Masterpiece…a work done with extraordinary skill Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary

In August of 2009, 6 girls from Agape Restoration Center (ARC) were chosen by the ARC staff and encouraged to enter a vocational program with AIM’s new partner NGO’s, Bloom Café  that opened under AIM’s  Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Education.   Each of these girls was rescued from the horrors of child sex trafficking and brought to ARC where they experienced the unconditional love of Christ and received therapy and education.  God worked through the incredible staff at ARC to rebuild their lives with beauty and dignity, and they were ready for vocational training.  The girls studied intently for 5 months in the hospitality and cake decorating course, and they were very nervous when final exam time arrived mid December.  The course had been based on rigorous standards.  Not only did the girls pass their exams, but all of them received nearly 100%.  There was much to celebrate at the graduation ceremony on December 19^th. 

Family members were invited to attend the ceremony and many came.  One family expressed disbelief that their daughter had made the beautiful cake they were going to enjoy.  Once it was verified from the teacher that she had indeed made the cake, the family’s attitude towards the girl changed from disbelief to one of awe and respect.

The graduation was a great time of celebration, and the ceremony concluded by the girls singing a song that had come to mean a great deal to all of them, the Lord’s Prayer.  The girls sang this song together every morning at devotions. One of the girls shared how she had been so angry and always wanted to throw things at people. When she sang the line ‘Forgive my sins as I forgive those who have sinned against me’, she felt the power of Christ fill her mind with peace and she has never been the same. Now when she feels anger, she closes her eyes and even though she can’t talk for a few moments, she feels the power of Christ fill her mind, and she can slowly feel at peace again.

The evening concluded by enjoying the cakes created for the exam.  Everyone gave a rousing endorsement that not only were the cakes beautiful, they were incredibly delicious,  including the beautiful decorations. 

Two finishing touches complete the masterpieces.  In January, Bloom Café officially opened to the public where the girls began earning $120 per month, a decent wage in Cambodia, and plans are now in place to reintegrate the girls to shared living quarters in Phnom Penh in March.  Our hearts are filled with praise to our awesome God for the masterpiece he has created in each of these girls who were so deeply wounded and broken by sin.  Only He has the extraordinary skill to create such wonderful beauty out of brokenness.

Places all over the world have reputations—some good, some bad—some well known, others not so well known.  Google “city of love” and you’ll find Paris.  Google “windy city” and you’ll find Chicago.  Google “child sex trafficking” and you’ll find Svay Pak, Cambodia.  It’s an international reputation Svay Pak deserves.  This village of abject poverty 11 km outside of Phnom Penh is a place where hundreds of young girls are trafficked each year, many by their own family.  But reputations can be changed. 

About 18 months ago a church was planted in Svay Pak at Rahab’s House, a former brothel turned community center.  The mission of the church was to bring the unconditional love of Jesus to the village through ministries designed to meet educational and healthcare needs as well as spiritual needs.  In doing so, it was hoped relationships would be built that would bring heart transformation and an end to child sex trafficking.  Slowly relationships were built and today over 300 villagers are attending the church’s weekly services, including 177 adults.  The average adult church member earns $1.25 per day. 

Svay Pak, Cambodia-Shacks around the sewer pond

Last Sunday during church services the pastor shared about the disaster in Haiti, including showing photographs of the devastation.  As the church heard his words and saw the photographs, a very counter-cultural thing happened—they openly wept.  Then they committed to pray for the people of Haiti, and as they left church one person after another dropped money in a basket to be sent to help the people of Haiti. 

Svay Church in Rahab's House

The offering for Haiti totaled $52.44.  We might be tempted to say, “Isn’t that sweet.” But it’s far more than that, it’s miraculous.  It’s miraculous that people who struggle to get by on a $1.25 a day would so willingly sacrifice to help others a world away from them.  And from a worldly perspective an offering of $52.44 might be considered insignificant, not so from God’s.

