Thursday, January 12, 2012

NOW WHAT???

I seem to be waking up at 4am every day. As I lay there in my bed, I can't help but think that it is 4pm in Cambodia. I wonder what the girls are doing at that moment. I picture the children going to buy food from the small vendors on the streets. I pray for the people from the US who have devoted their lives to them. I am deep in thought. I think "Now what"? There is no way to be able to see all the things that I have seen and then just ignore it. I know I was given this experience for a reason. No, I cannot change the world, or even the entire country for that matter, but I can help just ONE person. I think about a post from the CGI blog yesterday about the starfish(you can find it at http://www.centerforglobalimpact.org/). So for those of you who ask, YES I will be back, but in the mean time.... I want to help from here.

For starters, Jeremy and I will be having an open house on January 28th from 5pm-8pm. All are welcome!!! We will have pictures and stories from our trip along with some of the products made by the women in Cambodia that you can purchase.(Purses, scarves, ties, etc). We will have snacks, visit, and even have a 50/50 raffle to help raise funds for some of the needs that are on our hearts. So please, spread the word and bring a friend...we would LOVE to have you join us! Feel free to bring your entire family. You can email me at jlroscoe4@att.net if you need directions to our home.  Hope to see you there!
~Jaime

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Home Sweet Home

We made it home safely and what a joy it was to see our own children. We have been truly blessed to be able to be their parents. Within two hours of being back, we were off in 10 different directions. We try to limit our kids activites to 1 each and even with that, I think tonight was the first night that they all occured in the same evening. Of course it happens to be immediately after we get back. I suppose it will be good that tomorrow we can sit down with them and tell them about our adventure after we have had a full night's rest.

Everyone seems to ask what we missed the most. Well, Jeremy made a bee line for McDonald's and I headed for the pizza. We are pathetic aren't we? (Now you know what our New Year's Resolutions were) Also, I don't think we could get in the shower quick enough. Not that we didn't bathe while we were there, but there is something about your own shower and bed. But I have to admit, that when I WAS in my shower, I couldn't help but think about the people that I had just met. I'm sure that over half of the people that I saw have never even had a "shower". Maybe a bath in the river or even a sponge bath with a bowl of water, but not a warm shower with running water over your head. I was also thankful that I wasn't worried about getting bit my mosquitos anymore. Between the mosquitos and geckos, I realized that I would NEVER make it on Survivor! I appreciated my cozy home(with just an occasional mouse). Amazing what things we take for granted! We are blessed!!!

I hope you have enjoyed some of our posts. As we get settled back in our routine, we will post some pictures and give you some after thoughts. May the Lord bless YOU as you have been compassionate and supportive to US!

~Jaime

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Preacher man

I had one of the coolest experiences of my life today.  I got to preach to 100 Cambodian people at church!  What an awesome experience!  We truly serve an amazing God!  We drove to the dock first and boarded 50 year old wooden boat to ride across to an island where the church meets.  There are about 300 people on the island and there is no running water or electricity.  Service started at 8 and ran for a little over 2 hours which is short for them.  We planned on 4 hours!  You take your shoes off before you enter the sanctuary.  They sing most of the service, people come up and give testimonies, and then any new person is asked to preach.  The pastor wasn't there today, but he usually shares after that.  They don't have Cambodian christian music, so we sang the same songs as in america!  Lord I lift your name on high, our God is an awesome God.  Kids are running around outside after their childrens church.  People get up and go to the restroom just like at our church.  Some even talk during the service, discussing what is going on.  They have a keyboard, electric guitar, and drum set all run off of a generator.  2 people sing.  It is not a production at all but just a worship service to honor God.  We were so humbled yet again at their hospitality and happiness!  We know where these folks happiness comes from though- our one true God!

What a great way to end our trip here.  We are getting ready to leave for the airport.  24 hours to reflect and process.  We can't wait to see you all, but we hate to leave these wonderful girls and people!  It is becoming clearer where we can fit in, so thank you all for praying for us!

Because of Him,

Jeremy

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Give Me Your Eyes

It is Sunday, January 8th. We are on our way to church. We must first drive 45 minutes to take a boat to get to the island for church. They then tell us that the service is 3 hours long. We normally stay for 2 services at our church which are combined 3 hours.  I am excited to experience this culture and a Cambodian Christian church!

I woke up this morning with the Brandon Heath song in my head,"Give Me Your Eyes". What a perfect description to my thoughts today. I am so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to see things through HIS eyes this week. He loves me just as much as he loves them! 

Thank you for praying for us this week. We fly home tonight, so if we come to your mind, send a quick prayer up for safe travels home!

