Home

I am home. But my heart is not. 


I am too exhausted to do an extensive post, but wanted to let you know that I am home. It was the most glorious and yet heart-breaking 2 weeks of my life. The girls were more than I ever imagined. They are phenomenal, and leaving them was one of the most painful things I have ever had to do. 


The organizations we worked with are full of people who have faith unlike anything I have ever seen. They are truly loving these girls back to health and healing. 


Cambodia is stunning. The people are gorgeous and kind. 


I have much more to share, but for now, I need to allow my body to recover. The trip back was rather brutal, and the jet-lag is proving to be a beast to recover from. As soon as I can, I will begin to dig into all there is to tell you. 


It was all breathtaking, and I can't thank God enough for allowing me to experience it. 

35 days until take off!

Okay, even typing the title for this blog post made my heart race! Oh my goodness,  I'm getting so excited! I have a few things VERY exciting things to share with you! 


First, my trip is nearly fully funded, THANK YOU GOD! Amazingly enough, we got our tickets for much less than we had anticipated, which has been such an answer to many prayers! I am so excited! The next step, which may not be so much fun will be all the shots. Yes, shots. We are seeing a travel doctor who is giving us shots based on what we are at risk for encountering in the region in which we are traveling. Should be a great time....insert lots of sarcasm here!


Second,

Look what came in the mail!!! I was giddy! Nearly blissful! Much more excited than a girl should be about a passport! And now to get a stamp in that book! 

Third, this week I will be sharing with you some very random thoughts I've been having as I prepare for the trip, but I wanted to share one interesting thing I learned in our last meeting. We have to pack toilet paper. Why you ask? Well, the hotels we will stay in will provide it, but when we are out and about, well, let's just say there's not much access to working plumbing. This should be interesting!

I'm sorry to be so brief with this post, but I will do better this week, I promise! I have so much to share with you about the trip that is, dare I say it again....35 days away! 

30

 He did it. He ran 30 miles, in 6 hours, nonstop. For me, for my trip. I am in awe of my brother. 

Getting ready for the big day!

We started at the beginning of the Monon Trail and went north, through Broadripple and then Carmel and then turned around after 15 miles. It was a painful, long 30 miles. God was so very gracious and gave us cooler weather, with a decent amount of cloud coverage! The extreme heat came the day after his run! Thank you God for that gift! 


I undertook riding a bike the 30 miles with Stephen. Bitty (his wife) rode the first few miles, then ran about 13 miles, and our dad drove a supply truck a good portion of the day, and rode with us the rest of the time. You may be wondering why we would need a truck with supplies...well, do you know how much water, Gatorade, power gel packs you go through when moving nonstop for 6 hours!

One of Stephen's best friends started the day with us....

......and lasted for a solid mile! Love you Dan!

It was such a gorgeous day for the ride! There were areas that were packed with people,
and then areas where we were the only ones around! 

Half-way there! 15 miles down....only 15 to go!

The last 15 were tough!

Taken while riding the bike, for proof I was actually there!

Almost done.....

End of the day! To say we were exhausted would be an understatement, and yet we still managed a smile! 

I am just amazed by Stephen. I found myself in tears several times during the day overwhelmed by the magnitude of his gift to help me go to Cambodia. As I rode, I prayed, over Stephen, his health during the run, and over Cambodia. What must God have planned for this trip that he would lay such an undertaking on Stephen's heart, and then lead people to give....people I've never even met?!  I have a little over half the trip funded in large part due to this run! I realized that one of the greatest ways God has shown His love to me is in giving me such an amazing brother and friend! I'm incredibly blessed!

It was a wonderfully, exhausting day! It was a personal record for Stephen, and a personal record for me! I decided that I would NOT ride in the truck, while he ran until he couldn't feel his legs! If you gave to support his run...THANK YOU! I truly cannot express the depth of gratitude I feel!

Randomness....

