Life's Amazing Moments!

I have posted a few photos that are among my favorites during this past week in Bangkok and Cambodia. Annie brushing a precious little beggar girl's hair on the street in Phnom Penh...the terrific team of passionate women from LA and Sioux Falls...Charity holding beautiful baby Benji.

Life is amazing and full of incredible God-moments that will be forever etched in my mind. How will I ever forget the little ones begging on the street, women disfigured by battery acid thrown in their face during a revenge attack, young teenage girls sold into prostitution and used by men who have little or no remorse for ruining their lives forever? YES, these images I will never forget!

But I also will remember the young girls who have been rescued, healed and given hope and a new start in life...the women who have been healed physically, emotionally and spiritually...joyous laughter in the halls of NightLight from women who not long ago worked in the bars of Nana Plaza, selling their bodies in order to support their children or to send money home to their families in the villages...and of course the wonderful feeling of holding precious little Benji in my arms knowing that she could have been aborted like so many other children without the ministry of people who cared for her mother.

In the midst of the worst of darkness and depravity...THERE IS LIFE and LIGHT! Susan

Connecting in Cambodia

The NightLight Team and the NightLight USA Team are going to Cambodia on Sunday to connect with several ministries doing similar work in Cambodia. Our hope is to establish a ministry relationship and discover what is happening in the area of sexual exploitation in Cambodia. We regularly see children on the streets of Bangkok who have been trafficked from Cambodia. They are often sold into beggar gangs who use and abuse them, putting them out on the streets to beg for money or sell flowers and cheap trinkets to tourists. These are the children who are at great risk of rape from pedophiles. I know this is hard to imagine, but these things happen in the US as well, especially in the pornography "business." This is why it is so important for those of us in the US to begin to speak up about the evils of pornography in the US that drives some of the abuse of women and children as far away as Asia.

SIOUX FALLS - we have one of the largest distributors of pornography operating in our own city - LodgeNet. Learn the facts...they may try to cover up the profits they make in hotels off of the sales of xx-rated programming. But the truth is the TRUTH!

We need to be a voice for the voiceless...the powerless. Take a stand! Put feet to your passion! Get educated about the issues of human exploitation. I believe we will be held accountable someday for our passivity and inaction. A good book to read about all of this is "Not for Sale" by David Batstone. Get it online through Amazon. I just met David here in Bangkok as he was visiting Night Light which he features in his book. What a fire he has to bring down all the systems that are exploiting people globally! AMEN

**Thank you for praying about my cough. It is FINALLY GONE!! Susan

Enjoying Our Time Together

We had a great time as Darrell put it...celebrating Thanksgiving, his birthday, our anniversary, Christmas and New Years Eve all at one time! The food was great, especially the seafood and thai cuisine. I have learned to like spicy food!

Unfortunately as many of you already know, Darrell had to return early to be with his family. His younger sister, Deb Stevens, was diagnosed with acute leukemia and flown immediately from Yankton to Avera. She is responding to the treatment which we are so thankful for. There were several very scary episodes over the last week. Your prayers have been so appreciated.

In addition to Deb, Darrell's mother Gen has been suffering with lung cancer. It appears that it may have spread into her spinal column. The pain has been unbearable at times. As a family, we are so appreciative of all the ways family, friends and health professionals have devoted themselves to her care. Darrell's brother, Dwight, flew home earlier this week to be with his parents. Darrell should arrive soon after a VERY long and difficult trip home. He had only one way to get home on short notice and his itinerary is a "nightmare."

Charity arrives in about 12 hours with a team of women from LA and Sioux Falls. I am looking forward to ministering with them at NightLight and traveling to Cambodia to visit similar ministries working in the area of sexual exploitation of women and children. Some of you may know one of the team members..Lyndsey Christensen, Darrell and Joy Christensen's daughter.

I know I have not entered a new post in awhile. It has been a very trying time here in Bangkok. I am happy to report Annie is back at work and we even did outreach last Friday evening. KEEP PRAYING FOR US - WE NEED IT! Susan