This week has been a week full of laughs, home sickness, realizations, and a week of affirmation. It has been a holiday all over Cambodia this week so we haven’t had normal ministry this week. Everyone goes home for holiday so most of the girls at the center are gone and classes are cancelled until Monday. So instead of doing our usual classes on Monday we visited an orphanage that we may be working with in the next few weeks during our free time. We spent a some time there with a few of the kids, playing duck ,duck, goose and musical chairs. Which by the way we owe the orphanage two chairs because two of my teammates, Katie and Courtney happened to break 2 chairs while playing musical chairs…Obviously, the chairs are fit for people who are Asian sized. It was cool to go to the orphanage and I look forward to working with them in the next couple weeks. 

Anyway, last Saturday I found out that I would be given an opportunity to visit and potentially work with the organization RAPHA House which was the organization that I first heard about human trafficking from. When I found this out I became ecstatic because I became aware of Human Trafficking through a video that RAPHA created with Christ in Youth called ”BAHT”. That video was what started the fire inside me that eventually grew into a passion for human trafficking. I encourage everyone to watch it. RAPHA is where I wanted to be and I couldn’t stop talking about it for the next few days.

So, Tuesday we went to RAPHA. It was absolutely amazing. The director of RAPHA spoke to us about how RAPHA runs and gave us the run down of what RAPHA is.They house 60 to 100 girls from the ages of 7 to 15 after they are rescued from Sex trafficking.They provide a shelter and food for these girls and they provide English classes, classes for specific trades and on site counseling. The young women are allowed to stay at the center for up to two years and are then sent to a halfway house where they can stay for another two years. The process allows for the girls to be protected. After they leave the halfway home, RAPHA gives them the resources that give the girls a new chance at life.The organization is amazing and blew our whole team away. I got an chance to speak the director one on one and had a really good conversation with him. It was an honor to meet such a bold man of God who has such a passion for Human Trafficking, a man who himself has physically rescued girls from brothels.  

Since being in Cambodia we found out our team is going to be geared more towards prevention work and while at RAPHA I felt let down because this is where I wanted to be, this is where I thought I was going to be doing ministry when I signed up for this trip but then God truly showed me affirmation that this RAPHA is not the ministry we are here to work with. He affirmed me by showing me that they don't need help. When we asked the director what we could do for them he pretty much told us that they had a busy schedule and would have to fit us in. Yes very disappointing, but very awesome! RAPHA has a solid foundation and the program is well established and the work they are doing is definately  through God but they run completely different then other organizations and are not in need of a lot of help from us.

 After processing all of my thoughts and all of the information I had heard that day I came to a realization. God has me exactly where he wants me, TransformAsia may not be what I expected but God has a reason for everything we do there. Playing with Lee and Mong or teaching English classes to adults in the community was not what may have thought we were going to do but there is a reason for every moment with them. If we weren’t here who would be teaching English Classes there? Who would be loving on the street kids? Who would be sharing the gospel for the first time with people who have never heard it?  God has us here at the perfect time and he places every single person we encounter before us for a reason.

It is really cool because our team is the first team to come in and work at TransformAsia.
We are going to help layout their building blocks so that they can grow. We will also be able to continue supporting them by raising awareness to people in the states about this ministry when we return so that they can support this ministry that is doing awesome things.There were people who came into RAPHA in their earlier days just like us and helped lay those building blocks just as we are at TranformAsia. I know God has is going to continue to grow TransformAsia while we are here and will continue to after we leave. I am so excited to be a part of it!!
　

Continue to pray for hearts to be softened here in Cambodia, that when we go and share the gospel with them that they will accept it and they can be filled with the Joy of the Lord.

Pray that God will continue to show his Love through our team and that through all that we do we can be a light in this dark place.

Pray for our ministry, TransformAsia. Pray that God will continue to work in the girl's and children's lives there. Pray for guidance and discernment for their staff so that they can continue to grow into what God wants TransformAsia to be.

If you would like to know more information about who TransformAsia you can visit there website  http://www.transformasia.us/home. I will tell you more about them in the next blog!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
Erin

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"  Matthe 28:19