Back in the States

I will have been back in the States for a week tomorrow and I have missed my new friends in Asia. This weekend I will be sharing an update from my time in Cambodia in the Bayside Granite Bay services. If you are just discovering the blog you can see the top posts listed on the right hand side.  You can watch the entire Bella video that I will share in the services as well. You will need to go to the older posts to learn more about my time in Cambodia. It was truly a life changing trip. If you have considered going on one of our trips to Cambodia I would highly encourage you to sign up. We are looking at the possibility of a trip to Japan in the new future as well. It's not very often that I return form a vision trip to another country (and I've been to over 25 with World Vision) that I want to go right back but this time I do. I could climb the plane tomorrow wot do anything I could to alleviate the suffering of these young boys and girls. Let's help make it stip.

Blowfish

One of the most interesting culinary experiences I had during the trip (and there were quite a few; frog, spider, jellyfish, etc...) was the night we went out for blowfish it Tokyo. Blowfish is a highly toxic fish that must be served very carefully or will lead to death. Until they required restaurants to be licensed a few years ago they would have 20 to 30 deaths a year. That has been cut to 2 to 3 and those are all from people who do it themselves at home. The fish is served sashimi style (raw), the skin (raw) and in large chunks that you cook table style. This video illustrates how fresh the fish is when it is brought to the table. You don't eat it this way but you boil it in water on the table. How does it task? Its a delicious more white fish meat with no oily fishy taste to it. It is very expensive so you don't get a whole lot of meat. All in all, a great meal. 

Blowfish dinner with Taro and his family

Great Night in Tokyo

It was a raining Wednesday night when I ventured out to meet Taro Arai (from Mikuni) and his family for a night of adventurous eating. It was quite the trip. We went to three different restaurants and had things that I didn't know that anyone in their right mind would eat and yet I enjoyed them. Taro's faith and vision helped us to make a tremendous impact on the lives of many during the Japan Tsunami. 

New Friends

One of the highlights of my trip was getting to meet new people along the way. I ended up being stuck in Shanghai for one night with Erwin (from left), me, Sayaka and Mae. They were my closest friends for 24 hours. When we landed in Tokyo, they brought my train ticket ($30) and took me to my station and even helped me get on the right taxi. What started as another terrible airline cancelled flight story ended with a group of new friends. God had other plans. 

World Vision

Our work in Japan also included partnering with World Vision. I was very excited to see this subway poster advertising their relief work on the Japanese subway system with access to millions during their daily commute. World Vision played a huge role in logistics and providing and delivering supplies to emergency shelters. 

An Evening to Help Japan

Pastor Ray greeting the audience. 

Help Japan was a dinner auction sponsored by Bayside Church, Mikuni, Covenant Relief Services and World Vision. The amazing part of this evening was the local business community and church coming together for a common purpose. More than $40,000 was raised in one evening which include traditional Japanese music, paintings by David Garibaldi, a silent auction and of course great food from Mikuni restaurant.

Pastor Ray and Mikuni Owner, Taro Arai

Ongoing Work

While homes are getting rebuild and people are moving on with their lives there is still a lingering fear and loss of community that people must live with. On of the most challenging results of the 2011 tsunami was The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The government was slow in communicating the severity of the event leading to mistrust and more fear. More than 100,000 people were evacuated and given six hours or less notice. They left most behind including family pets and livestock. Many have never returned and the surrounding villages remain ghost towns. There is a severe loss of community among those who have been displaced. This is where the local church has come together and with donations from Bayside and others they host community mixers where people come together to talk and rebuild their lives and relationships. They have provided things like child care and even hosted a summer carnival to help restore some sense of normality to this community. The churches have come together and have shown signs of growth. This aweful tragedy has helped them realize they have much to offer and has allowed them to go outside the walls of their church buildings. New ministries have sprung up and these churches will never be the same.

Help Japan

The sea wall in Taro

Taro, Japan had 4,000 residents and close to 2,000 homes on March 10th, 2011. The next day they had close to 4,000 residents that survived the tsunami (approximately 150 people died) and they had 150 homes. Almost the entire community including homes, stores, banks, schools and most businesses were destroyed in a matter of minutes.