This blog posting may be chocked full of randomness, but that seems to be the theme of my days lately!

PASSPORT!

So, I applied for one of these a few weeks ago:

I may have been one of the most eager applicants my local post office had ever seen! I can't remember clearly, but I'm pretty sure I skipped through the line! I can't imagine what it will be like when I actually have it in my hands....I'll definitely post a picture of the HUGE smile that I'm sure will accompany it's arrival!

30 Miles!

My lovely, sweet, caring, devoted, crazy brother. 30 miles! He is going to run 30 miles to raise support for me!?!?! How on earth did I get so lucky with him? Last weekend we had the Mini-marathon here in Indy. It's kinda a big deal. But that's only 13 miles....and I realize when I say only, that doesn't take away from how much 13 miles is. Oh wait, I think the accurate distance of the mini is 13.1, right? But my crazy, sweet brother has a 30 mile distance for his fundraising efforts stuck in his head! He's just amazing! I got to go to his school last week to talk to his class about what we are doing....well, the 4th grade version of what we are doing. It's a lot for a 4th grader to understand, and for that matter, it's a lot for my 29 year old brain to understand! But more about that in a second. His class is very excited to be helping! I told their eager ears that I would take lots of pictures! But seriously Stephen 30 miles? I was counting and that's a lot....   1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30.

Heart preparations

As I'm mentally preparing for this trip, I've been thinking a lot about how this trip will affect my heart. I have tried to imagine how I will handle it, but to be honest, I just don't know how I will manage. I know that God will not allow my heart to be broken beyond a point that He can fix it. I am so amazed at how He is preparing a way for me to be able to go on this trip! I seriously have to pinch myself regularly, because I just can't believe it's really happening! How utterly amazing is God! I cannot wait to see what lessons He has in store for me on this trip, even if some of those lessons break my heart!

That concludes this random posting! I tried to keep the randomness to a somewhat minimum! I pray God blesses you all and that He showers you with His love!

Cambodia

Sometimes God works in really funny ways. I mean really funny ways! He's always, always up to something even when you have no clue! Around this time last year, I traveled to Toledo, Ohio with my friend Catherine. We went for a 3 day class to get certification in a curriculum that teaches care givers how to help those recovering from human trafficking. Catherine and I went to learn what we could for a future ministry involving women in the sex industry. I vividly remember sitting in this class asking God why He was opening my eyes to the horrors of human trafficking all over the world when there was nothing I could do to help. I left the class with a broken heart. 

Fast forward to last month. My dear friend Christy shared about a trip she was taking to Cambodia. 

As she shared the details of her trip, well to say I was intrigued would be an understatement. I took some time to pray and think about the trip for her, and the more I thought and prayed, the more I felt God's leading to go. I started investigating the possibility of my involvement in the trip. Amazingly enough, I was approved to go! I'm still blown away at this news! 

First, in case you don't know where Cambodia is, here's a map of southeast Asia: (look right below China, between Thailand and Vietnam! Can you see it now?)

I'm going with Indian Creek Christian Church, and we will be working with Rapha House, an organization that works with female survivors of human trafficking, which includes slavery and sex trafficking. They have several safe houses in Cambodia that provide physical protection for the girls, their own bed, food, educational training, vocational training, and counseling. As they recover and grow, they are transitioned to a half-way house which provides them an easier transition back to society, with skills that can help them become productive members of society. A sad fact is that nearly 85% of girls who are rescued from sex trafficking return because of a lack of any vocational skills to support themselves. Rapha House works with the girls to empower them to support themselves! You can learn more about Rapha House at their website: raphahouse.org.


Our group will be in Cambodia for 2 weeks this summer.  During our time there, we will be working with the staff at various safe houses to encourage and refresh them, working with the girls as they get vocational and educational training, and each night entertaining and educating groups of girls which vary in age from 4-18 years of age.


