Sophie's Choice

"So, what happened to their parents? I'm assuming they're here because they don't have any parents, right?" That was Stephen's question to the group during a recent team meeting. "Not necessarily" was the collective response from those of us who've been there before. For some of the kids, their parents actually are deceased. But for most others, they arrived at the orphanage when their parent (usually singular) simply could no longer afford to provide for them. John tried to explain that the overwhelming poverty that exists in Cambodia, unlike anything we've ever seen here in the U.S., sometimes forces people into making unimaginable decisions, choices we can’t begin to fathom, like giving away some of your children so you can afford to keep your remaining children…or to simply survive yourself…or sometimes even worse – selling them into sexual exploitation/forced labor to put food on the table!

This is what happened to Kim Leng. As is quite common in Cambodia, Kim Leng's father either ran out on the family or died leaving her mother to care for her and her siblings all alone...with no job, no education and no resources. In order to survive, Kim Leng’s mother was forced to make a "Sophie’s Choice" decision. She began selling the “services” of Kim Leng's older sister to a neighbor in the village in order to afford food. Luckily, when her mother was about to sell Kim Leng as well, her grandmother stepped in at the last minute and arranged for the orphanage to take her instead.

Another boy, Sony, used to live at the orphanage but some distant relatives arrived one day and took him back; they then "sold" him into forced labor in Thailand. Takna’s mother was raped and became pregnant by a Vietnamese man; then when Takna was very young, a serious automobile accident left her unable to provide for him, so he came to the orphanage. Many of the kids talk of their biological siblings living elsewhere in Battambang or the surrounding countryside; and some of them have even visited the orphanage. Kea openly speaks of her biological mother, brothers and sisters living elsewhere in Cambodia, but she is careful to mention they "aren’t believers.”

Whether or not these kids know their biological parents isn’t all that important. Nor is it important how they eventually wound up at New Life Orphanage. And honestly, the important thing isn’t even that they all love one another, they all consider themselves and call one another brothers & sisters and they all surround each other with so much love, affection, support and encouragement. In the end, the most important thing, what really matters most of all is that, in a country that's 95% Buddhist, they all know who their heavenly Father is.

Estimates are that there are at least 27 million slaves in the world today. Thankfully, through the grace of God, New Life Orphanage and supporters like you there are now at least 27,000,000 minus 1!



Kim Leng

Read the fine print!!

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already been a year! In a way, it seems like just yesterday we were riding the bamboo train with the kids, getting Ratha’s head un-stuck from that street vendor’s umbrella, and shelling out three whole dollars to buy her a new one! Boy, how time flies.

And yet on the other hand, it also feels like it’s been forever, so much has changed in the past year. Speaking of changes, we have a few new team members to introduce for this year’s trip: Vince, Tim, Emily, Timothy and Stephen.

We tried to warn them at the first meeting that they don’t realize what they're signing up for, that this isn't a one-time thing but a life-long, life-changing metamorphosis; but they insisted on coming along. Of course, we said the same thing to Sherry two years ago and she came back saying that we should’ve put a stronger disclaimer on the application. Then last year, we tried to warn Stuart & Kasey what they were getting themselves into; but you can see how well that turned out – they’re about to make their third trip to Battambang in 12 months.

I wish someone had warned me of the consequences of this place, of these kids, when I first applied. There are times I wish I had never set foot in Cambodia; my life would be so much simpler if I hadn’t. For example, in 10 B.C.* I'd completely forgotten about the Khmer Rouge and the 2 million people slaughtered in the killing fields; now I know survivors of that horrible genocide personally and call them my friends. In 5 B.C. my biggest concern was whether I wanted my new 50-something-inch TV to be plasma or LCD; now I’ve learned to appreciate what it means to have electricity period. In 3 B.C. I lived in my own little world – population: ME, but now I have 38 kids, three of whom (Takna, Sobin & Breuch) who call me "daddy." And in 1 B.C. I went to bed every night thinking I was a Christian, now I’ve been taught by 38 Cambodian orphans what it really means to be a follower of Jesus Christ…and my life has been altered permanently.

2012 Team Members:

John B.
Billy D.
Scott E.
Kasey J.
Stuart J.
Michael R.
Sherry S.
Tad S.
Tom W.
Vince W. ‎
Tim B.
Emily R.
Timothy A.
Stephen S.



*before Cambodia