Phnom Penh

This week has flown by! We left on Wednesday afternoon to make a quick trip to Phnom Penh. There are two PCL offices in Cambodia: one in Phnom Penh and one here in Siem Reap. During the summer they have a youth camp for a few days at the end of June. I'm so glad that I'll be here for it this year! We went to Phnom Penh so that we could hold a meeting with all those involved with running the camp this year. It was a good trip and the meeting was beneficial.

For me, this trip was amazing! Many of the youth from the orphanage were there as well a few of the young employees here at Common Grounds. It gave me the opportunity to build relationships with them and I am very thankful for the time we spent together!

On Wednesday night we all went to dinner. There is a young (probably around 8 years old or so) girl named Neang who Matt has seen the past 4 times he has been in Phnom Penh. Each time he goes, he gets a little closer to this little beggar girl. He even met her mom last time he was there. Towards the end of dinner, Neang and her friend came up to our table and Matt had them sit down so he could buy them some dinner. Before the food even got there, several police officers came around the corner. A big, burly officer walked up to the girls and spoke to them in Khmer. He grabbed Neang and started to take her away. Matt tried and tried to assure him that he knew her and had even met her mom before. The officer said that she had no mother and that he was taking her away. He manhandled this precious little girl and threw her into a tuk-tuk to be taken away to God knows where. Matt was furiously trying to stop him and Neang was screaming and begging the officer to let her stay. It was one of the most horrible things I've ever seen. Matt asked around to find out if anyone knew where they were taking her. A Khmer man with excellent English explained that they were "cleaning up" the city and they were supposedly taking her to some unknown orphanage 20 kilometers outside of town. I am certain that these are corrupt police who are selling these innocent little girls into the sex trade. As we were leaving, the girl's mom came around the corner on a motorbike and Matt jumped on to try and help her find Neang. They went to several police stations each one telling them they didn't know where the girl was. Finally they came to this sketchy looking building with a gate closing off the entrance. No way to see in or out. The mother told the police that they had her daughter and she wanted her back. They argued for a while and kept insisting that the girl was not there. Eventually, the little girl heard her mother's voice through the gate and stuck her little arm out through a hole and started yelling for her mother. The police could no longer deny that they had her. The daughter and mother were finally reunited but the police took their pictures and said that if they ever saw either of them again, they would take the little girl and she would never see her daughter again. Matt knew that if he didn't get the family some help, they would for sure be caught again and separated forever. He got in contact with a man who is starting a ministry with street children. The man was willing to help and so Matt took the mother, Neang and her baby brother to meet this man. When he saw them, his face lit up with recognition and so did the mother's. This same man had helped her out two years ago and had been looking for her since. He had searched and searched and thought that she must have died. God faithfully put people into this family's path to keep them from harm. I know for sure that He has an amazing plan for this mother and her two children. If you think about it, please pray for them and for their continued safety.

As amazing as this story is, it's also heartbreaking because I know there were many other young girls in that building who weren't saved that night. This little girl was rescued from a life of prostitution, but there are many that aren't. Cambodia is well known for being a huge part of the human trafficking problem. Pray for those who are working against it and pray for the girls, boys, men and women who are unwillingly sold into a life of prostitution or forced labor.