The Grannies!

In Cambodia, one doesn't have to go far to see the ongoing effects of the Khmer Rouge era and how it continues to play havoc in Cambodian society. During the Pol Pot period, the family structure was systematically dismantled where parents were separated from their children. A whole generation was wiped out and so today, the reality is there are many displaced groups of people---the genocide touched all areas of society and left a huge whole in the family structure. One of these displaced groups are the elderly women that we at Ratanak affectionately called the ''grannies''. Many of them lost their children in the genocide or through the AIDS epidemic such that, the two most vulnerable groups ---the grannies and the grand children were left to fend for themselves. In a society where the weak are daily exploited, one doesn't have to go far on the streets of Phnom Penh to see many grannies begging during the day.  Some of them are homeless with no place to go or stay and there are no social services here to really take care of them. There is no such thing as an old age pension or a senior citizens home for in a culture that is community oriented, most elderly live with their immediate relatives. Yet here in Cambodia, many elderly women don't have such a luxury.  They have to somehow survive on their own and so many of them come from the province and hang out near the local markets begging from morning to the late afternoon in the hopes that they will receive some money that can help themselves and even support their grandchild who still live in the province. Believe it or not there is business to be made in the begging. In this Asian Buddhist culture where the elderly are treated with respect,  there is merit to be earned in giving to the elderly, so on a good month a ''grannie'' can earn about $300 begging in the city. But there are other grannies who have an entrepreneurial spirit.  One grannie after she had begged used the funds accumulated to buy new clothes and upon returning to the province, sold the clothes at a higher price for a nice profit! I love the creativity and the ingenuity that is often found among the poor in this nation. They simply know how to survive despite all the obstacles they face. In this context, one could argue that this grannie certainly knows how to bear fruit in old age and stay fresh and green (Psalm 92:14) in spite of the daily challenges she encounters.

Sathya our Finance Manager with Rosalie 

Into this environment, in 2008, two missionaries had a vision to start a drop in center for such elderly grannies who came to stay in the city on a short term basis. After some initial research and with a request from the grannies, the drop in center became a short term night shelter that we now called the Ratanak Haven Night Center. We have had the privilege of funding this Center in its entirety right from the early days when it was started, and so today, Sathya and I were out again visiting this project in Phnom Penh run by one of our consultants Rosalie who has lived in Cambodia for 22 years. Rosalie who is from Australia,  is one of these older ladies whom God called to Cambodia to reach out to the poor and the vulnerable. She has been an advisor to this Haven Night Center, overseeing it with 3 Khmer staff.

The grannies who stay at the Haven Night Center range in age from 55 to 83 years old with the average age around 70 years old. On average, 9 to 12 grannies come to stay nightly or about 200 plus per month at the Haven Night Center. These past two months over 476 grannies spent time at the Center on a short term basis,  and in a year about 2000 grannies stayed at the Center. But the numbers who stay fluctuate because it depends on the season. During harvest season, many of them can earn money in the province by helping to plant rice, but when harvesting season is over, they are left to beg to support themselves and their grandchildren and hence they come into the city for these short visits. The thought of a 70 year old grannie planting rice under the hot sun, is just another example of the inner strength and resilience that I have come to appreciate about Cambodians. They have the ability to function under the most dire conditions!

The Haven Night Center is open from 6pm – 6am, 7 days a week and is staffed by a manager, guard, cook with the occasional locum to cover holidays and sickness. The old people (or Grannies as we call them) register and are each required to pay 1,000 riel (or 25 cents) per day for their stay. Some people may question why they have should pay to stay in the Center, but the goal of this project is to help the grannies be responsible and not be totally dependent on the NGO. They gladly pay the 1,000 riel because ironically, to sleep at the market, they would actually have to pay more than 1000 Riel for water and the use of a public washroom. So in  the mind of the grannies, they get a good deal hanging out at the Haven Night Center. In return, they receive a good nutritious dinner, access to appropriate medical care, they can have a shower, wash their hair using soap and shampoo and dress in a sarong provided by us. This enables them to wash their clothes, so when they leave each morning they are all clean ready to face the daily challenges of living in the city.   

These grannies have expressed that they are not at the Night Center for handouts but just need a place to stay when they are in the city. Since the Center opened, Rosalie noted that the grannies have never asked for anything and even when they have medical needs, they gladly contribute to the cost of their own medical treatments. They have a sense of responsibility, instead of a spirit of entitlement and are grateful for a place that many of them now consider their home in the city because of the fellowship and love they experience with each other and from the staff who serve them. They have said they would rather be at the Haven Night Center than stay in the province, because here they never get sick.By providing a safe, secure and stable environment for the grannies to stay on a short term basis, they know that they can rest in peace, without danger, fear or worry that they will be mugged or robbed had they slept on the street overnight.  Furthermore, they can go to sleep in a clean properly ventilated comfortable surroundings, safe in the knowledge that our manager and guard are there for them if required all night.

