Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Video - International Justice Mission Team
The staff who works here are mostly Americans who have volunteered to come and be a part. They work with local and national government to help to bring legal practices that are beneficial to the people.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Video - Layover in Thailand
In the two day journey to Cambodia, Pastor Arlie and Aidan had a layover in Thailand.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Another Email from Aidan: White Rabbit
"who are you?" said the caterpillar.
alice replied, rather shyly, "i, i hardly know, sir, just at present--
at least i know who i WAS when i got up this morning, but i think i
must have been changed several times since then."
"what do you mean by that?" said the caterpillar sternly. "explain
yourself."
"i can't explain myself, i'm afraid, sir" said alice, "because i'm not
myself, you see.'
"i don't see," said the caterpillar. "who are you?"
the above quote comes from lewis carroll's "alice's adventures in
wonderland." in his fictional tale, a young girl named alice is led
into a completely different and entirely confusing new world by a white
rabbit. the reason she entered wonderland was different from that of
why she finally left, and once she did, she re-entered the real world
with a renewed consciousness of self and of her purpose. i could not
help being reminded of alice and her quandary over the existential
question, "who are you?" this afternoon as we visited the assessment
center in phnom penh, cambodia, of world hope international.
it is here where girls of all ages (currently those 19-7) who have been
rescued from the sex trade or from rape situations are brought to live
for as long as 2-3 months. the assessment center views itself as sort
of an emergency room, acting as an immediate refuge for young girls to
feel safe, develop routines, and begin the development of a healthy
self-image. a handful of them had been there practically three months,
while one girl had just been safely recovered and delivered last night.
the group of 27 girls generally prefers to sleep in the same large room
together. because of the painful memories the sight of a bed can
conjure, they sleep on straw mats on the floor covered in tent-like
canopies of lace, keeping out unwanted insects. there are many
activities in which the girls can be involved during their stay at the
assessment center including games, crafts, music, and self-defence
classes. each girl speaks with a counselor twice a week in addition to
group therapy sessions.
the sights and sounds with which i was greeted upon arrival were not
unhappy ones; in fact, i was shocked by the squeals of laughter and
smiling faces of all the girls playing a game together in the open, sun-
filled courtyard. we even received a few beautiful smiles when we were
introduced to the group. there was, however, one little girl who
immediately caught my attention. i don't know that i will ever forget
her as she sat expressionlessly, slightly removed from the rest of the
group, in her red and black polka-dotted pajama suit. she could not
have been more than 8 years old, yet her silent, vacant face spoke of
years of abuse. i wanted to speak to them, to tell them that we loved
them, but stayed silent knowing all the times they had been lied to. i
wanted to smile but found myself unable to do so, remembering these
girls had been smiled at plenty of times before. i wanted to run and
hug them, but stood perfectly still, realizing they Had been touched by
as many as 30 men in a day, every day, for years. all of my good intentions and
thoughts were rendered useless as i stood there, stupidly, feeling that
at that moment in time, i could do nothing.
we were given a tour of the facilities including the arts and crafts
room. it was filled with drawings, pictures, posters, and other crafts
that the girls had made themselves. nothing exceptional - no future
picassos or rembrandts among this group from what i could see. it
wasn't until i noticed one of the paper chains that was taped to the
wall when i realized the true significance of these precious works of
art. on the simple, paper chains were hand-written messages, some in
khmer and some in english. i was overwhelmed as i stood and read
phrases like, "someday i want to be a cook and cleaner." - "thank you
god for rescuing me." - "i'm so thankful i'm here." - it was then that
i understood what was really going on here. for the first time in
years, these little girls were being given a chance to be someone
unique and special. i grew up believing i could be the president if i
wanted to be, and look at how long it has taken and is still taking me
to figure out who i really am and where on earth i fit in life.
inside the assessment center were probably over a dozen white rabbits
hopping about freely. their presence has helped the girls relax and
focus their emotions. there was one little girl who had been recently
brought to the center who only stopped crying while she was holding one
of the small bunnies in her arms. a few minutes after we had arrived
there, the thick, humid air was pierced by cool, refreshing rain. as we
scrambled for shelter from the storm, so did the white rabbits. they
huddled close together in groups under tables and steps, providing
comfort to each other during their time of hiding from the storm. as i
watched them, my thoughts were directed to the little girls here at the
assessment center, also giving each other love and company as they
waited for their storms to pass. i wondered what the white rabbits in
their lives were, the white rabbits they decided to follow who led them
here. i knew their journeys through wonderland would be even longer and
more difficult than that of alice, filled with even more bizarre details than
carroll's novel. but then, at last, i was able to smile, knowing that
at the end of their journeys here at the assessment center and wherever
they were directed after, when asked, "who are you?" they would be able
to answer boldly and confidently, and for once, however and in whatever
way they chose.
alice replied, rather shyly, "i, i hardly know, sir, just at present--
at least i know who i WAS when i got up this morning, but i think i
must have been changed several times since then."
