1. CATALYST MINISTRIES NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2015
CATALYST MINISTRIES 1100 BEECH ST, SUITE 12A, NORMAL, IL 61761 WWW.CATALYSTMINISTRIES.NET
Single Moms’ Self Care
Workshop: Success!
Dr. Emm, OB-GYN joined
us for an evening this
summer to share infor
with single for caring for
themselves so they can
best care for their loved
ones. In partnership with
E-Free of Bloomington,
childcare &
refreshments were
provided.
Join us for our first Global
Prayer Night
Nov. 24 at 7:00 p.m.
Catalyst Offices at 1100
Beech St, 12A, Normal, IL
We will worship Jesus and
together lift up to God the
ache in our hearts for the
needs of the neediest
among us.
Donations
Give online or by mailed
check, made out to
“Catalyst Ministries”
Bopha was born to two migrant workers in a Cambodian village. Life was hard and the meager
earnings her parents didn’t allow for education or sufficient food for Bopha and her younger brother.
One day, Bopha was outside when a friend who had moved to the city came by. She told Bopha she’d
found work there and offered for Bopha to come with her. She eagerly agreed and packed her bags.
In the capital cityof Phnom Penh, everything was different and exciting! For a girl like Bopha there
were just two options—working long, difficult hours in a factory or working at the karaoke bars. Bopha,
wanted to make her family proud of her but she knew she could earn more at the karaoke bars and so
her friend introduced her to a karaoke bar owner and she began serving drinks at the bar.
Her life changed drastically from that day on. As she worked late into the night, her role of serving
drinks to customers transitioned to serving men who wanted only her body. She began to feel like a
piece of property but could not leave as she needed to survive and to send money back to her family in
the village so Bopha saw no way out of this dark life.
One evening, a group of women came into the karaoke bar where Bopha worked. She’d seen them
there before when they came on Friday nights to talk with the girls who worked there. They seemed
to have a light inside of them and a love for her and the other girls that Bopha had never experienced
before. When one of them invited her to a Christmas party on a night that Bopha didn’t work, she was
excited to go as she’d never been to a Christmas celebration. Her family didn’t have the extra money
for celebrations. She was amazed at the beautiful decorations, the delicious treats and most of all the
love that the women showed them. They didn’t seem to want anything from them, something that
Bopha found hard to believe.
In time, Bopha learned that the women who had invited her to the Christmas party wanted to help girls
like Bopha to get out of the sex industry and find a new life. They had a home where the girls could live
called Butterfly House and receive counseling and even vocational training. She asked if she might be
one of the girls to be chosen to live in the safe house to begin a new life. When she heard the news
that they had made a place for her she could feel her heart fill with hope in a way it never had before.
Bopha moved into the Butterfly House, where she had safe surroundings, learned about the love Jesus
has for her and received cosmetology training. One year later, surrounded by friends who have
become like sisters, Bopha graduated from cosmetology school and went straight into a waiting job
offer. She is able to support herself and send money to her family. Like a caterpillar who becomes a
butterfly, Bopha has begun her new life and has what she needs to fly!
CATALYST Ministries Newsletter - October 2015
NewLife For Bopha
CM News
Dear Friends,
Happy Fall! I hope this letter finds you enjoying the beauty of
God’s fall decorating. As youare reading this I am preparing
to fly to Jordan and Omanto meet with leaders working to
reduce vulnerabilities and rescue from exploitation women
and children, witha focus on Syrianand Iraqi refugees. I ask
for your prayers for divine appointments and for team
safety.
If you are not already a financial supporter, would you
prayerfully consider beginning to give a sustaining gift of
$20 a month? Your gift will goto fund this trip and will allow
the necessary work of bringing new life to the most
vulnerable in some of the world’s most tumultuous places
to continue. Your partnership is essential to accomplish this.
Though heart-rending at times, it all is worth it when one
person like Bopha’s life is made new. If you haven’t already,
will you help to sustainthis ministry and join us in seeing
lives like Bopha’s made new?
Sincerely, Julie Ryan, CEO