Cambodia Newsletter - June 2009

DEAR FAMILY & FRIENDS

In the fall of 2006, as I was reflecting on what it meant to invest in the lives of young girls who were caught in the web of child prostitution, I was reminded that evil seeks to destroy their future by stealing their hope. Yet it is in these very environments, that God calls us to face the darkness head on, to not block it out, or run away from the horror and reality of the situation but instead to enter in and grieve with those who suffer, so that we can offer Christ’s incarnate love, His compassion, His hope and His dignity to them, in order that they may begin to discover their true value and worth in Him. During that time, the Lord laid on my heart a vision based on the verses from Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me, to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

Since then, God has begun to raise up His Isaiah 61 team – people who come from different denominations, life experiences and backgrounds, but who are united under one purpose and passion: to seek justice on behalf of the oppressed, speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and see Christ’s healing love bring forth a new life of freedom, hope and peace to lives that have endured much enslavement, despair and violence. This year, God has chosen 11 other individuals from 5 different churches to join me on my annual trip to Cambodia. From my home church Rexdale Alliance are: Tara, Prem, Charlene, Marty, Vidya, Pastor Nancy and her husband Peter. The other team members include: Genie (Young Nak Korean Presbyterian Church), Stephanie(Grace Toronto Church), Melinda (First Alliance church) and Joy (Runneymede United).

WHAT WILL WE BE DOING?

Many of these victims of sexual slavery have lived in the brothels for so long that they have no skills, no viable alternatives or no other source of income but, with families to support, they have no choice but to endure a life of abuse. In 2007, one of the Ratanak Foundation partners Daughters Cambodia was established in the heart of a local brothel district known as Stung Meanchey, to reach out to victims of sexual trafficking. Its aim was to demonstrate Christ’s love in tangible ways by offering holistic care through a variety of programs in order to break the yoke of brothel life and enable and empower girls to rebuild their lives and make healthy choices that would ultimately result in long term transformational impact. This year we have the privilege of sowing seeds into these precious lives by teaching a variety of workshops to 50 girls at Daughters. These workshops include: budgeting, nutrition, anatomy, drug addiction, domestic violence, haircutting, choosing a mate, spiritual warfare, healing prayer ministry and member care. This will not be easy as the girls range in age from 13 to 20 years old but their educational and literacy level is that of a 10 year old or younger.

For me, this is another step deeper into the calling God has on my life and while I am excited to use my business skills to teach a daily budgeting class along with my team mates, it will be quite a challenge, as the majority (if not all) of the girls have never learned basic arithmetic skills of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. For someone like myself who works in the finance world, this experience gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘creativity.’ No doubt I will be stretched way beyond my comfort zone! Thank God, there are 4 school teachers on this team! It is times like this that I am reminded of the Lord’s promises from John 15:6 ‘apart from Him, I can do nothing’ and am encouraged by the words of Mother Theresa who said ‘love Jesus trustfully and He will use us to accomplish great things on the condition that we believe much more in His love than in our own weaknesses.’ Indeed if any significant learning and transformation is to happen in the lives of these young women, it is because of what He does in both their lives and our lives.

As Cambodia is notorious for being a source, transit and destination for sexual trafficking, this year we are also planning to prayer walk some very specific areas where sex tourism flourishes and where the illicit trade of selling underage girls occurs.

VISITING OTHER MINISTRIES

One of our visits will be in Svay Pak--- a village located 11km outside of the capital city of Phnom Penh that is notorious for the selling of their daughters into the sex trade. Last summer, our team had the privilege of running a VBS at Rahab’s house ---a former brothel that is now an outreach centre and a church. Through the perseverance of our partners who run the Newsong centre, God’s light is penetrating the darkness in that village and a pandemic of hope is starting to rise within the community. As Don Brewster our Newsong director wrote: Villagers are now believing maybe there’s a way to overcome the evil that has touched every corner of the village and assaulted every family. Just two years ago the Ministry of Social Affairs said, “Don’t waste your time in Svay Pak, it’s hopeless.” The village leader told me, “I’m happy the people traffic their daughters, then I can get money from them.” What a difference the unconditional love of Christ can make. This love first came to Svay Pak through the outreach done by girls at the Newsong centre who were once trafficked and held as slaves in this village. Today that love is multiplied through the Svay Pak Ministry Team and the church. Indeed God is using His redeemed ones to rebuild and bless this community. Two former victims of sex trafficking who have been reintegrated from the Newsong centre have chosen to open up a beauty shop in the heart of Svay Pak in order to be reflectors of God’s light in that place. I am looking forward to meeting them especially since one of them recently announced her engagement to a young Christian man. What a joy it is to witness how God is beginning to rewrite the script not only of this community, but of individual lives such as this young girl by restoring to her what she thought was lost forever—her dignity and her purity. Indeed, she is a living example that God not only hears the cries of the oppressed but He will rescue them and bestow on them a crown of beauty for ashes so that they will become a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.

Beyond the ministries at Daughters Cambodia and Svay Pak, we will be visiting some familiar places: joining AIDS orphans in their monthly birthday celebrations at Place of Rescue run by Marie Ens, a dear friend and mentor whose life and dedication to God’s purposes epitomizes ‘a long obedience in the same direction.’ As well, we plan on spending time with Pastor Sok & Savy Em who oversee the Tahas Bible Institute that seeks to equip and train young pastors and leaders in the church and finally, we look forward to reconnecting with Kim Bui who continues to reach out to Vietnamese children who are vulnerable to sexual trafficking.

For those of you who would like to journey along with us in prayer on a daily basis, you can follow our activities on our blog: http://ratanakmissions.blogspot.com/ where we hope to provide daily updates. We value your prayers for we know they will be like arrows shot into the heart of rape, destruction, and evil. For you will be interceding on behalf of innocence, justice, and righteousness and most of all, joining forces with the One who loves these young lives and who would choose to be abused and beaten for them. Indeed He did that and much more. He died for them but through His resurrection they too may rise again from the pit of shame, guilt, pain and trauma and experience new life in Him! A life filled with new dreams and possibilities to become all who He intended and designed them to be! A life that ultimately will reflect His beauty, His glory and the power of His redeeming love. Thank you for taking this time to read this prayer letter and for standing in the gap for us.

If you are living in Toronto, our Cambodian church friends that run Our Thai Restaurant are hosting a fundraiser buffet luncheon on behalf of our team (Adults: $25, Youth (13 to 17 yrs) $20, Kids (6 to 12 yrs): $10) on Sunday July 5th at 12:30pm. If you would like to attend please RSVP to me by Thursday July 2nd by email: or by calling me.

John 6:29 - What Should We Do?

Today's chapter in my one year bible reading plan is taken from John 6:22-42. The day before the crowd had witnessed a miracle---Jesus feeding 5000 with 5 loaves and fishes and this new day, they are hungry for Him, searching for Him first in Tiberias but He was gone. So they jumped into their boats and off they went to Capernaum. In finding Him, Jesus says 'I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don't be concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of His approval. They replied, We want to perform God's works too. What should we do? Jesus told them, 'this is the only work God wants from you. Believe in the one He has sent.'

We are just like these people, asking God what should we do because we want to perform the type of miracles that He does. And yet, Jesus's answer is simple 'believe in the one He (God) has sent.' Believing comes before doing. From believing flows all our actions, all our doing. What we believe determines how we respond. We cannot win any battles if we do not believe they can be won. God's message to us is first 'believe' and when you believe, the Lord indeed begins to work out that 'doing' in us in ways immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.

If I believe in the One God has sent, then no challenge, no trial, no conflict, no darkness, no evil, no pain, no suffering, no struggle cannot be overcome. If I believe in the One God has sent, then my life ought to reflect the attributes of God---His love, His kindness, His compassion, His tenderness, His righteousness, His justice. If I believe in the One God has sent, then my heart can be transformed to reflect the fruit of the Spirit---love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. If I believe in the One God has sent, then my choices ought to reflect His choices. If I believe in the One God has sent, then the things on His heart, ought to be the things on my heart. That which breaks His heart, should break my heart, that which grieves His spirit, should grieve my spirit, that which He says is true, I ought to be believe is true. If I believe in the One God has sent, then my entire being on this earth is to reflect His glory.