It is greatly debated if the Japanese government was prepared to handle this emergency. I'm not sure if any country or agency can move as fast as the victims would like. The government worked with the local leaders to set up temporary shelter in gymnasiums and schools just outside the tsunami zone. They provided clothing, food, water, medical care and transportation. The only hole in their plan was the 150 or so families that remained in their homes. While their homes had not been destroyed  many of them had water damage and no one had access to food, water or supplies as the entire infrastructure was gone. In an unprecedented move, the local Japanese government approached the churches to provide care and follow up to those who remained in their homes. The church became the provide of relief supplies to these families. In a country where less than 1% are Christian, it was a great opportunity to share the love of Christ. 

A False Sense of Security

A ship tossed over the massive sea wall in Taro, Japan.

Few people in Taro remained from the great tsunami in 1933, but those that survived would never forget. The town that shares its name with Mukuni owner, Taro Arai, spent the their entire lives preparing for the next one. Teaching children in schools to run for the hills was their one loud and clear message. But more had to be done to save lives and their homes if a tsunami attacked them once again.

They installed one of the most advanced tsunami warning systems in the world. They undertook an enormous project to build the world’s largest sea wall. It was more than 1.5 miles long with both an inner wall and outer wall. that was 34 feet tall  The surface was so wide that students would job on it and some would even ride bikes on it. They called it the “Great Wall of China”. There hadn’t been a tsunami in 1,000 years that could have topped their wall. So confident they were in their wall, that people ran toward it when the tsunami hit on March 11, 2011.

But within minutes the tsunami surged over the outer wall and the inner wall sweeping away those who were on top of it and rapidly destroying most of the rest of the town. Click here to learn about our response. 

Bayside's Response to The Tsunami

Yesterday I met with Jim Peterson who works with Covenant Relief Services. They are the agency that we partnered with (along with World Vision) to provide supplies and relief to the victims of the March 2011 tsunami in Japan. The generous people of Bayside gave over $96,000 and our partner Mukuni Restaurants hosted a dinner that raised another $40,000. Jim, who has been a missionary to Japan since 1993, sat down with me at lunch to tell me about how those funds were used (and still are being used) to make an impact, not just on the physical needs of those effected but on their spiritual needs as well.

Japan Tsunami

Most know about the Tsunami/Earthquake that occurred last year in Tohoku Japan, but not many know specific facts. This blog post will give facts about what happened and what’s happened in Japan since the Tsunami. On March 11, 2011 Japan was hit with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake which then triggered a 23 foot tall tsunami. The waves touched Japan within minutes of the earthquake. The waves swept away cars, homes, buildings, a train, and boats. According to the official toll, the disaster left 15,839 dead, 5,950 injured, and 3,642 missing. According to the World Bank the estimates of the damages are placed around $122 billion and $235 billion. The Japanese estimate costs to reach $309 billion making it the world’s most expensive natural disaster on record. As if that wasn’t enough, cooling systems in one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in the Fukushima prefecture on the east coast of Japan failed shortly after the earthquake causing a nuclear crisis. The initial failure was followed by an explosion and partial meltdowns in two reactors, followed by a fire in another reactor which released deadly radioactivity into the atmosphere. Three other nuclear facilities also reported problems, nearly 200,000 residents were evacuated from affected areas. - Source  

Tokyo

I'm in Tokyo now as I wrap up my trip. I will be meeting with Jim Peterson today from Covenant Relief Services and I will receive an update of the $136,000 that Bayside and Mikuni raised for the Tsunami Relief efforts. Later today I will meet with Taro Arai from Mukuni and we will share a meal of blowfish together. I guess you can die from eating blowfish if it is prepared wrong, wish me luck.

The Church in Svay Pak

The thriving church at Rahab's house in Svay Pak is a testament to the work of Agape International Ministries. I was told of children as young as five that were sold by their parents into prostitution. Men pay as much as $8000 for a young virgin and they rape and abuse her for three or more days before turning her over to a brothel owner to sell again. Agape's mission is rescue these children and put the predators people who traffic these children into jail. 

