Honored

Here's My Team

     I can't believe we get to work with this incredible organization!
I seriously am honored to even have met Don. He is my hero. I have so much to tell but I want to take an entire post to highlight the amazing organization Agape International Missions. They are all about Jesus and people coming to Christ. But also all about seeing little girls sold for sex stopped in Cambodia. They have 4 different aspects of ministry. The Church, Agape Restoration Center (which I talked about), The Lord's Gym and Rahab's House. I want to highlight Rahab's house today.

Agape International Missions (AIM) was founded in 1989 as a humanitarian aid and church planting organization.  Since 2005 the ministries of AIM have been focused on ending the evil of child sexual slavery in Cambodia.  AIM’s mission is to prevent child sex trafficking and restore hope to its victims by providing holistic aftercare to rescued victims, equipping and mobilizing the church to take action, and building community centers in sex trafficking hot spots.

“How grateful we at International Justice are for the incredible witness of hope that Agape International Missions brings to Cambodia.  Through their great love for those who have been crushed by horrific violent exploitation, we see little girls resurrected – brought back to life in a way that is good and true.  AIM has brought joy to places of hopelessness, and security and peace to victims who have known great despair.”
Gary Haugen, President and CEO, International Justice Mission

AIM has provided financial and material assistance to the poor and needy, as well as provided education in life skills through the use of literature, electronic media and leadership training in cooperation with other non-governmental organizations, the church, and the government of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Since its inception, AIM has started over 800 Christ-centered, Bible teaching churches in Cambodia. Through these churches it has provided leadership training to thousands, and provided disaster relief, medical supplies and food to thousands more.

Rahab's House

Above is the now community center formerly a brothel housing girls from age 5-15 to be sold for sex. They were kept 3 to cement cell 4 feet by 6 feet. IJM and Agape did a raid and rescued all the girls. Some of whom are in the Agape Restoration Center.

Besides having brothels full of little girls, moms also sell their daughters for sex to pay their debts. THis is Svay Pak. Just a few years ago, before Rahab's house and the church started in Svay Pak, 90% of the girls were sold at night. Now it is 50% God is working! 22 brothel owners have come to Christ and 3 traffickers (bringing girls from Vietnam)

Here's how Rahab's house began.

Now a community center, this former brothel for child sex trafficking in Svay Pak, Phnom Penh, sat chained and locked for 5 years after being raided by International Justice Mission (IJM) and emptied of its child sex slaves. In August of 2007, Agape International Missions (AIM) leased the building and re-opened it as a community center the following month. Food, medical care, dental care and education are freely given to the surrounding villagers. The story below tells of the hope returned to the villagers through Rahab’s House. In October 2007, we wrote to you about the village of Svay Pak, located just 11 kilometers outside of Phnom Penh. Svay Pak looks like an average village in this developing country, but hidden beneath the surface is hideous evil…the sex trafficking of young girls. Many good people are working on many good things, like enforcement of anti-trafficking laws, economic development, and education. And while these good things are necessary, they are not enough.

Kid’s Club is a daily children’s program that is ran by one of our Cambodian pastors and the young adult disciples. Twice each week, girls from ARC come to assist teaching the children. Each day the local Svay Pak village children get a Khmer literacy and English lesson, a life skills lesson, a Bible story, worship music, an arts and crafts project, and a snack. Currently over 100 children attend Kid’s Club each afternoon at Rahab’s House, and once a month the discipleship team takes Kid’s club to three nearby brick factory villages where 150 – 180 kids at each village attend.

The healthcare clinic  is open Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and serves 300 to 400 people each month. People walk for miles seeking help at the clinic as there is very little health care available, and the little that is available, is unaffordable.
Many of these adults become church members after attending the clinic and experiencing the tangible love of Christ.

On Sunday, Rahab’s House hosts a Christ centered, Bible teaching community church. The pastor and staff are all Cambodian nationals and the current adult attendance averages 300 a week.  Through the hope Christ provides and his power to transform hearts, the church has rescued 16 young girls directly from sex trafficking in Svay Pak, one rescue led to the rescue of 12 children and 8 adults held as labor slaves in a nearby brick factory, several young men have left the sex trafficking business, and one man that owns a large brothel stopped selling under-aged girls for sex.

A community school was opened in June of 2010 and has approximately 200 students. Bible lessons and biblical principles are interwoven throughout the Khmer curriculum of literacy, math, life skills and ESL.

An accredited school opened with two kindergarten classes of 12 students each in January 2011. All the teachers are certified  with the government and the students will graduate after completing the 6h grade. With this education, graduates will have a much greater employment opportunity than the general population.

Through the power of Christ’s unconditional love at work, these ministries have claimed the main street of a village for Christ that was once filled with the evil of brothels offering little girls for sale.

The boys at kids club. Just as many girls but on the other side. They all got to hear about Jesus and everyday get a couple hours of fun in a dark and painful place.

Please read more about their ministries and follow Don's blog. And would you consider partnering with them financially to help rescue 5-17 year olds from being sold for sex and getting to hear about Jesus.

Laura, the creator and host of Missional Women is married and has four kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 11 years serving with Master Plan Ministries. Laura is the Staff Women's Development Coordinator and has discipled over 150 girls, led over 30 Bible studies and speaks 10-20 times a year. Laura is an award winning author of a 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, recently released Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, and A Devotional Journey through Judges, a devotional to accompany the free online Bible study at TheBookofJudges.com. You can find her on facebook,twitter, pinterest and youtube.

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