As you can imagine, this trip will be quite costly. I need to raise at least $3,500. I'm getting some help with my fundraising efforts from one of my best friends, this guy:

I've said before that I hit the jackpot with getting him for a brother, but boy, oh boy did I ever! My sweet brother is doing a 30 mile run to raise funds for the trip. Yes, that's 30 miles. IN ONE DAY! Seriously, how did I get so lucky with getting a brother this wonderful!?!? On May 28th, Stephen will run 30 miles on the Monon Trail! Seriously, he rocks!

If you would like to partner with me to impact the lives of these sweet young girls, please email me at afblackburn@gmail.com. I need to raise the funds by May 28th so the tickets can be purchased. I would truly appreciate the financial help to make this trip possible!

Of even great importance than the financial, I ask for your prayer support. The only way this trip will happen successfully is with the personal involvement of God. I sincerely ask for your prayers! Please pray that God can use our team to show His perfect love to these girls, and that He can use us to bring healing to their wounded hearts! Please pray for our safety and health, and that our funding can be raised! 

I'm cannot begin to express how humbled I am by His calling, and how very unequipped I feel. I know that when He calls you, he will equip you! I cannot wait to see what He is going to do! Thank you so much for taking the time to read! I will keep you updated about the preparations for the trip, Stephen's run, and of course pics from the trip! I'm super excited to take you on this trip with me, through pictures and words! 

I pray God richly blesses you and lavishes His love on you!

Much love,

~Amber

Taking the plunge!

So, after much consideration, I've decided to jump into the world of blogging! This should be interesting!


I've decided to blog because I have a sense that God is up to something pretty cool in my life and I want to document it. What better way than through a blog? Right?!?! I want to invite others along on the journey that is my life...as random and crazy as it usually can be!


Let me introduce you to my life currently. If I started at the beginning, well...let's just say none of us are ready to dig into all that history just yet! I am currently jumping head first into ministry and I. ABSOLUTELY. LOVE.IT! I'm talking big puffy heart love it! It's exhausting and draining, but beyond fulfilling! I have no doubts that this is what God has called me to do. What it's going to look like in 6 months is anyone's guess, but for right now it's glorious!


Let me tell you about a few roles I play in my life  that I cherish! First and foremost a Christ-follower. I'm in a passionate love affair with my Savior! I thought I loved Him when I was younger, but I didn't have a clue! He's simply amazing! I'm never ceased to be left speechless by my Maker! He's pretty much the best part of my life! Okay...no pretty much...He's it!


I'm a sister! I have the distinct honor of being the older sister to the coolest little brother anyone could ever ask for! EVER! I hit the jackpot when I got him for a brother! He's not only my brother, he's one of my best friends! He's amazing! He's getting married in a few weeks, and I couldn't be happier for him! He did good in picking my future sister! 

I'm a daughter, cousin, niece, and granddaughter. These are roles I enjoy, and are roles that are constantly changing! Becoming a "claunt"....just a fun name for the role of cousin/aunt to my cousin's girls has been delightful! We didn't have little people in our family for a very long time. I now have 6 little ones in my life. They are so, so much fun! Who knew they would develop such fun personalities!

My cousin and dear friend Lisa and I

Reese

Me and Riley Lynn...my birthday girl!

Lastly, friend. It's such a lovely word! That someone chooses to have you in their daily life...wow! I mean your family, you're kinda stuck with them...of course in a good way, but friends, you choose one another! What a simply lovely thought! I have several of them. All of which had such flavor to my world! All are gifts straight from God!

Well, that's all I'm going to post for now. I want to keep you coming back for more...you know, play a little hard to get! Oh wait, I should probably explain the name of my blog! My name is Amber Faith. Faith is my mother's middle name. She got it after my Grandma had 3 boys. She said it took a lot of faith to have a girl. So then when Mom gave birth to me, she passed on that Faith! I love it! And I love the role "faith" has played in my life!


Okay, seriously I'm done for now!