Sunday, May 6, 2012
Subyatour
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Almost There...
After 2.5 days of travel... we are almost there!
We stopped in Kampongchhang to have lunch on our way to Battambang. We had an amazing meal and enjoyed fellowship with our sister team that is headed to Banteay Meanchey. You can follow them here: Banteay Meanchey Construction Team
We arrived in Battambang last night, and quickly settled into our rooms. I'm sure everyone appreciated the opportunity to "get vertical" and sleep in a bed. It was difficult not to make the left turn on the dirt road that leads to the orphanage.
Today we will praise our Lord and Savior with our fellow Disciples in Cambodia. We will lift our voices and give glory to Yahweh! Today we will see the kids that were lovingly made by our Creator!!!
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| Team Picture - outside of New Life Church in Kampongchhnang; about 4 hours south of Battambang |
We stopped in Kampongchhang to have lunch on our way to Battambang. We had an amazing meal and enjoyed fellowship with our sister team that is headed to Banteay Meanchey. You can follow them here: Banteay Meanchey Construction Team
We arrived in Battambang last night, and quickly settled into our rooms. I'm sure everyone appreciated the opportunity to "get vertical" and sleep in a bed. It was difficult not to make the left turn on the dirt road that leads to the orphanage.
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Today we will praise our Lord and Savior with our fellow Disciples in Cambodia. We will lift our voices and give glory to Yahweh! Today we will see the kids that were lovingly made by our Creator!!!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Cambodia or Bust!!!
After 24 hours of travel we have made it to Cambodia! Everyone is doing great, and we are all excited for what God has in store for us, the kids that we will get to visit with, and the individuals that we get to meet along the way!
Thank you all for your prayers of covering for the team. We serve an amazing God, and He has prepared the way. All glory to Christ, and we thank Him for our safe travel!
Tomorrow we will spend some time honoring the Cambodians that were killed by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. We visit the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. This was the site that was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21). Toul Sleng means "Hill of the Poisonous Trees". Life in prison was excruciating, demeaning and full of torture. This will surely be a humbling experience.
We will visit the Phnom Penh orphanage before departing to Battambang.
Grace be with you all!
Psalm 18:2 (NLT)
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.
Thank you all for your prayers of covering for the team. We serve an amazing God, and He has prepared the way. All glory to Christ, and we thank Him for our safe travel!
Tomorrow we will spend some time honoring the Cambodians that were killed by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. We visit the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. This was the site that was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21). Toul Sleng means "Hill of the Poisonous Trees". Life in prison was excruciating, demeaning and full of torture. This will surely be a humbling experience.
We will visit the Phnom Penh orphanage before departing to Battambang.
Grace be with you all!
Psalm 18:2 (NLT)
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Entitlement
While watching a reality game show the other evening, I was astounded at the players' sense of entitlement. You see, like most reality game shows, contestants compete to win a prize. This particular show was at a point in which contestants who had previously been voted off were going to return for an opportunity to compete to be in the "final" show/competition. The 5 contestants that found out about this were extremely upset; to the point that they were offended. They felt that this was simply not fair.
Society would like for me to believe that I am entitled to a life of success, a great job, financial comfort, a house, a car, low gas prices, self confidence, athleticism, immediate gratification, popularity, health care, and no taxation without representation!
Yet I am truly entitled to a life of...pain, suffering, unfairness, misery, separation, disappointments, hardship, life without parole, life without forgiveness, & death.
Entitlement: belief that one is deserving or entitled to certain privilegesThis made me stop and consider what I was entitled to...
Society would like for me to believe that I am entitled to a life of success, a great job, financial comfort, a house, a car, low gas prices, self confidence, athleticism, immediate gratification, popularity, health care, and no taxation without representation!
Yet I am truly entitled to a life of...pain, suffering, unfairness, misery, separation, disappointments, hardship, life without parole, life without forgiveness, & death.
What then am I to do? You see, I really am not entitled to anything. Not anything positive or joyful anyway. There is One that is entitled though. He, above all, is entitled to well, everything. He gave up everything for me. He, knowing exactly whose He was, came and died on a cross as punishment for my sin. He took what I am entitled to, and paid the price for me. He died, so that I can live.
I, Michael Rhoades, am a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a friend, a sinner. I am a bond servant of Jesus Christ.
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba , Father." So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. (Galations 4:4-7)
Monday, April 16, 2012
Team Building
We had an awesome time focusing on, and connecting with one another. We spent a day at WinShape Wilderness in Rome, GA. We had the opportunity to build our trust and communication with each other. Low ropes, blind folded activities, challenges, high ropes, and thrills filled our day!
Unity, Life Change, Purpose.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
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
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
Thursday, March 22, 2012
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
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
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