The ministry we are working with, Destiny Rescue, is located in one of the worst City Slums in Phnom Penh.
Our first visit to one of the villages completely broke me. It’s definitely the worst living conditions I’ve seen yet. The village shacks are raised up, built directly over the sewage dump. Their garbage and sewage reak worse than anything I’ve smelled in my life, and the reality that these people live in these conditions is absolutely awful.
The Destiny Rescue organization is based out of Australia, and they have different centers in several different countries, with different programs specifically designed for the location they are in. The Destiny Rescue here in Phnom Penh has two main buildings; the learning center and the day care. They have almost 200 children involved in the program; all coming from three slum villages.
Their main objective is to help rescue children from poverty and from being trapped in human trafficking. This center truly brings hope to these families! The children receive one good meal a day, plus basic reading and writing skills that the public schools will not give to these villages. That also presents them the opportunity to teach them about Jesus, which is the whole point!! Our first visit to the center involved around 200 crazy cute little rug rats attacking us and saying “Hello! Hello!” That’s about all the English they know, but they are quite proud of that and say it anytime they see a white person. 🙂
Of course, I fell in love with them!! 
What our team is actually doing isn’t directly working with the kids, however. We are doing a lot of administration and technical/physical labor to help the ministry since they are currently understaffed. Our current plan of action involves:
-Creating lesson plan materials for the teachers to use
-Painting the 1st grade classroom tables
-Organizing their computer files and developing a file backup system
-Updating their child sponsorship files by doing interviews with the children, their families, their teachers, and taking pictures!
-Creating a marketing plan for the jewelry making project, which involves designing a couple new products and beginning production
-Fixing broken desks, doors, and other “handy man” type things around the center
I absolutely love how the Lord brought us to this ministry. Helping with human trafficking was about the only thing we knew about this ministry site coming into it. We’re still doing that… but very indirectly! God has chosen to let us use the knowledge and skills that He’s blessed us with to minister to the administration here. Our team is PERFECT for the current needs of this ministry! At least one of us, if not two or three, have background experience in business, computer networking, teaching, and creative skills! Plus, Will is really gifted in construction and “handyman” type stuff! Our team just kind of smiled when our contact told us the things she needed help with. God knew just who to send for this project!
