GROWTH

It's only Monday?? One word has described our trip...Busy! When you face the reality that this may be the only time that someone may be in Cambodia, you want them to see and experience as much as possible, so we have been given a very full itinerary .I suppose that is why I feel like I have been here for a month! (Not that I mind that!) But...I do apologize that you haven't had too many glimpses of my journey thus far. I had so many people request that I keep up on our blog so I will try to bring you up to date.

 We just left Battambang, Cambodia. It is the home of the Green Mango Cafe. When Jeremy and I were there in January, the restaurant was still under construction. The girls who had been chosen to be in the program "practiced" their waitressing skills on us as we were their very first customers. The Green Mango was where I first connected and fell in love with the girls. Jeremy and I now sponsor some of them in the culinary program there, so when I stepped foot in there yesterday, it was not a surprise that I lost total control of my emotions! The place was amazing! The restaurant looked fabulous. The girls had grown so much in their skills and seemed so confident. I was told a couple of them are thinking of being baptized! I was so proud of the strides they had made. I have said many prayers for them and Ryana(the 24 year old gal from Tennessee who serves as the live-in chef at the Green Mango)! I am so thankful for The work that CGI is doing in this country and I am feeling incredibly blessed to have an opportunity to be back here!

~Jaime

Home Sweet Home

 

It is hard to believe that it was only less than a year ago that I was in this country! When I stepped off that airplane it sure did not fell like I had only been here once! Cambodia has stolen my heart. My heart is broken for these people and this country. My senses were immediately drawn back to the sights and smells that have been forever engraved into my soul. To some degree, I felt like I was back home.

We are currently at the Encore Angkor Guesthouse in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I have only seen the beautiful entry and my room. I am watching the staff work so hard to make sure that we are well taken care of and have a nice breakfast before we start our day. After living on an airplane for 24 hours, I am perfectly content to just sit in this entry and take it all in. The owner of the guesthouse has a special intrest in lilies, so I'm sure you can imagine how beautiful it smells.

Today we will do all of our "tourist" activities as we visit the ancient temples of Angkor Wat and then take a small boat to a river market. Even though I am not a history buff, I enjoy seeing how Cambodia's past has affected these people so much. I am thankful that HIS mercies are new every morning and that he has given us all a chance at a fresh start!

I am using these next 10 days to focus on reenergizing and refueling my soul...a fresh start:-) I don't think it's going to take much, for I know that I was given this soft spot for Cambodia for so many reasons. So, I hope you enjoy the special glimpse of my thoughts and heart that you will experience as you follow along this week!

Emotions

Young or old, it doesn't matter! It is so hard to describe the emotions that you are faced with when you go on a short term mission trip. Your eyes see things that they have never seen and your heart feels things that it has never felt. These emotions are difficult to handle when you are an adult. I know the children that came to Nicaragua this week are really struggling with what to make of the memories and experiences that they had this week. There were lots of tears shed as we said our goodbye's. The kids became so attached to their new friends and their hearts just broke when they grasped the fact that they don't have solid parental figures like themselves. They all want to come back and visit and do whatever they can to help them.

Someone in our group referenced Matthew 19:14 where Jesus says,"Let the little children come to me...". How blessed our "little children" are to have been given an opportunity to go to Nicaragua in the name of Jesus!

It was humbling to see our kids' hearts broken over the need for Jesus. We are comforted by the fact that these kids are taught about Jesus on a daily basis through the ministry that has been started down here. I am grateful that the Holy Spirit challenged us to step out of our comfort zone and bring our kids! To God be the Glory!

The fun side of Nicaragua

Yesterday we had a chance to zip line with 11 of the teenage orphans, our group, and the 2 groups of high schoolers down here! 75 of us in all. It was a blast! No waivers! We paid after! Blake and Belle got to go down by themselves! We did superman, upside down, and bouncing all the way down. No way we could do any of it in the US! It was very safe, double line, 2 hooks each, hooked in at all times even walking in the trees. The best part was that our driver for the week got to go down with us! He is 40ish and had never been before!
Then we drove up to a lake in the crater of a volcano! After some carsickness, we came upon a beautiful oasis of flowers, bungalows, restaurant, and swimming. They had a 10 foot platform that we jumped off and a floating dock that we almost sank! The best part of the day was when I got to help the girl we have been closest with swim to the platform! She is not a good swimmer and "had much fear"! She trusted me so much after 5 days that she even tried to swim by herself back and forth 3 times! That is the kind of impact we want to have on kids everywhere!
Alyssa got to spend the night with the missionaries who live here and their 15 year old daughter last night! She got to experience real life in Nicaragua!
We can't wait to come back here already!

