Its Cold in Cambodia But Thankful for The Warmth of Friends

Its cold here----yes I know it may seem that I am becoming a bit of a wimp on this end but since the beginning of December that temperature has changed for the better. It is cooler something that I have never experienced before in all my years of visiting Cambodia. Okay so there is no snow and its not like a Canadian winter but it is winter in Cambodia at least for the next two months. So what's the temperature? Well normally we are used to 90 to 95 degrees each day but in the evening we are now going down to temperatures of 72 to 73 degrees and during the day time it is in the low 80s. Yes I know that sounds hot but really when you are sitting on a tuk-tuk and you get the breeze blowing you feel cold. The past two days, I had to wear long sleeve shirts and had my Krama (Cambodian scarf) around my neck. Tonight, I even had to wear my jacket. Now I know why people here wear fleece at night. You actually do need it. However, I haven't quite gone extreme in my clothing wear. Some times I see Khmer people wearing mittens....its cold but it ain't that cold ;-)

Srey Lin, Jaya and Jaya's grand-daughter Nah-Lisa

Anyway tonight I was out visiting some old Khmer friends who I have known since 2007. Jaya used to the country director of a transitional program (for girls who were once trafficked) that Ratanak funded many years ago. Two weeks ago, she spotted me on a tuk tuk when I was going to my bank and tonight she invited me over to her home for dinner. I also had the opportunity to meet Srey Lin, who used to be part of this program. Srey Lin was sold many years ago by her mother who is now serving a 14 year sentence in a Cambodian jail but many years ago she wrote a letter to her mother forgiving her for what she had done. Over the years, Srey Lin has worked at different jobs and now she is employed in a food store. At 24 years old, she works very hard, 7 days a week from 6am to 5pm and then goes to study English for 1 1/2 hours each day in the evening. When she gets home, she makes dinner for her siblings and father. I asked her tonight if she was tired from working so much without having any days off, but she said no. She likes what she does. Somehow I think young people her age in North America would not be able to handle such a workload. She demonstrates to me the resilience that I have so often seen among Khmer people. God seems to have given them an inner strength to persevere and overcome in some of the most dire and difficult circumstances.

Jaya too has an interesting background as her father was a Christian who is of Indian ancestry. Her mother who is still alive is half Cambodian and Thai. Her father used to work in the American embassy and so was able to leave Cambodia before the Pol Pot era. Unfortunately, Jaya and 3 other siblings stayed in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge era as they were living with their grandparents who didn't anticipate that Phnom Penh would fall into the hands of the Khmer Rouge in April 1975. While many of Jaya's relatives were murdered during that time, she managed to convince the Khmer Rouge that she was of Khmer descent. She tells the story of how the Khmer Rouge had arrested her and had tied her up and began to question her about her family background and where she lived and what her family did. They accused her of not being Khmer even though she has a dark complexion. In the Khmer Rouge era, any one who was of a fair complexion were seen as city people who were of the bourgeois and so they were often executed.


But Jaya managed to convince her interrogators that she was Khmer because she spoke the Khmer language like a Cambodian, she had the same colour skin as those who lived in the countryside and she told them that she was loyal to Angka (this was the name given to the 'Organization' by the Khmer Rouge. For the first two years of Khmer Rouge regime, most Cambodians had no idea who was running the country. All they were told was that the country was now run by Angka. No leaders were mentioned by name - there was only Angka. The less the people knew about Angka, so the idea went, the more effective (and powerful) Angka would be. For Jaya, her quick thinking at that moment prevented her from being executed on the spot. But as she shared tonight, she said 'I really believe that God protected me during that time because I don't know why they didn't kill me.'  

A Khmer dinner!