Following the meal they have a bible study, (which they really enjoy) which is conducted by the manager. The grannies love to sing and have learned some Christian songs which they sing with vigor! As well, they can watch Christian DVDs and have access to Christian books  including a picture bible for those who can't read. Over time as the grannies have had exposure to the Gospel in various forms, the majority of them have become believers.  On the weekend, the grannies will accompany the manager to her church on Sunday mornings and they often go to programs held for the elderly at the church during the week. Now, the Night Center is looking for an outreach pastor to minister to the grannies when they return back to the province, as many of them experience persecution if they have families and several of them have already requested a Christian funeral when their time ends on this earth. 

For the grannies, the Ratanak Haven Night Center provides a sense of belonging. It is place where dignity, value and honor is being restored to a group that many would disregard because of their age.  It is a place where they can experience community and a sense of family even if they are ostracized by the rest of society.  It is place, where they can receive the basic necessities of life like a clean shower, a simple meal and medical care after facing the daily struggles to survive on the streets. It is place, where they are honored and respected, unlike on the street where they are ignored or forgotten. It is a place, where they can laugh again and experience a sense of joy, hope and love. Indeed, the Haven Night Center is a shelter from the storms of life for them, it is literally a place of refuge for the grannies where ultimately they are experiencing the love and care by those who represent the God who is Our Refuge!

But as I think of the grannies, I think of the 3 Khmer staff who work with them. There is a cook who comes from 5 to 7pm to prepare the dinner meal for the grannies. As well, the security guard Sophea has been at the Center since its inception in 2008 and the Program Manager Soeun started in 2009. But Soeun has a day job as a teacher in a Christian school and comes to work in the evening at the Night Center. On the weekends, these two dedicated individuals, voluntarily work---they are not paid on the weekends but they rotate, gladly choosing to work because they love the grannies and wanted to ensure that the Center is open to serve the grannies 7 days a week. Their heart and willingness to love the least of these, reflects the heart of Christ for they do not see their responsibilities as a job but rather as a calling from the Lord. What an incredible privilege it is to witness such commitment and compassion among our Khmer brothers and sisters who are doing their part to invest in those in their land whom the rest of society would consider not worthy of such an investment. 

 

The Ratanak Medical Care Program

Whenever people think of Ratanak, they often associate us only with working with projects related to Human Trafficking which partly can be attributed to the fact that, we have been focused on funding such programs over the last 7 years. Of course, working with survivors of trafficking also happens to be my personal passion so most of my blog writing has also been focused on this area. But the reality is that Ratanak has been funding many projects that impact various lives who are trying to survive under dire circumstances.

Since 2005, we have partnered with Sunrise an organization under the umbrella of Inner Change Cambodia which began working amongst the poorest of the poor in Cambodia in 1994. Ratanak has partnered with Sunrise to provide medical care for : 1) those with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening disease through home base care visits; 2) children of HIV/AID patients or other terminally ill patients,  3) medical & Nutrition care for sick Prisoners at the Kompong Cham Provincial Prison and this year we added a new program 4) infant formula distribution for HIV+ babies.

So today, Sathya our Finance Manager and I went on a 3 hour trek to Kampong Cham province to visit the Ratanak Medical Care program run by our partner Sunrise. It was quite the journey, as unlike Canada where we have to deal with snow storms, fog or ice storms, here we had to deal with ''dust storms'' from the red clay which created a mist as we drove along the main highway. Thankfully our driver Sambath did a great job despite the limited visibility at times. 

Upon arrival, we sat down with our Khmer partners---The Program Director Darany, Dr. Mony who at 67 years old goes and visits 4 communes to make house calls on his HIV/AIDS patients or other terminally ill patients. Then there is Chhun who assists Dr. Mony and he too makes house calls, meeting up with the children of these patients and finally there was Sopheak the accountant. Being a part of such meetings for me is a privilege because at the heart of Ratanak's DNA and mission, is seeing the Khmer people empowered to help their own and here in this program, the compassion and heart the staff have for those whom they serve was evident. 

One of the main goals of this program is to provide an opportunity for the holistic enhancement of life and dignity for the poor and the vulnerable in this province of Kampong Cham and this is done by providing basic medical care, medications, supplemental foods and small loans for raising pigs or chickens or , buying ingredients to make cakes which can be sold at the local market. The Home based care visits began in 2002. At that time the provincial hospital for Kompong Cham Province became aware of many people who were HIV+ and had no way of following up with their illnesses. Most of those who contracted HIV were very poor and did not have good nutrition to meet their needs while living with HIV. The government hospital referred people living with HIV/AIDs to this program. Those referred were poor and vulnerable. During this period, the Ratanak Medical Care program has provided consistent follow up with medical support, supplemental food, shelter, and family support for HIV+ people living in poverty throughout their years until death. Over this past month 49 clients were visited and cared for by Dr. Mony. Pray for Dr. Mony, as he makes these regular visits monthly to 4 different communes to care for the sick. Pray that he will continue to be the beautiful feet that brings good news to those who are suffering as he regularly prays for each patient that he visits.

