A Mission to End Human Trafficking | EP 148: Bridget Brewster, Agape International Missions

You know very well by now my intense passion and heart for ending human trafficking. This is an issue that when I first REALLY learned about it in 2011, I could no longer sit back and ignore it… it’s an issue I quickly dove into learning as much as I could about it. It’s an issue that affects women, men, and children of all ages, races, socio-economic statuses, genders, religions, cultures… it happens in every state in the United States and every country around the world. It’s a massive issue… but when we let the fact that something like human trafficking is such a massive issue cloud our vision and keep us from DOING anything about it… that’s when we have to sit back and realize that we CAN do something… we have to start SOMEWHERE.

3:00 - The Bridget 101

• Bridget and Don Brewster discovered, AIM, Agape International Missions while Bridget’s husband Don was the Executive Pastor of a church in Northern California.
• On a 10-day trip to Cambodia with AIM, it became obvious that the country was still suffering from the effects of the civil war. They witnessed extreme poverty and broken families. A longing for kindness and hearing about the hope of the Lord was evident all around them.
• Two weeks after returning home to the US, Bridget and Don saw a news special about children being sold into trafficking. It was happening just outside Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh near the areas Bridget and Don had visited on their prior trip. 
• Having not heard anything about the problem until they’d returned home, Bridget and Don reached out to the founders of the church planting arm of AIM and returned to Cambodia to learn more about the problem. 
• Many organizations were forced to stop rescues due to lack of resources and safe places for survivors to experience restoration. At this point, many children ended back on the streets, in brothels, or in jail.

5:28 – Prevention, Rescue, Restoration, Reintegration 

• Bridget and Don sold their home in the US and moved to Cambodia to help Agape set up a restoration home where trafficking survivors could begin the healing process and prepare for the future.
• After just three months, their facilities were at capacity, but step-by-step, God revealed resources to help them manage the needs of survivors. 
• For Agape, it’s based on four pillars of prevention, rescue, restoration, and reintegration.
• Agape checks in with each survivor once a month when they have entered the reintegration pillar. Only 5% of girls in the Agape program go back to their former lives. 
• Christ is at the center of Agape’s mission. Unconditional love, community, and employment with a living wage (for both a survivor and her family) allows them to return to a new life with honor and dignity.

8:20 – Restoration

• Rescuing is not as simple as finding trafficking victims and getting them out. There must also be trauma-informed approach tailored to each individual’s needs.
• Children of many different religions or no religion come to Agape. While they do not have to become Christians, they are taught about the hope of Christ and who Christ created them to be.
• Agape knew that Jesus needed to move into the Svay Pak community, a large hub of trafficking in Southeast Asia. Agape planted a church there and reached out to help the men in the community learn about their identity in Christ.

• The school, church, transition home, and clinic have served as preventative tools to help keep kids safe from trafficking risks. Agape just opened a new school facility where the children learn together instead of being spread out in different buildings.

11:33 – Changing Hearts One At A Time

• Agape creates stability and assurance by providing a living wage through three employment centers where daily devotions, family-style meals, benefits, and child-care are provided. 
• The community was resistant to Agape’s presence in the beginning, but the creation of sustainable jobs and the building of intentional relationships helped with the trust needed to implement true change.