Human Currency: Trading Freedom in Southeast Asia

I was recently reading an article in the Southeast Asia Globe titled the “Cambodian Maid Trade”.  In the past three years up to 25,000 Cambodian domestic workers  who are from impoverished rural communities have migrated to Malaysia following promises of a better future. But, the reality for these women and children is the risk of abuse at every step of the migration cycle. These Cambodian women and underage girls are paying for the chance of a better life.  Once they enter the country of Malaysia, the legal system provides them with little if no protection by the Malaysian government in the recruitment process and regulation of private agencies. According to Malaysia’s labor law, Cambodia’s domestic workers are defined as ‘domestic servant’s, and employment conditions are left to the discretion of the employer.  I realize at this point it gets quite graphic, and apologize if this becomes to blunt.  But as a result, Cambodia maids are routinely over-worked, physically abused, under-paid and burdened with inflated ’handling’ fees and debts.  The worst is that many of them are starved, exploited, and sexually assaulted by their employers according to Tenganita, an anti-human trafficking organization.

Up until recently, I had heard of these rumors and read of these cases. However, this past month at Mother’s Heart has been quite difficult for me.  We have recently taken into our program two young girls (one who is underage) who were sent back to Cambodia by their Malaysian employers. They are both pregnant as a result of sexual assault by their employer. One of them, who is 14 years old, has never been paid in the past two years since her employment as a maid.  My heart is so broken to actually see these women face to face and graphically hear their experiences. They are no longer stories I read on a piece of paper, but have become a reality in my everyday life as I see them come and go from our office as we help integrate them back into Cambodia.

These are the moments that I can say how truly humbled I am to work at Mother’s Heart. To be able to help these young girls is a great honor. Please pray that not only can we help them through their pregnancy, but we help walk with them to restore hope and love them as Christ loves each of us.  One of them began at one of our partner organization for vocational training this last week.

Tricia

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

 

What is BorBor?

Making minced carrots, spinach and chicken

You may not recognize this word, but for a young Cambodian woman trying to feed her baby it is a very important concept.  BorBor is a simple Cambodian term which means “rice soup” or “porridge”.  It’s a process which consists of adding more water to the white rice when cooking it so that it is a thin consistency making the texture in such a way that babies can eat it. Rice itself before its brown shell is removed is actually very healthy. However, in Cambodia, only the animals and prisoners are given the brown, unshelled rice.  The Cambodians eat only the white, polished rice. Unfortunately, the brown shell is what gives the rice its nutrients.

It is not uncommon for many babies and children in Cambodia to become stunted in their growth due to micronutrient deficiencies (which basically means very little vitamins and minerals are in their diet).  Stunting means their bodies are not able to grow in height to reach their full potential due to a lack of vitamins and minerals.  Rice is the main staple for all their meals.  Once the mother stops breast feeding, foods high in calcium and iron such as cheese and milk along with vegetables high in vitamins are commonly absent from the diet due to poverty, culture, and a lack of education.  Malnutrition remains a serious problem for Cambodian children specifically Vitamin A and iron deficiencies.   

Baby food must be made fresh daily because most
mothers don't have refrigeration.

When Micah Reece and Kyler were all babies, I decided to make my own baby food. I could easily buy jars of baby food at the store, but decided I would make baby food for them from fresh vegetables and fruits. I didn't realize how fortunate I was because when I was tired of making my own baby food I could just supplement it with store bought baby food. Little did I know, that God would use that experience in my life again some day.

This month, we held an afternoon workshop for all our mother’s in the program at Mother’s Heart on how to add more nutrients to the BorBor which makes it healthier for the baby than just rice alone.   Mother’s Heart staff taught the women how to chop up locally grown cooked vegetables like carrots or green leafy vegetables which adds vitamins like Vitamin A, B, and K.  We also taught them how to chop up cooked chicken or pork to add protein to the BorBor. Once the chopped and minced ingredients are added to the rice porridge, it then becomes a nutritionally dense baby food.   To many people, these concepts may seem very basic and common knowledge. However, in Cambodia, these concepts are foreign and access to information like nutritionally healthy baby foods remains a barrier to most women.  Don’t forget that few homes have any type of refrigeration, so most of these foods have to be made daily. 