John 6 goes on to teach that Jesus is the Bread of Life and that whoever comes to Him will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in Him, will never be thirsty.

Dear Jesus, help me, help us to keep coming to you, we need your nourishment, we need you, we are only laboring in vain, if we are not abiding in you. Come and breathe your life in us afresh each day that we might daily believe in You. Flood our souls with your truth that we will believe your word and in so doing, stand firm against the fiery darts of the enemy and proclaim your truth that you being the Bread of life, will provide food for our souls, nourish us for the journey ahead, satisfy our longings and refresh us as we continue to run the race you have laid out for our lives. Let it be said of each of us, 'because we believed in the One whom God has sent, we like the saints of past, overthrew, kingdoms, ruled with justice and received what God had promised. We shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, escaped death by the edge of the sword, our weakness was turned into strength and we became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. (Hebrews 11: 33-34)

The Sanctity of Life - A Good Friday Reflection

"Do we believe in the sanctity of all human life, or do we believe in the sanctity of some human life?" I read this quote recently from a movie trailer on the Terry Schiavo Story that is soon to be released. Now this is not a commentary on euthanasia but I love the quote because it goes to the heart of how we see and value human beings. The dictionary describes ‘sanctity’ as the quality of something considered so holy or important it must be respected totally. The thesaurus gives other synonyms for holiness as the quality of being sacred. Christians believe that life is a gift from God. Jesus showed in his teaching that all people should be valued with dignity.

Do we really believe in the sanctity of ALL life or just SOME human life? As I ponder this, my mind instinctively goes to my little sisters around the world especially those who live in Cambodia---young girls for whom a life of captivity and sexual enslavement is the world they only know. I think especially of those who the Lord has given me the privilege of interacting with in Cambodia. I call them my ‘little sisters’ because I believe it is important to personalize their journey. To see them as if they were my own daughter or my own little sister so that I might in some small way enter into their world and share their pain and stand with them. I believe the moment we begin to ‘depersonalize’ these little ones by focusing on the statistics ie: over 1.2 million children enter into the sex trade each years---we fall into temptation that the problem is too huge, that little can be done. We see them as numbers, facts and figures and no longer human beings. But this is why I love how Jesus responds to the multitudes. For Him all life was precious. No one was a statistic, He knows all of us by name. He knows everything about each one of us. All life for Him was sacred. All life was created by God and for Him. He never de-personalized and kept the crowds at a distance, but saw that deep within their hearts, the longings and struggles of harassed souls. He never avoided the places of pain or suffering. Going to the pool of Bethsaida and noticing the many who were sick with various maladies, he was not overwhelmed but rather reached out His hand of love and say ‘do you want to be healed.’ In Jesus and through Jesus, I am reminded that all of life is sacred. Every human being is sacred, treated with utmost respect and dignity. No one is overlooked, no one is marginalized. Everyone is valued---the healthy, the sick, the poor, the rich, the disabled, the broken, the socially inept, the paralytic, the leper, the demon possessed, the oppressed, the prisoner and yes even the perpetrators and the murders.

As I reflect on this, my mind wonders to the Cross---that rugged cross in which He died upon. The cross symbolizes pain and suffering --- emotions and feelings that we so often want to avoid by medicating ourselves or distancing ourselves from. But Jesus set His heart resolutely on Golgotha. How do you and I react to that? Perhaps we cringe and turn our eyes and heart away. But He turned His eyes towards the cross, for our sins both past and present. He turned His heart towards us and demonstrated through the cross the depth of love He had for us and the depth of suffering He was willing to go through for your sake and mind. He embraced a level and depth of pain, mocking, suffering and torture that we will never fully comprehend. This is the mystery of the cross and the words of a song we sang at our Good Friday service rings in my brain. It brings me back to the foot of the cross and reminds me of the price paid for my life. The song is called ‘Jesus Thank You by Pat Sczebel:

The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend
The agonies of Calvary
You the perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son
Drank the bitter cup reserved for me
Your blood has washed away my sin
Jesus, thank You
The Father’s wrath completely satisfied
Jesus, thank You
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table
Jesus, thank You
By Your perfect sacrifice I’ve been brought near
Your enemy You’ve made Your friend
Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace
Your mercy and Your kindness know no end
Lover of my soul
I want to live for You
© 2003 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)

Jesus as I think of the words of this song, I am reminded that for you ALL life is sacred---You offered yourself as the perfect sacrifice to demonstrate how much you love every single one of us. The cross symbolizes the depth, breath, height and width of divine love that truly mystifies me.

But do we stop there? How quickly it is to forget and lose the awe and wonder of the Cross. But in these days, the Cross gives me a strange comfort and peace. For each Good Friday, I am reminded of the encounter I had with the Lord many years ago as He opened my eyes and revealed Himself to me in the most profound way that all I could do was cry and say ‘why would anyone die for me.’ The scales fell off and I discovered my worth and value in Christ. Amazing grace how can it be that thou my God would die for me.

For in the cross of Christ, I discover hope, meaning, purpose, healing and resurrection power. In the cross of Christ, I see the hope that is possible for those who the world does not value. For my little sisters in Cambodia who have been treated not as ‘sacred beings’ but as ‘sexual commodities’ I take heart knowing that in the cross their pain is known and through the cross, the shame, guilt, fear and trauma of their experiences can be healed and they will rise again to become a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendour. Today I cling to this truth as I received news of a little sister at the Newsong centre who I have not yet met but who attempted to commit suicide recently on two occassions. I pray that she will encounter the risen Lord Jesus Christ this weekend and in the days to come. That the despair, hopelessness and darkness that is overshadowing her soul will instead, give way to the truth that Jesus would and did give His life for her’s. That He values her and that she is worthy in His eyes and worthy of His love. That He is for her and she is more than a conqueror in Him. Oh Lord, hear the cries of this little one and come quickly to her as you come to all of us, carry her in your arms that she might experience your peace, your love and your tender compassion as you wipe away her tears and by the very stripes that you experienced on this day so many years ago when you were tortured, and beaten, may your very stripes be the healing balm upon her small body. Take her sorrows, take her shame, take her pain and take her suffering dear Jesus, and give her you peace. Oh Prince of peace, flood her heart with a fresh outpouring of your Holy Love, with a new song, flood her heart with the truth that though she may be struck down, she is not destroyed, for in you and through you, she has the resurrection power to rise to again from the ashes and experience new life with fresh hope in You. You have overwhelmed the grave Oh God, let her taste the victory of Calvary in a way that is meaningful for her at this time that she may look to you and say 'it is well with my soul, it is well with my soul.'

What Makes You Cry?

I've just finished listening to a sermon from my pastor and in it he was asking us 'what makes you cry?' Recently it seemed that CNN noted that Starbucks was now going to be selling instant coffee and one of their Ireporters commented that this news about Starbucks made them so angry they wanted to cry.' How sad it is, that something like this would make us cry? It's so easy for us as a society to focus on our trivial pursuits when there are far greater things that should move us to tears. My mind wondered to recent conversations I had had and an article that I had read---both of which made me cry. They both had exercised my anger as I sought God in prayer with the proverbial question of how long O'Lord? How long do you tolerate evil and the wickedness of moral depravity, how long?

The conversation that got me going was one in which a young friend who has been involved in development work in Africa shared about a seminar she went to. For the first time she heard about the atrocities done to women in the Congo. Innocent young women once being held captive and experiencing a level of evil that seem so hard to comprehend. One story my friend relayed was of a young woman who was strapped to a bed for 3 months and repeatedly gang raped on a daily basis. When she finally escaped her internal body completely destroyed. Now I am not a medical person but what was described to me was that her reproductive organs were deciminated as well she had no control over her bladder functions. This young victim commented that even now, the stench of semen surrounds her and she can't get rid of it. How long O'Lord do you tolerate this kind of dehumanization and degradation? My friend could hardly contain her emotion when she first heard this story. She went home and as she described it, cried so hard one night that she wanted to vomit. It was as if something inside of her needed to be expelled. The defilement she heard made her sick to her stomach.

