June Update

Dreaming of a Boys' Center

Sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting. Step by step, many things have built upon each other in order to be ready to open a center for exploited boys in Phnom Penh. And now, it's happening! On June 15, the Hard Places Community will get the keys to our new building. The dream is becoming a reality! This could not have been possible without many months of hard work to prepare the spiritual and physical ground for this long-awaited project.

While working with children at Kid's Club over the past few months, the need for a center for boys has become all the more apparent. We know boys like Mike* who showed up last week with terrible burns, evenly spaced, along his inner-thigh. Someone saw this vulnerable boy on the street and did something evil. Each day we see Steve* who is bright and loves to learn. He wants to go to school but his family does not have the proper paper work. Now he is far behind the other kids his age. Oscar* comes to Kid's Club when he can, as long as he still has enough time to collect recyclables in his ratty sack to take back to his family at the end of the day. These boys and so many like them need a safe place to find love and hope.

One of the main reasons that it is possible for us to open this center is because of Traffick Jam 2011 (traffickjam2011.com). Many of you responded to the call this spring and took a stand/walk against the darkness of human trafficking. The funds from this event made it possible for us to sign a lease and start renovations. We have teams of people arriving in the next two months to help with cleaning, painting, and construction, which are all important parts of getting ready to open our doors.

Thank you for all that you have done to be a part of this amazing endeavor! God has used you to be important building blocks in this project. Prayer warriors, Traffick Jam coordinators and walkers, our own supporters allowing us to be here to work in Cambodia, encouraging visitors, people spreading the word about human trafficking - all of you are a part of this. God is using YOU to bring his Kingdom here on earth!

We'll keep you updated on the developments at the Boys' Center in the coming months. Keep praying and spreading the word. God is up to something good.

Blessings,

Kimberly, Becki, and Rachel

* names have been changed

Rachel's Ramblings

Things are constantly changing around me, but one steady part of my life here is learning Khmer. Depending on the month, I go to my language school up to four times a week for a one hour lesson. So far, the focus is only on speaking and listening, not reading and writing. I'm continually amazed at my teacher's patience while I butcher the pronunciation and word order day after day after day.

Recently my teacher, who is a college student and also a believer, began teaching me how to pray in Khmer. Every lesson we switch off who starts the lesson in prayer. I have to write out my prayers the night before and then I stumble through them during the lesson, but I immensely enjoy learning language to express my spiritual life.

New Roles!


Pray for us as we transition in our roles within the Hard Places Community (HPC). Kimberly is taking on more responsibility as the HPC in-country administrator. Rachel will be doing resource development, setting up programs for the Boys' Center and training new staff. Becki will continue working with children in the park ministry while dreaming up the beginning steps of outreach to young women in the park.

Traffick Jam 2011

On Saturday, all across the US, people took part in Traffick Jam 2011, a nationwide walk-a-thon aimed at helping to eradicate child sex trafficking in Southeast Asia. Funds raised from the walk will be used directly to help the projects that we are engaged in here in Cambodia. Our team, the Hard Places Community, is committed to working in areas where there is a high incidence of trafficking in order to help bring an end to the sale of young children.

As we mentioned in our previous post, we are currently running a Kid's Club at a park in the heart of Phnom Penh. Because of Kid's Club, we meet children who hang out at the park everyday and we are developing relationships with their families. This park is an area where it’s common to find pimps and prostitutes. It’s also an area men go to looking for young children. The kids are incredibly vulnerable to exploitation. Indeed, some have already been sold.

The Hard Places Community hopes to have a boys’ center close to the park where we are currently volunteering. There are many organizations here in Cambodia who are helping women and young girls who have been abused or trafficked. There is relatively little focus solely on young boys. The risk of a young boy being sold is just as great. With this center, we hope to provide a safe place for boys to go, where they can have practical needs met and find help and hope. The funds raised from Traffick Jam 2011 will help to make the boys’ center a reality.

