Kim in Cambodia

By far, the most touching part of this trip for me has been the children, with their beaming smiles full of hope. Maybe their smiles reflect hope because, unlike their parents and grandparents, they have no experience of the Khmer Rouge and it's devastating brutality. Lee Michaels explained to me that when the Khmer Rouge was done with its genocide of the educated adults in this country it was left with hoardes of children with no parents. That generation had life as they knew it taken from them and consequently, no childhood, so when they became adults they were basically still children themselves as they became parents. This generation though has no experience with the Khmer Rouge and their parents are so very proud of them. The mothers continually ask me to take pictures of their darlings and giggle with delight at the images portrayed on the screen.

There are going to be a series of short blogs on some of the more memorable experiences we have had with the children in Cambodia. I hope you will appreciate them as I have.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our team to you. It is a jubilant and diverse mixture of people from three different organizations: Musicianaries International, Transform Asia, and Positive Life Radio. We also represent three different countries and languages, including: Cambodia, America, and Japan. Though we can't always communicate in words (with everyone) there are plenty of smiles and hugs to go around, and some of the Drama team can speak enough English to help us communicate with each other. Everyday I feel that we become closer, more a family, and it no longer seems to matter that we come from different places and languages. I picture Heaven being like that, people from every nation, worshipping and serving God together and the only thing that matters is our common bond of being in Gods family together.

The Drama Team is a group of Cambodian teenagers from the David Center and the Women's Center, which are both ministries of Transform Asia. To give you a little background on these kids, The David Center is an orphanage that was founded by Transform Asia to provide a home for the orphans and abandoned children that they were encountering. The kids call Pastor Setan, Daddy, because to them, he is their Father. There is one little girl in particular who follows Setan and always seems to find her seat next to "Daddy Setan." She and her brother were left at a hospital when their Mother died. In Cambodia only medical supplies are provided in the hospital so food, clothing, and other necessities are brought in by family members. Kuntena and her brother wandered the hospital eating whatever handouts they could get from the grieving families, but there was not much. When Setan found them they were skin and bones and her brother was near death from starvation. Today she is a happy, vivacious girl. We call her giggly girl because she always seems to be giggling and laughing.

The women's center is a refuge for girls to escape the bondage of prostitution. They teach them life skills and trades they can use to support themselves, as well as schooling; including English lessons. Of course it is a home where they can learn of Jesus' love and salvation, as all of Transform Asia's programs are. Lee Michaels, President of Musicianaries International, described meeting some of the new girls at the Women's Center and how they would keep to themselves in a far off corner, not talking with anyone. A year later she would see them again, now redeemed and basking in their newfound relationship with Jesus; Confident and secure in the Women's Center family. They were completely changed, like the new creation Jesus made them into.

These kids have had a very rough start in their young lives but because of the love and hope of Jesus that they have found in these centers, they are sweet, joyful kids that can laugh and play together; and they really know how to have fun! They amaze me with their kindness and compassion and they are tireless in their dedication to God and to each other. Every night when they share their experiences and thoughts witn us I am humbled and challenged to be the servants of God that they are.

One staff member of Transform Asia in particular stands out to me. Saolin is the epitome of loving kindness, always looking out for everyone and she has a gift for knowing how to help those around her. Because she can speak English and Cambodian, she has helped all of us build stronger relationships with each other.

Saolin grew up in a Buddhist home. She told me that her family had been plagued by an evil spirit for generations and that her Mother tried to rid them of it but never could. One day her neighbor told her that she knew someone who could help her and his name was Jesus. Her Mother began attending church with her neighbor and soon became a believer. She later had a dream that she had killed the spirit, so she asked the Pastor to come to her home to pray for deliverance from the evil spirit. After generations of bondage the family was delivered!

We have all been delivered of evil and sin, and maybe it didn't seem as extreme as her story, but we can surely relate with what deliverance feels like. Saolin is a living embodiment of love and servanthood and I can't bear to think of her in bondage. It has been a priveledge to meet her and an honor to call her a friend.

There are so many precious people here in Cambodia that are in bondage to Buddhism and the Muslim religion. They are a beautiful and gentle people and it is heartbreaking to see them living in such poverty while they are expected to build extravagant Buddhist pagodas and Muslim mosques.

This week we have witnessed over 120 people who have been delivered and are now part of our heavenly family, and over 1,950 people have heard the gospel. I have seen God moving in this country and am convinced that there is so much more to come.

Thank you for being Gods hands and heart to our brothers and sisters in Cambodia.

May God bless you richly.