But while Dr. Mony is seeking to minister to parents who are dying of HIV, it was clear there was a need to also tend to the needs of the children of these families. Such visits are designed to encourage the children of these patients in numerous ways, including help in making memory books for the children whose parents had died from AIDS; help in processing their feelings; and tutoring for their classes at school, as well as providing school uniforms on an annual basis. Currently there are 36 children who receive such regular visits. Pray for these young ones who are dealing with the reality that at least one of their parents is terminally ill.  

Dr Mony also visits prisoners at the Kompong Cham Provincial Prison. Here in Cambodia, provincial prisons often lack medical personnel who are qualified to diagnose basic illnesses nor do they have the financial or medical capacity to purchase and give medicines to those who are ill. So, in 2009, daily visits to the prison began to attend to the needs of approximately twenty  prisoners four days/week with minor illnesses. Similar to the home base care visits, the Ratanak Medical Care (RMC) program  now provides basic medical support and supplemental nutrition for prisoners through these daily visits. For prisoners who are bed-ridden RMC prepares extra nutritional meals four days per week to help with their recovery from major illnesses.

This year, our program has now expanded to include the distribution of infant formula to HIV+ mothers to help decrease mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The infant formula distribution supports HIV+ mothers for one year who live throughout the whole province of Kompong Cham by distributing formula to them when they come to the Kompong Cham hospital to receive their anti-retroviral medications.

As I left Kompong Cham today it was the verse from Matthew 25:40  that came to mind ''truly whatever you do for the least of these'brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'' In Cambodian society, those who have AIDS or are HIV+ are often looked down upon because of the common belief that they must have done something wrong in their previous life (according to Karma) and therefore they deserve what is happening to them in this life. But thank God, as believers in Christ, the staff at Sunrise are living examples of Christ's compassion to those that the wider culture looks down upon. Their efforts to care for these who the world would forget demonstrate once again, that God is close to those who are broken hearted. He is close to those who are poor, rejected and abandoned. He is close to those who are ostracized, mocked and viewed as outcast. For in Jesus, dignity and value replaces the yoke of shame and the yoke of disease, In Jesus, the poor, the weak, the sick, the prisoner and the vulnerable do not only have a friend, they have a Savior, a Deliverer and a Redeemer.  

Ministry of the Mundane

Today this term ''ministry of the mundane'' came to mind as I was in the midst of some meetings. It is a phrase coined by author John Ortberg who wrote many years ago that it reflects opportunities offered to us countless times through the day. Perhaps a colleague asks for our help regarding a project, it can happen in the middle of a traffic jam when we let someone go ahead of us---and here in Cambodia, if you drive a car daily you will always face the ministry of the mundane as many cars especially those big SUVs are always happy to go ahead of us or as I encountered the other day, one car honked at me to move forward to another parking spot so that he could park in the one I was intending to park at.

Daily perhaps each of us are interrupted to help a colleague or a child or a friend and perhaps we may not see that as ministry but as John Ortberg noted, it is a ministry of availability, a ministry that does not involve the limelight, a ministry that in many ways is hidden without recognition yet, it is a work that is needed to be done,  despite how tedious, boring or perhaps unimportant in our eyes, it is a ministry of service. This term ministry of the mundane came to mind today because over the next week, my Finance Manager Sathya and I are meeting with our partners to analyze the projects we fund both from a financial perspective as well as the effectiveness of these projects in achieving certain purposes to protect the vulnerable and care for those who are oppressed or poor in Cambodia. In many ways, looking at financials, asking questions about project activities, and verifying how data and information is collected is not exactly the most exciting thing to do. After all, more people are interested in hearing about human stories ---personal stories of individual lives where young women who were once sexually exploited are being transformed or perhaps stories about confronting pedophiles.

But one of the blessings of working at Ratanak is we not only fund our own direct programs such as the RAP Community home, but we have the opportunity to implement other programs through other organizations/partners who are setting up innovating projects that are in line with our vision and mandate. One of these implementing partners is the Chab Dai Coalition through whom we have had the privilege of funding a church community and prevention program since 2006. This year, the church community and prevention program has morphed into the Community Hero Prevention Program. You may ask what is this.

Well the Community Hero Prevention project  focuses on addressing prevention and intervention issues in rural areas in Cambodia by raising awareness and educating people in vulnerable communities about the issues of human trafficking, sexual abuse, illegal migration and the ways to protect children and child rights. The activities and programs are undertaken in the villages, and rural communities in Cambodia with the purpose of  educating the people in rural areas with information and tools to prevent the trafficking of children, and develop a sense of personal and communal responsibility among them for every community member’s safety.

