Thursday, 22 April 2010

Woman's mission trip to Cambodia a heart-wrenching experience

http://www.dailyherald.com/

via CAAI News Media

By Cheryl Chojnacki

Daily Herald Columnist

Jen Bohyer of Elgin, wife of Student Ministries Pastor Dan Bohyer at Elgin's Grace Evangelical Church, recently went on a mission trip to Cambodia.

Jen Bohyer recently made a trip to Cambodia to see things she didn't really want to see and feel things she didn't want to have to feel.

Bohyer is the wife of Student Ministries Pastor Dan Bohyer at Grace Evangelical Church, Elgin, and the mother of two little girls.

In February, she traveled with Rapha House, a ministry based in Joplin, Mo., to learn more about the child sex trafficking that is rampant in the Phnom Penh area.

"You see it happening in broad daylight," Bohyer said. "You see Western men just walking down the street with these little 10-year-olds. It was very, very hard, especially having kids myself."

Sometimes girls are kidnapped and sold as sex slaves, Bohyer said, and others are trafficked when parents are duped into believing their daughters are getting legitimate work.

Worse still, some families know exactly what they're doing when they hand their little girls over to prostitution.

"A common family dynamic is 'we have put money into you up to this point, so now you need to make money for us,'" Bohyer said. "I can't imagine being so poor that you can't afford to feed your kids so you sell a couple."

Bohyer said child trafficking is illegal in Cambodia, but the law often turns its back.

"We saw a girl that was sold, and there was a cop right there," she said.

She said she saw another policeman opening the car door for a preteen who had apparently been drugged in order to facilitate a sale.

Not all police are in on it, however, and Rapha House works with law enforcement to raid locations where girls are being held. The ministry gives them housing, education, and love and teaches girls how to support themselves in healthy ways.

Bohyer was able to befriend some of the rescued girls and give gifts like nail polish, headbands, and hair clips. The treasures were donated by Grace Evangelical and Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin, where Bohyer works in the lab.

Now that she's home, "I've been praying about what God would have me do that would help with this cause," she said. "I figure the more people know, the more they (the Cambodian government) are going to have to do something at some point.

"It makes me so angry I have to stop and pray."

Rent a garden: First Congregational Church of Geneva is now in the business of sowing seeds literally as well as spiritually.

The church council recently approved a plan to build a community garden on the spacious lawn behind the building. Up to a dozen raised beds, 4-by-8-feet each, will be available for local gardeners to rent.

"It was totally unused space, and it felt like a waste," said Lynnly Buchanan, church properties board chairman. "We just have this space, and a lot of people have been expressing an interest in gardening."

That includes Buchanan and Pastor Becca Clancy, who developed the idea of farming out the church lawn because their own yards won't work for vegetables.

"A lot of people are rethinking where they get their fruits and vegetables and buying locally," Buchanan said. "There's nothing more local than growing your own."

Buchanan said four or five plots are still available for $50 each. Gardeners are responsible for their own planting and weeding, of course, and are encouraged to use organic fertilizers or compost.

The church, at 321 Hamilton St., will keep a few rain barrels on hand and also provide a small storage space for tools. Beds are expected to be ready for planting by May 2.

For more information or to reserve a space, contact First Congregational at geneva-ucc@sbcglobal.net.

Spiritual seminars: Biblical principles from two internationally renowned speakers are coming to the Fox Valley this month in separate programs.

Beth Moore, the popular teacher and founder of Living Proof Ministries, will present "So Long, Insecurity" live via satellite on Saturday, April 24, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Elgin Bible Church, 1580 E. Chicago St.

Tickets are $25; for more information, e-mail pleman@att.net or call (847) 404-7909.

Bill Gothard's Basic Seminar, which has been around for 46 years and enrolled more than 2.5 million people in the six-day program, will be presented by video at Highland Fellowship Church, 2250 W. Highland Ave., Elgin.

The seminar runs 7 to 10 p.m. each night from Monday, April 26, through Thursday, April 29; from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 30, and from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 1. For more information, visit www.iblp.org or call Pastor Bill Warren, (847) 741-6629.

Gothard himself, along with young adults who have made positive changes as a result of the seminar, visited Highland Fellowship earlier this month to plug the event.

Get ready for Barn Sale: The Barn Sale, a September staple in the Tri-Cities for more than 30 years, is being expanded to 10 dates spread across summer instead of a single weekend in the fall.

The first is scheduled for Saturday, May 1, from 9 a.m. to noon.

The sale is a fundraising effort of three Catholic parishes that rotate hosting responsibilities a decade at a time.

At bat again this year is St. Peter Church of Geneva, which is also introducing a new venue, the Campana Building at Fabyan Parkway and Route 31, Batavia.

Hundreds of volunteers have been sorting, pricing, and setting up the gently used clothing, books, toys, furniture, and other merchandise for display. Sounds like an enormous amount of work, but it'll go a long way toward paying down the Geneva church's debt.

More donations are always needed; for more information, call the church at (630) 232-0124.

Other sale dates are May 15, June 5 and 26, July 17 and 31, Aug. 14, and Sept. 4, 18, and 19.

Welcome: Congratulations to Andrew Whittenburg, who will be installed as assistant pastor and minister of youth this Sunday, April 25, at Geneva's Calvary Baptist Church.

• In the Spirit covers churches and synagogues in Kane and McHenry counties; contact cmchojnacki@yahoo.com to submit information or ideas for upcoming columns.

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