Entering The Battlefield

Ireland blog!

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:30:17 -0500

Hey friends and family!

For those of you who want to keep updated with my plans for Ireland, go here:

sarahsireland.tumblr.com

I probably won’t be updating it until January hits, so check back in then.

Thanks again for all your support in every way!

Sarah

WHY YOU NO TAKE RIEL???

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:02:37 -0500

It’s done.

We saw Jesus move in crazy, awesome ways.

I am not the same person I was three and a half months ago.

Reverse culture shock is taking its harsh toll on me. ( I almost cried when I got coin change back the first time I payed for something when I got back in the States - Cambodia doesn’t have coin change).

So all I ask is that you continue to pray for me as I go back home to Canada tomorrow. I might just be a wreck. Already I’m feeling depressed, but that is when I will continue to press into God even more. All my teammates left today, I have a whole hotel room all to myself, and for the first time in three and a half months, I am alone. The room is silent. And I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve been in constant community, and I mean constant, no alone time whatsoever, for three and a half months. It feels odd to be alone. Before I went on this trip, my introverted self relished every bit of alone time I got. Now, it feels alien.

And the fact that I’ve had to pay $4 for a coffee is even more depressing. I’m so used to forking out 2000 riel (50 cents) for a Khmer iced coffee, and restaurant quality meals only cost $5, so imagine the shock when I went to Starbucks for the first time in a while and I looked at a menu for the Italian restaurant down the street from my hotel. Oi veh :(

But even though reverse culture shock is being a jerk, I can still look back and praise Jesus for all that He’s done in Cambodia.

He IS moving in that country. It is so evident. I hope He sends me back some day. I will never forget the friendships I’ve formed there with my team, the girls, the orphaned boys (I got to send a few pictures and a letter to Phearum :) ), and the children we’ve encountered, especially little Huah. I miss his stuck up haired, rotten toothed, smells like urine half the time, four year old self. I remember the time he smelled so bad, my teammate Erin and I gave him a bath at the centre, he loved it. That boy loves the water. And going out at night in Phnom Penh and talking with the bar girls, the men that are buying sex, and prayer walking the red light district. Now that was unforgettable.

So I want to send out a huge thank you to all that have supported me during this season of my life, prayerfully and financially. I can officially tell you that it was worth every penny and every second of prayer. And a big thank you to my church for putting some extra money in my pocket to keep me fed and alive, to pay for tuk tuk rides to ministry sites, to paying for a homeless woman’s meal, to buying a few bottles of coke so I could stay and talk with the bar girls. I was going to give the remaining money back to my church, but God has used every penny of it :)

So now, I will go and find some supper….please pray I don’t cry at the high prices I’m not used to lol.

All My Love,

Sarah Rochel

P.S. I will be starting a new blog fairly soon about what God is doing with the next step in my life. I haven’t talked about it really at all in this blog, so here it is in a few words: God is sending me to live in Ireland to start up a safe house for sex trafficking victims. Crazy eh? I’ll be posting the link once I get it up and running.

Prayer Walkin'

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:37:34 -0500

Thanks for all the prayer mon amigos. It’s really been helping. Jesus is up to good things here in Phnom Penh, especially the red light districts (the bars/clubs).

So, these past two weeks I’ve been putting my fingers in a few pies. Aside from the orphanage, God is blowing my mind with the opportunities He’s putting in front of me. I’ve been able to work with several anti-sex trafficking organizations, such as Precious Women, The MST Project, and Love 146.

A couple weeks ago, a few of my teammates and I went out with Precious Women. We went into a beer garden, ordered a table and a few bar girls, sat down and had some good conversations with them. It was great to get to know them, and to give them a break from being man handled by customers.

The beer garden we went to caters to mostly bussinessmen, so needless to say, when our group of mostly women plus one man walked in with jeans and tshirts, we got a lot of confused looks from the staff.

The woman I talked with was such a sweetheart. She’s 31, and she earns $17 a month working at the beergarden. She rents an apartment with a cousin for $50 a month, and she has a second job training as a beautician. But it’s still not enough.
Can you imagine only earning $17 a month to be manhandled constantly? It’s heart breaking.

We’ve also been out prayer walking the red light district, which has also been hard, but it’s so good at the same time. Seeing Jesus move is always worth it.

This past Friday a couple of my teammates and I went out with the MST Project. MST stands for Men and the Sex Trade. There are so many organizations out there that fight for the women in the sex trade, but there are very few out there that pray for the men who are buying the women. This is what MST does. So half of us stayed back and prayed, and half of us went out and had some conversations with the men who are out there to buy sex. My small group was along Street 136, which is a street filled with nothing but dark tint-windowed bars with flashy signs advertising sex. I’m so glad I went out. MST is doing such a great job, please keep them in your prayers.

Along with all this comes spiritual warfare. So thank you so much for praying over us, and please continue to do so, as we’ll be continuing to go out prayer walking, talking with bar girls, or talking with the buyers.

