A Very Merry Christmas

Yesterday morning (Dec 23) Tricia and I found ourselves in a room with dozens of  newborns and their mothers, many of them teenagers. These little ones were all miracles that started out as crisis pregnancies.  Moms who were once filled with fear, worry and were out of options now had beautiful babies and lives filled with hope.

In the afternoon we found ourselves in a room packed with over 180 young ladies who had either made a decision to leave a livelihood in the Karaoke Bars, sometimes fronts for brothels, or were in the process of making this life-change decision.

What was the reason these groups were together? It is Christmas in Cambodia!!! They had all been invited to come and celebrate Christmas and find out what Christmas is all about.

You might ask what Christmas looks like in Cambodia. In many ways it looks like just another workday. Cambodia is a country where 98% of the population are non-Christian and Christmas is not a national holiday. The vast majority of Cambodians have never heard the Christmas story or celebrate it in any way.

But, for those Cambodians who celebrate Christmas it is a huge party that can take place anywhere in the months of December and January. The whole focus of the party is to celebrate the birth of Jesus and to tell everyone you know, neighbors, friends, clients, etc., about the birth and life of Jesus. The excitement of telling people about Christ and the curiosity of those who’ve never heard is something I’ll never get tired of. Churches have standing room only crowds where people are curious to hear what Christmas is all about.

This has been a joyous Christmas for me as I’ve been a part of the Church truly heeding Jesus’ words “whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for me.” It is refreshing that the focus of Christmas isn’t a single day, or about giving gifts, but about declaring the birth of our King.

Being far away from home and family during Christmas is always difficult. Tricia, the boys and I always feel down and miss all of our family celebrations during this time of year.  But what we’ve found in Cambodia is refreshing and inspiring during the Christmas Season. It’s during this season that we are proud to be a part of the lives of leaders of organizations like Precious Women, Mother’s Heart and New Life Fellowship.

Your gift makes the work of the Hester family in Cambodia possible, and we work hard to maximize each dollar entrusted to us. We are grateful for the generous support of many individuals and organizations that share our commitment to informed, responsible and effective service in Cambodia. To partner with us in 2015 Please Click Here.

Butterfly Home

I am given a tender moment that is brief to meet a 22 year old precious woman of God named Rotha.  Her story is not unusual for many young Cambodian women, but it is difficult to listen as she shares. It is not easy to grasp or imagine for just a moment how an experience such as hers can occur to such a vulnerable young girl.

Rotha has been living in the “Butterfly Home” for over a year now at an organization called Precious Women (PW). She is smiling as Sopeak, a social worker at PW, interprets for me.  Sopeak interjects that when Rotha arrived at PW, she never smiled, but now she smiles all the time and “is so happy”.  Rotha continues and says “God is good! And he saved me!”

"Precious Women help to make me strong & have hope again"

When Rotha was just 13 years old, she left her province of Steung Mencheay in search of a job to help support her family.  Roth shares “I met many problems in my life”.  Her friend told her that if she traveled to the capital of Phnom Penh she could work as a cleaner and make “good money” to help her family. Upon arriving to the city, she took up a cleaning job at a karaoke beer garden, which is a common location for “hostesses” to work in the sex industry.  At the age of 13, she was unable to earn enough money for food or housing and began working as a hostess.  “I became hopeless when I began to sell myself to customers, but I had no food and was hungry. I could not return to my family because I was embarrassed”. 

Over the next 7 years, Rotha worked at multiple beer gardens as a hostess. She shares that she attempted one time to leave, and took a job as a masseuse in a spa in Siem Reap hoping for a better life.  After her job began, she was sexually abused by a customer and immediately left, returning to Phnom Penh. At the age of 21, without food or shelter, she returned working as a hostess again at a local beer garden. It was at that time that Rotha met a staff member of PW during a Friday night outreach and was invited to come for a Women’s Fellowship Party. 

Women's Fellowship Party 

Rotha attended the Women’s Fellowship Party and began receiving counseling. PW provided Rotha with a bicycle for transportation and began reaching out to her. She shares “I get love from people at Precious Women and I began to study the Bible”.  Shortly after, Rotha was able to exit the sex industry because PW provided her with housing at the Butterfly Home. In addition, for the last year, Rotha has been enrolled in salon skills training provided by PW and works part-time at Roomchang Spa in her new career field as a cosmetologist.  

Rotha is excited to share, “Precious Women help to make me strong and have hope again! I am happy to live in the Butterfly Home because I have a place to live so I can stop my work [at the beer gardens]”. She continues, “I love God because he is the only one that can change me.”

I was humbled this day to be able to hear the amazing redemptive story of Rotha and how God uses Precious Women to impact the lives of so many women in Cambodia. Through careful counseling and unconditional love, Sopeak was able to help Rotha gain back her confidence through education, new skills training, and employment opportunities.

 I am honored to have had this moment with Rotha and to also serve as chairwoman of Precious Women organization! To learn more about this organization, please visit www.preciouswomenministry.org (For confidentiality purposes, Rotha’s real name was not used)

                                                                                        Blessings,   

                                                                                                         Tricia

Ministry Team from Abilene, Texas hosting Women's Fellowship Party! (July 2014)