~Jaime

Fix it

So i am a fixer.  I like to come up with the solution to a problem and see it through until the problem is gone!  I don't like the feeling of knowing what the problem is but having to wait to make it better.  Today God showed us the most awful situation I could ever imagine.  We visited the "Alley" in Phnom Penh.  This is a 100 meter 15 foot sewage drainage ditch where 7 families live full time.  They have built their "houses" up on stilts with wood planks or bamboo floors, cardboard or blanket walls and tin roofs.  Up to 8 people will live in a 10 by 10 room with kitchen, living, and bedroom areas all combined.  They cook in a pot over charcoal with raw sewage running right next to it.  The kids play jumping over sewage.  But when we come by they smile and laugh and play with us!  I would bring all 10 kids home with us that we met, but the government won't allow it.  Some of the girls are sold by their families to pay for medical bills or food in some cases.  It was heartbreaking!

I find it hard sometimes to believe that all things work for the good of those who love God, who have been called according to his purpose, as it says in Romans 8:28.  But these families are being helped by CGI.  Their older daughters are in a program that teaches them to sew and make a decent living so they don't have to become a prostitute to feed their family.  CGI is breaking the cycle of poverty in these girls lives and giving them a chance at a better life.  They invest a lot in each girl to make sure she hears about Jesus, knows how much He loves them, and how He has a future for them.  I know that God is working in the lives of Cambodians now.  There are 3 new girls who need sponsors right now!  How many more could be helped if more people stepped up to fund them?

I realized again today that I can't fix everything, and money only gets you so far with people.  To change behaviors and risky situations, it takes mentorship and a training program.  There are over 14 million people in Cambodia, and CGI is helping 50 have a better life.  We saw the workshop where the women sew By Tavi products today.  They only work 5 days a week or less if they want.  It is a great work environment compared to the rest of the country that has to work 6 or 7 days a week to make ends meet.  There are at risk teenagers learning to make dresses to provide for themselves.  We visited with these girls at their house which was an awesome setup compared to the Alley where 4 of them came from.  They get teaching, food, room and board, and most importantly mentorship/bible study for 2 years.  I can't put down on paper everything I want to say.  It is so hard to explain the smile and hug of a girl/woman who had no hope and now has the love of Jesus shining through her!  Again how many more could be helped if more people would give?

We also gave school supplies to kids from a local elementary school today.  You should have seen the smiles and laughs and hugs from the children after receiving pencils, pens, eraser, 3 crayons, and 3 sheets of paper.  What was even better was the fact that since school wasn't in session, the kids were at their homes.  We sent word (on foot) that there was a surprise for them, and 10 minutes later 75 kids showed up.  The rest of the supplies will be given to the Headmaster next week!

We visited another orphanage today with 12 kids.  It is run by the same wonderful lady that runs CGI in Cambodia.  Her name is Theary.  They are looking for a sponsor to buy a playground for the kids.  They are learning french there since it is sponsored by a French organization.  Jaime and I pulled a few phrases from our past out!  I knew my 4 years of french class would come in handy!

OK, sorry I keep rambling on, but there is so much opportunity to spread the Gospel here.  People need our help NOW!  Almost every penny of CGI goes directly to helping these women and girls learn the value of hard work and life skills.  It is amazing the things that are happening here.  Things could explode if the money is available to hire the right staff and support more girls.  So please be in prayer for the current staff in Cambodia as well as the staff in the US.  Pray for a Cambodian christian social worker to come along.  And continue to lift these women and girls up in prayer that they would be strong, proud, confident, and most importantly that they would all know Jesus!

For Him,

Jeremy and Jaime

Friday, January 6, 2012

Bumpy Road

I have so many thoughts going through my mind that it is hard to know what to focus on. I suppose you will get the "female version" of our experience during this post. I have been on an emotional roller coaster since we left. I finally feel like I have adjusted to life in Cambodia after leaving our kids half way around the world and worrying about mosquitos and lizards. We left Battambang today to travel to Phnom Penh. My heart just broke to leave the girls at the Culinary Learning Center. There are 6 girls who are in training, 4 of which come from orphanages in the area. They couldn't stop smiling and kept asking me when we were coming back. It took all my might to hold back my tears. One of them brought Whitney and I gifts today. Whitney received socks because she was wearing her tennis shoes without socks and she thought that her feet might get cold.(It is currently their cold season-70-80degrees). I received a flowered hair barrette and I have to say it is something that I will cherish as much as my diamond earrings. We came to give to them and here they are giving to us. It is so hard to communicate because of the language barrier that I find myself praying instantly for each person I come in contact with.I know these girls will be in my prayers forever.