I love what God is doing here.

Street 136

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:56:54 -0500

I apologize for not updating this week. A lot has been going on and I’m still processing what’s been happening. I promise to update on my next free internet day (Monday). I do have some prayer requests though, our team has been going through various attacks from the enemy. Please continue to pray for us as we fulfill God’s work.

All my love,

Sarah

Hey Sarah, I wasn't sure how to get in touch with you. Let me know if you get this. We have put your blog address in our bulletin and we are praying for you. I'd love to Skype with you sometime and pray for you on Skype. We love you and miss you. Keep following Jesus. You're doing great!

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:19:05 -0500

Hey Pastor Barry!

That’s so awesome!
Prayer would be great! I’m not sure how long ago you sent this, I just checked this now, tumblr didn’t send me any notifications so I’m sorry if this is from a while back. My skype is sarah.faithe
Hope to see you soon!

From BB City to PP City

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:12:03 -0500

We said our good byes to everyone in Battambang two days ago. There was a party at the centre, it was so much fun! Although it was so hard leaving behind those we’ve formed relationships with these past two months. It was especially hard saying goodbye to Phearum, Sahan, and Huah, as well as Mr. Seng and Manny. I haven’t cried yet but I know it’ll hit me soon enough. Expect me to be a blubbering mess when I come home, Mummy.

But we have safely arrived in Phnom Penh! It’s a pretty big shock from Battambang. PP City is twice the amount of people and twice the size of BB City, with twice the noise and quite the lack of gecko’s (they’re so cute. Can I buy one when I get home Mummy? :P). There are also traffic lights here. Do you know how long it’s’ been since I’ve seen traffic lights? And big, tall buildings? Two whole months. Culture shock has officially set in. It’s not so fun, to say the least. Everything is so much more expensive here too. I might just be broke after this month( Here in PP an iced coffee costs $1.50-$2. Back in BB it only cost 50cents). AND my iPod has died : ( Completely ca-put. No music for Sarah : ( Ah, well. C’est la vie.

It definitely hasn’t been a good start to our new month of ministry. But I know I’ll feel better once we start up our ministry at the orphanage. We still don’t know what we’re doing yet, but whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be good, even if it is scrubbing toilets :)

And I’m almost ready to come home. I’m starting to miss family a lot. Even the snow. I can’t believe I’m missing snow. And my tuque! I never thought I’d see the day! I’m not quite counting down the days yet, because I’m still enjoying the lovely 30C temperatures… maybe during the last week here in PP, when we wrap up ministry?

Thanks all for the prayers!

Much love from Phnom Penh,

Sarah

Introducing video numero deux! Enjoy :)

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:01:21 -0400

Introducing video numero deux! Enjoy :)

It's a Scorcher!

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:45:03 -0400

Siem Reap was our destination from Sunday to Wednesday. We were there for debrief with our leaders’ leaders. As soon as day one was over, I wanted to be back home in Battambang.

Let me take you through our first day in Siem Reap.

As soon as we arrived at Siem Reap and got off the bus, we were attacked by tuk tuk drivers. Literally. I kid you not, they bombarded us, yelling “Hey lady! You want tuk tuk? What hotel you at? I take you!”. For several minutes we endured this mob scene until our leaders found us some tuk tuk drivers to take us to our hotel, without ripping us off.

Once we arrived at Phrom Roth Guesthouse, we were greeted by extremely friendly staff, which was a nice change from the violent tuk tuk drivers. Once we found our cozy rooms, we made our way to Pub Street for some supper, where we were once again bombarded by not only tuk tuk drivers, but from people selling things on the streets, from the shops, and the restaurants. It was madness. Every day we endured this. It became a common occurance to be stopped in your footsteps because you were swarmed on all sides. So needless to say, I was extremely glad to step off the bus into good old Battambang and see Mr. Seng (our tuk tuk driver) waiting for us at the bus station with a big smile on his face while waving at us like an eager parent picking up his fourteen children. And Manny too. And I just realized I haven’t talked about Mr. Seng or Manny yet. So here it is: Mr. Seng has been our tuk tuk driver since we arrived in Battambang. He has the biggest tuk tuk we’ve ever seen. The average tuk tuk seats four. But his hummer of a tuktuk comfortably fits about 10. But there are fourteen of us. So Manny, his 18 year old son, drives the smaller tuk tuk, which seats the rest of us. They have become like family to us. We love them.

But despite the ridiculousness that is Siem Reap, our debrief with Tamica and Hope (our leaders’ leaders and AIM staff) was great. I loved my one on one with Hope too. God’s doing crazy things in their lives. It was great to talk to a fresh set of ears. And seeing Angkor Wat was pretty cool too, despite getting up at 4:30am to see the sunrise at the temples and wanting to punch a tourist in the face for his ignorance (he didn’t realize he was in a third world country and said something extremely rude to a little girl trying to make money so she could eat). And God has revealed more of His plan to me for my future! I’m so stoked! I’m not sure if I should say anything about it yet, so I won’t. But know that He is blowing my brain cells with his abundant blessings.

