Beautiful Things....

What's Next?

• I hope to go - along with my two youngest daughters - to Betel Orphanage in Brazil in October. Our good friends Richard and Ingela Larsson Smith have founded a unique ministry called Horses for Orphans, and we would love to be involved as team members for a week or two. More information here: http://www.horsesfororphans.com/teams.htm

•  I want to go back to Cambodia with XP in November, for the next Operation Justice outreach. More information here: http://www.xpmissions.com/cambodia_outreaches_xpteam.html

• I have also had some thoughts about a project for a 'mums & little ones' group, incorporating preschool education with CHO... but this is still just an idea at this stage. I will let you know of developments as and when they occur.

• In February/March 2013 Craig and I plan to return to Cambodia and Thailand with XP for the next Operation Justice and Operation Extreme Love outreaches.

Meanwhile, please pray for me regarding the above points, and also that I would have sensitivity and clarity in hearing and discerning what God wants me to do when and how. I am very certain that this is just the beginning.

If you would like to contribute towards the costs associated with doing these trips, you can do so with Paypal (below).

Justice is...

giving a choice to those who have no choice,

and a voice to those who have no voice...
~ Bonnie Roye

Reflections and Conclusions

I am home and it has been a good day. A day of unpacking, doing washing, sorting things... catching up with my ‘normal’ life and adding the experience of these last two weeks into it. Was the trip worth the time and the cost and the effort? I think so.

Certainly, I have learned a lot. Had a lot of fun. Worked really hard and walked further than I have done for years! Met some amazing people and found some new friends. Rubbed shoulders with some of God’s generals. Seen what can be done with vision and love. Been treated with honour and grace and appreciation everywhere I went. Experienced an application of following Jesus in a gritty face-to-face way. Discovered aspects of life that I had not dreamed existed... except perhaps in nightmares. Cried more tears for people I don’t know than I thought possible....

Would I go again? Yes!

Something reached out and grabbed my heart in Cambodia, and I still feel the tug, half a world away. What is it about this place that I found it beautiful? There is nothing much to see right now. Especially not in Poipet... dirty, smelly, dusty or muddy depending on whether any rain had fallen in the night. There is a face to face confrontation with poverty and sin in all its tragic manifestations that leaves you grappling with an almost literal pain.

But beautiful? Yes, beautiful. Something is happening there, right now. I think it is because I caught a glimpse of God’s vision and heart for Cambodia. Because there is a sense that there are things one can do that will help and make a difference. Because the innocence and sweetness of the children overtakes the dinginess of their surroundings. And because Cambodian people are just amazing. Gracious, gentle, friendly, patient, honouring.  They are truly beautiful, even in the midst of their poverty.

And I saw beauty in the face of Chomno In, the director of Cambodian Hope Organisation (CHO). When you hear his story, you wonder how it is that he has so much kindness in his eyes, and such an ever present smile on his face. He is a living illustration of what Cambodia is - underneath. Because he lived through the nightmare that was Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, saw loved ones die, experienced deprivation and hunger and suffering beyond imagination. He would have every right to be bitter and twisted and hardened. But he isn’t.

On my last night in Thailand I could not sleep for some reason. I used the time in reading up on the history of Cambodia. I knew most of the story, but it was good to fill in the details.

And then I watched John Pliger’s hard hitting and award winning documentary on Cambodia. Filmed in 1979, soon after the end of the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror, it was called ‘Year Zero; The Silent Death of Cambodia’, and it was an appeal for international food aid. I cried my way through it.  God bless John Pilger for his compassion and righteous anger – it resulted in an outpouring of generosity on the part of private individuals all over the world at a time when governments were too caught up in politics to act. Apparently some $45 million was raised, unsolicited, in mostly small donations following the showing of Year Zero, including almost £4 million raised by schoolchildren in the UK. I read of a taxi driver, who saw the documentary and who sent an envelope with his entire week’s pay to help feed people.