In solidarity with those who walked in the States, we and our teammates walked across Phnom Penh on Saturday. We started at 5:00am in hopes of beating the worst of the heat. We started at our house and walked to the Independence Monument and then on to the park.

Thank you to those of you who helped to coordinate walks in your area! Thanks also to those of you who walked or supported those did. Together we will help bring child sex trafficking to a grinding halt! (For more information, you can check out the Traffick Jam website.)

Here is a picture of our Cambodia team after our walk. We finished with breakfast together at a local restaurant.

Kid's Club

One of the best parts of my day in Cambodia is Kid’s Club. It’s such a fun two hours, filled with much giggling, games and joy. The kids, covered with the grim that comes from living on the streets, have contagious laughter and the most precious hearts. Kid’s Club is always an adventure!

Here is what a normal Kid’s Club day looks like:

We leave our house in a tuk tuk with a box brimming full with supplies - crayons, scissors, an attendance book, a first aid kit, silly stickers and any other lesson materials needed for the day. At the park we are often greeted by a small group of children awaiting our arrival. They grab our supplies from the tuk tuk and dash towards the place we meet. If we are not careful, they begin rummaging through the box, trying to catch a glimpse of what the day’s lesson might hold. We pull out our bag of balls and spend 20 minutes simply playing with the children as they come from their various ‘homes’. When most have gathered, we give each kid a name tag, which they carefully apply to their shirts and we officially begin.

Because we have such a transient community, we often spend the first ten minutes introducing ourselves and reminding the kids of good Kid’s Club behavior. From there we sing some songs. This is one of the most precious times at Club. It is such a joy to hear 15 little voices sing songs with lyrics like “Jesus loves me and Jesus loves you” in the middle of a public park for all the world to hear. Then, with much gusto, we play a game like Moses Says or Red Light, Green Light.

After the game, we settle into our Bible lesson. Once we finish, we ask the kids how we can pray for them. They tell us about their sick family members and friends. In unison we lift up these requests to the Father. Next, we split into groups and begin a craft. When we finish the craft, we share a snack together and, finally, remind them to come to Kid’s Club the next day. Then we gather our supplies, give last hugs, say good-bye, and climb into our tuk tuk. As we head home, our hearts are full of gratitude for Kid’s Club and the children that God has given to us for this time.

Yesterday the kids sat captivated by the story of God sending his only Son into the world to save us from our sins. For a craft, they were given a construction paper heart with John 3:16 written in Khmer and a piece of yarn that they used to 'sew' the border of the heart. Then they practiced reciting the verse over and over again...very loudly for all the park visitors to hear.

I hope this gives you an idea of our day-to-day life. Please keep praying for these kids.

Grace and peace,

Becki

Fried Bananas

Yesterday we went on an adventure with a friend. She showed us where the best fried bananas are in Phnom Penh.

This store has been on this street for 30 years!

The bananas get smashed, dipped in batter and then fried in this wok.

It was the perfect treat for a Saturday.

Here is the pile of banana peels that they go through in one day.

This is the view of the shop from the street.

March Newsletter

NEW. INTENSE. GOOD.

These are the three words we would use to describe the last two months of getting settled into our new lives in Phnom Penh. During the last two months we started the process of learning Khmer, received some intensive training on trafficking and the sex trade here in Cambodia and began a park ministry for children at risk of exploitation. These are just the tangible things we have been doing.

Then there is the other realm of emotions which have accompanied these weeks. The stories we hear and now engage in have powerfully broken our hearts and challenge us to continue pursuing God’s shalom for this place.

At Kid’s Club, our daily park ministry, we sing, play games, and tell stories about Jesus. It's an amazing opportunity! The kids come from a variety of backgrounds, but most are profoundly poor and many are at high-risk of being abused. Several are already being exploited.

We recently learned about a trafficking situation with three of our Kid’s Club children. Our Khmer staff discovered three siblings are taken out at night by a man to 'have fun'. Their parents are paid the equivalent price of a latte at Starbucks. Each and every day while we teach, laugh and play with these precious children, we are also devastated by what we know happens to them each night.