What makes you cry? Is it the trivial? Or is something far greater or deeper? So often we may say Lord break our hearts with the the things that break your heart but do we really want that or is it just lip service? It is so easy for our hearts and minds to wander, to be distracted with the here and now, to be busy for the sake of being busy. I can't help but wonder if our busyness is just a protective cover that keeps our hearts from being broken with the things that break God's heart. My friend is back in Africa for a brief visit but I shared with her that when God reveals such levels of evil and brokenness in our world to us, it is a call to pray and seek His face. It is a treasure that He has deposited in us because He wants to show us what grieves His heart and to challenge us to respond. I don't want my heart to grow cold to these stories. I don't want to avoid them. For the day I ignore them, is the day I stop allowing my heart to be broken by the things that break God's heart. As hard as they are to hear them, I want to learn about them. This is the way of the cross. To walk the way of the cross is to enter into the suffering of the world. So often we want the 'crown of glory' but we don't want to wear the 'crown of thorns.'

The other story that made me cry recently come a bit closer to home. It is the calling that God has placed on my life to speak up for children who are sold into prostitution. Recently, I got a prayer letter from a missionary friend working in Cambodia. She works among the Vietnamese community, below is an excerpt from her letter:

On Saturday, December 20, 2008, at 06:15 I set out with two friends to help me visit the five NH schools that are under my care. At each school the individual classes performed a Christmas song together and several children read from Scripture. After the Christmas program was finished it was my turn to speak to the group. The children were very well behaved and listened well to my presentation of the gospel message. Starting with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, I explained to the children with pictures how sin entered the world and that we are each sinners who are separated from God. God sent Jesus to die on the cross for us so that we can go to heaven to be with Him, and not have to pay for our own sins. I explained that only through faith in Jesus can we go to heaven.

At the end of my presentation I invited all the children who wanted to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour for the first time to join me on the stage and prayed. The numbers of children responding to the gospel were for a total of 140 children. At first when I saw so many children came up to receive Christ, I was sceptical about their understanding of my message because some of the children were very young about 4 or 5 years old. I asked the children whether they knew that they were sinners; that Jesus died on the cross for their own sins; and if they wanted Jesus to forgive their sins and to become His children. All of the children understood and wanted me to pray for them. I praised the LORD for drawing so many young Vietnamese children to Him so that they could embrace His love in their rough lives and know that they can call on God when they are in trouble.

"ML" is a grade 3 student in NH school at KM 11. She comes from a Buddhist family and is the oldest girl in the family with one sister and two bothers. I noticed "ML" about a year ago because of her faith in Jesus and her village. She walked to NH church almost every Sunday and carefully listened to sermons. She always greeted me with a gentle head bowing and a sweet smile. One Sunday, I went with her to visit her family who lived in a small hut in “NC” village. I saw some of our drop-out students (13 to 15 years old) who worked as prostitutes. Later on, I found out that all the girls above 12 years old in “NC” village were sold by their parents into brothels. This information broke my heart and made me fearful for ML’s future since she was 11 years old at that time.

I visited ML many times and met only her mother who was busy selling some snacks in front of the house. I asked for her parents’ permission to take ML to a place where she would receive scholarship to study even in a university. Her mother always refused my offer and said that they loved her very much and could not bear to be away from their daughter even for one day.

I saw ML on Feb 4/09 and felt that some bad things had happened to her. She acted differently than at the Christmas time I last saw her. She still went to school but not the church. She wore a long sleeve black sweater at noon with the heat over 30 C degree. She was quiet, sad and not interested in choosing gifts from a Canadian team. It seemed like nothing could comfort or cheer her up.

I went back to school a few days after to talk to "ML" privately. She still wore the same long sleeve black sweater in a hot baking noon time sun. She did not look at me or greet me with her usual sweet smile. I found out that her parents went to Vietnam for the Vietnamese New Year (Jan. 26) to build up her grandmother’s tomb and left her and her 9 years old sister alone in their house. Her father lost his job about 4 months ago and lost a lot of money in the cock fights. I asked her where her parents had money for the trip and for the gold chain they bought for her. She told me her parents borrowed money. "ML" did not tell me, but through our conversation and feeling her unspoken pain and suffering, I knew that she had been sold for her virginity before the New Year to pay off the debt. I cried for her loss of innocence and broken spirit. I cried also for ML" younger sister and the many other young girls in the “NC” village. They would likely be sold just as "ML" and many other older girls.

Every time I read this story about "ML", I cry. I ask the Lord many questions. 'ML' is not just another child sold into prostitution. She is not just another statistic in this horrible travesty. She is a 'sister in Christ'---she is my 'little sister', she is a child of God for whom Christ died. How long O'Lord do you allow this evil to continue? How long O'Lord do you allow your precious children to be treated as commodities? How long O'Lord?

It is easy to be discouraged in this battle, when the tears are dried up what next? WHen the questions remain unanswered, what next? How do you persevere? I think of my missionary friend who faces these situations day in and day out. This is the bitter sweet experience of this ministry. Seeing many children become followers of Christ and yet seeing one be carted off like a sheep to the slaughter. But I have hope, this is what Easter is all about, we are called to enter into the darkness of Good Friday but we are not called to stay there. For Easter beckons us with the call of hope that Christ not only rose from the dead but His resurrection power is in everyone of us. His resurrection power is in "ML" and I have hope and faith that He did not put His seal on her for naught. But that she will rise again and He will restore, redeem and repay every single one of the days that the locust have eaten from her and she will no longer be shamed.

Thank you Lord Jesus for giving us the privilege of weeping with you over the brokenness of your world. You who were a man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief, know the pains and sufferings of the 'ML's of the world. Thank you that because you rose, ML can rise again. So while weeping may remain for a night, rejoicing comes in the morning.

LENTEN READING: Beloved

'No, the answer is not to say to oneself,'I am the beloved.' The answer is to claim our belovedness.

There are anything between six and twenty-six ways of saying,'I claim my belovedness.'For instance,there are all sorts of inner disciplines.

Some questions leading to an inner discipline are:'Do I keep choosing joy over sadness?''Do I keep choosing to speak a word of forgiveness instead of a word of revenge?'That is a very inner discipline.'How do I spend my time?'because there is a choice.'Do I read novels that don't get me anywhere,or watch TV that just makes me distracted?'Or,'Do I choose to read certain books or watch certain programsthat really help me?'That's also a way of claiming my belovedness.'

Am I going to be a garbage can of the world,into which I allow any television program and bookto be thrown?''Do I have a big garbage can in my head?'Do I choose to say,'I am the beloved.I am not going to listen to that stuff,not going to watch it?'

Then there's the discipline of relationship.'Who do I choose to be my friends?'Life offers constant choices,choices for the tools of my belovedness. Can I do it all by myself?One of the disciplines is that which comes from community.Can I hold onto my belovednesswhen the whole world is trying to tell meI am not belovedand therefore have to pay moneyso that I can feel beloved?'I need other people who say,'You don't have to do these things,you are loved.

'You need friends who physically touch you.There is a lot of need of physical embrace -kissing, hugging, holding, very normal physical contact -enormous need for that among the the elderly,among men, among women, among children.There's an enormous need for affirmation,for people to say,'What you said was really good and it really helped me.'There is an enormous need for phonecalls that say,'I have been thinking of youand been praying for you.'There is an enormous need for having people around.The Christian communityis a community of people who remind each other who they truly are -the beloved of God.