I also watched a documentary promoting Cambodia – made in 1965, it gave a glimpse of the country the way it was before the devastation was wreaked upon it, before it was so ruthlessly cut down and brought to its knees.

And finally I watched a compilation of interviews on a train journey in Cambodia, uploaded in 2011.

These visual experiences combined to consolidate my earlier heart impressions of the country. Earlier in the week God had given me a picture of Cambodia as a beautiful flowering plant that had been ruthlessly cut off at the base.  All her beauty lost. So that now, looking, all you see is a stalk. Ugly, barren, empty, unfruitful. But life is in the root, and in the right conditions, the plant can and will recover. So my prayer for Cambodia is a prayer of faith... there is life in the root. And so once again she will display her beauty and become fruitful. I hope to be a part, however small, of this restoration. I hope to go back again....

John Pilger’s hard hitting documentary is here: Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia

The YouTube clip on Cambodia in 1965, ie pre Khmer Rouge, is here: Cambodia in 1965 (1) (There are 5 more clips, following on from one another... )

And the clip of interviews on a train in 2011 is here: Cambodia, Country of Scars

The week in Pattaya, Thailand was also worthwhile.

It was amazing to reach out, across cultural and language barriers, to confront my own introvertedness and English reticence, and to share what I have and what I know.

It was an amazing experience to take the extreme love of God into karaoke bars and brothels, and to minister it to prostitutes and transgender people, the homeless and unloveable and unwanted, people who were HIV positive or who had other problems that made them unattractive.

It was amazing to see people soften and change, literally before our eyes as they realised that they were not alone, that Someone cared, and that love did not always come with strings attached. One of the most common statements we heard from people was: ‘I don’t know a love like this...’

It was amazing to realise that in doing what we were doing, we were probably walking closer to the life model Jesus lived on the earth than we had ever done before. On more than one occasion I found myself asking the question: ‘Where would Jesus have been, had He been here in the flesh?’ I suspect He would have been exactly where we were, hanging out with prostitutes and sinners. We saw an element of the Gospel that had hitherto been hidden, or at best glimpsed through a glass darkly. We saw that it is truly Love that draws people in, Love that makes people want to change, Love that creates, Love that gives hope.

It was amazing to spend time with giants. Well known giants like Bart & Kim Hadaway, fellow team member giants and the leaders of various ministries in the city, and such a multitude of quiet and unknown giants, like Meow, and Pu, and Tass and Sarah and Wanna and Pearl and Rose... the list is long. I felt so awed at times by who they were; it was such a privilege to be with them... to share life and purpose; to know we are family, and that we will indeed be together forever; that our bond transcends distance and nationality and language.

It was amazing to carry compassion. To trust God with our hearts and to know that He would allow us to be broken but not destroyed... and that in that brokenness the sweet fragrance of His live and life would flow out of us. One night in Pattaya I could not sleep. My heart was weeping and weeping – for all the people in bondage in the city, for all the trafficked children, for all the dream-destroyed young women who knew that the sum total of their worth was no more than the equivalent of £10 an hour. It was scary, to feel so much pain. And then God said just to bring it to Him, to keep bringing it to Him, because these tears were precious to Him, and He could use them. And I understood that it is compassion that makes us powerful... as Mike and Mark so succinctly put it, compassion ACTS.

I have come away forever changed, in a good way. I find myself wondering how an adventure that seemed expensive before I went to Asia suddenly seems so inexpensive. 

And I find myself wondering how soon I can find a way to go back....

XP Operation Extreme Love Team, May/June 2012

Links to Organisations in Thailand

Here is a list of all the organisations we worked with this week in Pattaya.  Click on the links to find out more. Every one is well worth any investment of time, money or prayer that you would care to make.  

