight of all nights, I would receive an email from a pastor who writes the following: I think about the Already/Not-Yet reality that defines the New Testament and the Church (then and now). The “Already” is that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His ministry of renewal has already begun. We as the church are meant to experience, daily, forgiveness of sins, his resurrection power over sin and the strength to join him in his work of renewing the world. This  means living and preaching a message of hope in Jesus Christ, and demonstrating that hope by the way we love others. The other dimension of the Kingdom is the “Not Yet”. While the renewal process has begun, with the resurrection of Jesus, all has not been made new and right on the earth. Injustice, sin and death still pervade our broken world. And the scriptures are clear that this present earth and heaven are passing away. Eventually, when Christ returns, he will usher in the new heaven and new earth, where finally Christ shall reign and have dominion “From sea to sea” and where all sickness, sorrow and pain will be gone. We recognize then that until this happens, we will continually experience and interact with pain and hardship and the devastating effects of sin. These encounters are meant to remind us that a better day is coming. As Paul says in 1 Cor 15, if the only hope we have is for this life, then we are to be pitied most.

Srey Neth's situation serves to remind me that we are once again faced with interacting with loss, suffering and pain. This is the 'not yet' dimension of God’s Kingdom; it’s why we engage now, today.  But we do this because we believe that Christ is their and our ultimate hope and as such, we are called to be the 'repairers and restorers' of the broken gates and walls as we actively pray, intercede and persevere in our commitment to see God's kingdom come in the lives of the young girls. And so, we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:4-5) May we demonstrate His hope and His love for the Srey Neth's of this world, by committing to battle in prayer for their lives believing that as we do, the 'already dimension' of God's kingdom has begun. The renewal process has begun because we are the carriers of His hope to those who live in hopeless situations.

Old Chicken, New Chicken!

For those of you who are new to our blog, the word "chicken" is the code name we use when we see a new pedophile visit the brothel community. Yesterday while Melissa and I were about to leave the village to head back to Phnom Penh, we were alerted to two ''Barang" another name for foreigner who were sauntering down the main street in their motos. One of them I recognized from last year when I was serving in Svay Pak. He apparently lives--- in Phnom Penh. He had a new friend on the back of his moto---an older gentlemen. They happen to drive up right in front of our building but their attention was focused on a building opposite The Sanctuary where some Vietnamese women were sitting. Shortly thereafter, they were seated just outside this home and someone from the local coffee shop brought them some ice coffees. It seems they know the women or at least the daughter of the women as she apparently speaks English. We were told that these women also want to protect the kids but I guess time will tell.

Old and New Chickens 

I continue to be amazed at how open some of these chickens are. One of them clearly was taking some notes as if he was doing research. They seem so unaware (or perhaps they didn''t care)  that there were people subtly looking in their directions. Some of Pastor Chantha's disciples were sitting in my tuk tuk 'hanging out' about 10 feet from them, while Melissa and I were with Pastor Chantha and Bunthan standing at the Sanctuary entry. It was a perfect photo opportunity.

These days it is very unusual to see the chickens sitting so casually and visibly for all to see. This was more reminiscent of the past as nowadays, most of the wheeling and dealing is done in the alley ways away from the main street to avoid detection. At any rate, for any who think that child sex trafficking is not alive and well in this area, we can tell them otherwise. We are aware that there are 17 girls under the age of 12 who come to the Sanctuary that are being sold on a daily basis. Out of those 17, there are two girls who are 5 years old. These are the ones that are known to the staff but we all believe that the numbers are much higher.

It is for these young ones that we ask that you would continually intercede for. God has brought them to His Sanctuary. It is not by accident or coincidence that they are there. It is these young ones that He is calling us His church to speak up for, to seek justice on their behalf. We continue to be thankful to our partners in this community whose very presence provides solace to many of these young lives. They act as God's watchmen and His shepherds, seeking to gather the little sheep and lambs from the wild animals that are preying upon them. They indeed act like The Shepherd in Ezekiel 34:11-16.  ¹¹ “‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.