'Taken from 'BELOVED' by Henri Nouwen

The Red Hair Boy in Svay Pak

It's been a while since I last wrote on my blog. But tonight I am prompted to do so after I read a prayer request below from one of our Ratanak reps who has been in Cambodia over the last couple of months. Here is her prayer request below:

We were at Rahab House, a converted brothel in Svay Pak. We went to visit the Bible/worship program they have there for the community children 2 afternoons a week. When I think of "pimps" I think of hard, swaggering young or mid-age men. I was appalled to meet one such 'man' a skinny, little, 13 year old boy with bleached red hair. Yes, he has that hard look in his eyes - young-old eyes - and he swaggers and thinks he's cool until the frisbees came out and the stickers, then he ran around and laughed with the others. But there is such a haunting, lost look in him even with play. He is a leader. Please pray that God will get into his heart and change him - old things pass away, new things come.

This young boy that she refers to is called 'How' --- one who I and those on the team that went in July 2008 know quite well. He was one of the cheeriest kids we know but I am compelled now to pray for him. He is not just a boy in a photo that I took, but one who God allowed my team members and myself to interact with and to connect with. In reading this prayer request something in my heart sank. I was saying 'no Lord, not one of our boys, not one that we know.' It is as if in a strange way he is our son. He is as much a victim of this insidious evil darkness as the little girls he is offering to sell. Satan has bound both the boys and girls of this community in such chains that one can't help but wonder whether anything good can come out of this community but I know in my heart that He did not allow us to meet these kids for nothing. Each one of them---both boys and girls are precious treasures in His sight and He has a plan and purpose for their life which they cannot see at this point but I am trusting that the presence of Rahab house and our Ratanak partners in Svay Pak will indeed shine God's light in the hearts of these young souls so that they will be transformed and be set free from the grip of the devil.

Dear Jesus, rend the heavens and come down. See your children, the ones you created with such potential being deceived and blinded by the stronghold of satan. Intervene and show yourself strong. Lord your word says that you are mighty to save and deliver. Will you O God, grab hold of 'How's heart' and open it up to your ways and your truth. Set this captive free.Break down those ancient gates that bind him to the darkness for there is no pit too dark that you cannot reach down and pull your children out of. Rescue him for your namesake, so that your kingdom can come in his heart, so that He will know the One who loves him with an unfailing and everlasting love. Thank you Lord that you are the God of the Impossible and you will build your kingdom and the gates of hell will not prevail. Give us the strength and perserverance to intercede for these who are lost, who are in such darkness that they don't even realize that there is a way out, that the Light can shine and give them hope and put a new song in their hearts. Thank you Jesus for the privilege you give to us to stand in the gap for these, to not lose hope, to not be discourage but to persevere on their behalf for your Renown.

An Early Christmas Present - Sung has been found!

Last night as I sit at my computer I was in shock and disbelief at what I read. My eyes filled with tears but not tears of sadness but tears of joy knowing what a great God we serve. He indeed is the God of the Impossible who can find a needle in a haystack. He is a God who hears the prayers of a man, my fellow ministry partner and the founder of the Ratanak Foundation Brian McConaghy who for years has been relentless in trying to track down a little girl named Sung who was brutally raped by a Canadian pedophile Donald Bakker who is the only Canadian ever charged under our country's sex tourism law. The email was telling me that 'Sung' had been found.


A rehabilitation centre that we fund in Cambodia called "New Song" is named after two girls 'Nhu' who is now working with another Christian agency and 'Sung' who for years has been missing and presumed to have either been trafficked into another country or dead. Yesterday, Brian found out that Sung has been found. In the future, we hope to be able to share more about this story.

For now, Sung's 'discovery' brings out many emotions in me. She is another child that represents hope to me. Hope in a God who does not forget those whom He has engraved on the palm of His hands. The world may forget her, the people who use and abuse her may see her as disposable, but He who died for her will never forget her, for her walls are ever before Him. These are the words from Isaiah 49:15-16 that I am reminded of at this time. For it was these very verses that the Lord impresed upon my heart some 4 years ago when I saw the plight of the Vietnamese children who lived along the riverbanks of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers in Cambodia. I remember wondering how they could ever have hope when they were so displaced and marginalized with no identity papers, ailens in a country that didn't want them and ignored by the country in which their ancestors were born. Yet God spoke to me very clearly that time saying He had not forgotten them. When I think of Sung, it is as if He is saying 'see, I have not forgotten them---now don't you forget them. Keep praying, keep persevering, keep speaking up, keep seeking justice on their behalf, keep moving forward, keep enduring, keep believing Me, keep trusting Me especially when the visible reality says otherwise, keep hoping, keep pressing on for your labors are not in vain, keep fighting the good fight, keep shining My light and you will see Me fulfill My promises in Isaiah 61:1-4.'

Sung's discovery has lit a fire under my heart in a way that I never could have anticipated. Thank You Jesus for these unexpected gifts. You are the ultimate Gift that keeps on giving.

Reflecting God's Beauty In A Broken World

Child Sex Slaves--- 3 words that do not belong in the same sentence and yet this unthinkable and horrible travesty not only exists but it is thriving and growing. Today, there are over 1 million children who enter the sex trade each year. In Cambodia, girls may be sold into sex slavery as young as five! The "old" girls are 11-13 years old! Torture and violence are a girl’s daily companions. She will be raped 8 to 10 times a day by adult males who come from all over the world to humiliate her. They will take photos and videos of her terror so they can "re-live" the moment and impress their friends.

But her story remains untold. Her voice is silenced by the fear, shame and guilt that she is forced to endure. Her body is desecrated by the multitude of sexually transmitted diseases it is forced to host. She is hopeless, helpless, has no passport or papers, no identity. She has become what they want her to be – a product- a sexual commodity!

Yet it is into this darkness that God is calling His people through the words from Isaiah 61:1-4 to be His light by entering into the battle against oppression, to bind up the broken hearted, to release these prisoners from the dungeons of sex trafficking, to set these captives free; to bestow on them His crown of beauty instead of ashes, to replace their spirit of despair with His garments of praise, to pour His oil of joy upon their crushed hearts so that they can become oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.

Will you be part of God's Isaiah 61 team by reflecting His beauty in a broken world as you speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, restore hope and dignity to those who are viewed as disposable and invest in their lives in order for them to fulfill their God given destinies?

The Ratanak Foundation is having its 3rd Seek Justice Conference entitled: Reflecting God's Beauty in a Broken World on January 16 & 17, 2009, in Toronto.

Click on link to read more abou the conference details: Conference Info and how to register for this upcoming event.

I Will Rise

These past few weeks there has been so much going on in my mind. When I think of all the planning and logistics of the upcoming conference in January, when I think of my spiritual daughters in Cambodia and the pain and trauma they are dealing with, when I think of a good friend who was ministering to these little ones and now she herself is going through physical suffering that has resulted in her temporary leaving the field---all of these things weigh on my spirit and I am so easily tempted to run in the other direction. But there is a song that has been my anthem these past few weeks, a song that has played in my mind, a song that enables me to run this race that God has called me to pursue, a song that gives rise to hope. It is called 'I will Rise' by Chris Tomlin.

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And riseI will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

As I think of the lyrics, I think of the journey that my little sisters in Cambodia have experienced and my good friend who is facing physical challenges, I think of the loneliness that leadership involves and yet through all of this Jesus is the anchor to each of our souls. He is the Peace that we have each come to know in our trials, He is the One who has overcome and gives us His power to overcome. Thank you Lord that you have won the victory for us and there is a day when the darkness around us will break into light and we will rise on eagles wings. And we like the angels will sing 'Worthy is The Lamb'---You indeed are worthy O'Lord to receive all glory and honor. Give to each of us the courage, perserverance, endurance and resolve to move forward, knowing that with each step we take, You are right beside us to guide and direct our paths. And just like Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel, Jephthah and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies (Hebrews 11:32-25) Quicken our faith that we too will live with the same kind of spiritual tenacity that these saints of old demonstrated so that we can testify how great is our God who is indeed worthy to receive all praise, honor and glory!

Dateline NBC: Update on Children for Sale

In 2003 Dateline NBC went undercover with International Justice Mission (IJM) and did a raid on a brothel in Svay Pak. Today that brothel has ben converted to a community outreach centre called Rahab house. The place where our team did our VBS this past July. Four of the girls who were rescued from that raid back in 2003 are featured in an update on that documentary called 'Children For Sale.'



