Being back

Well, I've been back in Cambodia for almost three weeks now. I'm almost fully adjusted. Almost. :)
I start teaching next week and I have some mixed feelings about this new venture. I have felt so connected with Svay Pak and the work there. Now, that I'm starting something new and different, I am struggling a little to feel connected and excited. I know that the Lord has great things for me in the job, however it's been an adjustment doing something new.
Last week, I had the privilege of visiting one of our little boys from Svay Pak. His name is Loi and he was rescued while I was in the states. His mother and grandparents agreed for him to leave Svay Pak to go to an aftercare facility in the city. He is one of the children that has been heavy on my heart since the first day I met him. I was overjoyed when Alli told me that he was accepted into the aftercare facility.
Seeing Loi again brought great confirmation to the work the Lord has called me to. When I saw him, he looked different. He looked like a child. I know this may sound odd, but until this week I never saw him with the countenance of a child. He always seemed stressed and troubled. Now he is lighter and happier. He greeted me with a huge hug which lasted minutes. With his hands wrapped around me, I sensed the difference. I felt the healing and restoration that had already taken place. I just thought to myself, this is real. I don't know that I ever doubted it before, but I wondered how a child that has experienced such abuse could actually be healed. And here I am literally holding the proof in my hands. What a privilege!
In case you have shared any of my doubts, let me tell you - there is hope! There is healing, love and restoration that is meant for everyone of these children that are being abused and hopeless.

Father of Heaven and Earth,
Thank you for the rescue of this little one. Lord I believe that you are the only one that can bring true and complete healing. So, just as you have begun the healing process in Loi, I ask you for more children. I ask you for hundreds and thousands of little ones to be set free from the bondage they are experiencing today. Lord, no thing is too big for you. So, I ask you for every child that you have put in my path. Give me eyes to see them as you see them. Give me vision for the things of your heart. Ignite my heart to burn for the things that burn in your heart.
Amen

America the beautiful

Today we celebrate our independence and freedom as a nation.
This year I've thought a lot about freedom. In just three days I will board a plane to return to Cambodia and live there indefinitely. I will minister to children and families who are living under heavy oppression. Financial oppression, spiritual oppression, societal oppression. . . and I could go on and on. But amidst the oppression, I hear one word.
FREEDOM
I feel my job is to cry "Freedom!" for these ones that feel they have no voice. I am to fight for freedom for them. My greatest hope is that they will be free and live in the freedom that comes from the Lord.

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?"
Isiah 58:6

I am inspired by this freedom. I want to see it poured out on the people I minister to. I want freedom. I believe in the freedom for the oppressed. I believe in a freedom not even imagined in this world. Freedom that is rooted in the knowledge and life of Christ. Freedom that is available to everyone, everywhere. Freedom that is not limited by nation or age or gender. Freedom that is worth fighting for and worth telling others about.
So, let us rejoice in this day of independence and freedom. Let us join with the Father's heart and declare freedom for his precious ones. Join with me in prayer and spirit and in one voice shout, "FREEDOM!" Know that your prayers are heard. As we join together with our prayers of freedom we will see the yokes broken. I can't wait to share with you the many stories that will come from this freedom cry.

Dear Warriors, there is no reason to hold back.
FREEDOM!