So, we only have two more weeks left here in Battambang before we move on to Phnom Penh. I’ve had such a great time here, the time to move has snuck up on me. I kind of don’t want to go. Actually, I really don’t want to. I love Battambang. I know I only experienced a little bit of Phnom Penh, and that was when we first arrived in the country, but I love Battambang. It’s smaller, it’s quieter, and tuk tuk drivers here don’t yell at you. And we know our way around the neck of the city that we’re in. Most of all, I don’t want to be done ministry here. I don’t want to leave the three boys at the centre. I don’t want to leave the homeless families we’ve been spending time with. I don’t want to leave Mr. Seng and Manny. I don’t want to leave the children from the kids program on Sundays. But alas, the only way to grow is to accept change. Dang it. I guess I’ll have to learn to look forward to Phnom Penh, that crazy and loud city. Lord, help me to get excited for it okay? Thanks. You’re a champ.

These past couple of days we’ve been going to an old warehouse by some abandoned railroad tracks. Spending time with the 10+ families living there was so wonderful. I’m excited to go back next week. Please be praying for them.

That’s all, folks.

Until next week!

Get on Outta Here

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:54:00 -0400

Guess what? I get to have dance parties with my roommates. It’s awesome. Just thought I’d share that.

Anyways, this week has been chopped full of wonderful spiritual goodies!

I love Sunday’s here. I have to get up ridiculously early and spend all day in a hot and sweaty building, but oh man, it’s so worth it. Spending all day with those children is wonderful. I got to have a water fight with them. Two of us against 12 of them. So much fun. This is what your donated dollars are going to. Be proud :D

And then I got sick. It sucked. But I kicked that cold/sore throat in the butt, got rid of it in two days. Yes, my immune system is super man.

So, Tuesday, my team went on a prayer walk around the city. I had to miss out on that due to being el sicko, but I prayed from my hotel room.

Wednesday, us morning crew people were hanging out after our bible study with the girls,when Sothea came up to us. There was a couple who just came home with thei brand new baby (barely five pounds/ 2 and a half kilos) that were being terrorized by demonic forces at night. The wife would wake up to dark figures around her and her baby. So we went over to their house and prayed over the house, the baby and his parents. It was so great to kick Satan in the teeth. I kid you not. The next day, Sothea reported to us that they had a peacful sleep with no demons terrorizeing them. Yay Jesus :)

Later in the afternoon we did some street ministry. A lot of Cambodians generally have rotten teeth because they can’t afford the dentist, nor can they afford toothbrushes (particularly those in the slums). So we went into the slums and handed out toothbrushes. These beautiful people were so grateful for a freaking toothbrush, it hit me hard. Later on, we had just handed out our last toothbrush. We passed by an old lady on the side of the road begging for food/money. The Holy Spirit spoke to me, ‘go buy her something to eat.’ So my group and I went to a cafe, I got some steamed rice and veggies. As we were walking back to her, I was praying along the way that she would still be there. And lo and behold, there she was, in the exact same spot. That old and wrinkly and beautiful woman was so thankful for something to eat, once again, Jesus floored me. Over and over God just continues to let my jaw hit the floor. For example, another group of our team walked by her later that day and handed her a toothbrush.

Want proof that Jesus came for the humble? There you have it.

Thursday we finally went back to the orphanage we visited a month ago. It was so great. It helps me look forward to our last month in Phnom Penh, when we’ll be working at an orphanage.

So my team leaves for Siem Reap tomorrow morning! We’ll be there for debrief, to check in with AIM, and to see Angkor Wat. So stoked outta my brain cells!

Aaaand I’ll be starting my October video soon, so stay tuned, it’ll be up in a few weeks, hopefully :)

P.S. Our hotel is near a crocodile farm. So cool. But we are also next to a couple of night clubs. Every night we see girls who work there sitting outside waiting to be picked up by a client for the night. Please keep them covered in prayer.

Y’all come back now ya hear?!

I’m Canadian, I promise.

Surgery on a Stage

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:33:37 -0400

A lot has happened this week: We moved again. One of our teammates had surgery. Another had worms. And another little boy from the neighbourhood has attatched himself to me. His name is Huaa, and I love his little rotten toothed smile. He’s so stinkin cute.

Okay, so we have moved. And here’s why: We were getting too comfortable with two people to a room, we weren’t growing anymore. So now have four to a room. I’m loving our new home. Why? No more cockroaches! Jesus loves me. And I’m loving my new roomies. They’re tres awesome.

And we’re still living on under $12 a day, including transportation and food, so no worries, we’re not being big spenders.