Meeting with Yeng (Country Director of Chab Dai), Kunthy (Project trainer), Muylen (Finance Director) and Sathya (Ratanak Finance Manager)

So this afternoon , we spent time going through the mundane questions about the program with staff from Chab Dai and as our discussions progressed,  I became more and more encouraged about the impact this project is having in vulnerable communities that are prone to trafficking in Cambodia. This project involves no expats or Western staff. It utilizes 100% indigenous Cambodian workers who teach and minister to their own people. It was encouraging to learn about the ongoing training that is being done in these vulnerable communities among the volunteer trainers who are emerging as Community Heroes using their influence at a grass root level to protect and prevent children and women from human trafficking, sexual abuse and all forms of exploitation. In just one province this past month, 1200 people were expected to be trained but in fact 1380 showed up for training. Some of them using their own funds to bring awareness to these issues in their community because they want to help their own communities. They have expressed to the training staff a love for this vision and a desire to take ownership and responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in their villages. But this training is not a one off event as there are ongoing refresher training happening yearly.  

As well, the educational tools given to them such as help cards, flip charts, posters and stickers are being used to report more cases of human trafficking, sexual abuse, illegal migration and violence through different groups who are collaborating together to make a difference. Specifically, the local authorities at the district, commune or village level or church leaders are all gaining knowledge and resources to stop trafficking and intervene in cases of abuse.  Initially, when this program was introduced there was suspicion but over the years, we are seeing an amazing network being formed as village chiefs, local police, pastors and government officials are all being trained together and working together for the blessing and protection of the most vulnerable in their communities.

Beyond the program analysis, we are also accountable to our Canadian tax authorities to ensure that the finances are being used for the project purposes. Once again, we came away feeling confident about the financial controls and processes that are in place by our partner to ensure funds are being used wisely and being stewarded in a responsible way. It is encouraging to see the checks and balances that Chab Dai has established to ensure a high standard of financial responsibility.  Such due diligence also serves to benefit us as an organization as we learn from our partners what is working and what isn't in terms of structures and processes. All of this we trust will serve to enhance our own internal structures and long term strategies. 

So while the ministry of mundane involves spending time reviewing facts, figures, documentation, procedures, administrative processes of this project, such activities while seemingly tedious, are an essential part to learning how vulnerable lives are being protected, how local leaders are being empowered to use their position of influence for the benefit of the exploited and ultimately, how God is raising up community heroes who are taking a stand for truth, righteousness and justice. What a privilege it is to see how God is building His Kingdom in the hearts of His people here in Cambodia as they take the initiative to be His agents of change in their communities.

Tomorrow we are off to another project in Kampong Cham province located about 3 hours from Phnom Penh. Stay tune for an update as we share about the Ratanak Medical Outreach Program for AIDS patients, other terminally ill people, medical care for prisoners and an infant formula distribution program to HIV+ mothers and their HIV+ babies. 

Capacity Building

Recently I read a quote on capacity building by McKinsey and Company taken from a report on Effective Capacity Building in Non-Profit Organizations. It states: ''Nonprofits have an obligation to seek new and even more effective ways of making tangible progress towards their missions and this requires building organizational capacity. All too many nonprofits, however focus on creating new programs and keeping administrative costs low instead of building the organizational capacity necessary to achieve their aspirations effectively and efficiently. This must change: both nonprofit managers and those that fund them must recognize that excellence in programmatic innovation and implementation are insufficient for nonprofits to achieve lasting results. Great programs need great organizations behind them. 

These are very sobering words for those of us who work as Christian NGOs here in Cambodia or for that matter any NGO that works in Cambodia. After all, we want to be mindful of being good steward of the financial resources we receive and yet we need to be constantly evaluating the importance of building organizational capacity to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of such programs. Here in Cambodia the needs are endless and over the 24 years of funding several programs we have observed many challenges of organizations expanding quickly at the expense of the organizational capacity. As such, we ourselves are learning much from own own project experience to establish structures that ultimately will provide a solid foundation as we expand in the future. It is not always easy as we continue to learn many lessons along the way through both the successes and failures.

Like many organizations here, Ratanak is always looking at ways to expand the capacity of our staff. Given the important and significant role they play in our organization's capacity, we have been evaluating ways to invest in their giftings, and enhance their abilities and their skills as part of empowering them but also, as part of raising the capacity of our organization. So over the last few months, some of our staff have participated in different trainings.

Our counselor Soklin has attended a 3  month Systematic Counselling course where participants were thought how to use creative activities in order to gain information on a client's background, thoughts and feelings on her life story. These activities were thought through role play and over a 6 month period our counselor received ongoing supervision and coaching as she implemented these activities. We have seen her grow from this experience in her abilities in the way she deals with client issues and finds ways to build bridges with our clients.

Chab Dai leadership Retreat

As well, recently one our partners --the Chab Dai Coalition had a leadership retreat for Khmer staff so we sent out two senior managers to this training. Not only did they learn about managing stress in their own lives but also how to cultivate healthy habits in the midst of stressful environments. Again, they came away from these meetings feeling energized, rested and with additional tools equipped to do the work they have been called to.

