Meet Bee

Meet Bee. Randy fell in love with this six year old little boy that lives at a children's home in Cambodia. He was sold by his parents to a family struggling with infertility for $50 US dollars. The adopted mom did not bond with Bee (can you even imagine not bonding with those eyes) and then later conceived a child on her own. She no longer wanted Bee and made several unsuccessful attempts to end his life. Randy said that his little legs were so scarred and beat up, showing signs of his early hard life. I think Randy left his heart in Cambodia and definitely with Bee. God must have mighty plans for this beautiful little one. We are thankful he is safe and living at Bykota House.

I think it broke Randy's heart to hold this precious child on his lap and realize he was holding a six year old without a Dad. Every child deserves a forever family. I want to write a new song - How would it go?.......hmmmm........You will know we are Christians by the orphans we support.

Vietnam Bicycles!

Randy just spent the last couple of weeks in Cambodia and Vietnam. While in Vietnam he was able to take pictures of the bicycles purchased through the Touch A Life Vietnam Bike fund headed up by Aimee Molloy.

Randy enjoyed spending time with the BYKOTA kids in Cambodia and Touch A Life kids in Vietnam. Once again he was reminded that there is nothing more important in life than seeing that these kids have plenty to eat, a roof over their head - and oh yes, a good bicycle to ride to school.

Eight that prove that one is indeed greater than none

This week Randy and I have been in New York working with Aimee on the book. As I have mentioned earlier on the blog there are eight amazing young women that are changing the world through making jewelry. They are using the money they raise to rescue children out of slavery in Ghana, West Africa. To date they have rescued eight children off Lake Volta. YEAH!

We had a great night of pasta and sharing stories. They are a blast and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for these FREEDOM FIGHTERS from Long Island.

Make A Difference

They carry your tombstone upon their tiny bodies.


Their hard work brought you your morning coffee.


And they crawl in pesticides so that you can enjoy a cool refreshing glass of iced tea.

Without them your cigarettes and chewing tobacco would cost even more.

Your rugs are woven by their tiny hands.


The jewels you wear may have been harvested by them.


Child slavery.

What price do you pay? A product purchased at a lower cost to you.

Their price? A childhood.

You didn't know?

Now you do.

Make an effort to stop child slavery by carefully choosing what products you purchase.

One way to do this is to watch for the Fair Market Trade logo.

Today I shopped at Sam’s Club and bought their "Members Mark" brand of coffee when I saw this logo:


Choose this day to begin taking steps to make a difference by looking for this logo and please spread this information on to friends an family.

27 Million Slaves

There are 27 million slaves in our world today. It is estimated that 50% of them are children.

The success of the federal $150 billion emergency economic stimulus plan will hinge on whether American consumers do what they do best - spend, spend, spend. President Bush and leaders in Congress hope people will spend those rebates - a flat-screen television, or a trip to Disneyland, to help revive the economy.

What is wrong with our world? Would it not be great to have a presidential candidate stand before America and share a vision of feeding and educating every person in the world first and then figuring out what the problems are after that. It is estimated that 100 billion dollars would wipe out world hunger, solve preventable health issues - and oh yes, provide education for every child in the world, yet our leaders are throwing $150 billion back asking us to go out and blow it at the mall.

The bottom line is that with this money we could solve many of the world's greatest problems - and still have enough money to give everyone a couple of hundred to get the economy going. Granted it wouldn't be enough to buy a new flat-screen TV but it would be enough to buy a brand new ipod or something.

"The Least of These"

I was hungry
and you formed a humanities club
and you discussed my hunger

Thank You

I was imprisoned
and you crept off quietly
to your chapel in the cellar
and prayed for my release.

I was naked
and in your mind
you debated the morality of my
appearance.

I was sick
and you knelt and thanked God
for your health.

I was homeless
and you preached to me
of the spiritual shelter of the
Love of God.

I was lonely
And you left me alone
To pray for me.

You seem so holy;
So close to God.
But I’m still very hungry
and lonely and cold

So where have your prayers gone?
What have they done?
What does it profit a man to page through his
book of prayers when the rest of the world is crying for help?

(Taken from the book titled "Simple Faith" by Charles Swindoll)

Life is just Life

After the sale of drugs and firearms, human trafficking brings in the most money internationally. Human beings are a commodity which can be sold over and over and over again. The sex industry is an area where our eyes must be opened and we must be praying for doors to open so that we can stand together do put an end to this crime.

(rescued from the bondage of the Cambodian Sex Industry)

There is a happy time,
And then it ends

There is love,
But for a short time and only in front of my face

Men boast we are pretty,
But they are not honest with us

We boast we are pretty
While we wear make-up

No one knows it,
But we are like petals falling from a flower

The only beauty we have is spiritual

Life is just life,
It has no meaning

Pam Cope read this poem written on the wall of a brothel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Reality.

A reality we can pretend does not exist.

But it does.

We can make a difference by looking at it square in the face and being open and available to be used. Each and every one of us can help being freedom to children in bondage to various forms of child slavery.

When I read the words of this heartbreaking poem I see faces of little girls. I see my daughters and the daughters of my friends. Our friends at Rapha House have a four year old who was rescued. I want to see the faces of four-year-olds I know and I want anger to rise up in me. God wants this anger to be felt. We know full-well that He is angry and if we truly want to be "Christ-like" then we must feel a burning passion to do something about both child slavery and sexual exploitation. The one thing we cannot do is to go about our lives as if it is not going on.

Sure, we face our own version of trials and tribulations. Most of them self-created. As real as our own heartbreaks may be, what are they in comparison to the pain of being the victim of sexual exploitation? What is our pain of being sold for a few dollars to become a commodity to satisfy the lusts of evil men all day every day of your childhood until AIDS is ravaging a still-young body.

This is the Year of New Beginnings and I am committing to make it a year to be committed to do all I can to be available to be used by God. I haven't the slightest idea what that means--except to be obedient and to listen.

We at Touch A Life are claiming 2008 to be the Year of Our Lord.

Life is just life,
It has no meaning

No! Life is far more than just life and it MUST have meaning. We know that all things will someday pass away but only what is accomplished for the Kingdom of God will last.

Commit with us to make 2008 a year where eternal differences are made because of right choices we make--choices to go beyond ourselves to "touch the lives" of others.

(written by Penny L)