"what do you mean by that?" said the caterpillar sternly. "explain
yourself."
"i can't explain myself, i'm afraid, sir" said alice, "because i'm not
myself, you see.'
"i don't see," said the caterpillar. "who are you?"
the above quote comes from lewis carroll's "alice's adventures in
wonderland." in his fictional tale, a young girl named alice is led
into a completely different and entirely confusing new world by a white
rabbit. the reason she entered wonderland was different from that of
why she finally left, and once she did, she re-entered the real world
with a renewed consciousness of self and of her purpose. i could not
help being reminded of alice and her quandary over the existential
question, "who are you?" this afternoon as we visited the assessment
center in phnom penh, cambodia, of world hope international.
it is here where girls of all ages (currently those 19-7) who have been
rescued from the sex trade or from rape situations are brought to live
for as long as 2-3 months. the assessment center views itself as sort
of an emergency room, acting as an immediate refuge for young girls to
feel safe, develop routines, and begin the development of a healthy
self-image. a handful of them had been there practically three months,
while one girl had just been safely recovered and delivered last night.
the group of 27 girls generally prefers to sleep in the same large room
together. because of the painful memories the sight of a bed can
conjure, they sleep on straw mats on the floor covered in tent-like
canopies of lace, keeping out unwanted insects. there are many
activities in which the girls can be involved during their stay at the
assessment center including games, crafts, music, and self-defence
classes. each girl speaks with a counselor twice a week in addition to
group therapy sessions.
the sights and sounds with which i was greeted upon arrival were not
unhappy ones; in fact, i was shocked by the squeals of laughter and
smiling faces of all the girls playing a game together in the open, sun-
filled courtyard. we even received a few beautiful smiles when we were
introduced to the group. there was, however, one little girl who
immediately caught my attention. i don't know that i will ever forget
her as she sat expressionlessly, slightly removed from the rest of the
group, in her red and black polka-dotted pajama suit. she could not
have been more than 8 years old, yet her silent, vacant face spoke of
years of abuse. i wanted to speak to them, to tell them that we loved
them, but stayed silent knowing all the times they had been lied to. i
wanted to smile but found myself unable to do so, remembering these
girls had been smiled at plenty of times before. i wanted to run and
hug them, but stood perfectly still, realizing they Had been touched by
as many as 30 men in a day, every day, for years. all of my good intentions and
thoughts were rendered useless as i stood there, stupidly, feeling that
at that moment in time, i could do nothing.
we were given a tour of the facilities including the arts and crafts
room. it was filled with drawings, pictures, posters, and other crafts
that the girls had made themselves. nothing exceptional - no future
picassos or rembrandts among this group from what i could see. it
wasn't until i noticed one of the paper chains that was taped to the
wall when i realized the true significance of these precious works of
art. on the simple, paper chains were hand-written messages, some in
khmer and some in english. i was overwhelmed as i stood and read
phrases like, "someday i want to be a cook and cleaner." - "thank you
god for rescuing me." - "i'm so thankful i'm here." - it was then that
i understood what was really going on here. for the first time in
years, these little girls were being given a chance to be someone
unique and special. i grew up believing i could be the president if i
wanted to be, and look at how long it has taken and is still taking me
to figure out who i really am and where on earth i fit in life.
inside the assessment center were probably over a dozen white rabbits
hopping about freely. their presence has helped the girls relax and
focus their emotions. there was one little girl who had been recently
brought to the center who only stopped crying while she was holding one
of the small bunnies in her arms. a few minutes after we had arrived
there, the thick, humid air was pierced by cool, refreshing rain. as we
scrambled for shelter from the storm, so did the white rabbits. they
huddled close together in groups under tables and steps, providing
comfort to each other during their time of hiding from the storm. as i
watched them, my thoughts were directed to the little girls here at the
assessment center, also giving each other love and company as they
waited for their storms to pass. i wondered what the white rabbits in
their lives were, the white rabbits they decided to follow who led them
here. i knew their journeys through wonderland would be even longer and
more difficult than that of alice, filled with even more bizarre details than
carroll's novel. but then, at last, i was able to smile, knowing that
at the end of their journeys here at the assessment center and wherever
they were directed after, when asked, "who are you?" they would be able
to answer boldly and confidently, and for once, however and in whatever
way they chose.
