Heading Home

One final post from Cambodia before we leave. The team have made 

it to the airport and we're all ready for heading home. Just want 

to thank you all for journeying with us and covering us with prayer.

  We have needed it and felt it throughout our time here.

The team waiting in Phnom Penh airport

  We're sitting here as a team with energy spent but our hearts so 

full. One of the songs we have listened to time and time again 

during the 2 weeks as a team has the lines "come sing that the Lord 

is good, come sing that his love endures, come sing 

that the Lord is good, hallelujah!"

At the end of this trip I want that to be our song. We have seen 

much need and perhaps there has been frustration for some that we 

couldn't do "bigger" things at this stage.  Al txt me to remind of 

the verse "Do not despise these small beginnings,for the LORD rejoices

to see the work begin"  (Zechariah 4:10) 

As a team we want to thank God for his goodness to us as we have begun 

to explore connections here in Cambodia. Since the last time laura and 

I were here I have seen massive changes in lives and projects. So we 

want to give all the glory to Jesus and pray that he will lead us all

personally and as a church as to where to go fromhere.
 
Please continue to pray for the projects here on Cambodia as they work 

daily to bring hope to those that need it. Pray for protection for them 

and for energy as they give so much here to those that need help.
 
Pray for us as a team as we go home and spend time reflecting and 

seeking God for direction. I'm so thankful to have been part of the 

team and as we have explored together God has connected us with some 

incredible people. Pray that out of these small beginnings God 

will birth something significant within our own hearts and as 

a church, but most importantly for the people in Cambodia who His 

heart is so for that many will come to know him and know of his hope 

and goodness in their lives.
 
Looking forward to chatting and dreaming more with many of you 

when we get back.
 
Dave

Reality and Annie

It's been a busy few days since the last post and the team has been exposed to the reality of the situations which many people face here in Cambodia. We have witnessed some of the most horrific situations possible but yet at the same time witnessed Jesus at work in ways we couldn't even have dreamt of. It's late at night at the mo, and I'm just back from praying in the bars with the team and absolutely buzzing so just wanted to give a quick update for prayer and thanks and to encourage those of you who are journeying with us in prayer that God is hearing and answering and moving here in amazing ways.

History

We had a great day out on Sunday past with Pete Kernaghan and his Exodus team as we went to church in Svay Pak. For those of you following along with my twitter feed you will have seen the pictures of the "big orange bus" which brought us on our journeys. We headed to Svay Pak to church, an amazing place where God's grace is lived out as victims, traffickers and pimps all worship together. It was a great morning. After this we went to bring both teams to learn something of the history of Cambodia and the reason why it is in so much turmoil. We headed to see Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields and this was a draining experience for everyone. For more info on this read some of my posts from the last trip. Afterwards we got the chance to go to the prayer room in Phnom Penh and worship and pray over the city. It was an incredible experience and great to be able to seek God's blessing for the city and rest in his presence after all that the team had experienced.

Some of the team at the prayer room

Ethical Issues

On Friday we got the chance to spend time in Svay Pak for lunch and the Assistant Pastor (Ratanak) showed us around some of the area. We got to learn about some of the background which many of the children who attend the kids club which we run each day come from. Many of these children come from families which live in local brick factories. In these areas their wages are dependent upon how many bricks they are able to produce. At this the rainy season, many people are unable to make bricks and as a result cannot afford to buy food for their family. As a result they are forced to borrow money from the owner of the factory, a loan which brings with it a high percentage of interest being added on. Many families now find themselves enslaved to the factories and this way of life. Below is a picture of the factory and the conditions many face.

In the midst of this however we were faced with a massive reality check to many of us on how we live our lives in the west. The brick factories require a furnace to be constantly used to bake the bricks and make them fit for use. Beside the furnace was a massive pile of scraps (see picture below) taken from the local area and from other factories which some family members work in. These scraps were burnt to provide the energy and heat needed. As we looked on as children played on the scrap heap, Steph noticed a label within the pile. On closer inspection it was a label for the high street shop "H&M" and one of the products they make here within Cambodia. These products were obviously being made by some of these family members and the scrap labels had been taken home to use within the brick making factory. This in itself could take another full blog to write about but I just hope it can be an awakening to some of the things which we spend some of our money on. I know that many people at home are trying to champion the cause for ethical clothing and surely this is a topic which the church needs to stand up and take leadership in. 