Peace Bridges Training

Over this past month, two other staff have been attending a Peace Bridges course which provides training over a 3 month period. The purpose of this course is to help our staff engage in conflict in creative and constructive ways. This is not easy in the Cambodian context where too often most conflict is hidden under the surface through ''saving face'' by speaking indirectly and around instead of direct. This often leads to false peace keeping as truth is hidden and not spoken and so this can easily lead to conflict, disunity and disharmony where assumptions are made and never clarified in the open. Moreover, despite the genocide being over for decades, many people continue to be impacted in their behavior and attitudes. One just has to pick up the newspapers on a daily basis to read of how an eruption of anger within the home has contributed to domestic violence in this country.  As one Khmer who took this course commented ''even I suffered much violence growing up, and I saw a lot of violence but I could not change anything with violence because violence cannot end violence.  So we are thankful for organizations like Peace Bridges who focus on training and equipping others to be deal with conflict in a biblical way.and to work through conflict management and to learn about peace education. Two of our staff: our Program Manager and one of our Social Workers is now working through this 3 month intensive Peace Bridges course. Our desire is for them not just to grow in their knowledge in this area but the next step is to implement this within our organization by training our other staff and ultimately, training the young women who live at RAP.

Such tools, we believe are valuable to enhancing our organization's capacity as we continue to invest in our most important assets --- our Khmer staff - we believe that they will be the ones that will ultimately have the greatest impact in their culture and their society as they lead the way contexualizing all they learn to make it relevant in reflecting Christian values and Christ like attitudes towards their fellow colleagues and towards the young women that we serve. Pray for our staff, so often they are overlooked in the midst of all we do but they are the ones who face multiple challenges and stresses each days at a level that we from the West can rarely appreciate and understand. Pray for God to use all these trainings to build into each of them, His truths, His ways and His life such that they will be His instruments bringing light into the darkness and hope to those who feel hopeless.

God's Grace is Disruptive!

Last night was such a fun night at the Christmas Outreach in the brothel district as I had the opportunity to re-connect with so many young Khmer Christian friends  whom I have had the privilege of knowing for a few years. One of them ''P'' has had a detour in her walk with the Lord but is slowly on a journey of restoration. She introduced me to her mother and father  and I couldn't help but reflect on the grace and mercy of God. Her mother often pressures her and her sisters and in many ways contributed to her being sold in the recent past. Her father was arrested in 2010  for trafficking other girls and was a security guard of one of the very buildings in this community in which his own daughter was held captive. He was recently released from prison. (He also had sold his own daughters years ago). Yet here in this Christmas outreach, light and darkness clashed but the light was shining forth as her parents came to attend the outreach. At such events, it is a quote from Jill Carrintini of RZIM that comes to mind: God's grace is lavish. It is extravagant and poured out on those who  neither expect it, nor deserve it. The Father's grace is jarring and disruptive. The Father's call to forgive the one whose sincerity is questionable is often agonizing; His command to love the habitual prodigals in our midst is both costly and exhausting. God's grace disrupts our sense of righteousness and summons us to respond in a similar kind. His unfathomable grace and mercy shatters our sense of who is worthy to enjoy the benefits of God's kingdom, inviting us to the celebration (for the Prodigal son) regardless of where we stand.''

Here in this brothel district, God's grace is constantly disrupting our lives in ways that we do not expect nor anticipate. Yet as we ourselves embrace that grace and extend it to others, we see the love of Christ bringing hope and shining light in the darkness. Some who attended this event themselves have been victims of sexual exploitation, but as they enter into their journey of healing, their presence last night in an area that has often been a place of hell for them because of the tragic memories, was a place of joy as they celebrated the birth of their Savior! Once again the grace of God shines forth redeeming lives that so many would easily discard.

Shortly after leaving the outreach event, I was driving up the main street and stopped to chat with one of our reintegrated young women who was living nearby. As I got out of the car, I heard a another voice calling my name. It was ''S''....a young 12 year old whom several of us have been praying for in the recent months. A while back I had ran into her at the riverfront with full make up and during this time, our partner's staff would see her in the village and she would be all dressed up and with full make up. Last night, we had a little chat as I have heard she is still attending some of the classes at the school and even comes out to the youth group meetings. A few minutes later, I was surrounded by other ''little people'' asking me all sorts of questions. Some could understand my Khmer, others were translating the Khmer into Vietnamese. It was a cute scene and one that I enjoyed! In all of this, I thought of ''S'' and the grace that is needed in her life to keep her from growing bitter and hardened by what she experiences when she is abused on a regular basis. She represents so many little ones in this community that need the grace of God to disrupt and intervene in their young lives.

But this community is not just about the lives but also about the buildings. Each building seems to have a story to tell. Stories that are not pleasant to the ear but stories of lives broken and devalued. Yet just as the Lord wants to start a new chapter in a young life, so too His plan is to use the ruins in the community to start a new story. A story of hope, a story of redemption and ultimately a story of grace! A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of buying another building in this area that is notorious for its use by well known Canadian pedophiles and other foreign pedophiles. This building like many in this area was used to destroy the sacred and the vulnerable. Yet the Lord can take such buildings and like the people He created, He begins to rebuild, restore and redeem. Only He can take what was derelict and make it sacred and holy ground. The very places where lives were shattered, will become places were lives experience the grace of God as He breathes new life in them. This very building where little boys were abused will become a dorm for young boys in the community cared for by a young couple.