Courage and Leadership

My friend Phka sharing the gospel to a group in a village home

Life was going nowhere. Everywhere he looked Josh saw a bleak future for his community, businesses, his faith family, and his personal family. That is, if things continued to follow the status quo. They had been operating the same way for 40 years and it had worked, but the outlook for staying with the current model was pretty bleak. To top it all off the community’s primary leader was now out of the picture.

Then came the appointment Josh had been waiting for!

“Josh, it’s time.” “I want you to be the lead on taking everyone in the direction I set for them 40 years ago.”

Josh knew exactly what he was being told. Years before he and one other man had encouraged the group to move into a new region. Back then his advice was quickly thwarted. The vast majority of those making decisions only saw the risks and potential costs. Josh had seen the benefits with his own eyes and hadn’t been afraid to voice his opinion.

“You are the man for the job. It’s going to require courage and there will be obstacles, but the opportunity is there for the taking!” “I’ll give you everything you need to get the job done.”

Josh went away from today’s meeting excited and making plans. However, in the back of his mind he wondered how people would respond. He knew some would oppose him because they were comfortable with the way things were, while others would be afraid of the risk or the unknown. But that didn’t slow him down, he headed straight for his friend Caleb’s house to tell him the great news. Like any great leader Joshua knew it was time for change.

I’ve been encouraged lately to spend some time with great leaders. Leaders who aren’t afraid to ask the tough questions.  Leaders who aren’t afraid to personally act based on the tough answers to those questions.  Leaders with great depth of character who possess courage.

When God spoke to Joshua and told him to take the Israelites into the Promised Land He told Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage.” There were giants in the land where Joshua was about to lead 2.5 million people. In the past there had been many who were afraid and it was likely that hadn’t changed. Yet God was calling Joshua to lead in that direction anyway. This is a good picture of the way author Richard Daft defines courage. He says “the defining characteristic of courage is the ability to step forward through fear.” Courage doesn’t mean the absence of doubt or fear, but the ability to act in spite of them.

Students in a village school

It seems every week in Cambodia I face a new unknown. God continues to challenge me to push past any personal fears, press past identity and self-esteem issues, to attempt new things and take greater risks. I’ve been reminded in God the possibilities are endless for our lives. However, this is only if we welcome God to be everything He desires to be in our lives. The problem with that is sometimes who He is or what He wants us to do in us can be scary. God is often just plain confrontational with us and sometimes requires us to be confrontational in our approach to life with others.

I wanted to share an answer from one of my favorite textbooks, The Leadership Experience, to a question I’ve been asking, “What does it mean as a leader to possess courage? 

“As a leader courage means to develop the backbone to accept personal responsibility for achieving desired outcomes, go against the status quo, and stand up for what you believe. Push beyond your comfort zone and break through the wall of fear that limits you.”

When You Are Out Of Options

Andong Slum just outside Phnom Penh

I am daily reminded how many safety nets I have and how many more I used to have. I have come to realize I relied much more on resources available to me in my everyday life instead of a reliance on God. In some ways this is not a bad thing given that God has provided many of those resources and provided us with the wisdom to use them. The real lesson I have learned in Cambodia is about what I do and where I go when I am out of those natural options.

Very soon after we arrived in Cambodia we were faced with a dilemma that has stuck in my mind and is a signpost for me to keep my faith and life focused in the right direction. We were having dinner in the home of a new friend. At the end of dinner we had a time of prayer and he asked us to pray for one of his Cambodian friends. The man had a motorcycle accident and had a head injury. Fortunately, he was transported to the hospital in the capitol city and received basic care. He had swelling in his head and was in a coma. His family sold many of their personal possessions to get him to the hospital to receive emergency care. After a couple of days the family ran out of money. In Cambodia the medical system has very limited resources and cannot offer free medical care. The doctors told the family if he did not start waking up the next morning or if they did not pay the $100 per day fee the hospital would have to release him and the family would have to take him home with no medical care.

The family was out of options. Our friend was telling us the story during the prayer time. My natural reaction was to consider how I could get the $100 per day the family needed. Then I realized I was personally waiting on a bank transfer and wouldn’t have access to any funds for at least two days. After thinking a moment I too realized since we were in Cambodia we didn’t have options to help. It was at that moment I was filled with both faith and conviction. Our “only” option was to pray for him to wake up the following morning and I was immediately convicted because this should have been my first and the best option.  I asked the group to agree with me in prayer the man would wake up the next morning. The next morning I received an excited phone call saying, to the doctors’ surprise, the man had come out of his coma just before the doctors arrived.  I had the privilege of going the hospital the next day to visit with the man and his family and witness an amazing recovery. 