So, a lot of us were sick these past couple of weeks; about half our team was taken out with some form of illness. My teammate Kori got worms, I’m sure it’s from the “river” we walk through to get to our ministry. There are many things in that water, including fecal matter, just putting that out there. And one of my team leaders, Kendall, fell when she and our other leader went running in the morning, and she somehow managed to get some tiny rocks stuck underneath her wounded hands. So our translator, of all people, with his swiss army knife, of all things, performed ‘surgery’ on her hands to get the tiny rocks out of her skin. This all happened on the church stage at TransformAsia. Yes, you read it right. It worked though! Seang did an excellent job, and Kendall is free from any infection that could have occurred.

Huaa is probably about four years old. His baby teeth are already rotten, which we’re wondering about, why so many people’s teeth fall out so early here. The first day he came to the centre, I immediately started playing with him. The next day, he came running up to me and clung to me. He hasn’t let me go since. He’s another one I could put in my backpack and take home with me. Recently he’s developed a fever though, and he had stuff leaking out of his ears the other day. I really want to take him to the doctor, but there’s the matter of checking with his parents if he has any, seeing if Seang can tag along to translate for us, and all that jazz. So please pray that it’s possible for a trip to the doctor soon.

God grew me yesterday. He pushed me to do something I really, really didn’t want to do. My teammate Emily has got crazy musical talent. That girl’s voice is crazy awesome. She also rocks on the guitar and piano. So naturally, she’s been leading worship a lot. She’s been asking me over and over if I want to sing with her, and I’ve kept on declining. Because, here’s the thing: I hate speaking/singing in front of a crowd. I always have, even when it’s a worship band. But God just gave me a gentle nudge and said, ‘you need to do this.’ Great. Just great. So I finally said yes to her offer. I told her my dislike for being in front of a crowd, she was completely understanding, and was incredibly patient with my negative attitude in the beginning of rehearsal. But God started to break down those walls of the past. He showed me that it’s okay, that this is different. I’m amongst friends, and this time we are truly worshipping him. It’s not performing for one another, like I’ve experienced in the past with other worship bands. I did start to experience a panic attack near the beginning of the night, right before we were supposed to be on stage, but one of our leaders prayed with us and I was fine. All in all, it was a great night.

Also, my dad passed away Sept. 2nd, the day after I left for Cambodia. It didn’t hit me until October 10th. I bawled my eyes out and was able to finally accept his passing. My teammates were so great, as always, and my teammate Kerina was there for me to talk to the next day. All your prayers have been helping immensely, keep em coming. God’s been so good during this time.

I’m looking forward to what adventures God has for our team next week!

Until next week,

Sarah

I finally got my September video uploaded! So enjoy and...

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 00:47:22 -0400

I finally got my September video uploaded! So enjoy and I’m sorry it’s a wee bit long :)
This will also be my update for the week:

This week was pretty normal, we taught English to some kids, whose father is Buddhist, and we’ve been sneaking in some bible lessons into the hour and a half we have with them. They’re loving it.

But honestly, this week God’s just been growing me. A lot. I am now six feet tall.

But seriously, I’ve just learned to rest in God’s promises for the future, even though I don’t know anything yet. Seeing my teammates grow too has been so great. And I have some news. We are moving. Again. We’ve grown all we can with just two of us to each room, so we’re moving to another hotel, with four of us to a room. It’s time to get uncomfortable and grow some more.

And I got to skype with my grandma this morning! So awesome. I’m so excited to see her face next Saturday, along with my Auntie Nathalie. I’m going to hug them so hard when I see them at Christmas.

That’s it for now! Mucho love from Battambang!
Drop me an email sometime eh? I love hearing news from home! My email’s sf.rochel@gmail.com
Seriously. Do it up.

This week has been hard.

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:49:00 -0400

This week has been hard. It’s a holiday here in Cambodia for this week, so we’ve had a almost a week off from our main ministry. Which means I’ve had lots of time to think. I’m missing home a little bit, it’s hard to see my teammates on our internet days skyping with people from home and I’m stuck with lame facebook and emailing. But God is good, and I’m praying I get to see someone’s face from home soon.

This week we went to an orphanage. The place was flooded because of all the rain going on. It was so great to hang out with the few kids that were there during the holiday. They have their own farm going on the back, with pigs, chickens, and cute puppies. We also had a team day this week, where we spent the day as a team and family and just kind of chilled out. It’s good to have days like that. Another day we went to Rapha House, an aftercare centre and safe house, specifically for the worst of the worst cases of rescued victims of sex trafficking. They are out in the country side, so the atmosphere is so calm there. We only spent about fifteen minutes there, but they gave us some great information on how they’re organized, and how they work with International Justice Mission. Rapha House is based out of the U.S.A. as well. They are literally booked solid for the first two weeks of October, but they have graciously allowed us to come in the third week and spend some time with the girls.

There were only two or three that were at the centre at the time we went because everyone else had ‘gone home’ for the holiday. The couple of girls we got to spend time were so sweet and affectionate, I received quite a few hugs, kisses on the cheek and holding hands.