Tonight despite the cool temperatures it was great to be around the warmth of such friends and to experience the Khmer hospitality. Dinner tonight was made by Jaya's daughter-in-law and consisted of Vietnamese spring rolls, fish, Khmer vegetable soup, stir fried spinach in garlic and rice. A simple but very tasty meal.  I got to meet Jaya's grand-daughter, her daughter-in-law, son-in-law, daughter and brother. For in Khmer homes, its not just one or two people who live there but the extended family and so in this home, there are 8 people who live here.

Jaya has asked if I could come and spend Christmas Eve with them and pray a blessing over her family. I count that a privilege and honor to be part of their family activities on such a night.  God is showing me once again that during these special holidays, even though I am away from my own blood relatives, that in Him, He provides a family where ever I go or where ever I live. I am looking forward to spending time with this Khmer family and another opportunity to experience the warmth of Khmer hospitality! What a gift that will be for Christmas.

High Tea with a purpose

The Haven Tea Room

Today I went to the Haven Tea room for high tea....yes even in Cambodia there are places to go for high tea. It almost sounds snobbish but Haven Tea room was established 2 years ago by an Australian couple who are helping to provide employment to girls who either were abused or were at risk of being trafficked  The tea room offers a selection of delicious home cooked pastries, finger sandwiches and some serious little cup cakes --- all of which will add some additional love handles to your waist but it is worth it.

I went with 23 other women who all attend the International church that I go to. It was a fun time, sipping tea in fine bone china that was brought all the way from Australia. So we ate from 3pm to 6pm----okay we didn't eat for 3 hours straight but we ate a lot in a short space of time so much so that I did not eat dinner tonight. The total cost is $6.00 per person and you can eat all you want. So for those of you who love this kind of environment, it is money well spent (and calories well added) when you think of the fact that you are supporting a ministry that provides employment for former victims of trafficking as well as other marginalized young people. Indeed it is high tea with a purpose!

In Phnom Penh, it is not surprising to see different organizations or groups trying to find ways to create sustainable employment for the vulnerable. The folks who run The Haven Tea room also have a beauty salon that is now a training centre for 14 girls, some of whom had been rescued from the sex trade and human trafficking in Cambodia. This is a grassroots project which is teaching skills that will empower young women to create new lives and career. Providing the appropriate life skills is a step towards greater freedom for these young people as they begin a new chapter in their lives discovering their talents and gifts that will one day bless the communities they live in.

And so as you think of us at Ratanak, pray that the Lord will give us His visions on how best we can encourage, affirm and empower the young women who will be part of our centre and which organizations we should be partnering with who can provide the necessary training to strengthen and develop their God given potential.

Carol Sing-A-Long

Well December has arrived and everyone in Canada is talking about Christmas but here in Cambodia, its hard to get into the spirit of Christmas. There is no snow, there is no Christmas decorations on all the streets, the few malls we have here don't have Christmas music playing in the background so how does one get into the Christmas season?

Tonight Marie Ens invited me to join her as we went to a Carol Sing-a-long at a local cafe called Cafe Eden. It was an opportunity to sing both English and Khmer carols.  We arrived and it was quite dark with a few lighted candles thinking that this was the atmosphere our hosts were creating but here in Cambodia, you always have to expect the unexpected and the unexpected was there was no power! So one has to improvise. We sat at a small candle lit round table as we ordered our pizza since neither of us had eaten. We were here for the apple cider and ginger cookies but they were not to come until later. Sure enough, people started arriving and surprisingly many friends from the English church I attended came as they live nearby.

Just as the carol sing was about to begin, the power came back on and then went off again briefly before it stayed on for good. This is Cambodia so you go with the flow. We all gathered together and started to sing some of the old familiar songs that I am used to hearing back in Toronto at this time of the year. Here we were, expats from all over the world---Australians, New Zealanders, Irish, English, Canadian, American, Dutch along with some Khmer Christians---all of us declaring God's praises as we belted out the songs at the top of our lungs. It was beginning to feel like the Christmas season as we sang --- Away In A Manager, Silent Night, Joy To The World, O'Holy Night----I sat there for a while just taking in the environment---an open air house/restaurant at a street corner in a neighborhood surrounded by Khmer people proclaiming these truths of Christ in songs. I asked Marie what it would have been like during the 1960s and 1970s. She said in the 1960s it was so quiet here but in the 1970s, Pol Pot tried to shut all this down, to quiet the voices of those who would declare such praises to the Lord. God's plans will not be thwarted. His plans always prevail. What a wonderful opportunity for us to just proclaim who God is in song in this place at this time.

