Why I’m Going to Cambodia

Hello again! I’m back to share more about Cambodia. But first, a HUGE thank you to those who sponsored a mile yesterday. I’m grateful for your support. Just over $800 has been raised and there are still opportunities available. Miles 1-5 are looking a little lonely…

I promised I’d be back to share why I’m going and what I’ll be doing in Cambodia. I’ve known of the Steps of Justice Cambodia Outreach for a few years, but it wasn’t until last fall that I felt a nudge to go. I dismissed the idea for a few days until casually mentioning it to Adam. For all my reasons for going, I’d already come up with double the amount of excuses for why I shouldn’t go. Excuses like, “But I can ‘do justice’ in San Diego”, “Who will watch the kids?”, and “I can’t afford to take time off work.” I was completely stopped in my tracks when Adam simply said, “You should go.” Let’s be honest here, I’m stubborn and easily came up with more excuses over the next few weeks. When I finally sent in my deposit, I felt at peace with the decision.

Clearly God wasn’t going to let me out of this so easily.

Phil, one of the Steps of Justice founders, has been going to Cambodia for the past 7 years. The “what I’ll be doing” is best explained in his own words:

Although we are doing many things in Cambodia during the 10 days we are there, the main purpose is to share the love and hope that Jesus has for the poor and oppressed. We want people to meet Jesus and see that He loves them and wants to give them life, not only in eternity but also right here and now.

The 10 days in Cambodia focuses on 3 different areas – Awareness, Education and Action. We will spend time understanding the culture of Cambodia, both the beauty of it and the horror. Cambodia’s dark secret is that it’s a place for sex tourists, and local men to come exploit and rape women and young girls. We will spend time with organizations that are fighting against this and restoring the lives of these women and girls. We will spend time with organizations like Hagar International, Daughters of Cambodia, IJM, and World Vision hearing about what they are doing to rescue and restore these lives.

We will also spend time learning and getting educated about global injustice, such as slavery, trafficking, and unfair trade. We will visit organizations that work with children at risk and have started micro enterprises to help them get out of their situations and start business. The point of this is to help us see that simple steps of obedience to God on our part can bring change and opportunity to those who are oppressed. We want to see how our decisions in what we buy, how we shop and what we support can change lives.

Finally we will be partnering with organizations like Rock Foundation Cambodia, YWAM’s Children at Risk, and Happy Tree Orphanage. We will be doing practical work with these organizations like running a kids camp, teaching hand washing and sanitation, and participating in building projects (painting, house building and repair, and the installation of solar lights in the homes of the extremely poor).

This trip is intended to wreck us and help us see that we can and are called to be a part of bringing God’s justice on the world for the poor and oppressed.

Thanks again for sticking around to learn about Steps of Justice. By the way, if you or someone you know are interested in going too, it’s not too late to sign up. More details and dates are here.

Now check out my Half Marathon Mix to the right, and perhaps suggest your own power song by sponsoring a mile. See you tomorrow for one final post before I return this blog to my extremely patient husband!