Day 1

Its almost 10pm on Monday evening, and we've just finished our first day here in Cambodia. We had a great trip on our way here stopping in Hong Kong for a day. Cambodia is like no place I've ever seen, or could have imagined. I'm still trying to process what I've seen, smelled and experienced today. First of all, we're in the capitol, Phnom Penh. Its a big, crowded city. People mostly drive around on motorbikes transporting their entire families on one bike, including infants. Traffic lights, and order on the roadways are non-existent--and pedestrians do not have the right of way! I've already had two tuk-tuk rides--a motor drawn open carriage. Its a popular way to travel here.

This week we're doing a Vacation Bible School program with the children in Svay Pak. This is a highly trafficked area with most of the children trafficked in the sex slave trade. The children were incredibly excited to meet us this morning. They're sweet, precious and very friendly. Our guides took us around to the homes of the families in Svay Pak. There is so much poverty, with entire families living in open shacks the size of a small bedroom.

Its just so hard for me to process that these young, small, precious children are sold by their families every night and used for sex. One little girl showed up today with makeup on. She had to be about 6 years old. We found out that the week before she'd come to kids club with bruises all over her. Her mother had given her a beating because she refused to have sex with a man. She's still a virgin. After tonight she won't be...she's 6 years old. Her childhood has just ended. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight. I've been praying for her every since I saw her.

On our way home tonight we got caught in a rain storm. Within minutes the streets flooded a couple feet deep. Our tuk-tuk driver had to drop us off to walk back to our hotel because he couldn't drive through the water. We waded in dirty, sewer water up to our knees. It was quite an adventure. Thanks so much for your prayers. We need them. We're still jet-lagged, the heat and humidity is extreme and some of us our sick. But we feel so privileged to be here, and excited about what God wants to show us of Himself here in this place. He is working. He is a beacon of light here in the midst of this evil. Continue to pray for God's power to rescue these children from this life of torment, and their parents from the ignorance that perpeuates this from one generation to the next. And pray for Agape International who are here every day being Jesus to these people, and providing a refuge for the children.

Blessings,
Barb

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