 Julie leading us in worship accompanied by Jill from Ireland and Sirac from Cambodia

Tonight as I began to reflect a bit more about Christmas, I am struck by the fact that that first Christmas some 2000 years ago was not full of fanfare as we see in North America. There were no Christmas trees, there were no lights decorating the streets, there were no fancy decorations. It was simple. A baby born in a manger, in a barn and not in a fancy home or hospital. The baby was surrounded by shepherds, not exactly important people.  Jesus birth was in a poor place, not unlike many of the areas that are here in Cambodia. So, in a strange way, celebrating Christmas in Cambodia is very special because all the materialism and consumerism of the West is stripped away and all we have and really all we celebrate is Jesus, nothing more and nothing less! The true meaning of Christmas is seen for all it is -- that Christ the Savior of the world was born and that is what makes it feel like Christmas! It is not a season, it is not a place, but it is a person---Christ Himself, God becoming incarnate that we might know Him personally!

The Gate

Last Friday I was in Svay Pak and noticed that the new gate is up outside of the Sanctuary. Why has this gate been added? God has provided much favor between the staff in Svay Pak and the local community. However, there are some elements of the community that want to intimidate our partners who are seeking to protect the children in Svay Pak. For some while, the staff have experienced persistent attacks at night when the main gate was closed. Stones are often thrown at the main entrance door, so much so that those who live on the ground floor of The Sanctuary building were often kept awake at night and were concerned about their safety.

Recently we shared this concern and in a short space of time the Lord raised up a generous donor in Australia who wanted to fund a new and more secure gate around the outside of the Sanctuary. Once again we continue to see how the Lord  provides and watches over His people who are seeking to protect the vulnerable within that community. This more secure gate blesses the staff with greater peace of mind and ultimately contributes to a safe haven for all who live and work and participate in the activities in The Sanctuary. Psalm 125 says:  ¹ Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,  which cannot be shaken but endures forever. ² As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people  both now and forevermore.

Precious Women

Last night I went on an outreach with a local NGO called Precious Women that was established just over a year ago by a gifted young Khmer woman by the name of Solida. God birthed in Solida's heart a desire to reach out to the women in the beer gardens and karoke bars. The women who work in these entertainment establishments are known as entertainment workers who are often propositioned for sex and can be subject to harassment from male guests. The girls are encouraged by their employers to encourage men to drink as much alcohol as possible and so the job often involves drinking with men. You can only imagine the type of raucous activity and behavior that can develop under those kind of circumstances. These situations ultimately lead to sexual exploitation and abuse.

Precious Women like many of the other organizations who want to help vulnerable women, desires to see these young women live with dignity, equality and hope. So last night, I joined two other missionary friends in this outreach. We first went to the office of Precious Women where we met the other volunteers. For me, it was a joy to meet young Khmer brothers and sisters in Christ who also have a passion to reach out to these exploited women. So often in Cambodian culture, women who are involved in any kind of sexual exploitation are shunned and so how encouraging it was to see that the Lord is changing the hearts of His people here, especially the younger generation who understand that to be followers of Christ is to demonstrate His love in tangible ways by reaching out to those who are in desperate situations.