Indeed as I continue to reflect on all that is happening in this little community, I keep returning to one word ''grace''!. Where sin increases, grace increases more! God's grace continues to disrupt this community in various forms and shapes,  whether it is a young life or an old discarded building, each of these are trophies of God's grace as He takes the old and makes it new, the broken and makes it whole and the dead places become life giving places.

This Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we see the ultimate of how Grace disrupted our lives and how Grace came into our lives. John 1:14 says 'The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full or grace and truth. As light continues to shine in this dark community, so too may the One who is full of grace and truth cover this little village that with each passing day, each passing year, the testimony of those who live there will echo the very words of John 1:14 ---The Word became flesh and dwelled among us and we have seen His glory! We have seen His glory!

November 2013 - Young women and Staff Retreat in Koh Kong

WARNING: This is a long blog so get a cup of coffee and sit back, relax and read! Hopefully you don't fall asleep in the process! :-)

This past weekend was Bun Om Touk (Water Festival) holiday. Normally, thousands of people come into Phnom Penh from the provinces to watch the boat races on the Tonle Sap river but over the past few 3 years, the boat races were cancelled. For us at Ratanak, we took the opportunity to go on a 3 day retreat/holiday with all of the young women at the RAP Community home as well as all our Khmer staff. We also invited a special guest and Ratanak partner Reaksa Himm (and his family) to be our keynote speaker as we didn't just want this to be a regular holiday but to have a time of connecting with the Lord on a corporate level together as one big family.

Reaksa Himm (author of Tears of My Soul) and his family

So this past Saturday at 5:15am, everyone met at the RAP home. I'm always amazed at our young women, how quickly they can be dressed and ready to go even ahead of the staff at such early hours in the morning. They remind me of typical teenagers who usually wake up late if they have to go to school or work but when its holiday time, their joy and excitement overflow and a new burst of energy appears. That day, they were busily helping each other with new hair styles and make up in the wee hours of the morning! :-)

Our home advisor Than holding baby Daniel who was fast asleep despite all the activities

Our destination was the southern province of Koh Kong close to the Thai border. It was quite a trek and the expected travel time would be around 7 to 8 hours depending on how well the roads were along the way. Our first pit stop was at 7am for some breakfast Khmer style ---we had a choice of rice and bbq pork, rice and grilled chicken or a noodle soup.

Program Manager Nary, Case Management Coordinator Malin and Home Adivsor Coordinator Reasmey waiting for their breakfast

During the bus time, we used that opportunity to spend some time worshipping the Lord as we had brought a long our worship books and some of the traditional hymms. It was quite a contest with different staff and young women all wanting to choose different songs all at the same time. Nonetheless, one of our young women Client ''TH'' is a very talented and gifted singer so we had her lead the worship time. These modern day buses have a flat screen TV and also a microphone so it was perfect for this captive audience.

Driving Through the pot holes along the road

No way to avoid this big pot hole

As we were getting close to our destination the roads deteriorated. Big pot holes covered the dusty red clay making it a bit treacherous at times to drive. Thankfully the tour company we went with had a very skillful driver who managed to navigate all sorts of pot holes. I enjoyed his creative driving!

Nonetheless after a rather tasty lunch of sweet and sour fish, fried chicken, fried vegetables and Tom Yum soup we quickly headed to our first destination on the outskirts of Koh Kong for our boat ride to a local waterfall called: Tatay Waterfall. The scenes reminded me of cottage country in Ontario and brought back wonderful memories of being back in Canada.

Some of our staff and Reaksa's family on the boat that will take us down the lake

a view of the fresh water lake from our boat

The Destination - a local waterfall called Tatay Waterfalls

Several of our staff and young women opted to go swimming and take photos at the waterfall. Unlike North America, where there are clear walk ways or planks to get to tourist places, here in Cambodia, its all natural---that means you have to find your own way through rocks and vegetation to the intended destination. Its not the most safest adventures as the rocks were somewhat slippery given that it probably may have rained the night before so yours truly opted to play it safe and hang out in the boat with other young women and staff who were happy to spare themselves from the intense early afternoon heat. Actually, one of the main reasons I opted out was the fact that fresh water lakes then to be breathing grounds for parasites so my paranoia kicked in and figured it was better to be safe than sorry later on! :-)This of course didn't stop a group of monks who happily were willing to trek through the thick vegetation to enjoy the cooling waters of the waterfall.

A minutes shortly after this photo was taken, our bus driver came hiking back to one of our boats asking if he could borrow our first aid kit and an elderly lady had slipped on the rocks and cracked her head. In the mean time, some of our other young women, spent the next hour baby sitting baby Daniel in the boat under the watching eye of one of our home advisors.

A Couple of the young women baby sitting Daniel while his mum is off swimming

Our RAP Program Manager spending time reading and resting on the boat

.After our waterfall activity, our next stop was to visit the Mangroves. This is one of the most beautiful spots in Cambodia as I'm told that Mangroves are spread along the coast from Kep to Koh Kong and they cover an area of over 50,000 hectares in Koh Kong. Mangroves are specialized tropical trees that live on the edge where rainforests meet oceans. 

