Siem Reap, Cambodia… is a place like no other. With the beautiful scenery, the amazingly kind people and the very persistent tuk tuk drivers, how could I not fall in love with this incredible place?
As I walk down Pub Street and Night Market I am surrounded by flashing lights and loud music, yet the only thing that I can think about is how God’s presence is here in this place. What amazing things He is doing here… and I get to be a part of it!
This past month has been incredible. We have done things like paint
the roof of the overflow guesthouse, gone on prayer walks, played soccer
with kids in the streets and held babies while talking with their
mothers in the market place. One specific thing that God has laid on my heart are the women at the bars. These women sell their bodies to feed their families.
On October 16th the senior leadership of AIM came to visit the
overflow house. It was amazing to meet them and to learn nuggets of wisdom
from them. That night we split up into groups of 3 and went out to do ATL
(ask the Lord) ministry. My team consisted of Lauren, Mitch and I. As
we walked through the streets asking the Lord to give us direction, we
stop by a bar called Mikey’s. As Mitch started to pray for this bar,
all of a sudden I heard the Lord tell me to go in. I was so scared to
go in that I just ignored that “feeling”. It didn’t last long, and I
finally spoke up and we went inside and took a seat. After we sat there a bit,
the Lord again encouraged me to go and ask one of the
women if they wanted to join us. This time I was less hesitant, so I ask
one of the women and she was thrilled to sit and talk with us.
Her name was Srey. We talked with her for a while and then out of
no where more of the bar women started to join us.The next thing we know…
we are surrounded by women who want to talk and hang out with us. We
asked them questions about their families, their dreams and their
jobs. Their responses to our questions were a lot different than I had expected. These women don’t want to be in the business of selling their bodies for money. They have dreams. Dreams of owning their own shops or having the money to send their kids to school or even being a stay at home mom and having a decent house. It broke my heart to hear this. There was nothing we could really give them that night except the love of Jesus. We shared laughter, some crazy stories
and lots of hugs with them.
That night showed me how hungry the women were for love, friendship
and relationships with people. They are incredibly hungry for something more,
something like Jesus. I feel discouraged at times about not being able
to do anything for these women. I am fully confident that God has put them in our
lives for a reason, and I’m super excited to see what He is going to
do through my team and I.
Thank you everyone for your prayers, they are needed and felt from afar. Prayer changes everything, even the heart of someone like me.