I was surprised to see one young man who I met previously at the Chab Dai meetings. He and his wife have been volunteering at Precious Women for a year. Then there was another young guy who apparently remembered me from New Life Church. He is with YWAM and had brought some of his other sisters in Christ to join the outreach. Being in this setting with these younger Khmer was such a privilege. The meeting was conducted in Khmer and surprisingly I could understand enough of the conversation even if I couldn't necessarily speak it out:-). After the team leader shared about the protocols, we spent some time in prayer for the evening's activities. Then, we split up into two groups. It is important to have male volunteers as they act as our 'protectors' and so off I went with my 4 other young friends in a tuk tuk. It was another opportunity to practise my Khmer!

The particular beer garden is one that volunteers have gone to before so when we arrived, the men who work in the beer garden knew one of the guy volunteers and ushered us all in. At the entrance, were only 3 women that were sitting outside as the others were already busy entertaining people. The atmosphere in this place was not what I was expected. It was just like a restaurant, except all the tables were separated in their own little cubicles surrounded by plants---I suppose that's why they call it a beer garden! As we were escorted to our table, we quickly glanced over to all the other tables and one could see two beer garden girls sitting with the group of Khmer men. Obviously, it is very uncommon for women guests to be visiting this place but as Pastor Chantha had said to me earlier in the day, its pretty safe if you are a woman as you will not be harassed. That makes sense as part of the protocols that we had to be mindful of is actually ''protecting'' our male colleagues from being hit on!

So we sat down, ordered some food (fried rice and fried frog legs) and they served us a bunch of fruit drinks, water and pop. I actually decided to try the fried frog legs---not bad---it taste like fried chicken and if it was not so hot, I probably would have eaten it out but I succumb to the pepper and handed it over to one of my Khmer buddies.  While we waited for a young woman to join us, one of the volunteers was telling me that in these kind of establishments you may have about 20 girls who act as hostesses, but behind the scenes you have waitresses, girls who wash the dishes and glasses, cleaners---so they are a lot of women beyond the 20 young women who maybe entertaining the clientele.

About 20 minutes later, a young woman appeared and came to sit with us. Like many of the women here, she is dressed up in a long satin type like dress. Each of them wear different colours---for those of you who are Asian, it looks like a Chinese Cheong-Sam---very fitted to show the shape of the body except the top portion of the outfit is cut in a somewhat v-neck shape to show some cleavage. The young lady who I will call 'Soriya'' was very friendly as she sat down. Our role was to simply ask her several questions as this is part of gathering info and just getting a sense of how we can help these young women. Between the 5 of us, we had asked her different questions like what her name was, how old she was, what province she came from, was she married or divorce. How did you find this job? What do you think about your job? How do you feel about your life? What dreams or hopes do you have? etc.

If the women are open to sharing, we let them know that we are with Precious Women and invite her to come to a fellowship group to learn more about other opportunities for employment, to get counselling and ultimately to help her to know that she has value and worth and that a new life filled with hope is possible. Last night, as we interacted with this young woman, I came away once again reminded that in Cambodia, we need to think holistically ---yes we need to share the gospel but also we need to find practical ways to empower these young women as there is such a desperate need for good jobs. So many of these young women have no choice. What is it like to live in an environment where you are so desperate to earn a living and if you have limited education, your choices are so limited. There is no social services here, there is no welfare support like we have in the West. For Soriya, she had only been working at this beer garden for 3 months. She needed money to pay for her rent. She was not married and had no children and her family actually encouraged her to go and work in the beer garden. She has limited education but she was working at the beer garden so that she could make money as she is studying to become a hairdresser. Her dream is to open a beauty salon.

Soriya like many of the girls she represents have dreams for a better life. In many ways it is these dreams that keep their hope alive and enables them to persevere in the midst of working in such challenging and degrading environments. So often the women in these situations have to 'pretend'with a permanent smile on their face that they are happy despite the fact that they dislike their jobs. In Soriya's case, she doesn't even like to drink beer and yet here she is, forced to drink it with her patrons. Desperation in such settings causes one to do desperate things. In many ways, these girls are trapped as they have to pretend to be someone else in order to survive. My heart goes out to them. I can't even fathom the type of bondage they are on. What is it like to not live in freedom? What is it like to not have choice? What is it like to live in desperation? Poverty has many faces---this outreach shows me the realities of poverty at another level---how it robs people of freedom, of joy and ultimately of life.

