In Cambodia, my team was doing the Unsung Hero Campaign, daily our schedule was packed full with appointments and we would divide and conquer in our quest to accomplish all that needed to be done. One day there was an opportunity to go to a NGO called Precious Women, after praying about it I knew that I was supposed to go to that appointment, however, I failed to speak up for what I felt God was calling me to, and I committed to going to other appointments. At the end of the day when our team came back together, the girls who had gone to visit precious women began to explain to the team how this ministry has so many different facets, but one of the things they had seen and thought was so cool was the cosmetology training center and the salon, which are used to combat the sexual exploitation of women in hopes of seeing them rescued and restored… I could barely finish listening to what they had to say, because I became so disappointed with myself and the fact I had not spoken up and gone to the meeting I felt like God was calling me to. After all, I am the hairstylist on the team.
Towards the end of the month after returning back to Phnom Penh I felt the Lord stirring in my heart to visit Precious Women. I felt if I left the country and did not at least see it, I would regret it. After a few emails back and forth with Solida, the owner and founder of "Precious Women", it was disclosed that she was looking for and praying for a Precious Bride Salon supervisor, and seemed overly excited I was emailing. This kind of peeked my interest and I grew excited for my opportunity to meet Solida and see her ministry. So the day before we flew out of Cambodia, Madison (my friend and teammate) and I made the venture in a tuk tuk across town to view the facilities, hear more about the ministry and to kind of look into what the Salon Supervisor position could look like.
Upon arriving, we were greeted by a warm and welcoming Solida, with a Huge smile and inviting hand shake she began to give us the tour of the facilities. This is our salon…this is all of the items we provide for weddings…this is where we do counseling..this is our office space…as we marched our way up the stairs I felt my heart beat speed up, I was so overwhelmed trying to take every little detail in. As she opened the door, I saw a room full of beautiful, precious women, all working on different assignments. In one corner some girls were practicing nail art, in another corner one girl was having her hair blown dry and crimped. In a different corner there was a girl having her hair shampooed. As I walked into the room and looked around, everyone stopped what they were doing and just began to stare at me with these huge grins on their faces and I felt empowered through the look in their eyes. They all gathered around, with their wet hair and half painted nails and partially crimped hair as if they were anticipating the words that would come from my mouth. Solida introduced me and then asked me to share something about myself with these girls. I of course jumped at the opportunity. As I looked at them all and began to share about myself, and where I am from and what I have done, and the heart The Lord has given me and how Christ has radically changed my life, I felt as if The Lord was whispering in my heart, I created you for this, I created you for this. There was something inside of me that felt like it was coming alive, and something else that felt like I was at home. As I was saying goodbye to the girls they asked Solida if they could share with me something. One by one the girls approached me and wished me the best of luck on the rest of the world race, praying I would be safe and have good health, but without missing a beat every single one of them to speak shared with me how they would like me to return and work there. How they felt something different about me, how they felt loved by me, and how they wanted to learn from me. I gave them all hugs and took a photo with them and then proceeded to walk down stairs with Solida.
As I sat on the floor of Solida's office talking with her, she showed me a brochure, she pointed to all the different ministries and she said I have someone who does this, and I have people that do this, and this is taken care of, but as she got to the Precious Bride and Salon she said this is what you would do and then gently yet confidently laughed. You would be the supervisor of this. I explained to her my commitment to the World Race for the next Five months and that I was uncertain of where God would lead me upon finishing the race. But assured her that I would be praying for her and the ministry and that God would provide the right person to fill this position. She reassured me that she confidently felt I would be returning that she felt as though I was the right person, and she would not mind waiting until I could return. Of course I finished conversation with her finding out more specific details as to what I would do, and where I would live and how much support I would potentially need to raise…
Everything within me wanted to make a commitment to her to return, I felt like inside everything was screaming, you were created for this! You were made for this purpose! Yet I some how managed to remain collected in front of her.
Unknown to me the girls up stairs were getting really excited because they were about to be taught a cutting class by a guest instructor. The guest instructor, Me. I was handed the one pair of shears for the entire salon and training center and had a live model (a student) sitting in the chair in front of me, I began to sweat with nervousness. Aside from the 12 clipper cuts I had done at the children's home that week and a few asian men hair cuts, I had never cut Asian hair before. What if I mess up, and now I am not only cutting her hair, I am teaching 8 girls this cut. I wasn't even using my shears, I was using shears that didn't properly open and close. The excitement of these girls to learn quickly overtook my thoughts and allowed me to just enjoy what I was doing. They were so eager to learn, they had their phones out and recorded every thing I did. As I was almost unable to move because I had to dodge my way around girls who were laughing and smiling and watching everything I did, I successfully with confidence was able to knock out an awesome cut, followed by a style. I secretly was thrilled to be able to hold a smoothing iron in my hands and use it on a client. 🙂 Something I have really missed the past 7 months.
As I left and climbed back into the tuk tuk with Madison I was overwhelmed and the thoughts that fled through my mind were coming and going so quickly it was hard to take them captive. I wanted to cry as I experienced a mashup of emotions. To read more about what I was feeling and experiencing and how you can be praying for me. Check out Precious Women part 2.
For your understanding of the different ministries of Precious Women:
On Friday nights, out reach teams visit Beer Gardens and Karaoke Bars in Phnom Penh, the purpose behind this is to build relationships with the women who work in these locations in order to bring restoration, hope and dignity. Hoping to put an end to the sex trade industry.
Every Thursday, Precious Women, go on the radio and speak about women's issues and the rights of women. They have an anonymous hotline where listeners can call in and ask questions and receive advice and counsel.
Twice a month they throw huge parties for the girls they have met in the beer gardens, making them feel special and important. They have an evening of food, fun and games. Wanting them to further understand their value and purpose as God created them, wanting them to know and feel precious. Also allowing an opportunity for the girls to hear more about the ministry and all it has to offer.
The Counseling Program has an aim of bringing restoration, hope and love through a relationship of trust and safety so that good life choices can be made. They provide free counseling to the girls involved in precious women and also any women who made want counseling.
The Butterfly Home and Vocational Training Centers (Salem Hicks, If you read this, you should simply know my heart fluttered when I heard her talk about this, and you definitely came to mind) The Butterfly home is a temporary, safe and empowering place for girls to stay during the duration of their training. They provide financial support and share God's love with these women during their stay. Before sending a woman to do vocational training they sit down with the families of these women and encourage them to support the decision to leave to the beer gardens and to pursue a vocation. They have several different vocational training centers, but one of them is cosmetology!
The Precious Bride and Salon, is the newest addition to the Precious Women ministry. The hope of this business is to provide an opportunity for women to do practical work and receive an alternative income. It is desired that women coming through the Cosmetology Training Center would grow in their confidence and skills in the salon in hopes that they could one day start their own business. It also wants to be a place that would be able to reach women who are wanting to look beautiful with the true beauty that Christ provides.
All of the different facets of this ministry are done from a heart of wanting to see these women come to a place of restoration and wholeness. With the desire to see these women come to know Christ and to grow in their relationship with him, being able to be reestablished in the community and be successful in business.
