I am not exaggerating when I say that as soon as the wheels of the plane hit the runway of Phnom Penh’s airport.. I fell in love. Riding in TukTuk’s through the city I gazed in wonder with a permanent smile on my face. I kept saying, “I love this country so much!” My squadmate Josh asked, “Why do you love it? Do you even know anything about it?” I said, “Nope! I just know I love it.” At the end of the month I knew that the love I had in my heart for Cambodia came from The Lord. He was preparing my heart for something amazing…
The very next day I received a message on Facebook from a woman who claimed she lived in Phnom Penh as a missionary and that my mother had cut her friends hair back in NC. She said that she was in Cambodia with a ministry called “Agape International Missions” and their focus is on sex-trafficking. At first I thought “this cannot be real” but then I remembered how small this world is, how big my God is and how he always orchestrates the coolest moments for reasons far greater than I could ever imagine. Immediately I knew I HAD to meet her.
Two nights later we met for dinner. She shared her story and how The Lord led her to Cambodia. She shared more about AIM and what they do for the victims of sex trafficking. I told her that I knew God brought us together for a reason and that it was heavy on my heart to tour the facility. She agreed, I filled out a volunteer application, was excepted and 3 weeks later I set out with my team to see why God wanted me there.
As I stood inside a building that was once a brothel where young girls as young as 4 were bought and taken to a room where their innocence was stolen time and time again-my heart sank. I knew why The Lord brought me here as I was looking around the room that was once a children’s brothel in 2005 and is now a SAFE place for children that have been trafficked to know The Lord and receive His beautiful healing. This room now full of bunkbeds was once filled with several smaller rooms that locked on the outside to prevent the child from escaping and provided privacy for the men that would go inside. They tore down all the walls of those rooms leaving one room remaining in the back. The man that was giving us the tour said that when the brothel was raided they found the remains of a child inside so they kept that room up as memorial for her. He did not explain how she died. If she was starved or if she died at the hands of a man who was too rough with her…
Sadly, many of these girls have been sold by their parents who were in some sort of financial trouble. Guess how much they sold them for? ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS. What a sad position to be in. For parent and child. To be so desperate that you feel like the only option you have is to sell your child. Or to be a child and the people you trust to love you well sell you to be raped by man after man after man. I apologize for the rawness of this blog, however, this is REALITY. I promise, it is not easy for me to write this. Unfortunately.. there is more.
THE PINK ROOM
At the front of the building was a staircase that led up to a room they called the pink room. In this room is where they kept the virgin girls that were sold at a very high price. It is also where they filmed child pornography. How terrifying?! This is happening all around us. Even in America! I encourage you to look up AIM’s website at agapewebsite.org. You can see the beauty that was once ashes. This organization is bringing so much of Jesus’ healing to this nation. Please pray for them and donate if you feel led. They are doing more than shutting down brothel’s and rescuing boys and girls, men and women-they are also giving them a place to stay and providing them jobs and counseling. They care about more than just the escape, they care about the healing that is so absolutely necessary.
If you are sitting at the edge of your seat wondering why God brought me here.. Well, I asked what I could do for them if I ever returned. He asked me what I studied and I told him I was a Nurse Assistant. He said that is ALWAYS a need and that if I came back I would be a part of a team that cared for at least 86 girls that had been rescued and in need of medical care. Guess how long the application process is? 8 months. The exact amount of time that I have left on the race. What is extremely special to me about this is God knows the desires of my heart so well. He placed in me the desire to be a missionary in a country outside of the US and he also knows my passion for children that have been sexually abused. I believe he gave me his heart for this country. I believe he is calling me back and if you have been keeping up with my blogs-you can see how he has been preparing my heart for this.
Please keep me in your prayers. I experienced some very serious spiritual warfare in that country and it got worse once I said the words “I’m coming back” out loud, for the darkness to hear. My yes is out in the open and they will try everything to keep me from coming back. Luke 10:19 says that we have AUTHORITY over the power of darkness. I have authority over the darkness and I will not be defeated. I am fighting from victory, not for victory. Thank you for your prayers and your support. Also, to my family who knows nothing about this and is probably shocked at what you just read, THANK YOU for supporting me and for encouraging me to always follow my heart. I know you will stand beside me in my decision to follow The Lord wherever he leads. I will return in May and we will go from there. I LOVE YOU and miss you more than I could ever express. Be excited with me! Your daughter is following in the footsteps of Jesus. Crushing down the darkness and bringing heaven to earth. From where I was to where I am now… calls for a CELEBRATION!
**PLEASE WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW FOR THE MOVIE THEY MADE ABOUT SEX-TRAFFICKING IN CAMBODIA CALLED “THE PINK ROOM”**
