Cambo-bo-land

Hello everyone!
People have probably been wondering if I have even made it to Cambodia because this is my first update! I hope you have been able to read some of the other amazing blogs my teammates have posted. Sorry this is going to be long- there is so much I want to tell but for now this is a general overview.
We're two weeks into our Cambodia trip and I definitely know it is long overdue for my update. So far the trip has been a roller coaster. Surprisingly the heat and humidity was the hardest adjustment in staying here. It was such a pestering distraction and was so draining for all of us but we have adjusted alright to it. We are in Siem Reap which is a part of the beautiful country-side of Cambodia. Its very colorful, quiet, and the main town still feels fairly small with outdoor markets and restaurants.
One of the struggles at the beginning of our trip was figuring out what our ministry was going to look like. However, we did sort it out and the past week or so has been so exciting for everyone as we are settling into our ministries. Everyday we get to talk about how much more we are filled with joy at our ministries, loving the people, loving the culture, and learning so much.
Everyday of the week, everyone has one English class that they teach. I teach and elementary English level- so learning basic grammar and conversation as well as increasing vocabulary. All my students are actually about 16 and older and so I have loved getting to know them as friends also. The other day in class we talked about our "dream job"and basically what their aspirations are and I felt so encouraged by hearing about their lives and their hopes.
Everyday, the whole team also spends a few hours in a village (sometimes they call it a slum, but I prefer village) doing activities, songs, crafts, and games and first aid with all the kids. Sometimes we have 60 kids and it is complete chaos and out of control but it has become some of our teams favorite times and stories. They are all really little too-aging a few months to about 9 or 10 years old. A lot of the kids parents do not have any concern for their health, education, or even just at all for them so we pray that by loving them, smiling, encouraging, touching, and playing with them that God would plant seeds of his love and presence into their lives and into the village. We find ourselves praying protection over them because this is the village where many of the girls we work with at White Doves came from. These are the types of places where parents will sell their daughters into prostitution for money, or even just unintentionally, not knowing where their daughters end up.
Which brings me to our other ministry- White Dove (women 18 and up), and Raffa house(girls under 18). These are the safe houses for women and girls brought out of sex trafficking, or intercepted before their parents sold them. We have been doing devotions with those at White Doves everyday, and many of them are also in our English classes. The devo time has been really sweet because they enjoy it, but also have had encouraging words for us, as well, in our stories and walks with the Lord. It has been beautiful to come together as sisters in Christ from different stories, backrounds, and cultures and all are reminded and encouraged in God's grace, healing, and to stay strong in Him as we keep moving forward.
Raffa house has been more of a challenge. It is a new house and so basic structure to the organization is really lacking. We are hoping to have an impact in helping them form a structure and routine for the girls- especially because they are so young. However, we also do devos, activities and games with the girls. We could use prayer for this ministry. The girls are hard to reach, they don't respond to structure, the translation there is really minimal, and they are not as responsive to some things that we are doing. We are pulling our brain power together to try some new things but this has proved as one of the difficulties for our team. I'll keep this blog updated for Raffa house for those who can pray for us in this area.
I apologize for the length and the vagueness of this message, but now that you all hopefully have a general overall of what a week looks like for us I will be able to share my experiences in a better light on this blog.
The heat and weather is not such a distraction as it used to be so thank you for those who were praying for that. The trip and our team feels much much smoother this week, but we could always use prayer! Prayer for our ministries- we are doing at least 3 ministries a day between all the places and it is easy for us to get burnt out sometimes, so prayer for strength and ability to be present and bring God's spirit with us as we are moving from ministry to ministry everyday. The spirit in this country is oppressive and dark. There is heavy Buddhism and idol worship, sex trafficking, and poverty everywhere. We pray that we would literally be shining with God's light and goodness to break holes in the dark blanket over this country. And then prayer for the women, students, and kids that we encounter everyday- that they would come to know God through our love and that He would be invited into their lives.
Thank you all so much for grace in this delayed update and vagueness of the letter but there will be more to come.
Grace and Peace,
Brooke Mazz