This is an 8 minute video: Dateline NBC Update on Children for Sale


It is both fascinating and encouraging to note that the Ratanak Foundation has been instrumental in developing and/or is currently funding ALL of the projects featured. God is good in giving us these glimpses of the impact that is possible as we seek to invest in the lives of girls who society deems disposable. Seeing the faces of these 'my little sisters' encourages me to keep pressing on knowing that He is the God of the Impossible, redeeming lives for His glory, restoring dignity and giving hope to the hopeless. Indeed nothing is too hard for the One who came to give us life and give it to us in abundance.

Update on Cambodia Trip 2008

A typical scene outside Rahab House after the daily VBS

It has been a few weeks since we have returned from our trip to Cambodia and on behalf of the team thank you for all your prayer support and the many ways you have encouraged us. When I reflect upon our experiences and think of all the prayers that were offered up on our behalf the words from 1 Thessalonians 5:24 come to mind: The One who calls you is faithful and he will do it. Our team indeed experienced God’s faithfulness and His provision for every need and request that was asked of Him ---whether it was peace for a nation during an election campaign, to unity within the team and between our Cambodian partners, to resolving ministry challenges in Svay Pak, to helping us to connect with the kids, to keeping us healthy and sustaining us as we endured the heat, to providing electricity for the VBS when we needed it the most, to protecting us from any unseen dangers ---God was gracious and good to us---all the time!

Kids sharing a meal at the VBS

The boys leading the worship

Lunch time at Rahab House during the VBS

BEAUTY IN BROKENNESS
These past few weeks as I have been thinking about our time in Cambodia, the theme that has been emerging is seeing beauty in brokenness. Before entering into the Svay Pak community—I could only see the darkness, the brokenness, and the depravity of this community. It was and is very easy to judge those who reside here and all that it represents. After all, Svay Pak is renown for the sex trafficking of underage girls. Its external appearances provide an eerie reflection of the hidden darkness that under girds this community. The streets are lined with filth, garbage is a common sight where ever you turn, the buildings are in disrepair and the smells are intoxicating as you walk through the alley ways. Yet the words of Mother Theresa remind me that if we judge people, we have no time to love them. It is in these very places, God longs to pour His holy love and to bring forth luminous light so that even the dark is illuminated into a community that is often viewed with scorn and disgust. In many ways, the outreach ministry that AIM4Asia begun at Rahab house last October reflects the first strands of beauty that God has been weaving in this place. The two week VBS that our team did as we partnered with AIM workers Joseph and Ratanak, CEF workers and the girls from the Newsong centre, enabled us to see a different side of Svay Pak---the beauty of His precious little ones and the potential that lies in them, amidst the brokenness in this community. Each day when our van would enter into the main street and head towards Rahab house, we would be escorted by a small but boisterous entourage of kids smiling, waving and chasing along side our van. When we arrived at our destination and stepped out into the morning heat, we were like local celebrities, as the kids gathered around to touch us, call us by name or hug us. For all the challenges these young lives have known –whether it be verbal, physical or sexual abuse, feeling marginalized, forsaken and mistreated, their actions towards us were welcoming as they sought to express their joy, love and excitement to us. What started our as a VBS for 55 kids grew to 165 kids by the end of our two weeks-- so many faces, so many smiles, so many longing to be acknowledged, so many to feed, so many desiring to be held or touched, so many names to remember. Where does one begin without feeling overwhelmed? When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36) To be like Jesus in this environment meant to sow His seeds of love and compassion and to see the one child in the midst of the multitude as we interacted with them through the bible lessons, the songs, the games, the crafts and the lunches we provided. Other times it was walking hand in hand with our little tour guides leading the way, singing in Khmer ‘Thank you, thank you Jesus’ as we meandered our way through the alley ways to the surrounding wooden shacks in the neighbourhood that represent home for so many. The kids would stop and proudly introduce us to their families or advise us who to give the food packets to. In the visible reality, it is hard to see what kind of impact these small gestures have on a community that is suspicious of outsiders and yet the words of Mother Teresa has serve to encourage me: Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. It is the intensity of love we put into our gestures that makes them something beautiful for God. Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

Kingdom Kids Celebration

Christ’s intense love continues to be poured out as our partners at AIM4 Asia are in the midst of preparing to open a school for the kids at Rahab house within the next month. In the meantime, a weekly church service that begun over the past month has seen a steady flow of participation from the local residents and just last week 150 adults attended the service. Through all these ministry efforts in Svay Pak, we have heard that some families are no longer willing to send their daughters when a pimp comes to get them. This is a small ray of light that is shinning in the midst of the darkness. This is the invisible reality in which God is building His kingdom in the most unusual place and the gates of hell will not prevail. Only He can take a former brothel and transform it into a place of worship where His name is exalted! Only He can take a place that was once a place of death and destruction and transform it into a place of life and hope. Only He can chip away and breakdown the ancient walls and gates that have imprisoned this community, so that the King of Glory can enter in, in all His fullness.

After our time in Svay Pak, we had the opportunity to spend a day at Daughters Cambodia which ministers in Stung Meanchey---a slum that is a brothel area for local Cambodians. Daughters now supports 100 former prostitutes by providing them employment opportunities and a variety of services to empower them to make life style changes. Someone once said that people may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel. This statement could not be more true when I think of the children of these former prostitutes. We had the opportunity to play some games and teach them some crafts yet the greatest pleasure came in presenting each of them with a t-shirt that had the Canadian logo and a teddy bear made by the Evergreens from our church. I have never seen so much joy and delight in the faces of kids as I saw in these, when they squealed with excitement as they discovered they were each going to get these gifts. For children who have nothing and are treated as nothing, their laughter and joy reminds me that as humans we long to be valued, to know that someone cares, to feel loved, to feel special and to be treated with dignity and worth. It is through these opportunities as mundane and simple as they seem that God revealed His beauty to us in these broken communities.

Beauty in Restoration – a wounded healer!

But God’s beauty is also being restored and emerging in those whose lives have endured suffering beyond comprehension. I had the opportunity to reconnect with Srey Neth, my spiritual daughter who lived through months of hell being raped daily by 10 to 20 men and being beaten and tortured. As I listen to her talk about the horrors she endured, I felt so blessed and privileged that she would share her pain with me. She is still on a journey of restoration and while she is not yet a believer, her wounds are no longer a source of shame. They have become a source of healing and a source of hope for other young women who have gone through a similar ordeal as our Lord (who gives strength to the weak) is the one who ultimately is giving her the courage and the voice to speak up and tell her story. Indeed, we have a God who is mighty to deliver us from the darkest pits of our lives and make something beautiful out of our pain that we in turn can become wounded healers.

At the End of the VBS

Returning Home---what next?
As we returned home, the real challenge is to keep moving forward and asking God to integrate into our lives what we have each learned and the practical ways He desires us to respond. It is a called to live intentionally and to wait on Him for the next steps. To wait open-endedly as Henry Nouwen once said is to be actively present to the moment, trusting that something will happen to us that is far beyond our imaginings. It is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life, trusting that He moulds us according to His love and not according to our fear. It is my prayer that each of us will look to the Lover of our souls as the One who ultimately will give us courage and faith to live out the dreams He has placed in our hearts and to walk fearlessly with Him as we seek first His kingdom. Thank you again for being a part of our journey.

Home is where your heart is?

It’s been just over 2 days since we arrived back ‘home’ but I’m reminded of a comment one of my missionary friends said to me many years ago. “We can leave a place physically but we have not left it emotionally.” I am here in Canada but my heart is not here. I am not ready to talk to anyone except those who have been on the trip. It is normal to feel this way---to want to re-live the ups and downs, the challenges, the joys, the laughter, the tears and heartaches, to reminisce about the kids we met and the stories that touched our hearts. All of this is part of that mountain top experience of a short term experience but we are also called to come down from the mountain. It is easy to stay there to relish in those divine moments. These are the classic symptoms of re-entry culture shock that I and a few of my teammates are encountering. It will take some time for the heart and soul to realign with the head. I am not surprised that I am feeling this way but it’s been a long time since I had this kind of emotional response. I just have to be still and allow the Lord to do what He needs to do --- to speak to my heart according to His timeline and not to rush the process. It takes strength to wait but it is in the waiting that I often discover new life and new inspirations. So now the hardest part of this journey begins. Waiting and resting in His faithfulness to encounter another divine moment of His choosing and timing that will ultimately lead to a deeper transformation within each of us.