The Bars and Annie

Some of the most incredible encounters we have experienced have been in the evening times as we have gone to the bars down by the riverside and prayed with some of the women and men that work there. In the area there seems to be something being done about the issue with signs up trying to confront tourists. Scattered at varying intervals along the other side of the road however could be seen green lights like those below. These let people know that children were for sale in those bars and in that area. This was a hard thing to see, particularly for many of the parents on the team who have kids at home.

Over the last few nights the team have had some amazing Holy Spirit encounters and conversations within the bars however with men and women searching for hope, love and acceptance. As we have chatted we have seen brokenness in those being sold and those doing the buying and the need for God's love to break into their lives. Many of the girls have said they desire to leave the bars and work elsewhere, but just don't know how or what to do. The team have been amazing but to finish the blog I wanted to share the story of one girl in particular called Annie. 

Last week Al and Pauline headed off into a bar and got the chance to pray with some of the workers. Al got the chance to talk with one girl in particular called Annie who really gripped his heart particularly with Annie being the name of his and Rachel's daughter. He got the chance to bond with her and pray over her. He promised to give her number to people working in some projects and seek help for her as best we could. Annie has remained part of his heart. Tonight after saying goodbye to some of the team who headed home, the remaining team members headed out for our last night of prayer in the bars on the trip. The last couple of nights I have spent prayer walking without going into the bars but tonight I headed in a group with Steph, Tash, Nick and Sarah to head to one of the bars. We walked around the area for a while and headed down one side street where there seemed to be a wide choice of bars on offer. We headed into one in particular and I was drawn to one table in particular where there was a older western man sitting talking to a Cambodian bar worker. As I began to chat to them both the girl spoke up and asked where I was from. After telling her I was from Ireland she told me that someone else from Ireland had been in and spoken with her a few days ago. I asked her what her name was and she told me she was called Annie. I was blown away that God had brought us to the very bar and the very table of the same girl Al had spoke to a few days before. Through conversation I was able to find out that I could pay $7 to take her out of the bar. After paying I was able to take her with Steph to get a coffee and pray. She shared her life with us both and had said that the night before she had been praying that God would send her someone else to come and pray with her and to talk with her. She had attended church as a child and been baptised at the age of 8. She said that she has always felt Jesus with her but recently been feeling him moving in a big way. It was beautiful to be able to pray with her and share the love of Jesus again and help her to realise God's hand upon her life. We were able to take her and introduce her to some friends who work in the area and she is now going to attend church with them this Sunday. Please pray for her and her 2 children and that God will birth and develop something amazing within her life. She shared that she desires to leave the job and to share the same hope with other people. Pray that this becomes her reality.

How incredible to see God working. How amazing is the Holy Spirit that he leads and guides in this way. God is so good and he is at work seeing to bring beauty out of ashes. Pray for Cambodia and pray for more "Annie encounters" to become a regular occurrence within the lives of many of the men and women in this area. Pray for the team as well as energy begins to fall that we will finish strongly and also for safe journeys for those who have left tonight.

Love to all.

Dave

Celebrating Victories

The last couple of days have been great with all the team really bonding and working well within the different areas of projects. Today a couple of different events really caught my attention and made me realise how easily we can become swamped by and focus our attention on all the negative things around us without really taking time to celebrate small victories that we see and where we recognise God's Kingdom at work. Today speaking to one of the new lady boys and hearing his own testimony I heard that 2 of the boys (David and Jonathan) who had come to know Jesus the last time we were out in Cambodia had went back to work in clubs and other areas. I looked at photos of one of them as he began to live a life again as a lady boy. My heart was so heavy due to what I saw and heard that I totally overlooked what the new man was telling me and of how God has been working in his own life. I was thinking about the boys for most of the morning when Savet came again and began to talk with me. He was speaking about his day and his plans for tonight. In the evening time he is now beginning to teach English to other people in his community. I asked him how much he was charging and he replied that he was doing it for free as God had blessed him so much and now he wanted to be a blessing to others. Today as I sat and chatted to Laura on Skype, I realised that I could either become down about the bad news I had heard and feel frustrated by some of the stories we hear in Svay Pak, or instead I could thank God for the break through and radicle change in this one mans life. Tonight I want to ask you to continue to pray for break through and change in this area but as I quickly recap on the last 2 days to pray and thank God for all that the team have been able to do so far, and for the blessings which we have seen already.

