"Everything is beautiful, even when the tears are falling. I don't need a miracle to believe." There are days when all you see in life simply seems like more than you can handle. You feel so alone in your struggle, and all you can muster up among the tears is a weak mental cry to God to take away the pain in your heart and wrap his arms around you in the midst of a broken, loveless world. In these moments, the Holy Spirit comes, in ever his ever so gentle manner, and holds you close and renews your strength once more. Once more, he assures you that you are loved. Once more,...

Earlier this week I was sitting in our morning devotion and the little boy Huah who normally hangs out at the center came and sat on my lap. I was unpleasantly surprised by the stench of Urine when he sat on my lap. Huah is a typical dirty boy, always playing in the dirt and running around but that day was different, no kidding he smelt like straight urine. We decided that he needed a bath so my teammate Sarah and I got a towel and some Shampoo and then I picked him up and we headed for the shower area. Little Huah took his shirt off then being a modest mouse refused to take his pants off...

The darkness is overwhelming. As I stand on the rooftop of my hotel and gaze into the blackest night, I can see the fluorescent flashing lights and hear the THUMP, THUMP, THUMP of the music coming from five local brothels around me. As I gaze down on the rows of young women, most of them my age or younger, who are dressed up to be bought for sex, I hear the lyrics of the worship music playing behind me: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me… My chains are gone, I’ve been set free, My God, my Savior has ransomed me, And like a flood, His...

     So, recently, our team has kind of "adopted" a cute, children's song most of you are probably familiar with, "This Little Light of Mine". We bust out in this song whenever we can… whether we are riding in the tuk tuk or attending Friday night worship at the center. We have begun creating our own verses, and I even find myself narrating my life to the tune of this song! ("Brushing my teeth in the morning, I'm gonna let it shine…" or "Riding in mr. Seng's tuk tuk, we're gonna let it...

  My team spent four days in Siem Reap this week as part of our midway debrief session.  It turned out to be a very interesting part of my week as the night life in Siem Reap holds much more activity than what I have witnessed in Battambang.  Sex tourism was evident in every direction I looked.  The best education I have received on sex tourism up to this point, I learned from a seventy-four year old man from Germany who had purchased a girl for the eight days that he would be in Siem Reap—and for some reason he decided to stop and talk to my teammate and I. ...

Siem Reap was our destination from Sunday to Wednesday.  We were there for debrief with our leaders’ leaders. As soon as day one was over, I wanted to be back home in Battambang. Let me take you through our first day in Siem Reap. As soon as we arrived at Siem Reap and got off the bus, we were attacked by tuk tuk drivers. Literally. I kid you not, they bombarded us, yelling  “Hey lady! You want tuk tuk? What hotel you at? I take you!”. For several minutes we endured this mob scene until our leaders found us some tuk tuk drivers to take us to our hotel, without...

  Our team had a chance this week to go to Siem Reap. It was a chance for us to have a couple of days off, spend some fun time together, and reflect on the last six weeks. We were able to go to a few restaurants, relax, participate in a fish massage (fish eating the dead skin off your feet), and my personal favorite, shopping until we dropped, at the night market. I had such an amazing time with my team in Siem Reap, but the most meaningful has been the epiphany that god has given me of how deep and intimate my relationship with Him has become. In...