Destiny Rescue: the women

I just finished reading the book "The Road of Lost Innocence" (Somaly Mam), and it left my heart so heavy. The book is about a Cambodian village women who was sold into prostitution as a child. The book tells in detail her personal experience of being sold from brothel to brothel, and her eventual freedom from it. Her past spurred her on to see a change, and so she founded a rescue home for battered women and children in prostitution seeking freedom.
The book put my time in Phnom Penh into perspective. It gave a first hand account of what the culture was, and is. It made me come to a better understanding of why the people are the way they are. Everyone is afraid, and hope has seemed to have lost it's way into the culture. Everyone lives, not for the sake of life itself, but just to get by. To look to the past means to relive the pain of the devastation, and there is no use in hoping in a better future. Therefore, it is obvious when you are there, that everyone is numb.
That brings me to the women we worked with in the slum villages. Not only have they had to deal with the genocide, they are known as trash. Beauty seems impossible, and they are so hard. They were incredibly shy and hard to approach at first, but it was amazing to see Pat Frost and how close she had grown to the women. Cambodians are such kind people, always willing to give, and I assume at one time they were so trusting. I say it was amazing to see Pat with the women, because they trusted her, they admired her.
We decided to do a worthy women's program with the women so that they may know that their worth in Christ. So in each village, we did their hair and make-up, washed their feet, painted their nails, dressed them in rented traditional Khmer dress, took their pictures, and shared a message. I was able to share with them the story of the Ragman (an analogy of the resurrection story, which I recommend to all of you reading). The women were so proud when we took their pictures, and some even cried when we put on their make-up.
The second program was simply to teach them a skill. We bought some supplies so that they could put together some simple hair accessories. Through it, Pat was able to assess their ability, and going to start teaching those who were skilled how to make paper jewelery to sell to a buyer in the UK.
We live in an incredibly cruel world, but I have hope in it's transformation.