• Prayer on the Streets

Last night we got the chance to meet up with some people from England who we had made contact with and who are now living out in Phnom Penh. They brought us to the bars and clubs by the riverside and many of our team had the chance to talk and pray with many of the women and men that work in the bars and would sell themselves to customers each night. As they did this some of the bar workers were brought to tears as they shared about how much they wanted to change their lives and howthey felt unfulfilled. The team were able to pray with them and offer a listening ear. Give thanks to God that many of our team stepped out of their comfort zone and that God's spirit worked through them to bless and love those people that needed it.   

A smaller group of us faced the rain and went prayer walking and praising in the area. 

• Turners

John and Ann Turner are a couple from Northern Ireland who run a project called "feed my lambs". They prepare food and deliver it to many children living in slum conditions. They also carry out a night time work as they look after the children of sex workers and care for their basic needs. John, Davy C and Chris have spent the last couple of days doing some painting and practical work for them. The group which are leaving early on Monday also helped to carry out the work with food distributions in the slums today. Thank God with us tonight for the work the Turners do and for the fact that we have been able to see God's heart lived out as the hungry have been fed and looked after.

• Kids Club

Tash and the guys running kids club have been doing an amazing job and this has been one of our most favorite parts of the day as we have watched Kids come alive as filled with happiness as they worshipped God in the safety of the "The Sanctuary". Below are some of the crafts which the children have made. 

 

Today as we stood and worshipped and danced with the kids, the words which we sang suddenly took on purpose and true meaning. What a hope it must be to be able to sing:

"When I stand in that place, 

Free at last meeting face to face,

I am your Jesus you are mine.

Endless joy, perfect peace,

Earthly pain finally will cease.

Celebrate Jesus is alive, He's alive"

Celebrate with us as we see Hope being lived out in the midst of hopeless situations. 

• Medical Team

Gayle and Rachel continue to work tirlelessly each day for the queues of people coming to see them with tooth aches and aching backs. Thank God that peoples needs are being met. Today I stood and watched Rachel pull someones tooth out....after seeing the pictures below of the before and after shots, I definitely wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her!

Steph has also begun to do some training with counsellors at Daughters. This is an amazing opportunity which has many positive knock on effects as it means that the clients at daughters will receive a better service of care. Thank God for the skills of all 3 of our medical team and all that they have been doing.

• Photography

Nick has been an amazing team player who has been a tower of strength to many people around him as well as providing training in photography to people at Daughters and Svay Pak. Teaching of new life skills such as this is a massive benefit to these people and helps to train them for other employment further down the line. Nick has plans also in place to help address issues with websites and design of videos for a couple of projects. Thank God for all that he does.

• Purpose

During the course of the trip it has been amazing to see people we work with exploring and finding purpose in life. It also has been beautiful however to see team members who came with many fears of inadequacy prior to the trip and uncertainty of what they could bring to the team to now see them fully moving in the Spirit and blessing others around them. Sonya was one of these people who now daily brings amazing energy and fun to the kids club and also last night was amazing with the girls in the bars as she prayed. Her and Lorna and many others have also brought their mothers hearts and been significant, particularly with the kids and especially today as they delivered food to the children in the slums.

Please continue to pray for Cambodia and all the projects we work with, but tonight give thanks for all the ways we see the Kingdom already in action.

Dave

Hope in action!