In the village of Kampong Pluch during the floods.
Many families were displaced. 

Time and time again in Cambodia I have seen people out of options and seen God do the miraculous. I recently read a report that showed 20% of Cambodian Christians said they came to Christ after seeing a visible miracle take place in their life or someone close to them. While I in no way feel that Cambodia’s current situation is God’s best for the people who live here, I have seen when people have few options they most often search for God and His help. Being a loving Father He answers and as a result this country is ripe for harvest. In the midst of hardship and the most difficult of circumstances people are accepting Christ and the church continues to grow. The majority of pastors in Cambodia have at most a primary education. It’s not biblical knowledge people are searching for, but relationship with the Living God.

If you find yourself in a place where you feel you are out of options (or better yet as your first option), try following Dr. Dean’s advice:

Go to the source of truth. Go to God in prayer, in His Word or to someone you know who is the “real” deal. Not to your credit card, google or gossiping girlfriends.

Submit to God's directives by faith. The bible is filled with stories of the miraculous. Too often we focus on the miracle and not on the point of the stories. It was the acts of obedience and trust in God by those who received.

Trust God's perfect provision and timing. Ephesians 6:13  “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

Simply put. When we are out of options, God isn’t. 

From a Mom’s Perspective

Cambodian Suburban

I wanted to stop for a moment to just share our family’s week from a mother’s perspective.

When we returned from Thailand for our visa renewals, four out of five of us came down with “Montezuma’s Revenge” as we call it in Texas.  We recovered from that illness, then Kyler, began running a 102 fever during the night after we returned. Although I am a registered nurse with an emergency room background, my reasoning goes out the window when my children are ill.  I wasn’t sure what was causing his fever which catapults the situation to a much more serious position….malaria, dengue fever.  I began praying asking for peace and wisdom from God for what action to take next. 

In the US, I knew that at any moment I could pick up the phone and called Dr. Wiley.  Or, I could walk into any hospital and Kyler would receive whatever high quality emergency medical care he needed. But here in Cambodia, the situation is completely different.  We are living in a developing country where hospitals are operating at a very basic level. High quality pediatric emergency services are non-existent. These are the moments that are difficult for me.  Wayne and I watched Kyler closely throughout the night, and praise God he slowly improved over the next couple of days.

Wayne and I received a designated financial blessing earlier in the year giving us the opportunity to upgrade from pedal bikes to motorcycles.  Wayne purchased a “new to us” motorcycle on Friday.  I chuckled this week just thinking of how we have integrated into Cambodian lifestyle by trading our  red 4X4 Ford extended cab family pickup in Texas to a red 125cc family motorcycle. Not the most glamorous or comfortable lifestyle, but wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. And yes, we promise that we will all wear our helmets!

Hester version of the priestly garments

I was really proud of Micah this week. In Christian Perspectives at school, his class is studying the Tabernacle of David.  Micah’s assignment was to recreate the priestly garment.  He spent quite some time researching the attire. Smiling from ear to ear, he proudly announced to us that the entire class clapped for him as he gave his presentation.  Micah is happy at school which brings so much peace to me on the inside that we are at the right place for our family.  He still has moments when his Autism creates challenges, but he is thriving so well at this international Christian school.

My week ended by helping a close Cambodian friend of ours.  Her 3 year old son needed a simple surgery which in the US would have been done at birth.  It’s was quite a simple surgical procedure, but untreated her son could eventually become septic causing his kidneys to fail.  I am happy that God brought this little boys need to our attention and now he's healthier than ever.   I also had to stop and ponder my gratefulness to God to have been blessed to be born in one of the greatest countries in the world with access to an amazing health care system.

Thank you God for the health of my family while we are on this journey in Cambodia. Please continue praying for our family as we process through these difficult times and celebrate with us in our times of joy;  only through God’s  grace we will continue our calling here…….for we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. 

Tricia

Starting A New Job!

The talented team of social workers and nurse midwives
I serve with. 