Mangroves

This could be a picture of northern Ontario in Canada!

Our day of sightseeing ended with another beautiful boat ride to watch the sunset. All during this time, our young women and staff were busily snapping photos of each other and their surrounding locations. For our staff and young women, they have never had the opportunity to visit some of the places in their own country and so it was a real joy to see their excitement as they admired God's creation in such serene and beautiful surroundings. It was such a far cry from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Despite all the social activity, we quickly checked into our hotel after a quick dinner and it was time to end the evening with a time of worship and also a time of sharing from Reaksa. In spite of it being a very long day, God used Reaksa's testimony to minister to all staff and the young women. Reaksa shared  how he survived and crawled out of one of the mass graves as a 13 year old boy after he had witnessed the killing of several of his family members and  how years later after studying in Canada at seminary and becoming a pyschologist, he came to know Christ and learned that true healing, true freedom in Christ comes from forgiving those who harmed us. Thus, his return to Cambodia led him to find the killers of his family and extend forgiveness  and grace to them.

Reaksa sharing his testimony as our staff and young women listen

 His testimony left an indelible impression on everyone and he encouraged everyone to write on a piece of paper anyone that they wanted to forgive.(We will take these papers and burn it as a symbol that they have been nailed to the cross.) Following that, he asked if anyone wanted to come to the front for prayer to experience more freedom in Christ as they chose to forgive those who had hurt them. Amazingly, all of our staff and young women came forward and one by one we prayed over each one of them some shed tears, as we anointed them with oil and asked the Lord to bless them with more freedom from past hurts, wounds and traumas inflicted on them by those who had wounded them. What a special moment that was seeing the Spirit of God move and touch the hearts of all who were there that night. Despite the late hour, the Lord was at work!

Day 2: Sunday November 17th and the Lord continued His work as I sat listening to two staff over breakfast sharing how they had held onto hurts for 5 years and because of Reaksa's testimony, felt God convicting them to choose to forgive those who had hurt them. Our morning began with a worship time and another timely message from Reaksa who was preaching from John 11: 38-44 about how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. In this message, we learned about walking out of darkness into the light and that the Tomb while being a place of darkness was not the end but rather the place that transformation begins. He reminded us that the ''smell'' in the tomb, is a reflection of our sinful nature and that it takes time to clean the smelly things in our lives, that transformation takes a life time to go through the process. And finally, the grave clothes, demonstrated that we all need others to help us unwrap these clothes. We need others to help us to transform from the darkness to light. Ultimately transformation is a journey moving towards the life we want, but the life that only Jesus can give! At this end of this message, Reaksa once again asked if there was anyone who wanted to surrender and submit their lives to Christ. Again, the Lord surprised us! We have two  staff who had not yet given their life to Christ, but were on a journey to discovering Him. But this morning, they encountered the Risen Lord and both came forward asking to receive Christ as their personal Savior.

One of our staff members repeating the sinner's prayer 

But that was not the end, the Lord used their initiative coupled with an encouraging message from our Program Manager Nary who shared that even though we may have all gone to church for a long time, we may not necessarily have a personal relationship with Christ. She shared from her own experience and those words, prompted two of our young women to come forward for Reaksa to lead them through the Sinner's prayer and pray over them to receive Jesus as their Personal Lord and Savior!

RAP Young women coming forward to say the sinners prayer and receive Christ as her Savior!

RAP Young woman coming forward to say the sinners prayer and receive Christ as her Savior!

As I reflect on these two sessions in which Reaksa shared, I am once again reminded that God never wastes our pains, sufferings and traumas. He will use them for our good and for His purposes to bring about His glory. Reaksa's life and story represents the life and story of many Khmer who deal with daily trauma and suffering. For Reaksa, when He discovered The TRUTH, He was set free but that journey of freedom took time, yet it was a journey well worth the time and the energy because it was a journey that led to a new life, a new hope and a new song in his heart! So too for our Khmer staff and young women at RAP who themselves have experienced their own personal traumas, we pray that the seeds planted this weekend, will fall on good soil, soil that will lead to transformation from brokenness to wholeness and from captivity to freedom as the Lord continues to work in each of their hearts!

After these spiritual encounters, the rest of our day was more light hearted as we went to visit Safari World---yes there is such a thing in Cambodia. 

We attended several different shows --- one involving orangatans in a boxing match, a bird show, a crocodile show which showed some impressive acts by the staff at Safari World and finally a Tiger show. Our young women were thrilled to have their photos taken in some of these shows with the animals!

A parrot riding a bicycle!

Day 2 ended with some personal down time, which was perfect as we each were able to retreat and continued to enjoy the beauty of God's creation at the place we stayed. 