• XP Missions - Thailand: http://www.xpministries.org/Thailand
• Mercy Center - Pattaya, Thailand: http://mercypattaya.com
• Victory Family Church:  http://vifcpattaya.com/
• TAMAR Center - Pattaya, Thailand: http://www.ywamthai.org/pattaya/tamar.html
• Bridges of Hope Foundation & True Friend Fellowship - Pattaya, Thailand: http://bridgestothenations.com/projects-and-people-2/thailand
• Hand to Hand Foundation - Pattaya, Thailand: http://handtohandpattaya.org 
• Pattaya Slum Ministries - Pattaya, Thailand: http://projlife.com/pattayaslumministries/
• Hope for the Nations - Worldwide: http://www.hopeforthenations.com

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

    for the rights of all who are destitute.

⁹ 

Speak up and judge fairly;

    defend the rights of the poor and needy.

~ Proverbs 31:8

Operation Extreme Love, Pattaya, Thailand - Day 6, Saturday

Last day today! We are finishing off with my favourite; time to play and interact with some preschoolers....

This morning we had a great worship and prayer time, thanking God for all he has done this week and for the way in which He has included us in His projects. Afterwards, we heard from Malina, on the subject of Child trafficking. It is a tough subject, but sadly, it is something we have to know about. Child trafficking is on the increase in Asia, and it is an international problem. But there was something to celebrate in the telling too... the day before, Malina and Rose (our precious Cambodian interpreter and friend) had been involved, along with the police, in the rescuing of a little girl, aged about 9. And the ‘handler’ (the person who had bought and brought her to Pattaya) was caught as well. It was wonderful news, and something to celebrate in the midst of the heaviness of the topic. 

We then had free time to chat with friends and eat lunch. And at 13h00 our team set off with Malina for the Hand to Hand preschool, where we had an absolutely super afternoon. 

Our team with the staff of Hand to Hand

Hand to Hand is a wonderful ministry, serving slum families. One of Hand to Hand’s core values is to keep families together. To this end, they investigate the reasons why a family is struggling, and try to help. ‘Do you need food? Clothing? Work? School fees? Care for your children while you work? How can we help?’ In the two years this small organization had been running, they have done brilliant work, and the preschool centre is a lovely, happy place. The children, who would previously have been roaming the garbage dump, much like the children we visited in Siem Riep last week, learn the skills they need to give them a good start for school, and the job is done so well that the teachers regularly enquire where the child went to preschool. Hand to Hand applied for permission to place children in local schools on their scholarship fund; initially given government approval for 10 children, they now fund 60 children, and there are more coming. In addition, Hand to Hand runs the prison ministry we joined in with yesterday....

"He's got the whole world... in His hands...."

We arrived, thinking we were coming to help with the planned programme for the afternoon, only to discover that the staff thought WE had planned the afternoon’s activities! So Malina and I had to do some very fast thinking, and we decided to act out the story of Noah’s Ark with the children. I told the story, Sarah interpreted, all the adults were the ‘ark’ and the children got to be the animals going in two by tow. It was fun, in spite of being a bit noisy and chaotic at times! Afterwards we sang songs with the children, some in English and some in Thai. And then we helped serve their food and before we knew it, it was time to say ‘Goodbye!’ It was a lovely way to end what has been a rather shocking and at times emotionally difficult week. These are children of hope, children who are growing up safe from traffickers, children who stand to get a good education and to build a better future for their families. A door of hope....


In the evening we had a great closing session with Rod and Bart, and all the team members received prayer and words of encouragement, and then it was all over. Mission complete... and it really does feel that satisfying. Of course it is sad to say ‘Farewell’. I have a feeling a lot of us will see each other again though. 

Tomorrow we are going to a Thai church with one of the interpreters, Sarah. We get the feeling that we will be privileged guests of honour, and we have been asked to share a little bit about our time here in Pattaya. And after that she is taking us to a market so that we can do a bit of the typical tourist thing and shopping. By evening we will be in our resort hotel, for 2 days of rest and relaxation before Craig flies off to China on business, and I head off home. I am grateful for this little interlude. I think we are more tired that we realise, and not just physically. It has been well worth it all. There aren’t enough words to describe the calibre of the people with whom we have got to rub shoulders these last two weeks. Beautiful, dedicated, loving people both ‘on the ground’ and from abroad... what a team! And while I am on that subject... XP does these school/mission things exceptionally well. 

