Every child be will sponsored as of April 1st.
After 36 hours and what seemed like a whirlwind of conversations, those were the words told to our team about CHA, the orphanage we had been working with in Cambodia.
You may have seen the blog my teammates all wrote pleading for help. The CHA was literally running old of food. They had stretched there rice as far are they could, but it was only going to last threw sunday breakfast. But little did we know what Sunday lunch would look like…
Through the blog, over the course of about a week we raised just under $5,000. The giving hearts were incredible and our team was floored.
But then we realized a problem. Our game plan wasn't sustainable. We were able to get money routed to our accounts to withdraw for CHA, but once we were gone, essentially so was the money. Rithy, the owner of CHA, didn't have a bank account for CHA and we weren't sure what they needed to connect to a third party money donor.
It was then that nearly two years of banking experience came in handy! (Thank you Les Bois Credit Union!)
FRIDAY:
My teammate Meg and I spent all morning at our favorite coffee shop 'Daughters of Cambodia.' I was on the Skype calling different third party donors and researching all other alternatives to try and give CHA access to US funds. My conversations were informative and I opened up the can of worms that is international banking! I I learned the difference between routing numbers and SWIFT codes, I got to hear about Cambodian banking corruptions and I was weighing the price and effectiveness of wire transfers.
No matter what method I tried, the answer was the same.
NO.
That won't work.
That's not sustainable.
That's not cost effective.
That's not possible.
Defeated.
Right about that time all my other teammates showed up at our table informing Meg and I that our lunch date was here. I thought, well I guess I will just put this project on hold then…
Rewind- Sarah, my team leader, had been grocery shopping to pick up some breakfast items when she saw Carl, owner of Remember Nhu, the organization she worked with in Thailand. He just happened to be in Cambodia for the week checking up on one of the Remember Nhu safe houses here. They quickly caught up and decided to have a lunch date to meet with our team. Which brings us back to our Friday lunch date.
Through our lunch conversation, my teammate Abby, asked if Carl had any advise for us on CHA's banking situation.
And that's when the idea was birthed.
What if Remember Nhu partnered with CHA?
Carl began to explain how Remember Nhu has several other orphanages that they partner with to keep them thriving and funded. He asked us questions from CHA's vision, the number of kids, to the facility location amongst other things.
He seemed pleased and by the end of the conversation asked if he could set up a meeting with Rithy of CHA to get more details and to explore the option. The only issue was that the only time Carl could meet was…now.
After a short call to Rithy the meeting was set and Carl simply rode back home with us to CHA.
After an hour of talking, everyone began to see a beautiful flower blooming – visions were aligning, doors were opening, the possibilities were growing. Rithy and Carl parted ways agreeing to pray about it and reconvene the next morning.
SATURDAY:
The verdict was in and the Lord had spoke the same thing to both men. CHA was going to be a Remember Nhu sponsored house. And not only that, Carl had realized how great the need was that He was going to start sending the money the next distribution period, in good faith that the kids would all get sponsors.
Carl also said that he wanted to immediately begin integrating the two orphanages so the kids could all be friends. He was taking his kids to the mall that night for arcade games and ice cream and wanted CHA kids to join him. Rithy agreed and Saturday night was now the highlight of the week. We parted ways for the afternoon excited for a fun evening. We were all still amazed that a mere 48 hours previously these kids had no food and no access to money – but now they were going to get ice cream and play arcade games?!?
All of the CHA kids excitedly downed their dinners and piled into tuk-tuks ready to get to the mall.
Small faces lit up as we crossed the big scary main road and turned in the shopping center. Eyes bugged out with wonder at the sight of the escalator.
The kids would not have been more precious.
All the gold tokens were distributed and the kids sent off the the arcade; the only problem? They had no idea what to do with these golden tokens. The simply placed them in their pockets and watched the other kids play the arcade games.
The experience was so humbling. Such a common childhood activity in the US was so foreign the the CHA kids. I began to walk around showing kids how to place their golden token in the machine so that they could play too.
The night ended with sticky faces and fingers, sugar highs, and pockets full of candy wrapper winnings from the arcade.
SUNDAY:
The next morning Carl orphanage's came to CHA to share church and lunch together. It was such a beautiful picture. And to think that the only 48 hours before the CHA kids weren't going to have lunch that day. He is suck a provider.
Two ministries uniting under one roof for one purpose. to serve the Lord by seeing those Cambodian children.
So as I leave Cambodia after a mere three weeks, I look in the rear view mirror and see the most incredible footprint that the Lord has left on the race.
I leave behind 30 kids with the peace, knowing that they will not run out of food, that they will be provided for, and that He has seen them all along.
My team was so desperately trying to get money to CHA our way, but the Lord wanted to provide for them in a lasting far greater way.
What a blessing to witness.
and now…
IT'S TIME FOR AFRICA!
Love to all,
Brittany