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting

their gifts into the temple treasury.  He also

saw a poor widow put in two very small

copper coins.  “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this

poor widow has put in more than all the

others.  All these people gave their gifts out of

their wealth; but she out of her poverty

put in all she had to live on.

Luke 21:1-4 NIV

 So, should the reputation of Svay Pak be changed?  Not yet. There’s a long ways to go, but the embers of change are glowing.

All I Want for Christmas…

 The other day one of the girls at ARC asked me what I wanted for “Merry Christmas.”  I told her I’d have to think about it and let her know later.  Then I received an e-mail from Jane Conwell.  Jane  is a nurse from Australia who volunteers in our Rahab’s House medical clinic and is training our Cambodian staff to take over the clinic in the future.  In her e-mail Jane spoke of a couple of patients she had recently seen.  Following is an excerpt.

“Many times at clinic I have to tell my patients that there is nothing I can do to help them.  Last week, I had a 26 year old man who came in from an outer province.  His mother had heard that there was a free clinic in Svay Pak and she had brought him to see me. Three years ago he started to have pain in his feet.  He is no longer able to walk; the muscles in his arms and legs wasting away; likely some muscular dystrophy.  I was the first medical attention he had received.  They graciously accepted it when I told them I couldn’t make it better, and listened carefully to suggestions for stretches and exercises.  His mother then pulled him onto her back and carried him back to the waiting motorbike taxi, tied his body to hers for support and off they drove – back to their village.  

Today at clinic a woman was carried in by her family.  Yesterday she had a stroke.  Her family didn’t understand what had happened, but they knew that the clinic was open the next day and so they were first in line.  Her left arm and leg have lost all control, her eye and mouth with a slight droop.  We talked about exercises for the muscles and what causes a stroke.  I checked her blood pressure (predictably high) and started her on medication and aspirin.  Ultimately, however, I had to tell a family that I couldn’t help them – there was nothing I could do to fix this problem.  After thanking me graciously, they carried her back home.” 

Their acceptance of life’s tragedies, and contentment in the face of unmet expectations, challenges me. There is no feeling of entitlement – no anger at the unfair nature of their experiences.  All they expressed was gratitude for Jane’s efforts.  They were so grateful in spite of the disheartening news. So now I know what I want for Christmas…I want my attitude towards life to be more like theirs. 

There’s one more thing…All of us at AIM want to thank all of you.  God has done much this year to bring restoration to dozens of traumatized girls and to prevent the trafficking of hundreds of others.  And He’s done it through the support you’ve provided.  We’re forever grateful.  Below are photos of the ARC and Rahab’s House staffs wishing all of you a Happy Merry Christmas!

I pray the love and peace of Christ will be yours this Christmas,

Don

Agape Restoration Center Staff

Rahab's House Staff

Child Sex Trafficking in Cambodia

by

Don Brewster

The Myth

Abject poverty is forcing families to traffic some of their daughters to save the family.

The Reality

These men sit and smoke and drink and gamble all day…everyday. 
How can they afford to do it?  They traffic their daughters.

The reality is that very, very, very, few girls are trafficked because of poverty.  The reality is that even in this 3^rd world country most young girls are trafficked as a result of greed, materialism, and the lack of moral compass…evil.  Education and development alone will do nothing to stop child sex trafficking.  Cambodia’s recent history, one filled with millions of dollars spent on education and development, confirms this.  Our history in the West, in developed countries, certainly bears this out—education and money do not eradicate evil.

Don’t get me wrong; financial resources, development, and education aren’t bad, but without Jesus they won’t put a dent into child sex trafficking.  With Jesus, these things can transform a community.  I believe this is happening right now through Agape International Missions’ ministries in Svay Pak, Cambodia.  It’s a long ways from finished, but the process has begun, and to quote the apostle Paul, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

It’s true that we want you to support the Christ-centered ministries of AIM…But the most important thing is that any investment you make in stopping child sex trafficking be made where Jesus is uppermost.