This is why Jesus came. He came to point people to know that in Him they can find true freedom, true joy, true hope,true  love and ultimate true life because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He came that each of these young women would know that in Him they do not have to live a life of pretense but instead, He wants to clothe them with new robes, robes that are filled with new dreams, robes that are filled with a life of hope, meaning and purpose and most importantly, robes that are filled with His love that in Him they would know their self worth, their dignity and their value.

For me the glimmer of light in this dark world of beer gardens and karoke bars is the fact that some of these young women have hope---like Soriya, they are studying to become hairdressers or some other type of profession that does not degrade their humanity. It is this small 'hope'that we hold onto and pray into for their lives. Someone once said that the reason we grow weary and want to give up is because we have lost hope. I am so thankful that the Lord in His own way is giving them hope so that they endure, press on and persevere. Their courage, their resilience and their inner strength inspire me because they are living against all the odds but I am so thankful that God has heard their cries and He has raised up organizations like Precious Women to reach out to them. As 1 John 3:16-18 says: ¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. Indeed Precious Women is choosing to love these girls as Christ loves them--they are not just loving these girls with words or speech but with actions. They are reaching out with His compassion with the hope that He will draw them to Himself, He will lift them up, He will build His kingdom in their hearts and He will give them a new life in Him. 

Redeeming the Land - Introducing the Courtyard!

Today Ratanak International is the proud owners of a sewage dump in Svay Pak! Yes we bought some land but it not just any land, it is located behind the Sanctuary which we had purchased in 2009. Why this land and why this time? Well, it was a good opportunity at a good price and we are hoping to convert it into a playground for the kids who attend school and the kids club at The Sanctuary. As someone said recently if Jesus can turn water in wine, surely He can turn sewage into gold!

The Courtyard!

So in the near future, all the filth, garbage and sewage that has been collecting in what was once an old fish pond for years, will be dredged out and replaced with sand. This place that was once a cesspool and breathing ground for all sorts of raw sewage will literally be cleansed. We look forward to seeing it be transformed into a place where the kids in the village can just run around and play without fear of being in danger from predators or traffic.

Last year when I was serving in Svay Pak, I remember going up to the top floor of The Sanctuary and praying over this land with Pastor Chantha as we claimed it as part of the promised land that God wanted to give us.  I am sure many others have been praying the same prayer as well! God continues to amaze me in how He answers prayers.

And then a few weeks ago when we were all praying about whether to buy the land or not, the Lord laid on my heart these verses from Ezekiel 37 and I couldn't help but wonder if this is what the future of Svay Pak would look like. ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. ²³They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.... . ²⁵ They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. ²⁶ I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. ²⁷ My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸ Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’”


We have often said that Jesus is not just visiting Svay Pak. He has moved in and taken residence in Svay Pak and just as He wants to redeem the people who live there, so too He wants to redeem the land that has been barren, desolate and filthy. And as He redeems the land, He will gather all those who have been scattered, these include not only the ones who have been sold and trafficked but the ones who are the sellers of these children. It is He who will make them One nation, it is He who will be their king. It is He who will redeem them so that they no longer defile themselves or defile others. It is He who will cleanse them and repair the ancient ruins within them and among them. It is He who will make a covenant of peace with each of them.Perhaps one day this land indeed will be flowing with milk and honey both literally and figuratively as He breathes life into these dry and barren places. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

I am struck by the words in Ezekiel 37:27-28  I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my SANCTUARY among them forever. ²⁷ My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸ Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my SANCTUARY is among them forever. God's sanctuary indeed is among His people. It is a picture of our God who chooses to go and dwell in the most forsaken places among a forgotten people so that He can reveal to them that He has not forsaken them but passionately pursues them so that they may know that they are not the forgotten but the chosen. For just as He redeems one child at a time, so He redeems one building at a time and redeems one piece of land at a time.  Jesus indeed has the last word on everything and on everyone, including the buildings and the land!