After seeing how Rapha House is doing, I was so completely humbled to realize that we are exactly where we’re supposed to be, with TransformAsia. Rapha House is strictly rescued victims of sex trafficking, whereas TransformAsia has their doors wide open if anyone needs shelter; hence the orphaned boys staying there. Yes, TransformAsia is just getting started, we are needed there. We are supposed to be there. But I’m so glad that we’re blessed to be at TransformAsia. God is doing great things there, and by them opening their doors to more than just trafficking victims, they are enabling the Holy Spirit to do even greater things, greater than what the awesome things they’re doing now. And by having a hand in teaching English to the women and boys there, we help solidify them getting a job, so that they don’t have to resort to sex trafficking.

So, since it was a holiday, we did get to spend a day with the few left at the centre (some weren’t able to go home because of the flooding). We all went swimming! It was a rushing river with some amazing rocks and calm spots of water. It was so much fun, hanging out in the water.

While there, there were some homelss children begging for food. They watched us while we ate. It was so hard to look them in the eye, because your natural instinct is to ignore them because they might have lice, and if you give them food they’ll just stick around until you give them more. Fleshly ways, man. Not cool. But after getting over it, I wanted to give one of them an extra Nature Valley bar I had on me, but by that time Perum had dragged me away to go take pictures of the ‘statues’ around the area. That boy loves to be in front of the camera. Seriously. Anyways, after we got back, there was a girl with here little brother hanging around, so I was able to give them my extra nature valley bar. And of course, vanity reared its ugly head and whispered the word ‘lice’ in my ear. But Jesus said let the little children come to me. So I got to braid the girl’s hair and call her beautiful in Khmer, and with the amazing help of our translator, Seang, I was able to talk to her a little bit. Can I just stop a minute and brag on Seang? That guy is hilarious. He’s pretty much already a part of our misfit family. Anyways, I realized afterwards, that that might be the only time someone is nice to her. That might be the only chance she sees Jesus. That hit hard.

On the way home, Perum fell asleep on my shoulder. I might just adopt that boy and take him home with me. I also realized how hard it will be to leave him when the time comes to leave Battambang and go on to Phnom Penh. That hit hard too.

I am also falling more in love with my team. I have learned what true community looks like with these women of God. I almost don’t want to go home, as much as I miss it.

Oh, and I made a video! Except it takes a million years to upload, so I probably will have to wait until next Saturday :(

Also, we have to renew our visas on Monday so please pray that everything will go smoothly so we can stay here for the remainder of our ministry.

Love from Cambodia!
Sarah

An excerpt from my journal

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 10:18:03 -0400

Okay, so last night as a team, we wrote down the lies that Satan has been holding over us individually. Here’s my list, a lot of this has been recent from the trip:

-I must first love in order to be loved

-I’m not enough in any way

-I’m scared to speak my mind

-I shouldn’t speak my mind

-What if my words do more harm than good?

-What if the words I’m supposedly hearing from God aren’t actually from Him and I’m just speaking nonsense over my teammates? If I’m wrong, then I’m not hearing the voice of God and I’m too dumb to discern His voice from my own.

-I’m scared to be me completely around God, always scared of offending Him with my sin.

After I wrote that last one, God told me to write down exactly what He spoke to me. He kind of took control of my pen and hand:

Look what you have tattooed on your foot! Tetelestai, it is finished! It’s already been paid for, so speak your mind, child. Speak it fully and completely. Nothing you say or think could possibly offend Me or seperate you from Me. You are my bride and we are ONE. Do not try to seperate what I have put together.

After we wrote down our lists, we read them out loud. It’s funny how some of those lies were written down more than once on several women’s lists.
Then we tore up said lists of lies, and we wrote a new one, a list of truths to come against those lies. Here’s mine:

-I am loved FIRST. 1 John 4:10, Ephesians 1:4-6

-My thoughts DO matter, especially amongst my teammates, and I have the right to speak up. Ephesians 3:12

-God is bigger

-I was made for love.

-Romans 6:6-8

That’s about it for now. Maybe I can upload a couple of videos next week? We’ll see :) Oh and before I forget, a HUGE thanks to my church for their donation to my trip. It’s helping insanely. And thank you everybody for the multitude of prayers:)

I’m going to start this update with last Saturday night. Jesus loves me. He gave me live folk...

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:26:02 -0400

I’m going to start this update with last Saturday night.

Jesus loves me.

He gave me live folk music at Cafe Eden.

Best thing ever. It definitely was feeding my soul, please excuse the cheesiness. But it’s true. Just the raw, pure harmony of a couple of guitars and 2 voices was what I needed to reboot my batteries. It was perfect.

Anyways, I found out some more info about the boys at the TransformAsia centre. Yes, they do mainly deal with girls who have been either in prostitution or were trafficked, but these boys had no where to go, so Sothea, the youth pastor at the centre, took them in.