Svay Pak

This is Svay Pak, ground zero for Agape International Ministries. Svay Pak is internationally infamous for its collection of shanties, brothels, and karaoke bars that exploit young Vietnamese and Cambodian women, and children as young as five. Despite claims that child prostitution has been shut down in Svay Pak, Dateline NBC has made several trips there and has proved that child prostitution is still rampant in Svay Pak, reports include footage of alleged child prostitutes. The story resulted in an undercover sting and several arrests, but many pimps did not cooperate with undercover cops and the Svay Pak brothels continue even today.

Team Picture

Angkor Thom

Our time in Cambodia is coming to an end. Today we visited the ancient temples at Angkor Thom. These amazing structures are over around 1,000 years old. This is where they filmed Tomb Raider 2 and several other movies. In the midst of great suffering we find great beauty and history. Help us in praying for the people of Cambodia to discover the love and power of Jesus Christ to make a difference in their land. 

Serving the Children

We spent yesterday working with children in the area of Siem Reap. For us that meant teaching English, hygiene, music and playing games. We partnered with a local church to reach out to local villages. In a country that is predominantly Buddhist, its important to share the Good News by our deeds.  

KTV (Karaoke Bars)

I've had some people ask me about the KTV's here in Cambodia. Here is how they work. When you arrive (typically in a group) they lead you to a private room. They are set up like a small night club with a U shaped couch and lounge lighting. On the front wall is a big video screen or TV with videos playing. There are one or two female hosts that function as bartenders. You order drinks (typically a case of bear) and some food or snacks if you want it. You are charged an hourly rate for the room and for the beer as well. Then they bring in a group of girls all dressed very provocatively. You each pick one to be your partner for the evening. You sing some karaoke songs, eat, drink, watch videos and dance. Depending on the girl, they can be very physical. Things escalate as the girls drink and then typically you talk with the room hosts about having sex with the girls and negotiate a price. Some KTV's have bedrooms inside or they may go with you to your hotel. The KTV's vary from one to another and many have young girls working (under 16). Some of the girls families borrow money from the owners and the girls work there to pay back the loans. The girls can make around $300 a month before expenses (clothing, beauty care etc...). Minimum wage in Cambodia is $80. You can see why Bayside supports a ministry to get the young girls out of the KTV's. 

A Face for Your Prayers

Here is a girl I met that works in the KTV. Her name is Arianna. Please pray for her and girls like her caught in a very difficult life which seems like it has no way out. I did ask for her permission to take and share this photo. 

Rahab's House

Rehab's House in Siem Reap sponsored by Bayside Church.

Top Top

This is the Top Top KTV (Karaoke Bar) where over 300 girls work. It is estimated that 10 - 20 percent of them are underaged. 

Bayside's Ministry

This is the beauty shop that Bayside Church supports where we provide low cost services to those who work in the KTV (Karaoke Clubs/brothels). Every night they come in to get their hair and make up done and we talk with them about God and use this as an opportunity to get the young girls out of the sex trade. So far 11 have come to live and work at Rahab's House.  A couple of things you can pray for...

1.  We are out of space and need more funding.
2.  The girls that come struggle to stay - their old lives/friends call them back.
3.  We need to create more jobs so that they can earn a living and not have to go back to the sex trade. 

Pure Heaven

We found a great restaurant here called The Sun. They have a great drink - The Watermelon Line Freeze. It is so good especially when it is 80-90 degrees everyday with 85 percent humidity. 

Siem Reap Market

There are a lot of tourists in Siem Reap and they have a big shopping/foor area that caters to them. We've had lunch and dinner here for the past few days. 

New Hotel Room

I'm getting caught up on some email now that the internet is working again. Here is my bedroom in Siem Reap. It is very nice and has internet (sometime) 

Fun Food

Here is a great roadside snack we saw along the way. Spiced tarantula. How does it taste you asked? Nah - didn't go there. 

