The Lost Children of Cambodia

On Day 6 of our journey through Cambodia, my whole concept of ‘lost children’ completely changed. Prior to the trip, I envisioned children in need of food, shelter, medical care and education. We have witnessed all of that, but more.
We met children who have no family yet were blessed enough to be found by someone from Cambodian Hope Organization. The CHO-sponsored children are either in school or are being taught valuable vocational skills. They are given shelter, food and medical attention as well as being taught about Jesus Christ. The CHO staff is comprised of a group of men and women who are living examples of Jesus Christ. They work tirelessly to do what they can to show compassion, mercy and kindness to the children. I am inspired by their passion and encouraged by their work.

Numerous more children are literally lost. We have seen them walking down the road. They are alone, shoeless and dirty from the heavy dust that blankets the city of Poipet. Some look as young as 3. They appear to know where they are going. Perhaps their parents have sent them out to collect trash to sell for the family, preventing them from attending school. Some have been sold to brothel owners and stand in the doorway of the brothel, waiting to be violated by the next customer. Even more are kept in a back room of a brothel, waiting to be ‘selected.’ They may be locked up as if in a prison cell. Others get sent across the border into Thailand, to find work. Often they get arrested, are sent ‘home’ and the family sends them back to Thailand. The cycle continues and is horrific. I don’t know what part is worse, being sent away or coming back to a family that does not love you or care about you enough to treat you as a human being. We have learned that many young girls either try to or feel like taking their own lives. It is heartbreaking. They are in desperate need of hope, which is what CHO is all about.

Many of these children are born HIV positive, a result of a sexually promiscuous father and/or an infected mother. They get a rotten start in life. There is a huge opportunity for public programs to provide information, training and counseling for husbands/wives and parents. Domestic violence runs rampant in this culture. Women learn quickly not to disobey “the man.” It is CHO’s vision to educate the men and women about healthy relationships, as outlined and defined in the bible. This is being done through outreach efforts, spreading the gospel throughout the communities. The problem is huge though, and the human and financial resources are limited. Other obstacles include lack of honest work with decent pay. This forces families into searching for other ways to survive, often leading one or more family members into immoral, illegal or backbreaking work in a labor camp or sweat shop.

The children we met manage to smile, wave and say “hello” to us. Inside of each of them radiates a sweet spirit that God created. At the end of the day it is hard to say goodbye to them or to literally let go of their hand. As we return to our ‘modest’ accommodations, it is blatantly obvious that one of our ‘economy’ rooms could comfortably house an entire family. I pray that I never again take my comforts at home for granted.

The Cambodians are beautiful people- grateful for our time, trying hard to appear joyful, quietly enduring their life sentence. Our hearts instantly melt when we are with them and we want immediate life change for them. We know that positive cultural change is going to be a process, taking time to fix the core issues. My heart wants it fixed now! We must remind ourselves that prayers are answered according to God’s timeframe. And in many cases, only a miracle from God alone can intervene.

It is a hard concept for me to grasp- how some children are born into lives where they have no rights or self value and others, who are born into families that teach, care for, love on, pray over and lift them up with encouragement and praise. I primarily long for salvation for each unsaved Cambodian child. I also pray for God’s miraculous force to utilize His soldiers to permeate the area with public awareness programs, training, more schools and swift justice for those who wickedly violate the children.

The other realization I came to on this trip is that the lost children are not just children. They are the Pimps and Brothel Owners who profit from children. They are the fathers who abuse their wives, sleep with prostitutes, give their family AIDS and then abandon them for a new family. They are the countless women whose husbands have either left them or died- many from AIDS. They are left to raise a family without jobs, resources or a support system. Many of God’s lost children are not children at all. They may have been raised in the same dysfunctional way and are repeating the cycle of hurt.

At church our mission is to “Lead others into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.” At home, I have often felt I had obstacles in doing that. I would gain the courage to ask a friend to attend church and they would say 'No thanks.' I would get busy and not ask anyone at all. I would stumble upon a perfect opportunity to share the gospel with a stranger and chicken out. I now realize that my huge obstacles were tiny pebbles in comparison to the work that is cut out for Christians in this part of the world.

It is my deep hope and fervent prayer that our team, future missions groups from our church and others may assist CHO in maximizing their opportunities to effectively communicate the “good news” to the unreached Cambodian population. We pray God’s word of salvation will spread quickly. Where now a plethora of Buddhist temples and spirit houses exist, may church buildings or meeting places grow and multiply. I realize the ‘tipping point’ will take time. In the meantime I know I need to spread awareness back home and continue to offer financial support and prayers for those who have dedicated their lives to serving others.

Specifically, I thank God for leading me to have a heart for one of the ministries that CHO is responsible for. After returning home I want to continue to be involved remotely. The Soldier Camp has been put on my heart in a big way and I know it has with others as well. It is completely unlike the American military bases. The Cambodian soldiers and their families need housing, food, medical care, a school on a mat, a church, and the life training to combat the issues they are currently facing.

Prior to the trip, I spoke with others who said that going on short-term mission’s trip would be life-changing. That was a huge understatement for me. Before embarking on this journey, it was easy for me to become so busy in my daily life that I did not open my eyes to the issues of the world. I know that God wants us to be the best people we can be in our own families and network of friends or coworkers. I also know that He wants us to have compassion for those we have never met. There are huge opportunities here in the US as well as abroad. I would urge every believer to ask God to show them where they can make a difference. I would pray that we would not be discouraged or intimated to jump in, thinking that the problem may be so large that our ‘small’ contribution would not make a difference.

I am so appreciative of my travel team, who helped me lug my big suitcases around, made sure I did not oversleep and jumped in wholeheartedly to entertain and love on the children we met. It was amazing to discover our team’s individual gifts of leadership, compassion, mercy, generosity, patience and humility. I learned so much from the group and made meaningful friendships.

I am also extremely appreciative of those who generously provided financial support, removing the obstacle of travel finances. I thank The Savannah Bee Company, who generously donated lip balm that we gave to the women working for CHO, for the women of The International Justice Mission in Cambodia and for NightLite Ministries in Thailand. It was an unexpected gesture that made the women feel special and beautiful.

I thank everyone who helped my husband with the kids in my absence, bringing meals, checking in on them and for the outpour of prayers that sustained me and our team. I am so blessed to have a husband who is a true Christian head of household, who sacrificed more than usual to allow me to have this incredible journey. He had to be Mom and Dad, along with working long hours and taking care of the household. My friends and family were selfless- making sure the kids safely made it to and from school, were fed and loved on. Thank you, thank you, thank you and God bless you!

Bonnie