The Journey Continues from Phnom Pehn

We went to visit S21 Jail. They converted a school into a prison for all the people they were going to kill later. There at the jail they tortured the people to get as much info as they could about there families. They rounded up all the intelectuals as they called them, teachers, doctors, lawyers etc. and then got them to devulge where the rest of their family was hiding or living by torturing them. The torture is too gruesome to mention. It was the most sobering thing I have ever seen in my entire life, as well as the saddest.

From there we went to the killing fields and saw the mass murders that were done. Mass graves everywhere and the skulls of thousands of victims. As you walk around the mass graves you can still see pieces of bones on the ground as well as teeth everywhere. Every time there is floods because of much rain, during the rainy season, bones still keep surfacing. It is a terrible sight. There are some 143 such sites that were discovered in Cambodia. This is the only site we visited and believe me, that was enough.

At this site we met up with Ralph Bromley of Kelowna as well as two other gentleman we connected with that were from Toronto & Kelowna. One was Dave & the other David. A divine connection for the future work to be done in Cambodia as we network together.
All of our gudies we used had family members that were killed in this horrific tradgedy. Most people in Cambodia were affected one way or another. Very sad to hear and hard to listen their stories. It is something we will never forget as long as we live. We drove back to our hotel and it was hard to sleep that night after what we had all seen that day.
The next day we left for Siem Reap. This was a whole day ride in a rented bus for 16 of us and all our luggage. We wanted to drive accross  Cambodia and mingle with the people and get the heart of the nation.
We stopped several times to visit markets so we could buy things for the kids we would be visiting in the next few days. Some of the foods for sale at these markets were a bit different from our foods in Canada. We had choices between huge black spiders, small frogs, all kinds of bugs etc. Needless to say our purchases were few and far between as far protein was concerned. We managed to find bananas and mangoes.
We also stopped at some stone carving shops and everything was still done with primitive tools. We then went to visit Angor What, one of the wonders of the world. This is one of the biggest temples in the world.
The ruins of this temple date back many many years, and the spiritual atmosphere of the place is total darkness as far I am concerned. One visit in a lifetime is enough for me. Their teachings are nothing but brainwashing beliefs, and cannot understand how people could believe such nonsense.
From there we drove to Poipet and believe me I have seen poverty before (i.e. Manila, Mexico etc.) but nothing like the poverty in Cambodia especially around the villages. There is literally garbage everywhere and I mean everywhere.

We have not been able to connect  on internet in many places in Cambodia and that is why we haven't been able to keep contact with you. Now we are back in Thailand and we will continue this blog either tomorrow or the next day. we are quite tired from our Cambodia trip and need to get some much needed rest. Talk to you soon.
Ernie & Joane

our journey in Asia

Hello everyone, we arrived in Bangkok on tuesday, November 16th at midnight.  The team is doing really well.  There is a beautiful unity and oneness among us.  Thank you for your prayers.  Yesterday we went to visit Rahab Ministries and were thoroughly blessed by what the Lord is doing through them and they are making a difference in the lives of these young women that are caught in prostitution.  We were blessed to participate and be part of their prayer gathering and then took the nine women on the team in the night club/bar to minister to them.  They were very receptive to the love of God and the Gospel.  The men prayed for us while we were ministering.  We also prayed for the ministry team (Sarah and Praie and two other young women ) they are very dedicated and committed to see these young girls come out of these desperate conditions and give of themselves selflessly as they are working in this very difficult and dark area of Bangkok . They were very encouraged.  As we walked through the city, we saw how great the need was for prayer to be raised up on behalf of this nation and the need for more laborers for this harvest field.  This morning we had a wonderful prayer/sharing time, and again we wept at the spiritual condition of these precious people.  We were taken to the airport for our flight to Phnom Phen, Cambodia.  Again, travelling through the city at rush hour, it was incredible, hundreds of motorbikes going in all direction and yet not one accident..... amazing....arrived at our hotel safely, quickly refreshed and then met with Pat Frost of Destiny Rescue over dinner and got to hear the Heart of the Father for these precious people of Cambodia.  We prayed for Pat and also for Destiny Rescue Ministry.  As we walked back to our hotel we encountered young girls on the street trying to sell us little bracelets, etc... they too are in desperate conditions and in need of real love.  Tomorrow we are going to the Killing Fields and a School/Jail to pray. Thank you for continuing to pray for our team.  God is so good and we feel very privileged to be partner with you in this  work of the |Lord.  Will keep you posted in the next few days.

Only A Few Days Left

There are only a few days left before we take off from Calgary airport to fly to Thailand and Cambodia. We are excited to be part of a team of 16 happy Canadians (from Arise Canada, Renaissance Ministry and the Lighthouse) that will be helping in the area of child sex-trade prevention/education/rescue. We know it is a heart-wrenching issue and have already seen and read horrific stories which really touched our hearts. We want to make a difference and believe that as we network with others, there will be changes in these children’s lives.

We will be networking with Hope for the Nations of Kelowna, B.C., which has a voice in the United Nations. In Asia, we will connect with ministries and organizations that are serving in various areas where children are at risk, specifically in sex slavery. Our main contact in Cambodia is the Cambodia Hope Organization, who has been working with Hope for the Nations for years. The vision is to build seventy safe-houses along the highway of human trafficking in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. They have established a safe haven village and we look forward to helping and ministering in many areas of need. Of course, this will not be accomplished in one trip but we are committed to this work for the next ten years.

We will be connecting with Dean and Kathy Torgerson and their family who have moved to the city of Pattaya, Thailand to start a new ministry to child-begging rings on the streets. We want to support their work in every way we can. They are Canadians and have been in Thailand over a year now. We will also connect with Rahab Ministries, who help young women trapped in prostitution in Bangkok. Also in Bangkok, we will be connecting with an organization called Nightlight, which is committed to addressing the complex issues surrounding trafficking and prostitution of young women and children.

We leave November 15th and will be in Asia until December 15th. We look forward to keeping you posted on our journey.