I have been in the Kingdom of Cambodia for 5 days now and am once again astonished by the beauty of this country. The people, the landscape and the culture. This is the dry season, and its coming into the hot season, way hot. So amongst the beauty there is this layer of death that continues to settle on everything. Dust, rice fields that are drying up and broken people. On the outside all these things seem fine, but when you look closer you see that they need some lovin.
Yesterday I met with my good friends who work with a children at risk NGO in Phnom Penh. They told me about a young girl who lives in the community they work in. Turns out she was taken from her mom and dad by her auntie. Thinking she was being trafficked they went with the mom to the Province to find her.
Our friends left in the middle of the night and drove almost 12 hours to the Province where she was. After talking to a few people they found the girl. Turns out her aunt took her to the Province because she saw how bad she had it in Phnom Penh. She wasn’t going to school, she was malnourished and she was getting beat by her dad who is a heavy drinker.
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They found out that the situation she was in was a good situation, minus the fact that she was taken from her mom and her town. She didn’t want to go back, but saw how much her friends with the ministry loved her, and so she went back to be with them. She held their hands on the way home and fell asleep in the car ride home. It breaks my heart as I even type this story. This girls life was not good, but people loved her, believed in her and wanted to help.
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The other day they just did her placement test for school, she has never been to school. Her placement test puts her in grade 3, she is 14 years old. The school is a good private school. They are also talking to the dad about being a better father and working with the mom to make sure the child is protected.
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There is so much brokenness in our world, and it is Gods hope that we, His kids would respond and bring healing in Jesus name. Caring for the sick, visiting those in prison, feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty and preaching the good news to the poor. This call is a privilege that we all carry and its up to us what we do with it.
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Peace.
I have been in the Kingdom of Cambodia for 5 days now and am once again astonished by the beauty of this country. The people, the landscape and the culture. This is the dry season, and its coming into the hot season, way hot. So amongst the beauty there is this layer of death that continues to settle on everything. Dust, rice fields that are drying up and broken people. On the outside all these things seem fine, but when you look closer you see that they need some lovin.