Sparkyyyy….that’s what we’ve renamed her because when we try to say her name we mispronounce it and say it incorrectly and it is a very nasty word in Khmer.  It really suits her, but not when she first came here.  It sure didn’t.  She is an orphan from Svay Pak, and she stayed with a family that would sell her for sex whenever they needed money and would allow anyone to rape her whenever they felt like it.  She is just a little six year old girl.  Short black hair, big dark eyes, just darling.  She’s just beautiful, especially when she smiles.  She was so mistreated by this family.  When she got a case of head lice, they shaved her head.  It was just very humiliating for her.  The ladies and girls in Cambodia pride themselves on their long, beautiful hair, and she looked like a mini monk or a little boy.  The community would snare at her and call her degrading names.  When and if there was any food left over after the family ate, they would throw it on the floor, and she would have to scramble and fight the dogs to get anything.  One day Pastor Chantha and his wife, Bunthen, found out about her, and they called ARC.  They told ARC’s Administrator of Counseling, Siserat, of Sparky’s dilemma.  Siserat got in touch with the Ministry of Social Affairs to get custody of her and brought her to ARC.  This was about six months ago now.  When she first arrived here, she wouldn’t raise her head or look at anybody.  At meal time, her head was always down low to the table. She was always out to protect herself and her food, and she would glance furtively about.  One day a house mom offered her some food, and she just stared and looked dumb struck; she wouldn’t take it.  When the mom walked away and left it on the table by her, she grabbed it and ran from the table ninja-like.  An adult offering her food?…It was just unthinkable to her, and it certainly hadn’t happened very often in her very short six years.  Yesterday I met up with her at one of the water coolers, one that has a hot water tap, and she was there with a bowl of ramen noodles to make herself soup just clicking her chopsticks away. She looked at me and gave me a big ole smile, “Hey Nana!”.  It just choked me up because here she was so confident just making a snack in the middle of the day.  Day by day she has become more relaxed and confident knowing she is in a place that loves her and will let her eat however much she wants whenever she wants it and she doesn’t have to fight for scraps of food off the floor amongst dogs and cats.  At meal time, she just gets up and gets more rice or anything she wants anytime she wants it.  She’s just a darling little girl.  Right now she is outside playing this game that I can’t understand, as you can hear in the background.  It is because of God’s grace and his love and provision flowing into Cambodia through you that little Sparky is eating, and learning, and laughing and playing and thriving, and she knows it’s because of Jesus and people like you. She is one happy girl.  We here in Cambodia are blessed to witness this. Our sincerest gratitude for your prayers, support and encouragement.  God bless you and keep you until we talk again.  Bye bye.

The latest update we received gives the following schedule for ABC’s coverage on sex trafficking in Cambodia.  The IJM segments should include information on Agape Restoration Center and Bella.  However, stories are subject to preemption by the news of the day.  APLE is a French NGO fighting sex trafficking in Cambodia.  If you live in the greater Sacramento area, ABC is Channel 10. The times listed below are Pacific Daylight Time.  Check your TV directory for your local times.  Hope you’re able to watch the broadcasts.

Wednesday, September 16:

ABC World News        5:30 pm                      Featuring APLE                  

ABC Nightline             11:30 pm                    Featuring IJM

And Thursday, September 17:

ABC World News         5:30 pm                     Featuring IJM

ABC’s Nightline will feature a story on sex trafficking in Cambodia possibly as early as September 16^th, with two follow-up pieces for the evening news in the days thereafter.  One of the follow-up stories will feature a girl from Agape Restoration Center (ARC), Bella.  We hope you will be able to watch the broadcasts.  Nightline usually airs late in the evening, so set your DVR if you’re not a night owl.

Recently Troy Dean, pastor of One Life Church in Lincoln, CA, led a short term mission team of young adults and William Jessup students to Cambodia.  This podcast is the story of their experiences as he and Scott Mehren share it with their church.  We hope their stories of hope will challenge and encourage you in your faith.  Due to the length of the podcast, there is no transcription available.