John 15:12

As we wrap up our time in Cambodia, many thoughts and feelings have been going through my head especially as I have been able to experience many things first hand, most specifically the sex trafficking situation in Cambodia and also the street children.

 

            On Monday night, our group had the chance to walk along the riverfront, which is the red light district of Phnom Penh. It was a hard walk due to all the different things that I saw and also had to process. We saw many different beer gardens, bars and “restaurants.” We saw approximately 10 of these places and in front of each place sat about five to six girls, which meant that there alone were about 60 girls that night who were going to sell themselves. Preparing for this trip, we (the team) had watched a documentary talking about this issue of sex trafficking and I think then it was there in my mind as a hard and bad issue, but it hadn’t exactly gone deep and rang true with me yet. Coming to Cambodia really changed that, though, because now that I have experienced and seen brothels and prostitutes, I realize how deep and hard of an issue it is and that it is truly reality in this world. This has been hard for me, but I am very glad that I got to have this experience that will surely change the way that I look at human trafficking for the rest of my life.

 

            Another thing that really impacted me was an encounter with some children. Carly and I had visited the Girls Center that the Hard Places Community (HPC) runs. We helped run a kids club there one afternoon and had a really great time with all of the girls there. We taught them the song “Jump into the Light” which they really enjoyed and asked to sing and dance to multiple times. There were about ten girls who were at that club that day and as the club was finishing, we left the place we were meeting and went out onto the street where about five of the ten girls immediately picked up their baskets of things to sell, slung them over their shoulders, gave us last hugs, and then went on to sell their things. This really hit Carly and I hard because we had just interacted with these sweet and fun girls who now had to go back to their real life and sell things on the street. But that was just the beginning. Carly and I both will never forget what happened next. A few nights later, we were walking along the river front after dinner when two girls come running up to our group. They were two of the girls from the kids club a few days earlier! Carly and I were very surprised but also very happy to see them again. We gave them hugs and then one girl said, “I still remember the song that you taught us! Jump, jump, jump into the light, light light…” and she began to sing it right on the street and also do all the motions. It was so sweet and touching and I was about in tears. Again it was hard to see what their real life was. People around us were also giving us funny looks as we hugged and sang with these girls, but it was really actually amazing! This encounter really made me realize how real the life of the street children is and hard it is. Through this, though, I was able to see that this kids club that is provided by HPC how God is working in the children and in their lives and making a difference in the community.

 

            Overall, these experiences have really changed me and made me think more about the real issues that are in this world that sometimes we try to ignore and say that they aren’t there, but I have learned that they are real and we can’t just ignore them. God created all of these people and they are just as important, and we need to do something about it, especially pray. I am so glad that I got to come on this trip because it really has changed my life and has definitely given me a heart for the people here and their lives.

 

--Emma Luman