T minus 21 days!

     So this last week or so, Cambodia has been really heavy on my heart. I am extremely excited about all aspects of this summer, but especially Cambodia.
     Last week a video was posted about Alma Café, the facility that we will be staying in, and attending classes inside. Very interesting. If you have time, please watch this video. It shows what the building will be used for, and their heart to reach the locals. This café will be used to employ girls who were used in the sex traffic industry, to teach them a trade and get them off the street. How amazing!
     But today was the biggest insight on Cambodia yet. I was able to meet with Danielle Fontenot and learn a whole lot that I had no idea about in Cambodia. Danielle and her husband Jeremy are missionaries permanently living out in Cambodia with Moved With Compassion Ministries. She told me about what to expect, the ways of life there, what is appropriate and not, etc.
    She was telling me that the locals live on less than $2-3/ day. That these "cowboys" ride around on motorcycles- 1 driving and 1 passenger- and take purses off of women's shoulders, phones/cameras out of peoples hands, anything they can get their hands on to sell. Because if they sell a phone for $20, that's 7-10 days of work for them. How heartbreaking.
    She was telling me about the prostitutes everywhere! That you can pick them out of a crowd. They will be the women alone, wearing shorts above their knees and tank tops. That's everyday wear in the US, right? But in this culture, it is absolutely taboo! That these women have nothing- that is why they turn to prostitution.
    She was telling me of one woman we will have the pleasure of working with who is 26 years old, and has 30 children raising them alone. She is American and will not call her home an orphanage, but a "home". These children are hers, and they call her "mom". How sweet, how selfless, how loving and how caring. That is what Jesus is about. I want to do the work of Jesus!
     I honestly cannot contain my excitement. To think in 3 weeks I will be saying goodbye to the comfortable life I call my own, and embark on a new journey. Thank you Jesus for this life changing opportunity!