Oh, I'm sweating...I guess forever.

     You all have permission to punch me in the face if I complain about Texas humidity ever again. Seriously. It's ridiculous here. I'm so thankful for this air conditioning and the 5 fans we constantly have going in our room. 

View of the street from our 4th floor balcony

     Getting to Cambodia was pretty painless. When we arrived, however, the hotel taxi forgot to pick us up at the airport, so we had to find a phone and figure out how to get the our hotel. God was so gracious and we finally got to the hotel around 12:30 and enjoyed a much-needed long night of sleep!

     This place is so different than any other place I've ever been to - it's Asia! The culture is so strange to me so I keep having to remind myself of God's creativity when designing cultures and customs! As far as trafficking culture goes, men see themselves as superior to women; women - especially girls - are basically useless. Khmer men believe that they have a right to abuse and use the women in their lives. So young girls grow up thinking that they have no rights to their own bodies and that's why they get abused, raped, or trafficked. It's heartbreaking to see the girls in the homes everyday. They look so joyful even though they've been so much. For things to change, the whole culture will have to change.

     Early Tuesday morning we got picked up in a tuk-tuk and taken to the guest house where we'll be living while we're here. We jumped right into the swing of things and got to meet the rest of the volunteers and the girls at the home! It's been such a blessing to get to spend time with the girls every single day; we weren't sure that we would get to see them much at all.

Tuk-Tuk

     Every morning we leave the house around 7:45 and bike (gulp, BIKE!) to work! It's about a 8 minute ride but it's weaving in and out of cars, motor-bikes, tuk-tuks, and trucks! I'm getting so much more comfortable with this Tetris-type game and actually am beginning to enjoy each adventure as I learn how these Khmer people travel. Mondays are our day off, so today Bethany and I got to ride around and explore Phnom Penh. My confidence in biking is improving so much and now it's one of my favorite things to do - what an adrenaline rush! 

     Each work morning usually consists of prayer time with the other volunteers then Bethany and I head over the the girls' home to clean while the girls are at school. We sweep, mop, and fold/hang up laundry to dry. It's such a humbling job to get to serve the girls and bless the Khmer house mothers in this way. The girls also just got brand new bed sheets (some for the first time in their lives!) and we got to surprise them by having their beds made when they got home from school.

     There are currently 16 girls at the main girls home, ranging from 6-16 years old. These girls are from very poor rural villages and have either been raped or prostituted or are at risk of being raped or prostituted. They've been brought to this home until their case is over and it's safe for them to go back home. For a lot of the girls, it was someone in their very own family who sold them into sex slavery. Organizations like International Justice Mission will find girls in trafficked situations and bring them into rescue homes like SHE until their case is closed and it is safe for them to return home. The girls love coloring, skipping rope, watching The Land Before Time, and singing worship songs! One of the 3-month volunteers left yesterday so she led the girls in one last guitar worship sesh. It was so amazing to hear the girls singing "Our God is Greater" and "Your Love Never Fails." Cambodia has a very dark Buddhist culture, so it's challenging to hear their little voices declare such strength knowing that "there may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning!" 

     Every afternoon at 4 a volunteer will lead the girls in a devotional using a book, song, craft, or game. This week Bethany and I got to share with the girls about God's faithfulness. We used Hebrews 13:5 which says, "I will never leave you, I will never abandon you." Bethany and I taught the girls hand motions for the verse and they enjoyed repeating it several times. Then we wrote each word of the verse on a balloon and had the girls try to get in order to spell out the verse. What a powerful way to for the girls to learn English and truth about Christ! I've been asked to come up with a theme and outline for devotionals for the next couple of months, and I'm excited about the ideas I've come up with so far.

     The other volunteers here are AWESOME. I've met some amazing women from Australia, England, Canada, and from here in Cambodia. It's been amazing hearing their stories of faith of how they got here working with SHE Rescue. They took us to an actual local Mexican restaurant and it was pretty legit! It was started by a man from Texas so we will definitely be back for more! 

Khmer worship band at New Life

    Yesterday we went to a local Khmer church pastored by an American who married a Khmer woman and speaks the language fluently. The church was started in the early 90's and has grown into a thriving church-planting body of believers. They are very missions-minded and have a vision to plant churches in every province of Cambodia. It was so amazing just to be a part of seeing what God is up to here in Southeast Asia. My favorite part was singing the song "Bless the Lord (10,000 Reasons)" by Matt Redman. The worship band was all local Khmer speakers, but there were people singing in all different languages and accents. It just made me so excited for Heaven when we will have "10,000 years and then forevermore" to worship our creator! 

     Week 1 was definitely very interesting and eye-opening. Pray that we will continue to lift our lives up - ready for God to use us in any way that He wishes. Pray that we will know how to respond to different circumstances and that everything we say and do will reflect God's spirit of freedom.