Pierum was abandoned by his parents. He was staying in a very run down building, which floods every time it rains, with ten other families. He begged for food on the streets, was beat up by gangs several times, and gangs tried to force drugs into him several times. Pierum found TransformAsia, found Sothea, and begged to stay at the centre. Sothea had to say no because he wasn’t sure the centre could provide for him. But after getting beaten severely, Pierum found Sothea again and once again asked to stay. Sothea took him in and now Pierum has found family with the staff and the girls at the centre.

Sotan is the brother of Tina and her little sister, Jet-Yun. Their father is disabled, and their mother has left them. Their older sister supposedly works as a cook in a bar in Thailand. The family owes the bank a lot of money, so the three children were brought to the centre as a prevention. Last week, Tina left with her sister to work in Thailand to help pay off her family’s debt. Jet Yun is so little, I’m so scared for the both of them. But I have faith that God is going to work this out according to his will. Sotan was of course, heartbroken, and wanted to leave too. But Sothea convinced him to stay, and he’s now much better. He is realizing that a lot of people at the centre love him, including our team, and he’s better now.

As for Mong, his parents died and he lives with his grandmother; they live right next to the centre.

This week, God has been doing crazy things in our team. God has opened my eyes a lot. He taught me that even though I’m not working with the girls from the centre all the time, especially this week, I still need to love on people. God made us to be fishers of men, that’s what I need to embrace fully. Yes, he gave me a passion for human trafficking, He’s still doing something with that on this trip, but there are other elements of ministry that don’t deal with that. There are orphans, street kids, teaching English to random Cambodians, or whatever it may be, they are still God’s children. God planned out every single detail of this trip, he orchestrated what people I would meet, how many steps I would take through the mud, how God would move in other’s lives, everything. So just because someone hasn’t been trafficked doesn’t mean that I’m going to love them any less.

There’s more to add, but I forgot my journal at the hotel, so I’ll add more later when I get back. For now, I’ll upload more pictures for your viewing pleasure :)

Photo

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 05:15:37 -0400

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...

This is Mong, the ball of endless energy

My teammate Kerina with Pierum

Group pic of the girls at the centre

Painting nails and bonding :)

This is Sammy! :) We love him.

The girl I spent lots of time w/ one day

Jet-Yun! So cute!

Hailey with a little lizard friend :)

Love Languages

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:48:58 -0400

Hey there friends!

So, I have more news for you. We have moved from our treehouse. I miss our squatty potty, no lie. One of my teammates has hearing aids, and the constant humidity, no air conditioning thing was taking a toll on them. So we moved to a HOTEL. I honestly felt like I was cheating the first few days. Although, my back is loving the mattress. The only thing is that we’re surrounded by buddhist temples and monasteries in this area. For the past week we’ve woken up super early to chanting on an outdoor intercom that can be heard for a few blocks. I’m talking, 3am early. Who the hell gets up that early to worship Buddha? Seriously. This chanting goes on ALL DAY. We’ve put up with it for a week, and good news is it only goes for another week. Apparently the buddhists are chanting to ‘send over ancestors who are lingering in this world.’

Anyways, when we got to the hotel, we just felt a sort of heaviness, so we prayed over the hotel and over each of our rooms and it’s been much better.

So, we had a very successful first week of ministry! I’m just going to paste from my journal on my netbook of this past week:

Sept. 14th

We are halfway through our first week of ministry and I am already in love with these girls.

Today, Kori (one of my team mates) lead a bible study in the morning, about the Gospel, God’s love story to us. She told them (with the help of a translator) that they are beautiful and loved women of God. It was so powerful seeing the Holy Spirit work through her. Around 5-10 girls accepted Christ into their heart! It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Tomorrow, we will continue the story of the Gospel, I can only pray that more girls will accept Christ as well.

God has been so crazy awesome in speaking through my love language to these girls! Today we handed out flyers for the centre advertising free English classes (which it turns out, we will be teaching as of next week). When we were walking down the street we would link arms, or hold hands, or rub someone’s back and ask her how she’s doing, despite it being hot and humid outside; things one would only do with her best friend, and we’ve only known them for a few days. I connected most with a couple girls named Tina and Chandy. Barriers of different spoken languages had no effect at all in bonding with these girls. When we got back to the centre, after eating lunch, we hung out in the church on site and played games. A girl came up to me, snuggled real close and we went through my camera pictures together. Afterwards, she grabbed my hand, drew a sunrise on my finger, and laid her head in my lap. And later, when we took pictures she had her arms completely around me. I’m guessing it’s safe to assume her love language is the same as mine? It’s wonderful. I love these girls. God loves these girls.

How am I here? How is God so crazy awesome to love me so much and send me here?

Friday, September-16-11

We have had a very successful first week of ministry! I love it here; I don’t want it to end. I still can’t believe it’s only been a week and we’ve already bonded so much with the girls. It’s crazy how God’s love works.