As my five month public health internship with Samaritan’s Purse came to an end back in December, I knew I wanted to remain serving in Cambodia.  We already had plans to return to Abilene for the Christmas holidays at the completion of our internships. Wayne and I made a decision at that time to return to Cambodia, not sure where exactly we would be serving, but knowing God has called us there.  Just before we left for the US, I came in contact with an organization called Mother’s Heart-Cambodia.  It is the first and only Christian crisis pregnancy center in Cambodia (www.mothersheart-cambodia.org/). During that time, I had an incredible opportunity to visit at length with the Founder and Director, Katrina Gliddon who is both an Australian midwife and nurse practitioner. She began to share with me the extreme challenges that the young, single, pregnant women of Cambodia face. I was moved with compassion.  I had learned a lot from my public health research regarding women’s health while at Samaritan’s Purse. The information and statistics I recovered was both unbelievable and staggering.

Cambodia ranks among the highest in the region for maternal mortality with 1/3 of deaths being attributed to “backyard” abortions. Unplanned and unwanted pregnancies are recurrent and consistent hardships among the youth.  Access to reproductive health services remains a barrier for most women due to poverty and a lack of education. An estimated 73,000 abortions take place per year.  Abortion inductions and the use of easily accessible over-the-counter abortion pills as forms of contraception have become a pandemic in Cambodia.  89% of those occur in unsafe, illegal clinics.

 During my visit with Katrina, she continued to share with me the vision of Mother’s Heart : To empower women with choices and to be a voice to those who have none. Last year Mother’s Heart helped over 100 girls, young women and their partners, infants and families by providing resources and programs. Through education, counseling and mentoring MH has helped their clients sustain healthy choices for their own lives and the lives of their baby. 

One of God's miracles!*

When Wayne and I returned to Phnom Penh in January, I was excited to get a phone call from Katrina. She asked that I meet with MH board members.  Following the meeting, I was offered, and with joy accepted, a position with Mother’s Heart as Assistant to the Country Director.   I have been working with Mother’s Heart now for the past three weeks utilizing my management skills as well as my skills as a registered nurse.  I have seen some great hardships and some incredible miracles during these short few weeks. Please continue to pray for me in my new job:  that God would touch the lives of these women and their babies, their identity is transformed and their lives are changed.

*Babies names and photos of mothers are not made public for safety and confidentiality reasons. 

No Longer In Debt...

Everyone has specific principles they are passionate about. For Tricia and I one of those principles is to live and help others live a life free of debt.  You may be familiar with Proverbs 22:7 “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”

In countries like Cambodia where 70% of the population live in poverty, debt can be a very dangerous problem for families. They can lose what little they do own if they find themselves in a cycle of debt and even the smallest of crises happen.

This week I visited with a family and was inspired by their story of becoming debt free. Like most people the solutions are often simple and require basic knowledge, a helping hand, and changed behavior.

In 2009, Sang village was selected to be one of target communities in implementing a Samaritan’s Purse project. Most of the people in this community were living by producing wood charcoal, collecting wild fruit for selling, and rice farming.

Ms. Saing Saran, 27 years old with two children, is living in Sang village, Kampong Chhnang province. Her family was in serious debt with a microloan and she was identified as one of the Seeds of Hope project beneficiaries. She was given building materials to build a compost house and given material for building a fence for her home garden and given six types of vegetable seed.

Before the materials were distributed to her, she was trained in how to take care of the garden, produce compost, use the compost in an efficient way etc… “I used compost that I produced for growing vegetables such as morning glory, cucumbers, eggplants, and gourds. I used these vegetables to feed my family also I earned 5,000 – 10,000 riels( $1.25-$2.5) daily by selling the surplus during the growing season.” said Mrs. Saing Saran.

We were really impressed in how the compost house helped her family physically and economically. “Normally, we borrow money to buy at least four bags per hectare of chemical fertilizer to apply to our rice field. But after we had the compost house, we no longer borrowed money and the chemical fertilizer usage was reduced” said Mrs. Saing Saran.

For those of you who have helped others to work their way into a life of freedom from debt  I say “Thank You!” To those who have found themselves in a cycle of debt I hope this story encourages you to look at the most unlikely of solutions around you for freeing you and your family from the bondage of debt. Freedom from debt was one of the key life principles that empowered Tricia and I to live out God’s dream for our lives and come to Cambodia!

Thank you to Chet Phanna who was able to capture this wonderful story!