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Hey all,

I just came back this Friday (4/20) from a 2 week mission trip to Cambodia, and I wanted to just take a moment to share a bit of what the Lord is doing out there with you guys.

First, let me say that before I went I had NO idea what to expect. I knew about as much as the average person does about Cambodia (which is nothing), but the opportunity came up through our church's connection with Harmony Outreach, and I accepted.

What I discovered was a beautiful country that has been scarred by poverty, corruption, and the results of the hybrid mix of Buddhism and spiritism that permeates the land. Prostitution is rampant, and for many hope of a better life is non-existent. (You can thank the idea of kharma for that.) The needs are great.

But the believers that we met there- both Western and Khmer- are on fire for Christ, and quite honestly, all of us visitors were given a lesson on the Christian walk. Our time was spent with the saints from Water Of Life, and it was awe-inspiring to see what the Lord was doing both in the lives of individuals, and throughout Cambodia. 

In many ways Cambodia is a loveless land. The savagery that Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge inflicted on the people in the 70s still resonates in the culture. Child abuse and abandonment is common, but those lives that are so easily tossed aside or corrupted by the culture, are being so wonderfully redeemed in Christ it is amazing.

One young man who at a very young age was abandoned by his father, and watched his mother die, and who at the age of six was banging his head against a wall praying to die now teaches Bible studies, and teaches art and music to the children in the orphanage. 

Another young man, not an orphan, but who receives a small amount of money from his father for living expenses gives HALF of what he has to buy food for 100 young children who's families live by the dump. He cooks it, loads it on to his moto (motor-scooter), and serves it to them every week! When I asked him why he said "Because Jesus loves me." That was his reason.

We met young ladies who go into the darkest, most evil places I have ever seen- without fear or hesitation- and witness to the young prostitutes and abused children right under the gazes of the sex traffickers themselves.

We met a girl who was once demon-possessed, and was used for profit by her family, but who is now a servant of the one true God. Beautiful.

We met a young man of 16 who suffers from a debilitating skin disease that is pretty much eating him alive. He has lost his fingers and toes, but the smile on his face is bright. To watch him praising God without abandon is humbling. My friend asked him, "Where is this smile coming from?" He said that he loves Jesus, and he looks forward to the day when he dies and is given a new body so he can run with his brothers in Heaven.

Outside of the church many of these young people would be discarded, garbage-pickers, prostitutes, or dead. But God sees them as jewels, and it was such a blessing to see them shine.

Cambodia is ripe for the Gospel. The stench of Pol Pot still clings, and the continuous threat of retributive spirits keep the people in spiritual bondage, but slowly the name of Christ is moving out. And the people hungry to hear about the one true, loving Father who sent His Son to die for them that they may be forgiven and live forever. They are hungry for the truth.

Pray for Cambodia, guys. Pray for Truth. Pray for faithful workers, and consider supporting those who's hands are on the plows.

I'll post some pics once I touch them up.

God bless everyone.