I thought I should tell you what it this week has looked like. There are a few neighbourhood kids who hang around the centre. One is Sotan, he is probably around 13. There is also Pierum, who is approx. 10-12. These boys have definitely won our hearts. We love them and their English is quite excellent, so it’s easy to communicate with them or if we need them to translate for us to some of the girls. There are the really wee ones too, Mong, and his friend, whose name I can’t remember, are around 6. These boys have so much energy it’s enough to scratch your head at how they don’t tire out at all. Then there are the little girls who live at the centre. Kim-Lang is twelve. I sure hope she’s there as a precaution to keep her out of trafficking. I don’t know if I could handle it she was put through that hell. She’s got such a great energy about her. Her English is also very excellent. She also knows the Gospel, which is so great to see. Then there is Jet-Yun, who is the younger sister of Tina. She’s around five. Jet-Yun’s so cute and full of smiles. She will hold onto your hand all day and not let go. Then there is Sammy, a very tiny two year old boy who has Downs syndrome. This little one is so precious, all of us love him to pieces.

Last night, I had a dream about my dad, so I woke up missing him a lot. I was kind of mopey this morning, so I asked Elle and Kendall to pray over me so I would have energy today for ministry. I also asked God to romance me today. Wow, did he ever.

When I got to the centre, I was bombarded with lots of hugs from the little ones. Later on I hung out with Tina and Chandy, a couple of girls at the centre. They were so great, once again communicating through touch, and learning words in Khmer from them, which is an ongoing occurrence. We also went to the market today. It was a great walk with them, despite the heat. And the sunshine piercing through the palm trees was a sight I haven’t seen in a while.

I’ve learned that some of the girls at the centre have been rescued from human trafficking, and some are there to prevent them from being trafficked. I also found out that the girl from a couple days ago I spent time with was brought to the centre from an orphanage. Both her parents died, and when she got to the centre, she was quiet and wouldn’t talk to anyone, avoiding any social interaction. But once we arrived she’s been a complete ray of sunshine. That just blows my mind.

I can’t wait for next week’s ministry to begin. We will be starting off the week by picking up trash around town. Fun, eh?

I will be posting some pictures in another post so stay tuned!

Battambang

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:25:00 -0400

We have arrived in Cambodia! So glad we’re finally here.

After a few days off in Phnom Penh, we took a five hour bus ride to Battambang, a smaller city where our ministry site, TransformAsia, is located at. I love it here. My team is wonderful. The time adjustment was fairly easy on me, we’re all going to bed super early, like 7 or 8pm early, and waking up just as early, just like Cambodians. It’s crazy how easily we’ve adjusted, God is good :)

When we first arrived in Phnom Penh, our contact met us at the airport. His name is Sothea, he’s a youth pastor and workswith TransformAsia, the organization we’ll be working with. He is absolutely thrilled we’re here, he’s got one of those smiles that lights up a room. Sothea is currently in the hospital, he had surgery a couple of weeks ago, and he had to go in again because his body reacted to some food we ate. Please pray for him.
We got to ride tuk tuks right away! From the airport to a daycare where we stayed for two nights. There were some critters around the place, like a lizard and a cockroach. I named the cockroach Ralph. He stayed out of my way, which I was happy about. There are critters every where here, I’ve grown accustomed to it already, which is good :)

Yesterday, we arrived here in Battambag and were taken to our ministry site to meet some of the girls and have a tour of the centre. The girls are so sweet, it’s crazy to think someone could intentionally hurt them every day, several times a day. I can’t wait to form friendships with them, they are amazing children of the King.

Oh and we found out what our second ministry is, if I haven’t written it here already, here it is. We will be at an orphanage in Phnom Penh for our last month. I’m so stoked. I love children.

Without further ado, here are some pictures:This is our canvas that we made at training camp. This is our squatty potty! Welcome to Cambodia :) Also, toilet paper here is not too common. We have had to go out and buy some lolWelcome to our humble abode! We get the upstairs room, it’s great. It’s like sleeping in a giant treehouse. Childhood dreams come true? Heck yes.These precious girls on the street were so fascinated by my camera. I love them.

That’s it for now! I’ll update next week with how our first week of ministry was like. Sorry this entry was so brief, I don’t have much time for internet access. I’ll try to give better descriptions as time goes by.

P.S. I will never take for granted again toilet paper and flushing toilets. And deoderant. And running water.

Mucho love from Battambang!

Hello from Georgia!

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:35:00 -0400

Sunday, September-04-11
First things first, I have some bad news. My father has passed away. He admitted to being an alcoholic a few months ago, and he quit cold turkey. His body couldn’t handle it and he had a stroke/heart attack yesterday. He was doing so well, and I am so proud to call him my earthly father. Please pray for my family as we go through the mourning and healing process.

What about my trip?
I am still going to Cambodia. About a month before I left, God asked me if my parents died, would I still follow Him. I had to stop and think about it for a minute, and then I remembered that verse in Matthew 8. “…a teacher of the law came to him and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’ Another disciple said to him, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ But Jesus told him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury the dead.’ So, I am following my heavenly Father into the path He has for me. Yes, I am grieving. I have cried and will definitely cry some more. I miss my dad more than words can say. But God has called me to this, so I am obeying Him and trusting Him in everything.