Today as I return to work and walk down a familiar street in the financial district, I am once again faced with the realities of working in an environment that affords me the opportunities to go to Asia annually to encourage, refresh and bless others. I love what I do here but I face this ongoing tension of two passions---one that enables me to work in a dynamic marketplace and the other which pulls at me to be in Cambodia. At times like this, these passions seem so far apart and yet God has shown me that they can be integrated. I head to my desk on the trading floor, research reports strewn over the desk and chair. I turn on my computer and am greeted with 758 emails….methodically I delete about 100 of them in an hour. It’s easy to go through the motions but I know that too will pass. So for now, the words of Jim Elliot are my solace: “Wherever you are, be all there,” not living in the past and not fantasizing about the future. God wants you in the present because that’s where His grace will flow. God meant it for good also means you can look expectantly toward the future. Come Lord Jesus, let your grace flow down as we look to you with anticipation. Teach us to walk in your ways regardless of circumstance or mindset.

Live in Phnom Penh!

I've been up since 3am this morning ---I would like to think its the jeg lag but given that we went to sleep at 7pm, I think I have had way more sleep than my body is used to :-). it's almost 6am here and my roommate is asleep so i'm typing this from the bathroom! :-) That's probably TMI (Too much info) for some of you but alas, this is the fun of being flexible on a missions trip...you do the most odd things that you would not dream off doing at home.

Yes we are live in Phnom Penh! We arrived in Phnom Penh with all our 12 pieces of luggage including one electronic piano that we offered to take over for Pastor Sok Em who is overseeing the Tahas Bible Institute. Thank you for all your prayers---God has been so faithful and has given us much favor right from the beginning of this journey. The ticket agent at the Cathay Pacific counter in Toronto only charged us a quarter of the cost that we were quoted to bring the electronic piano with us. Then one of our team mates, Charlene got an extra blessing as she was upgraded to business class for the long flight. We never saw her till we landed in our stopover to Hong Kong---she claimed to have passed through the economy cabins to say hi to us but we know she was just relishing and soaking in her business class experience for all it was worth! The 19 hour flight over seemed rather short as time just flew. I am not sure if it is because I am just getting used to these long haul flights or maybe it was the conversations that I was engrossed in with one of my team members.

Arriving at Phnom Penh’s International Airport---Pochentong around 10:45am on Sat morning, we appear to be the only flight in as all was quiet. I have already noticed a change from last year—now there is a formal line to process your visa application versus the typical mad dash that often ensued to get to the counter. Now it is more orderly although I still haven’t quite figured out why there needs to be 10 people behind the counter to process our visa application. Nonetheless, this is Cambodia and this is how things are done! ;-) One of my concerns passing through the customs was what duty we would be charged for bringing in the electronic piano. I have never had to declare anything in the past trips but I was quickly reminded of a prophetic word spoken over me by a friend recently when she said this trip would be like a ‘first visit’ to Cambodia. So here I was---dealing with one of my ‘firsts’---declaring something for duty. Not knowing what kind of duty we would have to pay and being mindful of a hidden fee (ie. A bribe), on the plane over, I had prayed and ask the Lord to go before us and that the custom officials would be reasonable with the duty. Once again God extended His favour over us as I informed the officials that this electronic piano was for a church and they waved me through without even asking me to pay anything. Thank you Jesus for watching over us in all the details! The hotel where we were staying had sent a van to pick us up but with all that we brought we also had to hire a taxi---another new thing---new taxi cars ---Toyota Camerys painted white with a yellow line highlighting the word ‘taxi’. We head out onto the main road finally here after all the training and packing. I am excited for my 4 team members (Brenda, Genie, Hiroko and Jan) for who this trip is a ‘first’ ever missions experience and a first visit to Cambodia.

The hotel is another first for me but it is a place that is a frequent stay for my other Ratanak colleagues. It is located near the Independence monument and a far cry from the suburb of Tuol Kork where I am used to staying. I have a sense that this hotel will be a key place for future ‘Ratanak teams’ to stay as God is raising up people who want to come and serve over here and who He has connected us with. We are in the heart of the city and so it will be another opportunity to learn about my surroundings and become acquainted with life in the city. We didn’t do much our first day as it took a while for everyone to get unpacked and settled in---what would one expect with 6 females!

Thankfully everyone is feeling good and so we went down to the waterfront using one of my favourite modes of transportation---the tuk tuk. I love bargaining with the tuk-tuk drivers as it gives me the opportunity to negotiate with my limited Khmer. For the price of US$2.00 all 6 of us managed to squeeze into this little motorcycle drawn carriage that strained under the excess body mass that it was transporting. We arrived at our destination -- a familiar jaunt that I have frequented with other international workers—the Kiwi restaurant that looks onto the Tonle Sap river and indulged in some typical Cambodian dishes—Morning glory--a sauted leafy garlic vegatable that grows near the sewage---trust me its really tasty! Then there is Lok Lak—yes its that meat dish with a lime, blackpepper sauce that I can never get enough of. After our meal we headed down for a stroll along the waterfront. It was fun observing my teammates cross the motorcycle, SUV laden street of Sisowat Quay as they made their way through the chaotic traffic of this boulevard. The waterfront is a place that is surrounded with lots of activity. Cambodian families sitting around having picnics enjoying the 'sea breeze', young couples or groups of friends just hanging out, little boys and girls panhandling and selling books on Cambodia. But it also is a place that the sex tourists hang out. I wish I had taken a picture of one of the restaurants we walked by---5 single middle aged white males each at separate tables taking in the scenery. I try not to judge them but its a sight that is so common place here.

Anyway its Sunday morning now and we'll be heading to the Sunway Hotel for the International church service and then it is off to Tuol Sleng or S21. More on that later today.

The Countdown Begins!

We leave late this evening at 11:35pm enroute to Hong Kong before we touch down in Phnom Penh on Sat morning. I'm running on a bit of adrenalin at the moment having averaged around 5 hours a sleep for the past few nights. Last night I was down to 4 hours but am not too worried. The way I see it is that I'm preparing myself for the time change. God has been so gracious each night in sustaining me and giving a deep REM sleep so its all good. These past few days have been a bit crazy as we organize ourselves. Despite the ample luggage allowance of 70 lbs per bag and the ability to carry two bags each we have been redistributing all the items we bought. It's been crazy but at the same time worth the effort because of who we are taking it for.

So what are we bringing? Thanks to some very special seniors at my church as well as a group of high school students that go to Char's school, we have over 300 teddy bears to distribute. It is neat to see young and old get involved and I pray that in the years to come God will continue to raise up a generation of people regardless of age to begin to speak up and be involved in seeking justice for the plight of child sex slaves. We are also bringing 80 plus T-shirts with the Canada logo to distribute to kids and adults at Daughters Cambodia, lipsticks for the caregivers at Newsong, 100 hand made necklaces with a cross to give to my little sisters at Newsong, crafts and game equipment for the VBS, care packages for international workers who we will meet, a paino keyboard for one of our pastor friends, chocolates and assorted goodies. I think Walmart made a killing on us! :-) Char was able to get one of her students to paint a mural on a big bedsheet that reflects the scenery in Cambodia. We hope to put this up at Rahab House as it will be part of our VBS Theme of Kingdom Kids.