The Rescue of a Cambodian Child in Pattaya, Thailand on 1 June, 2012

The YouTube clip of Malina sharing the story of how a child was rescued during the Operation Extreme Love outreach is here: Rescue of a Cambodian child

And Patricia King's write up about the event is here: Treasure Hunt Results in a Child's Rescue by Thai Police

Operation Extreme Love, Pattaya, Thailand - Day 5, Friday

Today I was part of a team of just 5 people (Celia, Corey, Curtis, Marion and me - and Pu, our interpreter) who were permitted to join in with Hand to Hand in a visit to two prisons in Pattaya. We met in the lobby at 09h45, and off we went. At the prison we met Tanaya Hudson, a precious girl with a very big heart for the poor and suffering. You can read her blog here: Tanaya in Pattaya


Prisons are sad places. These were no different. In the first prison, mainly Cambodians arrested because they did not have the right papers to allow them to be in Thailand, there was a woman with 2 small children. The baby was so sweet, smiling all the time and trying to interact with us. Poo, our interpreter, did not speak much Khmer, and mine was limited to ‘Hello’ and ‘My name is...’ – I couldn’t remember anything else. I hope that our love and concern got through to her. There was another lady with her in the cell; she too was Cambodian. We managed to communicate a bit with signs and our bits and pieces of language... she was a Christian. We prayed with them all, and gave them food and water and toiletries. Meanwhile, in the cell opposite, Curtis and Corey were chatting with the 12 -15 men, again Cambodians, who were together in a cell slightly larger than a bathroom. One man said he had a very sore throat. They prayed for him and the pain went away. They then shared about the love of God, and immediately all the men prayed to receive Christ. It was quite astonishing, and way beyond any of our expectations. When we left, they were excitedly chatting amongst themselves and starting to read the Bibles we had given them. Hope in dark places....

At the second prison, another 4 men asked for prayer. Corey and Curtis then ended up talking with a Czechoslovakian for a while. I prayed with a woman who was just sobbing. Poo tried to find out what was wrong but she was so upset that it was hard to piece the story together. It seems that she was with a friend and that the friend was arrested for something, and that she was arrested as an accomplice, but that she had not been involved in the crime at all. And she had a child in hospital, and she was desperate to find out what was going on. She had been in prison for 4 days. Heart-rending stuff; the kind of thing that makes you feel rather helpless, because there is soooo little you can do! But God, hey? We prayed and asked God to help her though we could not. Later, Pu cried and cried. Poor Pu has been doing a lot of crying this week. She has such a tender, loving heart. I found visiting the prisons very tough emotionally. Although they are apparently better than some of the other prisons in Asia, they were hot, stuffy, cramped and uncomfortable. And there are often even more prisoners in one cell; one of the Hand to Hand volunteers told me that he has been there when the cell is so full that the men cannot even sit down. And to see children there is hard. Better that they get to remain with their mothers, I know. But still..... We returned to our hotel in a rather sombre state of mind, although we were very grateful to have participated in the ministry and to have seen people come to Christ and be encouraged. 

Claire and I tying a tricky knot

The afternoon was very relaxed. We spent it making jewellery to give to people on our bar outreach that evening.  It was good to have time to chat with each other.Craig turned out to have some great design ideas, and he made two really pretty items, one symbolising royalty, and another symbolising the love of God. 


And then it was off to have supper at our by now very familiar food court.  I had my favourite noodles and chicken. 

After supper we split off into our teams. Our team went down a side street we had not yet been down. We wandered past a couple of 
bars, praying and asking God to show us to whom we should give our little gifts of jewellery. 