Last Breakfast Before Siem Reap

Here we are all gathered for breakfast and our daily devotional. It has been a tremendous team under the leadership of David and Vikki Briceno. We are really blessed to have such an encouraging and hard working team. 

Bad Internet

Sorry for the lack of posts but the internet has been down at the hotel and I've been working on this post for a couple of hours tonight. I can't get pictures to upload to Blogger but I did get some up on Facebook.

Today we learned a lot more about the work that we are doing through the Bayside funding.  There are clubs here called KTV's (AKA Karaoke Clubs). These are places men go and get private rooms and girls are marched in and they pick the ones they want. They drink and sing karaoke and eventually negotiate sexual favors for pay either in a private bedroom onsite or offsite at a hotel. Many of these girls are underaged and are forced into this. Bayside has supported a home here that currently houses 11 girls who have been rescued. We also opened a beauty clinic that the girls come to before going to the Clubs. This clinic allows staff to develop relationships with the girls in order to share Christ and try to persuade them to not go back. This is a long and slow process.

The big need here is more finances so that more girls can be rescued. We also need to develop more jobs so that the girls can earn a living and not be tempted to go back to the Clubs. In this area there are hundreds of clubs and some clubs have as many as 600 girls. It is estimated that as many as 20 percent of these girls are underaged. There are many people from around the world that visit this area for sex vacations with underaged girls. Let's do even more to stop it. 

Long Day

Today we drove from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap where Bayside helps fund the new work here. We left around 9:00AM and arrived around 6:00PM. Tomorrow we are going to see the project we support. This trip is different than any other than I've been on before. Way different then my trips with World Vision. Seeing girls that are abused in this way is hard to handle. Join me in praying for ways to help make a difference. 

Final Meal in Phnom Penh

For our final dinner in Phnom Penh we went to Eclipse rooftop restaurant on the 24th floor of the PhnomPenh Building. It was entirely outdoors and it was drizzling the whole time we ate. It was a great way to end the first part of the trip.  We have a six hour journey to Siem Reap where we will spend the rest of the week at another project that Bayside supports. 

Party for the Workers

One of the fun things we did was threw a party for the kids that work in the garment factory. We had pizza and burgers and played fun games. 

The Garment Factory

One of the best ways to fight sex trafficking is to provide jobs for the girls and their parents so they can get an income to provide for their family. This is a big focus of AIM here in Cambodia. The AIM Employment Center (AEC) is an exciting project that offers rescued young women a career and a new life! In addition to giving restored young women a job, AIM Employment Center can offer young women still trapped in brothels with no opportunity for income and pressure to raise money for family or to care for children an immediate rescue. They can walk into AEC getting on the job training, childcare, healthcare, continuing academic education, counseling and be paid well above average. The minimum wage is $80 per month and they can make upwards of $200 a month here. I'm hoping to do an order of t-shirts for Bayside when I get back.

The Lord's Gym

One of the key ministries here is to the pimps and brothel owners. They are invited to work out and train at AIM's Lord's Gym. It's here that relationships are forged and opportunities arise to share the Gospel. The pastor told me that this week in the church service we attended there were 12 former brothel owners in attendance. God is at work. 

More balloons

Vivian

Vivian is a bright light to our team. She is affectionately known as the balloon lady. She has shared her gift of tying unique and beautiful balloons together all week for the kids in Cambodia. I had a chance to help her today by blowing up the balloons. Boy are my lips tired.

Kid's Club

Our team has been here all week doing Kids Club. Kid’s Club is a daily children’s program that is run by one of our Cambodian pastors and the young adult disciples. Twice each week, girls from ARC come to assist teaching the children. Each day the local Svay Pak village children get a Khmer literacy and English lesson, a life skills lesson, a Bible story, worship music, an arts and crafts project, and a snack. There are some 400 children who attend from the community. Some of them have been trafficked and most of them at risk. Once a month the discipleship team takes Kid’s club to three nearby brick factory villages where 150 – 180 kids at each village attend. Our goal is to provide them with a safe, warm community and expose them to the love of Christ. 