As I head out on this trip it seems a bit different than the others and in many ways it is. In a sense it is the next step deeper into a journey and a calling that God has placed on my life so many years ago. The opportunity to partner with former child prositutes and to gain a taste of ministering to children at risk is a God given dream come true. I continue to stand in awe of the Lord's faithfulness and His sovereignty in orchestrating connections and events with people and organizations that have fueled this passion in me. This morning I was able to connect via text message with one of my little sisters in Cambodia. She herself a former sex slave is now a spokesperson for an organization that is involved in reintegrating girls back into society. I am excited to see her again. She has offered to come and help teach the kids at Svay Pak the songs that she knows. In her words's 'I want then to know there is hope'. As she herself is on a journey of discovering new hope, my own prayer is that she will know the Source of that Hope---the One who knows her by name, the One who can put a new song in her own heart, the One who has come to give her a hope and a future!

Definition of Worship

I read this definition from a recent devotion by Ravi Zacharias.

The definition comes from the famed archbishop William Temple: “Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose--all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable.”

Dear Lord Jesus, take us deeper into the heart of worship that we might worship you in this all encompassing way that William Temple describes---submitting ourselves fully into all of who you are and claim to be. Sanctify us daily through the reading of your Word that our minds might be fully consecreated to you so that every waking moment you are enlarging our divine creativity and expanding our awareness of your beauty in the mundane and in the majestic. Let it be that our hearts may daily receive your love as the Holy Spirit flows in us pouring our your love into the deepest areas of our souls so that we in turn can be Christ's fragrance of love to a hurting world. And make our wills be inclined in complete surrender to your Kingdom purposes so that our entire being may adore you as the lyrics from the song called 'Let Us Adore You' describe!

The heavens declare
The glory of God
And all of the world
Will join the praise
His wonders proclaim
The oceans and skies
Lift up their voice
And all all He has made
Will rise to bless
The King of all kings.

Let us adore Him
Let us adore Him
Jeus Christ is the Lord

Come and behold Him
Bow down before Him
Jesus Christ is the Lord

Eternity's King
Is coming again
Though all of the earth
Will fade away
His truth will remain

Hallelujah Hallelujah
You are worthy of all praise

Cambodia Bound - July 2008

Eight years have passed since my first visit to Cambodia in 2000 and as I prepare for my 7th trip from July 10th to August 2nd, God has brought to mind the same verse He gave me on that initial trip. Philippians 3:10 says “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Over the years, as I had the opportunity to visit Cambodia, I have discovered that to share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings is to enter into the suffering of this nation. These past 3 years, the Lord has narrowed the focus of what that involves by resurrecting a dream He had placed in my heart some 18 years ago—to be an active participant and advocate in seeking justice for girls who are victims of sexual slavery. To enter into their suffering after all, means allowing our hearts to be broken again and again and again by the atrocities they have endured. This is not a ministry that one would choose, but as Ravi Zacharias once said, unless we understand a person’s pain we will never understand a person’s soul. God indeed has given me such a privilege to be a part of their journey by spending time with them, by mobilizing others to give a voice to their plight, by interceding for their healing, by investing in their future as I partner with organizations who seek to restore dignity to lives that so often have been viewed as disposable. To know Christ and the power of His resurrection in this ministry is to witness how He can breathe new life into lives left for dead; lives that have been traumatized, terrorized and broken at the most sacred levels. Yet in Him and through Him, we have the privilege of seeing them be transformed from a child sex slave to a child of Christ as He redeems them from a life filled with hopelessness, fear, shame and guilt to one filled with hope, love, joy, peace and purpose as they discover their true value and worth in Him.

Joining me for this year’s pilgrimage to Cambodia are 5 others each of whom God has hand picked. Charlene my fellow armour bearer who has participated in 2 previous trips to Cambodia; Hiroko a mother of two daughters, who volunteers with International Justice Mission; Brenda who has served the youth at my church and whom God has given a heart for kids; Janice who attended our Slaying The Giant conference last year and is following God’s promptings to take more tangible action to speak up for child sex slaves and Genie, who had no interest in Cambodia nor missions, until the Holy Spirit touched her when Brian McConaghy, the founder of Ratanak, spoke at her church last fall.

GOING OUTSIDE THE CAMP
So what will we be doing? We have been blessed with a very special opportunity to go into the heart of a community called Svay Pak---a notorious brothel area that in the past has catered to child prostitution. Today much of this illicit trade still exist, but it is hidden in plain sight as the kids do not live at brothels but live with their families and are summoned when their ‘services’ are required in the evening. As a team, we are joining hands with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) Cambodia, Aim4Asia staff and Cathy De La Cruz an OMF missionary, to conduct a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for two weeks at a community centre called Rahab House ---a former brothel which is now being rented by one of the Ratanak Foundation partners AIM4Asia. This former brothel was highlighted in a Dateline NBC documentary in 2003 called ‘Children For Sale’ and was the very place from which International Justice mission (IJM) rescued 37 young girls. Last year, I visited this building in its sordid state and walked inside these small cubicles where young girls were raped and tortured daily. Today, this very building has been transformed both inside and out as a team visiting from Fairview Presbyterian Church ,Vancouver, recently tore down the cubicles and repainted and renovated the entire property. God is redeeming this property for His purposes ---no longer is it a place of pain where screams would be heard, it has become a place of laughter, a place of joy and a place offering hope to a generation of kids who are always at risk of being sold into the sex trade. This building to me has become ‘holy ground’--- a symbol of God’s presence, a symbol of new life, a symbol of His redemptive purposes---it is a place where God’s light can be found amidst the darkness that pervades a community that desperately needs to be set free from the grip of Satan’s tyranny.

Also joining us in this VBS outreach in Svay Pak are some special young friends from the Newsong Centre that is funded by Ratanak. Some of you may recall that the Newsong Centre is a rehabilitation centre for girls who are rescued from the sex trade. I look forward to partnering with these precious ones who to me are living testimonies that God can do immeasurable more than we can ever ask or imagine. Indeed, they reflect the power of His resurrection and demonstrate by their lives, that we are more than conquerors through Him.

During our weekends and in our 3rd week, we also will be spending time prayer walking brothel areas and ministering to missionaries from a variety of ministries. Specifically, we will be going to some of my familiar jaunts---participating in the monthly birthday party at Place of Rescue AIDS Centre and orphanage run by my dear friend Marie Ens. We will spend time with Pastor Sok & Savy Em who oversee the Tahas Bible Institute located in Kampong Chhnang that seeks to equip and train pastors, and we will re-connect with Kim Bui, a C&MA missionary, who manages New Hope Ministries which provides education to the marginalized Vietnamese community that has a notorious track record for selling their daughters into prostitution. We will also be attending prayer meetings of International Justice Mission(IJM) Cambodia and another organization whose name remains anonymous as it is a short term assessment centre that ministers to young girls who are immediately rescued from brothel raids. Lastly, we will be connecting with Daughters Cambodia one of the newest Ratanak partners. Daughters offers transitional housing, vocational courses in addition to small business schemes all of which provide viable alternatives for girls who want to leave the sex trade. On Easter Sunday, 14 girls were baptized and with each coming week the ministry seems to be growing as more girls discover a new life of freedom, hope and peace outside the brothel. But this ministry doesn’t just limit its work to victims of sexual trafficking, it also seeks to reach out to those whose business is to exploit women and children—the brothel owners. Recently, two brothel owners have started attending church. It is this kind of radical ministry that serves to remind me that just as Jesus went outside the ‘camp’ (Hebrews 13:13) so too He calls us to do the same. John Piper once said, God is calling us to go outside the place of comfort and safety and religious sanctuary to join Jesus in the risky places, the dangerous places, the dirty places. It represents the priority of resisting the incredible inertia of comfort and security—of wanting to spend all our time inside the camp. But what is outside the camp? Strangeness, uncertainties, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes. When God says to us, "Go outside the camp with my Son to share the abuse he shared," he means, "Let your light so shine before men"—before lost and needy men outside the camp, not just in the ease and comfort of your church and your home. The light should shine in the dark. And it's dark outside the camp.

As we head out to these places that are ‘outside the camp’, places where darkness reigns, we know that apart from God and without His Spirit working in and through us, we will be labouring in vain to shine His light and to be His witnesses that the gospel is truly the hope of the nations, and so we value your prayers for our time in Cambodia. For those of you who would like to journey along with us in prayer on a daily basis, I have enclosed our ministry schedule as well as a link to our blog: http://cambodiamission2008.blogspot.com/ where we hope to provide daily updates while in Cambodia.