The men hard at work

We walked past one bar where a middle-aged ladyboy was the mamasang in charge of the girls. She caught my eye, but we continued walking. After a while, one of our group said: “You know, I really think we should talk to the mamasang...” It turned out that a few of us had had that thought. So we turned around and went back. She asked what we were doing in Thailand, and I told her my by now much used story about God asking me to come to Thailand because He loves Thailand and He loves the Thai people. And then we said that we had been asking Jesus to show us who to talk to and that we had seen her but continued walking, but that then we felt that we should turn back and talk with her, and so here we were, and we wanted to tell her that God loves her very much. 

Pattaya

She was amazed, and said that she had noticed us, and wondered why we had turned back. She said that people often look at her, make eye contact with her, and then walk on. This increased the feelings of aloneness with which she struggled, feeling that no one cared about her or what happened to her. I said that God cared, a lot. She again said that she was very lonely. We asked if we could pray and ask God to help her with this loneliness; she said yes. We then asked God to be with her, and that she would feel His presence in her life, and that He would show Himself to her as the Friend Who never leaves or forsakes us. She was so touched. It made the whole evening worthwhile! We hugged her and gave her a bracelet and off we went, on down the street. 

Lek is the smiling lady in the white dress

A little further on, we came to a bar, and there we met a wonderful lady named Lek. Some of the team already knew her... but I did not. Before we left the UK, I had bought a Dior perfume, and I had been given another perfume by Dior, a sample, in a beautiful box. I was very pleased with this, but as I was about to use it, I felt God say: ‘No Cathy, it is not for you!’ I was a little surprised, and asked Him why not. I then felt that He said it was for someone in Thailand, and that I should take it with me, and that He would show me who it was for when we got there.... So I took it along with me, and as the days went by, I began to feel a little concerned that I would not find the person it was for, as it was by now near the end of the week. (‘Oh ye of little faith’ and all that!) So on this particular evening I had tucked it under my arm, hoping that I would find the person it was for – I told Craig that if we didn’t find her while we were out with the team, we should maybe go looking a bit afterwards as well. Anyway, we met Lek. And as I did so, I felt such light in her, and I also heard God say: “The perfume is for her because she is a sweet fragrance for Me in this place.” I asked if she was a Christian and she started laughing and so did everyone else, because she is well known as a Christian. It turned out that she was married to an Englishman and had lived in Luton, in the UK, for a long time. I gave her the perfume and told her what God had said to me. She was SOOOOO blessed! She hugged me and hugged me and when she looked at the perfume she just beamed – because it just happens to be her favourite perfume. Isn’t that amazing? She needed the encouragement, as she has been trying to sell her bar for three years now, and has not yet been successful. I said that I felt that maybe Jesus asked her to wait this long because of her being a fragrance in a rather smelly place, a light in darkness. She said she knew this, but that it was hard. Before we left, we prayed with her that her business would be sold soon.

Chatting with people on the beachfront

Later, we ended up at the beach, where we spoke to a lady who was sitting there – she had a very sad face. We asked her if she was ok, and she said no, because she had just left her job and she did not know what to do. She thought she would have to go and work in the bars. She said she was anxious about her children. We asked if we could pray with her and she said yes. We prayed for her to get a new job and to have provision for her children, and then Stephen, one of our team members, said he thought she needed a hug and she said ‘Yes’ and he asked if he could hug her and she cried and he cried and she said that she had never experienced this kind of love. And we told her about the love of God and how He asked us to come and share His love with her. And then Craig asked if she had three children, and she said no, she had two. And Craig said ‘Are you sure?’ and I have to admit that I felt a bit annoyed with him about it, because she should know how many children she has, and if she says she has two children, then she has two children! We talked about a few other issues to do with her children, and then Craig asked again... ‘Are you sure you don’t have three children’. And she said no, she had two children. And then she was quiet. And then she said ‘Actually, I have three, but one died just before birth and I had to have surgery to remove him, and this is so painful to me... I don’t want to talk about it’. The Craig said that he knew this because God had told him, and that this event had hurt her so much and that it was still hurting her, and that He wanted to heal it. More tears, needless to say.... and then we prayed for her and she said that it felt much better. And we tried to encourage her not to go into the bars. And we prayed for her protection. And Stephen gave her what money he had.