So, onto what’s going on at training camp.
It’s definitely been interesting! Two days ago, we arrived in Atlanta together as a team at the airport, where we received “Super fun envelope #1” from AIM (Adventures in Missions, the organization I’m doing this trip through) staff. The contents of said envelope were instructions to find “MARTA”, the Atlanta transit system, and enough money for all of our tickets. We rode the train for a few stops until we came to ours. Then we proceeded to walk for a few blocks. Did I mention we all had our backpacks with us, most of which weighed 50 pounds? Yeah. Totally made it that much more fun.

We found our way to Safehouse, a place for homeless people to have a roof over their heads and something to eat. AIM has a big hand with this amazing place. Bugs crawl on the ground on the lower levels, the carpets are ratty, and the walls are covered in graffiti; not the type of graffiti that you would expect, like bible verses and testimonies of how God saved them. So good.

After supper and debrief, as well as an intro by one of the AIM staff, we received “Super fun envelope #2”. Our instructions were to out into the city, hear people’s stories, share yours maybe, and just show them Jesus through any which way the Spirit leads you. My wonderful team and I decided on walking to the nearest park. Can I go completely off topic here and say my team is so amazing? They are wonderful women of God seeking after His heart. And they’ve been ridiculously loving and supporting with the news about dad and my decision to stay. I seriously love them more than I thought I could love a group of strangers after not even three days of being together. Anyways, we decided to split off into two’s once we got there. I went with Kerina, who by the way, has such a wonderful energy about her, I almost don’t even miss coffee when I’m around her. Almost. So, she saw a man sitting on a park bench. We wandered over there, sat down with him and introduced ourselves, shaking his hand. We had a light conversation with him (just about the city and the weather, I asked him how he got to Atlanta). I was fully expecting God to show up in a big way. But I heard God whisper, ‘Be still.’ So we said our goodbyes and left. God showed me that just by shaking his hand and wanting to be around him, wanting to strike up a conversation about him, showed him love, and that God was in the tiniest things. Talk about humbling.
After re grouping, we did some ATL in ATL (Ask The Lord in Atlanta). One of our leaders felt like we should go to Burger King. We failed miserably finding one, we wandered around for a good half hour to forty five minutes. There were lots of drunk people around, one in particular was slouched over a mailbox, looking quite dehydrated. Elle, one of our team leaders, gave him her newly purchased, ice cold bottle of water, along with a rub on the back.
I am fully convinced that we wandered around just to give that man a drink of water.

See? All about the little things. For serious.

The next day, we disembarked to AIM headquarters, near Gainsville, Georgia. Our first day of actual training camp. To sum it up, it was all being sweaty.
And dance parties.
And naps.
And waking up more sweaty than when you fell asleep. And finding out you can sweat buckets just by standing still. In the shade.
And being excited about a shower (which was a hose with only one temperature:Cold) and then getting all sweaty and dirty two minutes after you step out of the “shower.”
The evening worship service was great, the speaker talked about breaking out of ‘prisons’ of sorts, anything that would keep us from being who God made us to be in Him. Holy Spirit was all up in thuurr!

Second day of training camp:
It was all about team growth and feedback, as well as hearing the Holy Spirit’s voice. And declarations over yourself, about who you are in Christ. It was so good. Tonight I cried some more for dad. I miss him with all my heart. But he is happy with Jesus now. And before I know it, we’ll be seeing each other soon.

Day three:
Today has been about debrief of culture, safety, blogging, the basics. Worship this morning was great. Hearing God whisper, “Lift your hands to me, child” was probably the highlight. I love it when I hear God’s voice. It’s the most beautiful thing on this planet. For serious.

The bonding that has happened with my team is crazy. I don’t know these girls. I don’t know their likes or dislikes, I don’t know what kind of music they like, if any, I don’t know if some are bookworms like me, but I love them. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s crazy how God has put us together.

Alright, that’s it for now. Love you guys!

Harken your ears for the good news!

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:40:02 -0400

So here’s the thing:

God’s amazing.

I am unofficially fully funded! It turns out that my dad has been saving. A lot. And after getting in the money that I’ve made from the tshirts and bracelets, I owe around $1500. And dad’s amazing. He’s paying for the remainder.

Yay :D

Bad News Bears

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:16:55 -0400

Okay, so here’s the deal:
I just talked to my support coach, and she really disliked being the bearer of bad news, but she said that if I don’t get the last $1700 in before I leave, I can’t go :( BUT she was super awesome and prayed with me.

So if you’ve contemplated giving to my cause, now would be a great time to do it :)

You can donate here:

https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=partFund

Where it says ‘choose program’ select ‘Real Life’ and for ‘participant full name’ put mine, Sarah Rochel.

This is pretty much my last cry for help on fundraising.

If you can’t give, please please please pray that God will provide, and pray that I’ll be encouraged.