Pray that we will have minimal jet lag and that our luggage will arrive safely including a piano keyboard for one of the missionaries.

Pray for the children in Svay Pak who will be attending the VBS that God will prepare their hearts to be receptive to His word and that it will fall on ‘good soil.’

Pray for all whom we are partnering with: AIM4Asia workers, CEF workers, the girls from the Newsong Centre, Cathy De La Cruz and also for each of us on our team that a spirit of unity will pervade all that we do.

Pray for protection over us and our families as we enter into places of darkness that God would surround us, sustain us, keep us healthy and seal of any access points in which the enemy would attack us.

Pray that God’s name would be glorified in all the VBS lessons, the games, the music and the crafts.

For those of you who live in Toronto, our Cambodian friends that run Our Thai restaurant (in Vaughan) is hosting a fundraiser buffet luncheon (Adults: $20, Kids: $10) on Sunday July 6th at 12:30pm. If you would like to attend please RSVP to me by Monday June 30th by email

Reflecting God's Beauty

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful privilege and pleasure to go on a brief holiday to Honolulu, Hawaii. It was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Toronto life and an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. Hawaii indeed at least the parts I saw felt like heaven on earth. One of the places we visited is the Lyon Arboretum. I had never even heard of the word ‘arboretum’ before but quickly discovered it is a tropical garden. This arboretum that we visited is a rainforest of sorts as it is a 194 acre garden in the scenic Manoa Valley. Visiting this place gave me a whole new perspective on God’s creation. Everywhere we walked and ‘hiked’ we saw a variety of plants, ferns, flowers all reflecting different shapes and forms and colours.

At one point, I just stopped in wonder and began to think, could this be what the Garden of Eden must have been liked? Such beauty, such detail to intricacy, such variety, such vibrancy in the colours of the flowers, such uniqueness in each shape of the ferns and plants…I turned to one of my fellow travellers and we both remarked ‘how could anyone not believe there is a Creator when you see this kind of creation. It was breadth taking.

I returned home and found myself admiring the trees near outside my home…the flower buds were slowly coming out and each day the colours from the flowers on one particular tree got brighter and brighter and the aroma became more prominent. I can’t help but think that we are just like those flowers and plants. God has created each of us so unique, so different in shape, size and colour and yet together we reflect His beauty and glory in a way that paints a wonderful picture of the Master’s hands. Each of us are like flowers, who emanate the aroma of Christ where ever we are and whatever He has called us to do. Through the gifts and talents He has given us, we reflect His beauty to a world that is filled so often with darkness and despair.

In just over 6 weeks, 6 of us will be heading to Cambodia, a place that is all too familiar with darkness, desolation and destruction. Yet even there, God longs to see His glory shine. And so we will head there, trusting Him to lead us on, to be His flowers as He waters us daily through His word and through His Spirit, giving us life that we might offer His light and life to those who have never tasted nor experienced His light. It is my prayer that we will be the fragrance of Christ in each place we go and in the ministry He has called us too. That His scent and His aroma will flow and touch many and in the midst of all the muck and dirt and dust, many will discover the One true God, who is sovereign over all creation and whose aroma is so captivating and beauty so breadth taking that they will bow their hearts and knees before Him to worship Him in all His splendour.

Celebrating A Small Victory - One Stone of Truth

Psalm 103:6 says: The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Since the beginning of May many of us both in Canada and the U.S as well as friends in Cambodia have been praying that justice and truth would prevail. As I think of the verse from Psalm 103:6, I praise God and thank Him that He will work justice for all the oppressed. That He is mighty to save and deliver and twart the plans of the enemy. For me personally this morning's news that Micheal J. Pepe was convicted on 7 counts for the atrocities he perpetrated against 7 young victims -- some of them who I had the privilege of personally meeting, I am overwhelmed. I am reminded by one of Ratanak partners that we need to celebrate whatever little victories we have in this battle against the giant of child sex slavery. Today is one of those days when we celebrate and give thanks to God for all He has done in upholding justice. I thank God for the U.S legal system and the laws they have on their books that enables persectution of individuals who committed such lewd acts against the innocent.

I can only imagine how my precious little sisters must feel when they hear about this outcome. My prayer for each of them is that this legal outcome, will somehow be part of the process that God uses to continue to set them free, to empower and embolden them that they have a God who hears their cries, a God who is faithful and just, a God who will not let the sins committed against them go unnoticed, a God who is mighty to save, a God who will repay the years the locust have eaten from them, a God who loves them with an everlasting love, A God who will never forsake them, A God who is their refuge and strength, a God who is their hiding place, a God who protects them and will not sleep and slumber but who watches over their comings and goings, a God who will restore and redeem them, a God who himself died for them and who would rather be abused for them, a God who sets them free, a God who longs to show compassion to them, a God who is tender towards them, a God who has engraved them on the palm of His hands, a God who knows their heart, a God who knows their pain and suffering and who was there watching all the torture that they endured, a God who is their Hope, their Healer, their Savior and the Lover of their Soul. May they know the Lord Jesus Christ and the breadth, depth and height of His love for them and may this truth truly set them free to propel them forward to live for Him in such a way that His name will be glorified and exalted in all they do and say and become! To God be the Glory! Thank you Jesus for the privilege you give to us as we partner with you to see your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May your name be Hallowed in each of our lives as we walk and reflect your light.


News Relese from the U.S Immigrations & Customs Enforcement:

Ex-Marine convicted of using drugs and force to have sex
LOS ANGELES - Following a three-week trial, a federal jury today convicted on seven felony counts a retired Marine Corps captain who traveled to Cambodia for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors.

Michael Joseph Pepe, 54, a resident of Oxnard, faces up to 210 years in federal prison as a result of the guilty verdicts stemming from an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

During the trial, government prosecutors presented testimony from six of the seven girls who Pepe sexually abused. The girls, who at the time of the abuse were between the ages of 9 and 12, testified that Pepe drugged, bound, beat and raped them. Several victims testified that Pepe required them to give him sexual massages and perform oral sex on him on a daily basis.
In addition to the victims' testimony, prosecutors presented corroborating evidence seized by the Cambodian National Police from Pepe's Phnom Penh residence, including rope and cloth strips used to restrain the victims, Rohypnol and other sedatives, and homemade child pornography.

The prostitute who acted as Pepe's broker testified on videotape about bringing him young victims. Pepe paid the broker and the victims' families for unlimited access to the girls. Pepe is scheduled to be sentenced here Sept. 3 by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer.
"Predators such as Mr. Pepe should realize that their unspeakable acts will not go unpunished, even if committed in other countries," said United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien. "Child exploitation crimes are among the most important cases we prosecute. Wherever the young victims of these crimes are located, they must be protected from people like Mr. Pepe."
"Today's verdict is particularly gratifying and not surprising given the horrendous evidence introduced during this trial about the defendant's sexual exploitation of these vulnerable youths," said Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of the ICE office of investigations in Los Angeles. "This case represented one of the most egregious examples of international sex tourism we have ever investigated and the jury's verdict is a reminder that pedophiles who attempt to evade detection and prosecution by committing sex crimes overseas face serious consequences."
"The Diplomatic Security (DS) maintains an excellent working relationship with ICE and local Cambodian law enforcement personnel who coordinated and collaborated with the DS Regional Security Officer in Phnom Penh about Pepe, thus enabling the capture," said Joe D. Morton, Director of the Diplomatic Security Service. "It's this type of close, worldwide law enforcement liaison that gives the Diplomatic Security the unparalleled ability to assist in locating, pursuing and apprehending predatory criminals."

ICE received substantial assistance in the investigation from the Cambodian National Police and the Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. Pepe is the fifth person to be prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California on child sex tourism charges under the provisions of the PROTECT Act, which took effect five years ago. The PROTECT Act substantially strengthened federal laws against predatory crimes involving children outside the United States by adding new crimes and increasing sentences.