Today was the first full day of working with projects. The team split for the morning sessions with some going to work in Svay Pak and the others working in Daughters. Daughters of Cambodia is a charity which seeks to train and reintegrate those people who have left the sex industry into life in community. Many of the people have no skill basis to work from which is why many found themselves working in the industry in the first place. Since Laura and I were last here, the centre where many of the clothes etc are made has relocated. I was blown away by the development within the project and how much has changed. Everything has become bigger and more professional and it was amazing to see peoples lives who had seemed down and out suddenly changed and finding purpose in their lives due to the hope and love of God being shared with them

Sons of Cambodia was a side project which was just started 2 years ago prior to our time in Cambodia. At that stage it was a small community of 3-4 lady boys who were training in new areas of skill and also hearing about the love of God for the first time. Today I watched many new lady-boys working at new high tech machinery and creating a whole brand of products to sell at the shop. These are just a few examples

Through selling such items at the Daughters shop and online the men and women now earn a living for themselves and have found a new purpose in life. Today I met with one of the men (Savet) from the last time who is now line manager and is someone who's life has been dramatically changed by God. Today he was so excited to tell Al his testimony and of God's goodness in his life. Hope in Action!

The rest of the team worked in Svay Pak, running kids clubs, video classes, medical teams and working in the "Lords Gym", a gym for men from the community (Pimps and traffickers included) which allows for relationships to be built and men's lives transformed, targeting the demand side of the industry. 

Many of the children which attended the kids clubs will still be sold at night time to paying customers. I was thinking tonight of how hopeless a situation that must be for many of them. We can't even begin to fathom the reality that many of these children face as they leave the fun they experience in club each day to face the fears of what lies ahead that night. I was reminded of the verse in Psalm 30v6 which says "Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning" or as the message translation says "The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter". This is the life lived out by these children that after the pain of what they experience at night, many of them look forward to the hope of a day of laughter and feeling like a normal child again, if only for a little while. Please pray for these children that as we share the hope of Jesus with them, that it will become a permanent reality in their lives and that many of them will be freed from the trafficking and hell which they frequently experience. Pray for the team as well that God will fill our hearts with his love and that we will live and act it out in everything we do during the next few days.

Hope everyone at home is well and enjoying the rain! 

Dave

Cambodia part 2

I'm sitting in Dublin airport about to bring a group from church to Cambodia. It's the second time that I will have gone and I sit here filled with a mixture of emotions. On one hand I'm excited to be going back to a nation which has gripped my heart since laura and I were last there 2 years ago. On the flip side however I'm an emotional mess as I feel like I've had to leve my heart at home as laura has been unable to travel with us. With her being pregnant she was never able to travel but over the last few days she had to spend some time in hospital with some complications. The husband part of me is naturally anxious about my wife and also for our baby which is now only 9 weeks away from birth but they have had to start giving treatment for her in case of early delivery. Some people have questioned my decision on going saying that I should be staying at home but I feel a peace that this is the right thing. As we go to work with children that are daily being sexually exploited I have faith in God to look after my own wife and child. I'm excited to explore more on Cambodia and see what God has in store not just for me personally but also for us as a church. Over the next two weeks the 19 of us will be working in a variety of projects as we week to share the hope and love of Christ with those that need it so badly. Please join with us in prayer for the team that God will clearly guide and use us for all that he desires to do. Please pray for laura and our baby as well that the doctors will have wisdom and understanding to know the right path to take. I will Try to blog now and again and share some of our stories with those who want to follow along. I'm sure many others will be facebooking and tweeting so please journey with us as we head away. Dave

Heading Home

We have finished our time now in Thailand after spending an incredible week in Koh Samui. The Island here is beautiful and we were able to hire scooters once again and go explore the place and get to see some of the amazing beaches. The highlight of the week though was getting the chance to go scuba diving. It was amazing to see all that lives below the waters, some incredible sights. No wonder God looked at what he had made and said that it was good! We were blown away and loved every minute of it. A great chance to relax.