Headed to Bed

I have so many posts to finish and will try to do so in the morning, please what ever you do watch the Bella video I just posted and ask God what he would have you do. 

Bella's Story - I dare you to watch this very troubling video...

This is why we are here. This video is the story of a young girl named Bella. In the video she shares the tragedy of being sold into child sex slavery and how through Agape International Ministries she discovered the love of God which has totally transformed her life. She is now on the other side helping to rescue young girls caught in the system. I dare you to watch this....but realize it will change your life. 

The back door is an eery reminder of the horrors once committed inside this building. Notice how the back door has been cemented shut and bars have been added to prevent the young girls from escaping. A vivid reminder of the tremendous difficulties girls face when trying to escape the life inside the world of sex trade.

The Pink Room

Don took me to the first building they ever rented in this community. It was a former brothel. When they redid the building they let one of the rooms as a memorial to the victims who were raped in this building. This was room nine (our of 18 where men would abuse the girls they paid for. This brothel inspired a documentary called the Pink Room which I would highly encourage you to watch. 

ARC Room

Here is a picture of one of the girl's rooms. There are six girls to a room and a "room mother" who helps care for them. 

ARC

The Agape Restoration Center (ARC) was were I started my day. ARC is for girls rescued from sex trafficking in Cambodia providing a safe and secure home.  The goal of ARC’s loving and nurturing Cambodian staff is to return hope for the future to each girl entrusted to their care and to prepare her for successful reintegration into society by providing for her physical, psychosocial, education, vocational and spiritual needs. ARC currently serves over 50 girls. No pictures of the girls are allowed in order to ensure their safety. 

Agape International Ministries

Today I spent most of the day with Don Brewster. He was an executive pastor serving with a church in Roseville when I met him in September of 2001. Today he is the director of AIM serving the community of Svay Pak which is a notorious haven for international pedophiles where girls as young as 8 brazenly wave foreigners toward brothels and karaoke bars to purchase sex. These children were trafficked from Vietnam, kidnapped from rural communities, sold by impoverished family members or exploited by members of their community. Once a girl is controlled by a pimp or brothel owner, she is forced to sell herself up to 12 times a night.. 

ARC Today

Hopping into the van this morning to go to ARC which provides rehabilitation, restoration and transitional living for girls rescued from sex trafficking in Cambodia. I will give a full update later today. Click Here for more info. 

Chicken Legs?

When they say chicken legs, they include the feet as well. 

Time for Lunch

We went to a buffet for lunch today. If you've followed my blogs in the past you would know that I like to blog about the food I discover as I travel. A lot of noodle dishes and my favorite spring rolls today. And of course sweetened coconut milk over rice noodles for dessert.

Pastor Brad from Lakeside Church

Brad Franklin is the senior pastor of Lakeside Church in Folsom. He and I have known each other for years. When I was at World Vision we began a partnership with them in Ethiopia. You can imagine my shock this morning when I walk into church here in Phnom Penh and see Brad worshipping there. We joked about how close we leave in Sacramento but never see each other but we run into each other around the world. 

Faith Message

This little boy walked up to the front with his toy helicopter and was playing at the feet of Pastor Chantha during his sermon (I think it might be his son). The pastor kept going and never missed a beat. It was a great message on the importance of faith.

Worship Service in Phnom Penh

Members of the Bayside Team sitting in the front row during the worship service this morning.

Khmeroyal Hotel

Here's the hotel where we are staying. I'm joining a team that has been here for a week holding Vacation Bible School for the children at Rahab's House which is run by Agape International Ministries. Their key objective is to rescue young children and teems from sex trafficking. 

Arrived in Phnom Penh

Total Travel Time: 28 Hours

Total Flying Time: 17 Hours

Total Airline Meals:  4

Arriving in Cambodia: Priceless

It all begins tomorrow at breakfast at 6AM (it is now 12:20AM. We will head to church. I will update you more tomorrow.  Goodnight

Shanghai

A very short layover in Shanghai today - cool airport.