The Long Defeat

Over the last several weeks, I have been sitting in what has felt like a long defeat. I take one staff member to the doctor and get answers only to have another fall ill. I am amazed by God’s faithfulness in the life of one family, only to hear of the heartbreak and spiritual oppression that continues in another. I see children happily attending Rahab’s House School and learning so much, only to hear of other students who cannot come because they must sell fish on the riverside for their family. I wish that I had a collection of victories to report. I wish that I could say that so many children are being rescued and that our entire staff is healthy and there are no family issues, but the battle continues and I live in the “long defeat that falling set in motion.”

Each day on my way to and from Svay Pak I pray to our Father and plead for inspiration, for help, for redemption. I pray that the situations around me would be healed and that the very broken places would be restored. And it is just hard. And I cry and complain to the Lord. And I know that just as God heard David’s cries, He also hears mine.

Again and again I have come back to the Sara Groves song “The Long Defeat”. It resonates with me as I walk with staff and friends through difficult circumstances and unanswered questions.  The lyrics are below. 

- Becki 

I have joined the long defeat

that falling set in motion

and all my strength and energy

are raindrops in the ocean

so conditioned for the win

to share in victor's stories

but in the place of ambition's din

I have heard of other glories

and I pray for an idea

and a way i cannot see

it's too heavy to carry

and impossible to leave

I can't just fight when I think I'll win

that's the end of all belief

and nothing has provoked it more

than a possible defeat

we walk a while we sit and rest

we lay it on the altar

I won't pretend to know what's next

but what I have I've offered

and I pray for inspiration

and a way I cannot see

it's too heavy to carry

and impossible to leave

it's too heavy to carry

and I will never leave

      - Sara Groves

February 2013 Update

Please check out our February Update - Lament - Prayer - Power!

Grace and Peace,

Becki, Rachel and Kimberly

Christmas around Cambodia

Recently two of our dear friends from China, Jessi and Molly, came to visit.  While they were here, we travelled around the country by car.  Below are some pictures of our trip together!

First, we spent Christmas Day at the beach.  Here's Becki at sunset

Then we traveled back to Phnom Penh...but first we met this van full of brooms on the highway

Here's something you don't see in the States...this little piggy is off to market

Our hotel had the world's largest treadmill.  We were all able to run on it at the same time!

We enjoyed a day of exploring the temples of Angkor Wat

School girls enjoying a bike ride through the peaceful countryside

Riding a bamboo train in Battambang...train is a very loose word for this form of transportation.  Read about the history of this train here

Disessemblying our cart as we meet another group

Merry Christmas - December Update

Here is our most recent update. We hope that you have a very Merry Christmas and a new year filled with much joy!

Encourage our staff for Christmas!

The staff at Rahab's House School is a wonderful group of committed young people, eager to serve the Lord and love the children of Svay Pak! Each day the teachers come with a smile, ready to dig in, be stretched, learn, and grow as teachers and as disciples of Christ. They work tirelessly and faithfully.

This coming Friday the 21st, we're going to have a small Christmas celebration at the end of the day. We invite you to comment on this post and leave a word of encouragement, a prayer, some scripture or anything else to let our teachers know you support them and are holding them up. We will compile all the comments and bless the teachers with your words on Friday. 

You can find some posts about individual teachers on the Pray For Svay Pak blog if you want to learn more about our staff. 

Let the staff know their brothers and sisters around the world are standing with them!

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving Shenanigans

This year we have so much to be thankful for. God continues to be faithful and our friends and family are such a blessing in our lives. Last night we had the opportunity to enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Hagar Restaurant here in Phnom Penh with some dear friends. Here are a collection of snapshots from this dinner:

 Attempting to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving!

 Our "Gang of Five" - good friends who walk through life here in Cambodia with us.

 We tried to eat the turkey made of styrofoam.

And only in Cambodia does a turkey lay Easter eggs!

WE ARE  TRUELY THANKFUL FOR...

Exchanging One Darkness for Another

A few weeks ago we ventured down to a beach town on the coast of Cambodia for some rest. We anticipated some time to read, reflect and enjoy some space away from the darkness that we work in each day in Svay Pak. But we were also aware that this particular beach town is notorious for prostitution. It is a haven for foreign men to visit for all the wrong reasons. With all of this mind, we set off.

On our first evening there, we wandered to a small restaurant that a friend had recommended, a nice little place located in the heart of the tourist district. When we sat down, we immediately saw a Western man with a Cambodian girl at the next table, about 5 feet from us. We could tell by her dress and mannerisms that the young girl worked in prostitution and the 20-something-year old man was clearly in town for a good time. They spent the entirety of our meal flirting and kissing and petting. As we prepared to depart, Kim began to engage the young lady in some simple conversation in Khmer. She told us that she was twenty years old and had been working in this area for two months. A few minutes later the man paid for the meal, kissed the girl goodbye and left. The girl went in the opposite direction.

Next door to our restaurant, two elderly white men were carousing with young Khmer women while we ate. Across the street, the same thing. Rinse and repeat.

It was impossible to go anywhere in this town without seeing something that made us want to either vomit or hit somebody.

As we walked away, our hearts broke for her and her situation. We have no idea what prompted her to take this path. We do not know if she is indeed 20. She looked no older than 16. And we do not know what her future holds.

We left Phnom Penh to get away from the daily darkness only to be confronted with the story of one young lady that is in a terribly difficult situation. She has been in our thoughts and prayers each day since our return and still we have no answers. We have asked friends and teachers about what can be done and they sadly shake their heads and seem to resign themselves to this reality. We continue to pray. We continue in our work with children and our teachers in Svay Pak. We continue to try and spread grace and peace wherever we go. And we keep praying. Rinse and repeat.