We now leave for home today and travel to Bangkok this afternoon where we will stay overnight at the airport hotel. In the morning we will then fly to Oman and then to London where we will spend the night with Dave and Mel Wiggins. Then on Wednesday lunchtime we fly home to N.Ireland. It's hard to believe that this is it all over. The time since we arrived has flown by and Cambodia already seems like it was long time ago. This is the last blog I will write for a long while I'm sure, but Laura and I just want to say a massive thankyou to so many of you who have journeyed with us during the last 6 weeks. So much has happened with us during the time yet it was support from people from home and obviously from God that has brought us this far. Thank you to all who prayed, emailed, phoned, txt and showed an interest in what we have been doing by reading the blog. We still value your support however when we get back. Things still are somewhat unclear as to where to go from here, but we are willing to wait and hear from God. We would ask you to continue to pray for us and we look forward to being able to chat to many of you when we return and seek some wisdom and advice. We are looking forward to spending more time with God and while we are unclear about things we are still excited about what lies ahead. My mum always quoted these words to us growing up, and now more than ever we choose to trust them and cling to the truth of them.

"I know who holds the future and he guides me with His hand,

With God things don't just happen, everything by him is planned.

So as I face tomorrow with its problems large and small,

I'll trust the God of miracles, and give to him my all"

Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts. See you shortly.

Dave and Laura. xo

27 and counting!!!!

Laura and I have just finished a few days stay in Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. We stayed with a lovely couple from CFC in Belfast called Andrew and Lesley Dornan and their two kids Matty and Josh who now live out here and are working on a fulltime basis. We had been looking forward to meeting them so much and to see all the work that they are involved with and also just to spend some time chatting with them and offloading all out thoughts to seek some wisdom and advice. They didn't dissapoint! When we arrived Laura was still continuing to feel unwell and the stomach pains and general feeling of being sick had worsened. Thankfully Lesley is a nurse so she was able to get some proper medication for Laura and she is now feeling a lot better. (Apparently the antibiotics the pharmacist sold me in Pattaya was actually another version of immodium) We got to meet some missionaries out here that partner with them both and hear of lots of different opportunities and ways of getting involved in the future. To be honest though we are both confused about our future more than ever so prayer would be really appreciated. We have been blown away by God so much this trip and seen so many different projects and doors to possibly walk through but we just want to be able to come home and seek God together about our future and try to sense what he is saying and where is leading. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between what are our thoughts and desires and what is God. One thing I have sensed him sying however is that we need to wait on him and his plans, to walk and journey with him into our future and not be running ahead to do our own thing.

Anyway, we got the chance to chill loads and spend time seeing Chiang Mai with Andrew and Lesley. Laura also had a chance for more retail therapy. On Saturday night we headed into one of the markets with some of our friends from Pattaya who had also journeyed up for a few days to Chiang Mai. We were all browsing the stalls together but somehow managed to lose Laura in the midst of the crowd. At that point all the stall keepers started quickly packing up their goods as they said they could "smell" rain coming....they were so right! we had such a downfall of rain and we all stood under the shop canopys for shelter....but Laura was still missing. When the rain eased off I began to walk down towards the end of the street to find Laura. I haven't laughed as hard in a long time, when I saw this small blond girl soaked through and looking miserable with all the rain.....but she had still managed to buy some items....that girl has a gift.

Yesterday though was a big day for me....I turned 27! We headed out for breakfast with the Dornans and later went for a meal before church in the evening. It was another normal day, but birthdays always seem to be a point for me when i do an awful lot of reflecting, so for a large part of the day I was quieter than usual. I'm thankful for all that God has brought me through to this point and excited about what lies ahead. In church that night our friends Justin and Alison presented me with a carrot cake to celebrate.....in such a short time they've got to know me so well. Becasue we had to go straight to the airport we ended up going to mcdonalds and ordering mcdonalds tea and coffee with the Dornans while we all tucked into the cake. Was immense and a nice end to the day.

We then flew back to Bangkok and spent the rest of the night awake while we waited to check into our flight to Koh Samui. We have juut arrived today and have a beautiful villa that overlooks the sea and coastline from our room(this a picture of part of the view) and we're looking forward to being able to switch off and relax for the next week before coming home. While the mission aspect of our trip has now come to and end, we still appreciate your prayers and support that God would continue to speak to us, and that even this week in a period of being still we would sense him and hear him speak to us and guide us. Also, its been raining for pretty much the last 3 weeks in thauiland so hoping for some sunshine and the chance to get out and chill. Will blog again before we leave for home.