Extreme Operations: New Opportunities

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

New Opportunities

Well, it is almost a year since I went to Cambodia, and much as I wished it could be different, I couldn't see how to get back there this year. With 2 daughters getting married, a son going away to university, and my younger daughters and I very busy studying and training towards our Equestrian qualifications - amongst other things - it just didn't seem possible.

So I was as surprised as anyone to hear, during worship at the Revival Alliance conference in Birmingham, that still small Voice saying: 'You could go to Cambodia...'

Really God? Wow!

I ran the idea past my husband Craig, who was very supportive - as usual. So I contacted XP, who run the Extreme Justice outreaches, only to find that registration for this November trip was already closed. Not surprising, considering that the outreach started on Sunday! But I remained sure that I should go, so I wrote to Andrea, in Phnom Penh. Within a day I heard back; yes, I could come and join the team! Which means that I need to travel by Friday at the latest in order to be there for next week.

It takes a rather long time to travel to Phnom Penh from the UK. There are no direct flights. My best option is to go via Paris and China. A trip of 18 hours. Oh well....

So today has been a flurry of activity - arranging documents, visas, flights and buses, groceries, care for kids and horses, planning for the visit of a special visitor from South Africa who arrives just a few hours after I leave, notifying friends, cancelling and changing my appointments for next week, spending time with my girls, helping Julie with her Photography assignment, planning to collect Jenni's wedding dress with her before I go, making sure all the essentials are in order before I leave. Etc.... It's all very exciting! And a bit crazy!

I am learning to be very flexible in these 'Extreme Operations' adventures! In some ways, I have been waiting to do this for years... ever since I cried my way through the film 'The Killing Fields' way back in the 1980's. What a powerful film.

Phnom Penh has been in my heart ever since. God uses everything.....

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How to Use this Blog - for new users

This blog describes thoughts, experiences, discoveries and impressions during short term assignments in Brazil, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. These are entirely my own perceptions, and as such, may be inaccurate or misinformed at times. In no way should any of the agencies or people I work with be held responsible for any errors of information. As far as possible I try to make sure that inaccuracies are addressed when they are pointed out. Meanwhile, please forgive my ignorance.... I have so much to learn.

There is a lot of information about poverty, street children and human trafficking in general, and about the work of specific charities and organisations working to address it.

I have also included my notes from the various teaching sessions we had during XP's training schools: 'Operation Justice' (Cambodia) and 'Operation Extreme Love' (Thailand) of 2012, along with some notes from training sessions with Richard & Ingela Larsson Smith, who run 'Horses for Orphans' in Brazil.

Unlike websites, blogs run back to front, so if you want the whole story it will be useful to use the Blog Archive and read in date order, beginning in May 2012.

And if you scroll down, there is a 'search' option below, helpful if you want to know about a specific issue or country. Just type in a keyword and you will be shown where that word appears in the blog.