An Email from Aidan
my dad and i will be going with an organization called world hope
international to the country of cambodia for a week to do research,
data-gathering, and try to provide as much insight and ideas as we can
(given the opportunities we'll have) as to how we can do more to stop
sex trafficking.
as some of you know and many more do not, sex trafficking is an
enormous issue prevalent world-wide, especially in asian countries.
given the extreme levels of poverty and lack of education, people are
willing to do anything they can to generate income, even at the costly
expense of selling their own children. some are coaxed by smooth-
talking americans promising to use their children as models in the
states; some children are kidnapped; some are willing handed over by
their desperately poor families. the sad thing is that no matter how
these young girls (generally ages 16 down to 2 years old...) are
coerced into this, they rarely ever see their families or homes again,
mostly because they are either too ashamed to return or are unwelcome
by their disapproving families. world hope international currently
sponsors a house where girls like this who have been rescued from the
sex trade can live for up to three months with all their basic needs
being met. it is there where they receive not only food, clothing, and shelter, but also some of their sense of self-worth and value in the form of counseling, job training, and education. one of our main goals for this trip is to help come up with ideas of what the next step is for these brave young women and
children.
cambodia is a culturally and historically rich kingdom which has fallen
on hard times in the last few hundred years. foreign occupations and
civil wars have truly devastated the once proud and thriving country.
poverty and lack of education are two of its main malfunctions at this
point, although world hope is taking steps to help boost the literacy
level through educational programs. while cambodia is on the upswing
politically, there are still so many social issues to be confronted -
the sex trade is one of world hope's targets.
we will be talking with victims. we'll actually be entering brothels.
we'll be experiencing the culture firsthand. and the purpose of these
notes i'll be posting is multi-faceted, with the main reason being to
make people aware of what's going on. i've told lots of people where
i'll be going and what i'll be doing - everyone's excited for me but
most say they've never heard of such a thing. it's so important to be
aware of what life is like for the rest of the world. i remember being
worried about being able to pay my rent last month and i thought that
was bad. seriously?? i'm so fortunate that i will never be put in a
position where i would be forced to even consider having to sell myself
or a child, knowing the rape and abuse that will be sure to follow, to
ensure that i and the rest of my family will be able to eat. something
to think about!
of course, my dad and i will appreciate all your good thoughts and
prayers you can send our way. if you like what you're reading or have
questions/opinions/what-have-you, please feel free to comment! i'll try
to write every day that i'm there about what i'm seeing and what we're
doing so hopefully, in some way, you can feel a part of it, too : ) i
have a 48 hr trip there tomorrow, so wish me luck on that!
may what i'm about to experience in the next week encourage us all to
be thankful for the things that are good and the people whom we love in
our lives!
so that's it - i hope you'll have a wonderful fourth of july today -
wish i could see some fireworks... enjoy them for me!
aidan
international to the country of cambodia for a week to do research,
data-gathering, and try to provide as much insight and ideas as we can
(given the opportunities we'll have) as to how we can do more to stop
sex trafficking.
as some of you know and many more do not, sex trafficking is an
enormous issue prevalent world-wide, especially in asian countries.
given the extreme levels of poverty and lack of education, people are
willing to do anything they can to generate income, even at the costly
expense of selling their own children. some are coaxed by smooth-
talking americans promising to use their children as models in the
states; some children are kidnapped; some are willing handed over by
their desperately poor families. the sad thing is that no matter how
these young girls (generally ages 16 down to 2 years old...) are
coerced into this, they rarely ever see their families or homes again,
mostly because they are either too ashamed to return or are unwelcome
by their disapproving families. world hope international currently
sponsors a house where girls like this who have been rescued from the
sex trade can live for up to three months with all their basic needs
being met. it is there where they receive not only food, clothing, and shelter, but also some of their sense of self-worth and value in the form of counseling, job training, and education. one of our main goals for this trip is to help come up with ideas of what the next step is for these brave young women and
children.
cambodia is a culturally and historically rich kingdom which has fallen
on hard times in the last few hundred years. foreign occupations and
civil wars have truly devastated the once proud and thriving country.
poverty and lack of education are two of its main malfunctions at this
point, although world hope is taking steps to help boost the literacy
level through educational programs. while cambodia is on the upswing
politically, there are still so many social issues to be confronted -
the sex trade is one of world hope's targets.
we will be talking with victims. we'll actually be entering brothels.
