Day 3 | Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

In the slum village near Destiny Rescue Daycare Center

“Preach…Preach…Preach, and if necessary use words” – Saint Francis of Assisi

Today we woke up and explored the capital city of Cambodia – Phnom Pehn. We saw first hand the amazing work Destiny Rescue is doing in this massive city. It is a metropolis of over 2 million people and has a mixture of very wealthy to extremely poor. Destiny Rescue’s main objective in this city is to provide preventative programs so parents don’t have to use their children’s services in the sex trade industry to generate income. They have a daycare so parents can work longer hours and support their families and they also have a learning center where kids who have fallen behind in the school system can catch up and graduate from high school.

I met the lady who is the Destiny Rescue’s director or manager over all of Cambodia today. She was a very interesting woman with a very well rounded resume. She is from Australia and just joined the Destiny Rescue team this past January. She was telling us that the needs in the city are overwhelming, but she must realize that she can’t meet every need, but do what she can! I have learned from doing humanitarian aid work in Haiti that this is such a true statement. If we try to focus on all the needs in the world, we can become discouraged because there are so many and not enough resources to meet all the demands for any one organization. The exciting news, however, is the fact that Destiny Rescue is making a large impact in the lives of the kids they are assisting.

We went to a slum village where the poorest of the poor live. The majority of the kids have lice and almost every single one of them have been molested or raped. Christine said that almost everyone of the children will have been sexually abused by 8-15 years of age. It truly broke my heart to hear that statement. Many times, the parents have to go work and leave their kids unattended and with no parental supervision –  the children are left to fend for themselves! Destiny Rescue is changing that little by little through there daycare program.

Next we went to see the learning center where about 150 kids are being tutored. The set of buildings have been somewhat renovated and provide a great atmosphere for kids to learn and grow.

Then we went to tour S-21 or the Security Prison 21 by the Khmer Rouge communist regime. Pol Pot ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and carried out a genocide against all the intelligent, sophisticated or high ranking government officials from the previous government. Anyone who was a doctor, engineer, lawyer, government official, sports athlete, had a degree or was was a student he tortured and killed. Pol Pot ended up murduring a quarter of the population of Cambodia or somewhere around 2 million people. The lady that was our tour guide had 6 brothers and sisters and two parents. Both of her parents and 5 siblings were killed by the Khmer Rouge during this horrific time period. S-21 was a place where the most intelligent people of the country were held captive and tortured them and then executed. It was so moving to say the least. My stomach was upset over the graphic pictures shown and the testimonies of people who survived. I can only imagine the unbelievable pain still felt today through all of Cambodia because of the event that took place about 33 years ago. The killers who carried out Pol Pots evil plans were mostly 10-21 years of age…they were child soldiers. After Pol Pot was taken out of power, his young soldiers were given amnesty which created even more pain. Many feel like justice has not been served… This terrible tragedy is just one of the many challenges facing this nation today.

The director over Cambodia told us that virginity is held in high honor in this society, so once a young girl has been sexually molested or prostituted, she feels like she has no future or hope. Her self-esteem goes down the drain.

Yet, despite all the negative issues facing Cambodia, there is HOPE. The answer to the Cambodian people’s turmoil and struggle is Jesus Christ! He can understand their feelings of anguish and give them the power to forgive and let go of bitterness and anger. He can also embrace them and give them confidence and a future! He is the Great Physician and can restore the broken hearted and heal the sick.

…Lord bring healing to this land. Teach them about your amazing unconditional love and raise up your people to be your hands and feet. May Cambodia become a nation filled with your love, mercy and forgiveness in a personal relationship with you!

For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Romans 10:13-15