Ratanak Cambodia - All our Khmer Staff from both the Operations Office and RAP Home

Today we are all back from our 3 day excursion, a time where we had many laughs and lots of fun times together. These opportunities to laugh and play together don't happen too often but we realize the importance of them for our soul care as they foster team unity,  bind us together in Christ and most of all gives us the opportunity to not only breathe life into all of our dry bones, but they provide us with a special time of encountering our Risen Lord, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. And so on behalf of our team here in Cambodia, we are thankful to many supporters and donors who give to our work in so many different ways, for as you do, you are being used to build the kingdom of God first in our hearts and ultimately, you are partnering with us build to His kingdom in this land!

Happy 1st Anniversary RAP Home!

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary when we welcomed several young women into the RAP Community home. It was fitting that a Ratanak team from Canada was visiting Cambodia during this time. The team is made up of both Ratanak staff from Canada and some of our volunteers who work in raising awareness through their fundraising activities our hosting events for us. So we were especially blessed by having them come and celebrate not only the 1 year anniversary but also the 1 month birthday of Ratanak Daniel!

Ratanak Canada team

The festivities began at around 3pm when the team arrived and as part of our warm up games, the young women at RAP and our staff had to guess who were Ratanak staff and who were Ratanak volunteers. That led to a few rounds of laughter as the young women assumed that the older ones were staff and the younger ones were volunteers. Then the tables were reversed and we mixed up the Khmer staff and young women and the Canadian team had to choose who was staff and who was living at the RAP home. One of the advantages that the Khmer have is they all look so ageless so it was a bit of a challenge for the Canadian team.

Musical chairs

Jessica and Joy our two Ratanak staff had prepared a few ice breaker games and brought prizes along for the winners. We have found this to be very valuable in helping the young women at RAP overcome their initial shyness as we rarely have guests or short term visitors to the RAP home as a way of not infringing on the young women's privacy given that it is their home. But as well, we are mindful that these young women are still on a journey of healing and learning about healthy attachments with their caregivers. So the need to limit visitors is of primary importance to support ongoing bonding with those who walk with them on a daily process.

We started with the all too familiar musical chairs game which left a few minor injuries as one of our heavier weighted staff promptly sat on the leg of one of our young women---she has recovered from the soreness of that event!:-)

3 legged race with Canadian and Khmer staff

''Papa Brian matching pictures with one of the young women''

Following that, several other games ie: 3 legged race outside and a matching picture game all led to more laughter. But one of my favorite games was one in which each person was giving a picture of an animal and they had to find others who had the same picture but this could only be done by making the sound of the animal. We figured this was a good cross cultural game since it only required animal sounds and no verbal language. However we all discovered that as people walked around trying to find others who had the same animal sound,  there was a translation adjustment. Did you know that a Cambodian pig goes ''ou, ou'' while a Canadian pig goes ''oink, oink'' or that a Canadian cow say ''moo, moo'' but a Cambodian cow says ''more more!'' You can only imagine how difficult it was trying to match these sounds in a room crowded with 30 plus people. Suffice to say the game was a huge success with peels of laughter and to top it all, there was even a cross cultural lesson discovered! As an aside,  I guess next time when I sing to Baby Daniel,  I will have to change the version of the kids tune ''the wheels on the bus go around and around and the cows on the bus go ''more more more'' :-)

From there, it was the young women's turn as they locked arms with some of the visitors and took them on a tour around the RAP home to see their rooms as well as some of the office rooms with some of our staff  When everyone returned to the main entrance, '' Papa Brian shared a small speech thanking the RAP young women for allowing the guests to come and visit their home and congratulated them for adjusting to many changes and challenges as they moved from a shelter to the RAP Community home. At the end, the Canadian team had prepared little gift bags for the young women and also our staff. So often everyone focuses on blessing the young women but it is equally as important to remember that without our staff, we could not provide the care and services to support the young women.

Bloom cake for the Young Women and a 1 month birthday cake for baby Daniel

 We ordered a wonderful cake from our favorite bakery Bloom for the young women in honor of their 1 year anniversary at the RAP home and also a little birthday cake to celebrate Baby Daniel's 1 month. In the midst of all the games and activities, baby Daniel was busily sleeping his life a way immune to all the laughter and noise!

Baby Daniel with Sokunthy our social worker

Our evening of celebration continued at the Pizza Company for all of our staff and young women. Some of whom slowly began to practice their English on their Canadian visitors. It was wonderful time for the Canadian team to spend time with their Khmer counterparts and the young women. After all, our staff in Canada and our volunteers so often work in jobs behind the scene and spend countless hours praying for our team and the young women on this end.

All in all it was a light hearted entertaining afternoon and evening. A time to join together as one big family in Christ. Epheisans 3:4-5 says: For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. As the team returns to Canada shortly, I am reminded that whether we are Canadian or Khmer, we are all one in Christ. We all have the same purpose. To see God glorified in the lives of the young women! It is our efforts together as a team, whether praying, whether fundraising, or those of us who work on the front lines ministering directly to the young women ---we are all on a journey together walking with them so that they too will encounter the one glorious hope that we all have in Christ. It is that glorious hope that enables all of us to continue to persevere in the midst of challenges and stresses knowing that as He binds us together, He is the One that unites us and He is the One that will sustain us because He is the One that is doing the work of redemption as we remain faithful to that which He has called each of us!