Go slow and move the tarps!

Prepping the wall for painting.

Christy working hard!

Alicia working hard too!

We wrote praises and verses in the walls before we painted. 

snack time. :)

All done and all blue.

Painted toes.

Job well done girls!

A well deserved burger at Mikes. Yes, Bria and Michaila did finish a whole one of the above.

Alicia's thoughts on painting. :)

Besides being savagely attacked (cough, cough) by the 2 giant cockroaches I encountered in my bathroom, I have been so thankful that the Lord allowed me to come on this trip! I have SO enjoyed the girls – their insights and their silly-nesses, and the balance we have established as a team. They’re great.

Yesterday was an easier day for us, at least mentally. We were given the honor of painting the teacher workroom at Agape’s Rahab House. What was formally a bubble-gum pink room was transformed into a refreshing, baby blue. The walls were cleansed of the gecko poo (at least for a few hours,) and the floors were scrubbed as never before.

Ahha! But, before you think too kindly of us, this resulted not from our desire to serve, but because of our haste in painting. (hehe)

We decided that since the number of painting bodies (8) out-weighed the number of available tarps (1 cut up into 3 pieces,) it would be faster if we just left the tarps and wiped up the paint drips after we finished.

WRONG

After several hours of breathing fumes, --which we filled with fighting to break into 2 paint tubs (one inflicting a bloody wound on Keli’s thumb); writing declarations of God’s goodness on the walls as a reminder of Who owns the building, the work, and the people; singing songs, hymns, and various silly songs to one another; the occasional “surprise” paint attack, and the (through it all) continued, diligent work ethic -- we realized the lesson of the day:

Go slow and remember to move the tarps!

While we sat scrubbing on the floor for an extended period of time we learned that even though it may have taken us a few extra minutes, it would have saved us many minutes if we had slowed down and used the tarps to protect the floors.

Hmmm….

Spiritual application?

(It may be a stretch, but I’ll reach for it anyways…)

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14

Just as we discovered our need for the tarp in the (more efficient) painting process, we must depend and wait on the Lord for the godly and effective process of life. When we rebel and try to do life on our own – our “floor” gets messy. We find the consequences take us much longer to work through than if we had waited on the Lord.

I think the same can be said for trying to comprehend what we see happening in Cambodia. After we finished painting (and scrubbing,) the Grace and Peace Gals drove us around the village of Swey Pak. I had never seen such poverty except on TV. We saw the fiery brick kilns where children and parents work in the heat to bake their allotment of bricks. We saw the stick huts in which they live and we saw the fields they go through to get to school at the risk of being abused by the gangs or other people loitering there. This is Cambodia.

How to clean it?

We see that money cannot fix these problems. Education alone cannot fix these problems. Teaching them how to be “good” and “productive” cannot solve these problems. It’s a spiritual battle and they need Jesus.

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.” (Psalm 62:5-7)

But, praise the Lord! He has not abandoned them. The Gals also took us around the “village center” to show us the wonderful ministries Agape has established for children, women, and men. They have a school where children can learn, live, and be loved. They have a training center for girls who have been trafficked and are now being taught how to sew clothes, and they showed us a gym where men can come and be body builders.

The whole team has struggled with questions of, “How can this be?!”  How can there be such disparity between the expats (us) and them? The rich and the poor? A pretty safe and comfortable life to a life that has been filled with pain? What can we do?

Put down the tarp and trust knowing that He sat enthroned at the Flood and He sits as King forever. He is working now in their hearts and He will continue to work. His heart longs for the orphan and the widow. He loves them more than we can comprehend.

“Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him, God is a refuge for us. […] power belongs to God, [and] steadfast love. For You will render to a man according to his work.” (Psalm 62:8, 11-12)

  

Please remember to be praying for the teachers at Rahab’s House. They just hired 12 new people and many of them were not aware of the trafficking situation in Cambodia. They are also learning new teaching methods. So tough!

Pray for Jenn, Rachel, and Kim as they make decisions about planning and training the teachers.

Pray for the children of the village – three girls in particular – who recently testified in court about men in the village who openly traffick children. Their case has not yet closed. It will soon, but both groups are still living in the village.