we'll be experiencing the culture firsthand. and the purpose of these
notes i'll be posting is multi-faceted, with the main reason being to
make people aware of what's going on. i've told lots of people where
i'll be going and what i'll be doing - everyone's excited for me but
most say they've never heard of such a thing. it's so important to be
aware of what life is like for the rest of the world. i remember being
worried about being able to pay my rent last month and i thought that
was bad. seriously?? i'm so fortunate that i will never be put in a
position where i would be forced to even consider having to sell myself
or a child, knowing the rape and abuse that will be sure to follow, to
ensure that i and the rest of my family will be able to eat. something
to think about!
of course, my dad and i will appreciate all your good thoughts and
prayers you can send our way. if you like what you're reading or have
questions/opinions/what-have-you, please feel free to comment! i'll try
to write every day that i'm there about what i'm seeing and what we're
doing so hopefully, in some way, you can feel a part of it, too : ) i
have a 48 hr trip there tomorrow, so wish me luck on that!
may what i'm about to experience in the next week encourage us all to
be thankful for the things that are good and the people whom we love in
our lives!
so that's it - i hope you'll have a wonderful fourth of july today -
wish i could see some fireworks... enjoy them for me!
aidan
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Cambodia - the Next Adventure
Pastor Arlie and his son, Aidan, have been traveling since Tuesday and are set to arrive in Cambodia today. They have been invited by World Hope to go and explore the issue of human trafficking in a country where it is rampant. There is a 12 hour difference so we should be getting updates mid mornings and will post them right away. Please pray that the Lord will direct their steps and open up doors to the areas of need that we can help to fulfill by the help of the Spirit.
Lord, protect and deliver those precious innocent children trapped in such a evil scheme. For the sake of Your Kingdom and Your great Name, Amen.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Video - Dinner with the Team at the Village
Also some brief greetings...did they say they were eating goat?
Video - Pilgrim Wesleyan Sign and Details on Pastor Sanford
Also a broom tussle with Pastor Bill and Shirley...
Video - Ongoing Construction of New Worship Facility
Termite dirt used to make bricks...interesting.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Video - The Compound
Pastor Arlie gives a brief tour...including the homes of Joan Wallace and Drs. Dan & Joan Jones, the gardener, and the cook.
Another Message From the Team - Kristen Miller
First of all, Zambia is amazing. I am thinking about staying forever (Don't tell my mom!!). But seriously, today was an incredible experience for me. As a nursing student, we don't get to do much else but give baths and empty bed pans. Not very exciting, and not always very motivating. However, today I had the opportunity to "scrub in" and assist Dr. John Parenti on two orthopaedic surgeries. It was pretty much the highlight of my life. I was able to get my hands right in there and retract skin, assist with the stitching and manuever with various tools to help Dr. Parenti as needed. It was an experience that I would have never had back home, and was so thankful to be given the chance to help two young children here have a better life by correcting their abnormalities. Today further confirmed my passion for nursing and gave me the boost I needed to finish school. I can't wait to graduate so I will have more opportunites to use the abilities and gifts that our phenomenal Lord has given to me.
Video - Hospital Campus & Staff Housing
(Careful with the audio...the wind is blowing in this video)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A Message from the CWC Team - Pastor Bill
Greetings from lovely Zimba, Zambia. Our hearts have been touched deeply by the warm people of Zimba. Our hosts, Drs. Dan & Joan Jones do a remarkable ministry with very limited resources and minimal staffing. Our team is learning how we can, as a church, partner with our friends here to help provide the best staffing and facilities over the next years. It has been very humbling to be a part of something so incredibly larger than ourselves while still seeing God connecting all of us from across the planet. We are looking forward more ministry at the hospital tomorrow. (Doctor Parenti will be performing surgery and Kristen will be on hand to assist as needed) Shirley and Pastor Arlie and I will continue to dialogue with the leaders here to see how we can possibly mobilize Christ Wesleyan in the future to do construction, ministry and medical trips. We are indeed privileged to be here and are sensing your prayers. Friday will be the World Hope visit to Choma to witness the AIDS Orphan Trust and to gather more information on starting one sponsored by CWC. Thanks to all for the love and prayer support!
Pastor Bill
Pastor Bill
Video - X-Ray room at the hospital in Zambia
More videos from Pastor Arlie, the roving cameraman in Zambia
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Video - Sunday Morning Greeting
This is PA's pre-recorded greeting for the congregation on Sunday.
(posted by JMD)
(posted by JMD)
Friday, May 16, 2008
Please Send Me to Africa
Well, I am leaving for Africa tomorrow...pray! I am excited about this new adventure but really excited to see how we can make a difference.
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