1st Week :)

Hi everyone, just wanted to give an update as my first full week here draws to an end.... 

Work is going very well. As I've mentioned, a lot of what I will be doing here is administration under the director of In His Steps International, Eric Hanson (and also probably some teaching). I arrived here just in time for some reports, year-end accounting, and general organizational things that need to be done, so I'm having fun with that. I love writing reports (yeah I know, call me crazy :) ) and it's awesome to be doing a year-end review because I can learn about all the things that the ministry did in 2008.

There is such evidence of the fruit from what In His Steps is doing here in Cambodia. Through the different programs (Loaves and Fish, the Foundation Center, and Sak Saum) so many lives are being touched. In case you aren't familiar with the different ministry programs, i wanted to introduce them a bit here so that you'll know what I'm talking about when I mention them in the future!

• The Loaves and Fish Program is a a way to provide for the needs of orphans, widows, and the disable. It is based in a very poor village called Saang, about a half-hour's ride outside the city. Saang has a lot of HIV/AIDS and many orphans as a result. Loaves and Fish (L&F) takes care of these children (most of them live with family members: aunts, grandmothers, etc) through providing food, medicine, health checkups, and tutoring. In Cambodia, being an orphan causes a lot of social stigma, so L&F tries to the kids life skills and get them up to academic speed with their peers. Most importantly, it builds relationships with those in need, and shows them that they are valued and loved.

• The Foundation Center is a school built and run by In His Steps, offering free English and Bible classes to children and teens. It is a part of IHSI's vision for the prevention of human trafficking. The Center just moved to a new property with more room for the students, and a great playground where neighborhood children can come and play safely. I went there last Saturday and attended there Bible study - a lot of students there remember me from other times that I've come to Cambodia. It was awesome to be there when there was a salvation invitation and three teenage boys gave their lives to God!

• The Sak Saum program is for women at risk or rescued from human trafficking. In His Steps really wants to help the whole person, physically, mentally, and spiritually. This coming year, there is going to be a catalog/magazine telling the story of how far Sarai (one of the Sak Saum women) has come. It will also feature the Sak Saum products and show how purchasing them sows directly into these women's lives, enabling life skills training, counseling, cooking class, traditional dance lessons, English class, health teachings, and more. These are things that these women would never have access to without the help of In His Steps!  It's really cool to see the effect on their lives. (Click here for some great new pictures of them.)

Hopefully that gives you somewhat of a picture of In His Steps ministry here in Cambodia... there are a lot of other aspects as well, too many to list! I'm very blessed to be involved and look forward to seeing what will happen in 2009. :)

Anyway... Today is Sunday, and after church I had a chance to visit an orphanage here in the city with some friends. It's a small orphanage (only about fifteen kids), run by a women from New Zealand, and the kids range in age from about 5 to 14 years old. I taught a Bible story, and then we played some games and had a snack (kettle corn!) We were only there for a few hours, but it's so obvious that some of these little kids are carrying around a lot of pain... so sad! But it's good to just sit there with the, pray for them, give them attention, hugs, all that good stuff. I definitely want to go back there in the future.

Keep scrolling down after this post, because I finally fixed my camera issues! There are some pics of the orphanage, my room, and fellow housemates Sarai, Theavy, and Sokuun. :)

Bye for now!

~Emily