For him,
Jeremy and the gang

Blood sweat and tears

The boys and belle painted all morning while Jaime and Alyssa visited the House of Hope that rescues girls who have been trafficked. As you know from Cambodia, Jaime and I have already seen how only Jesus can heal these girls! All poor countries have the same problems.
I was an extremely proud dad again today! The kids have been so awesome the whole trip! This morning, Belle got her bag out on her own and colored with some of the orphans. Then she gave them her finger puppets and showed them how they worked! The kids wore them all afternoon! She handed out candy and gum all on her own!
We painted a school where the orphans attend. I am pretty sure the kids painted themselves as much as the walls. Blake scratched himself on the wall and was bleeding. He was so brave he just taped it himself with the masking tape we were using! We worked really hard all morning and then the reinforcements came! 30 high schoolers!
We walked into the hills around the orphanage and invited the community to Tuesday night service. We prayed with the families as they invited us into their homes-sticks and tin! Then at church, the pastor called all our kids up front and prayed over them. He was so proud of these little kids who came to Nicaragua to serve other kids! Talk about a tearjerker! Then at the end of service, Jaime lost it hugging and praying with a 14 year old we have become attached to. Belle saw mommy crying and it was over! We hugged and sobbed. We all feel bad that they don't have parents to love on them every day like us!
The oldest girl told us today the best thing about the orphanage was that they introduced her to Jesus! It is awesome to know she has given her life and dreams over to Him! That is what it is all about!
Thanks to all of you who support Christian orphanages around the world! They truly do make an eternal difference in the kingdom!

For Him,
Jeremy

Alyssa's view

This is Alyssa, the oldest Roscoe child. My mom asked if I wanted to write the blog entry tonight and I agreed to tell you about my day. Today we visited a children's hospital to visit some kids in a cancer ward. It truly was a life changing experience. I met some amazing kids! There was one girl who was 6 yrs old who had throat cancer and AIDS. The doctor said that she is in so much pain that most kids would be crying, but she was so brave that she didn't cry. It was really hard to see her mother in the room crying for her though. She has been there for 7-9 months and in a room with no air conditioning or TV. It made me think how grateful we are to live in the United States. I wish I could have helped her so much more than handing her a coloring book. We prayed for her and I hope God will help her be in less pain and show her that He is with her all the time.

We have also been hanging out at an orphanage and helping paint a school. When I was trying to get to know the girls at the orphanage, I asked to paint their nails. After I painted some of the girls' nails, one of them wanted to paint mine. I liked it so much more when she painted mine than when I painted hers.

God is really showing me how much the kids just want to play with us. Even though we can't talk, it is still easy to interact with them.

Mission Work Is Not Just for Grown Ups

All SIX Roscoe's have made it to Nicaragua despite Satan's attempts to keep us away! God has given us an amazing opportunity to travel on a short term mission trip to Nicaragua. We are with a few other families that share our passion in exposing our children to extreme poverty and allowing God to use us to spread the Good News of Jesus!

Today was our first full day and I have to say that my heart is full as I lay my head down to rest. I am content and satisfied that my entire family was able to "love on" some underpriveledged children today. A simple game of indoor soccer, jump rope, or monkey in the middle will put a smile on a child's face that will be imprinted on your heart forever. How blessed I feel that my own children are able to take part in it!

We visited a government subsidized community and prayed over the residents as we handed out food. Numerous comments were made that it was so nice to see American children! Some of them could not stop touching Belle's bleach blonde hair:-) I was touched that so many of the Nicaraguans were so thankful to us for sacrificing our time and being willing to bring our families to pray over them! There are no words to describe the feeling as a parent when your 7 year old stands in a Nicaraguan home and prays over the family for protection and for them to look to Jesus!

God is at work in all the earth...I am so thankful that he has given Jeremy and I a desire to be used by HIM as we journey to some of the poorest countries of the world. Thanks for prayers!