We made it to Phnom Penh after a 5 hour road trip on not so smooth pavement. Alan and Katy rode back with us. they are a husband and wife team from Common Ground Church in Indianapolis who just moved here 4 months ago. What an inspiration they are to us. I know God will continue to bless their decision to live among the Cambodian people. Tomorrow we will visit the women who make the Tavi products and meet the girls who are part of the Daughter's Project. I am excited to put faces to the stories as well.

God is definately at work here and I am honored that he has chosen to use us this week. It will be exciting to see how he uses this adventure in our "story".

All for HIM,
Jaime

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Internet troubles

Sorry you haven't heard from us.  We have had internet problems at our last 2 hotels and couldn't log on.  We can get an email and send one sometimes but it is off and on.  Today we travel to Pnom Penh where things should be better.  We certainly get spoiled with our I-phones and American amenities.  It is actually kind of nice to not be on the phone all the time and checking e-mails, but we want to keep you all updated on the ministry here!

We visited 2 orphanages yesterday- SKO and K&K.  Neither are Christian organizations, but some of the girls in the program at the Culinary Institute (Cooking program) come from there.  Chris is trying to find ways to help the orphanages as well.  There is a mushroom project at one as well as a big fish tank where they are trying to raise fish for food and to sell.  They need a filter for the pond and Chris is trying to figure out a way to help with it.  Please pray for wisdom.  The other orphanage has made some furniture that the Culinary Center has used and they will have more for their new restaurant slated to open next month.  Be in prayer for the girls and Ryanna their live in American chef as they embark on a new adventure.  We ate there yesterday and had a fabulous meal served by the girls in the program.  We visited one of the girls homes and saw what it is like to live here.  The poverty is humbling and devastating.  You want to help everyone you see, but you can only do so much.  The mother of the girl sells fruit at the market daily 6 days a week and makes maybe 1-2 dollars a day.  She served us all fruit when we got there- probably her whole days pay worth!  She is Buddhist like almost everyone else here.  We had the chance to pray with the family before leaving!  Hopefully the spirit of God can work in her life as well as her daughters through this ministry.

We stopped at a silk farm yesterday to see how it is made.  Very labor intensive and tedious.  We figured out the girls make 70 cents per hour to work there 8 hours a day 6 days a week.  It is a monotonous job but decent pay for the country.  They had very beautiful hand made silk products.  It gives you a new sense for the cost of "hand-made" items.

I could write for hours, but we have to go eat again!  The girls are making us breakfast at the new restaurant, complete with smoothies!

Please pray for health.  A couple of people in the group have been sick the last few days.  Short but not fun.  We are staying super busy- a lot to see and process-an emotional roller coaster for sure.  Thanks for your prayers!

In Christ,

Jeremy and Jaime

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Well we made it to Siem Reap, Cambodia after 22 hours of plane flights and 29 hours from when we left indy!!  Is it sad that the Jaime and I actually kind of enjoyed the quiet time and caught up on our sleep?  It is hard to lose a whole day of your trip though.  It is now wednesday morning7am already.  We are staying in a nice little bed and breakfast type hotel.  Today we will go to Angkor Wat, the ancient temple and do some sightseeing.  Tomorrow we will go and start seeing all of the staff and people involved in the ministries of CGI.  The director, Theary (pronounced Terri) met us at the airport last night.  She flew up from Phnom Penh last night to meet us while her daughter is very sick back at home.  Please pray for her.  She is 5 years old and has had a high fever, they think Dengue Fever.  I know she would appreciate it.
We feel very blessed to even be here, but more thankful that we can share it together!  Thank you again to all those taking care of our kids while we are gone! 

We look forward to meeting our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ halfway around the world.  Isn't it awesome that we come from entirely different backgrounds but serve the same wonderful almighty God?!!!  As it says in 1 Cor 12:12- the body is a unit though it is made up of many parts, and though all of its parts are many, they form ONE body.  So it is with Christ!!  Please continue to pray that God will show Jaime and I what part of this ministry we are to be involved in!

Jeremy

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Ready, Set, Go....

2012 is going to be an exciting year for the Roscoe's. In the morning, Jeremy and I will be following God's calling to Cambodia. Over the past few months, we have prayed for an opportunity to get involved in some mission work, and as usual, the Lord is faithful and answered our prayers. We will be traveling with an organization called The Center for Global Impact. Cambodia is known for trafficking their young daughters for money in order to make a living.  CGI helps assist these familes/women by teaching them a trade to make money and giving them an alternative to this horrible lifestyle. Jeremy and I aren't sure where we fit in, so we are jumping in with two feet first and heading to this foreign land tomorrow. We would love to have you join us on our journey. We will do our best to update this blog as much as possible. Thanks for your prayers in advance!
For HIS Glory,
Jaime