This is a terribly sad situation and sometimes we are overwhelmed by the manifestations of evil all around us. In this case, the good news is that an investigation is beginning. The even better news is that we are able to pray and cling to the hope of a different life that Jesus offers these children. Please join us in prayer for this family. Lord, have mercy!

TRAFFICK JAM 2011

On May 7th people all across America will come together to walk ten miles in their neighborhoods to take a stand against child sex trafficking. Traffick Jam is a fundraiser for Hard Places Community to help open a center for exploited boys in Phnom Penh. We want to provide a safe place for boys to come and receive counseling, medical care, education, and freedom from oppression. Each walker commits to getting ten sponsors to donate $1 (or more!) per mile. Want to be involved? Check out http://traffickjam2011.com/ or e-mail us for more information

PRAYER REQUESTS

Pray for our adjustment to life in Cambodia -- learning Khmer, ministering crossculturally, and living in a hot, tropical climate.

Pray for healthy outlets for us to process the stress and emotions of the difficult situations we see every day.

Pray for the children who attend Kid’s Club -- that they would learn about God’s truth and that they would be protected from the evil that surrounds them

CONTACT INFO

graceandpeacegals@gmail.com

House pictures

We are officially settled into our new home. Here's a link to our Facebook photo album that gives a grand tour. You don't need to have a Facebook account to view these pictures--just click here.

Enjoy!

Different Things About Cambodia (Part 1 of ?)

Dear friends,

We have been in Cambodia now for one month! It's hard to believe what exactly we've already done--we've moved into our new house, started language school, begun training for our jobs and become familiar with the city of Phnom Penh.

Here are a few reflections from these last few weeks about the differences of living in Cambodia.

-Living in a tropical climate means that:

*60 degrees F at night or in the early morning feels cold! Some mornings we grab a jacket on our way out to Khmer lessons. We're coming out of the 'cool' season now.

*Constantly having a fan on means that EVERYTHING must be weighed down (money, paper, receipts, light plastic bowls). We are always chasing after a runaway something or alternatively, pepper or cinnamon flies back into our faces when we are pouring them on our food.

*Anything that might melt must be refrigerated. Even while we prepared dinner, the cheese and butter must remain in the frig until the exact moment we sit down to eat.

*Constantly having cold drinks on hand is a cultural must. We should always have a wide selection of drinks in the frig to offer guests.

-We use US dollars to pay for everything but we get change back in Cambodian riel. We are having to memorize what the appropriate change is with 1000 riel being a quarter and 4000 riel being a dollar. Occasionally we borrow money from each other for coffee or tea on the street and then realize we owe 60 cents or 75 cents but we pay it back with 4 or 5 bank notes of 100 or 500 riel each.

-Cambodia doesn't produce much domestically; nearly everything at the corner stores and larger supermarkets is imported, especially from Thailand, France, the United States, Vietnam and, of course, China. One difficult thing is that we are used to paying Chinese prices because we used to live in China. We have been in sticker shock as we stock up for our house--a plastic garbage can that we would have paid $1 for in China is at least $4 here. It's good because it is forcing us to reconsider our purchasing habits and see if we really need that bathroom shelf.

-Cars have steering wheels on both the left and the right. Technically, Cambodian steering wheels should be the left (a result of French influence) but neighboring Thailand has them on right because of British influence. As a result of the previous point, both are seen.

-Fighting against ants is a constant battle. Today alone we found ants on our breakfast food, on a shelf, in the sink, and in a cabinet. Our food will continue to have lots of extra little bits of protein as we figure out the best way to keep them out of our house. Ants are very, very, very smart little creatures!

-The post office doesn't alert you when you receive mail. You have to go to the office and ask if they have mail for you. There is no mailman! It feels weird to be in a country with so little structure to the postal system.

We imagine that every so often we will be posting new differences that we encounter!