Writing this first blog on the plane from Seoul to Atlanta,
my mind spins through the memories, the colors, the laughter… the faces and
stories. To put into words all I saw and experienced in Cambodia is impossible.
But maybe somehow through this series of blogs and all the accompanying
pictures you’ll catch a glimpse of the week I just had!
Though our flight took off from Atlanta on Friday morning,
we didn’t arrive in Cambodia until late Saturday night. Alli Mellon, the
Executive Director of the Hard Places Community, was there to meet us. It was
so great to see her! When I first came to AIM, as a participant and then for
the year that I led Real Life, I worked directly under Alli. It’s been three
years since I last saw her. So much has happened 
since then… mainly, I’ve come
on staff with AIM and she started the Hard Places Community, went to Cambodia
for 3 months, and two years later is still there-with her two adopted daughters, Bella and Anna Claire.
These little girls are adorable. It was so great to meet
these miracle babies, who are so full of life and love their mama so much. We
had so much fun laughing and playing with them! I love this family!
Bella- Photo by Connie Rock Anna Claire- Photo by Kristen Torres-Toro
For the over two years, Alli and several members of her team have lived in Cambodia, ministering to the children, teens, and women caught in this heartbreaking practice. They’ve seen the stories. They remember their faces. They know their names. While at a local temple last week, a girl walked up to Alli wearing only a purple hoodie- no pants or underwear. She’d been up all night working. The pain and weariness on her face spoke 
beyond our language barrier. Alli knew her and spoke with her in Khmer. The girl followed us to the tuk tuk, then turned and walked away… probably back to work. This girl’s story is still ongoing. Right now she doesn’t understand that there’s another way to live. She doesn’t know just how deeply and completely she is loved. But we can pray that she will- and for the thousands like her crying out for help.
So, why did I go to
Cambodia?
Connie Rock and I went to Cambodia to support Alli and her
team in Phnom Penh, to learn as much about the anti-trafficking movement in
Southeast Asia, and pouring into the two year AIM team there. I’ll talk about
more of those things in other blogs (be on the look out for one every day this
week)! For right now, I just want to tell you a little bit about Cambodia.
Located in Southeast Asia, the primary language spoken in
the capital is Khmer. There aren’t very many English speakers there, so it’s
very important to learn the language when going. The first word I learned was
“thank you”… one of my favorites to learn. People love it when you thank them
in their language! 
**Photos by Kristen Torres-Toro**
The small portion of this Buddhist country that I saw is so beautiful. But it’s greatest treasure is in its people- their
stories, their dreams, and their potential. Because the history of a country is so important to understanding what’s happening today, in a
future post I’ll share with y’all about the Khmer Rouge Regime. In short, in the late
1970’s there was a horrific massacre throughout the country as anyone with
education/power was killed- their wives and children too. Over 2 million
people were murdered in all. When the regime was overthrown, Cambodia had
to start all over -full of grief, weak, and without any educated citizens.
The country still struggles to this day. It will take
generations to rebuild cultural infrastructure where the economy and the people
can stand on their own. Without education… all the advances that improve a
government, commerce, medical care, etc. are impossible.
If Cambodia’s history isn’t heartbreaking enough, its
present is even more horrifying because it deals specifically with the children.
Little girls- and little boys- are being sold for sex by their families. They
sell books on street corners and then are taken to guesthouses where they are
forced to do whatever the men who purchase them want to do. They work in
brothels. They work in bars. They are trafficked to other countries, all in the
name of perverted, carnal “pleasure”.
How can a country that victimizes its own citizens rebuild?
Heal? Not repent for its sin against its own people?
Through the rising rates of AIDS and STDs, abortion,
untreated pregnancies, violence, abuse- their future is death.
They need Jesus. These little ones, teenagers, women, lady
boys, etc., need to know that they are loved and they have value… that they
were bought with a Price that has nothing to do with money and everything to do
with life. That they do not exist
simply for someone else to use them and throw them away. That they can have
hope and a future. That they are not alone.
The reality of the victimization of Southeast Asia keeps me
awake at night. It makes me want to do something. The thing about knowledge is
that you have to do something with it… you can’t just stuff it into a corner
and hope it goes away. Knowledge comes with responsibility.
Walking the streets of Phnom Penh, seeing the dirty faces and
scarred, bare feet of those seeking comfort in the light of day… I want to do
something. So I’m telling you their stories, the ones I learned firsthand.
These two little ones were rescued before
they could be hurt. But there are so many babies yet to be born. So many hearts
broken in bodies that haven’t reached puberty yet, another generation facing a
lifetime of haunting memories…too many lives at stake.
