Well tomorrow I am officially done ministry and work in Thailand, and I am heading over to Cambodia for the next month to do more work and ministry. Honestly I don't have a ton of details about what exactly I am doing there but I will share with you the bit I do know. Like I said tomorrow we will be flying from Bangkok, Thailand to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We will be in Phnom Penh for about two days before we drive for three hours to the province of Kampong Cham. The living conditions will be interesting with the 45 degree heat, and the upcoming raining season. At this point we are not expecting to have air conditioning, wifi, western toilets, or any sort of amenities. Honestly I'm okay with it. When you are living in very minimalistic conditions it forces you firstly to trust in God more and secondly rely and enjoy your time with the people around you. Once we actually start doing work (as far as I know) we will be working with local youth centres in two teams going out and teaching English, hosting kids programs, giving hygiene lessons, and setting young people up for success in a culture and place where it is all too common to sell your children for money.
Again because I don't know a lot about my time in Cambodia I thought I would just share a bit about the country itself as well as human trafficking and sex slavery within the country. Cambodia is a country where a lot of the population lives in poverty. With the major people group being the Khmer people. Major languages spoke are Khmer, English, and French. 95% of the population is Buddhist and the other 5% falling into the other major religions. In terms of human trafficking Cambodia is a major hot spot for sex tourism, child labour, and sweat shops. 2.5 million (that we know of) out of a population of 13.5 million are trapped in human trafficking at any given time, with 43% of that number being people used for sexual purpose, 98% of those people are women and girls. It's heart wretching to read about these things, but also drives me to do something. So that's what I'm about to do hop on a plane and spend the next month working alongside these people, changing lives, and doing great works through Christ.
That being said I am very thankful for all of you and your amazing support you have given me. I am very excited to continue this journey in South East Asia but just has excited to fly home to Canada and be with everyone of you who have supported me and helped me through this journey. So I thought I would just write out a few thank you's just to remind every single one of you that you are the reason that I am here, because of your love and support. So to my fantastic friends, my lifegroup, and to you awesome people who I get to do life with on a daily basis. I am incredibly thankful that you are in my life, and I am even more glad that you have continued to be my friend even when I'm on the otherwise of the world. Your readiness to text me, and see how you can support me has been overwhelming and I just want to say thank you. To my former teachers, youth leaders, and mentors you people are fantastic. I just want to thank you for helping raise me to be the person I am today. With out you believing in me, teaching me, encouraging me, and helping me grow I wouldn't be half the person I am today, so thanks a lot. And last but certainly not least by any means a huge thank you to my amazing, selfless, and incredible family. I love all of you so much, and if am so privileged beyond belief to have you in my life. Doing life with you every day is a blessing and everyday I am away from you I think about you and miss you more and more. So all of that being said thank you again to everyone for your emotional, spiritual, and financial support all of which is appreciated greatly. I miss you all and can't wait to share more about my crazy adventures.
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