lay near death beside her , the baby ’ s delicate skin threatened by protruding bones . The unmistakable signs of starvation confronted my comfortable life in America .
Pleading eyes of the desperately ill followed our every move , hoping for relief . A fifteenyear-old boy groaned from a gunshot wound to his abdomen . The bullet had exited just above his rectum , causing a continual seepage of feces .
Who am I that I should live in America rather than experience this devastation , grief , hardship , and suffering ? Why am I so blessed ?
I considered how God creates every human with the same basic needs and desires — to care for our families , enjoy life , and stay healthy . I wrestled with the fact that thousands of people have been stripped of those abilities . They struggle to survive physically while their hearts tear with each sight and sound of family members and friends suffering and dying around them .
The disparity between a nearby sick man and me was only our birthplaces . Had I been born in Cambodia , I might have been one lying in the makeshift hospital , suffering , and praying for help or the relief of death .
I had somehow supposed that American citizenship was an earned right and that we were superior people , blessed because of our right choices . How have I ignored oppressed and hurting people for so long ?
I had much to learn and many changes I needed to make in my life .
The suffering around me was too terrible for words — human wailing , groaning , emaciated bodies fighting disease , the air saturated with stench .
I retraced the events that had brought me halfway around the globe , carrying a resounding question . Why was I given this monumental assignment ? The answer hadn ’ t come from days of fasting on a mountaintop or kneeling at a church altar . My calling to Cambodia had come while sitting in my easy chair in the comfort of my U . S . home .
Like others called to serve , I felt unequal to the calling . I felt overcome , inadequate , and out of place . I realized I felt how God intended so I would look to Him , not myself , for answers and solutions . I was not in that horrid scenario by accident but as part of God ’ s masterful plan to further shape me by compassion for those in dire suffering , to teach me to hear and follow His voice , and to better equip me to love and serve those in need .
My book , Unchained : A Man ’ s Journey from Abuse to Healing to Saving Lives , demonstrates what one ordinary individual can accomplish against the odds , motivating others to find and use their innate gifts for a greater purpose . This book is my true story that , like many , began with the conflict , pain , and brokenness of childhood abuse . But a stunning turn of events in my healing journey catapulted me into an incredible uncharted worldwide pilgrimage of unimaginable circumstances . My heart and life were transformed into a deep well of meaning and purpose .
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