Matchmaking

I've been itching to write this blog for some time but couldn't really do it as the timing was off. But its time to talk about Matchmaking :-). One of the blessings of living in Cambodia is the fact that there are many young people. In fact, over 50% of the population is under the age of 25. So as we think of the future generation, we have a wonderful opportunity and privilege to invest in their lives. And that investing, can come in various shapes and forms.

So last night I got a call from one of my younger sisters in Svay Pak. She is young to me but in Cambodian culture she is considered old at the ripe age of 25 years because she is not yet married. Many of the other students that are discipled by Pastor Chantha are much younger and so they are always teasing her about why she is not married and when will she get married. My little sister who I shall call 'Sohka' called to chat. Its been a couple weeks since I've been to Svay Pak and ironically she had been in my thoughts earlier that day for a variety of reasons and so it was a pleasant surprise to get a phone call from her. I didn't anticipate we would have a 3 hour phone chat but here in Cambodia, one has more time to develop relationships and so she called  and wanted to get my advice about her future spouse. This is a conversation we have had before as her future spouse is not a believer but she is. Bunthan and others have had similar conversations with her warning her and expressing concern about her future husband. They have shared scripture from 1 Corinthians 7 about being unequally yoked.

But now the countdown is on as her future husband is coming to Cambodia next year to marry her and she is faced with a tension before her ---a deep longing to be married coupled with cultural and family pressure to be married on one side, and on the other side, confronted with the truth of God that this type of marriage is not right. So we talked and talked but then I asked her, are you open to meeting other people who are believers. You see for the past few months, she has heard me talk about my Loak Crew (language instructor) who is a young man the same age as her. He loves God as much as she does and hopes one day to become a pastor. Interestingly enough, she wants to marry a pastor! So of course, knowing all this info, I've been waiting over these past few months to try to match make them.  Every time I would go to Svay Pak, I would tell her about his good qualities in front of Pastor Chantha and Bunthan. They would laugh and she would blush. Most recently, I told her that I had shown my loak crew a picture of her and he said how beautiful she was. So the stage was set! So last night as we were talking, she actually said that she was open to meeting up with my loak crew! Yeah!

As for my loak crew, for months as we have had our language classes, I would ask him what kind of wife or girlfriend he was looking for? What were the qualities he wanted in his spouse. Of course I couldn't resist planting little seeds in those conversations with him, letting him know that my younger sister in Svay pak had those qualities. We would then have a good laugh together but he has always said, he was open to meeting her. So today you can imagine when I shared the news with him that the date was being set. He had a big smile on his face!

You see Sokha asked if she could come and spend a couple days at my home so I am using that opportunity to chaperon them over a meal. It will be interesting and fun at the same time. They are two very special people to me but I have told them there is no pressure to meet but they both seem open to connecting. Matchmaking can be dangerous in one's own culture especially if it doesn't work, you could lose a friend. But here in Cambodia, I am hoping and praying that God would use this meeting to help Sokha know that there are young men out there who share similar values and similar visions as she does and she does not need to compromise her values for the sake of being married. More importantly, I pray that God would give her the courage to stand firm in her faith in Him, to not bow down to family pressure or cultural pressure or her own internal pressures but instead, trust that in His timing, He will bring the right man into her life. How easy it is for marriage to become an idol in this culture especially as one gets pass the 'apparent' marrying age. My little sister Sokha is discovering for herself that following the Lord involves giving Him control in all dimensions of her life and not just in some areas.

As you think of Sokha and the two days she will be spending at my home on December 11th and 12th, pray that God would use that time to bring conviction in her heart about her current relationship. Pray that the matchmaking lunch date would be an opportunity for both my young friends to encourage each other in their journey in Christ.