Everlasting Love

One of the foundational dreams of the XP Missions project 'Operation Justice' was that there be opportunities created for young women to exchange prostitution for other means of producing an income. After the disruption of the Khmer Rouge and many years of civil war, Cambodia is still a country very much in recovery. Poverty can be extreme and when people are hungry, they find themselves making decisions out of very limited options. So it is not at all unusual to visit a brothel and find a young girl there, middle to late teens, who will tell you that she is doing this work because her father or mother is ill and they had to buy medicine, or because she is the eldest of her siblings and they are hungry. It is really heartbreaking, to look into these young eyes and think of my own daughters. If it is an older woman, the story is usually to do with a husband leaving or dying, and children needing food and shelter. What astonishes me the most is the extent to which a person is willing to sacrifice for the sake of her family.

When we spend time with the girls in the bars, we ask them about their lives, their hopes and dreams and their wishes for the future. We ask them if they like their work - no one has ever said 'Yes' - and what kind of work they would do instead if they had the choice. It's not all heavy and serious; like any conversations with young girls there is a lot of giggling and laughter. Especially when we attempt to sing along with Karaoke, or when we have nail-painting sessions. Simply, the hour that we have paid for the use of the Karaoke room is an hour in which these particular young women will not have to sell themselves. But in the midst of it all there are tears and stories of pain shared and, of course, hugs and prayer. We are women. And we share the burdens of womanhood.

On this particular trip we don't go to the Karioke bars. Instead we go to Wat Phnom, a Buddhist pagoda in the city, We know that there are prostitutes working in this area. We walk down the street and sure enough, every park bench has a woman sitting on it. We stop and talk to them, and one asks for prayer to help her find a new job - she has had an interview but doesn't yet know the outcome. On the next corner we find a young woman, who tells us that she has only been working here for a week. Her husband has left her for another woman and she has a young son. She is defensive as she tells us she has no choice. We invite her to come to our training centre and she says she will think about it.

The amazing and irrepressible Lynn

In the midst of this conversation a few other girls come over to hear what we have to say. One of them, hardened and jaded even though I am sure she is still young, tells us that she is very worried about this young woman because she hears her coughing and thinks she is not well. ''Also'', she says, ''she should sit with us and not by herself - she could get hurt if she is working alone.'' She encourages us to help her. I am touched by the obvious concern from a woman who has obviously not been a recipient of terribly much concern herself. We arrange for her to meet with Lynn, who oversees the training centre, the next day. (Sadly, when Lynn goes in search of her the next day, she is nowhere to be found...)

Last week XP opened their first training centre - aptly named 'Everlasting Love' - for women who want to leave prostitution. I felt very emotional as I toured this facility with Andrea. How we have dreamed and longed for this. And here it is - a small beginning, another option, an open door. Today there are young women registering for the 6 month training program, in which they will learn sewing. There are plans for other skills training opportunities, but this is how we begin. Their young children, if they have any, will come along to the centre for Preschool.

And while I am here I have the privilege of sharing with the first group of women on the Everlasting Love program. I tell them of the importance of forgiveness, even when it is impossibly difficult. I share from my own life experiences, and I speak of the grace and forgiveness of God, and one woman is in tears. It is so hard. So hard when you have been exploited and abused, to let go of the bitterness, the anger and the desire for revenge. But one woman, a woman whose husband sent her into prostitution because they had financial difficulties, totally gets it. Her face is wreathed in smiles as she takes over from me and begins to talk with passion about the same thing. Letting go and moving on. Recently she encountered the love of God for the first time. Now we get to see the life-giving love of Jesus at work. He always brings hope and restoration.

Note: Just 1 year later, these are the kinds of things that are being produced by these women... 

 Everlasting Love - Shop